Margaret Ellis was an elderly widow who lived alone in a large old house. It was in a quiet suburb, and it had front and back gardens and a wooden porch. Recently, however, Margaret was troubled by reports of thieves in the neighborhood. Luckily, she was friends with the local police. She was especially close to a police officer who knew her well. His name was Officer Steven Blake.
One evening, Margaret heard the sound of a window breaking. She went into the kitchen and found a man standing inside the back door. He was dressed all in black and wearing a mask. He was also carrying a long knife. Margaret was very frightened, but then she remembered that Officer Blake would soon pass by her house as he did almost every night.
"Don't make a sound!" said the robber in a shaky voice as he walked slowly toward her. Just then, there was a knock at the front door. Margaret remained still, and the visitor knocked again.
"Go answer the door," said the robber, "and be careful!" Margaret went to the front door, and the robber followed. She shouted out, "Who is it?"
"Hi, Mrs. Ellis," said Officer Blake. "Is everything OK?"
Margaret whispered to the robber, "It's a policeman. He often checks up on me."
"Tell the cop to get lost," said the man.
Margaret said to Officer Blake, "I'm fine and just about to go to bed. Don't worry. My husband will be back from his trip tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" Officer Blake asked again.
"Yes, Officer Blake," Margaret answered, "I just said goodnight to my husband on the phone. And good night to you too."
"OK, Mrs. Ellis," answered Officer Blake. "Good night."
"You did well," said the robber. "Now, where's your purse, and where do you keep your jewelry?"
As the robber was looking through Margaret's purse, Officer Blake burst through the kitchen door.
"Freeze!" shouted Officer Blake as he pointed his gun at the man.
The robber immediately dropped the knife and raised his hands above his head. Within minutes, more police arrived and took the robber away.
As the difficult night finally came to an end, Margaret thanked Officer Blake. "I knew that you would save me," she told him.
"Not me," Officer Blake replied, "You saved yourself."
Margaret Ellis 是一位年老的寡婦，獨居在老舊的大房子裡。房子位於寧靜的郊區，前後皆有花園，還有一條木製的門廊。然而最近 Margaret 因為住家附近出現小偷的報導而憂心。幸好，她是當地警察的朋友，其中和一名跟她很熟的警官最親近，那位警官叫做 Steven Blake。
一天晚上，Margaret 聽到窗戶破掉的聲音。她走進廚房，發現一個男人站在後門內。他全身黑衣、戴著口罩，還帶著一把長刀。Margaret 非常害怕，但她隨即想起 Blake 警官很快就會經過她家，就如同他幾乎每晚都會經過那樣。
「不要出聲!」搶匪一邊用顫抖的聲音說，一邊慢慢地朝著她走來。就在此時，前門有人敲門。Margaret 保持不動，來訪者再次敲門。
「去應門，」搶匪說，「機靈點!」
Margaret 走到前門，搶匪跟在後面。她大聲說，「是誰啊？」
「嗨，Ellis 太太，」Blake 警官說。「一切都還好嗎？」
Margaret 悄悄對搶匪說，「是警察。他經常來看我。」
「叫那個警察走開。」搶匪說。
Margaret 對 Blake 警官說，「我沒事，正準備要去睡覺。別擔心。我先生明天就會旅行返家了。」
「你確定？」Blake 警官再問了一次。
「是的，Blake 警官。」Margaret 回覆。「我剛剛才和我丈夫在電話裡道晚安。也祝你晚安。」
「好的，Ellis 太太，」Blake 警官回答。「晚安。」
「妳做得很好。」搶匪說。 「那麼，妳的錢包呢？還有妳的珠寶都放在哪裡？」
正當搶匪正翻找 Margaret 的皮包時，Blake 警官從廚房門衝了進來。
「不要動!」Blake 警官用槍指著男人並大喊。
搶匪立刻丟下刀子，把雙手舉到頭上。幾分鐘內，更多的警察抵達現場並將搶匪帶走。
隨著這不平靜的夜晚終於劃下句點時，Margaret 向 Blake 警官道謝。「我就知道你會救我。」她告訴他。
「不是我，」Blake 警官回答。「是妳救了妳自己。」
- elderly [ˋɛldɚlɪ] adj.
上了年紀的 - widow [ˋwɪdo] n.
寡婦 - suburb [ˋsʌbɝb] n.
郊區，郊外 - wooden [ˋwʊdn] adj.
木（製）的 - dressed [drɛst] adj.
穿著...衣服的 - mask [mæsk] n.
口罩，面罩 - frightened [ˋfraɪtnd] adj.
受到驚嚇的，感到害怕的 - robber [ˋrɑbɚ] n.
盜賊，強盜 - knock [nɑk] n.
敲門（聲） - remain [rɪˋmen] v.
保持，仍是；剩下，餘留 - still [stɪl] adj.
靜止的，不動的 - whisper [ˋhwɪspɚ] v.
耳語，悄悄地說 - purse [pɝs] n.
錢包 - jewelry [ˋdʒuəlrɪ] n.
珠寶 - burst [bɝst] v.
突然進入，衝出 - freeze [friz] v.
呆立不動；結冰 - point [pɔɪnt] v.
把...指向，指著 - immediately [ɪˋmidɪɪtlɪ] adv.
立即，立刻 - drop [drɑp] v.
使掉落，掉落 - porch [portʃ] n.
門廊，走廊 - cop [kɑp] n.
警察（口語用法） - just then
就在那時 - shout out
叫，喊 - check up on sb.
調查，查看 - get lost
走開!（口語用法） - be about to
即將...，正要...
