For eleven years the corner of Green Road and Hill Street had an accident about once a month. Everybody who lived near it knew. (11) Letters were written. A mother who lived there counted the cars for three weeks and took her paper to the office. Nothing changed until a shop owner put up his own mirror and paid for it, (12) drivers could finally see what was coming. The town put up a real one four months later. (13), the corner has had no accident in two years. The strange part is not that it was fixed, (14) that everybody knew about it for eleven years first.
People are afraid of sharks and plane accidents, and not afraid of stairs. (15) Stairs, hot water and small falls at home hurt far more people every year than any animal does. The reason is that fear follows stories, not numbers. A shark is on the news because it is rare, (16) a fall in a bathroom is not news at all. This matters because we spend our care in the wrong place. (17), a family may talk for an hour about a trip to the sea and never once look at the mat by the bath. Safety is seldom exciting, (18) that is exactly why it is easy to forget.
Mom: Put this in your bag. It came with the school trip paper.
SCHOOL TRIP · Safety Card
Teacher on duty: Mr. Lo · 0912-345-678
If a policeman asks, show this card
If you are lost: stay where you are, do not look for us
Meeting point: the big tree by the gate
First aid: red bag, with Miss Wang
Keep an eye on your bag; do not let anyone rob you
Wei: Stay where I am? I would rather walk back to the gate.
Mom: No. Two people looking for each other never meet. Stay still and they will find you.
Wei: All right. I will put the number in my phone too, in case the card gets wet.
全文中譯
媽媽：把這個放進你的包包，是跟校外教學通知一起來的。
校外教學 · 安全卡
值勤老師：羅老師 · 0912-345-678
若警察詢問，請出示本卡
走失時：待在原地，不要自己找我們
集合點：大門旁的大樹
急救：紅色包包，在王老師那裡
請看好包包，不要讓人有機可乘
偉：待在原地？我寧願走回大門。
媽媽：不行。兩個人互相找永遠碰不到面。站著別動，他們就會找到你。
偉：好。我也會把號碼存進手機，以免卡片濕掉。
Questions 19–21
19What should a lost student NOT do?
AStay where he is
BWalk back to the gate
CWait to be found
DKeep his bag with him
✔ 正確答案：(B) Walk back to the gate
中譯走失的學生不應該做什麼？
解析If you are lost: stay where you are, do not look for us，所以「自己走回大門」正是不該做的事；留在原地、等人來找、看好包包都符合規定。
20Why does Mom say walking back is a bad idea?
AThe gate is too far
BThe teacher is not there
CTwo people looking for each other never meet
DIt may rain
✔ 正確答案：(C) Two people looking for each other never meet
中譯媽媽為什麼說走回去不是好主意？
解析Two people looking for each other never meet。
21Why will Wei save the number in his phone?
AHis mother told him to
BThe card has no number
CHe does not trust the teacher
DHe may lose the card or it may get wet
✔ 正確答案：(D) He may lose the card or it may get wet
中譯偉為什麼要把號碼存進手機？
解析in case the card gets wet，是為了避免卡片不能用。
NOTICE
Before the Mountain Walk
Saturday · Leaves 6:30 · Back before dark
Two people may never walk alone; stay in threes
The last person in each group carries the red bag
If anybody feels dizzy or cannot go on, the whole group stops
The path is not hard, but it is long enough to be serious. Most accidents on this mountain happen on the way down, when people have walked all day and go faster than they should.
There is no phone service after the second bridge. This is why the rule about threes matters: one person stays, one goes for help. Everyone must accept this rule; the group master decides, not the user of the path. If you cannot accept it, please do not come on Saturday. Nobody will think worse of you.
✔ 正確答案：(B) So one can stay and one can go for help
中譯學生為什麼必須三人一組？
解析one person stays, one goes for help，因為過了第二座橋沒有訊號。
23When do most accidents on this mountain happen?
AEarly in the morning
BOn the way down
COn the way up
DAfter dark
✔ 正確答案：(B) On the way down
中譯這座山的意外大多發生在什麼時候？
解析Most accidents on this mountain happen on the way down。
24What does the notice say to a student who cannot accept the rule?
AHe must come anyway
BHe must walk alone
CHe should not come, and nobody will think worse of him
DHe must ask his parents
✔ 正確答案：(C) He should not come, and nobody will think worse of him
中譯公告對無法接受規定的學生說了什麼？
解析please do not come on Saturday. Nobody will think worse of you。
EMAIL
A Letter about a Dark Road
Dear Officer Wang,
I am writing about the road between the school and the night market. Four of the six lights have been out since Easter, and yesterday another one went out too.
Three hundred students walk there after their evening class, most of them between nine and ten. Last week a girl in my class was hit on the arm by a jeep's mirror because the driver did not see her until he was very close. She hurt her thumb, but next time may be different.
I have written down the dates and taken four photos. I am not asking for anything extra, only for the four lights that were already there. May I bring the photos to your office this week?
✔ 正確答案：(C) To ask for four broken lights to be fixed
中譯這封信的目的是什麼？
解析only for the four lights that were already there，她要求的是修好既有的四盞燈。
26What does the writer say about the girl in her class?
AShe was badly hurt
BShe was driving the jeep
CShe did not see the jeep
DShe was hit but not badly hurt
✔ 正確答案：(D) She was hit but not badly hurt
中譯作者對班上那位女生說了什麼？
解析She hurt her thumb，被後照鏡撞到手臂，只傷到拇指。
27What does the writer make clear about what she asks for?
AShe wants nothing extra, only what was there
BShe wants an answer today
CShe wants more lights than before
DShe wants the office to pay for photos
✔ 正確答案：(A) She wants nothing extra, only what was there
中譯作者對自己的要求特別說明了什麼？
解析I am not asking for anything extra, only for the four lights that were already there。
ARTICLE
The Accident That Was Waiting
After something goes wrong, people look for the one person who made the mistake. Often there is one. Almost always there is more.
A driver runs a red light and may end up in prison, but the light had been slow for a year and nobody thought much about it. A worker falls, but the only way up was broken and there was no other. The person at the end of the line is the one we see first and the cheapest to blame.
Places that become safer are usually the ones that stop asking who and start asking what let this happen. It is a slower question and it makes nobody feel better on the day. But it is the only one that stops the same accident from waiting again next year.