Nora rented（租金；租用）/rent/ an upper（上部的；楼上的）/'ʌpә/ room in the Hillview estate（住宅区；地产）/i'steit/ after reading an advertisement（广告）/ˌædvərˈtaɪzmənt/ that promised comfort（舒适）/'kʌmfәt/, security（安全；安保）/sɪˈkjʊrəti/, and modern furniture（家具）/ˈfərnɪʧər/. The monthly（每月的）/'mʌnθli/ rent included gas（燃气；气体）/ɡæs/, electricity（电；电力）/.ilek'trisiti/, parking（停车）/'pɑ:kiŋ/, and use of a shared facility（设施）/fəˈsɪlɪti/ downstairs（在楼下）/ˈdaʊnˈstɛrz/. She chose to pay by card（刷卡付款）/peɪ baɪ kɑrd/ and decided to take out insurance（购买保险）/teɪk aʊt ˌɪnˈʃʊrəns/ for her household（家庭；家用的）/'haushәuld/ property（财物；房产）/ˈprɑpərti/. The manager gave her an automatic（自动的）/.ɒ:tә'mætik/ door key and a written（书面的、写成文字的）/'ritn/ guarantee（保证；担保）/.gærәn'ti:/ that urgent（紧急的、急迫的）/'ә:dʒәnt/ damage（损坏；损失）/ˈdæmɪdʒd/ would be repaired.

On the first evening, a storm hit the roof（屋顶）/ru:f/. Water began to leak（漏水；泄漏）/li:k/ through the ceiling（天花板）/ˈsilɪŋ/ above a light switch（开关；转换）/switʃ/. The curtain（窗帘）/'kә:tәn/ became（变得）/bɪˈkeɪm/ damp（潮湿的）/dæmp/, drops filled a basin（盆；水池）/'beisn/ in the sink（水槽；下沉）/siŋk/, and dust（灰尘）/dʌst/ fell（一季所伐的木材、折缝）/fel/ onto（到……上面）/ˈɔntu/ a blanket（毯子）/'blæŋkit/ and an open drawer（抽屉）/drɔː/. Nora turned off the electricity supply（供应；供给）/səˈplaɪ/ so that nobody would touch the exposed（使暴露、使曝光）/ik'spәuz/ wire（电线）/'waiә/. She also removed（移除）/rɪˈmuːvd/ the battery（电池）/'bætәri/ from a nearby（附近的、近旁的）/'niәbai/ alarm（惊恐、警报）/ә'lɑ:m/. Safety mattered more than trying to restore（恢复；修复）/ri'stɒ:/ comfort herself.

Nora called the estate administration（管理部门）/ædˌmɪnɪˈstreɪʃən/ to make an appointment（预约）/meɪk ən əˈpɔɪntmənt/ with a mechanic（维修人员；机械师）/mi'kænik/. She explained, “I need someone to deal with（处理）/dil wɪθ/ a leak beside electrical（电的、有关电的）/i'lektrikәl/ equipment（设备）/ɪkˈwɪpmənt/. I can attach（附上；连接）/ә'tætʃ/ photographs（照片）/ˈfəʊtəɡrɑːfs/ to my request（请求）/ri'kwest/.” The operator（操作员；运营者）/'ɒpәreitә/ first treated it as a domestic（家庭的；国内的）/dәu'mestik/ cleaning problem, but Nora asked her to detect（查明；探测）/di'tekt/ the actual（真实的、实际的）/'æktʃuәl/ fault（故障；过错）/fɒ:lt/ before closing the case（病例；情况）/keɪs/. She also requested a temporary（临时的）/'tempәrәri/ room.

The mechanic arrived with a ladder（梯、梯状物）/'lædә/ and opened a section（区域）/ˈsekʃnz/ of the brick（砖）/brik/ wall. He confirmed（确认；证实）/kənˈfɜːmd/ that a broken（坏掉的、打破的）/'brәukәn/ roof component（部件）/kәm'pәunәnt/ had allowed water into the wire channel（频道；渠道）/'tʃænәl/. The construction（施工；建筑）/kәn'strʌkʃәn/ was complicated（复杂的）/'kɒmplikeitid/: the team had to replace（更换）/rɪˈpleɪst/ part of the ceiling, handle（处理；把手）/hændl/ wet material（材料；面料）/məˈtɪəriəl/, and enable（使能够；启用）/ɪˈneɪbəl/ the security system（系统）/ˈsɪstəm/ again. They delivered（运送；交付）/di'livә/ a temporary heater because the repair would consume（消耗）/kәn'sju:m/ the whole afternoon. Nora used the location（位置）/lәu'keiʃәn/ map to help workers get around（四处走动；出行）/gɪt əraʊnd/ the building without blocking the stairs（楼梯）/stєә/.

By morning, the room had run out of（用完）/rən aʊt əv/ dry storage（存储器、储藏）/'stɒ:ridʒ/ space. Nora moved her books into a locked cabinet（橱柜、内阁）/'kæbinit/. She continued to keep in touch（保持联系）/kip ɪn təʧ/ with the manager, recorded each aspect（方面）/ˈæˌspɛkt/ of the damage, and wrote（写）/rəʊt/ to the company（公司）/ˈkʌmpəni/ to ask for a refund（要求退款）/æsk fər ə ˈriˌfənd/ on one night's rent. The manager did not complain（抱怨）/kәm'plein/; he admitted（承认）/ədˈmɪt/ that maintenance（维护、保持）/'meintәnәns/ at the property had failed. The ceiling was restored, and the damaged switch was replaced. The team also cleaned the furniture and tested every gas connection（连接、关系）/kә'nekʃәn/. Nora's careful record turned a confusing（使混乱、使狼狈）/kәn'fju:z/ problem into a clear repair plan and helped the building improve（提高；改善）/ɪmˈpruːv/ its safety procedure（程序；步骤）/prəˈsiʤər/.