Question

Lightning flashed through the darkness over Donald Lubeck’s bedroom skylight. The 80-year-old retired worker was shaken by a blast of thunder. It was 11 p.m. The storm had moved directly over his two-story wood home in the rural town of Belchertown, Massachusetts. Then he heard the smoke alarm beeping. Lubeck padded down the stairs barefoot and opened the door to the basement, and flames exploded out.

Lubeck fled back upstairs to call 911 from his bedroom, but the phone didn’t work. Lubeck realized he was trapped. “I started panicking(恐慌),” he says.

His daughter and young granddaughters, who lived with him, were away for the night. “No one will even know I’m home, ” he thought. His house was three miles off the main road and so well hidden by pines that Lubeck knew calling for help would be fruitless.

Up a hill about a third of a mile away lived Lubeck’s closest neighbors, Jeremie Wentworth and his wife. Wentworth had been lying down, listening to the radio when it occurred to him that the sound was more like a smoke detector. He jumped out of bed, grabbed a cordless phone and a flashlight, and headed down the hillside toward the noise.

He dialed 911 “Is anyone there?” he called out as he approached the house. Wentworth knew that Lubeck lived in the house.

Then he heard, “Help me! I’m trapped!” coming from the balcony off Lubeck’s bedroom.

“I ran in and yelled, ‘Don, where are you?’ Then I had to run outside to catch my breath.”

After one more attempt inside the house, he gave up and circled around back. But there was no way to get to him. “I shone the flashlight into the woods next to an old shed and noticed a ladder,” says Wentworth. He dragged it over to the balcony and pulled Lubeck down just as the second floor of the house collapsed.

Wentworth and Lubeck don’t run into each other regularly, but Lubeck now knows that if he ever needs help, Wentworth will be there.

Lubeck still chokes up when he tells the story. “I was alone,” he says. “Then I heard the most beautiful sound in my life. It was Jeremie.”

1.According to the text, Lubeck       .

A. stayed calm in the fire

B. couldn’t find a safe way out

C. lived on the first floor

D. called for help in the fire

2.How did Wentworth help Lubeck escape?

A. He called 911.

B. He went upstairs and took Lubeck out.

C. He put out the fire.

D. He used a ladder and pulled Lubeck down.

3.Which of the following factors was not mentioned in the text that almost caused Lubeck’s life?

A. He was living in his wood home alone that night.

B. The storm was too heavy and the fire was too fierce.

C. He lived far from the main road and was surrounded by pines.

D. He was too frightened to escape from the danger.

4.What does the text mainly talk about?

A.A near neighbor is better than a distant cousin.

B. A good way to get a narrow escape.

C. God helps those who help themselves.

D. Blood is thicker than water.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：文章讲述了80岁的老人Lubeck独自在家被火困住，幸好邻居Jeremie赶来救了他。故事说明了“远亲不如近邻”这一道理。

1. 细节理解题。根据文章第二段中“Lubeck realized he was trapped.”可知“他被大火困住了”,因而无法逃生。故选B。

2. 细节理解题。根据第八段的描述“I shone the flashlight into the woods next to an old shed and noticed a ladder,” He dragged it over to the balcony and pulled Lubeck down可知,Wentworth发现了一架梯子,他把梯子搭在阳台上,然后把 Lubeck 救了下来。故选D。

3. 细节理解题。文章中提及了His daughter and young granddaughters, who lived with him, were away for the night. “No one will even know I’m home, ”可知他当晚独自在家；His house was three miles off the main road and so well hidden by pines 可知“他的住处比较偏僻”以及“火势太大,风助火威”等细节,但是没有提及D项的内容。故选D。

4.主旨大意题。本文主要讲述了独自在家的Lubeck家中着火,邻居把他救了出来的故事。该故事说明了“远亲不如近邻”这一道理。故选A。

考点：考查人物故事类短文阅读。