| It must have been after two o'clock in
the morning when the last guests {{U}}(26) {{/U}}their leave, and
although we had enjoyed their{{U}} (27) {{/U}}, my wife and I were
quite thankful to shut the door {{U}}(28) {{/U}}them. We left all the
dirty dishes and glasses {{U}}(29) {{/U}}, and after opening a few
windows to let some fresh air in and the smell of{{U}} (30) {{/U}}out,
we climbed into bed and fell asleep. I{{U}} (31) {{/U}}asleep for more than half an hour when I awoke with a strong smell of smoke in my nostrils (鼻孔).{{U}} (32) {{/U}}half asleep, I{{U}} (33) {{/U}}into the sitting room, and there, through {{U}}(34) {{/U}}clouds of smoke, I saw that one of the curtains was {{U}}(35) {{/U}}fire. I should have closed the windows then without delay, but {{U}}(36) {{/U}} I tried to beat out the flames with a folded newspaper. {{U}}(37) {{/U}}this failed I hastened into the kitchen to snatch a bucket (木桶) and {{U}}(38) {{/U}}it with water. At the same time I shouted to Barbara, who{{U}} (39) {{/U}} dialed 999 to call the brigade {{U}}(40) {{/U}}coming to my aid. We had to work at top speed carrying buckets of water from the kitchen to prevent the flames, {{U}}(41) {{/U}} by the breeze from the windows, from spreading. We {{U}}(42) {{/U}} to extinguish the fire but we managed to keep it {{U}}(43) {{/U}}in check until the arrival of the firemen. Fortunately, they promptly came and they had little difficulty {{U}}(44) {{/U}} out the flames. For most of the {{U}}(45) {{/U}}of the day we worked hard. |