7 危急时刻 6(doc)
7. At the Critical Moment “ Feel better, honey. I love you,” Erica Prater said, kissing her 11- year-old niece’s flushed cheek. “ I love you too," Heather Lepage coughed. 　　When the child had awakened not feeling well enough to accompany her sister Stephanie, 10, to school, Erica wanted to stay with her. But she and her husband Harvey had just started new jobs, and neither could skip1 work. 　　“ I’ll be just fine,” Heather had insisted, curling up2 on the couch. 　　We’re just five minutes away, Erica told herself now as she reluctantly left for work. 　　On her 11:15 a.m. break, Erica phoned to see how Heather was doing. “ I’m fine," she said. But moments after hanging up,Heather heard knocking at the front door. Who could that be? She wondered. Snapping3 off the TV, she crept4 to the blinds and peeked5 out. No one there! 　　Erica and Harvey had taught the girls never to open the door to anyone at any time. To test them, Harvey would sometimes knock on the door and hide. If they answered, he’d cry, “ It’s the boogeyman6!" 　　But this can’t be Uncle Harvey! Heather knew. Grabbing the portable phone, she dashed7 to her bedroom, away from all the doors, as she’d been taught. I’d better call Aunt Erica! She decided. But in her fear, she couldn’t recall the phone number! 　　I’ve got to get the number from the book in the kitchen, she told herself. Tiptoeing8 down the hallway, she eyed the front door warily9. No noise had sounded since the first knocks. Maybe I was just hearing things, she hoped, slipping across the living room. 　　But just as she reached the kitchen, a shadow loomed10 in the curtained glass of the back door. Heather froze. Someone’s breaking in! Run! 　　Fleeing into the living room, she started for the front door, but suddenly hesitated. Maybe someone else is waiting out there! She panicked11. Hide! She told herself. 　　Hearing the back door open, she ducked12 into her sister’s room. Where can I hide? She wondered wildly. 　　The closet! She decided. Jumping inside, she pulled the door partially closed, afraid a slamming door would attract attention, and crammed herself into13 the corner behind clothes. 　　Panting14 with terror, Heather dialed 911.“ I’m home alone and someone’s breaking into my house!" Heather told the operator. Then she confirmed her address. 　　“ Help’s on the way,” the voice told her. “ Stay on the line.” 　　“ No!” Heather gasped. “ He’s gonna hear me!” Clicking15 off, she pressed against the closet wall, praying she hadn’t been heard. He’ll kill me if he finds me, she thought, terrified. 　　She heard dresser drawers crashing to the floor. He’s in Aunt Erica’s bedroom now! She realized. 　　As the seconds ticked by, her heart pounded with every creak of the floor boards as the burglar made his way up the hallway to her room--ight next door! 　　Anger surged16 through her as she listened to him dumping her dresser drawers on the floor. But another sound froze her blood--the ripping of clothes from hangers! He’s going through the closets! Heather panicked. And next he’ll come in here! 　　Run! Her mind screamed. No! It’s too late! She realized. 　　And in the next instant, she heard the squeak of the burglar’s sneakers17 creeping closer...the whine18 of the hinges as her sister’s bedroom door swung open...the rasp19 of heavy breathing that wasn’t her own! 　　Oh, please, Heather prayed, tears streaming down her cheeks, don’t let him see me! 　　Then a crash sounded from the kitchen followed by the pounding of footsteps. Then she heard a voice shouting, “ Police! Freeze!” 　　Help’s here! Heather realized. But still terrified, she could only think of one thing to do: run! 　　Leaping from the closet, she raced through the house, out the back door and into the street, screaming, “ Help me!” Only when police scooped her up did the thought hit her: I’m safe! 　　When police came crashing in the back, the burglar had run out the front door --carrying a gun. A police dog had found him beneath a nearby house. 　　Called to the phone at work, Erica worried. Is Heather feeling worse? When the voice on the other end identified himself as a sheriff’s20 deputy, she gasped, “ Heather! Is... is she okay!” 　　As the officer assured her that Heather was fine and explained what had happened, Erica’s eyes flicked to the clock--11:30. “ But...but,” she sputtered21. “ I just spoke to her fifteen minutes ago!” 　　Dashing home, Erica and Harvey found Heather waiting anxiously. “ I didn’t open the door!” she cried, racing to her aunt. 　　“ I know you didn’t, honey,” Erica wept, sweeping her into her arms. Erica worried that Heather might be scared from her experience. But at bedtime,she looked up at her aunt and teased,“ Maybe I’ll be in the next Home Alone.” 危急时刻（六） “快点好起来，宝贝。我爱你，”埃里卡·普拉特一边说，一边亲吻11岁的侄女通红的 脸颊。“我也爱你，”希瑟·雷帕吉咳嗽着。 　　这孩子早上起床时感觉不舒服，不能和10岁的妹妹斯蒂芬尼一起去上学。埃里卡本 想留下来陪她，但是她和丈夫哈维都是刚开始做一份新工作，都不好不去上班。 　　“我没事儿，”希瑟蜷缩在沙发上肯定地说。 　　我们上班的地方离家不过5分钟的车程，埃里卡心中想着，就勉强上班去了。 　　上午11点15分休息时，埃里卡打电话问希瑟情况怎么样。“我挺好，”她说。但是当 希瑟挂上电话之后，不一会儿就听见有人在敲大门。会是谁呢？她心想。她吧嗒一声关 了电视机，悄悄地走到窗帘那儿偷偷地往外看。外边没有人！ 　　埃里卡和哈维教过她们姐妹俩，不管什么时候，不要给任何人开门。为了考验她们 ，哈维有时会敲敲门再躲起来。她们要是答应了，他就会叫道，“鬼来了！” 　　但这不会是哈维叔叔！希瑟知道。她抓起无绳电话飞快地跑到了自己的房间，按大 人教的那样远离所有的门。我最好给埃里卡姑姑打电话！她决定。但由于害怕，她想不 起电话号码了！ 　　我得从厨房里的电话本里找到号码，她对自己说。她踮着脚尖沿着过道走过去，同 时警惕地看着大门。第一次敲门之后，就再没听到声音。也许我是听到别的什么声音了 ，她这样希望，悄悄地穿过起居室。 　　但是就在她到厨房时，有一个影子隐隐约约出现在后门挂了窗帘的玻璃上。希瑟吓 呆了。有人要闯进来！快跑！ 　　她跑到起居室以后就往大门走去，突然又犹豫起来。也许有另一个人在门外等着呢 。她惊慌失措。 　　躲起来！她心中想到。 她听到后门被打开了，就飞快地冲到妹妹的房间里。我躲在哪儿好呢？她心慌意乱。 　　壁橱里！她拿定主意后就跳了进去，把门半掩着，怕关门声会引起注意。她缩到角 落里，躲在衣服后面。 　　她害怕得气喘吁吁地拨打了911。“我一个人在家。有人正在闯进我的屋！”希瑟告诉 接线员，还确认了自己的地址。 　　“救援马上就到，”那个声音说。“别挂电话。” 　　“不行！”希瑟急促地说。“他会听见的！”她咔哒一声关了机，紧靠着壁橱板壁，心 中祈祷但愿自己没被听见。他要是找到了我会杀了我的，她想，害怕极了。 　　她听到梳妆台的抽屉掉到了地上。她意识到，他在埃里卡姑姑的卧室里！ 　　时间一分钟一分钟地过去。窃贼走过门厅到了她的房间——就在隔壁了！她的心随着 地板发出的嘎吱声而砰砰直跳。 　　她听到他把梳妆台的抽屉扔到地上，气得要命。而另一个声音却使她血都凝固了—— 是从衣架上扯衣服的声音！他在搜查壁橱！希瑟吓坏了。下一步他就会进到这里来！ 　　跑！她心中惊呼。不行！太晚了！她明白。 　　不一会儿，她听见窃贼渐渐地走近了，他的旅游鞋发出吱吱的声音……听见她妹妹卧 室的门打开时合叶发出的嘎嘎声……还有刺耳的沉重的呼吸声，那可不是她自己的呼吸声 ！ 　　啊，求你不要让他看见我！希瑟祈祷着，眼泪顺着脸颊哗哗地往下淌。 　　这时，从厨房里传来了哗啦一声巨响，紧接着又听到沉重的脚步声。后来她听到一 个声音喊道，“警察！不许动！” 　　救援到了！希瑟意识到。但她还是很怕，只想到做一件事：跑！ 　　她从壁橱里跳出来，穿过屋子，从后门跑到街上，大叫，“救命呀！”直到警察将她 抱了起来，她才明白：我没事了！ 　　警察们从后门冲进房子时，窃贼已经从大门跑出去了——手中拿着一支枪。有一只警 犬在附近的一所房子下面找到了他。 　　有人打电话到埃里卡上班的地方，她接电话时挺担心，希瑟的病是不是厉害了？而 电话那边传来的却是县治安警官的声音，她急切地问，“希瑟！她...她没事吧！” 　　当警官肯定地告诉她希瑟很好，并告诉她事情的经过时，埃里卡瞟了一眼钟——11： 30。“但是...但是，”她结结巴巴地说，“我15分钟之前还跟她通过电话！” 　　埃里卡和哈维飞奔回家，看见希瑟正急切不安地等着。“我没有开门！”她哭着，跑 向姑姑。 　　“我知道你没开，宝贝儿，”埃里卡流着泪，立刻将希瑟抱了过来。埃里卡担心，经 过这件事希瑟可能会吓坏了。但是到睡觉时，她却抬头看着姑姑调皮地说，“下次《小鬼 当家》说不定就该由我来演了。” 1.skip[σκιπ]vt.有意不出席(会议等) 2.curlup蜷缩，扭曲身子 3.snap[σν“π]vi.突然中断，突然停止 4.creep[κρι:π]vi.爬行，匍匐 5.peek[πι:κ]vi.偷看，窥视 6.boogeyman[5βυ:⊥ι7μ“ν]n.假想的怪物，鬼怪 7.dash[δ“Φ]vi.猛冲，飞奔，急驰 8.tiptoe[5τιπτΕυ]vi.蹑手蹑脚地走 9.warily[5ωΖΕρι]adv.谨慎地，警惕地 10.loom[λυ:μ]vi.隐约地出现 11.panic[5π“νικ]vi.惊慌失措 12.duck[δΘκ]vi.躲避，躲闪 13.cram[κρ“μ]vt.把…塞进(与into搭配) 14.pant[π“ντ]vi.气喘，(心等)悸动 15.click[5κλικ]vi.发出咔哒声 16.surge[σΕ:δ
7 危急时刻 6(doc)