Question

    In January 2017, snow began’ to fall across the Apennines. From his home in the Rome suburbs, Edward watched the weather with concern. He and his wife, Caroline, had planned an overnight getaway to the hotel. But now he wondered whether they should go with the road covered with snow. Edward phoned the hotel, whose owner, Del Rosso, advised Edward to use chains on his tyres.

After a short talk, Edward and Caroline decided to make the trip. By the time they neared the resort (度假胜地) six hours later, they were battling a total whiteout. When they finally reached the hotel, they were cold and exhausted. They checked into their room, trying to forget their long day in the car.

Suddenly, the hotel began to shake. The windows rattled, and the water in the tub spilt over the edges. An earthquake with a magnitude of 5. 7 had struck the mountain. Edward had had enough. “Let’s get out of here,” he told his wife, dressing quickly. They were about to head to the parking lot when the snow on the mountain began to slide.

Martin, the resort’s caretaker, had been working in the tiny boiler hut about 30 yards from the main building when he noticed something abnormal. Standing on an empty snowfield, he gazed at a trail of complete destruction — it was as if a giant rake (耙子) had been dragged down the mountain, pulling down beech trees, crushing cars, chewing up everything in its path.

Finding a signal with his phone seemed to take forever. In fact, it took two hours before Martin finally spoke with the chief of the region’s rescue team.

“We’re coming,” Crocetta promised.

“How long will it take?” asked Martin.

“Five or six hours.”

Eight hours after Martin had talked to Crocetta, the rescuers finally arrived. There was no movement anywhere — no human sound, just rubble (碎石).Edward lay in a coffin-sized pocket of air beneath 30 feet of snow, ice, and rubble. He could hear nothing of what was happening at the surface. Shock had set in, and he felt no pain, no hunger, no cold. Each time Edward awoke, he faced a new terrible reality: he was buried alive. Despair suddenly seized him. He asked himself, who is going to save us?

Nick and three other rescuers kept digging on, breaking blade after blade on their circular saws (圆锯), battling toward a faint cell signal detected deep in the ruins. Suddenly they heard a voice. They silenced their saws and listened. It was Edward. He was still fading in and out of consciousness. A vision of his wife stayed with him, an angel of mercy, he thought. She assured him he would be OK.

“Edward, we are here!” Nick shouted, ten feet above where the trapped man lay.” Are you injured? Are you bleeding?”

As the voices and the buzzing of saws grew louder, Edward became more alert. “Where is my wife?”

“We put her in the car because it’s cold,” Nick lied.

At last, at around six in the morning, Nick’s saw broke through a final thick layer of insulation (隔绝). He pointed his light toward the opening and spotted Edward’s back. Nick could see how the angled beams had created a cocoon that prevented Edward from being crushed to death. Those near him had not been so lucky: Squeezed in the space with him were the bodies of two women — one supporting his head, one curled (卷曲) beneath his left leg.

Rescuers raised the concrete beams off Edward’s limbs with a jack (千斤顶). “You are a superhero,” Nick said as he reached beneath Edward’s armpits and gently lifted him out of his tomb.

Five days after his rescue, Edward was given the heartbroken news that his wife had died. Her body had been found, crushed by debris, near where Edward had been trapped. The angel who had appeared to him in his dreams had, somehow, never left his side.

1.Edward was advised to use chains on his tires in order to      .

A.protect the tyres

B.reduce the risk of slipping

C.make the car stronger

D.put on the weight of the car

2.What did Martin see after noticing something abnormal?

A.A beautiful scenery of snow.

B.The cars crushed by the trees.

C.A giant rake dragged down the mountain.

D.The snow swallowing everything on its way.

3.It took Martin two hours to get in touch with the rescue team because        .

A.his phone was out of power

B.the signal was not strong enough

C.he was too scared to make the call

D.the line was too busy to get through

4.What was Edward’s condition after he was trapped?

A.He was lucky to be safe and sound.

B.He was optimistic and waiting for the rescue patiently.

C.He was in a bad state and came back to life once in a while.

D.He was seriously injured and out of consciousness completely.

5.Nick lied to Edward when he asked about his wife because      .

A.he didn’t want Edward to lose hope

B.he was a dishonest rescuer and often lied to others

C.he wanted to play jokes with Edward to relax him

D.he wanted to distract his attention to reduce his pain

6.What does the author want to convey to us?

A.Rescuers are true superheroes.

B.Where there is life, there is hope.

C.Love can help a man survive a disaster.

D.A snow crash goes hand in hand with an earthquake.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.B

4.C

5.A

6.C

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章讲述了，Edward夫妻俩在旅游途中偶遇大雪与地震，Edward被活埋，在绝望之中靠着对妻子的挂念坚持下去，最后成功得救，而他的妻子Caroline却不幸离世。

1.推理判断题。由第一段中的“But now he wondered whether they should go with the road covered with snow. Edward phoned the hotel, whose owner, Del Rosso, advised Edward to use chains on his tyres.”（但现在他不知道他们是否应该走在积雪覆盖的道路上。Edward给旅馆打了电话，旅馆老板Del Rosso建议Edward在轮胎上使用链条。），可推断出Edward 在酒店主人的建议下给车轮上链条，以此防止车在有雪道路上打滑。故选B项。

2.细节理解题。由第四段中的“Standing on an empty snowfield, he gazed at a trail of complete destruction — it was as if a giant rake (耙子) had been dragged down the mountain, pulling down beech trees, crushing cars, chewing up everything in its path.”（他站在一片空旷的雪地上，凝视着一条完全被毁的小路——就好像一个巨大的耙子被拖下山，把山毛榉树拔出，把汽车碾碎，把路上的东西都啃光了。），可知Martin看见雪吞没了路上的一切。故选D项。

3.细节理解题。由第五段中的“Finding a signal with his phone seemed to take forever.”（用手机寻找信号似乎要花很长时间。），可知Martin花了两个小时才与救援队取得联系，是因为信号不强。故选B项。

4.细节理解题。由倒数第八段中的“Edward lay in a coffin-sized pocket of air beneath 30 feet of snow, ice, and rubble. He could hear nothing of what was happening at the surface. Shock had set in, and he felt no pain, no hunger, no cold. Each time Edward awoke, he faced a new terrible reality: he was buried alive.”（任何地方都没有动静——没有人声，只有瓦砾，Edward躺在30英尺深的雪、冰和瓦砾下，躺在棺材大小的空气袋里。他听不到地面上发生的事。他感到一阵震惊，没有疼痛，没有饥饿，没有寒冷。每次Edward醒来，他都面对一个新的可怕现实：他被活埋了。），可知Edward状态不好，偶尔会苏醒过来。故选C项。

5.推理判断题。由倒数第八段中的“Each time Edward awoke, he faced a new terrible reality: he was buried alive. Despair suddenly seized him. He asked himself, who is going to save us?”（每次Edward醒来，他都面对一个新的可怕现实：他被活埋了。绝望突然抓住了他。他问自己，谁来救我们？），倒数第七段中的“He was still fading in and out of consciousness. A vision of his wife stayed with him, an angel of mercy, he thought. She assured him he would be OK.”（他仍在意识的淡入和淡出。他想，妻子的幻象一直伴随着他，一个仁慈的天使。她向他保证他会没事的。）和倒数第五段中的“As the voices and the buzzing of saws grew louder, Edward became more alert.”（随着声音和锯的嗡嗡声越来越大，Edward变得更加警觉。），可知Edward被活埋时情绪不稳定、十分紧张，靠着妻子的幻想才支撑下来，如果此时告诉Edward妻子死了，Edward会失去希望，所以Nick要撒谎。故选A项。

6.推理判断题。由倒数第七段中的“He was still fading in and out of consciousness. A vision of his wife stayed with him, an angel of mercy, he thought. She assured him he would be OK.”（他仍在意识的淡入和淡出。他想，妻子的幻象一直伴随着他，一个仁慈的天使。她向他保证他会没事的。）和最后一段中的“The angel who had appeared to him in his dreams had, somehow, never left his side.”（在他梦中出现的天使，不知怎么的，从来没有离开过他的身边。），可知Edward是靠着对妻子的爱和挂念才坚持下去，等到救援，所以判断出，短文要传达的信息是爱可以帮助一个人度过灾难。故选C项。