Krimali (Part One)
On the morning of the devastating earthquake that struck India in 2001, Krimali, a girl of 17, had just left home to go to an interview for a position of a sales clerk. She was pleased with her green and yellow flowered dress, but felt something wasn't quite right about her hair. She returned home, removing her shoes and leaving them at the door.
Moments later, the earthquake struck. Ceilings and walls in the building shook in the deafening noise. Then everything began crashing down.
Krimali and her immediate family escaped serious injury but were unable to make their way out. The ceiling of an entire room towered above the only possible escape route. Completely detached on three sides, the huge slab clung to an outside wall on its fourth side. To an observer, it could drop at any moment.
People were screaming and didn't know what to do. Krimali decided to act. Carefully she climbed barefoot up and down the debris until she reached a point just beneath the swaying ceiling. About four meters below were uneven pieces of concrete, broken glass and smashed furniture, all mixed with sharp spikes of iron. She knew if she could manage to get down to the ground level, she could make her way to safety. She paused to figure out the best way down. As there wasn't any good place to jump, she just jumped. Luckily, she landed in a crouch, her feet missing any sharp edges. Emboldened by her good fortune, Krimali knew it was up to her to persuade others to follow.
Questions:
1. What does the passage mainly tell us?
2. What do you think Krimali was doing when a severe earthquake struck?
3. How old was Krimali then?
4. What can be said about Krimali?
Krimali (Part Two)
Krimali planned to rescue her family first, but just then she heard a woman from two storeys above screaming for someone to save her two-month-old baby.
"Throw the baby to me," Krimali shouted. "I can catch her!"
The woman refused. Krimali told the woman to wrap the baby in bed sheets and then toss her down. Crying uncontrollably, the mother wrapped the little girl but still would not part with her baby. As the mother tried to decide what to do, Krimali intently watched the concrete ceiling hanging above her. Finally the mother tossed the baby. Krimali made a clean catch. A bright smile lit up the woman's face. "I'll be back!" Krimali called out, hugging the child to her as she hurriedly picked her way out to where survivors had gathered.
She gave up the baby, then asked if any of the men there would come back with her to help others trapped in the building. No one came forward, for they were all afraid of that swaying ceiling. But for Krimali, a small girl of 154 centimeters in height and weighing about 50 kilos, her fears had been lifted by what she had accomplished.
On her way back into the ruins, she saw part of a large door. It was extremely heavy but she managed to drag it to the
spot just below the hanging ceiling. By placing it on the ruins, she created something like a sliding board. With Krimali coaching her, the baby's mother partly jumped and partly rolled down the board to the ground level. Krimali led her through the debris to her baby.
In the hours that followed Krimali made countless rescue missions into the building, each time in the shadow of the huge ceiling. Thanks to her courage, about two dozen men, women and children were saved.
Questions:
1. Which of the following can be a proper title for the passage?
2. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
3. How would you describe the speaker's attitude toward Krimali?
Escaping from the 88th Floor
— on an Artificial Leg
When the first plane slammed into the World Trade Center's north tower, I was already at my desk on the 88th floor. Then I felt the whole building bouncing, shaking. My instinct told me that there was an explosion above us and that we should try to get out, but the corridors were full of flames.
Knowing that the furniture and the carpets were fire-resistant, I figured that everything wasn't going to burn. Then I heard someone yell that the stairwells were gone. So about 40 of us escaped into a corner office. We put papers and rags under the door to keep out the smoke as best we could. We stayed calmly in the office for about 10 minutes, thinking we were safe and secure. Then someone came in to tell us that he had found a stairwell open but we had to move fast. We all filed out orderly and headed for the stairwell. However, I later found out that the man who found the stairwell for us didn't make it out of the building safely.
Going down the stairs was not easy for me for I had lost a leg to cancer when I was 16 and wore an artificial limb. More or less, I used my arms to get down.
At the 78th floor, I noticed one of my friends, Tony, stuck in the elevator. We ran over to the elevator to try to pull open the door. I never tried harder to do anything in my life, but, without tools, we couldn't get it open. Tony insisted that we should get out. Reluctantly we left him there. Tony was among the missing.
When we reached the 40th floor, we came to a complete stop. There was a jam of people. The firemen were coming up the stairs, carrying their equipment. Some 100 firefighters must have walked past us. Some of them looked so young that they seemed hardly out of high school. But they were great, assuring us that they would take care of everything. Eventually we kept moving and got out.
The journey down took about 40 minutes.
Questions:
1. Where was the speaker's office?
2. Why did the speaker and others escaped into a corner office?
3. Which of the following statements about Tony is true?
4. What happened to the speaker and others when they reached the 40th floor?
5. What can be inferred from the passage?
The Girl Who Sounded the Alarm
Kelly worked at a photo shop in San Jose, California. In her 16 months of developing photos she has seen a few strange images. Sometimes there were naked people and sometimes there were photos of dead people from funerals. But what came to her eyes that morning was the scariest she had ever seen. In the photographs was a young man in black gloves and belt and pants, with a white T-shirt saying Natural Selection. He was seen either vigorously waving pipe bombs in the air or holding a shotgun. In the background of the photographs Kelly could see pipe bombs with nails taped all around them so they would hurt people when the bombs went off.
Photo clerks at her shop are told to report possible suspects of various crimes to authorities. Sometimes, however, there is no clear direction on what should be reported. But the photos of the young man left no doubt in Kelly's mind.
Kelly turned to her boss and said, "I'm going to call the police." But the manager hesitated, for he was afraid that this might bring trouble to him and his business. So she consulted her father, a veteran police officer, who told her to dial 911 at once.
Officers were waiting when the customer came to pick up the photos. Kelly's decisive action may have prevented mass murder, according to the authorities. The 19-year-old student in the photographs had taken the pictures as a final step in a two-year-long plot to blow up and gun down crowds of students at his college. He was charged with weapons possession with intent to injure and was put in prison.
Statements:
1. Kelly worked at a photo shop as a part-time job.
2. The young man in the photographs was a 19-year-old college student.
3. Kelly had no doubt that the young man was dangerous.
4. The boss tried hard to persuade Kelly not to call the police.
5. Kelly's father was once a police officer.
6. The young man actually had no intention to put his plot into practice.
7. After consulting her father, Kelly dialed 119 to report the case.
Brave People's Sport
Man: Look there. See the bridge? About 200 people jumped from that bridge last year.
Woman: What? So many people chose that place to commit suicide?
Man: No. None of them wanted to die that way. They were saved by an elastic rope that was tied around their ankles and secured to the bridge. Only one person lost his life when his rope snapped.
Woman: I see. So those were the brave people who loved the dangerous jumping sport. Maybe I'm a little too old-fashioned. I still don't understand why anyone would want to bring such a deadly danger on himself.
Man: Some jumpers say when they throw themselves down, they go through two to four seconds of great terror and get an unbelievable rush. They find it an unforgettable experience.
Woman: I'm sure it must be.
Man: Doctors find that jumpers' pulse rates can rise to 200 beats per minute even before they begin their f
ree-fall. That shows the sport could be fatal to those who have heart problems.
Woman: While I admire those people's courage, I think there should be warnings about the dangers of the sport.
Man: You're right. Right after the accident last fall, the city government set up strict rules about the safety of the sport, limiting the number of days allowed for such jumps to only a few days each month. After all, for jumpers and people who watch them, accidents are not the things to look for.
Questions:
1. According to the man, what do some jumpers seek from the sport?
2. What is the method for fastening the rope for jumps from the bridge?
3. What is the woman's attitude towards the sport?
4. What caused the city government to set up regulations for the sport?
Krimali (Part One)
On the morning of the devastating earthquake that struck India in 2001, Krimali, a girl of 17, had just left home to go to an interview for a position of a sales clerk. She was pleased with her green and yellow flowered dress, but felt something wasn't quite right about her hair. She returned home, removing her shoes and leaving them at the door.
Moments later, the earthquake struck. Ceilings and walls in the building shook in the deafening noise. Then everything began crashing down.
Krimali and her immediate family escaped serious injury but were unable to make their way out. The ceiling of an entire room towered above the only possible escape route. Completely detached on three sides, the huge slab clung to an outside wall on its fourth side. To an observer, it could drop at any moment.
People were screaming and didn't know what to do. Krimali decided to act. Carefully she climbed barefoot up and down the debris until she reached a point just beneath the swaying ceiling. About four meters below were uneven pieces of concrete, broken glass and smashed furniture, all mixed with sharp spikes of iron. She knew if she could manage to get down to the ground level, she could make her way to safety. She paused to figure out the best way down. As there wasn't any good place to jump, she just jumped. Luckily, she landed in a crouch, her feet missing any sharp edges. Emboldened by her good fortune, Krimali knew it was up to her to persuade others to follow.
Questions:
1. What does the passage mainly tell us?
2. What do you think Krimali was doing when a severe earthquake struck?
3. How old was Krimali then?
4. What can be said about Krimali?
Krimali (Part Two)
Krimali planned to rescue her family first, but just then she heard a woman from two storeys above screaming for someone to save her two-month-old baby.
"Throw the baby to me," Krimali shouted. "I can catch her!"
The woman refused. Krimali told the woman to wrap the baby in bed sheets and then toss her down. Crying uncontrollably, the mother wrapped the little girl but still would not part with her baby. As the mother tried to decide what to do, Krimali intently watched the concrete ceiling hanging above her. Finally the mother tossed the baby. Krimali made a clean catch. A bright smile lit up the woman's face. "I'll be back!" Krimali called out, hugging the child to her as she hurriedly picked her way out to where survivors had gathered.
She gave up the baby, then asked if any of the men there would come back with her to help others trapped in the building. No one came forward, for they were all afraid of that swaying ceiling. But for Krimali, a small girl of 154 centimeters in height and weighing about 50 kilos, her fears had been lifted by what she had accomplished.
On her way back into the ruins, she saw part of a large door. It was extremely heavy but she managed to drag it to the
spot just below the hanging ceiling. By placing it on the ruins, she created something like a sliding board. With Krimali coaching her, the baby's mother partly jumped and partly rolled down the board to the ground level. Krimali led her through the debris to her baby.
In the hours that followed Krimali made countless rescue missions into the building, each time in the shadow of the huge ceiling. Thanks to her courage, about two dozen men, women and children were saved.
Questions:
1. Which of the following can be a proper title for the passage?
2. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
3. How would you describe the speaker's attitude toward Krimali?
Escaping from the 88th Floor
— on an Artificial Leg
When the first plane slammed into the World Trade Center's north tower, I was already at my desk on the 88th floor. Then I felt the whole building bouncing, shaking. My instinct told me that there was an explosion above us and that we should try to get out, but the corridors were full of flames.
Knowing that the furniture and the carpets were fire-resistant, I figured that everything wasn't going to burn. Then I heard someone yell that the stairwells were gone. So about 40 of us escaped into a corner office. We put papers and rags under the door to keep out the smoke as best we could. We stayed calmly in the office for about 10 minutes, thinking we were safe and secure. Then someone came in to tell us that he had found a stairwell open but we had to move fast. We all filed out orderly and headed for the stairwell. However, I later found out that the man who found the stairwell for us didn't make it out of the building safely.
Going down the stairs was not easy for me for I had lost a leg to cancer when I was 16 and wore an artificial limb. More or less, I used my arms to get down.
At the 78th floor, I noticed one of my friends, Tony, stuck in the elevator. We ran over to the elevator to try to pull open the door. I never tried harder to do anything in my life, but, without tools, we couldn't get it open. Tony insisted that we should get out. Reluctantly we left him there. Tony was among the missing.
When we reached the 40th floor, we came to a complete stop. There was a jam of people. The firemen were coming up the stairs, carrying their equipment. Some 100 firefighters must have walked past us. Some of them looked so young that they seemed hardly out of high school. But they were great, assuring us that they would take care of everything. Eventually we kept moving and got out.
The journey down took about 40 minutes.
Questions:
1. Where was the speaker's office?
2. Why did the speaker and others escaped into a corner office?
3. Which of the following statements about Tony is true?
4. What happened to the speaker and others when they reached the 40th floor?
5. What can be inferred from the passage?
The Girl Who Sounded the Alarm
Kelly worked at a photo shop in San Jose, California. In her 16 months of developing photos she has seen a few strange images. Sometimes there were naked people and sometimes there were photos of dead people from funerals. But what came to her eyes that morning was the scariest she had ever seen. In the photographs was a young man in black gloves and belt and pants, with a white T-shirt saying Natural Selection. He was seen either vigorously waving pipe bombs in the air or holding a shotgun. In the background of the photographs Kelly could see pipe bombs with nails taped all around them so they would hurt people when the bombs went off.
Photo clerks at her shop are told to report possible suspects of various crimes to authorities. Sometimes, however, there is no clear direction on what should be reported. But the photos of the young man left no doubt in Kelly's mind.
Kelly turned to her boss and said, "I'm going to call the police." But the manager hesitated, for he was afraid that this might bring trouble to him and his business. So she consulted her father, a veteran police officer, who told her to dial 911 at once.
Officers were waiting when the customer came to pick up the photos. Kelly's decisive action may have prevented mass murder, according to the authorities. The 19-year-old student in the photographs had taken the pictures as a final step in a two-year-long plot to blow up and gun down crowds of students at his college. He was charged with weapons possession with intent to injure and was put in prison.
Statements:
1. Kelly worked at a photo shop as a part-time job.
2. The young man in the photographs was a 19-year-old college student.
3. Kelly had no doubt that the young man was dangerous.
4. The boss tried hard to persuade Kelly not to call the police.
5. Kelly's father was once a police officer.
6. The young man actually had no intention to put his plot into practice.
7. After consulting her father, Kelly dialed 119 to report the case.
Brave People's Sport
Man: Look there. See the bridge? About 200 people jumped from that bridge last year.
Woman: What? So many people chose that place to commit suicide?
Man: No. None of them wanted to die that way. They were saved by an elastic rope that was tied around their ankles and secured to the bridge. Only one person lost his life when his rope snapped.
Woman: I see. So those were the brave people who loved the dangerous jumping sport. Maybe I'm a little too old-fashioned. I still don't understand why anyone would want to bring such a deadly danger on himself.
Man: Some jumpers say when they throw themselves down, they go through two to four seconds of great terror and get an unbelievable rush. They find it an unforgettable experience.
Woman: I'm sure it must be.
Man: Doctors find that jumpers' pulse rates can rise to 200 beats per minute even before they begin their f
ree-fall. That shows the sport could be fatal to those who have heart problems.
Woman: While I admire those people's courage, I think there should be warnings about the dangers of the sport.
Man: You're right. Right after the accident last fall, the city government set up strict rules about the safety of the sport, limiting the number of days allowed for such jumps to only a few days each month. After all, for jumpers and people who watch them, accidents are not the things to look for.
Questions:
1. According to the man, what do some jumpers seek from the sport?
2. What is the method for fastening the rope for jumps from the bridge?
3. What is the woman's attitude towards the sport?
4. What caused the city government to set up regulations for the sport?