IQUIQUE, Chile (Reuters) — Rescue workers at the San Jose gold and copper mine in northern Chile had reason to sing this week. A small hole drilled into the earth became a passage to freedom for 33 trapped miners, who spent 69 days underground. “Never have people been trapped for so long so deeply,” says a doctor at NASA, the American space agency, which helped in the rescue.
But the chief medical officer for the miners said most are in good enough health to leave the hospital within a day or so. The first three recovered and went home Thursday night.
For much of the day the miners relaxed with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera. The 32 Chileans and 1 Bolivian still wore special sunglasses to protect their eyes.
A partial mine collapse on 5th August trapped them more than half a kilometer underground. They had to stretch a two-day food supply. For two weeks no one knew if they were alive or dead. Later, they received supplies.
The first miner rescued on Wednesday was Florencio Avalos. The second was Mario Sepulveda, who talked about how the experience tested his faith. The last miner up was Luis Urzua, who was the shift leader when his crew became trapped.
Rescuers used a metal cage to pull the miners to safety in less than 24 hours — faster than expected. The rescue capsule was a half-meter wide and known as the Phoenix, an imaginary bird from ancient stories. It bursts into flames but is continually reborn and rises from the ashes.
Chile’s Navy built the capsule with advice from mining experts and NASA engineers. It worked like an elevator, traveling up and down on a cable through a shaft（竖井）drilled 622 meters into the rocks.
Millions of people around the world watched the rescue. More than one thousand journalists traveled to the mine in the Atacama Desert to report on the rescue. They joined family members of the miners and rescue crews housed in an area of tents known as Camp Hope.
1.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Rescued miners speak out
B. Miners’ life deep underground
C. A rebirth for 33 rescued miners in Chile
D. Chilean president honors rescued miners
2.How many rescued miners are still in hospital?
A. 3. B. 30. C. 33. D. 69.
3.We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. all the trapped miners are Chileans
B. the Chileans rescued the miners alone
C. the rescue caught the world’s attention
D. the trapped miners lived easily underground
4. Which of the following is true of the Phoenix?
A. It was a wooden cage like a capsule.
B. It worked efficiently in the rescue.
C. It was named after a real Chilean bird.
D. It was built by NASA engineers.
5.The rescue is great for the reason that ______.
A. 33 trapped miners were saved
B. the American space agency took part
C. Chilean President was on the rescuing spot
D. it lasted so long and the miners were trapped so deep
A daughter’s duty? Adult daughters are often expected to caregiver for older parents. In 2007, Jorjan Sarich and her dad moved from California to Idaho. It was where he wanted to live his rest time.
“I left my occupation, I left my friends; he did the same thing,” said Sarich, who bought a house with her father, George Snyder, in the China Gardens neighborhood of Hailey after his health began to decline. Though a graduate student struggling to finish her dissertation（论文）, Sarich chose to be her dad’s full-time caregiver.
“It’s only now, several years later, that I’m realizing how much work it was. It’s the kind of exhaustion（疲惫）that sleep doesn’t cure,” she said.
About 6 million Americans provide care to elderly relatives or friends living outside of nursing homes. Laurel Kennedy, author of “The Daughter Trap” (Thomas Dunne Books, $25.95), says that women bear a disproportionate（不成比例的）share of the burden — about 70 percent of hands-on care giving such as bathing.
“I want to be clear: Women don’t hate this,” Kennedy said. “What they hate is that everyone just assumes they’ll do it.”
Kennedy is calling for a social revolution equal to the rise of affordable child care and day care: Employers should help working caregivers by offering accommodations. Men should step up more often. It’s unfair that women are always chosen to provide care for an elderly family member.
Despite the hard work it took on Sarich — interrupted sleep and the knowledge that his 2009 death was the end game, she would do it again. Since about half a century had gone by, she wasn’t the person he remembered, and he wasn’t the person she remembered either. Caring for her father changed how each saw the other.
1. Why did Jorjan Sarich caregiver for her father?
A. It was a very easy job. B. She had no work to do.
C. It was the social practice. D. She lived with her father.
2.What can we infer from the book “The Daughter Trap”?
A. Daughters don’t like care giving.
B. Daughters devote a lot to care giving.
C. Care giving is daughters’ duty.
D. Care giving should be sons’ duty.
3.What does the underlined phrase “a social revolution” refer to?
A. The child care revolution. B. The reform in day care.
C. The social development. D. The change in care giving.
4.How many years did Jorjan Sarich work as her father’s full-time caregiver?
A. Five years. B. Only one year. C. Four years. D. Two years.
5.In her care giving, Jorjan Sarich _____.
A. got along well with her father B. was a little tired of her father
C. changed her father in every way D. felt it was unfair to do so
By the third year of teaching I’d begun to expect Christmas break more for the school holiday and less for the excitement of the children. I was teaching fourth grade and my students had made me 36 . I just had to get through one of the hardest days of the school year.
The morning bell rang. I walked 37 through the cold into the overly heated school building. Twenty-two smiling faces 38 me at the school bus stop. I forced myself to 39 their smiles. Back into the classroom, they 40 , comparing plans for the 41 . I had to remove one student from each arm 42 I could take a seat at my desk for my morning duties. Before I could find my roll book（点名册） my desk was covered with 43 and gifts followed by a 44 of “Merry Christmas” wishes.
“Oh, thank you,” I must have 45 a million times. Each gift was truly special to me, except my 46 mood（情绪）. It was kind of them to 47 me. After a while, I heard a small nervous 48 say my name. I looked up to see Brandon standing 49 by my desk, holding a small, round gift. “This is for you.”
“Thank you, Sweetheart.” I laid it on my desk with the others.
“Um, could you 50 it now?”
I gently tore at the paper and tape. “ 51 ,” he said, “it’s breakable.” Slowly I opened a small, green Christmas tree ornament（装饰物）, complete with a hook already 52 . It dawned on me what he had done. Then a nearby student said that he just pulled that off his own tree. I tried to keep my 53 back.
Later that day, I sat 54 the ornament in my hands. Was I really so important to this child that he had searched for something to give me? Now every year as I 55 pull a green Christmas ball from my ornament box, I remember the deep influence my students have on me.
1.A. excited B. tired C. amazed D. relaxed
2.A. eagerly B. aimlessly C. gently D. heavily
3.A. watched B. greeted C. delighted D. warned
4.A. return B. forget C. ignore D. refuse
5.A. calmed B. settled C. chatted D. argued
6.A. study B. weekend C. vacation D. lesson
7.A. before B. when C. after D. because
8.A. letters B. books C. chalks D. cards
9.A. knowledge B. collection C. series D. bunch
10.A. confirmed B. assessed C. responded D. explained
11.A. pleased B. low C. thrilled D. angry
12.A. talk about B. think of C. turn to D. connect with
13.A. call B. sound C. shout D. voice
14.A. shyly B. bravely C. rudely D. sadly
15.A. classify B. collect C. open D. arrange
16.A. Careful B. Dangerous C. Patient D. Hasty
17.A. exposed B. adapted C. adjusted D. attached
18.A. trees B. hooks C. gifts D. tears
19.A. looking into B. turning over C. giving away D. packing up
20.A. anxiously B. hurriedly C. delicately D. casually
—Do you know Tom came _____ third in the marathon held yesterday?
—Yeah！And it was _____ 18-hour bicycle marathon.
A. 不填; the B. the; 不填 C. 不填; an D. the; a
With a lot of difficult problems ____, the manager felt like a cat on hot bricks.
A. settled B. settling C. being settled D. to settle
I am very sorry we made such a _____ decision, but there was really no time left for us.
A. precise B. worthy C. casual D. tight
