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山中救援
添加时间:2016-10-31 17:02:02 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • When Ruth Hagan was 78 years old, she visited her daughter Judy and teenage granddaughter Marcy in California. They headed for their cabin, zigzagging1 forty miles up and down the mountains in their Bronco, from pavement to gravel2(砂石,沙砾) to a narrow one-lane road of brittle(易碎的) shale3 and powdery dirt that wound terrifyingly close to cliffs. After dinner Marcy announced the water tank was low and that she would take the Bronco down to the pump and get water. Ruth was nervous about her young granddaughter driving down the narrow dirt road by herself, but Judy reminded her that Marcy had been driving vehicles up there on the ranch4 roads since she was 12. "Just be careful, Marcy," her mother warned. "They've had a dry spell up here and the cliff side is pretty shaky. Be sure to hug the mountain side."

    Ruth said a quick prayer as she and Judy watched Marcy from the big window where they could see the road winding5 down the mountainside. Fifteen minutes later Judy was still watching when suddenly she screamed, "Oh no! God help us! She went over the cliff, Momma! The Bronco and Marcy - they went over! We have to help her! Come on!" The cabin door slammed and Judy took off running. Ruth ran behind her, but Judy was quickly out of sight after the first turn in the road. Ruth raced down the steep hill, breathing hard. She ran on and on, down the hill, up the next, trying to catch up with her daughter. It was getting harder and harder to see anything at dusk. Ruth stopped cold and looked around. She screamed into the darkness "Judy, where are you?" Off to her immediate6 right and down the cliff she heard, "Down here, Mother! Don't come near the edge! I slipped on loose rocks and fell over. I'm down about twenty feet." "Oh dear God, Judy, what can I do?" "Just stay back, Momma! The road is giving out all over! I think I can crawl back up. I saw the white roof of the Bronco when I was falling, Momma, and I heard Marcy calling for help. She's alive! But she's way down there in the ravine(沟壑,峡谷) . You have to go back to the cabin and phone for help. Tell them to send a helicopter. We have to get Marcy out!" Ruth resisted looking over the edge to make sure Judy was really okay. She turned around and started running back up the hill she'd just stumbled down. Up one hill, down the next. She had one hill left to climb when she stumbled on loose dirt and rocks and fell on her face. Chest pains took her breath away. She started to sob7. "Dear God," she prayed, "please help me get back to the cabin so I can call for help!" At that moment something went through Ruth. It was like a powerful energy and she knew for certain that somebody was there to help her. She heard the words, "I am here." She stood up, completely relaxed and rested. A surge of pain-free energy propelled her forward. Ruth ran on confidently, faster than she had before, and up that last big hill. She turned into the cabin driveway, pushed through the front door and dialed 911. She sputtered8 out the details of the disaster but unfortunately, she had no idea where she was. The dispatcher was totally confused. Ruth had to get Judy up to the phone so she could give directions. Ruth stepped out of the cabin into total darkness. She grabbed a three-foot-long walking stick propped9 against the cabin door and started running back down the switchback(曲折的) road. She continued to run with energy and determination through the darkness. Up the hill, down the hill, up the second hill. Suddenly she stopped, not knowing where she was. "Marcy! Judy!" she shouted. A faint voice cried from directly below. "I'm here, Grandma." Another voice. "Momma!" It was Judy. Ruth dropped to her knees, then lay flat on her belly as she scooted herself closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. She held the walking stick over the edge and asked Judy if she could see it. "I see it, Momma, I'm almost there." Ruth heard gravel rolling around where Judy was climbing. Within minutes, Judy grabbed the other end of the stick and Ruth pulled her 140-pound daughter up and over that cliff. Judy crawled into her mother's lap, shaking and sweating and immediately passed out.

    Ruth held her close and stroked her wet forehead. "Judy, Judy, wake up. We have to get help for Marcy!" Ruth kept talking and rubbing her daughter's head. Finally, Judy came to. Ruth pulled her to her feet, and the two women started walking. Dazed and bleeding, Judy fell three times as they worked their way back to the cabin in the darkness. When they reached the cabin they heard the phone ringing. It was the volunteer emergency crew on the other end. Judy sputtered out directions to where Marcy was. As soon as she hung up, she and her mother started down the mountain again to meet and guide the rescuers. They trudged10 up the hill, down the hill. Still full of energy, calm and confident, Ruth held on to Judy, for Judy's sake, not hers. An hour later, the fire trucks, ambulance, paramedics and, finally, the Flight for Life helicopter arrived. It took 3.5 hours to cut Marcy free from the wreckage11 at the bottom of the cliff. At last the sheriff pulled her out of the back end of the Bronco and carried her to the waiting ambulance. She was rushed to the hospital for treatment of a crushed ankle and severely12 broken leg, foot and finger. The next day, when the sheriff came to visit Marcy in the hospital, he shook his head and said, "That mountain didn't beat you." Ruth Hagan knew the mountain didn't beat them because God was there that night, protecting her, guiding her, breathing strength into her frail(脆弱的) body. Ruth, Judy and Marcy all have their lives to prove it.

     8级    英语故事 


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    1 zigzagging ['zɪɡzæɡɪŋ] 3a075bffeaf9d8f393973a0cb70ff1b6   第7级
    v.弯弯曲曲地走路,曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 );盘陀
    参考例句:
    • She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着,弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    • We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网
    2 gravel [ˈgrævl] s6hyT   第7级
    n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石
    参考例句:
    • We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path. 我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
    • More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive. 需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
    3 shale [ʃeɪl] cEvyj   第12级
    n.页岩,泥板岩
    参考例句:
    • We can extract oil from shale. 我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
    • Most of the rock in this mountain is shale. 这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。
    4 ranch [rɑ:ntʃ] dAUzk   第8级
    n.大牧场,大农场
    参考例句:
    • He went to work on a ranch. 他去一个大农场干活。
    • The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau. 该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。
    5 winding [ˈwaɪndɪŋ] Ue7z09   第8级
    n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
    参考例句:
    • A winding lane led down towards the river. 一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
    • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation. 迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
    6 immediate [ɪˈmi:diət] aapxh   第7级
    adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
    参考例句:
    • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call. 他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
    • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting. 我们主张立即召开这个会议。
    7 sob [sɒb] HwMwx   第7级
    n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣;vi.啜泣,呜咽;(风等)发出呜咽声;vt.哭诉,啜泣
    参考例句:
    • The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother. 孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
    • The girl didn't answer, but continued to sob with her head on the table. 那个女孩不回答,也不抬起头来。她只顾趴在桌子上低声哭着。
    8 sputtered [ˈspʌtəd] 96f0fd50429fb7be8aafa0ca161be0b6   第11级
    v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 );发劈啪声;喷出;飞溅出
    参考例句:
    • The candle sputtered out. 蜡烛噼啪爆响着熄灭了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
    • The balky engine sputtered and stopped. 不听使唤的发动机劈啪作响地停了下来。 来自辞典例句
    9 propped [prɔpt] 557c00b5b2517b407d1d2ef6ba321b0e   第7级
    支撑,支持,维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )
    参考例句:
    • He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
    • This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。
    10 trudged [] e830eb9ac9fd5a70bf67387e070a9616   第9级
    vt.& vi.跋涉,吃力地走(trudge的过去式与过去分词形式)
    参考例句:
    • He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
    • He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    11 wreckage [ˈrekɪdʒ] nMhzF   第8级
    n.(失事飞机等的)残骸,破坏,毁坏
    参考例句:
    • They hauled him clear of the wreckage. 他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
    • New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires. 新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。
    12 severely [sə'vɪrlɪ] SiCzmk   第7级
    adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
    参考例句:
    • He was severely criticized and removed from his post. 他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
    • He is severely put down for his careless work. 他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

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