【明報專訊】A koala has been lucky enough to survive with only a few scratches after it was hit by a car travelling at 100km/h on a busy highway and got wedged in its grille.

Loren Davis was driving in the southeast of Adelaide (阿德萊德), Australia, when the koala ran out in front of her car as she came around a corner. Surrounded by other cars, she was unable to avoid the animal. She pulled over to look out of the car window to see if the animal was okay, but she saw nothing on the road. Thinking it must have run off, Loren continued to drive home, which was 10km away.

"I drove home, feeling upset that I'd killed a koala," Loren said. She got a bit of a shock when she spotted the koala stuck in her car's front bumper. "I turned around, saw a koala and just screamed," Loren recalled.

While Loren and her family were waiting for the animal group to collect the koala, they put some blankets underneath its arm to support it. "He leaned on the blankets and pulled out his other arm and then the rest of his body. It was all pretty amazing actually."

Loren said she was glad the koala escaped virtually uninjured. The lucky koala was taken to the vet and x-rayed, and has made a full recovery.

(source: Ming Pao, Daily Mail, The Guardian)

■Photo story

A koala was stuck in the front bumper after it had been hit by a car travelling at 100km/h.

■Words

highway 高速公路

grille (汽車的)護罩

bumper 保險槓(「泵把」)

■Quiz

Choose the correct answers. (answers on next text)

1. According to the passage, koalas are commonly found in...

a. the UK

b. Australia

c. Austria

2. Which of the following words in the passage refers to the koala's injury?

a. blanket

b. amazing

c. scratches

3. In which part of the car was the koala found?

a. its back

b. its front

c. its interior

4. Loren hit the koala...

a. intentionally

b. excitedly

c. accidentally

■Glossary

wedge (v) 把……楔住

run off (phr v) 跑掉

virtually (adv) 實際上

vet (n) 獸醫