It was 3:00 a.m. Rain beat against the windows. Tamsen Bell’s cellphone began to ring so she jumped out of bed quickly for she knew that someone was in trouble, and it was up to her and the other members of the Marin Search and Rescue Team to help. The team has a motto: “Any time, any place, any weather.” Bell, 18, joined the search-and-rescue team when she was 14 years old, the youngest age at which a person can join. “I remember the first search I ever went on,” Bell says. “I was very nervous.” Thanks to the strict training program, Bell now is no longer nervous and a lot more confident.
When Bell was 16 years old, she took a lead role in a tough search-and-rescue action that she says changed her life. While hiking, a 60-year-old woman fell off a cliff and landed on a mountain ledge(岩石架). Bell slid down in a seated position to get to where the injured woman lay. The situation was very dangerous and she had to make a quick decision which could have endangered the woman’s life. Bell helped to lift the woman onto a litter(担架), and her teammates then pulled the litter up the mountain using ropes. The rescue took more than eight hours , the longest in the history of the team.
Afterwards, Bell said she realized that she could keep cool in stressful situations. The experience inspired her to devote her life to helping others. She remains a search-and-rescue member and plans to study nursing in college.
“Search-and-rescue work may be tough, but it is rewarding. The best part is the support, and the common feeling that everyone on the team wants to make people’s lives better.” Said Bell.
1. According to the passage, we know that Bell ______.
A. was the youngest member in the team
B. plays a leading role in every task
C. majored in nursing in college
D. learned a lot through the training program
2. Why does Bell say that the tough action changed her life?
A. She learnt to make quick decisions when in danger.
B. She learnt to transport the injured to safety through a litter.
C. The experience inspired her to devote herself to helping others
D. The experience made her realize that she could calm down even in danger.
3. Which of the following is TURE about Bell’s tough task?
A. It was the toughest task in the history of the team.
B. Bell slid down the cliff seated in a litter.
C. It’s the first task Bell took part in after the training program.
D. Bell played a very important role in the action.
4. The passage is mainly about_______.
A. a tough task Bell carried out
B. Bell’s job as a young search-and-rescue member
C. how people keep cool in dangerous situations
D. what search-and-rescue tasks are