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Bobby Quails was shopping when he received a text message: Fire on Beechmont, one-story house, child
trapped inside. "I was picking out gifts for the family our engine house adopted for Christmas," remembers
Quails, who has been fighting fires in Memphis for 24 years. "I had this sinking feeling as I got in my car and
headed over."
The last time Quails had been on Beeehmont Street was to install smoke detectors (感应器) at the Bateman-
Tubbs home. He'd been on a secret task to see if they needed extra help during the holidays. There he discovered
that the four Bateman-Tubbs children were sleeping on bare mattresses (床垫), and he found two of the boys
playing outside in 30-degree weather with no shoes or coats.
Quails learned that Leonard Tubbs was doing his best to make ends meet laying floors while Kimberly
Bateman stayed home with the kids.
"When Bobby told me his team wanted to be Secret Santas and buy my kids toys, at first I thought we didn't
need any help," Bateman recalls. "It really touched me. I told him what the kids really needed was warm clothes,"
That's exactly what Qualls was shopping for on December 9, 2010: winter jackets for Christopher, seven;
JoJo, four; Madison, one; and two-month-old Charles. While driving over to Beechmont Street, he dialed
Bateman's cell phone. She answered on the first ring, screaming, "The house is on fire-JoJo's trapped inside!"
By the time Quails reached the house, the family had gotten out, but their home was severely damaged; His
coworkers had found JoJo hiding under a pile of clothes in a back bedroom. He had stopped breathing and had
been given CPR and rushed to the hospital. Quails learned that JoJo was now on life support and might not make
it through the night. He rushed to the hospital with Lt. Mark Eskew, who placed a stuffed teddy bear in a
firefighter's suit on JoJo's bed.
"I just kept praying my little boy would open his eyes," Bateman recalls. "There was nothing else I could do.
They were pumping black and thick liquid out of his lungs and stomach for days."
After a few days, though, JoJo regained consciousness, and the tubes were taken out of his throat. While he
began to slowly recover, the local newspaper and TV stations got hold of the story, and the Secret Santa Plan of
Quails and his fellow firefighters, snowballed. Before long, the fire station was overflowing with boxes of toys,
food, towels, and clothes. People called, wanting to donate furniture and appliances (电器) too. By December
23, Bateman and Tubbs had moved their kids into a new rental home. By Christmas Eve, JoJo was ready to
leave the hospital, and the firefighters were ready to deliver the family their very own Christmas miracle.
"These guys aren't just firefighters," says Bateman, "they're our guardian angels. If they hadn't installed a
smoke detector that first day they came to our house, we wouldn't have known when the fire started. Then they
went the extra ten miles to give us a Christmas."
1. What did Quails do after he received a text message?
A. He drove to the burning house.
B. He hurried to the fire station.
C. He went to pick out gifts.
D. He went shopping in Beechmont.
2. Who saved JoJo out of the burning house?
A. Bobby Qualls.
B. Leonard Tubbs.
C. Kimberly Bateman.
D. Firefighters.
3. We can learn from the story that _____.
A. JoJo is a naughty child
B. smoke detectors are very useful
C. Tubbs' home is filled with gifts
D. the fire was caused by the bare mattress
4. The author wrote this story mainly to _____.
A. encourage people to install smoke detectors
B. advise people to take good care of their children
C. ask people to give gifts to the firemen
D. praise the firemen for their good deeds
