He Goes to War to Save His Baby(up)

Roland was a carpenter in Virginia.

He and Sheila had three kids—

two boys and baby Jessica.

The baby had been in and

out of the hospital for the last

year because of infections(传染)

and other problems. She was very

weak and sick. The doctors were not

confident(确信) that she would live another year.

Taking care of Jessica was expensive.

The family was deep in debt(债务).

Roland, an independent(独立)

subcontractor(转承包商), had medical

(医疗) insurance(保险), but he had very

high deductibles(可扣除).

Things were bad. Roland saw no

light at the end of this tunnel(隧道).

Then he saw an ad in the newspaper:

“Security(安全)guards/contract workers

wanted. $100,000 a year. First

$80,000 tax free. $20,000 bonus

for extending(延伸)contract an extra year.”

He called the number.

notes:Roland is pitiful.

Problems at home(下)

All she wanted to do was relax.

Her life was one problem after another.

Her husband had just lost his job.

Her only child had dropped out of high school.

Even worse, he had left home.

He told Emily he would call from time to time.

But he hadn't called in two weeks.

She was worried sick.

She didn't know where he was.

She didn't know if he was dead or alive.

Her husband said she shouldn't worry.

He had done the same thing when he was 17.

But when he found out that life

on the road wasn't as easy as

he thought it was, he returned home

and got his high school diploma(文凭).

notes:Emily was very pitiful.

Problems at home(上)

Emily sat down on the sofa.

She took off her shoes.

She put her feet on the coffee table.

She leaned(倾斜) back.

She picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

It was 6 o'clock.

The news was on three channels.

She didn't want to see the news.

The news depressed her.

It was usually about accidents and murders(谋杀).

There was too much bad news on the TV news.

She found a talk show to watch.

It was Ellen. She liked Ellen.

Ellen was a comedian(喜剧演员).

She told good jokes.

She showed animals doing funny things.

She gave expensive gifts to her fans occasionally(偶尔地).

This show was a rerun, because

Ellen's "live" show was usually on at 4 o'clock.

But that didn't matter to Emily.

notes:this story telling

about Emily likes to watch Ellen

but dislikes watch news.

Stepmother Kills Herself (down)

“Your little girl is making up stories

about me. I try to love her, but she

rejects(废弃物) me,” Castle told Dwayne.

An autopsy(验尸) was inconclusive

(非决定性), and the death was ruled

accidental. Dwayne divorced(离婚)

Castle shortly thereafter(尔后).

But the case was reopened(再开)

recently(最近) when a playmate(游伴)

of Dorothy’s came forward. Beverly

Lisenby, also seven at that time, said

she was about to knock on the door

of Dorothy’s house that fateful(重大)

day. But instead(反而) of knocking,

she listened quietly as she heard

Dorothy screaming for help and Castle

telling her to shut up. Beverly listened

until it was silent inside, then ran back

home. She was so shaken(震动)by

the event that she had told no one

in all these years.

The coroner(验尸官) dug(开掘) up

Dorothy’s body and did a second autopsy.

Using new crime-solving(罪行解决) tools,

he determined(坚定) that Dorothy had been

struck(触击) in the skull(头骨) several(数)

times by a rock the size of a baseball.

The police are now trying to locate Dwayne

to tell him the good news.

notes:this story is telling

about a stepmother suicide.

Stepmother Kills Herself(up)

Lois Castle, 58, committed(做) suicide

(自杀) at home with a revolver(左轮手枪)

yesterday. Two police officers heard a

single gunshot as they were about to

knock on her front door. They were at

her house to arrest her for the 1970

murder(谋杀) of her young stepdaughter.

Castle apparently(显然地) realized that

she was going to be arrested(拘捕).

Only a month earlier she had been

interviewed by detectives about Dorothy’s

death 35 years ago. In 1970, Castle told

police that the girl had fallen out of a

tree she was climbing and hit her

head on a rock. But Dorothy’s natural

father, Dwayne, who was married to Castle

at the time, thought his wife was lying.

“She said she would hurt me if I bother(麻烦)

her again,” Dorothy had told her father earlier.

感想:有满多难字。

Two babies

She wanted to have two babies—

one boy and one girl. She wanted

to have the boy first and the girl a year later.

That way they could grow up together.

He said that was okay with him. She said,

"What do you mean, 'okay'? It shouldn't

be 'okay' with you. You should say that

you want two babies just as much as I do.

If you don't want two babies as much

as I do, then forget it."

He asked, "Forget it? You mean

that we won't have two babies unless I

really want to have two babies?"

She said, "Yes, that's right. If you don't

really want two babies, then we won't

have two babies."

"Okay," he said, "then let's not have

two babies."

"Are you sure about that?"

she asked.

He nodded(点头) his head, "Yes, I'm sure.

We can't afford(买得起) even one baby."

"Okay," she said. "Goodbye."

"What do you mean, 'goodbye'?" he asked.

She told him she was going to leave him.

She was going to find a man who

wanted to have two babies with her.

He told her that he was just kidding

—of course he really wanted to have

two babies with her.

"Too late," she said. "You already told

me how you really feel."

notes:This story telling about

a lady want to have two baby.