Yesterday（昨天）/ˈjestədeɪ/ at five p.m（下午）/p.m/., the County Ward（病房）/wɒ:d/ admitted Mara, an outgoing（喜欢外出的）/'autgәuiŋ/ travel writer（令状）/rit/ who had received radiation（辐射）/.reidi'eiʃәn/ treatment（治疗）/ˈtritmənt/. Her facial（美颜）/'feiʃәl/ skin turned yellow（黄色的）/ˈjeləʊ/, and she began to breathe backward（反常地）/'bækwәd/ in short, frightened gasps. Nurse Ava asked whether a new drug（药物）/drəg/ might be responsible. Mara, normally optimistic（乐观的）/.ɒpti'mistik/, could not answer. The physician（主治医师）/fi'ziʃәn/ appointed（任命）/ә'pɒint/ Ava to lead the night shift（变化）/ʃift/ while the chief（首席的）/tʃi:f/ surgeon（外科医生）/'sә:dʒәn/ considered whether to reject（拒绝）/ri'dʒekt/ the planned surgery（外科）/'sә:dʒәri/.

A crowd（群众）/kraud/ of visitors（访客）/ˈvɪzɪtə/ waited outside, including a gifted（有天才的）/'giftid/ educator（教育家）/'edjukeitә/ and an amateur photographer from Mara's latest adventure（旅行）/әd'ventʃә/. One carried an adorable（可爱的）/ә'dɒ:rәbl/ toy goat（山羊）/goʊt/; another offered a prayer（祈祷）/prєә. 'preiә/. Ava let Mara's companion sit close but asked everyone else to leave. A weapon（武器）/ˈwɛpən/ notice by the door did not imply（暗示）/im'plai/ danger; it reminded visitors that metal objects were forbidden near equipment. The team had to tolerate（宽容）/'tɒlәreit/ emotion while protecting a victim（受害者）/ˈvɪktɪm/ of a medical reaction. “Can you（你）/ju/ tell me what you swallowed before treatment?” “Yes（是）/jɛs/. A chemist（药剂师）/'kemist/ sold me an alternative（替代的）/ɒ:l'tә:nәtiv/ capsule on the eve（前夕）/i:v/ of my appointment.”

Ava placed Mara's handbag on her lap（膝盖）/læp/ and found the capsule beside a telephone（电话）/ˈtɛləˌfoʊn/ receipt. The label resembled（相似）/ri'zembl/ the hospital drug but listed an aggressive（侵略的）/ә'gresiv/ plant extract. Dr Lin used a modem（调制解调器）/'mәudem/ to relay（驿马）/'ri:lei/ a photograph to the poison service and inquire（询问）/in'kwaiә/ about interaction risks. The reply arrived via（经由）/vaiә/ a secure line: approximately（大约）/ә'prɒksimәtli/ one dose could explain the symptoms, although a consistent（持续的）/kәn'sistәnt/ examination was still necessary.

The surgeon inspected（检查）/in'spekt/ Mara's airway and chose the latter（后者的）/'lætә/ of two plans: monitored treatment rather than immediate surgery. Financial（财政+的）/ˌfaɪˈnænʃəl/ consideration（考虑）/kәn.sidә'reiʃәn/ did not justify（替...辩护）/'dʒʌstifai/ a faster but foolish（愚蠢的）/'fu:liʃ/ choice, and Mara's permission（许可）/pә'miʃәn/ was required. Ava disagreed（不一致）/.disә'gri:/ with a visitor who wanted her moved home. Fortunately（幸运的）/'fɒ:tʃәnit/, oxygen and medicine reduced the swelling. Afterward（之后）/'ɑ:ftәwәd/, Mara could speak clearly enough to confirm the full history. “You are improving, but we will keep you in the ward overnight.” “I am pleased（高兴的）/pli:zd/ you checked the capsule instead of assuming the worst.”

The team documented the unfortunate（不幸的）/.ʌn'fɒ:tʃәnit/ mistake and asked the hospital educator to discourage（使气馁）/dis'kʌridʒ/ unverified supplements. Its integrity（正直）/in'tegriti/ depended on admitting why the original interview had missed the capsule. Staff would tend（往往）/tɛnd/ to Mara overnight. The next morning, her surgery was safely rescheduled. What first looked like a mysterious decline had a clear explanation: patient testimony, careful inspection, and rapid communication had connected an outside product to a dangerous reaction.