a) Moral (the lesson of the story)
b) Problem
c) Setting (characters, place, time)
d) Solution
2. You are going to read an article called Lightning strikes twice. Match the notes the journalist made (a-f) to the correct headings (1-4).
a. Matt has to have a liver transplant and then his wife Ann has to have a liver transplant.
b. This experience, which often causes couples to separate, has made Ann and Matt stronger and care for each other more.
c. Ann and Matt
d. The story starts when Matt is 39.
e. Both Matt and Ann have successful operations.
f. The USA
| Lightning strikes twice 1 ______________________ 2 ______________________ 3 ______________________ 4 ______________________ |
3. Read the article Lightning strikes twice. Is it similar to or different from how you imagined it would be after the journalists notes? Explain your answer.
Lightning strikes twice
 When her husband told her the awful news,
she had no idea there would be more to come.
Ann Storm felt nervous at work that day. She was worried about her husband Matts doctors appointment that afternoon. When she got home that evening, she went into their bedroom. Matt was waiting for her, his eyes full of tears. What? she shouted in a panic. What did the doctor say? Matt managed to say, I need a liver transplant; without it I will die. He was 39 years old.
I need a liver transplant,
without it I will die
After months of waiting, a donor liver became available. Matt and Ann held hands tightly as they drove up the motorway to the hospital. They were still holding hands as Matt wheeled into the operating room at 3 a.m. I might not survive this, Matt thought. As Ann kissed her husband goodbye, they both cried.
The operation went well, and he was soon back at home. Four months after the transplant, Matt was begging to return to work. He had read 36 books and watched every programme on TV. I had more energy than ever, he remembers. Life was looking good again.
Then two years later, Ann suddenly fainted at work. She was taken to the hospital, where tests showed Ann had suffered liver failure. A brutally honest doctor said that Ann could die at any time.
Now it was Anns turn to wait for a donor liver. The Storms were not optimistic. Two livers for one family? Ann wondered. In August they decided to return to the Greek island of Kefalonia, where theyd honeymooned ten years earlier. We know this could be our last time together and were determined to enjoy it, says Matt. We just wanted to be together, explains Ann. That was the most important thing.
It was a shock when, a few weeks after they returned from Kelafonia, a call came from the hospital. Matt drove his wife to Glasgow like a maniac, and saw the helicopter with the donor liver arrive on the hospital roof. The operation finished at seven the next morning. She left the hospital after ten days.
We just wanted to be
with each other
Before Matts transplant, Ann received a call from a nurse asking how long the Storms had been married, and if they really loved each other. Why are you asking all these questions? Ann responded. Because, the nurse told her, the transplant experience is so stressful that some couples split up. It has been just the opposite for the Storms.
At the end of a Friday night meal at alocal restaurant, Matt urges Ann to put her coat on. Its cold out there. Ann puts on her coat, and Matt puts his arm around her. Thats the way it is, Matt adds as they go out into the winter night. As long as were together, were together, we can weather any storm.
|
