英雄小貓的壯舉

江西 丁黎明

斯坦珀家的貓——索爾，這只貓很小，但它的聲音卻很大。

主題語境：緊急救援 篇幅：348詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1Thor,a kitten,may be small but he's got a big voice,and he isn't afraid to use it!One day, Heidi and Ronald Stamper lost power in their Farmington Hills, Michigan's home.They set up a lightweight generator to run their appliances, but they accidentally closed their garage door.Without proper ventilation (通風), deadly carbon monoxide gas began to seep into their home.And unfortunately,Heidi,Ronald,and their two kids had no idea they were being poisoned when they went to bed that night.

2At around 1：45 am, Heidi was awakened by a dreadful screaming.She discovered their 4-month-old kitten, Thor, was screaming and seemed very sick.She picked him up,and brought him outside for some fresh air.She noticed the kitten revived (使蘇醒) and seemed much better outside,so she opened a window in the house and went back to bed.

3Heidi lost consciousness as the gas began to take hold.“Half an hour later, the cat started screaming again,”Heidi recalled.“It woke me up, but this time, I had sweat through all my clothes.I wasn't able to move.I felt really sick to my stomach.”

4When Heidi didn't respond, Thor went to the kids and continued screaming.Finally,13-year-old Paige and 11-year-old Quinn realized something was wrong.Heidi woke up on the floor with her family desperately trying to revive her.They made their way outside,where Ronald passed out.The kids called 911, and all four of them were taken to hospital to be treated for severe carbon monoxide poisoning.

5Authorities are now praising Thor for saving his family's life! Thor played a crucial role in saving the family of four, said Farmington Hills Fire Chief Jon Unruh.“All four of them were suffering severe effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.”

6The police department hopes the Stamper family's story will remind others about the importance of having carbon monoxide detectors (一氧化碳探測器)installed on each floor of the home.The Stampers did not have them, but you can be sure they installed some the second they got out of the hospital!

Reading Check

Inference 1.What does the underlined word“They”in paragraph 4 refer to?

A.Parents.B.Children.

C.The officers.D.The Stampers.

Detail 2.How many times did the cat scream in the text?

A.Five.B.Four.C.Three.D.Two.

Inference 3.How is the text developed?

A.By space.B.By process.

C.By comparison.D.By time.

Inference 4.What should we do to avoid this accident of the Stampers according to the text?

A.Raise a smart cat.B.Call 911 promptly.

C.Install some detectors.D.Go to the hospital in time.

Language Study

I.Difficult sentence in the text

The Stampers did not have them, but you can be sure they installed some the second they got out of the hospital!斯坦珀家沒有一氧化碳探測器，但你可以肯定他們一離開醫院就裝了一些!

【點石成金】本句中，the second 用作連詞，引導時間狀語從句，類似用法的結構還有the minute、the moment、the instant、the time、the day、the night、the morning、the afternoon、the evening、the week、the month、the year、the first time、the last time等。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

deadly carbon monoxide gas 致命的一氧化碳氣體

pick up 拾起；拿起

lose consciousness 失去知覺

make one's way outside 走到外面

pass out 昏倒；失去知覺

play a crucial role in 在……方面起著至關重要的作用

the second 一……就……