Urban wildfires north of Denver that spread in what Gov. Jared Polis called “the blink of an eye” and destroyed at least 500 homes are largely contained in a short time. That’s according to local and state officials who spoke at a Friday morning meeting.There are no reports of fatalities from the fires that burned an estimated 6,000 acres in Boulder County.

“There are still areas burning inside the fire zone,” said Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, “but we’re not expecting to see any growth in the fire.” Pelle said the snowfall that’s begun in the area “will certainly help our efforts.” Polis flew over the affected areas Friday morning and described what he called fires that “hit close to home for so many of us.” “This wasn’t a wildfire in the forest,” he said. “It was a suburban and urban fire that was a disaster in fast motion happening in course of half a day.”

Many residents “lost everything, all their belongings, their home and had no more than a moment’s notice essentially to flee their homes, some with only the clothes on their back because of the way that these flames spread,” Neguse said. “So just unprecedented(前所未有的) destruction, and it’s going to be a long road to recovery for our community.” “Many families had minutes to get whatever they could, their pets, their kids into the car and leave,” Polis said. “The last 24 hours have been devastating, but we might have our very own New Year’s miracle on our hands if it holds up that there was no loss of life.”

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated. Polis said temporary emergency shelters are housing “about 200 people,” while many others sought refuge with friends or in other areas. Pelle said he knows that residents want to return to their homes “as soon as possible to assess damage.” But, he said, in many of those neighborhoods that are currently blocked off, it’s still too dangerous to return.

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1.Why did Polis use “the blink of an eye” when referring to the wildfires?

A They destroyed hundreds of homes.

B They were soon brought under control.

C They spread very quickly.

D They didn’t cause any death.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据文章第一段第一句的“...destroyed at least 500 homes are largely contained in a short time”可知大火在段时间内烧毁了至少500间房屋，由此说明大火蔓延得很快。故选C。

2.What will help stop the fire?

A The burning zone.

B The right weather.

C The terrible flood.

D The great damage.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第二段第二句的“Pelle said the snowfall that’s begun in the area ‘will certainly help our efforts.’”可以得知降雪会帮助救火，即适当的天气有助于灭火。故选B。

3.According to Polis, what was the New Year’s miracle?

A People kept all their belongings.

B No houses were burned down.

C No one died in the great wildfires.

D The destruction was unprecedented.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据文章第三段最后一句的“...but we might have our very own New Year’s miracle on our hands if it holds up that there was no loss of life”可以得知，如果没有人在这个火灾中失去生命，这就是新年奇迹了。故选C。

4.When could affected people return their homes?

A After the neighborhoods were blocked off.

B Before they sought refuge with friends.

C Before there were enough emergency shelters.

D After the houses were judged in safety.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段第四句的“But, he said, in many of those neighborhoods that are currently blocked off, it’s still too dangerous to return”可知，目前许多社区仍是被封锁的，人们现在回去是很危险的，也就是说要在确保房屋安全的情况下人们才可以返回。故选D。