1 . I know what courage looks like. I saw it on a flight I took six years ago. When our L9869 left the Orlando airport that Friday morning, we were a chipper,
Immediately upon
As I looked at the faces of my fellow travelers, I was stunned by the changes in their faces. Many looked visibly
All around, people cried. Many wailed and screamed. However, I heard a still calm voice, a woman’s voice, speaking in an absolutely normal conversational
I strained to hear what this mother was telling her child. I leaned over and by some miracle could I hear this soft voice with the tone of reassurance. Over and over again, the mother said: “I love you so much. Do you know for sure that I love you
The voice I heard that day never wavered, never acknowledged doubt, and maintained an evenness that seemed emotionally and
A.high-energy | B.high-class | C.first-rate | D.large-scale |
A.care for | B.look into | C.head for | D.go away |
A.take-over | B.take-up | C.take-off | D.take-out |
A.back and forth | B.ins and outs | C.left and right | D.up and down |
A.declare | B.announcement | C.notice | D.information |
A.relieve | B.comfort | C.scold | D.affect |
A.frightened | B.delighted | C.annoyed | D.amazed |
A.expectation | B.success | C.agreement | D.exception |
A.boring | B.calm | C.quiet | D.still |
A.pronunciation | B.sound | C.tone | D.accent |
A.staring | B.glaring | C.looking | D.glancing |
A.happened | B.remained | C.appeared | D.proved |
A.careful | B.aimless | C.intent | D.stressed |
A.embarrassment | B.fear | C.frustration | D.excitement |
A.rather than | B.other than | C.less than | D.more than |
A.against | B.beyond | C.above | D.over |
A.prepared | B.finished | C.achieved | D.pretended |
A.comedy | B.tragedy | C.tale | D.fiction |
A.economically | B.automatically | C.extremely | D.physically |
A.determination | B.courage | C.resolution | D.disappointment |
2 . Crude oil (原油) taken from fields in Alaska's North Slope near Prudhoe Bay is carried by tube to the port of Valdez. From there it is shipped by tanker to the West Coast of the United States. Just after midnight on March24, 1989,the Exxon Valdez, a tanker more than three football fields long, went off course in Prince William Sound near Valdez and hit rocks underwater. About 42 million liters of oil poured out from several slices in the ship, creating the worst escape of oil ever in the U. s. waters.
In 1990,the National Transportation Safety Board NTSB) found the captain of the tanker guilty of drinking before sailing and of leaving the bridge and turning over the ship to an inexperienced and tired third mate. The NTSB ruled that the accident was the result of drinking of the captain, an overworked crew member, and inadequate traffic control by the Coast Guard.
In the early 1970s, conservationists said that a large, damaging oil escape would occur in these dangerous waters containing hidden rocks and frequented by icebergs and violent storms. They urged that Alaskan oil be brought to the lower 48 states by tube over land to reduce potential damage.
Officials of Alyeska, a company formed by the seven oil companies taking oil from Alaska's North Slope, said that a tube would take too long to build and that a large escape of oil was " highly unlikely". They assured Congress that they would be at the scene of any accident within five hours and have enough equipment and trained people to clean up any spill. However, when the S4-ilion Valdez leak occurred, Alyeska and Exxon officials did too little too late.
In the early 1970s, Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton told Congress that all oil tankers using Alaskan waters would have double hulls( 船体). Later, under pressure from oil companies, the requirement was dropped. After the disaster,the oil industry had much to answer for. The accident led to an international push for double-hulled oil tankers.What if the Exxon Valdez had a double hull?
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?A.The consequence of drunk sailing. |
B.The cause of the Valdez accident. |
C.The responsibility of the captain. |
D.The role of the Coast Guard in the accident. |
A.building an oil tube to save delivery time |
B.stopping shipping oil in dangerous waters |
C.bringing Alaskan oil to the lower 48 states |
D.making full preparations for any oil escape |
A.The Exxon Valdez had a double dull. |
B.Morton worked for an oil company. |
C.The accident might be preventable. |
D.Oil companies favored the requirement. |
A.Valdez: The Predicted Oil Leak |
B.Alyeska: Lessons Not Learnt |
C.The Oil Accident: Who to Blame |
D.The Valdez Disaster: What to Remember |
Amazon exposed some customers’ names and emails due to a “
In a statement, Amazon said, “We
Despite the exposure, Amazon told the affected customers they did not need
Amazon did not answer questions about how many customers were affected
In a customer forum, people who received the cryptic message from Amazon were
Everyone needs to know how to prevent a fire. It is also important to know what to do when it
Every year, over 11, 000 people
If fire happens, do not attempt to fight the fire unless it is small. Try putting out a small fire with water. If
Before
Now open the window and shout “Fire!”. See whether you can drop safely to the ground. Use this
5 . I always help others instinctively(本能地).No matter how big or small the action, I am
I was driving home on a 6-lane highway. A huge
I looked over and saw a young man, bloody and contorted,
By then, the ambulance was leaving with other
He was admitted to a local ICU. His injuries were serious, with little
Due to the distinguished doctors and care of nurses, he did
A.driven | B.persuaded | C.ordered | D.convinced |
A.trunk | B.accident | C.case | D.truck |
A.went over | B.took over | C.got over | D.pulled over |
A.put | B.leaned | C.stood | D.sat |
A.slightly | B.hardly | C.badly | D.casually |
A.dying | B.lying | C.hiding | D.crying |
A.certain | B.skeptical | C.puzzled | D.eager |
A.something | B.everything | C.nothing | D.anything |
A.voice | B.breath | C.pulse | D.move |
A.spat | B.spoke | C.threw | D.coughed |
A.strong | B.deep | C.narrow | D.shallow |
A.victims | B.passengers | C.nurses | D.drivers |
A.proving | B.indicating | C.pretending | D.imagining |
A.criticized | B.accepted | C.understood | D.ignored |
A.look into | B.take over | C.attend to | D.yell at |
A.time | B.chance | C.strength | D.energy |
A.get | B.make | C.have | D.put |
A.succeed | B.appear | C.survive | D.escape |
A.covered | B.invited | C.praised | D.interviewed |
A.instinct | B.dream | C.ambition | D.hobby |
6 . It was rush hour on the morning of June 1 in the West Texas city of San Angelo. Heather Santellano, 36, was driving her white 2012 Mazda on Houston、 Harte Frontage Road with her nine-year-old daughter and ten-year- old son in the back. Suddenly, a red pickup truck cut them off. Santellano turned the wheel hard to the right, sending the Mazda skidding off the road and down an embankment(堤)that ended in a drop-off after about 50 feet. If the car didn't stop, it would go airborne and plunge onto the road some 20 feet below.
Then a bit of luck: As the car raced toward the edge, its undercarriage got stuck on the cement lip of the embankment ledge, stopping it cold. The occupants, however, were far from safe. The car had come to rest on top of a retaining wall, literally teetering(摇摇欲坠)on the edge of disaster. One sudden move by anyone inside could send it over.
Jacob Rodriguez watched the scene unfold from the 'T'ruck Repair Plant where he works. Then he and four other men ran to the car. They leaped onto the trunk to balance the weight as the terrified kids in the back seat watched.
Meanwhile, Julio Vasquez and his nephew, Marco Vasquez, were driving to their jabs at nearby Premier Automotive. Julio jumped out of the car to help while Marco went to the shop, grabbed a heavy-duty strap(皮带),and returned to the swinging car. He fastened the Mazda to an P-350 truck that had been driven over by one of the other rescuers. With the car secured, the group carefully opened the back doors and helped the children out.
But their departure shifted the car's weight, causing it to lean forward. The men, still on-the trunk, asked Santellano to jump into the back seat to rebalance the weight. She did and then inched out the back door. Finally, the men carefully got off the trunk. Everyone was safe.
1. What do we know about Heather Santellano?A.She was a careless driver. | B.She drove her twins to school. |
C.She ran into a pickup truck. | D.She made a sharp turn to avoid the truck. |
A.Stress the coming of good fortune. | B.Describe the car's dangerous situation. |
C.Add some background information. | D.Explain why people came to the rescue. |
A.Balance. | B.Cooperation. |
C.Calmness. | D.Gravity. |
A.Persistence will pay off. . | B.One in trouble, all to help.、 |
C.Many hands make light work. | D.Love makes the world go round. |
7 . Time flies, but the tracks of time remain in books and museums. This is what made a recent tragedy in Brazil even more terrible.
On Sept.2, a big fire ripped through the National Museum of Brazil. “ Two hundred years of work, research and knowledge were lost, ” Brazilian President Michel Temer wrote on Twitter after the fire. “It's a sad day for all Brazilians.”
Most of the 20 million pieces of history are believed to have been destroyed. Only as little as 10 percent of the collection may have survived, Time reported. Among all the items, there were Egyptian mummies, the bones of uniquely Brazilian creatures such as the long-necked dinosaur Maxakalisaurus, and an 11,500-year-old skull called Luzia, which was considered one of South America's oldest human fossils.
Besides these, Brazil's indigenous(本土的,土著的) knowledge also suffered. The museum housed world-famous collections of indigenous objects, as well as many audio recordings of local languages from all over Brazil. Some of these recordings, now lost, were of languages that are no longer spoken.
“The tragedy this Sunday is a sort of national suicide, a crime against our past and future generations,” Bernard Mello Franco, one of Brazil's best-known columnists, wrote on the O Globo newspaper site.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, as BBC News reported on Sept. 3. After the fire burned out, crowds protested outside the museum to show their anger at the loss of the irreplaceable items of historical value.
According to Emilio Bruna, an ecologist at the University of Florida, museums are living, breathing stores of who we are and where we've come from, and the world around us.
Just as underwater grass floats on the surface if it loses its roots, a nation is lost without its memories. The fire at the National Museum of Brazil teaches the world an important lesson: We should never neglect history.
1. What can be summarized as the main idea of the 3rd and 4th paragraphs?A.Long history of South America. | B.Remains from the fire. |
C.Mysteries to be solved. | D.History and knowledge burned up. |
A.The government is to blame for the tragedy. |
B.The museum should be rebuilt |
C.The loss can't be made up for. |
D.The criminal should be sentenced to death. |
A.Living stores of our past. | B.Underwater grass. |
C.The oldest fossils. | D.National suicide. |
A.Death of a civilization | B.Functions of museums |
C.Gone with the fire | D.Brazilians' memories |
8 . A young English teacher saved the lives of 30 students when he took
Harvold, who has not
The bus driver never regained
The head of the language school told the local newspaper that the school is going to send Harvold on a weekend
A.notice | B.care | C.advantage | D.control |
A.taken up | B.taken out | C.picked out | D.picked up |
A.meet | B.welcome | C.invite | D.greet |
A.present | B.introduce | C.take | D.organize |
A.given | B.failed | C.passed | D.conducted |
A.while | B.when | C.as | D.before |
A.noticed | B.learned | C.watched | D.doubted |
A.seat | B.wheel | C.door | D.window |
A.sleep | B.cry | C.move | D.speak |
A.attempted | B.tried | C.intended | D.managed |
A.witnessed | B.recorded | C.praised | D.understood |
A.clearly | B.quickly | C.suddenly | D.gradually |
A.event | B.incident | C.experience | D.accident |
A.consciousness | B.caution | C.curiosity | D.confidences |
A.airport | B.station | C.school | D.police |
A.happy | B.surprising | C.exciting | D.fortunate |
A.retire | B.survive | C.relax | D.recover |
A.tour | B.program | C.dinner | D.duty |
A.bravery | B.skill | C.quality | D.knowledge |
A.extra | B.free | C.different | D.important |
9 . Charlotte Heffelmire was home in Vienna,Va.,for Thanksgiving break from the Air Force Academy when she saw that her father had gotten stuck under the pickup truck he'd been working on.
"I was on my back,face up,and I was trying to get some brake lines when apparently the jack(千斤顶)slipped and fell down on me,"her dad,Eric Heffelmire,told WUSA9.Gasoline spilled(溢出)and caught fire,and he knew he was in trouble."I thought they 'd be pulling out a dead body later in the evening."
After his struggling for 10 minutes,his barefoot teenage daughter came running into the garage."I felt the weight shift,and I said,'You almost got it.'and then it was just UGHHHRRR,and suddenly I'm pulled out,"Eric told NBC4.
Even Charlotte,120 pounds and 5-foot-6,isn't sure where her power came from."It was some crazy strength,"she told WUSA9.
Realizing the burning truck could set her house on fire at any moment,Charlotte jumped into the truck and drove it out of the garage."I didn't want the entire house to explode with the truck,so I started the truck,put it in four-wheel drive,and managed to drive it with three wheels,"she said.
Then she went inside the house to grab her baby sister and got her grandmother out of the house too."I just did what I had to do,so I don't feel like a big hero or anything,"Charlotte said.Her local fire department,Fairfax County Fire and Rescue,felt differently,awarding her the Citizen Lifesaving Award.
1. What did Eric Heffelmire do after he got stuck under the truck?A.He put out the fire. | B.He tried to get out. |
C.He shouted for help. | D.He waited for his death. |
A.Because she remained low-key. |
B.Because she was a lifesaving hero. |
C.Because she did what they should do. |
D.Because she had some crazy strength. |
A.Brave and powerful. | B.Determined and patient. |
C.Energetic and outgoing. | D.Considerate and cautious. |
10 . Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5:30, and at 6:30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door, she nearly tripped over Sheba.
“Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I’ve got no time for you now, but I’ll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (兽医). When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.
“Listen, doctor, I’m really in a rush to get to a meeting-can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I’ll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I’ll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”
“Sure,” said the doctor.
Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.
“This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately,” said the doctor’s voice. “I’m coming round fight away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”
At that moment, a police car screeched to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.
“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.
“She’s free, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now.”
Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white-faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.
“My God,” said Joanne, “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”
“I think he must be a burglar,” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat; it turned out to be three human fingers.”
1. What was Joanne supposed to do at 6: 30?A.To walk her dog. | B.To see her doctor. |
C.To attend a club meeting. | D.To play tennis with her friends. |
A.to dress up for the meeting |
B.to phone the police station |
C.to catch the badly hurt burglar |
D.to wait for her dog to be cured |
A.Sheba fought against the burglar |
B.the police found the burglar had broken in |
C.Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting |
D.the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog |
A.clever | B.friendly |
C.frightening | D.devoted |