2 . Last week when I was reading at home, my younger sister rushed in and told me an old man was lying on the ground in front of our building. I immediately took my first-aid (急救) kit and ran downstairs. He was suffering a slight heart attack. And I performed CPR on him. Luckily, an ambulance came soon and he was taken to hospital. Later that day I was told by the hospital what I did helped rescue the old man’s life. I was happy to hear that.     1     There were many people who wanted to help around the old man then. Yet no one performed first aid on him as they hadn’t attended a first-aid course.     2     Here are my reasons.

You can gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to act in an emergency. You never know when you might need them — maybe at home, at work, at school or on holiday. If you have the skills, you can act whenever you’re needed.

    3     For your family or your neighbors, having more people with first-aid skills helps build a stronger and more harmonious (和谐的) community.

You can stay safe at work.     4     With first-aid knowledge you can create a safe work environment and help meet your workplace’s safety requirements.

It’s useful for your future career (事业). The first-hand experience you gain through learning first aid and using your skills could help you decide if you want to pursue (追求) a career in the healthy profession.     5    

Chen Wei, a high school student in Beijing, had his dinner interrupted when he heard someone screaming from another table. A fellow diner at the restaurant, Zhang Tao, was choking on some steak. He was now holding his throat with his face turning red, while his desperate friends were slapping him on the back.

Chen wasted no time. He got up and ran to Zhang’s table at once. With the help of Zhang’s friends, he was able to help Zhang to his feet. Then, standing behind Zhang, Chen did the Heimlich manoeuvre. The food was instantly forced out, and Zhang began to breathe again. Ten minutes later, an ambulance arrived. The doctors checked Zhang and made sure that he was fine. They suggested he eat more slowly and take smaller bites before they left

Choking victims usually have only about four minutes before they collapse and sometimes die, leaving no time for an ambulance to arrive. To solve this problem, in 1974, an American doctor, Henry Heimlich, created the Heimlich manoeuvre, saving thousands of lives around the world. Doing the Heimlich manoeuvre is quick, practical, and easy. It is so easy, in fact, that almost anyone can learn how.

If you see someone choking, first call the emergency services. Then, make sure that the victim is really choking: A choking person cannot speak. Slapping the victim’s back will often force out the obstruction. If this does not work, you can perform the Heimlich manoeuvre by standing behind him and wrapping your arms around his waist. Make a fist with one hand and place it in the upper part of his stomach. Grabbing your fist with your other hand tightly, push up and into his stomach in one motion. Continue doing this until the obstruction is forced out.

Doing the Heimlich manoeuvre on a small child is not recommended, as you may hurt him. Instead, lay the child face down on your lap with the head lower than the rest of his body, and then give firm slaps to his upper back until he can breathe again.

With choking victims, every minute counts. You cannot just stand by and do nothing. Luckily, Chen had learnt how to give first aid in school. Seeing Zhang choking, he remained calm and reacted immediately. Chen later said about the incident, “How could I justify sitting there and doing nothing? We are all humans and we all have a responsibility to look after one another’s welfare.”

A First Aid Experience

7 . Joseph Salmon, 17, was practising ice fishing with his mom on a lake in Iowa. Suddenly, Salmon saw a jeep, driven by an old man, Thomas Lee, _________ the ice and into the water. As soon as Salmon saw it a short distance away, he called 911 and ran over to help. For a(n) _________, he was right standing on the _________.

Then another young man waved at Lee and tried to _________ to him to get out of the jeep. However, it seemed that Lee, _________, didn’t really know what to do next, just sitting on the seat. _________, he couldn’t move at all.

Things looked extremely _________. As Salmon and the young man became _________ in face of the emergency, more people came. Then someone found there was an animal in the jeep. Salmon immediately jumped into the _________, got to the jeep and tried opening the back door. It was locked, and he had to __________ the back window and __________ to get Lee out, whose foot was __________ because of being caught between the center console (控制台) and the seat. So Salmon gently pushed Lee back towards the front. Just then, four more passers-by __________ over to help pull Lee and his dog to safety.

Finally, the rescue workers arrived. Lee was transported to a nearby hospital. Neither he nor his dog was injured while Salmon was only treated for a minor __________ from the broken glass. How __________ they were!

8 . How to do basic First Aid

Basic first aid refers to a temporary form of help given to someone who has been injured or has got sick due to choking, a heart attack, drugs or other medical emergencies.     1    .

Care for the person who has just gone through serious damage, including both physical treatment and emotional support.     2    . Let the person know that help is on its way and that everything will be all right. Also you can ask for their names, if they know what has happened, and then about their interests.

    3    , if a person is in a state similar to sleep. You’d better listen for the sound of air coming in and out, and feel for air using the side of your face. If there are no signs of breathing, place two fingers under the chin (下巴) and gently guide the face pointing upwards to open up their airways.

Perform 30 chest compressions (心肺复苏) and two rescue breaths as part of CPR.     4    . And then press the chest down about 2 inches at a rate of 100 compressions per minute. After 30 compressions, give two rescue breaths, done by opening the airways, closing the nose and fully covering the mouth hole.

Make sure the person is warm as you wait for medical help. Remove some of your own clothing, such as your coat or jacket, and use it as a cover until medical help arrives. However, if the person has a heatstroke (中暑), do not cover him or keep him warm.     5    .

How to Survive a Stampede (蜂拥)

At least 154 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in a stampede accident that occurred in Korea, during a Halloween gathering, local authorities said early Sunday morning. What should we do in case of similar crowding and trampling (踩踏) accidents? Here are a few tips to increase the chances of survival in an incident.

    1    

If you are in a crowd, a first and most important thing is to make yourself familiar with your surroundings and mentally notice alternate exits. No matter where you are, make sure you always know how to get out.

Keep an eye on the crowd.

Be aware of the general atmosphere of the crowd, as panic situations can often be expected. When in danger, a few seconds can make all the difference, giving you the possibility of taking advantage of your escaping route.

    2    

If you find yourself in the middle of a moving crowd, do not fight against the pressure, do not stand still or sit down, because you could easily get trampled. Move in the same direction of the crowd, keeping your hands up by your chest like a boxer — it gives you movement and protects your chest.

    3    

If you fall, get up quickly. If you can’t keep moving by crawling in the same direction of the crowd, or if that is not possible, then cover your head with your arms and curl up. Do not lay on your stomach or back, as this dangerously exposes your lungs.