1 . It was late, about 10:15 pm. Janice Esposito got off the train at Bellport, New York, went to her car and started driving home. She was so familiar with the route that she almost drove automatically: turned left to the Station Road, then another left onto Montauk Highway, and then -bam! When Esposito’s car had just crossed the railroad tracks, it hit another vehicle and was pushed back onto the tracks. Injured but mostly shocked by the crash and by the airbags that popped up, she was stuck in the vehicle.
As it happened, Pete Dipinto was just about to go to sleep when he heard a sharp noise and saw the accident not far outside his bedroom window. As a volunteer firefighter and retired teacher, Dipinto who was 65, fetched a flashlight and rushed out without hesitation. “Any firefighter would have done what I did. We’re always on duty.” he said.
At first, he spoiled the other car in the accident. After making sure that the driver was all right, Dipinto looked around and discovered Esposito’s car straddling (横跨) the railway tracks. And then he heard die bell ring, which signaled a train’s arrival.
Dipinto rushed to Esposito’s car and broke the window on the driver’s side. Esposito looked up at him, with her eyes glazing over, “I don’t know where I am.” she said.
“You’re on the railroad tracks,” Dipinto yelled. “I have to get you off right now!” The train was running toward them at a speed of some 105 kilometers per hour. The driver’s door cannot be opened due to the collision, so Dipinto quickly ran to the other side and managed to open the door. He put the airbags aside, seized her arms, pulled her toward him across the passenger seat until finally got her out and walked her to safety as swiftly as possible. Several seconds later, the train crashed into the vehicle. It was like a Hollywood movie, Dipinto told reporters the next day.
“Last night?” said Gregory Miglino Jr, Chief of the Department in South Country, Ambulance, “the hero arrived in pajamas (睡衣), not in a fire truck.”
1. What was the reason for the accident?| A．Esposito didn’t know the route well. |
| B．Esposito’s car hit another vehicle. |
| C．Esposito drove out of the highway. |
| D．A running train crashed into Esposito’s car. |
| A．She got stuck and couldn’t move out. |
| B．She lost awareness completely. |
| C．She was lucky to escape from the train. |
| D．She helped rescue the driver in another car. |
| A．Through the roof of the car. |
| B．Through the passenger’s door in the back. |
| C．Through the window on the driver’s side. |
| D．Through the door on the passenger’s side. |
| A．Dipinto was not a professional firefighter. |
| B．Dipinto rushed to save life without thinking about himself. |
| C．Dipinto was a special firefighter who liked wearing pajamas. |
| D．Dipinto was unable to find a fire truck when the accident happened. |
2 . While driving home after work, Jane Hodgson noticed a car pulled over at the side of the road and a crowd beginning to gather around someone who was lying on the ground.
Jane, who had completed a first aid at work course, pulled over to see if she could offer any help — and it turned out to be lucky for the young injured girl that she did.
Describing the scene she came across, Jane says: “The onlookers were ashen-faced and looking lost. They were so shocked that they hadn’t even thought to call for an ambulance yet.”
After speaking to the emergency services, Jane started finding out what had happened and what injuries the young girl called Jenny had. The girl had been hit by a car and gone over the handlebars of her bike, landing on her head and shoulder. Her shoulder and arm were twisted (扭曲) underneath her.
“She hadn’t been wearing a helmet (头盔) when she got knocked down, and I thought that she should not be moved as I couldn’t be sure about a spinal injury (脊椎损伤), but after looking her over and checking the circulation in her injured arm I did feel fairly confident that she had escaped relatively unhurt.
“As we were waiting for an ambulance, the amount of pain the girl was in was increasing. To distract (分散注意力) her and minimize the risk of her going into shock I kept her talking. She held my hand tightly when the pain got too much and this helped. I told her I could handle it — we laughed about that,” describes Jane.
Later, a doctor from the local hospital’s ICU stopped at the scene too. The ICU doctor decided that Jenny should lie on her back, making her much more comfortable until the emergency services arrived.
Thinking back, Jane says: “For me, knowing that in a small way I helped that girl through what was a frightening experience is all the reward I need. I felt great to know I’d made a difference and I’d do it again.”
1. We can learn from the text that Jane Hodgson _____.| A．is an ICU doctor | B．is a first⁃aid trainer |
| C．works in a local hospital | D．has learned some first aid |
| A．Jenny had a spinal injury |
| B．Jenny didn’t have serious injuries |
| C．Jenny couldn’t remember what had happened |
| D．Jenny lost her helmet when she was knocked down |
| A．Jenny refused to talk | B．Jenny went into shock |
| C．Jane was a little impatient | D．Jane kept giving Jenny confidence |
| A．Strict but caring. | B．Tough and generous. |
| C．Proud but determined. | D．Warm-hearted and helpful. |
3 . On August 5 just after 7.30 pm, Mike Estepa suffered a massive heart attack. The crazy cyclist was 40 kilometres into his Sunday ride when he stopped by the side of the road to text his family saying he’d be home in about 30 minutes. Moments later, he was lying in the ditch, unconscious.
Larissa Arthur was driving back to Calgary from a hike in Field, B. C. with a friend. It was a warm and sunny day, and the two were chatting when a flush of yellow caught Arthur's eyes, She immediately pulled off the road.
As Arthur approached the figure. she feared the worst: Estepa was covered in ants and exhibited no signs of life. There was no pulse and he wasn't breathing." says Arthur. A bystander called 911 and Arthur, a registered nurse, started chest compressions. She and two other drivers took turns carrying out CPR for the next 15 minutes before medical teams arrived and whisked Estepa away.
Two days later, when Estepa woke up in the hospital, he was shocked to learn he had gone into cardiac arrest (心脏骤停). How did this happen, and ,why was he lucky enough to have survived? He was full of gratitude and needed to speak with the woman who had saved him, whom he named his "angel” .
“It was emotional,” says Arthur of her meeting with Estepa a few weeks later. Saving his life had extra importance for her: the bike she was returning from that day was one of 100 she's planned to honour her father, who died in 2017 after he fell during a hike that Arthur was meant to be on. "I couldn't save my father's life." Arthur says, "but this was a chance for me to save someone. "
1. Why did Mike Estepn stop while riding?| A．He suffered a heart attack. | B．He wanted to send a message. |
| C．He would like to lie in the ditch. | D．He was too far away from his home. |
| A．She was an amateur nurse. | B．She was scared of ants. |
| C．She knew how to do CPR. | D．She went cycling with a friend. |
| A．Grateful. | B．Lucky. |
| C．Significant | D．Natural. |
| A．A Miracle to Return to Life | B．An Angel on the Roadside |
| C．A Risky Cycling Alone | D．A Chance to Save Life |
4 . On September 11, 2001, I was in the second week of the new school year with my senior English class at T. C. Williams High School just a few miles south of the Pentagon.
Suddenly that morning, a colleague who grew up in New York, opened the classroom door and said, "Turn on the TV the World Trade Center has just been hit by a plane. " I've always believed in never letting school get in the way of my students' education. I switched on the TV in front of the room, and my students and I listened to the announcers make a guess about what had happened——only to see the second plane hit. At first, the sight of the towers burning didn't seem to have much more immediacy (紧迫性)than a TV action movie. Soon, however, things in that classroom would get far too immediate.
In what seemed like about a half-hour after the second plane hit, we heard a loud explosion outside the school. Several students were shocked and I told them not to worry, saying that "it was just a car backfiring". A moment later a boy sitting near the windows said, "That's no car； look at that black smoke." We could see an enormous plume of smoke rising in the distance, but didn't know where it was coming from until, a few seconds later, the NBC reporter stationed at the Pentagon broke into the New York coverage to say that he felt the ground shake beneath him as he heard an explosion—obviously the same one that had just surprised my students. It was several minutes before it was announced that the explosion came from a plane hitting the Pentagon.
At that point, a boy a football player suddenly came undone and had to be comforted by the girls in the class. His mom worked in the Pentagon, and when he tried to get her on his cellphone he could not get through.
Reports vastly overestimated the number of deaths in the Pentagon. Some reports were estimating over 800 dead when the actual death toll at the Pentagon was 125.
1. The author was working as on September 11, 200____.| A．a security guard | B．a teacher in a school |
| C．a TV reporter for NBC | D．an officer in the Pentagon |
| A．Another plane hit the Pentagon before the author turned on the TV. |
| B．The author thought the hit got in the way of his students' education. |
| C．The author's colleague forced him and his students to watch the TV report. |
| D．The author believed that there exists something deserving attention besides school. |
| A．The boy sitting near the windows witnessed the hit. |
| B．The author tried to comfort his students by telling them the truth. |
| C．The loud explosion was caused by the plane hitting the Pentagon. |
| D．The author realized the Pentagon was hit immediately he heard the loud explosion. |
| A．The football player lost self-control as he was unable to contact his mum. |
| B．The football player felt at a loss as his mum left without saying good-bye. |
| C．The football player was terrified when a car crashed against the school gate. |
| D．The football player exploded with anger since he was forbidden to use his cell phone. |
5 . If you’ve made a routine of a daily walk, congratulations! You’re getting many benefits of a walk. But there’s one simple mistake that could be putting your life at risk. Almost 129,000 pedestrians were injured, and 5,376 were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2015, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Luckily, there are some steps you can take to stay safe on foot. Sure, you drive on the right side of the road in the US, but that’s not where you should be as a pedestrian.
Seems like it couldn’t make much difference.
On the other hand, when you’re walking against traffic, you can see the cars heading toward you. Facing those vehicles lets you see danger coming and get out of the way if necessary, and you aren’t putting your life in the hands of every driver who passes.
| A．If there’s a sidewalk available, you should always use it |
| B．Where it is convenient and clear, make sure to take the route |
| C．Next time you go for a walk or run, face the traffic and keep watchful |
| D．You may be taken aback by such a big difference between the choices |
| E．Look backwards and forwards all the time when you walk along the traffic |
| F．This means one crash-related pedestrian death every 1.6 hours |
| G．But a study of car accidents between 2006 and 2010 would argue otherwise |
6 . It’s not common that a grandmother aged 89 is crowned Queen of Icebergs in north America, but when it does happen it’s quite the sight.
On a recent trip to Iceland, Judith Streng became that grandma after her son attempted to take a photograph of her sitting on an ice structure that looks like a throne (宝座) at Diamond Beach in Jokul. Shortly after Streng sat down to pose, the piece of ice broke off and floated into the water.
“I thought it was safe. One girl had been on it and then two girls at the same time, and it was very secure with them. When I got on it, it started to shake and a wave was coming in. A very large wave came in and made the throne kind of shake, and I could tell that I was slipping off,” Streng told ABC News.
Streng’s story went hot after her 24-year-old granddaughter Catherine tweeted a text message exchange she had with her father about the incident. “My grandmother almost got lost at sea in Iceland today!”
Catherine, who teaches English in Seoul, South Korea, explained via Twitter that her father described the scene vividly. He has a PhD in English, and described the event in the following words, “She climbed to the throne after a wave had pulled back and left it briefly exposed on the beach. Then a wave washed in and removed the ice throne, rocking it from side to side. When the wave left, it lifted the throne and carried her out into the sea with the tide.”
Luckily for the Streng family, Randy, a licensed boat captain from Florida with knowledge of water rescue strategies witnessed the whole thing, and was able to save the day.
1. Where was the grandma when her son was taking a picture for her?| A．On a crown. | B．In an iceboat. |
| C．At a throne beach. | D．On an iceberg. |
| A．By drawing a vivid picture. |
| B．By exchanging tweeter account. |
| C．By talking with her father in Seoul. |
| D．By posting the text message exchange with her father. |
| A．Catherine. | B．Streng. |
| C．Randy. | D．Judith. |
| A．Taking Pictures Must be Very Dangerous |
| B．A Grandma Floated out to the Sea on an Iceberg |
| C．An Optimistic Family Who Love Iceberg |
| D．The Licensed Boat Captain Went Hot Slowly |
7 . Four out of the 48 self-driving cars on public roads in California have been involved in accidents in the last eight months, according to the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.
The agency began issuing permits for the testing of self-driving vehicles in September 2014.
Three of the four cars belonged to Google, the fourth to parts supplier Delphi.
Both firms denied their vehicles had been at fault.
Under Californian law, details of car accidents remain secret.
However, Google said its driverless cars had never been the cause of an accident and that the majority of "minor fender-benders(擦撞)" had been in the form of rear-end(后尾) collisions from other drivers.
"Safety is our highest priority. Since the start of our programme six years ago, we've driven nearly a million miles automatically, on both freeways and city streets, without causing a single accident," said a spokesperson.
Delphi told the BBC its vehicle was hit while still at a crossroads and was in human driving mode at the time.
"A police report indicates the fault of the accident is with the second vehicle, not Delphi. No-one was hurt in the incident," said a spokesperson.
An unknown source told the Associated Press that two of the accidents occurred while the vehicles were occupied by human drivers, and all four vehicles were going very slowly at the time of the collisions.
Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car programme, wrote in a blog post that there have been 11 accidents involving Google cars since the project began six years ago but not one has been caused by one of its vehicles.
"Rear-end crashes are the most frequent accidents in America, and often there's little the driver in front can do to avoid getting hit," he said.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Self-driving car accidents. | B．Motor vehicle problems. |
| C．Self-driving vehicle problems. | D．Traffic accidents in California. |
| A．caused the accidents when driven by human drivers |
| B．hit other cars and caused the accidents |
| C．were responsible for the accidents |
| D．were knocked into from behind |
| A．are just road killers | B．need to be improved |
| C．are in good quality | D．shouldn’t be produced |
8 . Maybe ten-year-old Elizabeth put it best when she said to her father. “But, Dad, you can’t be healthy if you’re dead.”
Dad, in a hurry to get home before dark so he could go for a run, had forgotten to wear his safety belt — a mistake 11.5% of the US population make every day, according to a survey in 2015.
The percentage doesn’t seem so bad, but the big question is why still so many people ignore it when every day there are reports about car accidents and casualties (a death toll of 37461 in 2016 ).
There have been many myths about safety belts ever since their first appearance in cars some forty years ago. The following are three of the most common.
Myth Number One: It’s best to be “thrown clear”of a serious accident.
Truth: Sorry, but any accident serious enough to “throw you clear”is also going to be serious enough to give you a very bad landing. And chances are you’ll have traveled through a windshield (挡风玻璃) or door to do it. Studies show that chances of dying after a car accident are twenty-five times greater in cases where people are “thrown clear.”
Myth Number Two: Safety belts “trap”people in cars that are burning or sinking in water.
Truth: Sorry again. but studies show that people knocked unconscious (昏迷) due to not wearing safety belts have a greater chance of dying in these accidents People wearing safety belts are usually protected to the point of having a clear head to free themselves from such dangerous situations, not to be trapped in them.
Myth Number Three: Safety belts aren’t needed at speeds of less than 30 miles an hour (mph).
Truth: When two cars traveling at 30 mpb hit each other, an unbelted driver would meet the windshield with a force equal to diving headfirst into the ground from a height of 10 meters.
1. Why did Elizabeth say to her father “But, Dad, you can’t be healthy if you’re dead”?| A．He was driving at great speed. |
| B．He was running across the street. |
| C．He didn’t have his safety belt on. |
| D．He didn’t take his medicine on time. |
| A．wasn’t feeling very well |
| B．hated to drive in the dark |
| C．wanted to take some exercise |
| D．didn’t want to be caught by the police |
| A．may be knocked down by other cars |
| B．may get seriously hurt being thrown out of the car |
| C．may find it impossible to get away from the seat |
| D．may get caught in the car door |
| A．the belt prevents them escaping in an accident |
| B．they will be unable to think clearly in an accident |
| C．they will be caught when help comes |
| D．cars catch fire easily |
| A．Never drive faster than 30 mile an hour. |
| B．Try your best to save yourself in a car accident. |
| C．Never forget to wear the safety belt while driving. |
| D．Drive slowly while you’re not wearing a safety belt. |
9 . A teenage girl is fighting for her life today after being struck by lightning as severe thunderstorms swept across Britain. The girl was one of four teenage girls from London who were hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park during a storm. Earlier, Joseph Wharton, 14, died as he was struck by lightning while camping in his friend’s backyard in the West Midlands.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the girl remained in serious condition at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. She had stopped breathing by the time the first paramedic(护理人员) arrived on the scene just two minutes after the strike at 5:40 p.m. yesterday.
The other three girls hit by the bolt all had injuries, and were taken to University College Hospital. Their conditions were not serious, the spokesman added.
The strike lifted the girls into the air and then dropped them to the ground, a witness reported.
A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said paramedics risked their lives to treat the girls. “The storm was still overhead and lightning was still coming down while they were treating the patients,” he said. “All staff involved acted very professionally in providing fast treatment to these patients in very difficult circumstances.” Scotland Yard said the incident was being looked into by officers from the Royal Parks’ Operational Command Unit.
Joseph Wharton of Byland Way, Bloxwich, was hit during the extended thunderstorm which struck the region yesterday morning. He was pronounced dead at Walsall Manor Hospital.
He had been sleeping in a tent while staying with school friend Michael Lees at a house on nearby Cresswell Crescent.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said paramedics were called at 7:50 a.m. and unsuccessful attempts were made to revive(使苏醒) the sports-mad teenager. A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said four or five people die each year as a result of lightning strikes in the UK.
1. All four girls________.| A．were killed by the lightning | B．were seriously injured |
| C．were being treated at the same hospital | D．were lifted up and dropped to the ground |
| A．thunder | B．rain |
| C．storm | D．lightning |
| A．The boy was killed after the four girls had been hit. |
| B．The paramedics began to treat the girls after taking them to the hospital. |
| C．First-aid was given to the girls during the storm. |
| D．The boy was hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park. |
| A．many British people die from lightning strikes every year |
| B．the writer blames the government for the accident |
| C．the paramedics could also have been hit by lightning while aiding the girls |
| D．Joseph had been playing in the open air before the strike |
| A．magazine | B．newspaper |
| C．science fiction | D．weather report |
