Unit Four Calamities and Rescues(Post-reading)

1.c [n.]an accident in which two or more people or vehicle hit each other when moving in different diretion
2.s [adj.]rising or falling quickly or at a large angle
3.s [v.]separate or cause to separately widely
4.l [v.]jump so as to land in a different place
5.b [n.]a number of articles tied, fastened, or held together
6.d [v.]impress somebody greatly through beauty, knowledge
7.b [v.]smile brightly and happily
8.s [v.]shock or surprise greatly
9.a the feeling of being grateful for something
10.p sit or be situated on something or on the edge of

1.They took a step in the conquest of a disease.
2.The car would not stop so that it into the wall.
3.Which is the best to this problem.
4.The ship sent out a signal.
5.We entered a room with bowls of fruit and flowers everywhere.

1. The plane is _____ Ottawa.
A、inclined to     B、subjected to     C、prone to     D、bound for
2. The poor madman has lost all __________ with reality.
A、access     B、association     C、contact     D、path
3. Ten years of marriage had not _______ his spirit.
A、clashed     B、crushed     C、clutched     D、crashed
4. His scolding was a ________ for the girl to start crying.
A、response     B、signal     C、symptom     D、reflection
5. The aircraft has a ___________ of seven.
A、swarm     B、gang     C、crew     D、herd
6. Summer rains came almost on __________ as the crops needed them.
A、list     B、arrangement     C、schedule     D、plan
7. The argument between the two men ________ a fight.
A、ended to     B、ended up     C、ended in     D、ended off
8. Please accept this gift in _________ of all you’ve done for us.
A、apprehension     B、appreciation     C、participation     D、presentation
9. The news makes me _______ change my mind.
A、inclined to     B、subjected to     C、prone to     D、bound for
10. When he realized the police had spotted him, the man _______ the exit as quickly as possible.
A、made off     B、made up     C、made out     D、made for
11. Don’t let such a _______ matter as this come between us so that we can concentrate on the major issue.
A、light     B、slight     C、partial     D、minimal
12. When you write an essay, please remember not to ________ off the point.
A、interrupt     B、stroll     C、drop     D、wander
13. It seems that we got here just ______________.
A、in good nick     B、 in the nick of time     C、 in bad nick     D、 in the nick
14. The food supply will not increase nearly enough to match the population, which means that we are __________ a crisis in the matter of producing and marketing food.
A、heading for     B、heading into     C、heading back     D、heading off
15. He ________ the brakes on when a child ran in front of his car.
A、snapped     B、stopped     C、slammed     D、screeched

Friedrich Dobl, a Yugoslav working in Germany, was fed up with traffic jams. At long weekends and holiday times when he wanted to get him quickly he always found himself behind hundreds of other cars moving slowly along the notorious foreign workers′ route through Germany and Austria. How easy it all was for police and emergency services! A siren, a flashing light, And like magic everyone was out of the way. Going home from work one nigh, he passed a garage. And there in front of him was the answer to his problem. An old ambulance was for sale. The red cross had been removed. But not the flashing light, and the siren. He tried the light. It flashed magnificently. He tried the siren. That too sounded impressive. He bought the ambulance and opened up for himself a dream world of motoring. It began early in the morning, all his luggage in the back of the ambulance and motorway in Germany looking reasonably clear. Soon, as always, a long line of traffic appeared ahead. He switched on the flashing light and set off the siren. Cars swiftly slowed and pulled off the fast lane. Other cars stopped and drivers waved him ahead to an open road all his own. In record time he crossed the border into Austria. The big bluff was working. Police even waved him through the confusion caused by an accident. But then the Yugoslav made his big mistake. Until then he had only stopped for petrol. Now he was driving past a real accident, lights flashing, too late to realize that it was not another traffic jam as he assumed. They stopped him, and after hearing the story of his ride across two countries fined him 12.5 pounds.

1.At long weekends and holidays Friedrich Dobl used to____ .
A) drive home in Germany
B) get to the place where he worked by a special quick route
C) get caught in terrible traffic jams
D) meet other foreign workers
2.Why did he decide to buy the ambulance?
A) Because he had always wanted one.
B) Because he wanted to resell it at a higher price.
C) Because he liked the siren and the flashing light.
D) Because he knew that other traffic would get clear of the way for an ambulance.
3.The red cross had been removed ____.
A) but he soon put up a new one
B) but the siren and the flashing light still worked
C) so he asked the garage to paint another one on
D) because the vehicle did not look like an ambulance any more
4.When the police stopped him, ____.
A) he was driving dangerously
B) he had just driven straight past an accident
C) they found 12.5 pounds in his pocket
D) they told him they had followed him all the way
5.Which of the followings might be the best title for the passage?
A) How to Drive Quickly.
B) How to Avoid Accidents.
C) A Quick Way Home? By An Ambulance.
D) A Safe Way Home? Non-Stop.

In Britain, the old Road Traffic Act restricted speeds to 2 m.p.h.(miles per hour)in towns and 4 m.p.h. in the country. Later parliament increased the speed limit to 14 m.p.h. But by 1903 the development of the car industry had made it necessary to raise the limit to 20 m.p.h. By 1930, however, the law was so widely ignore that speeding restrictions were done away with altogether. For five years motorists were free to drive at whatever speeds they liked. Then in 1935 the Road Traffic Act imposed a 30 m.p.h. speed limit in built-up areas, along with the introduction of driving tests and pedestrian crossings.<

Speeding is now the most common motoring offence in Britain. Offences for speeding fall into three classes: exceeding the limit on restricted road, exceeding on any road. A restricted road is one where the street lamps are 200 yards apart, or more.

The main controversy surrounding speeding laws is the extent of their safety value. The Ministry of Transport maintains that speed limits reduce accidents. It claims that when the 30 m.p.h. limit was introduced in 1935 there was a fall of 15 Percent in fatal accidents. Likewise, when the 40 m.p.h. speed limit was imposed on a number of roads in London in the late fifties, there was a 28 percent reduction in serious accidents. There were also fewer casualties in the year after the 70 m.p.h. motorway limit was imposed in 1966.

In America, however, it is thought that the reduced accident figures are due rather to the increase in traffic density. This is why it has even been suggested that the present speed limits should be done away with completely, or that a guide should be given to inexperienced drivers and the speed limits made advisory, as is done in parts of the USA.

1.During which period could British motorists drive without speed limits?

2.What measures were adopted in 1935 in addition to the speeding restrictions?

3.When is speeding a motoring offence a driver commits?

4.What is the opinion of British authorities concerning speeding laws?

5.What reason do Americans give for the reduction in traffic accidents?

1.The policemen caught the murder in the nick of time before he was going to kill the young lady.

2.It was reported that only one survived among the 300 people aboard in this air crash.

3.There was a rock in the center of the road, which made it even more difficult for the fire-engine to steer through the narrow entrance.

4.One of the calamities the students probably know is the terrorist attack of the World Trade Center in the U.S.A. on Sep.11,2001, which results in the loss of several thousands of lives.

5.Tokyo has been rebuilt twice in the 20th century after the destruction of the earthquake and the World War II.

1.我从来没有见到过有人喝酒象你那么多。

2．他过去常把玩具到处扔在地板上。

3．这个孩子从楼梯上摔下来安然无恙。

4．这辆劳斯来斯正朝停车场开去，突然撞上了一辆迎面而来的公共汽车。

5．你父亲不能总是当你的保护伞，而且不管怎么说，他不能一辈子跟着你。