Chapter 4

 A girl was struggling to raise herself from the next seat, obviously unaware¹ that the leg wouldn't support her because it had suffered a compound fracture. Dr. Needzak forced a grin when he attracted her attention. He persuaded her to lie flat. With one quick motion, he rough-set the leg. Then he boosted her out of the vehicle, and looked down to investigate the source of the plucking at his coat.

It was a small, chubby² boy, standing³ beside him. "I'm hurt real bad," the boy said. Needzak ran his hands over the boy's body to make sure the bones were sound. "You better take care of me real quick," the child said, looking more worried than ever.

Dr. Needzak made sure that the blood on the boy's cheek came from only a scratch, and found the heartbeat normal. So he pulled a sugar wafer from his bag and ordered the boy to swallow it.

"Think you can climb out now?" Dr. Needzak asked. The youngster, face brightening, leaped to the door and went out unassisted.

The only child remaining in the vehicle hadn't uttered a sound. But the doctor sensed that her breathing was heavier. He bent⁴ over her, and pushed back the lid of her half-closed eye. When he saw the back of her head, he stopped his hasty examination. Her words were barely audible. "Am I hurt bad?"

"Why, there won't even be any pain," Dr. Needzak told her cheerfully. Before he could yell to the other doctors to call for a stretcher, the girl's breathing stopped.

Slowly, as if suddenly tired, Dr. Needzak climbed out of the vehicle.

Police had already dispersed⁵ the crowd. Tow trucks were waiting to haul away the vehicles. The injured children were gone. The three doctors resumed their walk.

Dr. Needzak felt the eyes of the other two men on him, lost patience after a moment, and said irritably⁶:

"Go ahead, start bawling⁷ me out. But I've not signed anything yet. I'm still a licensed⁸ physician. I had every right to help those kids."

The other two doctors stopped, looking at one another, as if trying to probe each other's thoughts. Simultaneous smiles spread over their faces. Dr. Needzak stopped walking, when he heard them starting to laugh. He pushed between them with a frown, asking:

"Look, if you—"

Dr. Carson slapped him on the back, hard. Dr. Manville grasped Dr. Needzak's hand and squeezed it with unexpected strength.

"The same thing hit us both at the same time, I'll bet," the older doctor said. "It would be the ideal thing for you."

Dr. Carson was pumping Dr. Needzak's other hand up and down. "Sure. Emergency physician! I don't know why we didn't think of that in the first place. Accidents still happen now and then. It isn't easy to find doctors who are willing to specialize in them, because it isn't steady income and it doesn't pay a whole lot. But you have those screwball ideas about helping⁹ people to get well. And that's just what an emergency physician must do."

"I'll talk to a couple of the men on the association board as soon as I can get to a telephone," Dr. Manville said. "I think I can persuade them to assign you to accidents without going through a disbarring procedure, as long as you agree to stay away from general practice. You're willing, I assume?"

Dr. Needzak pulled his hands free and looked at the spots of dried blood that remained on the fingers and palms. He hadn't been able to wash up after the accident. He saw surgeon's hands, healing hands, hands that would never be satisfied to wrap up syrups¹⁰ or count pills.

"I suppose that it's the best thing in a bad deal. But I'm wondering about accidents. Just the other day, I read an insurance company statement. The insurance statisticians said that accidents have become so scarce in the past decade that they'll be virtually non-existent, in another half-century. I'll be 100 by that time, just in the prime of life. If there aren't any more accident victims, what will I do for a living? I couldn't find a job at that age, you know."

The other two doctors shrugged¹¹ their shoulders, in unison¹². With the wisdom of age, Dr. Manville said:

"Well, if you find yourself in that situation, you can always go to see a doctor."

The End

1 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

2 chubby   

adj.丰满的，圆胖的

参考例句：

• He is stocky though not chubby.他长得敦实，可并不发胖。
• The short and chubby gentleman over there is our new director.那个既矮又胖的绅士是我们的新主任。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

5 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

6 irritably   

ad.易生气地

参考例句：

• He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了，暴躁地斥责孩子们。
• On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事，他妻子大声斥责，令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 bawling   

v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物）

参考例句：

• We heard the dulcet tones of the sergeant, bawling at us to get on parade. 我们听到中士用“悦耳”的声音向我们大喊，让我们跟上队伍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Why are you bawling at me? “你向我们吼啥子？ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

8 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 syrups   

n.糖浆，糖汁( syrup的名词复数 )；糖浆类药品

参考例句：

• A variety of cocktails were created all using Monin syrups and purees. 我们用莫林糖浆和果泥创作了许多鸡尾酒。 来自互联网
• Other applications include fruit juices, flavors, and sugar syrups. 其它的应用包括水果汁、香精和糖浆。 来自互联网

11 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 unison   

n.步调一致，行动一致

参考例句：

• The governments acted in unison to combat terrorism.这些国家的政府一致行动对付恐怖主义。
• My feelings are in unison with yours.我的感情与你的感情是一致的。