My cooking has always been the target of family jokes. One evening, as I prepared dinner a bit too quickly, the kitchen filled with smoke and the smoke detector1 went off. Although both of my children had received fire-safety training at school, they did not respond to the alarm. Annoyed, I stormed through the house in search of them.

I found them in the bathroom, washing their hands. Over the loud buzzing2 of the smoke alarm, I asked them to identify the sound.

"It's the smoke detector," they replied in unison3.

"Do you know what that sound means?" I demanded.

"Sure," my oldest replied. "Dinner's ready."

我的厨艺一直以来都是全家人取笑的对象。一天晚上，由于晚餐准备得太快，弄得厨房里全是烟雾，连烟雾探查器也响了起来。虽然我的两个孩子在学校里都接受过防火安全训练，然而他们对警报却毫无反应。我很生气，怒气冲冲地在房间里到处找他们。

我在浴室里找到了正在洗手的他们。我的声音大过了警报声，要求他们辨别那种声音。

“是烟雾探查器。”他们不约而同地回答。

“你们知道那种声音代表什么吗？”我问道。

“当然，”大一点的孩子回答，“晚饭已经好了。”