Wed, Mar 25, 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...

  • By John Phillips / STAFF WRITER
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  The monster hunters

  怪獸獵人

  

  Mark and Kathleen were in Scotland to visit Mark’s Uncle Hamish. He had written them a letter requesting that they come, but he hadn’t explained why. They had been traveling for days when they finally arrived at his small cottage by the side of a huge lake. “Welcome to Scotland!” he said with a big smile. “You two must be freezing. Hurry up and come inside.”

  They all sat down next to the fire and began to chat. Finally Uncle Hamish explained why he had invited them to Scotland. “Have either of you heard of the Loch Ness Monster? Some people say it’s fake. Some people say it’s real. Well I can tell you that the Loch Ness Monster is very real, because I have seen it many times.” He then explained that everybody in the village likes Nessie. “The problem is that there are some hunters trying to catch Nessie, and we want you to stop them. Will you help?” Of course Mark and Kathleen agreed to help.

  The next day they went down to the lake. Mark and Kathleen couldn’t believe their eyes. There were hunters sailing around the lake and walking along the shore. It seemed like everyone was trying to catch Nessie. “Poor Nessie! Why does everyone want to catch her?” asked Kathleen. “They think she’s dangerous, but it’s not true. Nessie is harmless.” Kathleen sat down and thought for a few moments. “Don’t worry Uncle Hamish. I have a perfect plan to protect Nessie” she said with a smile…

  
  

  (JOHN PHILLIPS, STAFF WRITER)

  馬克和凱薩琳到蘇格蘭拜訪馬克的叔叔漢米許。漢米許叔叔寫了封信請他們過來，卻沒有解釋原因。他們旅行了好幾天，終於來到他坐落在一座大湖邊的小屋。他笑容滿面地說：「歡迎來到蘇格蘭！你們倆一定凍壞了吧，快點進到屋內。」

  他們三人坐在火爐邊聊天。最後，漢米許叔叔解釋了邀請他們來蘇格蘭的原因。他說：「你們有人聽過尼斯湖水怪嗎？有人說那是捏造的，有人卻說真有其事。我可以跟你們保證尼斯湖水怪絕對是真的，因為我親眼看過好幾次。」他又接著說，村子裡的人都很喜歡水怪尼西，「但問題是有些獵人想捕捉尼西，我們希望你們能阻止他們。你們願意幫忙嗎？」馬克和凱薩琳當然願意幫這個忙。

  隔天，他們就來到湖邊。馬克和凱薩琳不敢相信他們的眼睛。獵人們或駕船環湖或沿著湖岸步行搜索。看起來大家都想捉住尼西。凱薩琳問：「可憐的尼西！為甚麼大家都想抓她呢？他們覺得她很危險，不過事實並非如此。尼西不會傷害任何人。」凱薩琳坐下來思忖了好一會兒後笑著說：「別擔心，漢米許叔叔，我想到一個可以保護尼西的絕佳計畫…」（翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

  1. cottage n. 小屋 (xiao3 wu1) 例: Ray lives in a cottage next to a river. (雷伊住在河邊的小屋。) 2. fake adj. 假的 (jia3 de5) 例: I bought a pair of shoes at the market but later I found out they were fake. (我在市場買了一雙鞋，後來發現竟然是冒牌貨。) 3. shore n. 岸 (an4) 例: We stood at the shore and threw stones into the lake. (我們站在岸上朝湖裡丟石子。) 4. plan n. 計畫 (ji4 hua4) 例: We’re working on a plan to improve sales. (我們正在執行一項增加銷售量的計畫。)

  For your information

  WHAT HAPPENED? 究竟怎麼回事?

  1. Who has seen the Loch Ness Monster? a. Mark. b. Kathleen. c. Uncle Hamish. 2. Why do the hunters want to kill the Loch Ness Monster? a. Because it’s dangerous. b. Because there’s a reward. c. The story doesn’t say.

  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: Kathleen manages to save Nessie from the hunters. How does she do it? How does Nessie thank her? 想法一: 凱薩琳成功地讓尼西躲開獵人之手。她是怎麼做到的？尼西會怎麼感謝她？ Idea 2: The hunters catch Nessie! Do Mark and Kathleen rescue it? How do they do it? 想法二: 獵人抓到尼西了！馬克和凱薩琳會去救她嗎？他們會怎麼做？ Idea 3: Mark and Kathleen manage to convince the hunters that Nessie doesn’t exist! How do they do this? What happens next? 想法三: 馬克和凱薩琳成功地說服獵人尼西並不存在！他們是怎麼做到的？後來發生了什麼事？
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