Print

Mail

Mark's shrinking snout 馬克的象鼻縮水記

Saturday, Nov 17, 2007,Page 13

Mark was walking home one day when he bumped his head on a streetlight.

"I can't go a single day without bumping my head. It's no fun being this tall."

Mark kept walking. Suddenly, a tall man in front of him dropped his briefcase and two bottles of purple liquid tumbled out. Mark rushed over to help the man.

"Thank you, kind sir," the man said. "I'm sure lucky these bottles didn't break."

"What are they?" Mark asked.

"They contain a special potion that can make anything smaller."

"I wouldn't mind being smaller."

"For a kind creature who's willing to help me in time of need, I can offer a special discount. One bottle for $500."

Mark decided to purchase a bottle. He gulped down the potion and began walking home. On the way, he looked at his reflection in a store window. He was the same size, but his trunk had shrunk! He ran home.

"Your trunk!" Kathleen shouted when she saw him. "Come with me. In the middle of Scarlet Forest lives a wizard named Glyn. He can help you."

They walked to the wizard's hut and knocked on his door. A tall man came out and Mark began to shiver. It was the man who had sold him the potion…(MICHAEL KEARNEY, STAFF WRITER)

有一天，馬克走在回家的路上，一頭撞上了一根路燈。

「我沒有一天不撞到頭，個兒高一點好處也沒有。」

馬克繼續走，忽然間，在他前面有一個長得很高的男人的公事包掉在地上，裡面的兩瓶紫色液體也跟著滾了出來。於是馬克匆忙上前去幫他。

「謝謝你，好心的先生，」那個男人說：「還好兩個瓶子沒破，我實在是很幸運。」

「那裡面裝的是什麼啊？」馬克問。

「是一種神奇的藥水，可以讓任何東西變小。」

「我想變小一點。」

「因為你在我需要幫忙的時候，熱心地伸出援手，所以我可以給你打個折，一瓶賣你五百元就好。」

馬克決定買一瓶，他大口喝掉這瓶藥水後，開始繼續走回家。在路上，他從一個商店櫥窗中看到自己的樣子，他的身體並沒有變小，但他的鼻子卻縮水了！於是他快步跑回家。

「你的鼻子！」凱薩琳一看到馬克就大喊：「我帶你去紅森林中找一個叫做葛林的巫師，他可以治好你。」

他們來到巫師葛林的小屋前，敲了敲門，一位高大的男子走了出來，馬克忍不住打了個冷顫，那正是賣他神奇藥水的人...

（翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. tumble /?t?mbl/ v.i./v.t. 滾落 (gun3 luo4) 例: The gopher tumbled down the hill. (那隻金花鼠從山丘上滾了下來。) 2. potion /?po??n/ n. 藥水 (yao4 shui3) 例: The witch mixed up a strange potion. (那個女巫調配了一種奇怪的藥水。) 3. reflection /r??fl?k??n/ n. 映像 (ying4 xiang4)，倒影 (dao4 ying3) 例: The prince looked at his reflection in the lake. (王子望著湖中自己的倒影。) 4. wizard /?w?z?d/ n. 巫師 (wu1 shi1) 例: The wizard pulled out his magic wand. (那個巫師抽出了他的魔杖。)

FINISH IT 故事接龍 Write your own ending to the story! 寫下你的故事結局: Idea 1: Mark tells Kathleen that Glyn is the man who sold him the potion. Glyn laughs and says he's the potion seller's twin brother! Do Mark and Kathleen trust him? Is Glyn able to help Mark? What does Glyn say about his brother? 想法一: 馬克告訴凱薩琳說，葛林就是賣他藥水的人。葛林大笑說，賣藥水給馬克的是他的雙胞胎兄弟！馬克和凱薩琳會相信他嗎？葛林有辦法治好馬克嗎？葛林會怎麼說他弟弟？ Idea 2: Glyn tells Mark and Kathleen that somebody has been going around impersonating him and selling fake potions. Glyn gives Mark the antidote. Is Mark willing to take it? Does Glyn go to catch the man who has been selling fake potions? Does Kathleen ask if Glyn has any special potions that she might like to take? 想法二: 葛林告訴馬克和凱薩琳說，有人一直到處假冒他販賣假藥水，然後他就給了馬克解藥。馬克願意服用解藥嗎？葛林會去抓住那個賣假藥的人嗎？凱薩琳會問葛林有沒有什麼適合她的特別藥水嗎？ Idea 3: Mark is so scared that he can't say a word. The wizard says he can solve Mark's problem and pulls out his magic wand. What does he do? What happens to Mark's trunk? Do Mark and Kathleen manage to leave Scarlet Forest? 想法三: 馬克害怕到說不出話來，巫師葛林說他可以解決馬克的問題，接著就拿出他的魔杖。他會做什麼？馬克的鼻子又會怎樣？馬克和凱薩琳能平安離開紅森林嗎？

WHAT HAPPENED? 究竟怎麼回事? 1. Why did Mark's trunk get smaller? a. Because he bumped his head. b. Because he drank a strange liquid. c. Because he looked at his reflection. d. Because he began to shiver. 2. Why did Mark and Kathleen go to Scarlet Forest? a. They wanted to take a walk. b. They wanted to find a tree. c. They wanted to find a wizard. d. It's unclear.

TODAY'S ANSWERS 今日解答 What happened? : 1. b 2. c Match it: 1. C 2. E 3. A 4. B 5. D

This story has been viewed 799 times.