and trembling, we quickly put on our protective suits, helmets and boots and eventually made our way to a safe place. How lucky we were even though my precious equipment and documents were all burnt to the ground! 作为最好的候选人，我被委派为一个数据库收集和评估各种自然灾害的信息，例如飓风、台风或雷暴等。有时我通过向经历过这些灾害的人分发调查问卷来收集信息，有时却得亲自经历实际的灾害。Musaki火山就是其中之一。

那时，我和一名来欣赏火山爆发的小说家同住在火山边上的一座平房里。有一天，当我正在阳台上画图表而他在屋里洗澡时，火山突然爆发了，喷射到天空中的火山灰和岩浆喷泉从50米到100米不等，这一情景绝对地奇异，我甚至还注意到一条彩虹出现在热浪造成的雾里。

然而，我向四周看了一下，马上预见到了潜在的危险，也发现了我们的安全毫无保障。令人不舒服的气体几乎使我们失去知觉，忧虑的汗水开始流淌下来。我们努力使自己不要惊慌和颤抖，迅速穿上保护套装、头盔和靴子，最后成功前往安全的地方。尽管我珍贵的设备和文件都烧得精光，但是我们真的非常幸运。

31.Defeat Disability

战胜残疾

Yang’s ambition was to get an architect certificate or become a bowling master. But when he was conducting experiments with a microscope in the basement, a tank on the bench exploded, sending him flying outwards through the exit. He was out of breath while knowing he lost his eyesight as well as 70% of his hearing. In other words, he was disabled.

Feeling clumsy, he was annoyed at first though nobody made fun of him. He cut out going outdoors and just sat around at home talking to his parrot or tortoise silently. His sister resigned to help him in many ways. Her assistance and encouragement were so beneficial to his psychology that he adapted to his disability soon and became outgoing again. In a college accessible to him, he studied politics and literature. He always sat in the front row near the entry without any absence and, with the help of his handy laptop, he studied well by means of dictation. His thesis, Abolishing Slavery, met with all professors’ approval. After class, he and his companions often played drum music, which was noisy but suitable for his hearing. After graduation, he made high profits by designing software for a firm. All in all, in his community, he won his dignity and people’s congratulations.

He always wished all the best to his disabled fellows and encouraged them, “Never mind! All you have is adequate to get your achievement.”

阳的雄心是，要么获得一张建筑师证书，要么成为一名保龄球高手。但是在地下室里的显微镜下进行试验时，放在长凳上的一只大桶突然爆炸，把他从出口处炸飞了出去。当知道自己除了失去70%的听力之外，还失去了视力时，他完全喘不过气来。换句话说，他残疾了。

最初，尽管没人取笑他，他还是非常气恼于自己的笨拙。他取消了外出，总是在家里闲坐，和他的鹦鹉和乌龟默默相对。他的姐姐辞了职，用许多方式帮助他。她的帮助和鼓励对他的心理是如此地有益，以致他很快就适应了自己的残疾，再次变得外向起来。他在一所接受他就读的学校里学习政治和文学，总是坐在靠近入口的前排，从不缺席。在他轻便好用的手提电脑的帮助下，他用听写的方式学习得很好。他的论文《废除奴隶制》受到所有

教授的一致认可。课后，他和伙伴们还常常演奏大声却适合他听觉的鼓乐。毕业后，他通过设计软件为一家公司获得很高的利润。总之，在他的社区里，他赢得了自己的尊严和人们的祝贺。

他一直都把所有最好祝愿给予他残疾的同伴，并鼓励他们：“没关系，你拥有的一切一定足够你取得自己的成就！”

32．Happy Marriage Needs Fighting For

幸福的婚姻需要争取

As a talented navy officer, he was bound to be busy. When his wife rang him up to declare her divorce alarm, he was still scanning a digital counter to check the data so as to give an assessment of the theoretical framework for a biochemical weapon. His junior staff’s sympathy made him feel embarrassed.

His wife was a part-time clerk. With his high bonus, she lived in a grand house with elegant cushions and bedding. Her favour was reading stars’ biographies or absurd fictions with endless chapters in her armchair. People envied her leisure life very much. But in fact, she was tired of being left alone. She sent emails to his mailbox every week to state her thinking and ask for his accompaniment, but never received reply of satisfaction. Tired of his explanation that he must obey the orders, she filed for divorce.

Because he desired to get their holy affection back, he set other affairs aside. He trimmed his fingernails short and changed his overweight figure as well as his awful haircut. He wore an apron to prepare delicious cuisine for her. He also bought her a necklace and piles of flowers hoping that their receiver could turn around.

After being tested out for 3 months in all, he eventually succeeded.

作为一名才华出众的海军军官，他注定是要忙碌的。当他的妻子打来电话宣布和他离婚的警告时，他还在查看一台数码计数器核对数据，以对一种生物化学武器的理论框架做出评估。他的下级职员表现出的同情使他很尴尬。

他的妻子是一位非全日性工作的职员，有了他的高津贴，她住在一所装饰有优雅垫子和寝具的富丽堂皇的屋子里。她的爱好是坐在扶手椅上读读明星们的传记或一些有没完没了章节的荒谬小说。别人都很妒忌她安逸的生活，但是实际上，她厌透了被独自丢下。她每周都给他的邮箱发电子邮件陈述她的想法，要求他的陪伴，但却从未收到满意答复。受够了他总是必须服从命令的解释，她提出了离婚。

因为渴望重新获得这份神圣的爱，他把别的事务都放在一边。他剪短了指甲，改变了超重的身材和糟糕的发型，还穿上围裙为她做可口的菜肴，他甚至还给她买了项链和成堆的鲜花，希望它们的接受者能够回心转意。

在被考验了总共3个月后，他最终成功了。

33.Mark and a Seal

马克和海豹

Mark rented an accommodation with his pension near the shore. He paid annual visits there to enjoy the vivid beauty in the depths of the pure sea.