【听英文对话做选择】圣诞节礼物

We'd like to share with you a remarkable¹ Christmas story: one of courage, life, and love.

Twenty-five years ago, Ray Anderson, a single parent with a one-year-old son, was returning home after running a few errands Christmas Eve when he witnessed a horrendous² accident which took place when the driver of a truck ran a red light and collided with the car of Sandra Jenkins. The impact of the collision killed Sandra instantly, but her three-month-old daughter was left trapped upside down in the burning wreckage³ seemingly doomed⁴ to a fiery⁵ tomb. While others looked on in horror, Anderson jumped out of his vehicle and crawled into the car through the shattered rear window to try to free the infant. Seconds later, the car was totally engulfed⁶ in flames, but Anderson was miraculously⁷ able to pull the baby to safety. While the child came out of the accident virtually unscathed, Anderson suffered third degree burns over 80 percent of his body. Two days later, Anderson died, but his heroic act was published widely in the media. Anderson's son was soon adopted by relative, and the family moved to the East Coast.

 

The most remarkable part of this story unfolded only last week. Karen and her fiancee, Aaron, were looking through some old boxes in the attic⁸ of Karen's home when they came across some old newspapers clippings. "This is me when I was a newborn baby. I was rescued from a burning car, but my mother died in the accident," explained Karen. Although Aaron knew Karen's mother had died years earlier, he never fully⁹ understood the circumstances until he started to skim over the newspaper article. Karen continued to sort through some old books when saw Aaron absorbed in the details of the accident. Then she noticed, to her much surprise, tears swelling¹⁰ up in his eyes, and he began to cry uncontrollably. Then, in between sobs¹¹, he went on to reveal that the man that pulled her from the flames was his own father he never knew. The two embraced and shed many tears that afternoon, recounting stories told to them about their parents.

 

What really drew their attention were some other details unknown to both of them until that moment. According to the article, Aaron's father was on a mission of love that fateful Christmas Eve in the process of distributing care packages to needy¹² families in the area. That was a yearly tradition that he performed unbeknownst to everyone except two close friends. This he did because of his firm conviction that the best Christmas gifts came not from the gift received, but from those given, and that those acts of charity should remain anonymous¹³. As it turns out, Karen's mother was also involved in similar volunteer work throughout the community.

 

In honor of their parents and the desire to share the gift of Christmas, Aaron and Karen have committed to carry on similar acts of kindness. While hardship, grief, and tragedy plague our lives, the gift of the love seems to transcend¹⁴ all material obstacles and brings greater hope for those downtrodden and low in spirit.

 

Merry Christmas to all of you.

 

1. What event did Ray Anderson witness at the beginning of the story?

A. a home fire

B. an explosion

C. an automobile¹⁵ accident

2. How did Ray save the baby?

A. He pulled the baby out of the window.

B. He put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.

C. He called the police and fire department.

 

3. What happened to Ray?

A. He had extensive head injuries.

B. He was burned over much of his body.

C. He suffered from smoke inhalation.

 

4. Who is Aaron?

A. He is Ray Anderson's son.

B. He is Karen's older brother.

C. He was adopted by Sandra Jenkins.

 

5. What was Ray Anderson doing that fateful Christmas Eve?

A. serving at homeless shelter in the community

B. cutting down Christmas trees for families

C. taking goods to needy people

 

正确答案：

1. an automobile accident

2. He pulled the baby out of the window.

3. He was burned over much of his body.

4. He is Ray Anderson`s son.

5. taking goods to needy people

 

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

3 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

4 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

5 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

6 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。

8 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

11 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

12 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

13 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

14 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

15 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。