I’ll Always Be There for You!

In 1989 an 8.2 Ms earthquake took place in the United States of America. It killed hundreds of people in less than four minutes. A father rushed to his son’s school, only to find that the building was as flat as a pancake.

He remembered the promise to his son, “No matter what, I’ll always be there for you!”3And tears filled his eyes. As he looked at the ruins, he kept remembering his promise.

He began to dig.

As he was digging, other hopeless parents said, “It’s too late! They are all dead. You can’t help! Come on, there is nothing you can do!”

He replied to each parent, “Are you going to help me now?” And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone.

He dug for eight hours, 12 hours... 24 hours... 36 hours..., then in the 38th hour, he heard his son’s voice.

“Come out, boy!”

“No, dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you’ll get me! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”

注解 Note

1. 8.2 Ms earthquake: 8.2级地震 

Ms为magnitudes的缩略形式。

2. A father rushed to his son’s school, only to find that the building was as flat as a pancake. 一位父亲冲向他儿子的学校，目之所及的只有被夷为平地的校园。 

only to f ind...中的不定式表示结果。

3. No matter what, I’ll always be there for you! 无论发生什么，我永远会跟你在一起！ 

no matter+疑问词，表示“无论……”，如：no matter what （无论什么）， no matter how（无论怎样）， no matter when （无论何时）， no matter where （无论在哪里）， no matter who（无论谁）等。

4. As he looked at the ruins, he kept remembering his promise. 他看着这片废墟，对儿子的承诺一遍遍在脑海中回响。

As he was digging, other hopeless parents said... 在他挖掘时，其他绝望的父母都说……

两句中的as都是“当……时”的意思，相当于while或when。 

e.g. 

I saw Peter as I was getting off the bus.

我下车时看见了彼得。