3 . Build your own first aid kit

Emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere, so being prepared for one is important. Having a proper first aid kit in your home is an easy but essential part of good emergency preparation.     1    . Instead of getting such one, you can save money and ensure the kit is personalized to suit you and your family’s particular needs by creating your own.

Pick a good container. One good option is a large, water resistant, rigid or flexible plastic container. This makes the materials inside visible for easy identification and safe.     2    . A handle is ideal out of consideration for that. Regardless of your container choice, clearly identify it, for example, by writing “ FIRST AID” with a permanent marker.

    3    . One should include all of your basic medicinal supplies, such as bandages (绷带), gloves and scissors, while the second one includes medicine. Make sure that the important basic medical tools and medicines are contained in it.     4    . However, when it comes to bandages, wipes and other lightweight items, the more the merrier. And remember that everything is kept in small sealed plastic bags.

    5    . When one of your family is crying about a cut on her finger, you don’t want your home kit buried at the back of a cupboard or lost because it’s not being returned to the same spot after each use. Establish a clearly-defined, consistent spot for it. Let small children know where the kit is located, but place it where they cannot reach it.

4 . My friend James did some first-aid training last week to learn the fundamentals of the CPR. And he asked if I’d ever done the same.

“Yes,” I said, “…and no.”

Because, yes, I’ve attended several resuscitation (复苏) sessions over the years.     1     In fact, despite being shown all the key information at various points in my career, I don’t think I can remember any of it now.

What’s the problem? Every time I’ve had this type of training, it’s been a perfectly good opportunity to learn: an important topic, taught well, in a focused environment, with plenty to see, hear and do. I’ve always taken it seriously, too, and been focused. And I’ve always come away with a wealth of information.     2    

Here’s what I should have done — and what you can do now — to make sure any training doesn’t go to waste.

•     3     You might be surprised to find that you’ve got some foundations of knowledge to build on. Pre-testing sparks your curiosity and puts you in a frame of mind to remember.

• Challenge your recall later.     4     If it’s hard to remember, but just about possible with effort, then that’s perfect. You need that little bit of struggle to start embedding (把……嵌入) information in your brain.

• Keep coming back. Put a note in your diary to test yourself again in a week, then ten days after that, then a month on…leaving longer gaps between checks.     5    

Talking to James has inspired me to book myself onto yet another CPR course. But this time I’m determined to do it right. Remember that it’s the next day when the real training begins.

5 . It was a bright May afternoon along the coast. Bauer and his 13-year-old daughter, Ava, were taking _______ of it. They were driving with the windows down as they headed home on a narrow bridge. Suddenly, the calm was _______ by the squeal (摩擦声) of tires.

Not far ahead of them, a truck was _______ from one lane (车道) to the other. It crashed into a concrete barrier, and _______ hanging over the railing (栏杆) of the bridge. Bauer stopped the car _______ to avoid it.

The truck driver’s door opened. A man climbed out and _______ to the ground. Bauer ran up beside him. He pointed down, saying something in Spanish. In the water was a car seat, a girl, about two years old, _______, floating on her back and screaming.

Matters quickly went from bad to frightening when the girl _______ onto her stomach. Bauer waited for the driver to do something, but he didn’t. Maybe he was _______.

Bauer jumped into the water without __________. He swam to the girl and lifted her out of the water. Standing, he laid her against his shoulder and knocked on her __________ with his hand. Come on ⋯ come on ⋯ Wake up! __________, her eyes were opened now, focused on him. He pulled her close, hugging her to protect her from the __________. Minutes later, the girl was sent to __________. The girl suffered a broken shoulder but was otherwise uninjured.

Ava Bauer was __________ by her father’ actions that four months later she became a cadet (实习生) firefighter so that she, too, could save lives.

We rarely go about our     1     (day) lives thinking and preparing for the worst circumstances. Fires, car accidents, heart attacks and other emergency situations may come about at any moment. Many dangers are around us constantly. How will we react in those times? Sometimes, it’s better     2     (get) prepared for the worst. There are     3     number of things we can do by learning a few life saving skills for conditions     4     our control.

One necessary skill we can arm     5     (we) with is mastering CPR (心脏复苏). This can come in     6     (especial) handy for those in the restaurant and dining industries. Statistics have shown that people choking on their food while     7     (eat) is not uncommon at all. A similar skill that would come in handy in addition to CPR is the Heimlich Maneuver (哈姆立克急救法),     8     can be used to get out a foreign object (异物) from someone who is choking.

Our health is our greatest investment among all the things. While we can’t guard against all misfortunes and diseases, getting to know some first aid skills     9     (be) quite useful. It doesn’t need much time or money, but we may give an     10     (extend) of life to other people through proper help.