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A Syrian refugee whose wife and seven children drowned crossing the Aegean Sea has urged others to “stay in Syria, however difficult it is”.

Ali Alsaho fled from the Islamic State in Syria and headed for Europe in the hope of a better life for him and his family. He paid a smuggler £4,600 to get them from Cesme on the west coast of Turkey to the Greek island of Chios, but they never made it.

Smugglers(走私犯) had told Mr Alsaho, from Deir ez-Zor in Syria, the 10-mile journey would only take 15 minutes and they would not need life jackets, he told Mark Lowen at The Sunday Times. But the engine failed and the boat turned over, and although he could hear his children scream, he could not find them in the dark.

Mr Alsaho was saved by fishermen but his entire family died. His youngest was just 20 days old, while his eldest was nine. “I took my children out of Syria to escape the shelling, the killing and the air strikes,” he told The Sunday Times. He said one of his daughters needed to have an operation and he wanted her to have it done in Germany.

Mr Alsaho, who worked as a motorbike salesman in his home country, described the smugglers as “traitors” who lied to him and overloaded the boat. Asked what he would say to other Syrians considering risking their lives for a better life in Europe, he said, “Don’t take this risk. I advise everyone not to come. Stay in Syria, however difficult it is.”

On Thursday, it was revealed that more than 430,000 asylum(庇护) seekers crossed into Europe during the summer. The influx(涌入) took the total over 12 months to more than a million and triggered a sharp increase in asylum claims in Britain.

According to the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat, there were more than 35,000 applications in the UK in the year to the end of September, a figure almost a quarter higher than that given by the Home Office.

1.What was it that caused Mr Alsaho’s family to lose their lives?

A Their dreams to live a better life in Europe.

B Their 10-mile journey without life jackets.

C The smugglers who cheated them thousands of pounds.

D The terrible situation in their home country.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第三段the 10-mile journey would only take 15 minutes and they would not need life jackets可知，艾萨霍一家没有穿救生衣，结果遇到沉船事故的时候溺水身亡，只有艾萨霍先生获救。这是艾萨霍家人遇难的主要原因，故选B。

2.What can we infer from the passage?

A Europe is the only place for Syrians to live a better life.

B The journey to Europe is as dangerous as staying in Syria.

C Many asylum seekers have been cheated by smugglers.

D Mr Alsaho might live a good life if he stayed in Syria.

解析：选B。推理判断题。根据文章第五段Asked what he would say to other Syrians considering risking their lives for a better life in Europe，结合艾萨霍先生的遭遇判断，追梦之路与呆在叙利亚的战火之中同样危险，难民们甚至要付出生命的代价，故选B。

3.What does the underlined word "triggered" mean in Paragraph Six?

A Caused.

B Expected.

C Pulled.

D Stopped.

解析：选A。词义猜测题。根据前文大量难民涌入欧洲，与申请进入英国的难民人数的剧增可知，两者为因果关系，因此trigger 在这里意为“引起，导致”，故选A。

4.What is the author’s attitude towards the increase of asylum seekers into Europe?

A Astonished.

B Doubtful.

C Concerned.

D Sympathetic.

解析：选C。推理判断题。作者介绍了艾萨霍先生的遭遇，报道了欧洲难民数量剧增的情况，文章中使用了drowned, never made it, lied, risking, sharp, higher等词，由此判断，作者对于难民大量涌入欧洲持担忧的态度，故选C。