My mind went blank when I saw the gun pointing against
the car window as we pulled out of the garage. This can’t be happening to me.
Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy
saying, “What do you want? Take my wallet,” but at the time I thought of
nothing.
I remember being a little annoyed when the gunman
pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house ---
Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the
gunmen’s voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he
was being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the
bush. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy’s head and the
feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the
split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy, and I remember wondering
how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already running,
and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn’t crouch(蹲伏) behind it but screamed instead.
I remember thinking there was something ridiculous and
illogical about screaming “Help, help!” at eight o’clock on a Tuesday evening
in December and changing my plea(恳求) to the
more specific “Help, let me in, please let me in!” But the houses were cold,
closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy’s screams behind me
announcing that our attackers had fled.
The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us
came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a
group they were very brave. We waited for the police to come until someone said
to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely,
“Please go and eat. We’re OK.”
I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of
stricter sentences for criminals, of bringing back the death penalty(处罚) and how the President is going to clean up the
country. I was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body,
and I still feel that stiffer sentences wouldn’t change a thing. In a rush all
the anger I should have felt for my attackers was directed against these
contented people standing in front of their warm, comfortable homes talking
about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to
Jeremy and me?
People all over the neighborhood had called to report
our screams, and the police turned out in force twenty minutes later. They were
ill-tempered about what was, to them, much trouble about nothing. After all,
Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to describing the
gunmen. “Typical,” said one policeman when we couldn’t even agree on how tall
the men were. Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying detail,
but the two policemen who stayed to make the report didn’t think that would be
much help.
The policemen were matter-of-fact about the whole
thing. The thin one said, “That was a stupid thing to do, throwing away the
keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do what you’re told.” Jeremy
looked properly embarrassed.
Then the fat policeman came up and the thin one went
to look around the outside of the house. “That was the best thing you could
have done, throwing away the keys,” he said. “If you had gone into the house
with them…” His voice became weaker. “They would have hurt her” --- he twisted
his head toward me --- “and killed you both.” Jeremy looked happier. “Look,”
said the fat policeman kindly, “there’s no right or wrong in the situation.
There’s just luck.”
All that sleepless night I replayed the moment those
black gloves came up to the car window. How long did the whole thing last?
Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many hours of my life I may spend
reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time --- no intelligent
response to a gun. The fat cop was right. There’s only luck. The next time I
might end up dead.
And I’m sure there will be a next time. It can happen
anywhere, anytime, to anyone. Security is an illusion(幻觉); there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make
some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they’re fooling
themselves.
1.When the writer saw the gun pointing against the car
window, ________.
A. she felt very annoyed
B. she lost consciousness
C. she felt very much nervous
D. she lost the power of thinking
2.What most possibly drove the two gunmen away?
A. Jeremy’s fighting B.
The author’s screaming
C. Their neighbour’s brave action
D. The police’s arrival
3. When the author called for help, the neighbors
didn’t come out immediately because ________.
A. they were much too frightened
B. they were busy preparing dinners
C. they needed time to find baseball bats
D. they thought someone was playing a trick
4.The author was happy to see the neighbors go because
________.
A. she hated to listen to their empty talk
B. she did not want to become an object of pity
C. she was angered by their being late to come to her
help
D. she wanted to be left alone with Jeremy to get over
the shock
5.The police were rather angry because ________.
A. the author was not hurt and gave a false alarm
B. they thought it was a case of little importance
C. the author and Jeremy could not tell the police
anything
D. the gunmen had already fled when they arrived on
the scene
6.What the author wants to tell us is that ________.
A. neighbors are not helpful in moments of difficulty
B. the police are not reliable when one is in trouble
C. security is impossible as long as people can have
guns
D. preventing robbers entering your house is the best
choice