One day, Mom told us that she wanted to become a plumber (水暖工). After taking courses for about a year, she was ready to begin working. The problem was that nobody wanted to hire (雇佣) her because people didn't believe that women plumbers could be as good as men plumbers.

One day, a plumbing truck (stop) at the house of Mrs. Reed, one of our neighbors. Mrs. Reed (be) weak, old and in a wheelchair. Mom watched as the plumber went in and out of the house. After an hour, he drove the truck away.

    Later that day, my little brother came home and said, "Mom, there is water (come) out of Mrs. Reed's house." "I (go) and have a look," replied Mom. She took her tools and went to Mrs. Reed's house at once. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Finally, she broke a window and climbed in. Mrs. Reed was lying in the water, unable (get) up.

    It turned out that the plumber hadn't tightened a pipe (拧紧管子) properly and it (break). Within a minute, Mom turned off the water and repaired the pipe. Soon the newspaper found out about the hero plumber. Since then, she (become) so busy that she can't keep up with all the work.

    She's my mom, the hero plumber.