Nat,     1     was ten years old, lived in a small town in England. He always stayed in England for his holidays,     2     one day he decided to go to Spain,     3     all his friends liked to go for their holidays. First he went to Madrid,     4     is the Spanish capital, and stayed in a small hotel. On the first morning, he went out for a walk. In England, people drive on the left. But in Spain, they drive on the right,     5     he forgot.     6     he was walking along a busy street, a bike     7     came before him, knocked him down. Nat was sent to the hospital, in     8     the girl     9     rode the bike said sorry to him. After two days, Nat left Spain and returned to England. He told his friends that he wouldn’t forget the days     10     he stayed in Spain.

We were appointed to investigate a rash of attacks on international shipping. During our journey, our boat experienced a     1    (violence) crash and I fell from the boat. In the darkness, I saw a black mass disappearing in the east. It was our boat. I immediately shouted out aloud, “Help, help!” and swam     2    (desperate) towards the boat. However, it seemed that I was sinking and I couldn’t breathe. I struggled hard against     3    (draw) deeper down into the sea. Fortunately, I felt myself quickly drawn up to the surface of the sea. Conseil,     4     came to my rescue, had to keep me up. I was too tired and could only depend on Conseil for our     5    (preserve).

Conseil cried out aloud     6    (get) help from others. Soon, a voice responded to ours. After a while a hard body     7    (strike) me. Next, I felt I was being drawn up to the surface of the water. I woke up and saw     8     familiar face. It was my Canadian friend Ned! He was fortunate enough to find a large island, a whale-like human construction     9    (make) of steel. I quickly climbed onto it.     10     daybreak, a noise came from inside of the boat. Eight strongmen came out and drew us down into their machine.

The Cause for Kobe’s Helicopter Crash

Federal officials announced in the press that the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others in 2020 occurred because the pilot likely got disoriented (失去方向) while flying into the clouds against federal rules.

“The pilot, Ara Zobayan, who also died     1    the Jan. 26, 2020, crash in Calabasas, California, was operating the helicopter under rules that prevented him from flying into clouds. However, he did not follow his training and continued into the clouds     2    the aircraft crashed into a hill,” investigators said.

The crash also killed Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, two other teenage girls with their family members, along with     3    basketball coach. The victims were on their way from Orange County to a girls’ basketball game at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy.

“While     4    (encounter) the foggy weather conditions, Zobayan notified air traffic controllers that he was climbing to 4, 000 feet to get above the cloud layer, when in fact, the helicopter was actually going down rapidly,” federal investigators said at a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing.

The NTSB     5    (determine) that Zobayan likely experienced “spatial disorientation”, a misleading sensation that confuses pilots into not knowing which way is up or down.

Investigators also said that given his very close friendship with Bryant, Zobayan     6    have experienced “self—induced pressure” to complete the flight so as not to disappoint Bryant. While the NTSB said there was no evidence to suggest that Bryant     7    placed any pressure on Zobayan to complete the flight, the self-induced pressure might have to a great extent affected pilot’s decision making and judgment. “While climbing into the clouds, Zobayan lost visual references,     8    could lead to a false sense of orientation owing to inner ear illusions,” investigators said. “This could cause the pilot to believe they were flying straight and level, while in reality they were flying in a steady left turn—this is     9    we call ‘the leans’. And that finally led to the tragedy.”

From 2010 to 2019, there were 184 fatal aircraft accidents related to spatial disorientation in America, 20 of which were fatal helicopter accidents. Experts say they are trying to work out better solutions to this problem to make future flights     10    (safe).

4 Steps to Take Immediately After a Home Fire

●Call 9-1-1. Give first aid where     1    (need); cool and cover burns to reduce the chance of further     2    (injure) or infection.

● Let friends and family know you’re safe.

●People and animals that are     3    (serious) injured or burned should be transported to professional medical or veterinary help immediately.

● Stay out of fire-damaged homes until local fire     4    (authority) say it is safe to re-enter.

Caring for Yourself & Loved Ones After a Fire

● Pay attention to how you and your loved ones are experiencing and handling stress. Promote emotional     5    ( recover) by following these tips.

● Discard any food that     6    (expose) to heat, smoke or soot.

● Watch pets closely and keep them under your direct control.

●Help people who require additional     7    (assist)- infants and children, older adults, those without     8    (transport), large families who may need additional help in an     9    (urgency) situation, people with     10    (disability), and the people who care for them.

A fire     1    (break) out in the Henderson Tower, starting from the 8th floor and     2    (spread) quickly through the tower block on Sunday night.     3     has been confirmed that 4 people are dead and dozens of people are injured, 5 of     4     are in a critical condition. The fire was started by a     5    (drop) cigarette end on a carpet of the 8th floor and it is     6    (current)being investigated further. 

News reports on     7     same events usually contain different or even contradictory information, because journalists decide on different     8    (priority), which would affect how they report an event. So facing such     9    (fact) differences, do not rush to the conclusion that one of the news reports gives false information. Checking different sources enables us     10    (draw) a more informed conclusion. 

In a word, when we read news reports, we should be critical news readers.

Four Chinese nationals have been confirmed killed in a stampede     1    occurred Saturday night at Itaewon, a district in Seoul. At least 154 people were killed and 149 others injured in the stampede. It was the country’s     2     (deadly) disaster since a ferry sinking incident left 304 people dead     3     April 2014. The Chinese embassy said shortly after the stampede that it immediately activated an emergency response mechanism,     4    (contact) the South Korean side overnight,     5    paid close attention to the Internet and social media platforms     6    (see) if any Chinese nationals were seeking help. The Chinese embassy has offered condolences and will provide     7    (assist) to the families of the deceased.

An estimated 100,000 people     8    (gather) at Itaewon for the country’s biggest no-mask outdoor Halloween event since     9    outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Most of the victims were those in     10     late teens and 20s.