(1) I had the pleasure and honor of serving as a Newport Beach ocean lifeguard for five seasons. Whenever I could, I got shifts working the Point, which was known for its massive, spontaneous rip currents (离岸流).

(2) Late in a shift, I'm working Tower 15. Two blocks to my right is another guard named Mike, working Tower 17. He calls me over the phone, "Hey, I got a couple kids. I gotta go give 'em a warning. Keep an eye on us."

(3) I say, "Sure," and hang up.

(4) Anytime you get out of your tower, you're supposed to let somebody else know, in case a situation develops. As Mike hangs up the phone and grabs his buoy, a rip is snapped up under these two kids, and they're getting sucked out. Mike sees it before it's happening, and he's running at full tilt toward the ocean. I scan the water. All I see is two small noses up and down in the choppy water.

(5) I drop my binos and I call in and say, "Double rescue 17—he's out, I'm going." Mike is already punching through the surf line. By now, the mother of the two kids realizes what's happening. She's on her feet and screaming. I start sprinting toward her, but before I'm even halfway there, Mike reaches the kids. Mike told me later that he had to reach down into the water to save them.

(6) Mike swims sideways out of the rip current into the clear water and starts bringing them in. When I reach their mother, Mike's in waist-deep water.

(7) I turn to their mom and say, "Hey, it's gonna be OK. They're safe." I see the terror start to drain out of her.

(8) Then she glances back and gets her first good look at Mike. And a crazy thing happens. I see a new kind of panic wash over her as though there's some new, equally dangerous threat on her kids' lives. She rushes up to Mike and snatches her kids and turns up the beach. Not even a thank-you.

(9) Now, Mike had a rough upbringing. You can tell just by looking at him. He has a number of really frightening tattoos, and his shaved head shows the scar he got from a broken beer bottle. Maybe he wasn't the friendliest guard on the beach. I admit, I didn't really get along with Mike.

(10) But everything he lacked in public relations skills, he more than made up for in lifesaving ability. If any other guard had been working 17 that night, including me, there'd be a very real chance that that mother wasn't going home with both her kids. Maybe she didn't know anybody who looked quite like Mike. He wasn't her idea of a knight in shining armor.

(11) That doesn't change the fact that he had just rescued her kids. It was hard to understand what had happened in her heart.

(12) That was over ten years ago. If you asked Mike about it today, I doubt he'd even remember. But I won't forget. I promised myself I'd never let my own fear or prejudice prevent me from recognizing a hero.

单选题

The Newport Beach Ocean can be described as________.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】

细节题。本题其实问的是纽波特海具有什么特征。第2至7段讲了救生员Mike救了两个孩子的经过，第4段第2句说到两个小孩被突然翻滚起来的水浪推到海里了，最后一句说到“我”只看到两只小鼻子在波涛汹涌的海水中上下浮动。由此可见纽波特海是危险的，故选B项。第1段末说离岸流是巨大的、随时发生的，无法体现A项的slow，故排除A项。文中并未描述纽波特海的功能。无法看出这里适合培训救生员，故排除C项。文中未提及天气对海的影响，D项不选。

单选题

Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to the passage?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】

细节题。第2段Mike离塔时叫作者看紧他，且从第4段第1句可知，救生员在离开自己的救生塔时，必须告知其他救生员，以避免出状况，故选C项。A项在文中无依据，文章只是在说Mike的一次惊险救人经历，对象是Mike。而非“在17号救生塔工作”。由第5段第3句的by now可知，这位母亲直到救生员进行救援时才发现自己的孩子溺水，因此这位母亲并不是小心谨慎的。B项排除。第10段第2句，作者认为麦克的救生本领十分强，麦克以外的其他人未必能妥善应对当天发生的溺水事件。故排除D项。