In December（12月）/dɪˈsɛmbər/, Elena moved into Maple（枫）/'meipl/ Suite（随员）/swi:t/, an apartment inside a concrete（混凝土的）/'kɒnkri:t/ studio（工作室）/ˈstudiˌoʊ/ building. The apparent（清晰可见的）/ә'pærәnt/ comfort hid a severe（严格的）/si'viә/ problem: a blank（空白的）/blæŋk/ patch on the laundry（洗衣店）/'lɒ:ndri/ wall turned wet, and frost（霜）/frɒst/ formed beside the washroom（洗手间）/ˈwɑʃˌrum/ pipe（管）/paip/. She was bored（令人讨厌的人）/bɒ:/ by the old file（文件）/faɪl/ of rental papers, but her conscience（良心）/'kɒnʃәns/ told her not to ignore the damage. The landlord, who lived in America（美国）/əˈmɛrɪkə/, had left his dad（爸爸）/dæd/ to manage the building.

Elena did not dare（敢）/dɛr/ to drill（钻孔机）/dril/ into the wall. She pulled the electrical plug（塞子）/plʌg/, moved a cigar（雪茄）/si'gɑ:/ from the counter（计算器）/'kauntә/, and placed a solid（固体的）/ˈsɑləd/ iron（铁）/aɪərn/ chest（箱子）/ʧɛst/ beneath the leak. Drops began to float（漂流物）/flәut/ on a film of soap（肥皂）/soʊp/ before falling into a buffet（自助餐用的）/'bʌfit/ bowl. She marked the level with a crayon（蜡笔）/kreɪɑn/ and put the evidence in an envelope（信封）/'envәlәup/. The hidden（隐藏的）/'hidn/ flow increased whenever the heating system produced steam（蒸汽）/sti:m/.

A cautious（谨慎的）/'kɒ:ʃәs/ neighbour helped her concentrate（专注）/'kɒnsәntreit/ on safety. “I want to escape（逃亡）/i'skeip/ this trap（圈套）/træp/, but I do not want to destroy（破坏）/di'strɒi/ evidence or injure（伤害）/'indʒә/ anyone.” They shut the hydrogen（氢）/'haidrәdʒәn/ boiler and found a minor（较小的）/'mainә/ tear（泪滴）/tiә. tєә/ in an antique（古老的）/æn'ti:k/ pipe. A bird's nest（巢）/nest/, ash（灰）/æʃ/, and an old maple leaf had blocked the outer vent. The neighbour warned that a careless operation（手术）/ˌɑpərˈeɪʃən/ might disturb（打扰）/dɪˈstərb/ every suite below.

Mr Cole arrived from Britain（英国）/ˈbrɪtən/ with a super（上等的）/'sju:pә/ set of tools. He removed damaged brick, found a noble（高贵的）/'nәubl/ maker's mark from a century-old castle, and admitted that the pipe had survived four decades（十年）/ˈdɛkeɪd/ too many. He installed a replacement and filled the scar（疤痕）/skɑ:/ in the wall. The water stopped, yet Elena insisted on a professional inspection because a temporary plug would not deserve（该得到）/di'zә:v/ her trust.

The landlord agreed to compensate（偿还）/'kɒmpenseit/ Elena for damaged clothing and clean the carpet. He also promised a controversial（争论的）/.kɒntrә'vә:ʃәl/ but sensible reform: inspect every pipe before the next tenant arrived. Elena photographed the repair in ink（墨水）/ɪŋk/-coloured light and stored the record with her contract. A cattle（养牛的）/kætl/ farmer from Africa（非洲）/ˈæfrɪkɑ/ had occupied the suite one decade earlier; an old deer（鹿）/diә/ drawing and a temple（圣堂）/templ/ postcard explained the garbage（垃圾）/'gɑ:bidʒ/ behind the wall. On the fourth（第四）/fɔrθ/ inspection day, Elena's desire（欲望）/di'zaiә/ for a safe home was finally satisfied. Independent living, she learned, is about checking danger, asking for help, and refusing a shortcut that creates a larger risk.