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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...

Don't step on the crack 地縫不要踩

Mark and Kathleen were at a tea shop one afternoon drinking tea and reading newspapers.

"I can never decide what I want to drink when we come here," Mark said. "Today I got the black tea, but I wanted the green tea just as badly!"

"They're all delicious," Kathleen argued while pouring tea from the pot, "but is it that hard to decide which one you want?"

"Maybe not," Mark sighed. Suddenly his face lit up. "I know! I'll just get them both next time."

"That sounds like a plan," Kathleen replied with a smile.

After finishing their tea, Mark and Kathleen strolled toward a park bench. Mark noticed a crack in the sidewalk ahead of them.

"Look at that," he said. "Hopefully some construction workers will get out here to fix this soon."

"Don't count on it," Kathleen replied. "Those guys are so busy with other things, the only way it will get fixed soon is to call and complain."

"Well, maybe I'll do that," said Mark as they walked up to the crack.

The ground suddenly shifted underneath them. The crack turned into a hole. Before Mark or Kathleen knew what was happening, they were falling down the hole ...

某天下午，馬克和凱薩琳坐在一間茶館喝茶、看報紙。

「每次來這裡，我都不知道要喝什麼，」馬克說︰「今天我點紅茶，但我又好想喝綠茶！」

凱薩琳舉起茶壺倒茶，反駁說︰「這兩種茶都很好喝，不過，決定要喝哪一種有那麼難嗎？」

馬克嘆息說︰「大概不難吧。」他突然眼睛一亮。「我知道了！下次我兩種都喝。」

凱薩琳微笑回答說︰「這主意不錯。」

喝完茶後，馬克跟凱薩琳走向公園椅。馬克注意到前方人行道上有條裂縫。

「你看，」他說︰「希望建築工人能趕緊來這裡補縫。」

「別指望了，」凱薩琳說︰「那些人忙得很，唯一的方法就是打電話抱怨。」

他們倆走近裂縫時，馬克說︰「或許我可以打電話看看。」

他們腳下的地面突然移動起來，地縫裂成了一個大洞。馬克和凱薩琳還沒搞清楚狀況，就掉進地洞裡了‥‥‥

(翻譯︰賴美君)

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. argue v.i./v.t. 爭論 (zheng1 lun4) 例: You should not argue with your grandparents; they're probably right. (你不該和祖父母爭辯；他們或許是對的。) 2. stroll v.i./v.t. 散步 (san4 bu4) 例: We really enjoyed our stroll down the beach. (我們真的很喜歡沿著沙灘散步。) 3. shift v.i./v.t. 移動 (yi2 dong4) 例: After the earthquake, houses had shifted and had to be torn down because they were unsafe. (地震過後，房舍移位恐危害安全，因此必須拆除。) 4. construction n. 建設 (jian4 she4) 例: The road is closed because of construction this week. (這條路本週施工封閉。)

WHAT HAPPENED? 究竟怎麼回事? 1. Which tea does Mark want to buy next time? a. Black tea. b. Green tea. c. Oolong tea. d. Black and green teas. 2. What does Mark think about the sidewalk crack? a. He knows it will never be fixed. b. He hopes it will be fixed soon. c. He thinks it will be fixed by Christmas. d. He thinks it will be fixed by New Year. Ans: 1. D 2. B

IDEAS 故事接龍 Write your own ending to the story! 寫下你的故事結局: Idea 1: Mark and Kathleen manage to hang on to the edge of the sidewalk without falling far down the hole. How do they call for help? Who comes to help them? Does either of them slip further down? How do they finally get out? 想法一: 馬克和凱薩琳抓住了人行道邊緣，才沒有跌入深溝。他們要怎麼求救？誰會來營救他們？他們倆會跌得更深嗎？最後要怎麼逃出來呢？ Idea 2: Mark and Kathleen fall very far down the hole and come out of the other side in a whole new place! Where are they? What language are people around them speaking? What do they do there? How do they get home? 想法二︰馬克和凱薩琳跌入洞裡，結果從另一端完全陌生的地方掉出來！他們在哪裡呢？那裡的人都用什麼語言交談？他們在那裡做什麼？要怎麼回家呢？ Idea 3: Mark and Kathleen fall until they reach the center of the earth. What do they see when they get there? Are there any other people here? How hot is it? How do they get out? 想法三︰馬克和凱薩琳跌到了地心裡。他們在那裡會看見什麼？那裡有人嗎？溫度有多高呢？他們要怎麼離開？

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