1 . Rescuers in Jersey said Sunday after an all-night search that there was no hope of survivors from an explosion that flattened a three-story apartment block. At least three people were confirmed killed in the accident early Saturday in the Channel island’s port capital St Helier, following a suspected gas leak. “We have three confirmed deaths and it’s fair to say we expect to find more,” police chief Robin Smith told a news conference, saying that around 12 residents remained unaccounted for. “It is with sadness that I am confirming that the search-and-rescue operation has been moved to a recovery operation,” he said.

The phase involved a “painstaking search of the debris” which could take weeks, Smith said, adding that a gas leak was the ‘likely” cause. Aided by sniffer dogs and experts from southern England, Jersey emergency workers had searched the rubble (瓦砾)overnight.

Fire chief Paul Brown confirmed that firefighters were called out to investigate the smell of gas on Friday evening, more than seven hours before the explosion. But in vain. He admitted that something had gone “horribly wrong”, considering the subsequent disaster, but insisted that Jersey islanders could still have confidence in his service. Jersey’s gas supplier, Island Energy, said it was working with the fire service to understand what happened.

Like many others in St Helier, Jersey’s Chief Minister Kristina Moore said she was awoken by the explosion. “Across the island you could hear this extraordinary sound,” she told the BBC. “It’s unthinkable news, so we’re all absolutely shocked and really worried about the people who are involved and about those whose lives have been lost.”

The incident caps a tragic week for Jersey, a British Crown dependency not part of the United Kingdom, whose economy relies on banking, tourism and fishing. “We must call on the collective strength of the island community,” Moore said.

1. What’s the possible cause of the accident?

A．The gas leak.	B．The gas supplier.
C．The recovery operation.	D．The unexpected explosion.

2. What was the main task of the recovery operation?

A．Rescuing the dead.	B．Searching the rubble.
C．Searching for the debris.	D．Working with fire service.

3. What may Paul Brown’s words imply?

A．He had predicted the explosion hours before it.

B．The fire service was investigating the explosion.

C．People lost confidence in the island’s fire service.

D．The fire service was partly responsible for the accident.

4. How did Moore feel after the accident?

A．Panicked and frightened.	B．Relieved and hopeful.
C．Astonished and concerned.	D．Fearful and sorrowful.

2 . Home accidents occur unexpectedly everywhere in and around the house.     1     One of the best ways is to take action ahead to prevent them from happening.

    2     If you find any object lying on the floor, you need to pick it up and keep it on the table. Otherwise, it might hurt anybody in your house. Then, if you find that any of the electrical wires which needs repair, you must do it immediately. This kind of wires or switches can lead to short circuit (短路) in the house.     3     To make your home shock proof, you must check the wires from time to time. This will not only keep you safe, but will also protect other members of the family.

Another way is keeping a first aid kit in your room. When you prepare a first aid kit for your house, you need to decide about the things that you need to keep inside it. First of all, you need band aids. You must make sure that these band aids are of all sizes and they must also be waterproof.     4     The painkillers will help you when you get hurt or if you are in great pain due to some home accidents. You will also need cotton, wool, scissors as well as safety pins (别针). If you have these things inside the first aid kit, then you will surely not have any problem in the future.     5    

A．Then you need to have tape as well as painkillers.

B．So what you need to do is prepare yourself for them.

C．In addition, you also have the chances of getting shock.

D．Here are necessary things you should put in a first aid kit.

E．This will protect you from the accidents which are common.

F．You can follow certain things to prevent suffering from pain due to accidents.

G．It is perhaps significant for you to be well-prepared before an accident happens.

3 . A China plane struck a bird after taking off in Chengdu, Sichuan, and had to immediately return to the airport last October, and it wasn’t the first accident between an aircraft and a bird last year.

In fact, more than 20,000 wildlife strikes with aircraft were reported worldwide in 2023 — the vast majority of those animals being birds. The strikes can also include run-ins with bats or creatures on the ground, such as deer or turtles. Expanding wildlife populations, increases in number of aircraft movements, and a trend toward faster and quieter aircraft all have contributed to the increase in wildlife strikes.

Bird strikes are a hazard not just to commercial airplanes, but to all sorts of aircraft. However, historical data shows that damage is reported in a small percentage of incidents. Last year, 95% of the global strikes involved some kind of damage — and only 5% of those caused “substantial” damage.

Some of the most disturbing types of strikes can happen when one or more birds go into a plane’s engine, which might cause a lot of damage to the aircraft. The pilot would need to return to the airport or find a safe place to land.

In last October’s China plane incident, the Beijing-bound flight was able to land normally in Chengdu after taking into account what the airline described as security concerns. Senior captain Chen Jianguo said pilots are trained on how to respond if they have a bird strike in flight. The pilot in this case did exactly what he was trained to do.

“There are lots of things that are being used by airports to try to manage the habitat and birds around the airport,” said Chen Jianguo. Airports need to manage bird habitats to reduce or get rid of trees and plants that shelter birds, or address wetlands that can attract birds. Collecting data on what kinds of birds are involved in strikes is equally important so the risks can better be managed. Many airports also use audible signals to scare birds away, such as the sounds of fireworks.

1. What is a cause of the increase in wildlife strikes?

A．The poorly designed aircraft.

B．The growing number of birds.

C．The destruction of wildlife habitats.

D．The absence of environmental awareness.

2. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Danger.

B．Delay.

C．Accident.

D．Reminder.

3. What does the historical data tell us about bird strikes?

A．They are a rare occurrence.

B．They usually damage engines.

C．Most of them cause slight damage.

D．Most of them involve one single bird.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．Ways to study bird behavior.

B．Measures to drive birds away.

C．Efforts to restore bird habitat.

D．Attempts to take care of birds.

4 . It was a bright May afternoon along the Maryland coast. Jonathan Bauer, and his 13-year-old daughter, Ava, were driving with the windows down as they headed home on the bridge. Suddenly, the calm was disturbed by the squeal of tires.

Not far ahead of them, a pickup(皮卡车) was drifting from one lane to the other. It slammed into a concrete barrier, flipped over the car directly ahead of them, and came to rest hanging over the railing of the bridge. Bauer hit the brakes in time, but another car came sliding backward toward him and struck his car’s fender(挡泥板). Bauer stopped his car. “Ava, are you OK?” he asked. She was shaken, but otherwise unhurt.

And then a scream came from the pickup above the waters of the bay. The driver dashed to the railing. Bauer ran up beside him. The man pointed down, saying something in Spanish. There was a car seat in the water. Struggling next to it was a girl, about two years old, terrified, floating on her back and crying.

Matters quickly went worse when the girl rolled over onto her stomach. “Ava! Stay by the car!” Bauer yelled, drooping to remove his shoes. Would he get hurt? Could he reach the girl in time? No time to wonder. All he had in mind was the faith that she must be saved immediately.

A moment later he was bouncing off the sandy bottom-unhurt! Bauer swam to the girl and lifted her out of the water: mouth half open, eyes nearly closed, not breathing. Standing, he laid her against his shoulder and hit at her back with the flat of his hand. Water came streaming from her mouth and slowly her eyes were opened. He pulled her close, hugging her to shelter her from the cold.

A boat pulled up and hauled them aboard. Ava Bauer was so inspired by her father’s actions that four months later she became a firefighter so that she, too, could save lives. “That girl is going to live a whole life because of him,” she says. “It’s incredible.”

1. What can we learn about Bauer and his daughter from the first two paragraphs?

A．They had a great time along the Maryland coast.

B．They crashed their car into others’ on the bridge.

C．They suffered a severe hit and hung over the railing.

D．They witnessed a terrible accident on the way home.

2. Why did Bauer run forward next to the pickup driver?

A．He saw a girl struggling in the water.

B．He was asked to help the pickup driver.

C．He was caught by the cry from the pickup.

D．He was concerned about the falling of the pickup.

3. Which words can best describe Bauer?

A．Warm-hearted and modest.

B．Strong-willed and optimistic.

C．Determined and considerate.

D．Good-tempered and intelligent.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．A Leap of Faith

B．An Unexpected Crash

C．A Moment of Inspiration

D．A Well-organized Rescue

5 . In a close-up (特写), one man is pulling the other with all his strength through the window of an SUV, a type of vehicle, which is stuck dangerously on a cliff (悬崖) 30 feet above a busy roadway.

Jason Warnock, then 29, is the man performing the life-saving action. He was driving in Lewiston, Idaho, in April 2015 when he came upon a fallen tree in the middle of the road. “I was like, ‘What happened’?” he told a news website. Warnock stretched out his neck to stare up the side of a cliff. At the very top, where the tree should have been, was an SUV swinging on the edge, held back from falling to the road by a delicate, heavily damaged chain-link fence. Looking inside the car, Warnock could see a panicked Matthew Sitko, 23, beating on the passenger-side window.

That’s when Warnock sprang into action. He crossed a nearby footbridge, and climbed up the cliff to get to the vehicle. When Warnock got to the car, he tried breaking the window with a tool he had on him, only to realize that his cracking was shaking the car and might cause it to slip down the hill. He stopped and turned to calming Sitko enough to get him to open the window. “Give me your hand,” Warnock said. “If this thing goes, I want to have a hold of you so I can at least get you out of there.” Before reaching for the lifeline, Sitko had one request: “Can I grab my phone?” Soon enough, Warnock had freed both man and his machine.

According to the Lewiston police chief, the accident was caused when Sitko, who suffered only minor injuries, lost control of his car. For his part, Warnock insisted he came to Sitko’s aid for one simple reason: “I just did what anyone would do.”

1. Where was Matthew Sitko’s SUV when spotted?

A．On a cliff.	B．By a river.
C．On the road.	D．Under a tree.

2. Why did Warnock stop breaking the window?

A．His strength ran up.

B．His tool stopped functioning.

C．He worried about his own safety.

D．He realized the possible consequence.

3. What is the cause of the accident?

A．The SUV was beyond repair.	B．The SUV was out of control.
C．Sitko was severely injured.	D．Sitko was sleepy and tired.

4. Which of the following can best describe Warnock?

A．Calm but stubborn.	B．Daring but anxious.
C．Caring and decisive.	D．Optimistic and strong.

6 . First aid is a crucial aspect of healthcare that can significantly save someone’s life or prevent further injury or illness. Knowing when to use first aid is essential so that proper measures are taken promptly.    1    

Injuries and Accidents

One of the most common instances where first aid is required is in injuries and accidents.    2     In such situations, it is essential to provide immediate care to prevent further damage and ensure that the affected individual receives timely medical attention. Some of the initial steps in first aid for injuries include applying pressure to stop bleeding, immobilizing the affected area, and administering pain relief medication.

Cardiac Arrest (心脏停跳)

Another critical situation where first aid can make a difference is during a cardiac arrest. A cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops functioning; immediate intervention is necessary.     3     The first step in such a situation is to call emergency services and start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until professional help arrives. Knowing how to perform CPR can be life-saving in such situations.

Choking and Suffocation (窒息)

Choking and suffocation are emergencies that can occur at any time, and immediate intervention is necessary to prevent further complications. If someone is choking, it is essential to act quickly.     4     Similarly, if someone is suffocating due to a blocked airway, it is vital to clear the obstruction and ensure that the person’s airway is open.

When to use first aid can significantly save someone’s life or prevent further injury or illness.    5     Call for emergency services, and provide immediate care until professional help arrives. Being prepared and trained in first aid can ensure the safety and well-being of those around us.

A．In any emergency, it is essential to remain calm.

B．This can include cuts, burns, falls, sprains, and other unpleasant injuries.

C．If someone has taken a poisonous substance, calling emergency services.

D．Perform the Heimlich manoeuvre to force out the object causing the obstruction.

E．Bleeding and overdose are medical emergencies that require immediate attention.

F．This blog post will discuss when to use first aid and the importance of early intervention.

G．Blood circulation (血液循环) and oxygen supply to vital organs should be restored immediately.

7 . A huge fire broke out on 2 September 1666 in London. The fire, known as the Great Fire of London, was the worst fire in the history of London. It burned down more than three quarters of the old city.

The fire started in the very early hours of Sunday morning in the house of the king’s baker. A strong wind blew the fire from the baker’s house into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.

At that time, most of the buildings in London were made of wood, so it was easy for the fire to spread quickly. By eight o’clock, three hundred houses were on fire. By Monday, nearly a kilometre of the city was burning along the Thames River. On Tuesday, which was considered the worst day, the fire destroyed many well-known buildings, including the old St Paul’s Cathedral.

The fire burned until finally hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire were destroyed to create a firebreak. The fire then died out eventually with nothing left to burn.

1. Why is the fire of 1666 called the Great Fire of London?

A．The fire broke out in the capital of England.

B．The fire was the worst fire in the history of London.

C．People in England will never forget the fire.

D．The fire spread fast into Thames Street.

2. Where did the fire break out?

A．In the house of the king’s baker.

B．In Thames Street.

C．In the house of the baker’s neighbour.

D．In St Paul’s Cathedral.

3. Why did the fire spread quickly?

A．It started in a baker’s house.

B．It broke out on a Sunday morning.

C．A hotel was next to the baker’s house.

D．Most of the buildings in London were wooden.

4. What was destroyed in the fire?

A．The old St Paul’s Cathedral.

B．Hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire.

C．Hundreds of wooden houses.

D．All of the above.

8 . On June 23,2018,twelve young Thai boys and their assistant football coach wandered into a karst cave in northern Thailand, near the border with Myanmar. What happened next would grab the world’s attention and lead to a complex and daring international rescue operation. The 10.3-kilometer-long Tham Luang cave flooded, trapping the boys in total blackness nearly 2.5 kilometers from the cave entrance.

Thousands of people from around the globe participated in the rescue effort, including military personnel, medical experts and the rock stars of the operation — cave divers. The divers, who safely removed all of the Thai children and their coach after 18 days underground, dealt with tight spaces and low visibility in muddy water- conditions that would prove deadly: Saman Gunan, a former Thai Navy Seal, died while transporting air tanks into the cave.

While the sport of cave diving had received attention in the pop culture area prior to the rescue mission in North Thailand, there is little doubt that the brave divers at Tham Luang cave helped push the activity and its varieties of risks into global society’s minds.

The sport-often referred to as among the world’s most dangerous recreational activities-has its roots in pre-WWII England. Since then, the recreational practice of cave diving, described by Australian cave explorer Richard Harris (a participant in the Tham Luang cave rescue) as an “unusual hobby” for “the ordinary,” has spread around the world-China included.

Over 1,000 kilometers northeast of Tham Luang cave, in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, lies karst-peak-covered Du’an county-China’s little-known cave diving Mecca.

Home to thousands of kilometers of underground rivers, Du’an county offers divers spellbinding geological formations, perhaps the world’s largest collection of blind fish species and a rare variety of freshwater jellyfish.

1. What do we know about the Tham Luang cave rescue operation?

A．There was no loss of life in the process.	B．Rock stars took part in the rescue efforts.
C．Rescue team came from more than Thailand.	D．Few people cared about it outside Thailand.

2. What contributes to people knowing more about cave diving globally?

A．Its dangerous recreations.	B．Its long history.
C．An expert’s description.	D．The divers’ heroic deeds.

3. Why is Du’an county referred to as a cave diving Mecca?

A．It is northeast of Tham Luang cave.	B．There are lots of underground rivers.
C．It is hardly known to the outside world.	D．It has the world’s largest geological formations.

4. What will be talked about in the following passage?

A．Spectacular cave diving experiences in Du’an.

B．Diving instructions shared by Richard Harris.

C．Lessons learned from this rescue operation.

D．Foods offered to tourists in Du’an.

9 . 200,000 miles from Earth, the crew (机组成员) of the third manned mission (飞行任务) to the Moon faced an astronaut’s worst nightmare: an explosion on the spacecraft. It’s what happened in the Oscar-winning film Apollo 13, but it’s also a true story.

The lift-off of Apollo 13 took place on 11th April 1970. Two days into the mission, the three-man crew were in big trouble. They had been carrying out routine checks when there was a loud bang. Warning lights were starting to flash. Looking out into space, they could see a trail of gas — the spacecraft was leaking (漏) oxygen. They sent out a short message to the scientists back on Earth: “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” At first, they thought that a meteor (流星) had hit them, but they later found out that a short circuit (短路) had caused an oxygen container to explode. Whatever the cause, they knew there was no time to lose. Their electricity supply in the command module (指令舱) depended on that oxygen and pretty soon they would run out of both.

The only solution was to move into the lunar module — the section of the spacecraft that would have landed on the Moon. Now though, they were using it as a kind of lifeboat. With its own power supply, oxygen and water, the three men could survive in the lunar module and return to Earth. There was another problem though. In an enclosed space like a lunar module, the carbon dioxide the crew was breathing out was dangerous. The equipment to clear the air of carbon dioxide was only built for two people. Now it had to deal with three. Amazingly, the crew managed to build an adapter out of materials onboard to reduce the carbon dioxide to a safe level.

There was one final obstacle. The lunar module wasn’t strong enough to reenter Earth’s atmosphere so the crew had to go back into the damaged command module. To everyone’s relief, the crew of Apollo 13 arrived safely in the South Pacific Ocean on April 17th. Although the crew didn’t land on the Moon, NASA still considered the mission a success.

1. What was the astronauts’ first reaction to the explosion?

A．They went out to land on the Moon.

B．They informed scientists on Earth.

C．They moved into the lunar module.

D．They looked into the cause of the explosion.

2. How did the astronauts solve their oxygen situation in the lunar module?

A．By moving back to the command module.

B．By lowering the carbon dioxide level.

C．By creating a new oxygen supply.

D．By limiting the oxygen use.

3. What does the underlined word “obstacle” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Step.

B．Choice.

C．Problem.

D．Solution.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．A successful mission	B．An amazing adventure
C．Deep space exploration	D．Life and death drama in space

10 . Braving the elements

On Dec.26, Gelinne, 60, was looking out the back windows of his home at the frozen lake. Then an airplane came into his sight. Gelinne looked up just in time to see that small air plane a few hundred yards away, losing control.

As the plane disappeared behind the trees, Gelinne, a former Navy officer, realized it was going to land in the lake. He flashed on a moment from more than 20 years earlier: Gelinne was at work in a bank. When a fire alarm rang, he escaped from the chaos but has always wondered if he could have stayed inside and helped.

On this day, Gelinne didn’t hesitate. He ran down to the waterfront. The plane had skidded (侧滑) to a stop on the broad, frozen lake, far from shore. It was now sinking. The pilot was standing on the wing. Gelinne knew from his Navy training that even a few minutes in the icy water could kill the pilot.

Gelinne tested the ice with his foot and decided not to take any chances walking on it. So he pulled a boat out from under his back deck.

Then he set off, pushing his boat across the ice. It was tough work. When Gelinne reached the plane, it had broken through the ice and sunk; only its tail was visible. The pilot was standing on a tail wing, submerged up to his chest, surrounded by open water. Gelinne pushed his boat off the ice and into the water, paddling (划) toward the pilot.

Gelinne focused on keeping the pilot calm, joking, “Just hang on to the boat as if you were hugging your wife.” The pilot grabbed the boat’s bow, but Gelinne knew he had to get the pilot out of the water and up onto the shelf of unbroken ice behind him before the man lost too much body heat.

By now a police officer had arrived and radioed for help. A lifeboat appeared, breaking through ice as it arrived. It picked up the pilot and rushed him to safety. Later the boat returned to help Gelinne, now extremely tired, to shore.

“I’m 60 years old,” Gelinne says. “There was no way I could get him to shore.” Still, he was satisfied he’d gone the right way that day.

1. Why did Gelinne run outside without hesitation?

A．He had rescucing experience.	B．He wanted to offer help in time.
C．He needed more time to prepare.	D．He was amazed at what had happened.

2. How did Gelinne help the pilot?

A．He made a call to the police.	B．He got the pilot out of the water.
C．He asked the pilot to grasp the bow.	D．He picked up the pilot onto the shore.

3. What Gelinne did in the rescue proved him to be ____________.

A．generous

B．brave

C．curious

D．strict

4. What can Gelinne probably learn from the rescue?

A．Think twice before action.

B．One good turn deserves another.

C．It’s never too late to make things right.

D．One should always be ready to seize chances.