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 detector 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 buzzing of the smoke alarm， I asked them to identify the sound.

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

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

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

我的烧饭手艺向来是家庭笑话的攻击目标。一天晚上，晚餐我准备得有点儿太快了，厨房里充满了烟，结果烟雾探查器报起警来。尽管我的两个孩子都在学校里接受过防火安全训练，可是他们并没有对报警声作出反应。我感到很恼火，满幢房子乱冲寻找他们。 我在洗澡间找到他们，发现他们正在洗手。我的声音盖过了烟雾警报的嗡嗡声，我叫他们辨别那声音。

“是烟雾探查器，”他们异口同声地说。

“你们知道那声音意味着什么吗？”

我责问道。

“当然，”我的大孩子回答道，“晚饭准备好了。”