An overnight storm（一场整夜的暴雨）/ən ˈoʊvərˈnaɪt stɔrm/ flooded Green Marsh（沼泽、湿地）/mɑ:ʃ/ Commune（恳谈、社区）/kә'mju:n/. Luca arrived at dawn to inspect each acre（检查每一英亩土地）/ˌɪnˈspɛkt iʧ ˈeɪkər/ with farmer Mrs. Han（汉朝、汉民族）/hæn/ and tester Zoe. The scene could amaze（使吃惊）/ә'meiz/ a visitor: a gray（灰色、暗淡）/grei/ donkey（驴子、笨蛋）/'dɒŋki/ stood（语境补充词）/stʊd/ beside a mule（骡、倔强之人）/mju:l/ and an ox（公牛；阉牛）/ɑks/, while a restless（不安静的、慌张的）/'restlis/ bull（公牛）/bul/ guarded a calf（小牛、小牛皮）/kɑ:f/. Yet the beauty hid（语境补充词）/hɪd/ danger. A broken（坏掉的、打破的）/'brәukәn/ dairy（牛奶公司、乳品店）/'dєәri/ tank had released excess（过度、剩于）/ik'ses/ waste into the dirt（污垢、泥土）/dә:t/, and a peculiar（奇特的、罕见的）/pi'kju:ljә/ scent（气味、香味）/sent/ drifted toward the paddy（稻、谷）/'pædi/. If polluted water reached fertile（可繁殖的、肥沃的）/'fә:tail/ soil, it could contaminate（弄污、弄脏）/kәn'tæmineit/ the next crop and decide the farm's fate（命运、运气）/feit/.

“I am（语境补充词）/æm/ impatient（不耐烦的、着急的）/im'peiʃәnt/ to plough（犁、犁过的地）/plau/ today. If we wait, how can we reap（收割、收获）/ri:p/ enough cereal（谷类食品、谷类植物）/'siәriәl/ for winter?” “The first gallon（加仑）/'gælәn/ from the well contradicts（反驳、与...抵触）/.kɒntrә'dikt/ yesterday's reading. We must test more（做更多检测）/tɛst mɔr/ before you irrigate（灌溉、冲洗伤口）/'irigeit/.” Luca understood（语境补充词）/ˌəndərˈstʊd/ that farming was not a pastime（消遣、娱乐）/'pæstaim/. The family's livelihood resided（住、居留）/ri'zaid/ in these fields, but haste could harm an entire herd（兽群、人群）/hә:d/ and flock（兽群、鸟群）/flɒk/. He asked Mrs. Han to delay work（推迟作业）/dɪˈleɪ wərk/ in the lowest hectare（公顷）/'hektɑ:/ until noon.

They walked from the marsh to higher ground（较高地势）/haɪər graʊnd/. Moist（湿的）/mɒist/ earth clung（语境补充词）/kləŋ/ to Luca's stocking（长袜）/'stɒkiŋ/, and he used a spade（铲子、锄）/speid/ to collect samples（采集样本）/kəˈlɛkt ˈsæmpəlz/ near every irrigation（灌溉、冲洗）/.iri'geiʃәn/ channel. There, berry（浆果）/'beri/ bushes had begun（语境补充词）/ˈbeɪgən/ to bloom（花、开花）/blu:m/, peach（桃子、桃树）/pi:tʃ/ trees carried blossom（开花、兴旺）/'blɒsәm/, and each bud（芽、花蕾）/bʌd/ looked healthy. Rows of pea（豌豆、似豌豆的东西）/pi:/, peanut（花生、小人物）/'pi:nʌt/, eggplant（茄子）/'egplɑ:nt/, and melon（瓜、甜瓜）/'melәn/ had survived. The hay（干草）/hei/ shed was dry. Luca explained that growers（栽培者、生长物）/'grәuә/ could cultivate（培养、耕作）/'kʌltiveit/ this upper section first because the slope would not allow dirty water to settle.

“The refined（精炼、净化）/ri'fain/ test shows bacteria near the dairy tank, but not beside the tractor（牵引器、拖拉机）/'træktә/.” “Then can we breed（种类、品种）/bri:d/ animals safely and plant the upper field?” Zoe said yes, provided drinking water（饮用水）/ˈdrɪŋkɪŋ ˈwɔtər/ came from the hill supply. Luca proposed barriers of soil and hay around the leak. A cooperative（合作的、合作社的）/kәu'ɔpәrәtiv/ comrade（同志、伙伴）/'kɒmreid/ from the commune would help situate（使位于、使处于）/'sitjueit/ them. Tiny bubbles（泡沫）/'bʌbl/ on one sample confirmed where waste entered the channel, so the team could refine its map rather than condemn the whole farm.

By afternoon, the plan was clear: isolate the dairy corner, clean the well, and cultivate the safe hectare. Mrs. Han no longer treated delay as a cruel fate. She saw that careful testing protected both immediate yield（生产量、投资收益）/ji:ld/ and future breeding. At a regional（地方的、地域性的）/'ri:dʒәnәl/ summit（顶点、最高阶层）/'sʌmit/, Luca would reject the easy romance（冒险故事、浪漫史）/rәu'mæns/ of peasant（农夫、乡下人）/'peznt/ life and describe this practical balance between safety and survival. The tremendous（巨大的、非常的）/tri'mendәs/ storm had changed the farm overnight（在前一夜、整夜）/'әuvәnait/, but evidence gave the family a route forward（可行的前进路线）/ə rut ˈfɔrwərd/. Even the calf settled quietly as the tractor moved toward the upper field.