Question

On the day the tornado hit, there was no indication severe weather was on its way—the sky was blue and the sun had been out. The first alert my husband, Jimmy, 67, and I, 65, got came around 9 p.m., from some scrolling text on the TV Jimmy was watching. He ran upstairs to find me in our third-floor bedroom, and we changed the channel from the presidential primary debate I had been watching to our local Pensacola, Florida, station.

No sooner had we found coverage of the tornado than it was on top of us. Suddenly, the bones of the house shook, the power went out, and the wind began to roar through blown-out windows. We had three flights of steps to navigate to the relative safety of the first floor, where a closet fixed underneath a brick staircase might be the firmest place to wait things out. Everything around rattling, we struggled forward, uncertain whether we would make it.

As we reached the last flight of steps, our front door blew out. Shards of glass flew everywhere. A three-foot-long tree branch whipped, missing us by inches.

By the time I reached the closet, the tornado had been over us for about a minute. Jimmy pushed me down to the closet floor, but the wind kept him outside. I grasped his arm as the tornado constantly sucked the door open and tried to bring him with it. My knees and scalp were full of glass, but I felt no pain. If I had let go, Jimmy would have flown right out the back of the house and into the bay. Then everything stopped. In those first quiet moments, I couldn’t believe it was over.

The storm lasted four minutes. Four of the twelve town houses in our unit were completely destroyed. Of the houses left standing, ours suffered the most damage. Amazingly, none of us were severely injured.

1.The author and her husband were caught unprepared by the tornado mainly because ________.

A. they were watching the presidential debate on the TV

B. they missed the first alert from the TV

C. no signs indicated the disaster

D. the government didn’t warn them of the severe weather

2.The author didn’t feel the pain in her keens and scalp because____________________.

A. she lost her consciousness    B. she was concerned about her husband’s safety

C. she got to the closet safe and sound    D. she was glad that the tornado was over

3.How did we feel after the tornado?

A. blessed    B. depressed

C. annoyed    D. shocked

4.Which word best describe the experience?

A. interesting    B. adventurous

C. unpredictable    D. educational

Answer

1. C

2. B

3. A

4. B

【解析】

这是一篇故事类文章。文章主要介绍了作者夫妇在龙卷风中互相扶持，最后幸存的经历。

1.细节理解题。由第一段“On the day the tornado hit, there was no indication severe weather was on its way—the sky was blue and the sun had been out.”可知，龙卷风来袭的那天，没有迹象表明会有恶劣的天气——天空是蓝色的，太阳已经出来了。结合选项可知，C选项正确。故选C。

2.细节理解题。由第四段“My knees and scalp were full of glass, but I felt no pain. If I had let go, Jimmy would have flown right out the back of the house and into the bay. ”可知，妻子不觉得痛苦是因为她在竭尽全力抓住丈夫。结合选项可知，B选项正确。故选B。

3.细节理解题。由第五段“Amazingly, none of us were severely injured.”可知，虽然房屋损失严重，但令人惊讶的是，我们没有人受重伤。作者感到庆幸，结合选项可知，A选项正确。故选A。

4.推理判断题。由第二段“Suddenly, the bones of the house shook, the power went out, and the wind began to roar through blown-out windows.”，第三段“As we reached the last flight of steps, our front door blew out. Shards of glass flew everywhere.”，和第五段可知，房子的骨架开始摇晃，并且停电了，风从被吹破的窗户呼啸而过。后来前门炸开，玻璃碎片到处都是。房屋的损失十分严重。可以推断出这次经历是十分冒险的。结合选项可知，B选项正确。故选B。