B
One morning, Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis went out to get wild cherries. When they arrived at the railway tunnel, they looked up at the trees above it.
“What’s happening?” Peter said. “Look at the trees. They’re moving.”
He was right. The trees were sliding down the hill.
“It’s a landslide(滑坡),” Roberta said. “There has been a lot of rain. The earth is soft. It is moving and bringing the trees with it.”
“They are going to fall on the railway line,” Phyllis said. “There’ll be an accident if the train hits them. We must stop the next train.”
“How do we do that?” Peter said eagerly. “The next train is due at 11:29. That’s in five minutes. And the train is only about fifteen kilometres away.”
“We can run towards the train and wave to the driver,” Phyllis said.
“He won’t think there is anything wrong,” Roberta said. “We always wave to him.”
“We need something red to wave,” Peter said. “Red is for danger.”
“My petticoat is red,” Phyllis said. “I’ll tear pieces off.” She then tore stripes from the bottom of her petticoat.
“We need sticks to tie the stripes to,” Peter said.
The children ran to a nearby tree. With his knife, Peter cut off three thin branches. He ties each of the stripes of red petticoat to one of the branches.
“Now we have red flags,” he said. “When we wave these, the engine driver will know something is wrong. He will stop the train and ask us what the matter is.”
The children ran through the tunnel and waited at the other side for the train to come. Finally, the train arrived. The children waved their flags. Roberta was so excited that she fainted and lay on the ground.
The engine driver saw the red flags and the children. He knew something was wrong. He stopped the train. A bad accident was prevented.
—Adapted from The Railway Children
(
B
)4. What did the children want to get near the railway tunnel?
A. Strawberries. B. Wild cherries. C. Flowers. D. Coal.
(
D
)5. What caused the landslide?
A. The earth was moving because of a big train.
B. The tunnel was too big.
C. The children pushed down some trees.
D. The earth was soft because of the rain.
(
C
)6. Why did the engine driver stop the train?
A. Because he saw the trees on the line.
B. Because he heard the station master shouting.
C. Because he saw the red flags.
D. Because the passengers told him to stop.
( )7. What do you think of these children from this story?
A. They are brave and clever. B. They are polite and helpful.
C. They are generous and lovely. D. They are friendly and kind.
