PUISSEGUIN, France, Oct 23 (Reuters 路透社)—At least 41 people on a bus carrying elderly day-trippers（一日游旅客）were killed early on Friday when the bus hit a truck and caught fire, in France's worst road crash in more than 30 years. Two people, including a young boy, died in the truck. A total of eight people were injured. 

The bus and the truck crashed near a bend near Puisseguin in the Gironde region, about 60 km (35 miles) east of Bordeaux.

The bus was carrying about 50 pensioners south to the Bearn region from their homes in the village of Petit Palais. The crash occurred just a few minutes after the pensioners had get on the bus. Among the dead were the driver of the truck and a three-year-old boy who was together with the driver, according to the local government’s office.  

The driver of the bus was among the survivors, who were able to get out through the front door he opened, according to a source close to an inquiry that was under way within hours. The source said the truck apparently moved onto the wrong side of the road as it came around a bend.

A spokesman for the interior ministry(内政部) said that all the bus passengers were French and from the region. President Francois Hollande said he had been "plunged  into sadness by the tragedy". Prime Minister Manuel Valls went to the scene.

It was the worst road accident in France since 53 people, mostly children, died in a bus crash in Burgundy in July 1982, according to the independent road safety organization Association Prevention Routiere. Stricter road regulation and lower speed limits followed, and traffic deaths in France have fallen steeply since. According to official statistics, more than 16,000 people were dying on the roads every year in the early 1970s. In recent years the annual death toll has dropped below 4,000.  

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1.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A Elderly people’s day trip in France.

B France’s worst traffic accident since 1982.

C Worst road crash took place in France.

D Strict traffic regulation lowered death toll in France.

解析：选B。主旨大意题。综合文章第1段内容可知，本文主要报道了法国三十多年来最严重的一次车祸，故选B。

2.What was the most likely reason that caused the accident?

A Thick trees on both sides of the roads caused the crash.

B The truck moved onto the wrong side of the road.

C The fire on the bend of the road caused the tragedy.

D The village was too close to the bend of the road.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第4段The source said the truck apparently moved onto the wrong side of the road as it came around a bend可知，在拐弯处卡车开到错误的车道上来，是造成这次事故的原因，故选B。

3.What does the underlined word “plunged” mean in the passage?

A Shocked.

B Broken.

C Jumped.

D Thrown.

解析：选D。词义猜测题。根据语境可知，法国总统奥朗德对交通事故“深感悲痛”，此处的plunge意为“使……陷入”，故选D。

4.What is suggested in the passage?

A Strict regulations can provide people with more safety.

B The French leaders were not concerned about the tragedy.

C The passengers managed to save themselves.

D The road condition was poor in some parts of France.

解析：选A。推理判断题。根据文章最后一段的死亡人数对比可知，严格的交通法规，很大程度的降低了事故概率和死亡，由此判断，交通法规是人们的安全保证，故选A。