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Miracle on Christmas Day

by Deborh Morris

    On Christmas Eve the little girl, Brittany, was found lying in the snow, clad only in her underwear and nightshirt. Her tiny body was frozen stiff. Could the little girl be brought back to life? You will find a pleasantly surprising answer after reading the story.  

    Cold rain mixed with snow fell against the kitchen window of the house trailer in the US town of Elkins, West Virginia. Melinda Eichelberger, seven months pregnant, pulled a tray of Christmas cookies from the oven. The cold weather outside made the trailer a cozy place on this night of December 23, 1990.

    "Who wants a cookie?" Melinda called to Steve, 21, and their three-year-old daughter, Brittany, in the next room. Brittany quickly came around the corner. "I want one!" she said with a grin.

    Melinda, 20, was taking time off from her restaurant job to do Christmas baking. For once, she wouldn't have to rise at dawn to work the early shift. Steve, laid off from his discount-store job the week before, would also be home.

    Around midnight, Melinda wearily turned off the oven. Steve was already in bed; Brittany was on the floor, sound asleep. Their small Christmas tree twinkled brightly nearby.

    Melinda smiled down at her daughter. She looks so comfortable, she thought. I'll let her sleep here. Covering Brittany with a blanket, she kissed her cheek and went to bed.

    The clock read 9:33 a.m. when Melinda awoke with a start. Oh, I don't have to work today, she realized with relief. Then she noticed the house was unusually silent.

    "Brittany?" she called sleepily as she walked down the hallway. The moment she stepped into the living room an icy wind hit her. She looked around in confusion and saw the front door wide open. She pushed on the door. It was frozen in place. Good, Melinda thought with relief. She couldn't have gone outside.

    "Brittany?" she called again. Melinda thought her daughter might be playing a joke. Two nights before, Brittany and Steve had hidden in the hall closet and jumped out to surprise her. But the closet was empty and so was Brittany's bedroom.

    Melinda ran to wake Steve. "I can't find Brittany!" she cried. Together, they searched the trailer. Then Melinda's eyes turned to the door─and the cold landscape outside.

    "Oh dear God," she said. Throwing on jackets, the couple rushed out the door. The cold wind took their breath away. "Brittany!" they shouted, racing up and down the row of trailers. Why didn't I wake up earlier? Melinda thought. Why didn't I hear her open the door? Please, God, don't let anything have happened to my baby.

    Then she spotted something between two trailers. "Steve!" she cried out. Brittany, still clothed only in her underwear and nightshirt, was lying in the snow. Her eyes were frozen open, wide and staring, her mouth agape. With her face framed by soft blond curls, she looked like a porcelain doll.

    Steve took his daughter in his arms and raced for their trailer, shouting for help. Brittany's tiny body was stiff, unyielding. He laid her on the couch and started piling blankets on her as a neighbor rushed in.

    The man looked in horror at the frozen little girl, then checked for a pulse. Shaking his head, he placed both hands on her chest and began CPR. Steve, worried that Melinda would go into premature labor, sent her from the room with another neighbor.

    The phone rang in the local Emergency Squad room. Minutes later an emergency crew pulled up in front of the trailer. Brenda Dailey, a nurse, ran up the steps, her heart racing.

    When her fingers touched Brittany's neck to check for a pulse, she gasped─the flesh was cold and hard. She's frozen solid! she thought in disbelief. Dailey moved the child to the floor and continued CPR.

    A moment later Doctor Lora Eye and crew chief Delma Caudell rushed in with equipment. Caudell linked the child to a heart monitor. "She's got a flat line," she said grimly. As Steve turned away tearfully, Eye felt sad and depressed.

    The doctors placed chemical hot packs on Brittany and then inserted a tube down her throat to force oxygen into her lungs. After they wrapped her with blankets and loaded her onto the stretcher, Steve followed them to the ambulance. Assured that a neighbor would drive Melinda to the hospital, he climbed in, and sirens began to sound.

    Dr. John Veach was on duty in the hospital emergency room when Brittany arrived at 10:45 a.m. Her temperature was 23 degrees Celsius. She had been in a deathlike state for at least 40 minutes.

    The well-known rule in cases of severe cold, however, is that the victims aren't dead until they're warm and dead. "Get some heat lamps," Veach told the nurses.

    After taking a series of emergency measures, Veach asked Eye and Dailey to continue CPR. Until Brittany's blood circulated freely, the cardiac drugs they had administered would have little effect.

    Rushing into the room where Steve waited, Melinda held Brittany's favorite doll. "I thought she might want this," she said helplessly. Steve nodded, gently squeezing her hand.

    Huddled on the couch, Melinda felt a fresh wave of pain as she thought of the gaily wrapped presents─a toy kitchen set, a cartoon video, some new crayons─hidden away for Christmas morning. Would Brittany ever get to open them? Would she be there when her baby brother or sister was born?

    For more than two hours, in the heat of the eight lamps aimed at Brittany, nurses and doctors performed CPR. As the child's temperature approached 27 degrees with still no sign of life, the atmosphere in the emergency room grew increasingly tense. The unspoken thought hung in the air: It's time to give up.

    No one wanted to stop, however. Maybe it was because of the sad young parents outside, or simply because it was Christmas Eve. They continued to fight─forcing the child's stilled heart to beat, her empty lungs to fill.

    At about 1 p.m. Lora Eye noticed blood and liquid from Brittany's nose and mouth. "Look!" she shouted excitedly. Soon the heart monitor showed a subtle change─an uneven curve instead of a flat line.

    Over the next hour the screen showed increasing heart activity. At 2:15 p.m., Dr. Veach touched Brittany's neck. "I've got a pulse!" he exclaimed. Against all odds, the little girl's heart was beating on its own.

    Lora Eye smiled at Brenda Dailey and the other nurses. But even in that successful moment she felt a pang of doubt. The child had gone without oxygen for a long time─had they brought her back to a hopeless, vegetative existence? She quickly got rid of the thought. We did what we were trained to do, she decided. The rest is in God's hands.

    Melinda and Steve looked up fearfully when Veach walked in. "We've got your daughter's heart going again," he said. "We're transferring her to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh." The couple followed the doctor down the hall to see their daughter.

    Melinda gasped. Brittany was wrapped in warm blankets; only her blue lips and nose were visible.
    Stepping forward, Melinda laid Brittany's doll next to her. "Mommy's here," she whispered. "You're going to be okay." Minutes later the child was quickly sent to an ambulance. She'd be driven to a nearby airport, then flown to Pittsburgh.

    At Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, Dr. Shekhar Venkataraman received word that a child with severe cold injuries was being airlifted in. The doctor shook his head; such unfortunate things were always wrenching. There was one positive factor, however: severe cold injuries sometimes have surprising outcomes.

    When Brittany arrived at 4:30 p.m., Venkataraman tried to assess the child's condition. She didn't respond even to painful stimuli, and her pupils didn't react to light.

    Melinda and Steve, who had been driven to Pittsburgh by relatives, rushed into the hospital two hours later. "Your daughter's heart rate and blood pressure are becoming stabilized," Venkataraman told them, "but she's still very cold─only 29 degrees. We won't be able to run an EEG to evaluate her brain activity until she's a lot warmer."

    As dusk fell on Christmas Eve, the couple began a silent watch at their daughter's bedside. Melinda's eyes were full of tears as she looked at Brittany's face, so beautiful and so still. Please, God, she prayed, let her be okay.

    Then, early Christmas morning, the little girl's eyes suddenly fluttered open. "Brittany?" Melinda said breathlessly. " Can you hear me?" The eyes closed again, but Melinda was certain she had understood. "She's going to be okay," she told Steve excitedly. "I just know it!"

    Brittany seemed to grow more alert as the day passed slowly. Several times it looked as though she was trying to focus on Melinda's face.

    "She's coming around pretty quickly," Venkataraman told Melinda and Steve, "but until we take her off the respirator and see if she recognizes you, we won't be able to assess how much brain damage has occurred."

    The next afternoon, Venkataraman and several nurses gathered around Brittany's bed in the Intensive Care Unit. As Melinda waited nearby, they carefully slid the respirator tube from Brittany's throat. She coughed for a moment, then began to cry and call out, "Mommy, Mommy!"

    Melinda rushed to Brittany's bedside. As she tearfully kissed her daughter, the doctor and nurses watched with wide grins. The Christmas they had missed in doubt and despair had finally come, bearing the priceless gift of a child's life renewed.

  Brittany's discolored skin soon regained its normal color. Physical treatment restored full use of her hands and feet, and helped solve the problem that occasionally left her off-balance.

    By the time her sister, Kristin, was born in March, Brittany was walking and playing again, a happy three-year-old.

    Today Melinda and Steve still shake their heads when they recall the Christmas Eve their precious little girl was lost, then miraculously restored. "It didn't seem possible that she'd ever wake up," Melinda says. "But getting her back was the greatest Christmas gift of my life!"

(1,650 words)                  TOP

课文一

圣诞节的奇迹

戴博·莫里斯

    圣诞前夜，小姑娘布里特妮在雪地里被发现时，身上只穿了内衣和睡衣，小小的身体已经冻僵。小姑娘会被救活吗？读完故事后，你会发现一个令人惊喜的答案。 

 　  故事发生在弗吉尼亚州西部的一个名叫埃尔金的小镇上。当时寒冷的雨雪洒落在活动房屋的厨房窗上。梅林达·艾克尔伯格，一位已怀孕七个月的孕妇，正把一盘子圣诞糕点从烤炉中拿出来。外面寒冷的天气，使得小屋在1990年12月23日的这个夜晚变得格外温暖。

　　“谁想尝块甜饼？”梅林达朝着隔壁房间21岁的史蒂夫以及他们三岁的女儿布里特妮喊着。布里特妮很快跑了过来，微笑着说：“我要一块！”

　　20岁的梅林达在饭店工作。她专门请了假来准备家里的圣诞食品。 这样她可用不着一大清早就起床去赶早班了。史蒂夫也呆在家里，他一周前被所在的廉价商店暂时解雇。 

　　半夜前后，梅林达疲倦地关掉了烤炉。史蒂夫已上了床，女儿布里特妮躺在地板上睡着了。一棵小圣诞树在她附近闪烁着。 

　　梅林达含笑注视着女儿，心里想：她看上去多舒服啊！就让她睡在这儿吧。她给女儿盖上一条毛毯，亲了亲她的面颊，然后去睡觉了。

　　当梅林达突然醒来时，时钟已指向早上9：33分了。噢，今天我不用去上班了。想到这一点，她松了口气。接着她感觉到房间里不寻常的安静。　

　　“布里特妮？”她边走下门厅边睡意未尽地喊着。刚走进客厅，一股寒冷的风朝她吹来。她迷惑不解地四处看了一下，发现前门大开着。她把门推上。屋里冷冰冰的。梅林达放心地想，天这么冷，女儿不可能到外面去。

　　“布里特妮？”她又喊了一声。梅林达以为，女儿可能在和自己开玩笑。两天前的晚上，布里特妮和史蒂夫躲在客厅的衣橱里，然后突然跳出来吓了她一跳。但衣橱里是空的，布里特妮的卧室里也没人。

　　梅林达跑过去叫醒史蒂夫。“我找不到布里特妮！”她喊道。他们一起搜索了活动房屋。接着，梅林达的眼睛转向门口——转向寒冷的屋外。

　　她叫了声：“天哪！”夫妇俩披上外衣，冲出了门。寒风使他们觉得呼吸都很困难。他们叫喊着女儿的名字，在一排排活动房屋中间前后跑着。梅林达心里责备着自己：“为什么我不早点醒来？为什么我没听见她开门？老天，千万别让我的孩子发生什么事情。”

　　她在两排房间之间突然看见了什么。“史蒂夫！”梅林达大声叫着。布里特妮躺在雪地里，身上仍然只穿着内衣和睡衣。她的眼睛冻得张开着，瞪得大大的，她的嘴也张着。柔软金黄的卷发簇拥着她的脸，整个人看上去就像个瓷娃娃。

 
　　史蒂夫把女儿抱了起来，朝自己的房子奔去并大声求助。布里特妮幼小的身躯已经僵硬，无法弯曲了。史蒂夫把女儿放在长沙发上，拉了条毯子给她盖上，这时一位邻居跑了进来。

　　这位邻居惊恐地看了看冻僵的女孩，然后摸了摸她的脉博。他一边摇头，一边把双手放她的胸口上做着心肺复苏的动作。史蒂夫担心梅林达会早产，让另一位邻居送她回自己的房间。

　　当地急救中心的电话铃响了。几分钟后，急救人员在屋前停下了车。护士布伦达·戴莉跑上台阶，此时她的心跳得飞快。

 
　　她把手指放在布里特妮的颈部、检查她的脉博时，她不由得倒吸了一口气——女孩的身体冰冷而僵硬。她不敢相信地暗想，这女孩已冻僵了。戴莉把孩子移到地板上，继续做着复苏心肺的努力。

　　过了一会儿，劳洛·艾医生和急救人员负责人德尔马·考戴尔带着急救设备也冲进屋里。考戴尔把心脏监测器给女孩接上。接着她严肃地宣布道：“孩子的心脏已不跳了。”史蒂夫流着泪走开了，艾医生感到十分悲伤和沮丧。

　　医生们把化学热裹布盖在布里特妮身上，并把一根管子插入她的喉咙以迫使氧气进入她的肺部。他们用毯子把女孩包起来放在担架上，史蒂夫跟着他们来到救护车跟前。他确定有一位邻居将开车送梅林达去医院后，便爬进救护车。车在警报声中奔向医院。

　　上午10：45，布里特妮被送到医院，在医院急诊室值班的是约翰·维克博士。女孩的体温为摄氏23度。她处于死亡状态至少已有40分钟了。

　　然而，严重冻伤病例的处理中有一条著名规则就是患者并未真正死亡，必须等到给他们身体加温后才能确定他们是否死亡。维克命令护士：“拿几盏高温灯来。”

　　在采取了一系列紧急措施之后，维克让艾和戴莉继续心肺复苏工作。因为必须要布里特妮的血液自由流通起来，他们用于心脏的药物才会起些作用。

 
　　梅林达拿着布里特妮喜欢的布娃娃闯进了史蒂夫呆的房间。她无助地说：“我想她也许需要这个。”史蒂夫点点头，体贴地紧握住妻子的手。 

　　梅林达蜷缩在沙发上。当她想到那些包装鲜艳的礼物——一套玩具厨房用品，一盒卡通录像带，一些新的腊笔——想到这些都已藏好，将在圣诞节一早带给女儿惊喜的礼物时，她就感到又一阵痛楚席卷而来。布里特妮还能打开这些礼物吗？她还能亲眼看见她的小弟弟或小妹妹出生吗？ 

　　八只高温灯照着布里特妮已经两个多小时了，护士和医生们还在做着心肺复苏。虽然孩子的体温已接近27度，但还无生还的迹象，急救室里的气氛逐渐变得紧张起来。一个没有说出口的想法在人们之间传送着：“该放弃了。” 

　　然而，没有人愿意住手。这也许是因为外面那对悲伤的年轻夫妇，或只是因为这是圣诞夜。他们继续战斗着——努力使孩子停止的心脏再跳动起来，空空的肺重新呼吸起来。

 
　　大约下午1：00，劳洛注意到一些血和液体从布里特妮的鼻子和嘴里流了出来。“快看！”她兴奋大叫起来。很快心脏监测器显示出细微的变化——一条不规则的曲线代替了直线出现在监视器上。
　　接下来的一个小时，屏幕上显示出心脏在逐渐恢复活动。到了下午2：15分，维克博士摸了摸布里特妮的颈部。“我摸到脉搏了！”他惊叫道。历尽千难万苦，小女孩的心脏终于自己跳动起来了。

　　劳洛·艾朝布伦达·戴莉和其他护士微微一笑。但即使在成功的一瞬，她还是感到很大的疑虑。孩子已缺氧很长时间——他们会不会只救活了一个没有希望的植物人。但她很快又抛弃了这一想法，并拿定主意，我们就按我们的能力去做，其他就靠老天帮忙了。

　　维克走进屋时，梅林达和史蒂夫惊恐地抬起头来。他说：“我们已使你们女儿的心脏重新跳动了。我们准备把她送到匹兹堡儿童医院去。”夫妇俩跟随医生穿过走廊，去看望自己的女儿。 

　　梅林达倒抽了一口气。布里特妮被裹在暖和的毯子里，只能看见她青色的嘴唇和鼻子。

　　梅林达朝前走了几步，把布里特妮的洋娃娃放在她身边，并轻声地说：“妈咪来了，你会好的。”几分钟后，孩子被火速送上了救护车。她将被送到附近的机场，然后飞往匹兹堡。

 　　匹兹堡儿童医院的希克哈·文卡塔拉曼博士得到消息，说有一位严重冻伤的儿童将用飞机送来。博士摇了摇头：这种不幸总让人感到悲哀。但是还有一线希望：严重冻伤患者有时会出人意料地恢复健康。 

　　布里特妮下午4:30到达，文卡塔拉曼为孩子进行了诊断。她甚至对很疼的刺激都没有反应，她的瞳孔对光线没有反应。

　　由亲戚开车送到匹兹堡的梅林达和史蒂夫两小时后也赶到了医院。文卡塔拉曼告诉他们：“你们女儿的心率和血压正趋于稳定，但她的身体还是冰凉的——体温只有29度。只有当她体温再上升些时，我们才能做脑电图，测量她大脑的活动。”

 
　　黄昏降临了。整个圣诞夜，夫妇俩静静地守在女儿的床边。梅林达看着女儿，她的脸是那么漂亮，那么安详，不由得眼中充满了泪水。她心里暗自祷告：老天，开开恩吧！让她好起来吧。

　　圣诞节的一清早，小女孩的眼睛突然颤抖抖地睁开了。梅林达紧张地问道：“布里特妮？你能听见我的声音吗？”她的眼睛又闭上了，但梅林达确信女儿听见了。她激动地告诉史蒂夫“我敢肯定她开始恢复了。”

　　随着这一天的慢慢过去，布里特妮似乎变得更为警醒。好几次看得出她试着把注意力集中在梅林达的脸上。

　　维卡塔拉曼告诉梅林达和史蒂夫说：“她将很快好转，但我们摘下她的人工呼吸装置，看她能否认出你之前，我们还无法估计她的大脑受到了多大的损伤。”

　　第二天下午，维卡塔拉曼和几个护士围在特护病房布里特妮的床边。这时梅林达也在旁边等候着，医生和护士小心翼翼地把人工呼吸装置的管子从布里特妮的喉咙里拿出来。她咳嗽了一阵，然后哭喊着：“妈咪，妈咪！” 

　　梅林达冲到了布里特妮的床边。当她哭着吻自己的女儿时，在旁边看着的医生和护士们都笑了，他们在疑惑和失望中所盼望的圣诞节终于来到了，而且带来了一份非常珍贵的礼物——一个孩子的新生。

　　布里特妮失色的皮肤很快恢复了正常的颜色。物理治疗使她的双手和双脚也全部恢复了功能，同时帮助解决了偶尔身体会失衡的问题。

　　 等妹妹克里斯汀三月份出生时，布里特妮已经又能正常走路和玩耍了——一个快乐的三岁小孩。

　　如今梅林达和史蒂夫回忆起他们失去珍贵的女儿，接着又奇迹般地重新得到她的那个圣诞节时，还是忍不住地直摇头。梅林达说：“她能醒过来似乎是绝不可能的事，然而能再次拥有她是我一生中得到的最棒的圣诞礼物。”

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Text 2

"My Babies Are in That Car!"

by William M. Hendryx

    Winter winds were gusting outside the coin laundry as Joy Warren carried her basket to the car. The 37-year-old mother of seven had less than 20 minutes to pick up two of her older children from school in Fort Worth, Texas. "Let's go," she said to the younger ones. Faith, age five, jumped into the back seat of the aging 1978 station wagon, and Stephen, three, followed. Joy strapped four-month-old Esther in to the rear-facing infant car seat beside her.

    Months earlier, thieves had broken into the car and damaged the mechanism of the car. Repairs, however, simply weren't in the budget. Joy and her husband, Bill, a computer programmer, had sacrificed to educate their children at Calvary Academy, a private school.

    "We're going to be late," Joy told the kids 20 minutes later as the car began climbing the steep drive. Pulling into the far edge of the crowded parking lot, Joy could see noisy North Forest Park Boulevard 150 yards below and, just beyond it, the Trinity River.

    "All of you stay put11. I'll be back in a second," she said, turning to Faith and Stephen. "And keep an eye on Esther for me, okay?" She didn't like leaving the children alone, but the baby was sleeping soundly. And it would only be a moment or two.

    Dashing the 40 yards to the school entrance, Joy had to wait for Adam and Lori. They're taking too long, she thought. She had to get back.

    As she finally hurried out the door, trailed by Adam and Lori, she found the car's luggage rack moving in the distance. Oh, my God! The car had drifted off the lot and was coasting toward the grassy, tree-lined field below. This can't be happening!

    Her heart beating wildly from fear, Joy raced after the car. But the car moved faster and faster, so the gap between Joy and her three youngest children widened. As she raced down the steep incline, she saw the five-year-old, now in the front seat, clearly trying to stop the car.

    Joy kept up running after the car, watching in despair12 as the car miraculously avoided one tree after another. Within seconds, the car swept through the school's seldom-used lower parking lot, missing every light pole, then turning sharply toward the four-lane North Forest Park Boulevard.

    Seret Gomez, a 17-year-old, and classmate Daniel Whitehead, an athletic 16, were standing beside Daniel's car on that February day in 1992. Suddenly they saw the lumbering station wagon 200 feet below, with Joy running more than 100 feet behind. It's heading for the highway! Daniel thought. "Come on!" he called to Seret.

    With his athlete's speed, Daniel caught up with Joy as she hesitated near the highway. "Is anyone in there?" he called as he ran past, Seret only a few steps behind.

    "My babies!" Joy cried. "My babies are in that car!"

    As the wagon entered the street, traffic in both directions was heavy. Moving across the first two lanes, the car shot across the two southbound lanes without receiving a scratch.

    Thank God! Joy thought. But her relief was quickly dashed. The car, moving at a speed of up to 30 miles per hour, now faced a greater danger. It's heading for the river!

    Unable to swim, Joy felt helpless as the car tilted down the bank and launched itself from a four foot drop-off. Its wheels still spinning, the car sailed 20 feet before landing with a thunderous splash in the cold, muddy water.

    Lord, help them! Joy screamed inside. Who will save them now?

    Daniel glanced both ways before bounding across the road. At this point, traffic had all but stopped. He threw off his coat as he neared the riverbank.

    Pausing, he saw the car tilting nose-down at a dangerous 45-degree angle. Inside he saw Faith and Stephen, wide-eyed with fright, climbing into the back seat to reach a higher point.

    Without thinking, Daniel dived headfirst into the river. He was shocked by the icy coldness and the strength of the current. He reached the car in a few strokes and grabbed the front passenger door handle. But the water was only four inches beneath the window, and the door wouldn't move slightly. Not a good idea anyway, he realized. The car would immediately sink.

    Daniel was suddenly aware of a bearded stranger next to him. The man was trying to open the rear passenger door. Inside, Stephen and Faith were staring at the stranger through the foggy windows.

    The car was settling deeper and deeper into the current. "We've got to break the window!" Daniel called to the man.

    Two minutes earlier, Charles "Skip" Womack, 35, a truck driver, had driven his 18-wheeler around a bend on North Forest Park Boulevard just as a station wagon rushed across the pavement in front of him. He turned on his emergency lights and braked to a stop just as the car splashed into the water.

    Skip jumped from his truck and saw a young man rushing onto the roadway several yards to his left. Skip ran abreast of him toward the river. From behind he heard a woman's urgent cries: "My babies! Someone help my babies!"

    There're kids in there! he realized.

    Skip jumped feet-first, his plunge almost at the same time with Daniel's. His high-top boots were filled with icy water, and his jeans felt like lead. But when he saw Stephen and Faith huddled in the back seat, he had just one thought: If I don't get them out, they'll drown.

    Only vaguely aware that Daniel was next to him, Skip violently pulled at the door beside the back seat, but it was locked. Noticing a half-inch gap in the window, he painfully wedged his thick, workman's fingers through the slot and pulled at the glass hard. It wouldn't give.

    Suddenly, another hand appeared at the window, as Daniel put his smaller fingers farther into the opening. With one powerful snap, the two men broke the safety glass into hundreds of pieces.

    Skip called to Faith and Stephen, "We've got to get you out of here!" The car was sinking fast. Their faces filled with fear, the children moved quickly toward the open window. Holding on to the car with one hand, Daniel reached inside, hooked Faith beneath her left arm and lifted her out. She looks like she's in shock, he thought, as he tried with all his strength to hold her out of the water. Daniel pushed away from the car, to make room for13 the next rescuer. It was then that he saw Seret next to the front door. She had followed him into the water.

    Racing only a few steps behind Daniel, Seret had dived in. She swallowed a gulp of muddy water. Her mind raced. Keep us all safe. It's going to be okay. We can do this!

    She reached the car just as Daniel and Skip were removing Faith. Inside, she saw Stephen's wide eyes staring at her. Good, he knows I'm coming to get him.

    Daniel carried Faith on his back, wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and set out for shore. But the current was too strong, and he was tiring fast. He changed course, swimming with the current, and finally made it to shore downstream. He passed the little girl to the arms of her anxious mother. Joy Warren removed her jacket and wrapped it around Faith, while a bystander14 helped Daniel from the water.

    Meanwhile, Seret had inched along the car toward Stephen. She placed her foot against the door and seized the boy by the arm, dragging him out the window. She took him in her arm and pushed slowly away from the car. But the 28-pound load was more than she had expected. Seret fought to hold him up, while making efforts to keep her own head above water. I have to make it, she thought. Then out of nowhere, another person appeared.

    Allan McGinnis had been driving along North Forest Park when he noticed a crowd at the river. As he slowed, he saw a car in the water and a teen-age girl beside it. Jumping from his van, he plunged into the water.

    Allan quickly reached Seret and Stephen. Taking the boy from her and holding him straight out to the side, Allan fought his way to shore, using only his legs and left arm. After passing Stephen to a stranger, he climbed onto the bank and collapsed.

    Alone now in the water, Skip Womack could see the baby strapped in the front car seat, the water already touching her legs. Skip pounded his fist on the front-door window again and again, but it was no use. If he was to save the infant, he'd have to get at her through the back window.

    He'd have to crawl inside the sinking station wagon.

    Driving his old truck toward his office, Rodger Brownlee saw a large crowd of people, and a station wagon in the water. A man was banging on the passenger window with his fist.

    Rodger hesitated. There're so many people here already. But he pulled over and walked quickly toward the river. By now, the man who had been pounding on the car window had crawled inside.

    If the car sinks, that guy's in big trouble! Rodger thought. He took off his boots and charged across the bank, jumping in.

    Inside the car, Skip reached his hand to Esther─not making a sound as she stared up at him with bright round eyes.

    Give me strength, Lord! Skip prayed as he felt the car settle deeper into the water. He tried to break the strap with force. Something snapped, but there was still no slack. Giving up, he forced the strap away from Esther just enough to squeeze her tiny shoulder from beneath it. The baby was free.

    Just outside the window a blond man was treading water. "Take the baby!" Skip called to Rodger Brownlee. Taking hold of the child, Rodger held the infant face up under his right arm and kicked away from the car.

    When Rodger finally felt his feet touch bottom, he was gasping. Swimming across the current with one arm, while keeping the baby's head out of the water, had left him completely exhausted. Struggling for a foot-hold, he passed the child to a waiting stranger, then found another extended hand to help him out. The stranger worked his way through the crowd to deliver the infant to her grateful mother. Joy held her baby tight, muttering a silent prayer of thanks.

    As Rodger Brownlee got his footing, he turned to see Skip Womack only a few feet behind. With the aid of three others, Rodger assisted him up the bank.

    Trying to catch their breath, the two men looked back in time to see the old car suddenly spin 180 degrees and disappear beneath the water.

    At that moment. Engine No. 2 of the Fort Worth Fire Department screeched to a stop behind them. The time was 3:38 p.m.─only six minutes had passed since the car began its deadly descent.

    Though Faith was visibly shaken, neither she nor Stephen was injured. Esther─held tightly in her mother's arms─was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she was treated for a mild scratch and released. A short time later, Bill Warren, Joy's husband, arrived to take them home.

    The following Sunday, the five rescuers were honored at a morning church service. Three months later, on May 12, 1992, the grateful Fort Worth Fire Department─in a presentation before the city council─ publicly praised them for their selfless acts.

(1,952 words)                 TOP

课文二

“我的孩子在汽车上！”

　　冬天的寒风正在投币洗衣店外面猛刮着。乔伊·沃伦把篮子拿到汽车上时，这位37岁的七个孩子的母亲只剩下20分钟不到的时间去得克萨斯州的福特·沃斯学校接她的两个大孩子。她对几个年幼的孩子说：“我们走吧！”五岁的费恩跳上了汽车的后排座位，三岁的斯蒂芬紧随其后上了车。这是一辆1978年产的客货两用车，车子已经很旧了。乔伊把四个月的埃斯特，用皮带固定在身旁脸朝后坐的婴儿座位上。

　　几个月前，窃贼撬门进入汽车，破坏了汽车的机械系统。然而，这笔修理费并不在他们的预算之内。乔伊和她的丈夫比尔——一位计算机程序设计师——一起做出很多牺牲，为的是把孩子送往卡尔瓦里的一所私立高级中学接受教育。

　　二十分钟后，当车开始驶上陡峭的车道时，乔伊告诉孩子们：“我们要迟到了。”车停靠在拥挤的停车场那头的边上，乔伊能看见下方150码处的喧闹的北森林公园大街，再过去一点，就是特里尼泰河。

　　乔伊说：“你们都坐在车上别动，我马上就回来。”接着她转过身对费思和斯蒂芬说：“你们替我看着点埃斯特，好吗？”她并不愿意把孩子们单独留在车上，但这时婴儿睡得正沉，再说反正只要等一会儿。

　　乔伊快步走了40码来到学校门口，亚当和洛里还没有来。她心里想， 这两个孩子太磨蹭了。她必须赶回去了。

　　总算等到了亚当和洛里。他们跟在乔伊身后匆忙走出校门，这时，乔伊发现远处汽车的行李架正在移动。天啊，汽车已移出停车场，正朝着下面绿草覆盖、树木成行的地带滑行。不可能会这样！

　　乔伊在车后追赶着。由于恐惧，她的心狂跳不止。但汽车移动的速度越来越快，因此乔伊和三个年幼的孩子之间的距离也越拉越大。当她顺着陡峭的斜坡向下飞奔时，她看到五岁的费思正坐在前排座位上——很明显，她在试图把汽车停下来。

　　乔伊在汽车后面继续绝望地追赶着，与此同时，汽车奇迹般地避开了一棵又一棵的树。汽车很快穿过了学校很少使用的那块低地停车场，没撞到任何一根电线杆子，然后突然转向了四车道的北森林公园大街。

　　那是1992年2月的一天，当时 17岁的塞里特·戈梅斯和她16岁的同学，身体健壮的丹尼尔·怀特黑德，正站在丹尼尔的车旁。突然，他们看见下面200英呎处一辆两用车正在歪歪扭扭地行驶，而乔伊在车后100多英呎处追赶着。丹尼尔想，车要冲上公路了！他对塞里特大叫一声：“快来！”
　　凭着他运动员般的速度，丹尼尔很快追上了乔伊，她还在公路旁犹豫着。“车上有人吗？”他跑过她身边时问了一句，此时塞里特在他身后几步处紧紧跟随着。
　　“我的孩子！”乔伊叫喊着：“我的孩子在那辆车上！”

　　公路上来回方向的车都很多。汽车驶上公路，穿过了前面两条车道，接着又毫发无损地冲过了那两条南向车道。

　　乔伊心想：谢谢上帝！但她的心很快又紧张起来。汽车以每小时30英里的速度向前行驶着，现在它又面临着更大的危险。汽车冲向了河边！ 　

　　乔伊不会游泳。眼看着汽车在河岸边下倾并随之从四英尺的高度坠下时，乔伊心中万分无奈。由于车的轮子仍在旋转，汽车在水面上冲出了近20英尺才扑通一声栽入冰冷的泥水中。

　　乔伊心里喊道，老天，帮帮他们吧！现在谁能救救他们呢？

　　丹尼尔穿过马路前，左右扫了一眼。这时，路上的车几乎都停了下来。他边跑向河边，边把衣服脱了下来。

　　在河边停下脚步时，他看见汽车呈45度头朝下危险地倾斜着。汽车里的费思和史蒂芬惊恐地睁大着眼睛，正往汽车的后排座位爬着，想到高一点的地方去。  

　　丹尼尔没有考虑就一头扎入河中。刺骨的寒冷和水流的强度使他感到震惊。他划了几下水来到汽车边上，抓住了前门的把手。但河水已淹至门窗下四英寸了，而且根本推不开门。他意识到这着实不是一个好办法 —— 一开门，汽车会马上沉下去的。

　　丹尼尔突然意识到，身旁多了一个蓄胡子的陌生人。那人在试着打开后门，而车里面史蒂芬和费思正透过带有雾气的玻璃，紧盯着那个陌生人看。

　　汽车在河水里越沉越深。丹尼尔对那人喊到：“我们必须把汽车玻璃打碎！”

　　两分钟前，35岁的卡车司机查尔斯·“斯基普”·沃马克驾驶着他18轮的大卡车刚开过北森林公园大街的一个转弯处，就看见一辆两用车在他面前横冲而过。他打开车上的紧急信号灯，煞住卡车，而那辆两用车则在此时坠入水中。

　　斯基普从卡车上跳了下来，他看见一位年轻人正在他左边几步远的车道上奔跑着。斯基普和他并肩朝河边跑去。他听见身后传来一位妇女急迫的叫声：“我的孩子！谁来救救我的孩子！”　

　　他明白了，车上有孩子！  

　 斯基普几乎和丹尼尔同时跳入水中。他是直挺挺跳进来的，高筒靴顿时进满了冰冷的水，牛仔裤像铅一样重。但当他看见史蒂芬和费思在后排座位上抱成一团时，他只有一个念头：如果我不把他们救出来，他们会淹死的。

　　斯基普并没有真正注意到丹尼尔的存在，他拼命拉着后排座位边上的门，但门是锁着的。他看到窗上有半寸左右的间隙，就忍住疼痛把自己粗壮的干活儿人的手指硬塞进很细的缝隙里，用力掰着窗玻璃，但没能掰碎它。

　　  突然，另一只手出现在玻璃窗旁，这是丹尼尔用他细小些的手指从玻璃开口处伸到更里面一些。随着劈啪一声，安全玻璃变成了几百块碎片。

　　斯基普对费思和史蒂芬叫道：“我们得把你们弄出去！”汽车下沉速度很快。孩子们快速地移向打破的窗口，脸上充满了惊恐。丹尼尔一只手抓紧汽车，一只手探到车内，托在费思的左腋下，把她救出车外。他使出全身的劲儿举着她，尽量不让她沾水。他心里暗想：这孩子看上去吓坏了。丹尼尔用力使自己离开了汽车，给下一个救援者腾出地方。正在此时，他看见了塞里特在汽车前门旁边。她是紧随着丹尼尔下的水。　

　　塞里特仅比丹尼尔差几步路，她跟着丹尼尔跳入河中。她呛了一大口混浊的河水。她的头脑在急速翻腾。别让我们有什么危险。一切都会好的！我们能对付这一切！

　　丹尼尔和斯基普从车里救出费思时，她也游到了汽车旁。她看到车内的史蒂夫睁大双眼看着她。太好了，他知道我来救他了。

　　丹尼尔让费思趴在他背上并用小胳膊搂住他的脖子，然后向岸边游去。但河水的水流很急，他很快就精疲力尽了。丹尼尔只得改变方向，随着水流向前游，终于顺流游到岸边。他把小女孩递到焦急的母亲的手上。乔伊·沃伦脱下自己的外衣把费思裹了起来，这时，一位旁观者帮助丹尼尔也上了岸。

　　与此同时，塞里特沿着汽车一点一点地靠近了史蒂芬。她把脚顶在车门上，抓住孩子的胳膊，把他从车窗里拽了出来。她抱住史蒂芬，慢慢地游离了汽车。但28磅重的负担超出了她的预料。塞里特不但要努力把他举起来，还得尽力使自己的头抬出水面。她想：我必须坚持住！。这时，不知从哪里又冒出一个人来。

　　阿伦·麦金尼斯正驱车沿着北森林公园行驶，他突然发现河边有一大群人。他放慢了车速，看见河里有辆汽车，车边上有个十几岁的姑娘。他从自己的货车上跳下来，一下子跃入河中。  

　　阿伦很快来到塞里特和史蒂芬身边。他从塞里特手里接过孩子，并把他直接挟在自己身体的右侧。只用双腿和左手，阿伦奋力向岸边游去。把史蒂芬递给一位陌生人后，他爬上了岸，倒在了地上。

　　河里现在只剩下斯基普，他看见一个婴儿被皮带固定在汽车前排座位上，河水已经淹至他的腿。斯基普用拳头一次又一次砸着前门的玻璃，但无济于事。如果他想救那个婴儿的话，就必须从后窗进去。

　　车正在沉没，而他不得不钻到车里面。  

　　罗杰·布郎利正驾驶着自己的旧卡车去办公室。他看见了一大群人以及水里的汽车。水中有人正用拳头砰砰砸着前门的车窗。

　　罗杰犹豫了一下。那里已经有这么多人了。但他还是把车停靠下来，快步朝河边走去。此时，那个砸窗的人已经钻进车内。

　　罗杰想：如果车沉了，那家伙可有大麻烦了！他脱下靴子，冲过河岸，跳入河中。

　　在车里面，斯基普摸到了埃斯特。她一声不吭，用明亮的圆眼睛盯着他。

　　老天啊，给我力量吧！斯基普祷告着，因为他觉得汽车在水里下沉很更厉害了。他试着把皮带强行扯断。只听叭地一声，但皮带并未松开。他只能放弃这么做，接着他用力把皮带从埃斯特身上拉开使她的小肩膀从皮带下勉强钻出来——婴儿终于脱离了皮带的束缚。

　　就在窗外，一个黄头发的男人正踩着水。“接住孩子！”斯基普对罗杰·布郎利喊道。罗杰接过了婴儿，用右手把她脸朝上地抱着，蹬离了汽车。

　　当罗杰的脚终于触碰到水底时，他已气喘嘘嘘了。用一只胳膊游过急流，同时要使婴儿的头露出水面，这一切使他精疲力竭。他一边努力保持平衡，一边把孩子递给一位等待在那里的陌生人，接着另一个人伸手帮他上了岸。那位陌生人穿过人群，把孩子送到她那充满感激之情的母亲手里。乔伊紧紧地搂住自己的孩子，心中默诵地祈祷感谢。

　　罗杰·布郎利站稳后，转身看见斯基普·沃马克仅就在他身后几英尺处。罗杰和另外三人一起拉他上了岸。

　　他们两人一边喘气一边回头，正好看到水中那辆车突然转体180度，消失在水中。

　　这时，福特·沃思消防署的2号消防车呼叫着在他们身后停下。时间是下午3：38分，离那辆车坠河只有六分钟。

　　虽然费思看上去受了惊吓，但她和史蒂芬都没有受伤。埃斯特被母亲紧紧地抱在怀里，由救护车送进了医院。在医院里她身上轻微的擦伤受到了治疗，并且很快就出院了。不久，乔伊的丈夫比尔·沃伦来到医院把他们接回家。

　　第二个周日上午，五位援救者在教堂礼拜仪式时受到表彰。三个月后，也就是1992年5月12日，深感谢意的福特·沃思消防署向市政委员会做陈述时，公开表扬了这几位援救者的无私行为。

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