艱難的救援

Rhea Mogul

主題語境：急救 篇幅：359詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1Cheers greeted a group of 41 workers as they emerged from a collapsed tunnel under the Himalayas on Tuesday,the climax of an incredible rescue operation to drill through rock and debris (殘骸).

2The men had been trapped for 17 days as recovery teams drilled an escape route through the mountain with many setbacks as they encountered technical problems before the last few meters were drilled by hand.“All 41 of the workers seem to be healthy,and none of their symptoms are of weakness or fever.While there were stretchers (擔架) for them to come out,they chose to come out crawling on their own,” Dhami said.

3The men had been trapped since November 12,2023 when the part of tunnel they were helping to construct in India's northern Uttarakhand State gave way,blocking their only exit with more than 60 meters of broken rock,concrete and twisted metal.

4The first workers were removed following a series of setbacks,during which rescue efforts stopped when the heavy machinery used to drill through the debris brokedown,forcing workers to partially dig by hand and adopt other riskier methods to bring them to safety.

5Engineers had previously attempted to excavate the debris in the exit shaft (豎井)using heavy machinery,but were forced to abandon efforts late on Friday after the powerful US-made drill they were using broke down just meters from the trapped men.Rescuers were also simultaneously drilling downward through the unstable mountain as a backup way to reach the trapped men.But in the end engineers' initial plan proved successful.

6With the drilling completed,rescuers then pushed a large pipe through the last part of the exit shaft for the men to be brought to safety.The laborers—all workers from some of India's poorest states—have been receiving food,water and oxygen through a 53-meter pipe that has been inserted through the debris.Doctors on site have kept in regular contact with the men inside,giving them tips on how to remain positive and calm.Their families have been gathering at the tunnel exit each day to pray for their safe return.

Reading

Check

1.How many days were the workers trapped according to the text?

A.12 days.

B.17 days.

C.41 days.

D.60 days.

2.How did the rescuers drill the last few meters to reach the trapped workers?

A.By using a large pipe.

B.By drilling by hand.

C.By using explosives.

D.By using a new more powerful drill.

3.What was the main challenge faced by the rescue team about the heavy machinery?

A.It broke down.

B.It was too slow.

C.It ran out fuel.

D.It was hard to control.

4.What was the condition of the workers when they emerged from the collapsed tunnel?

A.They were severely injured.

B.They were weak and feverish.

C.They all needed to be carried out on stretchers.

D.They were healthy with no signs of weakness or fever.

Language

Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

The first workers were removed following a series of setbacks,during which rescue efforts stopped when the heavy machinery used to drill through the debris broke down,forcing workers to partially dig by hand and adopt other riskier methods to bring them to safety.第一批工人是在經歷了一系列挫折后被轉移的，在此期間，由于用于鉆探廢墟的重型機械發生故障，救援工作被迫停止，工人們不得不用手進行部分挖掘，并采用其他更危險的方法將他們帶到安全地帶。

【點石成金】本句中，during which引導定語從句，when引導時間狀語從句。

Ⅱ.Fill in the blanks with the words and phrases in the box in proper forms.

1.The only time that we ________ something like that was in the city of Philadelphia.

2.Let me tell you about a young boy who made a model car all ________.

3.Routines can be ________ useful in helping you get things done.

4.When a new product such as a book or CD ________,it becomes available to the public.

5.The atmosphere of the novel is ________ reproduced in the movie.

6.My car ________ and then I locked myself out—it's just not my day!