1 . Dorothy Lee and her husband were driving home from a study group one night when their car suddenly hit something. Mrs. Lee looked at her husband, who was driving, and saw his head move down and up several times and fall. In the next minutes Mrs Lee managed to avoid a serious accident while stopping the car, called 911 on her cellphone and tried to make her husband come back to life before an ambulance arrived. But at the hospital, soon after learning her husband had died of sudden heart trouble, Dorothy’s heart appeared to give out as well. She experienced sudden sharp pains in her chest (胸腔), lost senses and knew nothing.
Doctor’s of that hospital were surprised at finding: There wasn’t any evidence of heart trouble. Finally, doctors thought that Mrs. Lee had suffered from a broken-heart syndrome (伤心综合症). The disease looks like heart trouble, but appears to have little connection with heart trouble. It is caused mainly by stress and other strong feelings. The disease is uncommon, making up for about 1% to 2% of people — and about 6% of women — who are likely to suffer such sudden heart trouble. It can be very dangerous sometimes, but for the most part patients recover quickly, with no lasting damage to their hearts.
If patients are hospitalized with the broken-heart syndrome, their hearts might be beating as little as 20% of what it should work. But within 48 to 72 hours, many recover to the 60% level that is considered healthy. It is uncommon.
Mrs. Lee’s heart was so weakened by her husband’s death that she nearly died. The 63-year-old woman needed a special balloon pump (球囊泵) during the first days in the hospital. But in spite of warnings by her doctors, she attended her husband’s funeral (葬礼) five days later.
1. What can we learn about the accident?| A．The husband died in it. | B．The wife died later in the hospital. |
| C．The husband died because time was wasted. | D．The husband died of heart trouble after it. |
| A．Her bad health. | B．Worry, anxiety and sadness. |
| C．Her seriously damaged heart. | D．The aging of the heart. |
| A．She was calm in case of emergencies. | B．She was unhealthy but strong minded. |
| C．She was easily hurt and moody. | D．She was caring and generous. |
| A．The broken-heart syndrome is less common among women. |
| B．Patients with the broken-heart syndrome can recover by themselves. |
| C．The broken-heart syndrome could come and go both quickly. |
| D．Most people may suffer from the broken-heart syndrome. |
2 . Sunday evening, October 30, 1938, was peaceful in New York City. Some people were returning home from a trip to the countryside, and others were sitting down to dinner. In those days, televisions were not very common. Most people listened to the radio for news and entertainment.
At eight o’clock that evening, there was a concert of dance music, but Suddenly, the programme was cut off by a news report: a large spaceship had landed in a field and an army of Martians (火星人) was moving towards New York City and then the radio went silent.
People felt worried. Some drove out of the city as quickly as possible, but soon the roads were crowded with cars. Some people put wet towels on their faces because they thought there was a gas attack. In New Jersey, some farmers went out with guns. Although it was dark, they found a large cylinder (圆柱体) standing in a field, and, thinking it was the Martian spaceship, the shot at it many times.
Many people were so frightened that they did not hear the next announcement on the radio: “Ladies and gentlemen, you are listening to a radio play called The War of the Worlds.”
A message was sent to police stations that there was no real Martian attack, and the police Offices soon returned calm to New York City.
Many people were very angry that they had been fooled by the play, and complained to the radio station. But what about the spaceship that the farmers found in the field? The next morning, they found that they had damaged a large water tank (罐)!
1. According to the news report, ___________.| A．a Martian spaceship had landed | B．a spaceship was found at the airport |
| C．there would be a concert that evening | D．there was a gas attack in New York City |
| A．many people wanted to see the Martians |
| B．the Martian army was standing in the way |
| C．people were trying to get home from work |
| D．many people were trying to leave New York City |
| A．Policemen. | B．Firemen. | C．Dancers. | D．Farmers. |
| A．it was fooled by a news reporter. |
| B．It played a joke on the listeners. |
| C．It called the police to catch the Martians. |
| D．It often announced the news about spaceships. |
3 . A British climber who died on the slopes of Mount Everest had warned of the dangers of huge queues for the summit just hours before his death.
Robin Haynes Fisher died after reaching the summit of the world's highest mountain.The deaths have aroused concerns over the large numbers of people scaling Everest, lining up to climb it.
An Instagram posted shortly before Fishers death, revealed his own fears about the situation and how he had changed his plans to try to avoid crowds. In another post, the 14-year-old described having received oxygen training for the so-called ‘death zone’.
“He achieved so much in his short life, climbing Mont Blanc, Aconcagua and Everest, statement from his family said.” He was a ‘tough guy’, triathlete, (三项全能的运动员) and marathoner. A champion for vegetarianism, published author, and a cultured theatre goer, lover of Shakespeare, “We are deeply saddened by his loss as he still had so many more adventures and dreams to fulfil. ”
There are 41 teams with a total of 378 climbers, plus an equal number of Nepalese guides helping them, who are permitted to scale the mountain during the spring climbing season in Nepal that begins around March and ends this month.
Mr Fisher is one of seven climbers to die on the mountain in the past two weeks. His death comes a week after Trinity College professor Seamus (Shay) Lawless, 39, fell during his going down from the peak having achieved a lifetime ambition of reaching the summit. The search for Mr Lawless has been called off. An American climber, Austrian climber and two Indian climbers are also reported to have died.
1. Why was Robin Haynes Fisher worried?| A．Because no guides helped him |
| B．Because it was snowing heavily in the mountain. |
| C．Because he had never climbed mountains before |
| D．Because there were too many people lining up to climb the mountain. |
| A．walking | B．hiking | C．climbing | D．going |
| A．41 | B．756 | C．378 | D．411 |
| A．Mr. lawless was one of the dead |
| B．All the dead were from the same country |
| C．All the bodies of the dead will be carried down |
| D．There were eight persons dead in the past two weeks |
4 . The sound that woke Damian Languell at 8:15 am was so loud that he assumed it came from inside his house. As he got up to investigate, he heard another sound, this one coming most definitely from outside. Looking out of his bedroom window, he spied a tree engulfed (淹没) in smoke about 500 yards away. A car was wrapped around the tree’s base, its engine on fire.
Grabbing buckets of water, Languell and his girlfriend ran to the crash site. The wreck looked worse up close. The car, a 1998 Buick, was split nearly in two, and the tree was where the driver’s seat ought to have been, as if planted there. No one should have survived this crash, and yet there was 16-year-old Quintin Thompson, his terrified face pressed against the driver’s side window, in visible pain. Languell tried putting out the fire with his buckets of water with no success. When the flames got into the front seats, he realized he had to get the boy out of there.
In an act that a police report described as showing “complete disregard for his own safety”, Languell opened the Buick’s back door and crawled in. Thompson was struggling to get free, Languell says. “That’s when I noticed how bad his legs were.” Using a pocketknife he’d had the foresight to bring with him, he sawed through Thompson’s seat belt.
Now that Thompson was free, Languell pulled him out a back window of the vehicle, then dragged the teen to safety before the entire car was engulfed in flames.
Although Thompson suffered multiple fractures (骨折) to his legs, spine, and face, a social media post described him as “looking great, smiling, and joking.” Languell thinks about that day often. “My heart goes out to Thompson. When you are that close to that level of hurt, you feel it so directly.”
1. When Damian heard the big sound, ______.| A．he called 911 immediately |
| B．he stayed inside his house |
| C．he woke up his girlfriend |
| D．he got up to see what happened |
| A．the police had arrived |
| B．the whole car was completely in flames |
| C．Thompson was terrified and painful |
| D．Thompson was smiling and joking |
| A．brave | B．lucky |
| C．simple-minded | D．warm-hearted |
| A．His own bravery and persistence. |
| B．The several buckets of water. |
| C．The timely arrival of the police. |
| D．The pocketknife Damian carried with him. |
5 . 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
6 . Cassie Thomas thought she was just meeting with the media at her lunch break. Instead, the nurse at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital near Danville got a surprise party from her workmates. It was her first day back to work after a family vacation in Clearwater, Florida, and what a vacation it was!
“Just as I looked up, there was this big pinks lightning that just came down and hit the beach, ” Cassie said. Cassie, her husband, and their two daughters were on their hotel balcony last week when they heard and saw the storm.
After Cassie saw the lightning, she saw two boys lying on the beach. So, she shouted to them. “Then one boy sat up and he just started shouting back, and I said, ‘Jay, call 911; I’m going. ” Cassie said. So the 31-year-old nurse sprang into action. She ran down 16 flights of stairs onto the beach where she found the two boys, Jansen and Cameron, who are from North Carolina. Cameron had no heartbeat.
“I rolled Cameron over and I just started compressing(按压),”Cassie said. She didn’t realize it at the time, but she-was risking her own life to save the teenage boys.
“My daughters were on the balcony and it was a very dangerous situation to put myself in. I just wished to keep me safe because I was going, ” Cassie said. “It just goes to her character to help others. And you know what? When it’s your kid, you’d want someone to be coming in and saving his life, ” one of her workmates said.
Cassie was there when Cameron got out of the hospital. “He just said, ‘Thank you; thank you; thank you.’ He gave me so many hugs, ” Cassie said. “A nurse never truly goes on vacation. I just keep telling everybody the same thing. It’s just what you do. ”
Cassie and two other people got Good Samaritan awards from the Clearwater Police Department for saving Cameron’s life. Cassie’s workmates said they couldn’t be any prouder of this-life-saving nurse.
1. Why did Cassie’s workmates give her a surprise party?| A．To welcome her back to work. |
| B．To see her off for her vacation. |
| C．To honor her for her heroic act. |
| D．To congratulate heron the interview. |
| A．They were pulled into the sea. |
| B．They were hit by lightning. |
| C．They fell off from the balcony. |
| D．They got caught in a rain. |
| A．She called 911. |
| B．She took them to a hospital. |
| C．She jumped into the sea to save them. |
| D．She gave first aid to one of them. |
| A．Nurses have no time to go on a vacation. |
| B．Nurses are ready at all times to help others. |
| C．Nurses don’t like to go on a vacation. |
| D．Nurses may be called back to work during vacation. |
7 . The sound that woke Damian Languell at 8:15 in the morning was so loud he assumed it came from inside his house in Wade, Maine. As he got up to investigate, he heard another sound, this one coming most definitely from outside. Looking out of his bedroom window, he noticed a tree enveloped in smoke about 500 yards away. A car wrapped around the tree’s base, its engine on fire.
Grabbing buckets of water, he and his wife ran to the crash site. Up close, the accident looked worse. The car was split nearly in two, and the tree was where the driver’s seat ought to have been, as if planted there. No one should have survived this crash, and yet there was 20-year-old Quintin Thompson, his terrified face pressed against the driver’s side window, in visible pain.
Languell tried putting out the fire with his buckets of water but failed. When the flames got into the front seats, he knew he had to get the young man out. So Languell opened the car’s back door and climbed in. Using a pocket knife he’d brought with him, he cut through Thompson’s seat belt. Now that Thompson was free, Languell pulled him out, and dragged him to safety before the entire car was in flames.
It is empathy that drove Languell to help, just as he said, “My heart goes out to Thompson. When you are that close to that level of hurt, you feel it so directly.” For his heroic action, Languell was added to the list of real-life heroes changing the world.
1. What do we know about Quintin Thompson?| A．He was successfully rescued. |
| B．He was capable of helping himself out. |
| C．He saved his car from fire. |
| D．He remained calm all the time. |
| A．Wisdom. | B．Sympathy. | C．Honesty. | D．Humor. |
| A．Caring and thankful. | B．Careless and generous. |
| C．Creative and hard-working. | D．Courageous and helpful. |
8 . “Fire! Fire!” What terrible words to hear when one wakes up in a strange house in the middle of the night! It was a large, old, wooden house and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, opened the door and stepped outside the house. It was full of thick smoke.
I began to run, but as I was still only half-awake, instead of going towards the stairs I went in the opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I could see fire all around. The floor became hot under my bare feet. I found an open door and ran into a room to get to the window. But before I could reach it, one of my feet caught in something soft and I fell down. The thing I had fallen over felt like a bundle of clothes, and I picked it up to protect my face from the smoke and heat. Just then the floor gave way under me and I crashed to the floor below with pieces of burning wood all around me.
I saw a doorway in fire, then I put the bundle over my face and ran. My feet burned me terrible, but I got through. As I reached the cold air outside, my bundle of clothes gave a thin cry, I nearly dropped it in my surprise. Then I was in a crowd gathered in the street. A woman in a night-dress and a borrowed man’s coat screamed as she saw me and came running madly. She was the Mayor’s wife, and I had saved her baby.
1. When the fire arose in the middle of the night, the author was ________.| A．at home | B．sleeping | C．sitting in bed | D．both A and B |
| A．because he was very brave. | B．because he liked the baby very much. |
| C．but he just happened to save it. | D．because it was the Mayor’s baby. |
| A．was a stranger there | B．could see nothing |
| C．was not completely awake | D．Both A and C |
| A．save the baby | B．call for help | C．protect his face | D．run quickly |
9 . It was late, about 10:15 p.m., when Janice Esposito arrived at the Bellport, New York, train station. She jumped into her car, and began the 20-minute drive home. Having traveled the route so many times, she practically drove on autopilot. But suddenly, out of nowhere, a car crashed into Esposito’s minivan, pushing her backward onto the railroad tracks. She sat in the minivan, totally shocked by the impact and by the vehicle’s airbags.
As it happens, Pete DiPinto was getting ready for bed when he heard the high-pitched noise of the crash. A volunteer firefighter and retired teacher, DiPinto, never stopped to think. He ran out the door, still clad in his pyjamas.
The first car he came upon, 2, 000 feet from his front yard, was the one that had hit Esposito. Once DiPinto concluded the driver was OK, he looked around and spotted Esposito’s minivan lying on the railroad tracks. And then he heard an unpleasant sound: the bells signaling an oncoming train.
“The gates were starting to come down,” he told Newsday. “I see the headlight of the train.” DiPinto sprinted to Esposito’s minivan and banged on the driver’s side window. She just looked at him, her eyes unfocused. “I don’t know where I am,” she said. She seemed unhurt.
“You’re on the railroad tracks,” DiPinto shouted. “We have to get you off right now!” He pulled the handle, but the door was smashed in and jammed shut. The heavy train, traveling at 65 miles per hour, was running toward them. DiPinto ran to the passenger side and threw open the door. He grabbed Esposito’s arms, and managed to pull her out across the passenger seat. Within six seconds, the train plowed into the minivan. “It was like a Hollywood movie,” DiPinto told reporters the next day.
But this one had a twist. “Last night,” South Country Ambulance chief Greg Miglino told CBS New York, “the hero arrived in pajamas, not in a fire truck.”
1. Where did the accident happen?| A．In the train station. | B．Near Esposito’s home. |
| C．Near the railroad tracks. | D．In front of DiPinto’s house. |
| A．She was badly hurt. | B．She was totally stuck. |
| C．She was extremely anxious. | D．She was completely unconscious. |
| A．By encouraging her to open the door. | B．By dragging her out through the door. |
| C．By pulling her out across the passenger seat. | D．By breaking the window of the driver’s side. |
| A．DiPinto is a real hero for he didn’t care about himself when helping others. |
| B．It was easy for DiPinto to save Esposito for he just did it in pajamas. |
| C．DiPinto didn’t have a fire truck when he tried to save Esposito. |
| D．DiPinto shouldn’t have worn pajamas because it was not safe. |
10 . California officials are praising workers for rescuing a 13-year-old boy who fell into a river of sewage(下水道) in Los Angeles. The boy, Jesse Hermandez, spent more than 12 hours in the city’s large underground sewage system. It is filled with liquid refuse and other waste materials, some of them poisonous.
Jesse had been playing at a public park with other children during a family gathering on Sunday. At one point, the children were on pieces of wood that covered an opening leading to the sewer system. One of the wooden planks broke. The boy fell about eight meters down and landed in fast-moving sewage, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The other children quickly told adults what had happened. The adults then called an emergency telephone line for help. Rescuers immediately began searching for Jesse underground. They set cameras on floatation devices, which they put into the sewage system. They finally found Jesse after seeing images of handprints on a pipe. A crew of sanitation(公共卫生) workers hurried to the area and opened a manhole. “The first thing they heard was ‘Help!’” said Adel Hagekhalil, an official in the Los Angeles Sanitation Department.
The crew lowered down a long hose (软管) to Jesse, who was in the pipe about three meters deep. The boy held onto the line while workers pulled him up. He was taken to a hospital for a full physical examination and reunited with his family. In addition to the major rescue effort, Humphrey credited the boy with being able to survive. Not only did he survive being pushed through sewage moving at speeds of 24 kilometers an hour, but also Jesse was able to find a small area of breathable air and wait there until he was found.
“Many would call it a miracle,” Humphrey said about Jesse’s survival. He added that the chances of someone surviving such an event are low.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was among those closely watching the rescue effort. On Twitter, Garcetti praised rescuers and thanked Jesse’s family for their “patience and optimism” during the frightening experience.
1. According to the text, the accident took place__________.| A．before Jesse got to the park. |
| B．just after Jesse left the park. |
| C．right before the rescuers arrived at the park |
| D．when Jesse was playing in the park with other children. |
| A．Jesse fell 24 meters down into the sewage system. |
| B．The park should take some responsibility for Jesse’s accident. |
| C．The consequence of falling into the sewage system is disastrous. |
| D．Jesse’s being saved was not surprising thanks to the rescuers’ efforts. |
| A．Careless. | B．Sensible. |
| C．Hesitant. | D．Determined. |
| A．They were tolerant of the bad management of the park. |
| B．They brought up their son in a right and respectable way. |
| C．They stayed calm and hopeful about Jesse’s being saved. |
| D．They voluntarily participated in rescuing Jesse together with the rescuers. |
