1 . 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. |
The main structure of Notre-Dame cathedral (巴黎圣母院) — including the two bell towers — has been saved after firefighters worked through the night to put out the big fire.
Now that it has been put out, experts have been able to explain the difficulties fire crews faced as they fought to save such a large, historic building.
A complex flammable (易燃的) roof?
It’s not yet known exactly how the Notre-Dame fire began, but it appears to have started near the top, eventually spreading across the rest of the wooden roof.
Gregg Favre, former commander at St Louis Fire Department in the US, pointed out how flammable the building is. He explained on Twitter: “Let’s pause to remember how fires actually burn. It involves key elements like fuel, oxygen, heat and a chemical chain reaction.” Unfortunately, none of these elements are easy to remove in this case.
“To start with, removing the fuel is a no go. Churches have no shortage of things to burn. Although a huge oak beam(梁) is generally difficult to get burning, as smaller timbers (木材) fuel the fire and the temperature rises, the timbers will eventually ignite (点燃) in a phenomenon known as a flashover.”
“The heat that a fire this size is putting off is terrific. Little options for interrupting that. The chemical chain is off to the races.”
“That leaves the oxygen. Unsurprisingly, even if the roof had not burnt off, churches are nearly impossible to control ventilation (通风) in. Their design is to be open and airy. Great for Sunday worship, terrible for managing fire spread.”
Dumping water from above?
As the fire burned, US President Donald Trump suggested that flying water tankers (罐车) could be brought in to fight the flames from above.
Professor Rein, the head of Imperial College London’s fire-studying Hazelab said“ Trump wasn’t the first person to come up with the suggestion, however, it was not a good idea because it would have damaged the structure of the cathedral, collapsing the walls”.
The force of water coming from an air tanker is strong and no-one has been trained to use one in a city. He added that Monday’s fire was “not the time to test this”.
How safe can they make Notre-Dame?
Professor Rein says that “fire engineering” will need to be considered when reconstructing the cathedral. Fire engineering is now in place in modern landmarks such as the Shard in London.
“We keep seeing these buildings go up in flames like this. However, it’s relatively easy to prevent. Notre-Dame should install sprinklers (消防喷淋).” he said.
Much as the Notre-Dame fire is a tragedy, information from studying it will be priceless in protecting other buildings.
Background | Despite difficulties, firefighters | |
Elements | The roof is made up of flammable wood, so Heat and chemical chain are also hard to get | |
Dumping water from above doesn’t make | The strong force of water would have put the structure of the cathedral at | |
Conclusion | Fire engineering should be considered in the protection of heritage sites in an effort to avoid |
3 . Angela was driving back home with her kids, 5-year-old Lexi and 10-week-old Peter and the car was packed with all the necessities for a trip: toys, milk powder and snacks.
As she was driving, Angela found they were on a part of road that was under construction. The long journey had begun to bother Peter, who started crying. Angela inserted a nursery rhyme CD into the stereo and hoped it would help.
The warm sun and the soft music had a relaxing effect. In no time, both children became quiet. Angela’s eyes close too, for just a few seconds.
When Lexi suddenly woke up, she found it was dark. Airbags obscured all the windows. Lexi’s neck hurt and Peter was crying loudly. She told herself to get out of the car, but when she pulled the handle, the door was stuck. Turning onto her side, Lexi kicked at the door until it flopped (猛地打开) open and the car was filled with sunlight.
That’s when Lexi spotted her mother in the front seat. She tried to wake her up but Angela didn’t respond. Lexi looked over the side of the SUV and saw they were on a steep hill. It was only a large tree that kept the car from rolling down.
Her shoes had come off, but Lexi felt no pain as she climbed over glass, rocks, and pine needles up the embankment (路堤) to the highway her mother had driven off.
A driver, Jeremy, was travelling on the highway when he saw a tiny child jumping up and down, waving her arms. He pulled over. “Help!” Lexi cried out. “My mom needs help!” Jeremy looked up and down the tree-lined road but saw nobody. The barefoot child pointed to the destroyed SUV downhill. Without hesitating, he ran down the hill.
1. What made Lexi and Peter quiet immediately in the car?A.Games. | B.Music. |
C.Toys. | D.Snacks. |
A.tiredness | B.warm weather |
C.impatience | D.road condition |
A.Naughty and quick. | B.Calm and proud. |
C.Healthy and careless. | D.Smart and brave. |
A.Blocked. | B.Exploded. |
C.Removed. | D.Damaged. |