The Adventures of Kathleen the Great and Mark the Meek 英勇凱薩琳與害羞馬克歷險記

Meet Kathleen the mouse and Mark the elephant. Kathleen is very brave and likes adventure, but Mark is very shy and scared of many things. But friends stay together, so Mark follows Kathleen wherever she goes. Sometimes they get into some very sticky situations.

見見老鼠凱薩琳和大象馬克。凱薩琳非常勇敢又喜歡冒險，但馬克的個性十分害羞，對許多事情都感到害怕。不過，朋友都喜歡黏在一塊兒，所以凱薩琳走到哪兒，馬克就會跟到哪兒。有時候，他們也會碰上非常棘手的情況...

Leaving on a jet ski 乘浪而去

Kathleen and Mark were on vacation in Kenting to see the beach, get a little sun and get away from it all.

"I love it here," said Mark as he leaned back in his chair and took a sip from his pineapple juice. "The sound of the sea is relaxing and the sand castles the kids build are cute."

Kathleen was more antsy. She was always looking for a little more adventure.

"Hey, do you see those people in the water?" Kathleen was glancing at the people. "They're on some sort of vehicle ..."

Mark began to feel alarmed. "That's called a jet ski," he said, "and I think it's too dangerous to ride."

"I'll take that as a dare," Kathleen growled. She pulled Mark over to a man renting jet skis.

"We'll take a jet ski for one hour," Kathleen said as she strapped on a life jacket and handed another to Mark.

"Actually, I think I'll just sit here on the beach and wait for you," Mark said. But before too long, Kathleen had cajoled him onto the back of the jet ski.

"Here we go," Kathleen said as she hit the gas and sped off ...

凱薩琳與馬克遠離一切塵囂，到墾丁享受沙灘陽光假期。

「我喜歡這裡，」躺在躺椅上的馬克啜了口鳳梨汁說：「海濤聲讓人放鬆，孩子們蓋的沙堡也好可愛喔。」

凱薩琳就比較靜不下來，她一直在尋找冒險的機會。

「嘿，看到海裡那些人沒？」凱薩琳瞄了瞄那群人說：「他們都坐在某種交通工具上...」

馬克開始覺得不妙，他說：「那叫水上摩托車，我覺得那很危險，最好不要嘗試。」

凱薩琳叫著說：「我要挑戰那個。」她拉著馬克去找出租水上摩托車的男子。

「我們要租一小時的水上摩托車，」凱薩琳邊說邊穿上救生衣，接著也遞了一件給馬克。

馬克說：「老實說，我想我還是坐在沙灘上等你好了。」但才一轉眼，凱薩琳已經把馬克騙上水上摩托車後座。

凱薩琳說：「出發囉，」便猛催油門，揚長而去...（翻譯：林倩如）

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. antsy adj. 焦躁的 (jiao1 zao4 de5)，坐立不安的 (zuo4 li4 bu4 an1 de5) 例: The antsy student could not sit still in his chair and constantly fidgeted. (那學生無法安靜坐在位子上，一直表現得焦躁不安。) 2. growl v.i./v.t. 嗥叫 (hao2 jiao4) 例: The dog growled at the mailman, warning him to stay away. (那隻狗對著郵差狂吠猛叫，警告他離遠自己一點。) 3. glance v.i./v.t. 掃視 (sao3 shi4) 例: I glanced around the room, trying to find my keys. (我環顧整個房間，想找出鑰匙。) 4. cajole v.i./v.t. 誘騙 (you4 pian4) 例: I didn't want to go to school, but my mom cajoled me into it. (我不想去上學，但老媽硬哄著我去。)

WHAT HAPPENED? 究竟怎麼回事? 1. What does Kathleen convince Mark to ride? a. A motorcycle. b. A surfboard. c. A jet ski. d. A paraglider. 2. Where does Kathleen pull Mark to? a. A man selling jet skis. b. A man selling ice cream. c. A man renting jet skis. d. A man renting seashells. Ans: 1.c 2.c

FINISH IT 故事接龍 Write your own ending to the story! 寫下你的故事結局: Idea 1: Kathleen drives too fast and hits a rock nearby, breaking the jet ski. Mark and Kathleen swim to a nearby island. What else is on the island? How long are they stuck there? How do they get off the island? 想法一: 凱薩琳騎得太快撞上附近的礁岩，弄壞了水上摩托車。馬克和凱薩琳只好游泳到鄰近的島嶼。那島上還有什麼東西？他們困在那裡多久？他們如何離開那小島？ Idea 2: While there is no accident, Kathleen and Mark suddenly find themselves surrounded by sharks. How do they feel when they notice the sharks? Can Mark and Kathleen talk to the sharks? How do they escape getting eaten? 想法二: 儘管沒發生意外，凱薩琳與馬克赫然發現四周全是鯊魚。發現鯊魚的他們心情如何？馬克和凱薩琳會跟鯊魚群說話嗎？他們如何逃過被吃的命運？ Idea 3: The jet ski runs out of gas while Mark and Kathleen are away from the shore. How long are they stuck on the jet ski? How do they get back to shore? How do they manage to bring the jet ski back? Do they owe the jet ski renter any more money? 想法三: 馬克和凱薩琳一離開岸邊，水上摩托車就沒油了。他們困在水上摩托車上多久？他們怎麼回到岸邊？他們如何把水上摩托車牽回去？他們有欠水上摩托車出租業者錢嗎？