Wed, Mar 18, 2009 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...

  • • 
    • 
    • 

  Mark the brave 勇敢的馬克

  Mark and Kathleen were strolling through the town when Kathleen noticed a sign. The local newspaper was running a competition in the local park to find the bravest elephant in the town. The winner would receive unlimited chocolate cake for the rest of their life. “Wow, that looks amazing. Can you imagine anything better than unlimited chocolate cake?” asked Kathleen. “You’re right, but I’m not a brave elephant. I’ll have no chance,” said Mark sadly. “Don’t be silly. It will be easy — last year’s winner just had to ride a horse. The competition has already started. Let’s go!”

  When they arrived at the park, the competition was just about to start. The MC picked up the microphone and began talking. “Ladies, gentleman and elephants. In today’s competition, each elephant will have to complete three tasks. The elephant who finishes the most tasks will become the champion!”

  

  For the first task, the elephants had to do a bungee jump from a 200m high bridge. One by one the elephants jumped off the bridge, but when it came to Mark’s turn he just couldn’t do it. For the second task, they had to walk over hot coals. Again, the other elephants did it, but Mark thought it looked too painful. The third task was a parachute jump. Mark sat in the back of the plane, and watched as the elephants jumped out. When it was his turn, he was just too nervous to let go.

  When the plane landed, Kathleen came running over to him. “I’m so proud of you! You did your best and that’s the important thing. Who cares about some silly chocolate cake?” Just then, a thief ran onto the stage and grabbed the trophy from the MC. “Somebody stop that thief at once!” yelled the MC… (john phillips, staff writer)

  馬克和凱薩琳這天在市區街上閒晃時，凱薩琳看到一個牌子。當地報社在市公園舉辦了一場比賽，要找出全市最勇敢的大象。優勝者將可獲得下半輩子無限量的巧克力蛋糕。凱薩琳問：「哇，看起來真棒。世界上還有什麼比無限供應的巧克力蛋糕更棒的事嗎？」馬克憂傷地說：「妳說得對，但我不是一隻勇敢的大象。我不可能贏的。」「別傻了！比賽輕鬆得很，去年的冠軍只是騎個馬就贏了。比賽已經開始了，我們走！」

  當他們抵達公園時，比賽才正要開始。司儀拿起麥克風，開始講話：「各位女士，各位先生，以及各位大象。在今天的比賽中，每位大象都將挑戰三項任務。完成最多任務的大象就是今天的冠軍！」

  第一項任務，大象們必須在一座兩百公尺高的橋上高空彈跳。大象一隻接著一隻跳下橋，但輪到馬克時，他無論如何就是不敢跳。第二項任務，他們得走過炙熱的木炭。同樣地，其他大象都完成了，但馬克覺得那看起來太痛苦了。第三項任務是跳傘。馬克坐在機艙後方，看著其他大象跳出機外。當輪到他的時候，他緊張地不敢放手。

  飛機降落時，凱薩琳跑向他說：「你真讓我驕傲！你盡了全力，那就是最重要的事了。誰在乎什麼愚蠢的巧克力蛋糕啊？」就在此時，一個小偷跑上台，從司儀手中搶走獎盃。司儀大喊：「馬上抓住那個小偷！」 （翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

  1. unlimited adj. 無限量的 (wu2 xian4 liang4 de5) 例: You can drink unlimited cola for $50. (只要付五十元，就可享用無限量的可樂。) 2. complete v.t. 完成 (wan2 cheng2) 例: You must complete the homework before Friday. (你必須在週五前完成這項作業。) 3. painful adj. 痛苦的 (tong4 ku3 de5) 例: It is still too painful to think about the accident. (現在談那場意外，還是讓人太痛苦了。) 4. stage n. 舞台 (wu3 tai2) 例: The singer stood in the center of the stage. (那位歌手站在舞台正中央。)

  For your information

  WHAT HAPPENED? 究竟怎麼回事?

  1. How many tasks did the elephants have to do? a. One. b. Two. c. Three. 2. How did Kathleen feel about Mark’s attempt to win the prize? a. Proud. b. Embarrassed. c. Angry.

  For your information

  FINISH IT 故事接龍

  Write your own ending to the story! 寫下你的故事結局: Idea 1: Mark chases the thief and recovers the prize! Does the judge decide Mark is the bravest elephant? Does he accept the reward? 想法一: 馬克追上小偷搶回獎盃！評審會決定把最勇敢的大象評給馬克嗎？他會接受這個獎賞嗎？ Idea 2: Mark chases the thief but doesn’t catch him. Who is the thief? Why does he want to steal the prize? 想法二: 馬克追上去，結果沒有追到小偷。小偷是誰？他為甚麼想要偷走獎品？ Idea 3: Mark catches the thief, then realizes that it was just a test by the judges! What does Mark think of this? Does he win the award? 想法三: 馬克抓到小偷，然後才發現這只是評審的一個試驗！馬克有什麼感覺？他會贏得獎品嗎？
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Chinese technicians join airport MRT project

  • 2

    A train for whom? Is a new monorail helpful for Cairo?

  • 3

    Apple is giving Intel’s turnaround some momentum

  • 4

    Uncrewed US craft transits the Taiwan Strait

  • 5

    Starlux to expand long-haul flight offerings