梁靜

Have you ever seen a kangaroo？ Every year， people from every corner of the world travel to Australia to meet the kangaroo—the lovely， unusual and special Australian animal that jumps all over this sunburnt continent. There is a young kangaroo that is lucky to be alive today， thanks to meeting a pair of New South Wales teenagers.

Nick Heath and Jack Donelly were riding their motorbikes in the bush outside Sydney on Sunday when they came across a kangaroo stuck in the mud （泥）. The boys were lucky enough to see the head of the animal sticking out of the mud at Agnes Banks near the Nepean River in southwest Sydney.

The animal was clearly in pain but the boys couldn't reach it， so they raced home to get a rope. When they returned， Mr. Donnelly tied the rope around his waist （腰） and walked into the thick mud to get hold of the kangaroo while his friend then pulled them about 30m to safety.

Appearing on Today， the young men retold their story.

“The kangaroo's life was important to us， so we pulled out all the stops to rescue it.” Mr. Heath said，

“We're proud of what we did. If we see something like that again， we'll do it all over.” Mr Heath added.

The animal， which was not in great health after being saved， was handed to Wildlife Rescue Organization. It's believed that it's very hot and the kangaroo was likely searching for water in the dry conditions when it got stuck in the mud.

As for the heroes of the story， they're glad to have been in the right place at the right time to help the animal and don't care about the attention it's brought.

“Yeah， we liked it， something different.” Mr. Donelly told the reporters.

根據短文內容，選擇最佳答案。

1. Where do people usually travel to see kangaroos？

A. Japan.? ? ? ? ? B. Russia.? ? ? ? ? ? C. Australia.? ? ? ? D. America.

2. Why was the kangaroo in pain when the teenagers found it？

A. It got lost in the bush.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? B. It was stuck in the mud.

C. It was hurt by other animals.? ? ? D. It was in poor health because of the weather.

3. When Mr. Health said “we pulled out all the stops to rescue it，” he meant ____________.

A. they tried their best to help the animal out

B. they walked out of the mud without difficulty

C. they stopped to think twice before taking action

D. they were not sure if they should save the animal

4. Which of the following could best describe the two teenagers？

A. Shy and strict.? B. Hard-working and humorous.

C. Serious and clever.? D. Warm-hearted and helpful.