Question

    Curtis Whitson knew the water fall was coming. He'd rafted down the Arroyo Seco, a river in central California, before. He figured he would hop out of his raft into the shallow water, rappel (绕绳下降) down the rocks on either side of the falls, and continue on his way, as he had on a previous trip.

But this year was different. Heavy snow and spring rains had turned the usually manageable falls into something fierce. And this year, instead of his friends, Whitson’s companions were his wife, Krystal Ramirez, and his 13-year-old son, Hunter. As the three of them approached the falls late in the afternoon of the third day of their camping trip, Whitson could tell from the increasing roar of water in the narrow canyon (峡谷) that they were in serious trouble. There was no way they’d be able to rappel down the rocks as planned.

As he considered what to do, Whitson hit on a bit of luck — he heard voices coming from the other side of the falls. He yelled, but the sound of the rushing water drowned him out.

We have to get these people a message, Whitson thought.

He grabbed a stick and pulled out his pocketknife to carve “Help” in it. Then he tied a rope to it so the people would know it wasn’t just any stick. He tried throwing it over the falls, but it floated away in the wrong direction.

Then he spotted his green Nalgene water bottle. Whitson grabbed it and carved “Help!” on it. Ramirez also reminded him that he had a pen and paper, which she’d brought to play games with, in his backpack.

Whitson knew it was a long shot. But he scrawled (草草地写) “We are stuck here at the waterfall. Get help please!” and pushed the note into the bottle.

This time, his throw over the waterfall was perfect.

“All right, that’s all we can do,” Whitson told Hunter.

It took 30 minutes to navigate back upstream to the beach where they’d had lunch. They made a fire and laid out a tarp (油布). As the evening wore on, they placed a headlamp with a flashing light on a ledge (岩石突出部). By about 10:30 p.m.，they decided they probably weren’t going to get rescued that night, so they pulled out their sleeping bags. Before turning in_， Ramirez added more wood to the fire to keep the mountain lions away.

Then, just after midnight, they heard a helicopter hovering above them. Whitson turned to his son and started shaking him.

“They’re here!” he said.

Whitson ran over to the headlamp and started flashing it at the helicopter. He, Ramirez, and Hunter were waving and hollering when they heard the magic words: “This is Search and Rescue. You have been found.”

The helicopter circled as the pilot looked for a good place to land. Finding none, the crew announced to the campers over the PA system that they would not be rescued until morning and told them to conserve their firewood.

The next morning, the helicopter returned and it was a moment of pure happiness as the three chatted with the officers who had rescued them. Together, they marveled (惊叹) at the unlikelihood of it all.

When the officers dropped them back at the Arroyo Seco Campground, the family learned more about the long shot events that had saved them: Two men had seen the water bottle in the water. When they picked it up, they noticed the writing on it — “Help!”. Then they realized there was a note inside. After they read it, they hightailed it to the campground, turned the bottle in, and took off without leaving their names.

A few days after news of the rescue broke, one of the hikers contacted Whitson. That’s when he learned the rest of the story. There were actually two little girls hiking with the men that day. It was the girls who first spotted the bottle and swam to get it. Whitson is planning on having a big barbecue to meet the hikers — and thank them.

“I imagine it’s going to be one of the greatest moments of my life.” he says.

1.How was Whitson’s this-year trip different from his previous trip?

A.It involved more people.

B.It presented more threats.

C.It included more activities.

D.It progressed more steadily.

2.Which of Whitson’s attempted approaches worked?

A.Throwing a stick tied with a rope.

B.Yelling to the people across the fall.

C.Using an SOS bottle to send messages.

D.Bringing a pen and paper to play games.

3.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 7 mean?

A.It was a wild attempt.

B.It was a great danger.

C.It was a fantastic idea.

D.It was a real inspiration.

4.Why did Whitson place a headlamp with a flashing light on a ledge?

A.To enable his family to fall fast asleep.

B.To frighten the mountain animals away.

C.To increase the chance of being rescued.

D.To keep warm at night in the deep mountain.

5.Why did the crew delay rescuing till the next morning?

A.They were running out of oil.

B.They conserved little firewood.

C.They found no place to land safe.

D.They were caught in a snowstorm.

6.Who picked up the bottle from the water?

A.Two little girls.

B.Two men hikers.

C.A helicopter pilot.

D.The officers on duty.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.C

5.C

6.A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章主要记叙了Whitson一家野营被困，他们巧妙地用求救瓶向外界发出了求救信号，从而得救的故事。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中Heavy snow and spring rains had turned the usually manageable falls into something fierce.可知，大雪和春雨使得原本可以控制的瀑布变得异常凶猛。由此可知，Whitson今年的旅行和以前不同，因为今年的旅行有更多的威胁。故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据倒数第三段中When the officers dropped them back at the Arroyo Seco Campground, the family learned more about the long shot events that had saved them: Two men had seen the water bottle in the water.可知，当警官们把他们送回Arroyo Seco营地时，这家人进一步了解了挽救他们性命的重大事件：有两个人看到了水里的水瓶。由此可知，Whitson尝试的方法中，使用求救瓶发送信息起作用了。故选C。

3.词义猜测题。根据第三段As he considered what to do, Whitson hit on a bit of luck — he heard voices coming from the other side of the falls. He yelled, but the sound of the rushing water drowned him out.可知，正当他考虑该怎么办时，Whitson碰上了一点好运气——他听到瀑布的另一边传来了说话声。他喊道，但激流的声音淹没了他。接着Whitson计划用向瀑布里丢求救瓶的方式来求救，丢求救瓶这是一种能够被人发现的机会很渺茫的方式，因此Whitson知道这是一次很疯狂大胆的尝试。由此可知，划线部分意思为“这是一次疯狂的尝试”。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据第十段中As the evening wore on, they placed a headlamp with a flashing light on a ledge. By about 10:30 p.m., they decided they probably weren’t going to get rescued that night, so they pulled out their sleeping bags.可知，随着夜幕的降临，他们在岩石上放了一盏带闪光灯的头灯。那天晚上10:30左右，他们认为自己可能无法获救，于是拿出了睡袋。由此可知，Whitson把一盏有闪光灯的头灯放在岩石上，是为了增加获救的机会。故选C。

5.细节理解题。根据倒数第五段The helicopter circled as the pilot looked for a good place to land. Finding none, the crew announced to the campers over the PA system that they would not be rescued until morning and told them to conserve their firewood.可知，直升机在飞行员寻找降落的好地方时盘旋。发现没有，机组人员通过PA系统向露营者宣布，他们要到早上才能获救，并告诉他们要节约木柴。由此可知，机组人员把营救推迟到第二天早上，是因为他们找不到安全的地方降落。故选C。

6.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中There were actually two little girls hiking with the men that day. It was the girls who first spotted the bottle and swam to get it.可知，那天有两个小女孩和男人们一起徒步旅行。是女孩们第一个发现了瓶子，然后游过去拿到了它。由此可知，两个小女孩从水里捡起了瓶子。故选A。