1 . “I wish we hadn’t come on this trip!” Jeff’s voice echoed across the narrow canyon （峡谷）. His father stopped, breathing heavily. “This is hard on you, but you’ve got to come through with courage!” He gently placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Now, I don’t know if I can make it without stopping every so often. You’re young, but you’re strong and fast. Do you remember the way back from here to the road, if you had to go alone?”
Jeff flashed back to the painful scene of Mark, his seventeen-year-old brother at their campsite. He was bitten by a snake yesterday. This morning he couldn’t move, and the pain got worse. He needed medical attention right away. They had left their phone in the car, and it must have been out of power by then. Leaving Mark at the campsite and seeking help was their only choice.
“Jeff, could you do it?”
Jeff looked to the end of the canyon, several miles away. He nodded and a plan began to take hold in his mind. “What is the name of that little town we stopped, Dad??” There must be a hospital there.
“Flint. We parked at the side of the road a few miles out of Flint.”
Jeff nodded. Then they continued climbing. Stone by stone, they made their way up the canyon. Gradually, Jeff’s father grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Jeff waved to him and then climbed toward the road. Two hours later, he finally reached the road and struggled toward the town, almost exhausted.
“Can’t stop.” He thought. “Mark’s in big trouble. Keep going.” Suddenly, he saw a truck heading toward him. “Hey, mister!” He shouted, waving both arms. He began to jog toward the truck, and then broke into a full-speed run.
His chest was burning with every breath when the truck driver stopped by him. Jeff explained breathlessly. The driver reached for his cellphone as soon as he heard about Mark. “Better get the helicopter in there,” he said immediately. But Jeff wasn’t sure about that because everything got unclear and then went black and quiet.
Hours later, Jeff opened his eyes to find his father on a chair nearby. “You’re a hero, son,” his father said with a smile. “You had the helicopter sent into the canyon after Mark. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I saw it overhead. They got him to the hospital. He’s going to be fine soon. I’m so proud of you!”
1. Why did Jeff and his father climb up the canyon?| A．They were going for rescue. | B．They were doing physical exercise. |
| C．They were meeting Jeff’s brother. | D．They were searching for their campsite. |
| A．He lost his way. | B．He lost his phone. |
| C．He was hit by a truck. | D．He was bitten by a snake. |
| A．Jeff was faster than him. | B．Jeff knew the way better. |
| C．Jeff needed more exercise. | D．Jeff preferred going by himself. |
| A．Humorous and ambitious. | B．Determined and caring. |
| C．Cautious and sensitive. | D．Generous and kind. |
2 . She Walked Through Fire
On Thanksgiving weekend, the Heffelmire family gathered for a meal at their home. After dinner, the family went down to the finished basement to relax except Charlotte’s father, Eric, who was in the garage to fix his truck.
Around 8 pm, Charlotte decided to check on her dad. She walked through the kitchen. When she opened the side door to the garage, black smoke rose up into the kitchen. She could barely make out her father lying on his back, trapped under the truck. He’d removed the front passenger-side tyre and raised the truck on a jack(千斤顶). The truck had slipped off the jack, and now the whole weight of the wheel was on his chest and shoulders.
Charlotte ran to the front of the truck and struggled to lift it. Eric was still conscious, and he yelled, “You got it! One more try!?” She tried again and was able to tip the truck backward just enough for her to pull her dad by the shirt with both hands from under the truck.
She dragged him across the garage and 20 feet down the driveway. Then she ran back to the garage, which had burst into flames. “I was afraid the car was going to explode,” says Charlotte, so she climbed into the truck, which faced forward, turned the key, and pressed the gas pedal(油门). The car slowly rolled out, the metal wheel scratching loudly against the concrete.
Safely on the driveway, Charlotte stopped the truck and ran back to the basement. “There’s a fire! Everybody get out!” she yelled as she picked up her three-month-old niece and ran out. Outside, she handed the baby to her mom, and then ran around to the burning garage. She picked up a garden hose(水管) and sprayed the fire while calling 911.
A few minutes later, firefighters and an ambulance arrived. Charlotte was treated for second-degree burns on both her feet and face. Her dad had injuries on his chest and shoulders, as well as minor burns on his face. The garage and the house were damaged but the family survived.
The Heffelmires are staying in an apartment while their house is rebuilt. “Charlotte is a remarkable kid,” says her dad. Charlotte, however, simply says, “I was saving my family and my house. I wasn’t going to let my dad die.”
1. Eric got trapped because ________.| A．the kitchen was on fire | B．the wheel fell off the truck |
| C．the front tyre was removed | D．the truck slipped off the jack |
| A．the truck exploded |
| B．the house was not fit to live in |
| C．the three-month-old baby was injured |
| D．Charlotte was burned on her chest and shoulders |
| A．proud and clear-headed | B．modest and easy-going |
| C．calm and quick-minded | D．independent and self-centered |
3 . April 4th was just another day on a Western Australia farm for Zac Mitchell, until it suddenly wasn’t. In an unexpected accident, the cattle worker was feeding the animals in his charge when one bull cleaned him up and kicked his hand up against the rail, resulting in the thumb on his right hand being cut off. “My thumb was still hanging on the rail... when I got up off the ground,” Zac Mitchell says.
His co-workers tried their best to preserve the thumb for reattachment, placing it on ice in a cooler, but two surgeries to put Mitchell’s thumb back in place failed. That’s when doctors came up with another suggestion: Remove one of his big toes to where his thumb used to be.
Mitchell’s lead surgeon, Sean Nicklin, understood the man’s dilemma at first, calling it a “bit of a crazy idea”. After all, Zac Mitchell did not want to be injured in another part of his body. But as the thumb is incredibly important function-wise, Mitchell eventually gave in. Nicklin explains that the big toe is surprisingly fit for a thumb switch: Nerves sync up (同步) nicely, and it looks more like a thumb, though a giant one, than any other alternative they may have come up with. He added that big toes aren’t as necessary for balance and walking as people believe. As far as the foot goes, occasional “fine balance” activities like surfing might be difficult, but most people without a big toe function fine in everyday tasks like walking and even competitive sports.
The eight-hour surgery went well, and Mitchell is expected to have a year or so of recovery in front of him before he heads back into the fields.
1. What happened to Zac Mitchell on April 4th?| A．He cleaned up a bull. | B．He was badly hurt. |
| C．He started his farm. | D．He lost his thumbs. |
| A．Recreating a new thumb in place. |
| B．Replacing the thumb with his toe. |
| C．Transplanting his co-worker’s thumb. |
| D．Putting back the cut-off thumb again. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Insignificant. |
| C．Hesitant. | D．Rejective. |
| A．surf on the sea | B．do daily activities |
| C．only stay at home | D．work on wheelchair |
