A
The trouble started at 9：30 pm last New Year’s Eve, in Newmark．When the fire engines(消防车) arrived at the fire, a very old woman was sitting in a third floor window．The firefighters placed a ladder(梯子) against the wooden house, and 26－year－old Marcus Reddick climbed 35 feet to the third floor．
The woman, 60 years old and very fat, was sitting with both feet out of the window．When Marcus reached the top of the ladder, the woman, afraid and nervous, put her two legs around him．Suddenly Marcus fell backwards off the ladder, with the large woman sitting on him．Marcus landed first—hitting a wall beside the front stairs—and broke the woman’s fall．She fell no more, but he fell another ten feet down the stairs．When the fire officer reached him, Marcus was unconscious．
Within an hour, a doctor told the men that Marcus was nearly brain dead, and would only get worse．Doctors talked of turning off the life－saving machine and asked if the family would like to give away his heart．The answer was “yes”．
On January 6, firefighters lifted Marcus’ coffin(棺材)—covered with an American flag—onto a yellow fire engine．Hundreds of firefighters from all over the state joined the procession(行列) through Newmark streets．Children watched silently from school windows．The day Marcus died, his heart was given away to a young girl．His family said that it was the second life Marcus had saved．
【解题导语】 本文是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述了一位消防员在救人的过程中不幸牺牲的故事。
1．What happened last New Year’s Eve in Newmark?
A．An old woman was killed．
B．A fire engine was missing．
C．A firefighter was murdered．
D．A wooden house caught fire．
D 解析：细节理解题。由第一段中的the fire engines(消防车) arrived at the fire和The firefighters placed a ladder(梯子) against the wooden house可知，一座木制房屋着火了，故选D项。
2．After reaching the top of the ladder, Marcus________．
A．was very afraid and nervous
B．couldn’t see anything clearly
C．found it difficult to get down
D．was knocked off and got hurt
D 解析：细节理解题。由第二段中的Marcus fell backwards off the ladder和第三段中的a doctor told the men that Marcus was nearly brain dead可知，Marcus从梯子上摔下来后受了重伤，故选D项。
3．The underlined word “unconscious” in Paragraph 2 means “________”．
A．homeless B．senseless
C．breathless D．helpless
B 解析：词义猜测题。由第三段中的Within an hour, a doctor told the men that Marcus was nearly brain dead可知，Marcus当时失去了意识，故选B项。
4．We can infer from the end of the text that Marcus’ family might feel ________．
A．sad but proud
B．shy but excited
C．angry and doubtful
D．worried and surprised
A 解析：推理判断题。由最后一段中的The day Marcus died, his heart was given away to a young girl．His family said that it was the second life Marcus had saved．可推知，Marcus的家人对他的离世感到很伤心，不过对于将他的心脏捐赠给一个女孩这件事感到很自豪，故选A项。
