1 . Every Christmas,the firm I worked for raised money for disadvantaged kids in the area,and every Christmas I'd drive out with colleagues to deliver gifts.Some years ago, we were returning to work and stopped at an intersection as the lights turned red.
We were in the middle lane and I became aware of an SUV(越野车）coming up behind us at speed;at the last moment,it switched to the righthand lane and carried straight on past the red light into traffic moving west to east.It crashed into another vehicle,causing it to veer off(转向），then they both skidded to a stop.
There was a loud"Bang"and flames leapt from the SUV 's front.I had been a volunteer firefighter for many years and had attended automobile accidents before.As the flames grew fiercer,I knew the car's battery had exploded and that there was no time to lose.I dashed round to the passenger side.The door was locked,but by pulling on the window frame,I managed to tear it open.I leaned in,unbuckled the driver's belt and pulled him across to the passenger side.
Other than some cuts,he was fine.I left him with my workmates and went to check on the driver of the other car,who was also unhurt.Then I headed back to the intersection, where I directed traffic around the burning vehicle until the emergency services arrived.
On the way back to work,I said to my colleagues:"What you saw,keep it under your hats,OK?"But an hour later I had a call from a friend on a local TV station."Brad,"he said,"I have a picture here that someone's sent in of you helping out at a traffic accident."
I hoped that would be the end f it,but the story was to have an unexpected ending. A couple of weeks after the accident,I agreed to a televised reunion with Michael Walker, the guy I'd pulled from the car.He thanked me,and then he introduced me to his daughter, Amber.It turned out she had been separated from her mum and dad,but returned home after the accident.Knowing this family had been reunited was greatly comforting to me-a real Christmas gift.
1. The car crash was caused by| A．the SUV driver's running the red light |
| B．the traffic chaos at the intersection |
| C．the heavy traffic during Christmas |
| D．the author's car blocking the way |
| A．The emergency services. | B．The author. |
| C．The author's workmates. | D．A pedestrian. |
| A．Cover up the hair. | B．Hide the face. |
| C．Keep it secret. | D．Bear it in mind. |
| A．The reunion with the saved driver. |
| B．Acquaintance with Michael' s daughter. |
| C．Raising money for disadvantaged kids. |
| D．Michael' s family reunion after the accident. |
2 . Yi So-yeon, an engineer from Seoul, returned to Earth on Saturday after 11 days aboard the International Space Station(ISS)along with Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and US astronaut Peggy Whitson.
A technical problem turned a routine(常规)return to Earth into a sharper than usual descent(下降)that tested the group members' energy and courage. They landed in the Kazakh steppes(大草原)about420km(260 miles)wide of their target.
''During the descent there was some kind of fire outside the Soyuz capsule because we were going through the atmosphere, '' Yi said.
''At first, I was afraid but the two other guys looked okay so I tried to look okay too. ''
Yi smiled and joked her way through a 10-minute news briefing at Star City the wooded Soviet era cosmonaut training centre on the edge of Moscow. However Malenchenko and Whitson looked tired and thin after nearly six months in space. Their answers were short and Whitson needed support to balance when she walked. The 29-year-old Yi has become famous in R.O. Korea since the take-off but she brushed this aside and said she has had little contact with friends or family since returning.
''In fact they are the heroes right now, '' Yi said referring to Malenchenko and Whitson. ''I'm just a beginner and a little ashamed to say that I am a hero. '' She did though relate a more light-hearted incident on the ISS.
''I sang Fly Me to the Moon'' Yi said about the 1950s pop song. ''It's my favourite song from university although at that time I didn’t know I would be an astronaut. ''
The capsule's so-called ''ballistic'' re-entering made the group members face twice the usual pull from the centre of the earth. The flames Yi described may have been caused by friction(摩擦)heating the capsule as it fell through the atmosphere.
Whitson told reporters that Saturday's, ballistic landing was irregular but not an emergency.
''The Soyuz has been through its history very reliable and there has obviously been some issue in the last couple of descents which went ballistic but I'm sure the engineers will determine what the problems are and get them fixed, '' she said.
In October a Soyuz capsule carrying Malaysia's first space tourist touched down about 200 km(125 miles)off course in a similar ballistic landing caused by a technical problem.
The Soyuz is the world’s longest-serving manned space capsule. An early version of the craft the Vostok carried the first person into space in 1961.
Whitson, 48, has become the American with the longest amount of time in space with 377 days.
1. What's the main idea of the passage?| A．Flight in space is very dangerous. |
| B．Not everybody can go into space. |
| C．Fearful landing tests the Korean astronaut |
| D．Yi didn't know she would be an astronaut when she was our young. |
| A．a fire was caused by the friction |
| B．she had no such experience before |
| C．she was not brave enough |
| D．the other two didn't help her |
| A．Yi So-yeon, a space tourist came from R.O. Korea |
| B．Whitson became energetic when they landed on earth |
| C．the two other guys were not afraid during the descent |
| D．the Soyuz, an unmanned space capsule, had a long history |
| A．experience is very important for astronauts to ensure safety |
| B．Yi So-yeon will never return to the space station |
| C．people are not willing to experience the space flight |
| D．we should draw a lesson from the accident |
3 . It’s not often sunny in Paris, but people still love to walk along the bank of the Seine. They love the view of the city’s old buildings, especially Notre Dame Cathedral, with its iconic spire (标志性塔尖).
Unfortunately, that view has been forever changed. On April 16 a fire destroyed the spire of the 850-year-old wooden Notre Dame Cathedral built in 1163, and two-thirds of the roof.
The fire shocked and saddened Parisians. Citizens gathered around the giant church, singing hymns (赞美诗) and praying for the hundreds of firefighters who fought the flames.
“The importance of Notre Dame, not only to Catholics (天主教) but to all Parisians, cannot be underestimated (低估),” wrote French author Bernard-Henri Levy. “For many in France, it’s more than a house of worship. It’s a symbol of French culture, architecture and history.”
The church is also home to many religious artworks, paintings and sculptures. Luckily, its world-famous colored glass windows survived the fire. These windows are made of many small pieces of glass and feature various Christian images.
Despite its long history and many treasures, the Cathedral needed the help of a writer to become truly famous. Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, presented the building to a wide audience of readers. The book’s ugly lead character, Quasimodo, serves as a symbol for Paris’ forgotten Gothic (哥特式的) architecture. Hugo wrote the book to remind people of it, with the hope that they would work to protect the beautiful old buildings of Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to reconstruct the historic building. “Note Dame is our history, our literature and it’s our imagery,” he said in a public speech following the fire.
1. Which of the following is true about Notre Dame Cathedral?| A．It is a representative architecture of France. |
| B．It is made of wood and metal. |
| C．It is a place for entertainment. |
| D．It will be rebuilt in a different style. |
| A．Its famous spire. |
| B．Its colored glass windows. |
| C．Victor Hugo’s novel. |
| D．Religious treasures inside. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Regretful. |
| C．Negative. | D．Optimistic. |
