Text 1

    In July, 1990, an earthquake occurred in a resort city in the Philippines. After one week's hard work, International Rescue Corps abandoned hope and left. Yet several people were still alive, buried in the ruins of the building. Did they survive in the end?

    Spread across pine-covered ridges in the northern Luzon highlands, the Philippine resort city of Baguio was quiet on the afternoon of July 16, 1990. At around 4:30 p.m. Pedrito Dy, a cook at the luxurious Hyatt Terraces Hotel complex, was resting on a chair in the hotel's gym.

    The gym was in the basement of an 11-story flat. Adjacent to the tower were seven floors of rooms that rose like steps.

    At 26, Pedrito was strong, with a quietly confident manner. Beginning as a kitchen helper while still a teenager, he had advanced to second cook. He and his wife, Adela, had a two-year-old son, and Pedrito was proud that his success had brought the family modest prosperity.

    Three floors above, caretaker Luisa "Jingjing" Mallorca, 20, waited for an elevator. Her friend William Tan, 32, joined her. Behind them security man Arnel Calabia, 26, had just taken up his post at the guard-station table. Arnel and William were like protective older brothers to Jingjing.            

　　Suddenly the carpeted floor swayed violently. The overhead lights went out and the hall was enveloped in blackness.       

    "Earthquake!" shouted Arnel. "Stay where you are." He had experienced tremors before.

    In the basement gym, Pedrito Dy was rising from the chair to get his coat when the floor began to shift. He staggered through the darkness toward the corridor. Others crowded behind him as a second violent tremor hit. Through a distant door Pedrito saw the tower of the flat twist and collapse. Above the crashing roar, he could hear co-workers crying and gasping for breath.

    His lungs filled with dust as thousands of tons of rubble smashed through the floors above. Then he felt something large and soft pressing across his back. A mattress stored in the corridor forced him down onto his hands and knees miraculously shielding him. Pedrito arched his back against the mattress, desperately trying to form an air space.       

    Jingjing Mallorca tripped over the debris. Finally she was forced into a pocket formed by broken concret chunks. William lay beneath the table, his legs near Jingjing, his head and one shoulder against Arnel's chest.

    "Are you all right?" Jingjing asked.

    "I'm hurt," William answered painfully. "My stomach. My chest."

    Jingjing twisted to her side, struggling to shift the debris from William's body, but she could not budge the heaviest chunks. She heard Arnel trying to reach under the table to free William.

    "I've got only my left arm free," Arnel said. "My right hand is jammed under the beam. I can't move it."

    Jingjing could hear the despair in Arnel's voice.

    Engineer Andres Marzan, safety manager of a gold mine at Balatoc, ten miles southeast of Baguio, struggled from his company toward mine headquarters. He went to the office of the mine's operation's vice president, Dominador Valencia, who said, "We must send rescue teams to Baguio. The two big hotels are down."

    Marzan jotted notes as Valencia organized the rescue force. "Get our best volunteers," Valencia said, "men with experience." Marzan shuddered as the image of high-rise hotels collapsed into rubble filled his mind. He knew he faced a terrifying challenge.

    Day Two. Pedrito Dy tried to move the debris pressing him. After a long time, he felt a sharp chunk shift, and he was able to roll over onto his shoulder. He was desperately thirsty. He forced his thoughts toward his wife's warm smile, to his small son's bright eyes. He had to live for them.

    Arnel Calabia bit his lip, trying to dull the pain from his trapped right hand. Groaning, William twisted against the debris inside the guard table. "Listen," suddenly Jingjing cried. "There are people up there!"

    They heard the engines work, then echoes of words. "Please help us," Arnel shouted. "We're still alive." But no reply was heard.

    Day Three. The miners arrived. They used hammers to chop through the concrete chunks.

    The victims' anxious relatives gathered at the rescue site, tearfully pleading with the miners to work faster.

    Day Four. Pedrito tried once more to picture his wife and small son, his parents and his relatives, all of whom he felt certain were standing outside. But his mind kept returning to the thirst. Please, Lord, send me water, he prayed.

    Moments later, a trickle of bitter, rainwater dripped from the rubble above. He opened his mouth like a baby bird to catch the precious drops. I will live, he vowed.

    At the same time, Arnel was screaming hoarsely for help. Jingjing, meanwhile, tried to comfort William. His internal injuries were dragging him relentlessly toward death.

    Day Seven. Jingjing listened to the steady tapping as Arnel thumped a piece of pipe against the thick beam above their heads. But the rescuers' voices and sounds of their excavations seemed to grow distant. Then they were gone altogether.

    "We're here." Jingjing shouted weakly. "We're still alive."

    "William," Arnel whispered. William did not answer.

    "Feel his pulse," Jingjing said.

    After a long silence Arnel said, "He's gone."

    Lauren Marzo, Marzan's colleague, watched British and Japanese members of the International Rescue Corps climb down the rubble to the parking lot. For several hours they had probed the ruins, listening for the tapping that the miners had reported, but they had not heard any.

    "Is there any hope?" Lauren asked a bone-tired volunteer. The man shook his head.

    That afternoon the foreign teams packed their equipment and left.

    Day Nine. When miners tunneled toward the gym, they used a cutting torch that accidentally ignited the barrier. Choking smoke filled the tunnel.

    "Do you smell smoke?" Jingjing asked.

    The smoke grew thicker. Arnel coughed until his ribs felt broken. Gradually, Arnel felt his consciousness fade, and he floated like a child's balloon into a bright sky. He felt the sunlight fade as he shuddered awake.

    "Arnel, where are you?"

    It was Jingjing's voice. He raised his free hand stiffly to his face. His flesh was cold. I was dead, he realized. But it was not my time.

    Day Ten. When they reached the third floor, one of the miners heard faint cries from below. "If anyone's alive," he shouted, "answer so we can follow your voice."

    A man replied with surprising strength, "There are two of us, and we're still alive. I have a woman with me."

    The miner shook with excitement and yelled, "We'll do our best to get you out."

    Day Eleven. Jingjing lay in the dark, listening and expecting. Then, with a sound of cracking, dazzling light flooded the cave. Her dust-caked face was bathed with a sweet, cool draft. Men's voices were calling her. Suddenly she comprehended. She crawled beneath the debris and into the strong, muddy hands of the miners. She was thin and weak, but her voice was clear and strong. "Help Arnel," she begged. "His hand is pinned."

    Arnel clenched his jaw against the pain as the miners sawed through a wooden frame to free him. His face flooded with tears. As the miners carried him through the parking lot, he reached out with his uninjured hand to touch the men who had saved him.

    Day Thirteen. Pedrito Dy had heard the noise of hammers on concrete so clearly for so long that he was certain rescue was near. He had found a length of pipe and had begun to hit it against nearby pipes, but the only response was random grinding as the rubble shifted.

    Slowly the realization came that he would never be found. He knew what had to be done. Twisting in the dark, he found a knob of concrete behind his head. He slammed his shoulders back and began to smash his head into the concrete, again and again, each below bringing him closer to the final sleep of death.

    Then he felt invisible hands holding him back. He tried to move, but they gripped him firmly. He understood. I don't have to die.

    For the first time in days, he slept well. Then, as he dozed off again, he heard men's voices close by. He shouted, "I'm here. Please help me." But there was no answer.

    Day Fourteen. The miners snaked through the basement rubble and prepared to strike a concrete beam with their hammers. As they shifted their tools, they heard a man call out weakly through the concrete.

    Stunned, one miner yelled, "Relax! We'll get you out."

    With a final beat, and Pedrito's cave burst with hot light. The miners slid a wooden backboard through the narrow hole, and Pedrito lay down on it.

    He was alive.

课文一

    公寓共11层，健身房在地下室。高楼边上是7层楼的房间，象台阶一样一层层地向上挺立。

    帕吉特，26岁，长得很结实，很斯文，很自信的样子。十几岁时开始在厨房做帮手，现在已升为二级厨师。他和妻子阿德拉有个两岁的儿子。帕吉特的成功给家里带来了富足，他为此骄傲。

    往上3层楼，看门人路易莎•“京京”•莫洛卡，20岁，在等电梯，她的朋友威廉•特尼、32岁，和她在一起。他们身后是保安阿恩尔•凯兰比尔，26岁，刚接了班,来到保卫室桌边。阿恩尔和威廉像大哥哥似的保护着京京。

    突然，铺着地毯的地板猛烈地晃动起来，头顶上的灯灭了，整个大厅笼罩在一片黑暗之中。

    “地震！”阿恩尔叫道。“站在原地别动。”他以前经历过地面微震。

    地下室的健身房里，帕吉特•戴正从椅子上站起来去拿大衣，地板开始晃动了。黑暗中，他摇摇晃晃地向走廊走去。当第二次剧烈震动袭来时，他身后挤满了人。透过远处的一扇门，帕吉特看到那幢楼扭动了一下，便轰然塌了下去。轰鸣声中，他听到同事在哭喊，在大声喘气。

    上万吨碎石撞穿上面的楼板，灰尘充斥他的肺部。然后，他感到有一个大大的、软软的东西压在他背上。原来是放在走廊里的一只床垫，压得他手脚趴在地上，却奇迹般地保护着他。帕吉特拱起背顶住床垫，不顾一切地试图形成一个空间。

    京京•莫洛卡被碎石绊倒。最后她被挤进一个破碎的水泥块形成的口袋状的地方。威廉躺在桌下，双腿靠近京京，他的头和肩膀的一侧顶着阿恩尔的胸口。

    “你没事吧？”京京问。

    京京扭向一侧，艰难地把那些碎石从威廉身上移开。但她实在无法挪动那些最重的石块。她听到阿恩尔正试图爬到桌下救威廉。

    京京听出阿恩尔声音中带着绝望。

    工程师安德烈斯•马赞，巴拉托克(位于碧瑶东南十英里处)是一个金矿负责安全的经理，艰难地从公司赶往矿区总部。他来到了矿区生产副总经理多米纳都•瓦伦西尔的办公室，“我们必须派救援队伍，那儿的两家大酒店都倒了，”副总经理说。

    马赞匆匆记下瓦伦西亚关于救援队伍的安排。“派出我们最好的志愿者，有经验的人。”一想到高层宾馆倒塌，满地碎砾，马赞不禁一阵颤栗。他知道，他面临着严峻的挑战。

    第二天 帕吉特•戴试图挪开压在身上的碎石。过了好长一段时间，他感到一块尖尖的厚块动了，他能翻身侧着躺了。他渴得要命。于是，他迫使自己想妻子亲切的笑容，想儿子明亮的眼睛。他要为他们活着。

    他们听到发动机的声音和人们的谈话声。“救救我们，”阿恩尔大声叫道。“我们还活着。”但是没有人应答。

    受难者家属焦急地聚集在营救现场，眼泪汪汪地恳求矿工挖得再快一些。

     不一会，一股苦涩的雨水从上面的碎石中渗下来。他张开嘴巴像幼鸟一样接住这珍贵的水滴。我要活着，他发誓。

    与此同时，阿恩尔声音嘶哑地尖叫着求助。京京正设法安慰威廉，内伤正无情地把他拽向死亡。

    “威廉，”阿恩尔低声喊 道。

    威廉没有反应。

    “看他的脉，”京京说。

    好一阵子沉默之后，阿恩尔说，“他死了。”

    劳伦斯•马佐，马赞的同事，看到国际营救部队英国和日本的成员爬下碎石堆，走到停车场。他们花了好几个小时探测废墟，倾听矿工们报告的那种敲击声，但是，他们什么也没有听到。

    “还有希望吗？”劳伦斯问一个累得筋疲力尽的志愿者，那人摇了摇头。

    第九天 当矿工们挖通向健身房的地道时，他们用的挖掘火把不小心点燃了障碍物，呛人的烟雾弥漫了隧道。

    “你闻到烟味了吗？”京京问。     烟味越来越浓了。阿恩尔不停地咳嗽，感觉肋骨都要咳断了。渐渐地，阿恩尔感到意识越来越模糊，好象小孩玩的汽球飘上了明朗的天空。当他震颤了一下醒来时，他觉得光线暗下去了。

     “阿恩尔，你在哪儿？”

    是京京的声音。他僵硬地抬起能活动的那只手，摸摸脸，脸上冰冷。“我死了，”他意识到。“但还不是我死的时候。”

    第十天 当矿工们挖到第四层时，一名矿工听到下面传来微弱的叫声。于是，他喊道,“要是还有人活着，请回答，这样我们可以顺着声音找到你。”

    一位男士回话了，力气惊人。“我们有两个人，一个女的和我在一起。”

    那名矿工激动得浑身发抖，大喊：“我们会尽力救你们出来的。”

    第十一天 黑暗中，京京躺着、听着、盼着。然后，随着“噼里啪啦”的爆裂声，耀眼的灯光泻进洞里。她那满是灰尘的脸，沐浴在清新凉爽的空气中。矿工们在喊她。突然，她明白了。她爬出碎石，矿工们沾满泥巴的手用力抓住她，把她救了出来。她又瘦又弱，但声音清晰有力，“快去救阿恩尔，”她恳求他们。“他的手被压住了。”

     当矿工们锯开一根木头架子，解救阿恩尔时，他正咬紧牙关忍住疼痛，脸上满是泪水。在矿工们抬着他穿过停车场时，他伸出未受伤的那只手，碰了碰拯救他的矿工们。

    第十三天 锤子长时间敲击水泥的声音，帕吉特•戴听得那么清楚，以致他确信营救队就在附近。他找到一节管子，开始用它敲击身边的管子。可是，听到的只是碎石松动发出的摩擦声。

    慢慢地，他意识到，没有人会发现他了。他知道该做什么了。黑暗中，他拧过身，发现头的后面有块水泥杆。他猛地一翻身，头用力撞向水泥杆，一次又一次地撞。每撞一次，他距最后的死亡长眠就近一步。

    而后，他感到一双无形的手在阻止他这么做。他还想撞，可那双手牢牢地拉住他不放，他明白了，“我并非必须死。”

    几天来，他第一次睡得那么熟。后来，在他再次打盹的时候，他听到附近有工人的声音。他大声叫道，“我在这儿，快来救我。”但没人回答。

    第十四天 矿工们蛇行穿过地下室的碎石堆，准备用锤子砸开水泥梁。换工具时，他们听到从水泥堆传来一个男人微弱的叫声。

     一个矿工惊呆了，叫了起来：“放松些，我们会救你出来的。”

Text 2

Darwin——Cyclone Tracy in 1974

    It did not seem possible that there could be so much destruction in so short a time. One minute the 45 000 people of Darwin, in the far north of Australia, were asleep in their beds or returning home late from Christmas Eve parties. The next, they were creeping out of their ruined homes like mice from their holes. Mile after mile of the city was destroyed.

    As one man said, with tears in his eyes: "I've been in Darwin for forty years. I've seen it grow and now I've seen it go."

    Life in Darwin had always been free and easy. During the dry season, from May to October, the weather was the best in Australia. It never rained there and tourists arrived in large numbers from the south to escape the winter cold.

    But it was not always pleasant weather. The people of Darwin were well aware of the threat of cyclones in their part of the world. At the first sign of a high wind the radio put out a warning. But, because few of the storms ever did hit the towns on the coast, people had come to discount the warnings.

    However, on 24 December 1974, the local television and radio stations warned of a cyclone, which the weather men had named Tracy, moving rapidly nearer Darwin.

    But it was Christmas Eve. The people of Darwin did not want to think about cyclones when they were only a few hours away from Christmas Day, with various preparations still to make. There were presents to get ready for the children and food to prepare for the family meal the next day.

    The frequent warnings on the radio did not go unnoticed. There were a few nervous people considering anxiously whether to drive off in their cars to escape the danger. But, as usual, everyone hoped that the storm would blow away.

    At two minutes before midnight, the radio gave out a short message. There seemed little doubt that Cyclone Tracy was moving towards Darwin.

    The first report of the cyclone's position was given at 9.40 p.m. Tracy was then seventy-three kilometers away, traveling east-south-east at six kilometers an hour. An hour later, it was sixty-four kilometers away, still moving at the same speed.

    In spite of the continued cyclone warnings, the people of Darwin went to bed well before midnight that night. They were tired from all the last-minute shopping and the excitement of Christmas.

    There were some, however, who stayed up much later, at Christmas Eve parties. Returning in the early hours of Christmas morning, they suddenly understood for the first time that the cyclone was going to hit Darwin. There was a very strong wind and the rain was coming down so hard, it hurt to be out in the open.

    Those who had gone to bed gave up trying to sleep. The noise from the wind seemed to fill every room. Lights were on all over the city. Families turned on their radios to hear the latest news about the advancing cyclone. Many of them moved into their bathrooms because they were told that was the safest place.

    Although Darwin lies in the recognized cyclone "belt"， the houses in the city were not built to stand up against such fierce winds. Many of them in the city were made of wood, with iron sheets for roofs. Other towns in Australia, within the same cyclone belt, had prepared a new building act.

    But Darwin did not follow their example. So the houses were very weak. Most of them were raised up on "legs" to provide extra coolness in the hot weather. The iron roofs were just nailed down instead of being firmly fixed with what Australian builders call "cyclone bolts."

    In spite of the increasing danger from Cyclone Tracy, now only thirty kilometers away, the local people were actually making jokes about it. They even made up songs about the cyclone that never reached Darwin.

    Little did they know that when Tracy arrived, not even the houses built with bricks would remain standing.

    For the boat out at sea the bad dream began at about midnight. Bob Hedditch had taken his fishing boat, the seventy-three foot Anson, out to sea at about 7.30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. There were two other men on board.

    "By 2 a.m., we had no steering, no lights, and only the main engine to keep us moving into the eye of cyclone," said Bob. The "eye" is the calm center of a cyclone, inside a ring of storm.

    It had taken just four hours for Cyclone Tray to turn Darwin into a huge pile of rubbish. There was not a single roof left on any of the buildings and the people of Darwin were standing outside their ruined homes like lost children.

    John Auld lived with his wife Helen and their 22-month-old-son Glenn, in Darwin, but until Cyclone Tracy arrived they did not know their neighbors very well. There was the Firth family across the road and the Dabovitch couple next door. The cyclone was to bring them all together.

    John Auld was working on night duty at Darwin airport. He was very busy because they were waiting for a British Airways plane on a flight to Sydney, stopping off at Darwin.

    Helen Auld, frightened by the screaming wind, tried to telephone her husband but all the lines were down. So she took the baby, who was asleep, into the bathroom and sat on the floor.

    Before Cyclone Tracy reached Darwin, its "eye" was very large. But now suddenly it began to get smaller and smaller. This caused the speed of the winds to increase even further around the eye.

    Within minutes people were running screaming into the dark streets. Houses were torn from the ground and thrown several yards in all directions.

    Tall office buildings and hotels fell to the ground. Cars parked in the street were blown over and over until every bit of metal was bent or scratched. At Darwin's railway station, trains were thrown into the air as if they were toys. The rails were torn up from the ground and bent into different shapes. All the time the cyclone was screaming and moaning and roaring.

    At the airport, John Auld watched in horror as fifty planes were destroyed. Some of them were blown for hundreds of yards. John looked at his watch. It was 4 a.m. He was desperately worried about Helen and the baby. When he felt that there was nothing more he could do at the airport, he ran to his car. Luckily it was under cover and was not damaged.

    He drove the six kilometers to his home as fast as he could but it was an almost impossible journey. All the roads were covered in overturned cars, doors, roofs, glass and furniture.

    When he reached the street where he lived, his house had disappeared and there was no sign of his family.

    But Peter Firth from across the road had rescued Helen and the baby. Helen had stayed in the bathroom holding her child closely to her. When the roof flew off, she thought she was going to die and prayed that her husband John would come back from the airport.

    As the full anger of Cyclone Tracy began to die down, Peter Firth struggled out of his ruined house and forced open the front door of the Auld's home. He found Helen and Glenn in a corner of the bathroom, the only room in the house, which was not destroyed. He led them to the safety of the storm cellar under his house. The Dabovitches joined them later. They had spent three hours hiding under the concrete steps in the front of their house, after their home had flown away into the night.

    John Auld searched everywhere for his family, until he found them in the Firths' cellar. Many of the people of Darwin escaped by hiding in cellars that night.

    One family stayed alive by lying under a bed all night as the cyclone tore down their house piece by piece.

    One man spent the whole night supporting the bathroom ceiling with his shoulders to protect his family.
    Another family with two children hid in a neighbor's shed which somehow managed to stay on the ground.
    The mother, Mrs. Vivianne Buffery, described the scene at the height of the storm. "Everything was flying through the air," she said, "Washing machines, fridges, television sets, ladders, fences."

    When Cyclone Tracy finally left Darwin, there was a strange silence throughout the city. Everyone waited, expecting the storm to turn round and come back again to make sure that all the buildings were knocked to the ground.
    But when the people at last appeared from their hiding places at dawn, they could see that the cyclone had done a very thorough job! Nothing was left standing for as far as the eye could see. Quite simply, the cyclone had picked up the city of Darwin, shaken it, and then dropped it to the ground like an unwanted toy.

    It took a long time to discover how many people had died in the cyclone. But after two weeks, the final figure was only forty-eight, including thirteen children under the age of twelve. More than sixty were injured, many of them seriously.

    The city was so badly hit that it was decided to bring in bulldozers to knock down whatever was left standing. The only thing to do was start from the beginning and rebuild the whole city.

    Thousands of families were flown out over the next few days to live in other parts of Australia until they could return to Darwin. But many people decided to stay behind to help in the long task of rebuilding their city.

课文二

    在如此短的时间内造成那么大规模的破坏，似乎不太可能。一分钟前，澳大利亚边远的北部城市达尔文有45000人，有的正在睡觉，有的刚刚参加完圣诞晚会回家。一分钟后，象老鼠钻出洞穴一样，他们爬出倒塌的房屋。这个城市方圆好几英里都毁了。

    有人含泪哭诉：“我在达尔文已经住了40年，看着它发展起来，现在又眼看着它毁于一旦。”

    但天气并非总是那么怡人。达尔文市人清楚地知道，他们这个地区有龙卷风的威胁。刚有大风迹象时，电台就发出了警告。但暴风极少袭击过海边的城镇，所以人们没有重视这一警告。 

    但是，1974年12月24日，当地电视台和电台都发出警告：气象员称之为“特蕾西”的龙卷风正迅速向达尔文市逼近。

    然而，那时正值圣诞节前夕。达尔文市的人们谁也不愿去想有关龙卷风的事，因为距圣诞节只有几个小时，人们还要忙于各种各样的准备。他们要为孩子们准备礼物，要准备第二天的大餐。

    电台频频发出的警告并非没有引起注意。一些紧张的人焦急地考虑，是否该驱车逃难。但是，象往常一样，人人都希望暴风雨会过去。

    子夜前两分钟，电台发出一则短讯。几乎毫无疑问，“特蕾西”龙卷风正向达尔文移来。

    有关龙卷风所在位置的第一份报告是晚上9：40发出的。那时“特蕾西”还在73公里外，以每小时6公里的速度由东向南，又由南向东移动。一小时后，它在64公里外，以同样的速度推进。

    尽管龙卷风的警告频频发出，达尔文市的人们还是早在子夜前就上床睡觉了。最后一刻的购物和圣诞节的激动已使他们精疲力尽。
   但是，有人在圣诞晚会上呆得很晚。圣诞早晨赶早回来时，他们第一次突然意识到龙卷风正向达尔文袭来。风刮得很猛烈，雨下得很大，在露天有受伤的危险。

    那些上了床的人不再睡了。风的呼啸声似乎充斥了每个房间。整座城市的灯都亮了。家家户户打开收音机，收听正在推进的龙卷风的最新消息。许多人躲进盥洗室，因为据说那里最安全。

　

    尽管达尔文处于认可的龙卷风带。这座城市建造房屋时，并没有考虑抵抗如此强大的飓风。城里的许多屋子是木制的，屋顶用的是铁板。同处在龙卷风带的其他澳大利亚城市，都早已制定了新的房屋建造条例。

    他们几乎不知道“特蕾西”何时到达，甚至不知道用砖头砌成的房子会不会不倒。

    对于出海的船，恶梦始于子夜时分。圣诞前夜下午7：30左右，鲍伯•海迪奇驾着他那73英尺长的渔船“安逊”出海。船上还有另外两个人。

    “到早晨两点时，我们已经没有舵，没有灯，只有主发动机拖着我们驶进龙卷风的‘风眼’，”鲍伯说。“风眼”是风暴圈内龙卷风的平静的中心。

    仅4个小时，“特蕾西”龙卷风就把达尔文市变成了一堆废墟。没有任何建筑留下任何一片屋顶。达尔文的人们象不知所措的孩子，呆呆地站在被摧毁的家园外。

    约翰•奥德与妻子海伦，还有22个月大的儿子格伦，住在达尔文市。但是，“特蕾西”龙卷风到来之前，他们和邻居还不熟悉。路对面住着弗思一家。隔壁住着戴伯维奇夫妇。龙卷风使他们聚在了一起。

    那天，约翰•奥德在达尔文机场值夜班。他很忙，正在等候一架飞往悉尼的英国航空公司的飞机，该机在达尔文机场中转。

    海伦•奥德被呼啸的大风吓坏了，她试着给丈夫打电话，可所有的线路都断了。她只好抱起熟睡的孩子躲进盥洗室，坐在地上。

    “特蕾西”龙卷风到达尔文之前，它的“风眼”很大，但是，它现在突然开始变得越来越小。这导致风眼外围的风速更快。

    几分钟里，人们尖叫着跑向漆黑的街道，房屋被从地面上掀起，抛出几码外，四处飞溅。

    在飞机场，眼看50架飞机被吹毁，约翰•奥德吓坏了。有些飞机被吹到几百码以外。约翰看了看手表，早上4：00。想到海伦和孩子，他担心极了。发现自己在机场于事无补，他疾步跑向汽车。还算幸运，他的车子刚好 有东西盖着，没有受损。

    他尽可能快地驱车赶回6公里之外的家，但这几乎是不可能的行程。所有的路上都是底朝天的汽车，门窗，屋顶，玻璃和家具。

    当他回到居住的街道时，他的房子早已不见了，没有一丝家人的痕迹。

    当怒吼的“特蕾西”龙卷风渐渐变弱时，彼特•弗思挣扎着爬出倒塌的房屋，用力打开奥德家的前门，他发现海伦和格伦蜷缩在盥洗室的角落里——家中唯一没有被毁坏的地方。彼特把他们领回自己家的防风地窖。戴伯维奇一家后来也来了——夜里他们家的房屋被刮跑了，在自家房屋前的水泥台阶下躲了3个小时。

    约翰•奥德四处寻找他的家人，直到后来在弗思家地窖里找到他们。那晚，达尔文市的许多市民是躲在地窖里逃过此劫的。

    有一家人，他们的房子被龙卷风一片片地刮跑了，他们整夜躺在床下，活了下来。

    有位母亲，维维安•巴菲夫人，描述了风力最劲时的情景。“所有的东西都在空中飞，”她说，“洗衣机啦、冰箱啦、电视机啦、楼梯啦、篱笆等等。”

    当“特蕾西”龙卷风最后离开达尔文时，整座城市有一种异样的沉寂，大家都在等，以为暴风雨可能还会卷土重来，要把所有的建筑物都夷为平地。

    黎明时分，当人们终于从躲藏的地方出来时，他们看到龙卷风干了一件彻底的事情！极目望去，无一站立之物。非常简单，龙卷风卷起达尔文城，摇了摇，然后象扔一个不要的玩具那样，把它摔在地上。

    花了很长时间才搞清楚究竟有多少人死于这次龙卷风。但是，两星期后，最终数字仅48人，包括12岁以下的儿童13人。60多人受伤，其中许多人是重伤。

    整座城市遭到严重的破坏，以致最后人们决定，用推土机铲除一切残留建筑。唯一要做的，是从头开始，重建整座城市。

    在以后的几天里，成千上万的家庭乘飞机到澳大利亚的其它城市居住，直至能够重新回到达尔文市。但是，很多人决定留下来，在重建城市的长期任务中提供帮助。