I had looked forward to this day for a long time．Finally I, Kirsty Sturart, would stand on the top of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe．Although I climbed often in my native Scotland, this was my first trip to the Alps．My companions—Jean Pierre Barton, Maurice Gautier, and Mary Sargent—and I left our camp early and planned to reach the top by late morning．

As we neared the top, large clouds gathered and it began to snow．We found shelter and decided to wait for the snow to stop．After three hours, however, we decided to go back and try again the next day．We started down the mountain in the thick snow．Jean-Pierre forgot his sunglasses and went back to look for them．As he was returning to us, he started to fall．

His fall started an avalanche（雪崩） and it was falling towards us! I was swept away by the heavy snow. Jean-Pierre hurried down to me．“Are you OK?” he asked．

“I think I broke my leg,” I answered．

“I’d better radio for help!” he said．“Where are the others?” We couldn’t see Maurice or Mary anywhere．

Jean-Pierre called the emergency radio number, and the police said they would send help right away．It seemed like hours, but only minutes later we heard the welcome sound of a helicopter． The helicopter couldn’t land on the mountainside, so they lowered two men, two dogs, and a stretcher（担架）．One man ran to me, but I told him to search for the others．The dogs were trained for avalanche rescue and soon began to dig crazily in the snow．

Bernardo, the lead dog, found Mary’s scarf and led the rescuers to her．Maurice was nearby．The men gave us hot drinks and warm blankets and then prepared to lift us into the helicopter．Two men inside the helicopter pulled us up with the ropes．I went first on the stretcher．

Once we were safely inside, the helicopter flew to the hospital in Chamonix．Our poor rescuers and their dogs had to climb all the way back down the mountain．Later we would find these brave men and thank them for saving our lives．

1.What prevented the climbers from reaching the top?

    A．The terrible weather．

    B．The loss of the sunglasses．

    C．The injury of the team members．

    D．The unexpected height of the mountain．

2.How did the writer break his leg?

    A．The road was covered with snow．

    B．His companion knocked into him．

    C．The heavy clouds blocked his view．

    D．The avalanche caused a fall for him．

3.How did the writer feel while waiting for help?

    A．Anxious．        B．Crazy．          C．Sorry．          D．Annoyed．

4.What do we learn from the passage?

    A．Mary was the leader of the team．

    B．The team was upset about their failure．

    C．It was several hours before the rescue team arrived ．

    D．The writer was excited thinking of climbing Mount Blanc．

Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.

What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

How does it work? First , the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal（信号）.This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!

The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake, of course.）

1．In the world earthquake capitals, rats will bee man’s best friends because they can          .

         A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs

         B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings

         C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings

D．get into small spaces

2．From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by          .

         A．the noise made by the rat

B．the rat’s unusual behaviour

         C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back

D．the smell given off by the person

3．In doing rescue jobs,         .

        A．rats smell better than dogs

         B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people

         C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around  

         D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots

4．Rats have all the following advantages except that         .

         A．they are more fantastic than other animals

         B．they are less expensive to train than dogs

         C．they don’t need electricity  

         D．they are small and can get into small places

5．After reading the passage we can know         .

         A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people

         B．the “rat project” has been finished

         C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building

         D．now people still use dogs and robots in saving people

The disaster-stricken village was inaccessible _______ by helicopter, and the storm added to the rescuers’ difficulty.

A. instead of             B. other than               C. rather than          D. regardless of

D
Three Central Texas men were honored with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Director’s Award in a Tuesday morning ceremony for their heroism in saving the victims of a fiery two-car accident.
The accident occurred on March 25 when a vehicle lost control while traveling on a rain-soaked State Highway 6 near Baylor Camp Road. It ran into an oncoming vehicle, leaving the passengers trapped inside as both vehicles burst into flames.
Bonge was the first on the scene and heard children screaming. He broke through a back window and pulled Mallory Smith, 10, and her sister, Megan Smith, 9, from the wreckage.
The girls’ mother, Beckie Smith, was not with them at the time of the wreck, as they were traveling with their baby sitter, Lisa Bowbin.
Beckie Smith still remembers the sickening feeling she had upon receiving the call informing her of the wreck and the despair as she drove to the scene.
Bozeman and Clemmons arrived shortly after Bonge and helped rescue the other victims and attempted to put out the fires.
“I was nervous,” Bozeman said. “I don’t feel like I’m a hero. I was just doing what anyone should do in that situation. I hope someone would do the same for me.”
Everyone at the accident made it out alive, with the victims suffering from nonlife-threatening injuries. Mallory Smith broke both femurs(股骨), and Megan had neck and back injuries. Bowbin is still recovering from a broken pelvis(骨盆), ankle and foot.
The rescuers also were taken to the hospital and treated for cuts and smoke breathing, Bonge said.
In addition, Bozeman got to meet accident victim Anthony Russo in the hospital after the accident, where Russo presented him with a glass frame inscribed(刻;雕 )with “Thank you,” Bozeman said. Those involved in that fateful encounter on Highway 6 credited God blessing for bringing them together.
“Whatever the circumstances, Tuesday’s ceremony provided a time to be grateful for those who put their lives on the line for the lives of complete strangers,” Beckie Smith said, “We’re calling it The Miracle on Highway 6.”
68. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Three persons were awarded for rescuing victims in a car accident.
B. Three ordinary people were regarded as great heroes.
C. Several victims were carried to safety from the burning cars.
D. A car accident occurred on a rain-soaked State Highway 6.
69. Who saved Megan Smith from the damaged car?
A. Clemmons.         B. Anthony Russo.          C. Bozeman.      D. Bonge.
70. Which of the following can be used to describe Bozeman?
A. Kind.                B. Modest.                          C. Excited.       D. Smart.
71. It can be inferred from what Beckie Smith said that _______.
A. she regarded the accident as a wonder
B. she was frightened by the serious accident
C. she thought highly of the rescuers
D. she called on others to learn from the rescuers

When many people are worried that there are no more heroes in the modern times, two university students who lost their lives to rescue drowning children have shown that heroes still exist.

According to the Inner Mongolia Morning Post, the tragedy (悲剧) occurred on the afternoon of December 14, 2002 when three school students skating on a frozen lake in Qingcheng Park in Hohhot fell through the ice into the freezing water.

More than 20 university students who happened to be near the place where it happened immediately went to the rescue of the children.

Two children were quickly rescued, but the third died. The child’s body was not found for three hours. Two of the rescuers, Liu Ye and Hao Longbiao, also died of cold and tiredness.

The body of Hao who took the lead in jumping into the lake was not found until the next day.

A student who was unwilling to tell his name said he and his classmates from the local college were taking photos at the lake. When they heard the children’s cries for help, they went to the ice hole hand in hand to rescue the children. But the ice kept breaking, causing most of them to fall into the icy water.

Local people held mourning ceremonies (祭奠仪式) at the lake.

Eight of the students were seriously affected by the freezing water and were being kept in hospital for further observation (观察), but their lives were no longer in danger.

The underlined word “occurred” here means “_______”.

A. raised      B. made    C. guided     D. happened

When the three students fell into water, the university students were___________.

A. skating on the ice 

B. taking photos at the lake 

C. having a picnic 

D. walking along the lake

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Three students died on the same day in all.

B. Hao Longbiao’s body was found on December 14, 2002.

C. The university students didn’t think it dangerous to save the drowning children in the lake.

D. Local people were not brave in face of danger.

It can be inferred that ___________.

A. people think little of the two university students’ death

B. the ice on the lake wasn’t strong enough to skate on

C. some students regretted for what they had done

D. heroes don’t agree with what the students do

The author wrote the passage to _________.

A. warn people of the danger of skating on ice

B. ask people to learn from the brave university students

C. tell us a tragedy

D. advise university students to cherish (珍惜) their lives