15,000 miles for stem cell couriers干细胞运输者的“万里长征”路

陈丽

主题语境：慈善 篇幅：357词 建议用时：7分钟

Heroes Monica and Bryan had only just trained as couri⁃ers （递送员） for the charity Anthony Nolan when the coronavi?rus broke out. But they were determined to volunteer to deliverstem cells to cancer patients， inspired by their daughterHelens brave battle with her illness and meeting the selflessstem cell donor who came to her rescue.

Monica， 67， said，“I couldnt bear the thought that otherfamilies standing by a hospital bed were told the transplantcouldnt go ahead because the stem cells couldnt get through.”

Helen was diagnosed （诊断） with Hodgkins Lymphomain 2010. The diagnosis was all the more terrifying as a close family friend had lost theirteenage son to the disease a decade earlier， but at first the doctors comforted Helen andsaid she was likely to make a full recovery.

The doctors said Helens age and fitness worked in her favour. They said she would have six months of treatment and she would be fine. But within months of finishing hertreatment， Helens cough returned and scans revealed a shadow on her chest. Further inves⁃tigations confirmed the cancer was back.

The doctors used up all treatments except a stem cell transplant from a donor. Thank⁃fully， a matching donor was found on the Anthony Nolan stem cell register and Helen hadher transplant in March 2014. This time Helen made a good recovery. She wanted to con⁃tact her donor， but strict anonymity （匿名） rules prevent patients meeting their donors fortwo years after the transplant.

As soon as she was allowed， Helen made contact with her donor Ben Potts， from Kent.They quickly became friends and she invited him to her wedding in September 2016.

After that， Monica and Bryan decided to support Anthony Nolan and volunteered tobecome stem cell couriers when they retired and returned to England.

The couple made three deliveries a week at the peak of the pandemic. Theyve nowcovered 15，000 miles. Henny Braund， Anthony Nolans chief executive， said，“Over thelast year our volunteer couriers have showed just how committed they are to giving peoplewith blood cancer a second chance of life.”

Reading

Check

1. What inspired the couple to volunteer to deliver stem cells？

A. The pains of cancer patients.

B. Their daughters experience.

C. The outbreak of the coronavirus.

D. The donors selfless devotion.

2. How did the doctors feel at Helens condition at first？

A. Confident. B. Terrified. C. Desperate. D. Embarrassed.

3. What prevented Helen meeting her donor for two years？

A. She did not make a full recovery.

B. The donor refused to be contacted.

C. They arranged a later time to meet.

D. She had no idea who saved her life.

4. What is the text mainly about？

A. A charitable organization.

B. A girl fighting against cancer.

C. A couple delivering stem cells.

D. A successful stem cell transplant.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

I couldn't bear the thought that other families standing by a hospital bed were told thetransplant couldn't go ahead because the stem cells couldn't get through. 一想到其他家庭站在醫院的病床旁，被告知移植无法进行，因为干细胞无法送达，我就无法忍受。

【点石成金】本句是一个复合句，that引导的是一个同位语从句，用于解释名词thought的具体内容；because引导的是一个原因状语从句。

Ⅱ. Text⁃centered chunks

break out 暴发

be likely to do 很有可能做

make a full recovery 完全康复/恢复

go ahead 发生；进行

get through 到达

be diagnosed with 被诊断患有……

use up 用完

make contact with 与……取得联系

be committed to 忠诚于；致力于