A Castle Around the Corner 拐角處的城堡

Danny Resner 李明娟

Every day， my dad， my sister Jocelyn， and I walk our dog， Strawberry. We always go the same way， past the restaurant where my dad works. Across the street， where a big building would fit1， is nothing but tall grass. Sometimes Strawberry sees a cat there and barks2.

每天，我的父親、我的妹妹喬斯林和我遛我們的狗，“草莓”。我們總是走同樣的路，經(jīng)過我父親工作的餐廳。街對(duì)面足夠建一棟大樓的地方，只有高高的草叢。有時(shí)，草莓在那兒看到貓會(huì)吠。

But today when we turn the corner， the grass and the cat are gone. A big bulldozer3 is pushing dirt around.

但是今天，當(dāng)我們拐過那個(gè)彎時(shí)，草和貓都不見了，一臺(tái)巨大的推土機(jī)正在推土。

Strawberry barks at it. “Its OK， Strawberry！” Jocelyn says.

草莓朝它吠叫。“沒事了，草莓！”喬斯林說。

Our neighbor Luis stands in front of the restaurant， watching the bulldozer.

我們的鄰居路易斯站在餐廳前，看著推土機(jī)。

“What are they doing？” I ask.

“他們?cè)谧鍪裁?？”我問?/p>

“Theyre building a playground， Angel，” Luis says. “The bulldozer will make the ground flatter4， so everything will stand straight5 and rainwater will roll6 away from it.”

“他們正在建造一個(gè)游樂場(chǎng)，天使?！?路易斯說，“推土機(jī)會(huì)把地面鏟平，因此一切都將保持平坦，雨水會(huì)從地面流走。”

Theres going to be a playground by our house！I hope it has a castle with secret tunnels7.

我們家旁邊將要有一個(gè)游樂場(chǎng)！我希望它有一座帶有秘密隧道的城堡。

Later that week， when we pass the field again， two workers stand in the middle. They hold a big， loud machine. It spins8 fast and chews9 holes down into the ground.

那周晚些時(shí)候，當(dāng)我們?cè)俅谓?jīng)過工地時(shí)，兩名工人站在工地中間，他們操縱一臺(tái)嘈雜的大機(jī)器快速旋轉(zhuǎn)，并在地面鉆洞。

Strawberry wants to play with the drill10. “Thats not your toy， Strawberry！” I say.

草莓想玩那個(gè)鉆?！澳遣皇悄愕耐婢撸葺?！”我說。

The workers make another hole in the ground. When they pull the machine up， there is dirt everywhere.

工人們?cè)诘孛嫔嫌滞诹艘粋€(gè)洞。當(dāng)他們停下機(jī)器時(shí)，到處都是灰塵。

“Is that where the castle will go？”

“那會(huì)是建城堡的地方嗎？”

“There will be a castle， Angel，” my dad tells me. “But it might not look like the one from your book. Well put it in those holes.”

“會(huì)有一座城堡，天使，”我父親告訴我，“但它看起來可能不像書中的那個(gè)。我們會(huì)將其放入這些洞中?！?/p>

“Youre building it？”

“你們?cè)诮ㄔ焖?？?/p>

“Yes， Mom and I volunteered11 to help. And you can， too！”

“是的，我媽媽和我自愿提供幫助。而且你也可以！”

When building day comes， it is hot. Strawberrys tongue is out of his mouth. A lot of people signed12 up to help build. They will need a lot of water. Thats my job.

當(dāng)建造的日子到來時(shí)，天氣很熱，草莓的舌頭吊在嘴外面。很多人報(bào)名參加幫助建造城堡。他們將需要大量的水，那是我的工作。

I stand at a table with my sister and Rosa from Dads restaurant. We have a big cooler of water. We pour it into cups and line them up. The construction13 boss takes one.

我和姐姐以及爸爸餐廳里的羅莎站在一張桌子旁。我們有一個(gè)很大的水冷卻器。我們將其倒入杯子中并排成一行。建筑老板拿了一杯。

“Will the castle go over there？” I ask her.

“城堡會(huì)建過去嗎？”我問她。

She laughs. “Take a look at the plan！” She unrolls14 a piece of paper covered with drawings of our playground. I dont see a castle， but I see a soccer goal15—and a tower！

她笑了，“來看計(jì)劃！”她展開一張紙，上面畫著我們的游樂場(chǎng)。我沒有看到城堡，但是我看到了足球門和塔樓！

My dad and mom help put metal poles16 into the holes in the ground. The more poles the workers plant， the more the playground grows. Soon theyre grown a swing set and monkey bars. The castle tower is highest of all.

我父親和媽媽幫忙將金屬桿插入地面的孔中。工人插的桿子越多，游樂場(chǎng)越大。很快，他們安了一個(gè)秋千，建了猴子酒吧，城堡塔是游樂場(chǎng)所有建筑中最高的。

After lunch， my dad takes us to a wheelbarrow17 full of wood pieces.

午餐后，我父親帶我們?nèi)チ搜b滿木頭碎片的獨(dú)輪車。

“This mulch18 will make the ground soft，” he says. “When kids fall， they wont get hurt.” Jocelyn and I pick up as much mulch as we can and put it under the swing set.

“這覆蓋物會(huì)讓地面變軟。”他說，“當(dāng)孩子跌倒時(shí)，他們不會(huì)受傷?！眴趟沽趾臀冶M可能地?fù)炱鸶采w物，并在秋千下鋪好。

The next day， the playground is blocked off19 with yellow tape. “The concrete20 is drying，” my dad says.

第二天，游樂場(chǎng)上用黃色膠帶擋住了。我父親說：“混凝土還沒干透?！?/p>

Two days later， the tape is gone. Strawberry and I run to the tower. I climb up into the castle and Strawberry stays below. My neighbor Brandon is at the playground with his class. From the tower， I watch them paint pictures on a wall. The pictures show our neighborhood， happy and colorful.

兩天后，膠帶不見了。我和草莓跑到塔上，我爬上城堡，草莓留在下面。我的鄰居布蘭登和他的同學(xué)在游樂場(chǎng)上。從塔上我看著他們?cè)趬ι袭嫯?，畫的是我們的街區(qū)，歡樂而多彩。

“Do you like our new playground， Strawberry？” I shout.

“你喜歡我們的新游樂場(chǎng)嗎，草莓？”我大喊。

“Arf！ Arf！”

“汪！汪！”

【Notes】

1. fit [?????] vi. 符合，配合;適合;合身

2. bark [?????] vt. 狗叫;尖叫

3. bulldozer [?????] n. 推土機(jī);欺凌者，威嚇者

4. flat [?????] adj. 平的;平坦的 （比較級(jí)flatter）

5. straight [?????] adj. 直的;連續(xù)的;筆直的;正直的;整齊的

6. roll [?????] v. 滾動(dòng);（眼睛）轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng);推;（液體）滾落

7. tunnel [?????] n. 隧道;坑道;洞穴通道

8. spin [?????] vi. 旋轉(zhuǎn)

9. chew [?????] v. 咀嚼;（因煩惱或焦慮）咬住

10. drill [?????] n. 訓(xùn)練;鉆孔機(jī);鉆子

11. volunteer [?????] v. 自愿

12. sign [?????] vi. 簽署;簽名

13. construction [?????] n. 建設(shè);建筑物

14. unroll [?????] vt. 展開，鋪開

15. soccer goal 球門

16. metal pole金屬桿

17. wheelbarrow [?????] n. 獨(dú)輪手推車

18. mulch [?????] n. 覆蓋物，護(hù)蓋物

19. block off阻擋;封堵

20. concrete [?????] n. 混凝土