Sat, Mar 15, 2008 page13

• 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 adventures, 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 situatuins.

  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，朋友都喜歡黏在一起，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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  The doomsday vault 末日地窖

  Mark and Kathleen were at a museum when they were asked to take part in a project.

  "We're making a doomsday vault," a professor told them. "Nothing will be able to harm this vault. If the earth is destroyed, aliens will be able to look in the vault and learn about us."

  

  "What do you want us to do?" Mark asked.

  "Come back tomorrow with something to put in the vault."

  Mark and Kathleen were very happy. They went home and thought about what to put in the vault.

  "I'm going to donate this jade necklace," Kathleen said.

  "I'm going to donate these flower seeds. Even if all the plants in the world are destroyed, the aliens will be able to have flowers," Mark said.

  The next day there was a long line of animals waiting to put things in the vault. Mark and Kathleen were last in line.

  "It's so exciting!" Kathleen said.

  When they got to the front, Mark put the seeds in and turned away. Kathleen went to put the necklace in, but she dropped it down a crack outside the vault's door. As she bent over to pick it up, she bumped her head and fell into the vault. Nobody had seen her fall…

  (MICHAEL KEARNEY, STAFF WRITER)

  馬克和凱薩琳在博物館參觀的時候，有人請他們參與一個計畫。

  「我們正在打造一個末日地窖，」一位教授告訴他們：「這個地窖固若金湯，假使地球毀滅，外星人將可透過此地窖了解我們。」

  馬克問：「你要我們怎麼做呢？」

  「你們明天帶一些東西來放在這個地窖裡。」

  馬克和凱薩琳開心極了，他們回家後開始想要放什麼在地窖裡。

  凱薩琳說：「我要捐出這串玉項鍊。」

  馬克說：「我要捐這些花卉種子，這樣就算地球上的植物都被摧毀了，外星人還是可以種出花來。」

  隔天，等著要把東西放進地窖裡的動物們排成一列長龍，馬克和凱薩琳排在隊伍的最後。

  凱薩琳說：「這真是令人興奮！」

  等他們排到前頭時，馬克把種子放進去就轉身離開；凱薩琳上前準備把項鍊放進去時，項鍊掉進地窖門外的一條裂縫中；當她彎腰要撿起項鍊時，她撞到頭，掉進地窖裡了。沒有人看到她掉下去… （翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  WHAT HAPPENED? 究竟怎麼回事?

  1. The professor said that if the earth were destroyed, the vault… a. would also be destroyed. b. would be able to save the human race. c. still wouldn't be harmed. 2. Kathleen hit… a. her head on something. b. Mark. c. the professor.

  For your information

  FINISH IT 故事接龍

  Idea 1: Kathleen was knocked out, and the professor announces that they're ready to close the vault. What does Mark do when he can't find Kathleen? Is the vault closed with Kathleen inside? Does she manage to get out? 想法一: 凱薩琳昏了過去，而教授宣布他們準備要關閉地窖，馬克發現凱薩琳不見後會怎麼做？凱薩琳會被關在地窖裡面嗎？她能設法逃脫嗎？ Idea 2: Mark starts looking for Kathleen, but he's told the museum is about to close. What does Mark do? Was Kathleen knocked out? When does doomsday come? Is the vault ever found by aliens? 想法二: 馬克開始尋找凱薩琳，但他被告知博物館就要關門了，馬克會怎麼做？凱薩琳有昏過去嗎？世界末日何時會發生？外星人能找到這個地窖嗎？ Idea 3: Kathleen wasn't knocked out, but nobody is able to hear her while she's in the vault. Does she try to explore the vault? What does Mark do when he can't find Kathleen? Does he go into the vault? 想法三: 凱薩琳沒有昏過去，但沒有人聽到她在地窖裡喊叫，她會試著探勘這個地窖嗎？馬克發現凱薩琳不見後會如何？他會進地窖找嗎？

  For your information

  TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字

  Write your own ending to the story! 寫下你的故事結局: 1. doomsday /?dumz,de/ n. 世界末日 (shi4 jie4 mo4 ri4) 例: What will happen on doomsday? (世界末日會是什麼樣子的？) 2. vault /v?lt/ n. 地窖 (di4 jiao4) 例: We found a secret vault last night. (我們昨晚發現一個秘密地窖。) 3. donate /?donet/ v.t./v.i. 捐獻 (juan1 xian4) 例: My family donates a lot of money to charity. (我家捐很多錢給慈善單位。) 4. bump /b?mp/ v.t./v.i. 碰撞 (peng4 zhuang4) 例: I bumped my knee on the pole and fell. (我在爬竿上撞到膝蓋、摔了下來。)
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