一個身患重病仍然決定生下孩子的女人

Danielle Emery was suffering from what she thought was a sore throat， but put her symptoms down to a simple cold. Even when her condition worsened and she was left straining her voice， she was still only diagnosed with laryngitis（喉炎） when she visited the doctors. It was only after， in April 2019， that tests confirmed it was， in fact， laryngeal cancer.

Needing emergency surgery to tackle the disease， the carer was ready to go under the knife when she was given another shock diagnosis – she was 11 weeks pregnant.

“I had only a few minutes to make the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make – but without me， there would be no baby anyway.” Making the brave choice to go ahead with the surgery， Danielle was lucky， saying： “Fortunately， it was successful at getting rid of all the cancer. And my baby was fine， too.”

Then， at six months pregnant， the cancer returned. At that time， Danielle said： “I wasn’t worried about myself anymore， but I was concerned about the safety of my baby.” Fearing it had spread further in her throat， she was told that， thankfully， it had just come back in her left vocal cord again.

Danielle dreaded going under anaesthetic（麻醉藥） again， due to the risks of harming the baby， but while she was scared， she said： “But being pregnant made me sturdy and determined to fight the disease.”

More surgery followed to remove the cancer permanently， and mum and baby once again received the all-clear. The new parents were overjoyed to welcome their baby boy.

In June 2020， however， Danielle was diagnosed with cancer for a third time. Doctors advised Danielle she’d need to have her vocal cords removed in order to prevent the disease returning. The procedure ran the risk of her never being able to speak again， and the mum feared her son would never hear her speak. But Danielle’s voice returned within hours， and she’s now officially been cancer-free for three years.

（材料選自Metro網站，有刪改）

1. What did Danielle think she suffered from initially？

A. A cold. B. Laryngitis.

C. A sore voice. D. Laryngeal cancer.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 3？

A. Danielle was pleased to give birth to a baby.

B. Danielle spent a lot of time giving birth to a baby.

C. Danielle struggled to make a decision to keep baby.

D. Danielle only had a few minutes to make a decision.

3. What does the underlined words “sturdy” mean in paragraph 5？

A. Odd. B. Strong. C. Happy. D. Negative.

4. What scared Danielle in her third diagnosis？

A. She would be weak.

B. She would become dumb.

C. She would never see her baby.

D. She would never hold her baby.

1. A。解析：細節理解題。材料第一段的第一句提到“Danielle 患有喉嚨痛，但她將癥狀歸結為簡單的感冒”，由此可知Danielle一開始認為自己患上了感冒，故選A。

2. C。解析：推理判斷題。材料第三段的第一句提到“我只有幾分鐘的時間來做出我不得不做的、最艱難的決定——但如果沒有我，無論如何都不會有孩子”，由此可知Danielle要做出保留孩子的決定是艱難的。C選項“Danielle掙扎著決定要不要留下孩子”與材料內容相符，故選C。

3.B。解析：詞義猜測題。根據材料第五段劃線詞后面的內容“…determined to fight the disease”，我們可知懷孕讓Danielle堅定地跟疾病做斗爭。這說明懷孕讓Danielle變得很堅強，故選B。

4. B。解析：細節理解題。材料最后一段的第三句提到“做這個手術冒著她再也無法說話的風險，這位母親擔心她的兒子再也聽不到她說的話了”，由此可知手術有讓Danielle變啞的風險。B選項“她會變得不能說話”與材料內容相符，故選B。