A2 English Reading Test: The Girl Who Saved 100 Lives — Explanation

The Girl Who Saved 100 Lives

One rainy Saturday, twelve-year-old Eva Moreno was visiting her grandmother in the small town of Valle Verde. It had rained for three days. A river ran behind the houses, but people were not very worried because there was a strong wall beside it.

At school, Eva had learned about floods. Her teacher explained that small cracks in a river wall could quickly become bigger. He also taught the class to move to high ground and call emergency services.

That afternoon, Eva walked near the river with her grandmother's dog. She saw water coming through a new crack in the wall. The crack was getting wider, and pieces of earth were falling into the river. Eva took a photo and ran home.

Her grandmother first thought the wall was safe. Eva showed her the picture and asked her to call the town's emergency number. Eva then knocked on nearby doors with an adult neighbour. They told people to walk to the school, which stood on a hill.

Firefighters arrived ten minutes later. They closed the road and helped older people leave their homes. Soon after everyone reached the school, part of the wall broke. Water entered two streets and damaged several houses, but nobody was hurt.

About one hundred people stayed in the school that night. The town leader thanked Eva for noticing the danger early. Eva said the school lesson saved the town because it taught her what the crack meant and what to do next.