Tilly Smith, the 11-year-old British girl, who was called as “Angle of the Beach”, saved 100 tourists from a Thai beach hit by the tsunami① in 2004 and has been named Child of the Year by readers of a French children’s newspaper.
She came ahead of a South African Aids orphan, a six-year-old girl who survived a kidnapping②and a young Parisian pop singer to win the Mon Quotidien award. Tilly had studied tsunamis with her geography teacher, Andrew Kearney, shortly before flying to Thailand for a holiday with her parents and younger sister last year. As she watched the waves suddenly begin to move back, and the sea was bubbling③, she warned her mother, Penny, that the beach was about to be struck by a tsunami. Mrs Smith and her husband, Colin, warned other holidaymakers and hotel staff and scores of people were cleared from Maikhao beach at Phuket.
Tilly, now 11, and back in Thailand for anniversary commemorations④of the disaster, said: “It’s really good, just to know about tsunamis or any natural disaster in case you are in one. I’m very glad that I was able to say on the beach that a tsunami was coming. And I’m glad that they listened to me.”
Tilly is unaware of her great popularity among French children. Her picture appears on the front page of Mon Quotidien, which is read by 10 to 14-year-olds.
“Our readers chose Tilly because they could identify with her,” said Francois Dufour. “To be a pop star at 11 seems impossible, and the idea of having Aids or being kidnapped is far from their lives.”
1. The passage mainly wants to tell readers that ______.
A. a little girl saved 100 tourists out of a tsunami
B. British “Angle of the Beach” was named Child of the Year
C. many people came for anniversary commemorations
D. the tsunami was able to be avoided
2. The underlined words “Mon Quotidien” (in Paragraph 4) should be the name of ______.
A. a magazine B. a book C. a novel D. a newspaper
3. Which of the following about Tilly Smith is TRUE?
A. She could make full use of her knowledge from books.
B. She was ever kidnapped by a pop singer.
C. She visited Thailand by boat with her parents.
D. She had expected to attract the French children.
4. According to the Tilly Smith’s knowledge, when there is a tsunami, ______.
A. the sea water will not be clear B. the sea will be bubbling when moving back
C. the sea water will make great noise D. the sea will be bubbling when moving forward