At half（一半）/hɑːf/ past six that morning（早晨）/ˈmɔːnɪŋ/, Lin woke up（醒来）/wəʊk ʌp/ before his alarm（闹钟；警报）/əˈlɑːm/, got up（起床）/ɡɒt ʌp/, entered（进入）/ˈentəd/ the bathroom（浴室；卫生间）/ˈbɑːθruːm/, and turned on（打开）/tɜːnd ɒn/ the tap（水龙头）/tæp/. Nothing came out. “Mom, the bathroom tap is not working（工作；运转）/wɜːk/.” His sister（姐妹）/ˈsɪstə/ replied, “The kitchen（厨房）/ˈkɪtʃɪn/ tap is silent（无声的；安静的）/ˈsaɪlənt/ too.” Their father（父亲）/ˈfɑːðə/ found a new notice（通知；注意到）/ˈnəʊtɪs/ on the building door（门）/dɔː/. “Workers（工人）/ˈwɜːkə/ are repairing（维修）/rɪˈpeərɪŋ/ a broken（破损的）/ˈbrəʊkən/ water（水）/ˈwɔːtə/ pipe（管道；水管）/paɪp/. The water will return（返回；恢复）/rɪˈtɜːn/ around noon（中午）/nuːn/.”

At the table（桌子）/ˈteɪbəl/, Mother（母亲）/ˈmʌðə/ counted（清点；计数）/ˈkaʊntɪd/ the water; Father listed their needs（需要）/niːd/. “We have one full（满的；饱的）/fʊl/ bottle（瓶子）/ˈbɒtəl/, half a kettle（水壶）/ˈketəl/, and a small（小的）/smɔːl/ pot（锅；罐）/pɒt/ of clean（干净的；清洁）/kliːn/ water.” “Mother must make breakfast（早餐）/ˈbrekfəst/. I must leave（离开；留下）/liːv/ for work, and you two must be ready（准备好的）/ˈredi/ for school.” Lin asked, “So we cannot take a shower（洗淋浴）/teɪk ə ˈʃaʊə/ or wash the dishes（洗餐具）/wɒʃ ðə ˈdɪʃɪz/ as usual（通常的；惯常的）/ˈjuːʒuəl/?”

Instead（代替；反而）/ɪnˈsted/ of complaining（抱怨）/kəmˈpleɪnɪŋ/, Mother made a simple（简单的）/ˈsɪmpəl/ plan. Lin and his sister offered（主动提出；提供）/ˈɒfəd/ to help（帮助）/help/. “Use a cup（杯子）/kʌp/ of water to brush（刷；刷子）/brʌʃ/ your teeth（牙齿）/tiːθ/ and a wet（湿的）/wet/ towel（毛巾）/ˈtaʊəl/ to clean your face（脸；面对）/feɪs/.” Lin offered, “I will cut（切；割）/kʌt/ bread（面包）/bred/ and fruit（水果）/fruːt/ for breakfast.” His sister added, “I will put（放；安置）/pʊt/ milk（牛奶）/mɪlk/ and eggs（鸡蛋）/eɡz/ on the table.” Their father filled（装满）/fɪld/ two small bottles. It was not the breakfast they expected（预料；期待）/ɪkˈspektɪd/, but everyone ate enough（足够的（地））/ɪˈnʌf/.

At the door, Lin saw Mrs Zhou from the second floor（楼层；地面）/flɔː/. “Do you need help?” “I live alone（独自；单独）/əˈləʊn/ and did not read the notice. I need to take（拿；取；花费）/teɪk/ medicine（药；医学）/ˈmedɪsɪn/ with water before breakfast.” His mother said, “Of course. We can share（分享；分给）/ʃeəd/ one bottle with you.” They shared one bottle with her. Lin and his father then carried（搬运；携带）/ˈkærid/ two empty（空的）/ˈempti/ buckets（水桶）/ˈbʌkɪts/ to the community（社区）/kəˈmjuːnəti/ service（服务）/ˈsɜːvɪs/ station（站；服务点）/ˈsteɪʃən/ across the street（街道）/striːt/.

There was already a long line（队伍；线）/laɪn/ at the station. While Lin was waiting patiently（耐心地）/ˈpeɪʃəntli/, he watched（观察；观看）/wɒtʃt/ people（人们）/ˈpiːpəl/ help one another carry the heavy（重的）/ˈhevi/ buckets. The worker announced（宣布；通知）/əˈnaʊnst/, “Each family（家庭；家人）/ˈfæməli/ should take only what it truly needs.” “One bucket is for an elderly（年长的）/ˈeldəli/ neighbour（邻居）/ˈneɪbə/.” Lin explained（解释）/ɪkˈspleɪnd/ why she needed help. The worker smiled（微笑）/smaɪld/ and gave him an extra（额外的）/ˈekstrə/ bottle.

When the taps worked again before noon, Mother saw that the water looked pale（浅色的；苍白的）/peɪl/ brown（棕色的）/braʊn/. “Do not drink（喝；饮料）/drɪŋk/ it yet. Let it run（流动；跑）/rʌn/ until（直到……为止）/ənˈtɪl/ it becomes clear（清澈的；清楚的）/klɪə/.” Mother boiled（煮沸）/bɔɪld/ some for safety. Lin washed（洗；清洗）/wɒʃ/ the dishes, cleaned up（清理）/kliːnd ʌp/ the kitchen, and put two bottles away for a future emergency（紧急情况）/ɪˈmɜːdʒənsi/.

That evening（晚上；傍晚）/ˈiːvnɪŋ/, Lin's father spoke first about the unusual（不寻常的）/ʌnˈjuːʒuəl/ morning. “A broken pipe changed（改变）/tʃeɪndʒd/ our usual routine（日常安排；惯例）/ruːˈtiːn/ and showed us how much water we use without（没有；不带）/wɪˈðaʊt/ thinking.” “From now on, I will turn（转动；轮次）/tɜːn/ off the tap while brushing my teeth and keep a small supply（储备；供应）/səˈplaɪ/ for times when a neighbour might need help.”