Hero kitten saves his entire family英雄小猫的壮举

丁黎明

主题语境：紧急救援 篇幅：348词 建议用时：6分钟

1 Thor， a kitten， may be small but hes got a big voice， and he isnt afraid to use it！ Oneday， Heidi and Ronald Stamper lost power in their Farmington Hills， Michigans home.They set up a lightweight generator to run their appliances， but they accidentally closedtheir garage door. Without proper ventilation （通风）， deadly carbon monoxide gas began toseep into their home. And unfortunately， Heidi， Ronald， and their two kids had no idea theywere being poisoned when they went to bed that night.

2 At around 1：45 am， Heidi was awakened by a dreadful screaming. She discoveredtheir 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 （使苏醒） andseemed much better outside， so she opened a window in the house and went back to bed.

3 Heidi lost consciousness as the gas began to take hold.“Half an hour later， the catstarted screaming again，”Heidi recalled.“It woke me up， but this time， I had sweatthrough all my clothes. I wasnt able to move. I felt really sick to my stomach.”

4 When Heidi didnt 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 onthe 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 hospitalto be treated for severe carbon monoxide poisoning.

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

6 The police department hopes the Stamper familys story will remind others about theimportance of having carbon monoxide detectors （一氧化碳探测器） installed on each floorof the home. The Stampers did not have them， but you can be sure they installed somethe second they got out of the hospital！

Reading

Check

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

A. Parents. B. Children.

C. The officers. D. The Stampers.

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

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

3. How is the text developed？

A. By space. B. By process.

C. By comparison. D. By time.

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 secondthey got out of the hospital！ 斯坦珀家没有一氧化碳探测器，但你可以肯定他们一离开医院就装了一些！

【点石成金】本句中，the second用作连词，引导时间状语从句，类似用法的结构还有the minute、the moment、the instant、the time、the day、the night、the morning、theafternoon、the evening、the week、the month、the year、the first time、the last time等。

Ⅱ. Text⁃centered chunks

deadly carbon monoxide gas 致命的一氧化碳气体

pick up 拾起；拿起

lose consciousness 失去知觉

make one's way outside 走到外面

pass out 昏倒；失去知觉

play a crucial role in 在……方面起着至关重要的作用

the second 一……就……