Wed, Dec 10, 2008 page17

• 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...

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  Marching to the beat: Mark and Kathleen get musical 踩著節拍行進：馬克和凱薩琳學音樂記

  Kathleen was on her way home from her yoga class when she noticed an advert from the local marching band on a wall. The band was looking for two new band members for the annual carnival next month. She was so excited that she ran all the way home to tell Mark about it.

  When she got home Mark was sitting in front of the TV eating cheese-flavored potato chips. His hooves and mouth were covered with the orange powder from the chips. She told him all about the marching band but he wasn’t impressed. “Neither of us can play a musical instrument,” he said. But Kathleen wouldn’t take no for an answer. “The carnival is next month which means we have three weeks to learn. If we put our minds to it we can do it!” she said enthusiastically.

  

  Ten minutes later and they were at the music store. A tall alligator in a red fez and dark sunglasses sat in the corner playing a harmonica. The alligator stood up and walked over to Mark and Kathleen. “What can I do for you cats?” he said with a sly grin. “We’d like to learn an instrument,” said Kathleen. The alligator looked around his store and laughed. “Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place. Why don’t you start with something easy to play, like the bagpipes?” he said.

  Mark picked up the bagpipes and started to blow, but no matter how hard he blew, no sound came out. He passed it to Kathleen, but she had the same problem. “I have another idea. Why don’t you try the flute?” asked the alligator. Kathleen picked up the flute and started to blow. To everybody’s amazement, it sounded great. A big smile lit up the alligator’s long green face as he spoke. “That was fantastic. Now we just need something for your gray friend here. In fact, I think I have the perfect instrument…” (john phillips, staff writer)

  凱薩琳上完瑜伽課要回家的途中，看到牆上有一則地方軍樂隊的廣告。這個軍樂隊正在招募兩名新成員，準備參加下個月的年度嘉年華會。她興奮地一路狂奔回家，告訴馬克這個消息。

  她到家時，馬克正坐在電視機前吃著起司口味的洋芋片。他手上和嘴巴上都沾滿了洋芋片的橘色粉末。她告訴馬克軍樂隊的事，可是他興趣缺缺。他說：「我們兩個都不會演奏樂器。」但凱薩琳不肯就此罷休，她熱切地說：「嘉年華是下個月的事，這表示我們還有三個星期可以惡補。如果我們專心練習，一定可以做到的！」

  十分鐘後，他們來到一間樂器行。一位身材高大、戴著土耳其紅氈帽和深色太陽眼鏡的鱷魚先生坐在角落吹口琴。他起身走到馬克和凱薩琳面前，會意地笑著說：「需要什麼嗎，兩位小朋友？」凱薩琳說：「我們想學樂器。」鱷魚環顧店內後笑著說：「這個嘛，你們還真來對地方了。你們何不從像風笛這類簡單的樂器下手？」

  馬克拿起風笛開始吹奏，但無論他吹得多大力，都吹不出聲音來。他把風笛遞給凱薩琳，但她也一樣吹不出任何聲音。鱷魚問：「不然這樣好了，你們換長笛試試看。」凱薩琳拿起長笛開始吹。出乎大家意料的是，她吹得很好。鱷魚綠色的長臉上露出了開心的笑容，他說：「棒極了！現在我們只須幫妳的灰色朋友找找看有什麼適合的。事實上，我想我有件超適合他的樂器…」（翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

  1. yoga n. 瑜伽 (yu2 jia1) 例: Jerry goes to yoga class every Friday. (傑瑞每週五都去上瑜伽課。) 2. impress v.t. 使銘記 (shi3 ming2 ji4) ，使感動 (shi2 gan3 dong4) 例: Everybody was impressed with Phil’s French ability. (菲爾的法語能力令大家印象深刻。) 3. instrument n. 樂器 (yue4 qi4) 例: Which musical instruments can you play? (你會演奏哪些樂器？) 4. grin n. 露齒而笑 (lou4 chi3 er2 xiao4) 例: I could tell by his grin that something funny had happened. (從他的笑容就可以知道一定發生了什麼有趣的事。)
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