John and Mary were approaching their home town by car when they noticed some smoke. Mary said. "Oh, well, it isn't our house on 1 . Let's go home."
John, however, 2 up and they were both horror-stricken to 3 the whole house was burning. A woman was 4 , "The children! Get the children!" John grabbed her, "Where are they?" "In the basement," she cried.
Despite Mary's 5 , John quickly soaked (浸湿) his clothes and ran to the basement which was full of smoke and extremely 6 . He found the door and 7 two children, holding one under each arm. As he 8 , he could hear some more whimpering (抽泣). He 9 the two badly frightened children into the arms of the people 10 outside, asking how many more children were down there. They told him two more. Mary wanted to stop him again, "John! Don't go back! That house will 11 in any second!"
But he went back anyway. It took him a very long time to find the two children. They three were all 12 and they bent to get some 13 air. As they stumbled (蹒跚而行) up the endless steps, something strangely 14 went through his mind. The little bodies he had just 15 were his own children.
