1 . It was 3:12 a. m. when nine-year-old Glenn Kreamer awoke to the smell of burning. Except for the crackling of flames somewhere below there was not a sound in the two-storey house at Baldwin, Long Island. With his father away on night duty at a local factory, Glenn was worried about the safety of his mother, his sister Karen, 14 and his 12-year-old brother Todd. He ran downstairs through the smoke filled house to push and pull at Karen and Todd until they sat up. Then he helped each one through the house to the safety of the garden. There, his sister and brother, taking short and quick breaths and coughing, collapsed on the lawn.
The nine-year-old raced back into the house and upstairs to his mother’s room. He found it impossible to waked her up. Mrs. Kreamer, a victim of the smoke, was unconscious, and there was nobody to help Glenn carry her to the garden. But the boy remained calm and, as a fireman said later, “acted with all the self-control of a trained adult.”
On the bedroom telephone, luckily still working, Glenn called his father and, leaving Mr. Kreamer to telephone the fire brigade and ambulance service, got on with the task of saving his mother.
First he filled a bucket with water from the bathroom and threw water over his mother and her bed. Then, with a wet cloth around his head he went back to the garden.
He could hear the fire engine coming up, but how would the firemen find his mother in the smoke-filled house where flames had almost swallowed up the ground floor? Grasping firmly a ball of string(线绳)from the garage, Glenn raced back into the house and dashed upstairs to his mother’s room. Tying one end of the string to her hand, he ran back, laying out the string as he went, through the hall and back out into the garden.
Minutes later he was telling fire chief John Coughlan: “The string will lead you to mother.” Mrs. Kreamer was carried to safety as the flames were breaking through her bedroom floor.
1. Why did Glenn run downstairs first?| A．He wanted to find out what was happening. |
| B．He was worried about his mother’s safety. |
| C．He wanted to save his sister and brother. |
| D．He went to see if his father had come back from work. |
| A．He put a wet cloth around his head. |
| B．He threw water all over himself. |
| C．He hid himself in the bathroom. |
| D．He rushed out to the lawn. |
| A．Glenn. |
| B．Glenn’s father. |
| C．Glenn’s sister. |
| D．Glenn’s neighbor. |
| A．By throwing water all over her and her bed. |
| B．By carrying her to safety with his brother. |
| C．By pushing and pulling at her. |
| D．By tying a string to her hand. |
| A．his father had taught him to do so on the phone |
| B．he had learned something about first aid |
| C．he had dealt with the emergency calmly and wisely |
| D．he had followed his mother’s instruction |
2 . The quick action of Nick helped five people escape a fire on Hope Road. Nick said he usually left his house about 5: 30 am to lift weights, but he decided to stay at home to get his daughter ready for school that day.
Beverly Penny and her husband, Clark, along with their younger daughters, were sleeping in the living room, next to the kitchen, when they heard Nick beating on the walls. She opened the bedroom door and black smoke rolled in.
“They did a great job, and I can’t thank them enough,” Penny said, then looked at what remained in the house and shook her head as tears rolled down in her eyes. “Everything I have is gone.
| A．She managed to get her kids out. |
| B．Luckily nobody was hurt in the fire. |
| C．Firefighters got the call about 7: 05 am. |
| D．Thankfully, Jerry helped Nick escape the fire. |
| E．They arrived here within about three minutes. |
| F．However, chickens in one of the rooms weren’t so lucky. |
| G．As he looked at his neighbor’s house, he realized that it was on fire. |
3 . There's a loud bang, and then it starts: A battery of an electric car is on fire in the test tunnel. A video of the test impressively shows the energy stored in such batteries: meter-long flames flee in disorder and produce enormous amounts of thick, black smoke. The visibility in the previously brightly lit tunnel section quickly approaches zero. After a few minutes, ashes have spread throughout the room.
"In our experiment we were considering in particular private and public operators of small and large underground or multi-storey car parks," says project leader Lars Derek Mellert,"all these existing underground structures are being used to an increasing extent by electric cars. And the operators ask themselves: “
“
| A．The pollutants emitted by a burning vehicle have always been dangerous |
| B．What on earth causes Lithium batteries to catch fire |
| C．Even the fire brigades do not have to learn anything new on the basis of the tests |
| D．The acid can possibly result in death, while its effects may delay after exposure |
| E．But in the three tests in the tunnel the concentrations remained far below critical levels |
| F．What will happen if such a car catches fire |
4 . It was late, about 10:15 p.m., when Janice Esposito arrived at the Bellport, New York, train station, jumped into her Honda Odyssey and began the 20 minute drive home to her husband and sever-year-old son. She'd just returned from visiting her mother and had traveled the route so many times. She practically drove on autopilot: a left onto Station Road, then a left on Montauk Highway, and then - wham! Out of nowhere on that awful night, a car T-boned Esposito's minivan, forcing her backward some 100 feet onto the railroad tracks. She sat in the minivan, bruised (淤伤的) but mostly just stunned by the impact and by the vehicle's airbags.
As it happens, Pete DiPinto was getting ready for bed. He'd just closed his book and was crawling under the covers when he heard the high-pitched clang of metal on metal and shattering glass coming from not far outside his bedroom window. A volunteer firefighter and retired teacher, DiPinto, 64, never stopped to think. He grabbed a flashlight and, still dressed in his pajamas, ran out of the door. 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 
, he looked around and spotted Esposito's minivan straddling (横跨) the railroad tracks.
And then he heard an upsetting sound: the bells signaling an oncoming train. "Honey, you're on the railroad tracks," DiPinto shouted to Esposito, "We have to get you off right now!" He yanked on the handle, but the door was smashed in and jammed shut. The heavy diesel (柴油) train, traveling at 65 miles per hour, was hurting toward them. Dipinto ran to the passenger side and threw open the door. He pushed aside the flat airbags, grabbed Esposico's arms, and pulled her toward him across the passenger seat until he could help her out and rapidly walk her to safety behind a signal box a few feet away. Within six seconds, he estimates, the train ploughed into the minivan.
1. How did Janice Esposito feel when driving home?| A．Careless. | B．Light-hearted. | C．Mindful. | D．Stunned. |
| A．It got stuck on the back. |
| B．It crashed into a running train. |
| C．It was hit on the driver's side. |
| D．It broke down on Station Road. |
| A．Calm and adventurous. |
| B．Sensitive and creative. |
| C．Warm-hearted and diligent. |
| D．Decisive and experienced. |
5 . LAS VEGAS—It was different in the light of day.
There was no “pop, pop, pop” of gunfire, no screams. Just a quiet lot of cars abandoned by those, like Kassidy Owen, who escaped with their lives.
“It's strange to hear the silence” Owen said, “because all I remember was the noise”
The 22-year-old was one of dozens of concertgoers who returned to the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Wednesday morning to fetch the vehicles they left behind as they fled from a gunman raining down bullets from high above in the tower of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino across the street.
Survivors of the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday needed their cars to move on with their lives-to get back to work, to school, home. It was the first time they were returning to a scene that would forever change them, when joy and celebration and music turned into killing and horror.
Before they could move forward, they had to go back to the place where they thought they were going to die.
Owen had run to her car to hide and had tried to drive away, but she couldn't. People were running, bodies dropped to the ground, and cars bottlenecked in the parking lot. During a brief pause after more than 10 minutes of gunfire, she worried the lights of her SUV made everyone inside a shining target.
“They're shooting again” her best friend's brother screamed. “Turn off the car!”
That's when she got out and fled.
“I just remember shutting the door and running.” Owen said.
Now, nearly three days later, she was back, sitting in the driver's seat of her SUV. Her eyes were swollen and red. This was a long way from over.
“You just keep hearing the gunshots in your head,” Owen said.
1. Why did Kassidy Owen return to the scene of terror?| A．To get back her car for daily life. | B．To show sympathy to the victims. |
| C．To search for her missing friends. | D．To look into the cause of the shooting. |
| A．Cars were abandoned in the parking lot. |
| B．The parking lot was jammed with cars. |
| C．The parking lot was covered with broken bottles. |
| D．Cars broke down in the parking lot. |
| A．Because she had escaped being caught. |
| B．Because she wanted to find the gunman. |
| C．Because she couldn't rid herself of those terrible scenes. |
| D．Because she had saved others' lives by turning off the car. |
| A．Survivors went back to where they would die. |
| B．Owen's experience in Las Vegas. |
| C．How to survive in a mass shooting. |
| D．People returned to the unforgettable scene. |
6 . In 1840, Chicago was a small town of forty-five hundred souls. It ranked 92nd in population in the United States. Yet, only three decades later, by 1870 — just a year before the great fire — Chicago was closing in on a population of 300,000, making it the fifth-biggest city in America and the fastest-growing city in the world.
What led to all this rapid growth? In three words: location, location, location.
“Chicago was near the center of the country, and near where the waterways and railways met,” city historian Tim Samuelson notes. “It was a perfect place for anything and anyone to get anywhere...”
Timing had a lot to do with it, too. America was moving from a rural to an industrial power. Chicago was right in the middle of the action. Ironically, its rapid growth was almost its undoing. “Chicago had to build, and build quickly, and so they built it out of wood,” explained Sarah Marcus of the Chicago History Museum. “It was quick, it was easy, and it was cheap.”
And, as it turned out, very “easy” to catch fire.
By most accounts, the fire started on the city’s West Side, near the De Koven Street barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. No one is sure of the cause, but it could have been anything, from vandals (故意) to a drunken neighbor to that clumsy cow of urban legend.
Within minutes, the fire got out of control, tearing through Chicago’s business district. The fire was so hot, it created its own tornado of flame. By 3:30 a.m., all hope of saving large parts of the city was gone. Nearly 30 hours later, the fire finally died. The reason? There was nothing left to burn.
The losses were shocking: The fire took away nearly 300 lives, destroyed over 17,000 buildings covering almost 3.5 square miles, and caused damage of over $200 million—about 3.8 billion today. Roughly a third of the city lay in ruins, and one out every three people living in Chicago — nearly 100,000 residents — became homeless overnight.
1. Which paragraph describes the rapid growth of Chicago?| A．paragraph 1. | B．paragraph 2. |
| C．paragraph 4. | D．paragraph 5. |
① Chicago was built out of wood.
② Chicago had good transportation.
③ Timing was perfect.
④ Wood was cheap.
| A．①③ | B．②④ | C．①④ | D．②③ |
| A．happy | B．sad | C．nervous | D．hopeful |
| A．The cause of the fire was clear. |
| B．The fire was put out by firefighters. |
| C．The fire caused great damage to Chicago. |
| D．Lage parts of the city was saved. |
7 . Last week, 55-year-old Donald Lynn Cash of Utah collapsed and died just after reaching the Everest peak. Including Cash, at least 11 people have died on Mount Everest this year.
The deaths come among reports of overcrowding on the popular mountain. The Nepali government granted a total of 381 permits to climb Everest this year, a number that doesn’t include guides who are on the mountain as well. For some climbers, that traffic has meant longer wait times — some told the Himalayan Times the wait has exceeded two hours between the last camp and the peak. Mountaineer Vanessa O’Brien, who has also climbed the seven summits, said when there’s a crowd, being a more experienced climber won’t help you. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the best racecar driver in the world. If you’re stuck in traffic, you’re stuck in traffic,” she said in an interview.
When a climber is stuck in that traffic, “their body is starting to deteriorate.” O’Brien, who set a record as the fastest woman to reach the highest peak on every continent, also said the descent is often harder than the climb.
Climbing expert Alan Arnette said there’s no simple explanation for the string of deaths. He said weather that has led to a shorter climbing season is one factor causing overcrowding. He also said the cost to climb Mount Everest has decreased, which means more people are making the journey. He urged the governments in charge of granting permits to limit how many people can be on the mountain at once.
Still, Christopher was no beginner. His family said he’d been mountain climbing for five decades. His brother mentioned that being a lawyer as a “day job” for Christopher, while Climbing was his passion. “He was an zealous climber of peaks in Colorado, the West and the world over,” Mark Kulish said. “He passed away doing what he loved.”
1. What made longer wait times on Mount Everest?| A．Lacking guides. |
| B．Overcrowding. |
| C．Bad weather. |
| D．Getting government’s permission. |
a. The less cost attracting more climbers.
b. The more climbers worsening the environment.
c. More permits granted by the government.
d. The governments limiting the climber’s number.
e. The weather leading to a shorter climbing season.
| A．a, b, d | B．a, c, e | C．b, c, d | D．b, d, e |
| A．Being a racecar driver can get you out of the traffic jam. |
| B．Being an experienced climber is always helpful. |
| C．Climbers do not need the permits from government. |
| D．When stuck in traffic, the climber’s body will fail to function as usual. |
| A．Experienced. | B．Famous. | C．Excellent. | D．Keen. |
8 . As 17-year-old Torri’ell Norwood drove through Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to screams. As they approached an intersection, another car T-boned them, sending their car sailing into the yard of a nearby home, coming to a stop only when it crashed into a tree.
As smoke rose from the car, a bystander shouted, “It’s about to blow up! Get out!” Shaken, but otherwise OK, Norwood crawled out through the window as the driver’s side door couldn’t be opened. Along with two of her friends, who’d also managed to free themselves, she ran for her life. But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back and found Simmons unconscious in the back seat. She threw open the back door and pulled her friend out. She dragged Simmons a few feet to safety and laid her on the ground. After checking her pulse and found there was no sign of life, she started CPR.
Had the accident happened a few weeks earlier, she might not have known what to do. But just the day before, Norwood, who wanted to pursue a career in medicine, had earned her CPR certificate by learning on her own. Kneeling on the lawn and looking down at her dying friend, Norwood knew she had precious little time to practice what she’d learned.
She started pumping Simmons’s chest with her interlocked fingers and breathing into her friend's mouth in hopes of filling her lungs with the kiss of life. After quite a while, Simmons began coughing and taking quick deep breaths for air. The CPR had worked! Soon, the ambulance arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital. And then she heard how her best friend had saved her life. “I wasn't shocked,” Simmons told others. “She will always help any way she can.”
1. What caused the car crash?| A．Another car hit Norwood’s car near the intersection. |
| B．Norwood drove the car too quickly that day. |
| C．Norwood’s car crashed into a tree in a yard. |
| D．The girls were too excited to notice another car. |
| A．She crawled out through the window and ran without stopping. |
| B．She dragged her friends out and performed CPR at once. |
| C．She ran for her life but turned back to save her friend. |
| D．She opened the driver’s side door and pulled her friend out. |
| A．She had learned CPR in school classes. | B．She pursued a career in medicine. |
| C．The bystander told her how to do it. | D．She just earned her CPR certificate. |
| A．Breath of Life. | B．A Frightening Night. |
| C．Power of Knowledge. | D．An Admirable Girl. |
9 . One August afternoon. Richard Allen dropped off his last passenger, Mrs. Carey. Lifting two grocery bags, he followed her across the yard and stood on the step of her house. Glancing up, he saw a large wasp(黄蜂) nest under the roof. Allen had heard that wasps can become more likely to sting in summer. He mentioned this to Mrs. Carey, who had opened the door.
“Oh, they don’t bother me,” she said lightly, “I go in and out all the time.”
Anxiously, Allen looked at the nest again-to see the wasps flying straight at him. “Hurry!” he shouted to Mrs. Carey. “Get in!”
She stepped quickly inside, Allen ran for his mini-bus. Too late: they were upon him. Just as he jumped aboard, half a dozen red spots showed on his arm, and he felt more on his back and shoulders.
As he was driving down the road, Allen felt as if something was burning at the back of his neck, and the “fire” was spreading forward toward his face. An immediate anxiety took hold of him. Allen knew that stings could cause some persons to die. But he had been stung the previous summer and the after-effects soon passed. However, what he didn’t know was that the first sting had turned his body into a time bomb waiting for the next to set off an explosion.
Miles from the nearest medical assistance, Allen began to feel his tongue thick and heavy and his heartbeat louder. Most frightening, he felt his breathing more and more difficult. He reached for the radio mike(话筒), trying to call the mini-bus center, but his words were hardly understandable. Signals were also poor that far out. He knew a rescue team was on 24-hour duty at the Amherst Fire Department’s north station. So his best chance was to make a run for it.
Rushing down the mountain, Allen tried not to panic, focusing his mind on each sharp turn. He was almost through the last of them when he felt sure he was going into shock(休克). Just then he reached for the radio mike again.
“Call fire station.” He shouted, concentrating to form the words. “Emergency. Bee sting. Emergency. There in ten minutes.”
“Five-ten,” the center replied.
Hold on, Allen thought: Keep your eyes open. Breathe. Keep awake.
At last he reached the station. Two firemen ran out, Allen felt their hands grasp him before he hit the ground. “You made it,” he thought.
1. It is mentioned in the passage that wasps are more likely to attack when________.| A．there are huge noises | B．strangers are approaching |
| C．the air is filled with food smell | D．the hottest season comes around |
| A．have no after-effects | B．suffer more |
| C．surely lose his life | D．become more sensitive |
| A．he was unable to speak clearly | B．his radio equipment was poor |
| C．he was in a state of shock | D．no one was on duty |
| A．Allen, A Helpless Driver | B．Wasps, Bloody Killers |
| C．A Race Against Death | D．War Against Wasps |
10 . Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! It’s eight o'clock now! Here comes the time for Morning New Highlights.
One person was killed and two were injured in a car accident just thirty minutes ago. Cause of the accident is not yet found out. A great fire swept through a storehouse next to the Fulton River early this morning, causing about $3,000,000 in damage. The fire which broke out at about 2:30 was finally put out at 5:30.
During a heavy rainfall last night a bus carrying 42 passengers slipped off the road on Highway 28, killing 36 of the passengers and the driver. A spokesman for the Highway Patrol (巡逻队) who arrived at the scene shortly after 11:30 p.m. estimated that the accident had happened about half an hour before. The injured and the dead were sent to the nearest town of Valley View. At the point where the accident happened the road has a three-lane highway with many curves (弯道). Cause of the accident has not been fully found out.
So much for the latest news on the Morning News Highlights . This is Dan Verne reporting.
1. How many pieces of news are reported in the short passage?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．At about 2:30 a.m. |
| B．At 5:30 a.m. |
| C．After 11:30 p.m. |
| D．At about 11:00 p.m. |
| A．Highway 28. |
| B．The careless driver. |
| C．The road with many curves. |
| D．The nearest town of Valley View. |
