A Heroic Woman
The whole of the United States cheered its latest hero, Ashley Smith, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation saying it was planning to give a big reward to her for having a brave heart and wise mind. （1)She was moving into her apartment in Atlanta, Georgia early on the morning of March 12,when a man followed her to her door and put a gun to her side. “I started walking to my door, and I felt really, really afraid,” she said in a TV interview last week. The man was Brian Nichols,33.He was suspected of killing three people at an Atlanta courthouse(法院)on March 11 and later of killing a federal agent. （2) Nichols tied Smith up with tape, but released her after she repeatedly begged him not to take her life. “I told him if he hurt me, my little girl wouldn’t have a mummy,” she said. In order to calm the man down, she read to him from “The Purpose-Driven Life”, a best-selling religious book. He asked her to repeat a paragraph “about what you thought your purpose in life was-what talents were you given.” （3) “I basically just talked to him and tried to gain his trust,” Smith said. Smith said she asked Nichols why he chose her. “He said he thought I was an angel sent from God, and we were Christian sister and brother,” she said. “And that he was lost, and that God led him to me to tell him that he had hurt a lot of people.” （4)She said Nichols was surprised when she made him breakfast and that the two of them watched television coverage(報(bào)道)of the police hunt for him. “I cannot believe that’s me,” Nichols told the woman. Then, Nichols asked Smith what she thought he should do. She said, “I think you should turn yourself in. If you don’t, lots more people are going to get hurt.” Eventually, he let her go. （5)A US$60,000 reward had been posted for Nichols’ capture. Authorities said they did not yet know if Smith would be eligible(有資格的)for that money.
A The local police were searching for him.
B Smith is a 26-year-old single mother with a daughter.
C Smith tried very hard to kill Nichols.
D She even cooked breakfast for the man before he allowed her to leave.
E And the two of them discussed this topic.
F Then she called the police.
參考答案
1.B 2.A 3.E 4.D 5.F
