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。

　　我在洗漱间找到他们，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。”