It was unusually cold that year on December 25. The snowstorm swept across my city, with biting wind piercing (划破) the silence of the empty street.
I was a nurse on duty in the emergency room. Seated behind my desk, I stared through the glass window into the dark sky. I didn't think there would be any patients, sighing about having to work on Christmas, when almost all the people were enjoying their family members' company. Just then, five people showed up in front of my desk, a pale woman and four small children. I rose to my feet immediately.
"Are you all sick?" I asked suspiciously.
"Yes." she said weakly and lowered her head.
But when it came to descriptions of their presenting problems, things got a little confusing. Two of the children had headaches, but the headaches weren't accompanied by the normal body language of holding the head or trying to keep it still. Two children had earaches, but only one could tell me which ear was affected. The mother complained of a cough but seemed to work to produce it.
Something was wrong, but I didn't say anything and explained that it might be a little while before a doctor saw her. She responded, "Take your time; it's warm here."
On a hunch (出于直觉), I checked the chart after the admitting clerk had finished registering the family. No address—they were homeless. And the waiting room was warm and comfortable.
I looked out at the family huddled (蜷缩) by the Christmas tree. The little one was clapping his hands and stamping his feet, with his eyes fixed on the television screen while the bigger one was pointing at the television and yelling something at her mother. The oldest one was looking at an ornament(装饰) on the Christmas tree.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
I returned to the nurses' station.
……
We prepared a big dinner for our Christmas guests.
