温馨夜读II PART3 8.No Matter What Happens, I’ll Always Be There For You!

 

[00:00.63]8.No Matter What Happens, I’ll Always Be There For You!

[00:06.62]In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened¹ America, killing² over 30,000 people in less than four minutes.

[00:17.74]In the midst of utter devastation³ and chaos⁴, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be,

[00:26.77]only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.

[00:32.21]After the initial shock, he remembered the promise he had made to his son,

[00:37.77]“No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!”

[00:41.91]And tears began to fill his eyes.

[00:44.73]As he looked at the pile of ruins that once was the school, it looked hopeless,

[00:50.62]but he kept remembering his commitment to his son.

[00:53.67]He began to direct his attention towards where he walked his son to class at school each morning.

[00:59.87]Remembering his son’s classroom would be in the back right corner of the building,

[01:05.10]he rushed there and started digging through the ruins.

[01:08.91]As he was digging, other helpless parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying, “My son!” “My daughter!”

[01:16.97]Other well-meaning parents tried to pull him off what was left of the school, saying, “It’s too late!

[01:22.85]They’re all dead! You can’t help! Go home! Come on, face reality!”

[01:29.05]To each parent he responded with one line, “Are you going to help me now?”

[01:34.51]And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone.

[01:39.29]The fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off the school’s ruins saying,

[01:43.65]“Fires are breaking out, explosions are happening everywhere.

[01:47.14]You’re in danger. We’ll take care of it. Go home.”

[01:49.96]To which this loving, caring American father asked, “Are you going to help me now?”

[01:56.39]The police came and said, “You’re endangering others. Go home. We’ll handle it!”

[02:01.39]To which he replied, “Are you going to help me now?” No one helped.

[02:08.37]He dug for eight hours...12 hours...24 hours...36 hours...then, at the 38th hour,

[02:18.17]he pulled back a large stone and heard his son’s voice.

[02:21.87]He screamed his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad!?! It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry.

[02:31.34]I told them that if you were alive, you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved.

[02:38.12]You promised, ‘No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!’ You did it, Dad!”

[02:44.68]“Come out, boy!”

[02:47.42]“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, cause I know you’ll get me!

[02:52.89]No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”

1 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。