Unhappy Birthday原版英文小故事內容：

A drunk driver speeding along in his SUV on the 60 freeway last night killed three of four people in a sedan. The sedan had slowed to a crawl because of construction work on the 60. Four lanes were merged1 into two. The Department of Transportation crew was making repairs to a three-mile stretch of highway. Hundreds of bright orange traffic cones2 guided the merger3. Four heavy duty trucks were parked in the emergency lanes. Their brightly glowing signs said, “Slow. Be prepared to stop. Construction ahead.” Vehicle traffic had slowed to about 3 mph.

Missing all of these warnings, the drunk driver, going at least 50 mph, plowed4 into the sedan. The sedan driver, a computer programmer, was a recent immigrant to America. In the passenger seat was his wife, and in the back seat were his 6-year-old daughter and his 8-year-old son. It was 9 p.m. The family had been at a restaurant to celebrate the little girl’s birthday. They never knew what hit them.

The impact of the collision caused the sedan to explode in flames. Somehow, the sedan driver managed to crawl out of the car seconds after the explosion. Third degree burns covered much of his body. His chances for survival are slim. His life, as he knew it, is over. His loved ones were burned beyond recognition. The car was a skeleton of metal.

1 merged (使)混合( merge的過去式和過去分詞 ); 相融; 融入; 漸漸消失在某物中

參考例句：

Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 兩個部門合并時總免不了爭爭權限。

The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成為一個大商場。

2 cones n.(人眼)圓錐細胞;圓錐體( cone的名詞復數 );球果;圓錐形東西;(盛冰淇淋的)錐形蛋卷筒

參考例句：

In the pines squirrels commonly chew off and drop entire cones. 松樹上的松鼠通常咬掉和弄落整個球果。 來自辭典例句

Many children would rather eat ice cream from cones than from dishes. 許多小孩喜歡吃蛋卷冰淇淋勝過盤裝冰淇淋。 來自辭典例句

3 merger n.企業合并，并吞

參考例句：

Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.對這項提議的贊同是合并的第一步。

Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股東們將投票表決公司合并問題。