Even now, almost a year after their astonishing act of group heroism, the dozens of people who risked their lives to save two boys from drowning in Panama City Beach, are still remembered.
The story began on July 8, 2017. Members of the Ursrey family, eight in total, were enjoying an evening together at the beach. As the sun sank lower on the horizon（地平线）, the two boys—Noah, 11, and Stephen, 8—took their skateboards and walked into the waves without the grown-ups noticing. When the boys were about 70 yards from shore, they realized that the ocean pulled them out to sea. After trying and failing to paddle（涉水）back, they started waving and screaming for help. But the lifeguards had clocked out for the evening.
The boys had been struggling for several minutes when Brittany and Tabatha Monroe, a married couple from Georgia, wandered by. They didn’t see the boys at first, but they heard them.
They jumped into the water and easily reached the brothers, who were still in fairly shallow water. The woman reassured the frightened boys and seized their skateboards, telling them they would be safe and then discovered that they, too, were now in a world of trouble. They couldn’t get back to shore and could barely and only occasionally hit the sandy bottom with their feet. After a few minutes, it was clear to the woman that they were all trapped in a terrible whirlpool.
Then scores of tourists were walking to them, hand in hand, forming a line. Soon the first person held the woman’s hand. In turn, her husband and the two boys joined her. The long line moved slowly until they were back to the safety of the beach.
The rescuers call it the Human Chain. But it was the deeply “human” aspect of the rescuers’ cooperation（合作）that made it so astonishing and successful.
1.What happened to the two boys?
A. They got into deep sea by chance. B. They couldn’t be seen in the sea.
C. They went out without supper. D. They met with danger in the sea.
2.What does the underlined word “reassured” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. Saved. B. Comforted. C. Congratulated. D. Accompanied.
3.Which of the following best describes the water the young couple stayed in?
A. It appeared calm on the surface. B. It was very deep.
C. It was mixed with sand. D. It moved fast.
4.What made the four persons in the sea escape the risky situation?
A. Team spirit. B. Confidence. C. Good luck. D. Bravery.
Rescue officials in Poland are working quickly to clear one of the country’s highways. The roadway is covered with a sticky brown material. It is blocking cars from both directions.
What is causing the mess? Milk chocolate. The problems began early Wednesday, after a huge truck carrying many tons of liquid chocolate overturned. Chocolate spilled out. It spread across six driveways of Poland’s A2 highway.
The liquid chocolate solidified（凝固）as it cooled, causing even more difficulties. The accident happened near the western Polish town of Slupca. Bogdan Kowalski is with the fire fighters of Slupca. He told the Associated Press that “the cooling chocolate is worse than snow”.
Videos published on social media showed rescuers and cleaners were trying to move the sticky brown mess with a bulldozer（推土机）.
The private Polish broadcaster TVN24 reported that the driver of the truck was taken to a hospital with a broken arm. The accident happened in the morning when there was little traffic. Nobody else was harmed.
The sticky situation became a hot topic on social media. Some people offered to help the clean-up workers by eating the chocolate themselves.
Marlene Kukawa is a media officer for Slupea police. She told the New York Times that rescue workers needed to remove the truck from the highway first. “The cleanup”, she said at the time, “will take a few hours or more.” She added that accidents are rare in this part of the A2 highway. And, she told the New York Times, she is sure the area has never experienced something quite like a huge chocolate spill.
1.What caused the traffic trouble?
A. A broken-down car. B. Cars stuck on the highway.
C. Serious traffic accidents. D. The liquid chocolate.
2.What made the situation even worse?
A. The difficulty to get rid of the chocolate. B. Fear caused by videos on social media.
C. The chocolate becoming hard. D. Snow falling on the highway.
3.Why did some people offer to eat the chocolate?
A. To avoid wasting the chocolate. B. To reduce loss for the driver.
C. To play a joke. D. To solve the problem.
4.What did Marlene Kukawa think of the incident?
A. It happened very rarely. B. It was the most serious accident.
C. It was unexpected by other drivers. D. It was lucky that no one was killed.
Favorite Books for Kids
◆Me and Marvin Gardens by A. S. King Image Source: Scholastic This middle-grade novel is perfect for introducing kids to recycling, but with a fun science fiction story. Obe lives on his family’s farmhouse that was built a hundred years ago-and now it’s being taken over by developers. While adventuring on the land, he discovers a creature, Marvin Gardens, which only eats plastic. Kids will love this charming story. Available from Amazon, $11.89 |
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◆Wrinkle in Time: A Guide to the Universe by Kari Sutherland Image Source: Disney Publishing World Wide Kids may get excited to see A Wrinkle in Time. While the original novel may be too hard of a read for them right now, they can dive into the fantastical world the film takes place in with this awesome guide to the characters and locations. Available from Amazon on March 6, $11.04 |
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◆Rivers of Sunlight by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm Image Source: Scholastic Get kids going green with a little help from this educational picture book! Filled with excellent artwork and helpful explanations, these pages are filled with important lessons about the Earth. Kids will learn about how the sun keeps the ocean currents（流）moving and how the sun can power all living things—it’s pretty amazing. Available from Amazon, $7.67 |
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◆How to Code a Sandcastle by Josh Funk Image Source: Penguin Random House Pearl’s sandcastle keeps getting ruined by puppies (who could be mad at that?). So she teams up with her Robot friend Pascal to solve the problem with code(编码). Combining the fun of building a sandcastle with the discovery of coding, a future engineer will love paging through this story. Available from Amazon on May15, $16.99 |
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1.What can kids benefit from Me and Marvin Gardens?
A. Learning the skill of building farmhouses.
B. Developing awareness of environmental protection.
C. Enjoying natural beauty of the countryside.
D. Forming the interest in exploring the secret of nature.
2.What do you know about How to Code a Sandcastle?
A. It describes a means of problem solving. B. It shows the work of a future engineer.
C. It is the cheapest of the four books. D. It is a bit hard to read.
3.Which of the following deals with the movement of water on the earth?
A. A Wrinkle in Time. B. River of Sunlight.
C. Me and Marvin Gardens. D. How to Code a Sandcastle.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What’s the speed limit on American highways?
A. 25 miles per hour. B. 35 miles per hour. C. 55 miles per hour.
2.What does a driver see on the ticket?
A. The amount of money. B. The reason to be stopped. C. The name of the police.
3.What’s the result if you receive too many tickets?
A. You lose the right to drive.
B. You are put into prison.
C. You are forbidden to drive for a while.
4.What’s the advantage of driving on rush hours?
A. Drivers drive their cars more carefully.
B. Drivers are much safer driving there.
C. Drivers get fewer tickets for speeding.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.How many classes has the woman attended?
A. 2. B. 3. C. 4.
2.What did the woman think of her classes?
A. Reasonable. B. Big. C. Small.
3.What is the relationship between the two speakers?
A. Classmates. B. Student and teacher. C. Schoolmates.
4.How does the man go to class?
A. In a hurry. B. At ease. C. Often late.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Who taught the man to make coffee?
A. Joan. B. Mary. C. Mike.
2.When will the woman’s friends arrive?
A. At 5:00. B. At 6:00. C. At 7:00.
3.What doesn’t the man need to buy?
A. Sugar. B. Bananas. C. Apples.
