Lesson75 SOS
When a light passenger plane flew off course some time ago, it crashed in the mountains and its pilot【ˈpaɪlət】 was killed. The only passengers, a young woman and her two baby daughters, were unhurt. It was the middle of winter. Snowlay thick [θɪk]on the ground. The woman knew that the nearest village was miles away. When it grew dark. she turned a suitcase into a bed and put the children inside it, covering them with all the clothes she could find. During the night, itgot terribly cold. The woman kept as near as she could to the children and even tried to get into the case herself, but itwas too small. Early next morning she heard planes passing overhead and wondered how she could send a signal. Then she had an idea. She stamped [stæmpt]
out the letters' SOS' in the snow. Fortunately, a pilot saw the signal and sent a message by radio to the nearest [ˈnɪrəst]
town. It was not long before a helicopter [ˈhelɪkɑːptər] arrived on the scene [siːn] to rescue the survivors [sər'vaɪvər] of theplane crash.
wɛn ə laɪt ˈpæsɪnʤə pleɪn fluː ɒf kɔːs sʌm taɪm əˈgəʊ, ɪt kræʃt ɪn ðə ˈmaʊntɪnz ænd ɪtsˈpaɪlətwɒz kɪld. ði ˈəʊnli ˈpæsɪnʤəz, ə jʌŋ ˈwʊmən ænd hɜː tuː ˈbeɪbi ˈdɔːtəz, wɜːr ʌnˈhɜːt. ɪt wɒz ðə ˈmɪdl ɒv ˈwɪntə. snəʊ leɪ θɪk ɒn ðə graʊnd. ðə ˈwʊmən njuː ðæt ðə ˈnɪərɪst ˈvɪlɪʤ wɒz maɪlz əˈweɪ. wɛn ɪt gruː dɑːk. ʃiː tɜːnd ə ˈsjuːtkeɪs ˈɪntuː ə bɛd ænd pʊt ðə ˈʧɪldrən ɪnˈsaɪd ɪt, ˈkʌvərɪŋ ðɛm wɪð ɔːl ðəkləʊðzʃiː kʊd faɪnd. ˈdjʊərɪŋ ðə naɪt, ɪt gɒt ˈtɛrəbli kəʊld. ðə ˈwʊmən kɛpt æz nɪər æz ʃiː kʊd tuː ðə ˈʧɪldrən ænd ˈiːvən traɪd tuː gɛt ˈɪntuː ðə keɪs hɜːˈsɛlf, bʌt ɪt wɒz tuː smɔːl. ˈɜːli nɛkst ˈmɔːnɪŋ ʃiː hɜːd pleɪnz ˈpɑːsɪŋˈəʊvɛhɛdænd ˈwʌndəd haʊ ʃiː kʊd sɛnd ə ˈsɪgnl. ðɛn ʃiː hæd ən aɪˈdɪə. ʃiː stæmpt aʊt ðə ˈlɛtəz ˌɛsˌəʊˈɛs ɪn ðə snəʊ. ˈfɔːʧnɪtli, ə ˈpaɪlət sɔː ðə ˈsɪgnl ænd sɛnt ə ˈmɛsɪʤ baɪ ˈreɪdɪəʊ tuː ðə ˈnɪərɪst taʊn. ɪt wɒz nɒt lɒŋ bɪˈfɔːr ə ˈhɛlɪkɒptər əˈraɪvd ɒn ðə siːn tuː ˈrɛskjuː ðə səˈvaɪvəz ɒv ðə pleɪn kræʃ.
