After an explosion（爆发、激增）/ik'splәuʒәn/ near East Bridge, a countdown（倒计数）/'kauntdaun/ siren（女海妖、妖女）/'saiәrin/ sent（语境补充词）/sɛnt/ residents to the shelter. Ravi opened his briefcase（公事包）/'bri:fkeis/ and checked the list（核对名单）/ʧɛkt ðə lɪst/ while Officer Dora enforced（强迫、执行）/in'fɒ:s/ the safety line. A bystander（旁观者、目击者）/'baistændә(r)/ claimed that a gang（队、群）/gæŋ/ had tried to hijack（抢劫、劫持）/'haidʒæk/ a truck, and another said a rebel（叛徒、反叛者）/'rebl/ battalion（营、军队）/bә'tæljәn/ had begun（语境补充词）/ˈbeɪgən/ an invasion（侵犯、侵入）/in'veiʒәn/. The reports described warfare（战事、作战）/'wɒ:fєә/, a siege（包围、围攻）/si:dʒ/, and even a rifle（来复枪、步枪）/'raifl/ clash（冲突、撞击声）/klæʃ/, but none had a sole（脚掌、鞋底）/sәul/ reliable witness（可靠的证人）/rɪˈlaɪəbəl ˈwɪtnəs/. “Do not spread a mere（小湖、池塘）/miә/ suspicion（怀疑、觉察）/sә'spiʃәn/. We need facts before we confront（使面对、对抗）/kәn'frʌnt/ anyone.”

“One vulnerable（易受伤害的、有弱点的）/'vʌlnәrәbl/ resident is missing, and medical water is scarce（医疗用水短缺）/ˈmɛdɪkəl ˈwɔtər ɪz skɛrs/. Which peril（危险、冒...之险）/'peril/ comes first?” Ravi made a bold（大胆的）/bәuld/ choice: send one search team, keep the rest at the shelter, and request a police corps（军、队）/kɒ:/ unit. They would not compel（强迫、迫使）/kәm'pel/ a volunteer to enter smoke. Firefighters（<美>消防队员）/ˈfaɪəfaɪtə(r)/ moved to extinguish（熄灭、使消亡）/ik'stiŋgwiʃ/ a wreck（失事、残骸）/rek/, while a veteran（老手、退伍军人）/'vetәrәn/ medic（苜蓿属植物、医师）/'medik/ treated a head wound. In the meantime（与此同时）/ɪn ðə ˈminˌtaɪm/, Dora asked each witness for an exact location.

“Our first precaution（预防、留心）/pri'kɒ:ʃәn/ is to separate a confirmed danger（区分已确认的危险）/ˈsɛpərˌeɪt ə kənˈfərmd ˈdeɪnʤər/ from an intangible rumor.” A fingerprint（指纹）/'fiŋgәprint/ on an abandoned pistol（手枪、信号枪）/'pistl/ led（lead的过去式和过去分词）/led/ to its lawful（法律许可的、守法的）/'lɒ:ful/ owner, who had reported it stolen（steal的过去分词）/'stәulәn/ months earlier（语境补充词）/ˈərliər/. No bullet（子弹）/'bulit/ had been fired that night. The supposed combat（争斗、战斗）/'kɒmbæt/ scene was actually a film set, and the armed “warrior（战士、勇士）/'wɒ:riә/” was an actor. Police did capture（抓取、战利品）/'kæptʃә/ a thief nearby, but there was no raid（袭击、突袭）/reid/, riot（暴动、喧闹）/'raiәt/, or gang attack. The evidence overturned（（使）翻倒、使垮台）/'əʊvətɜ:nd/ the frightening story.

Dora still had to enforce the law（执法）/ɛnˈfɔrs ðə lɔ/. The thief agreed to confess（承认、坦白）/kәn'fes/ in writing that he had offered a bribe（贿赂）/braib/ after trying to conceal（隐藏、掩盖）/kәn'si:l/ stolen medicine. An attorney（律师）/əˈtərni/ explained bail（保释、拎环）/beil/, a jury（陪审团、评判委员会）/'dʒuәri/ trial, and the difference between jail（监牢、监狱）/dʒeil/ and the old word gaol（监禁、监狱）/dʒeil/. The court, not a cop（警官）/kɒp/ at the shelter, would decide whether to expel（驱逐、逐出）/ik'spel/ or exile（放逐、流放）/'eksail/ anyone. No officer could use torture（拷问、苦闷）/'tɒ:tʃә/ or force a surrender（交出、放弃）/sә'rendә/. “Upright（正直的、诚实的）/'ʌprait/ policing means that we protect rights（保护权利）/prəˈtɛkt raɪts/ even when impulse（冲动、驱使）/'impʌls/ tells us to act fast.”

Searchers（搜索者、调查官）/'sә:tʃә/ found the missing resident beneath a billboard（广告牌、布告板）/'bilbɒ:d/, in distress（苦恼、贫困）/di'stres/ but alive. They had to strip（长条、条状）/strip/ wet cloth from his arm before doctors took a blood specimen（样品、标本）/'spesimәn/ and treated him. Ravi updated the shelter list and explained the paradox（似非而是的论点、自相矛盾的话）/'pærәdɒks/: alarming stories had multiplied（繁殖、乘）/'mʌltiplai/ while the real emergency was smaller and manageable（易办的、易管理的）/'mænidʒәbl/. A regional（地方的、地域性的）/'ri:dʒәnәl/ treaty（条约、谈判）/'tri:ti/ offered mutual aid（互助支援）/mˈjuʧuəl eɪd/, but no outside force needed to invade（侵入、拥入）/in'veid/. By checking each claim, the team prevented fear from becoming a second disaster.