①Brain-injured boy set for ￡ 1.75m payout

　　A YOUNGSTER who was knocked off his bicycle by a taxi and left with a serious brain injury is set to be awarded ￡ 1.75 million.

　　Fourteen-year-old George Currie, from Dalkeith, was living in country Durham with his parents Allister and Paula at the time of the accident in September 1993.

　　George, who was then three years old, was riding his small tricycle along the pavement when he lost control and swerved on to the road into the path of an on-coming taxi.

　　The driver's insurance company has now ac cepted responsibility for the accident and New Castle County Court is expected to rule on the payout on Monday.

　　②Boating accidents reduce

　　Lee and Collier counties tied at No. 10 for boating accidents in Florida in 2004, an improvement for both.

　　But because the counties remained in the top 10 among Florida's 67 counties, safety continues to be a concern, officials said.

　　③Teens react to new law on driving permit

　　Lawmakers may hope to make teenage drivers drive more safely, but some local teens behind the wheel feel angry following the passing of Senace Bill 36 last week.

　　SB 36 is a law that limits times new teen drivers can drive and the number of passengers

　　④Road accidents take costly toll

　　Traffic accidents kill more than one million people each year, injure tens of millions more and cost developing countries twice as much as they receive in international aid, the leader of a research body said Wednesday.

　　The figures have led experts to form an international road safety network to choose the most important research areas, inform policy makers and help develop ways to prevent accidents, particularly in poor nations.

　　pavement: 人行道

　　swerve: 突然转

　　insurance: 保险.

　　Florida counties with the most accidents in 2004:

　　1．Monroe (98)

　　2．Palm Beach (65)

　　3．Pinellas (64)

　　4．Broward (59)

　　5．Miami-Dade (54)

　　6．Okaloosa (34)

　　7．Orange (24)

　　8．Bay (22)

　　9．Lee (21)

　　10．Collier (21)

(1) What does Passage ① tell us about the boy?

[　　]

A．He was injured in the head when he was 14.

B．He has waited for the payout for a long time.

C．He has lived in the same place since the accident.

D．He was run over by a taxi when riding on the pavement.

(2) What can we learn about Lee and Collier counties from Passage ②?

[　　]

A．They both became safe places.

B．They won the same place in race.

C．They had the same number of accidents.

D．They joined hands in reducing accidents.

(3) Which passage would give more information on the prevention of road accidents?

[　　]

Mr. Li will give us ________ talk. ________ talk will begin at 8:00.

If you make 　　most of every minute in class day after day, there will be 　　 switch in grades.

　　On a snowy and windy afternoon, An-drea, a ten-year-old girl, went out for play. She was walking along the sands when she was blown into a ditch (沟) by the seashore. She was frightened and tried her best to climb out. But the ditch was too deep and she was too weak to get out of it. So Andrea cried at the top of her voice for help. But what she could hear over the snow ditch was nothing but the terrible noise of the wind. Nobody came to her and nobody knew where she was. She struggled (挣扎) again and again. Her face was whipped by the strong wind, snow and sand, and she was almost fro-zen. Her hands began to feel stiff (僵硬). She also felt her strength running out of her. She started to cry hopelessly. Just at the moment Andrea saw a black dog appearing, through the heavy snow. It was Villa, her true friend. She was glad to see the sign of life. And the dog set out to work as soon as she got to An-drea. She cleaned away the snow around her with her paws and hind leg's, then reached out her big strong fur head to Andrea. The little girl closed her arms round Villa's neck. The dog backed away slowly, pulling her out of the ditch inch by inch.

　　Successfully, Andrea got out of the ditch at last. Then she struggled to her feet. With great difficulty, led by her true friend Villa,she was saved.

　　Villa, the black dog, was given a gold medal and honoured as Brave Hero Dog of America.

(1) The purpose (目的) of this passage is to tell us________.

[　　]

A．the excellent relation between a girl and her dog

B．how a brave girl survived a serious ac-cident

C．what people did to a dog that saved a girl

D．how a brave dog managed to save her little master

(2) Andrea ________when stuck in the snow ditch.

[　　]

A．tried every possible means to save her-self

B．did nothing but wait for help to come

C．believed that her dog would come to help her

D．was sure that people were to give her a hand

(3) Describe how the dog pulled the girl out of the ditch.

[　　]

A．She pushed the girl out with her head.

B．She caught the girl by the arm and pulled hard.

C．She let the girl hold her head and stepped back.

D．She held the girl's clothes in her mouth and ran back.

(4) The underlined phrase “struggled to her feet” means “________”.

[　　]

A．tried to go away on foot

B．stood there with difficulty

C．managed to stand up

D．fought hard to protect her feet

If you make 　　most of every minute in class day after day, there will be 　　 switch in grades.