365个英语简短小故事-359. The Heart Attack (1)

He was watching TV. It was about 10:45 p.m. All of a sudden, he felt something in his chest. It was a fullness that he had never felt before. The feeling was dull and painless. But it quickly became a very strong “chest ache.” His chest felt full, sort of like his belly¹ did after Thanksgiving dinners. He could feel a little bit of sharpness in the area of his heart. Then he felt a tiny electric current go down his left arm and into his left hand. His hand felt numb².

He couldn’t believe it. I’m having a heart attack, he thought. No, it couldn’t be. He was perfectly³ healthy, or at least he was the last time he saw his doctor. When was that—one year, or two years, ago? Well, it didn’t matter. Your doctor could give you a clean bill of health on Monday and you could drop dead on Wednesday. But he had great genes—no one in his family had ever died of a heart attack. In fact, no one in his family had ever died of anything at his age.

He kept hoping the sensation⁴ would just disappear. But the feeling of fullness remained—yet without the slightest bit of pain.

He checked his front door. It was locked. That would be a problem if he called 911; would they break the door down, or do they have master keys to most buildings? His windows were open; they could just remove a screen. Should he call 911—no, the ambulance alone would be at least $500. The emergency room bill would be in the thousands. And what about the embarrassment⁵ if this was a false alarm? Should he call his brother, who would come over and—and what? He was getting confused. He turned down the TV. He didn’t want it blasting⁶ away at his dead body in the middle of the night.

 

1 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

2 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 sensation   

n.感觉，感知力，激动，轰动

参考例句：

• He lost all sensation in his legs through cramp.他的腿部因抽筋而失去知觉。
• Seeing him again after so many years was a strange sensation.那么多年以后又见到他，是一种不可思议的感觉。

5 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

6 blasting   

n.爆破（作业）v.（用炸药）炸毁( blast的现在分词 )；狠打；发出刺耳的高音；向…猛吹，（用水）向…喷射

参考例句：

• The road is closed because of blasting. 这条道路由于有爆破作业而被关闭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Danger! Blasting in progress! 危险，正在放炮！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》