A sudden（突然的）/ˈsʌdn/ storm（暴风雨）/stɔːm/ brought dark clouds（云）/klaʊdz/, strong wind（风）/wɪnd/, thunder（雷声）/ˈθʌndə/, and lightning（闪电）/ˈlaɪtnɪŋ/. Heavy（猛烈的）/ˈhevi/ rain fell（降下；落下）/fel/ on Saturday（星期六）/ˈsætədeɪ/ morning. At noon（中午）/nuːn/, water from the river（河流）/ˈrɪvə/ entered（进入）/ˈentəd/ the lowest（最低的）/ˈləʊɪst/ street near the Chen family's house. A local（本地的）/ˈləʊkl/ weather（天气）/ˈweðə/ report（报告）/rɪˈpɔːt/ on the radio（收音机；广播）/ˈreɪdiəʊ/ carried a government（政府）/ˈɡʌvənmənt/ evacuation（疏散）/ɪˌvækjuˈeɪʃn/ order（命令）/ˈɔːdə/ and clear instructions（指示）/ɪnˈstrʌkʃnz/. The situation（情况）/ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃn/ could become dangerous（危险的）/ˈdeɪndʒərəs/, so people had to leave before the water rose（上升）/rəʊz/ farther（进一步；更远）/ˈfɑːðə/ and use the marked route（路线）/ruːt/ to the school shelter（安置点；避难处）/ˈʃeltə/.
Mr（先生）/ˈmɪstə/ Chen asked everyone to calm down（冷静下来）/kɑːm daʊn/ and follow the family emergency（紧急情况；应急的）/ɪˈmɜːdʒənsi/ plan. While the floor was still dry（干燥的）/draɪ/, he turned off the gas（燃气）/ɡæs/ and electric（电的）/ɪˈlektrɪk/ power（电力；电源）/ˈpaʊə/ at the main controls（控制装置）/kənˈtrəʊlz/. Mrs Chen packed only necessary（必要的）/ˈnesəsəri/ things: identity（身份）/aɪˈdentəti/ cards, medicine（药品）/ˈmedsn/, a torch（手电筒）/tɔːtʃ/, batteries（电池）/ˈbætəriz/, drinking water, and dry clothes. Their daughter（女儿）/ˈdɔːtə/ Lili moved a box of photographs（照片）/ˈfəʊtəɡrɑːfs/ to a high shelf（架子）/ʃelf/.
Lili worried about（担心）/ˈwʌrid əˈbaʊt/ her cat（猫）/kæt/, which（……的；哪个）/wɪtʃ/ was hiding（躲藏）/ˈhaɪdɪŋ/ under a bed. She found it, put it in its travel（外出用的）/ˈtrævl/ box, and joined her parents（父母；家长）/ˈpeərənts/ at the front door. According to（根据）/əˈkɔːdɪŋ tuː/ the radio, they had enough time to leave safely（安全地）/ˈseɪfli/. They locked（锁好）/lɒkt/ the house and walked towards the school with an elder（年长的）/ˈeldə/ neighbour（邻居）/ˈneɪbə/.
On the way（在路上）/ɒn ðə weɪ/, the shortest（最短的）/ˈʃɔːtɪst/ street was already（已经）/ɔːlˈredi/ flooded（淹没）/ˈflʌdɪd/. Brown water covered（覆盖）/ˈkʌvəd/ the road surface（表面；路面）/ˈsɜːfɪs/, and no one knew（知道）/njuː/ how deep（深的）/diːp/ it was. Mr Chen did not allow anyone（任何人）/ˈeniwʌn/ to walk through it and risk（冒险；风险）/rɪsk/ an accident（事故）/ˈæksɪdənt/. The family followed the rules（遵守规则）/ˈfɒləʊd ðə ruːlz/ on the warning map. They took the longer（较长的）/ˈlɒŋɡə/ road that led（带领；通往）/led/ up the hill（小山；坡）/hɪl/. That route stayed dry and led them around（绕过；周围）/əˈraʊnd/ the flooded area.
They arrived at（到达）/əˈraɪvd æt/ the school shelter twenty minutes later. A worker recorded their names（姓名）/neɪmz/ and gave them a place to sit（坐）/sɪt/. The family opened the emergency bag and checked the cat. Everyone was dry and together（一起）/təˈɡeðə/. The rain continued outside, but they had left early and had not crossed the floodwater（洪水）/ˈflʌdwɔːtə/.