On September 18，Joy and Byron Couch were the parents of one two-year-old daughter．Her 
name is Emily．Only 24 hours later，they became the parents of five children．Joy Couch gave birth to quadruplets（四胞胎）at 1：30 P．M．at Valley Hospital in Dayton，Ohio．Each baby weighed between three and four pounds．Their names are Isaac，Jacob，Molly，and Amy．
All the babies were healthy，but they were so small that they had to stay in the hospital until they gained weight．
Now the babies have all home．Life in the Couch house has changed in many ways．The Couches do not need clocks any more，“Our lives go in three hour cycles，”said Byron．“We get the babies up to feed them and diaper（换尿布）them．That takes an hour．Then two hours later，we do it again．”
The two hours in between are precious（宝贵的）．While the babies are sleeping，Byron and Joy try to sleep，shower，shop，and eat．
The babies are not identical（同一的）quadruplets．Genetically，they are four different people．Each baby was born from a separate egg．Their parents are beginning to understand how the babies are different．
“We can see their different personalities，”Byron says．“Isaac is the crier．He cries all the time．Molly and Amy are relaxed and calm．Jacob is lazy．He's the one who likes to sleep on his daddy's chest．The two little girls are easygoing．”
“Basically，we've got good girls and bad boys，”says Joy as she smiles lovingly at all four of them．
When the babies came home from the hospital，Byron took two weeks off from his job．He will go back to work soon，but the Couches have other help．Joy's sister and mother are both very helpful．
Sometimes it's easy for visitors to forget about Emily．But Joy and Byron are very careful about her needs．Emily tries very hard to be a good helper．“She's done very well with all the changes，”says Joy．“She loves to kiss them all，”Byron says．
For a while，the babies cannot have very many visitors．The Couches have to be careful about colds and infections because the babies are so small．
It's hard for the Couches to think about the future．Someday，they will have five teenagers！
Exercises：
I．Match the question work with its answer．
A B
1．Who？ a．September 19
2．What？ b．Joy and Byron Couch
3．When？ c．Dayton，Ohio
4．Where？ d．had quadruplets
II．True or False？
1．The Couch babies are identical quadruplets．
2．Isaac cries more than the other babies．
3．It takes an hour for the Couches to feed and diaper the babies．
4．Joy and Byron are very careful about Emily's needs．
5．The Couches do not have anyone to help them．
（Keys：I．1—4 bdac II．1—5 FTTTF）
Tela adapted from an article by Randy Oppenheimer，Middletown Journal
