2011-10-31 Halloween
【前言】
万圣节当天下午开家长会，纯属巧合。卡利科夫“小圣杯”(Kalikow)老师知道我天黑后要陪娃儿挨家挨户“捣蛋或请客”，便开门见山，把娃儿新近完成的非虚构小小说《万圣节》拿出来说事。这篇命题练习要求全班先阅读背景资料，再根据剧情发展自己的故事——因为是非虚构体裁，动笔的难度比凭空编造大得多。娃儿把资料里的细节一片片拼起来，像在组装一个他已经认识、却还没见过的世界。 我读那篇作业时，发现他在开头写：“万圣节的晚上，街上没有鬼，只有扮成鬼的人。”卡利科夫老师在旁边批了一行红字：“观察准确，保持这种目光。”我后来问娃儿，这句话是从哪本资料里看来的。他说：“不是看的，是我自己想的。”也许非虚构练习的真正目的，不在于让他复述资料，而在于让他从阅读中退后一步，用自己的目光重新打量那些事实，并找出它们之间的联系。而那扇被敲开的门，或许正通往一个尚未被命名的所在。天黑后，我站在路灯下看他穿着那件扮“鬼”的斗篷跑向下一个亮灯的门廊，手里的糖果袋随着脚步晃动，发出零碎的、甜蜜的撞击声。我想起他作业里那句话——街上没有鬼，只有扮成鬼的人。此刻他正站在台阶上，用一声“Trick or treat”敲开又一道门。但我知道，在那些南瓜灯照亮的门廊背后，他正在学习如何用不属于自己的装扮，去发现哪些东西是真正属于他自己的。而那些被敲开的门，正在被敲开的，其实不仅仅是他人的门。 【Aiden in English】 ... I heard a howl. I thought I was dreaming. So, I asked Robbie if he had heard it, and he nodded. I felt a shiver run down my spine. We heard a noise in the bushes. I ran to the window just in time to glimpse a dark shadow running past in a blur. I turned around to leave, but something made my heart skip a beat. It was a white figure whose outlines I could make out! A ghost, just as I thought! The next thing I knew, I was falling through the darkness. "Aiden, Aiden!" "Huh?" I opened my eyes and saw Sam standing over me. "What happened?" I asked. "Oh, you fainted." He spoke. "We have to get out of here!" I blurted out. "Why?" Sean asked. "Can't you see? " I shouted. "This house is haunted!" Then we heard a noise, followed by a scream. "Let's go." Sean tugged my arm. We ran down the hallway and made a sharp turn into a room. "Under the bed!" I said, and we dove into the darkness. "Ouch!" I shouted, "Sam, don't kick me!" "It's too dark!" He spoke. We climbed out of bed. Now that we were safe, we could try to get away. "There!" Shouted Robbie. We saw what he meant. Light came from a window and the entrance. Then, I felt something cold that made my hair stand on end. "It's the ghost," I shouted. We ran as fast as our legs could carry us. When I looked back, I was horrified. The ghost was only a few steps behind. The door was only a few steps closer, and then pain exploded in my arm. We had just crashed through the door, and dawn came through it. I didn't even turn around to look. I just kept running all the way home. 【Background/Reference】
I went trick-or-treating with my best friends＿＿＿, ＿＿＿, and ＿＿＿. Our pillowcases were full of candy, and it was getting late, so my friends wanted to go home. I wanted a few more chocolate bars, so I turned to my friends and said, "Let's knock on a few more doors and then head for home." They were worried because they thought it was already too late. "Let's go home now," they said to me. I told them not to worry because we could take a shortcut through the old forest. So, after a few more houses, I took my friends to the path through the forest. We walked for about 20 minutes, and then, suddenly, I felt very strange. I couldn't remember the way! It was dark and foggy. We were lost. And to make matters worse, it started to rain. And then, it began to pour. Lightning lit up the sky, and thunder rang in our ears. We wandered around in the rain for over two hours. We were very wet and very cold. And then, at about midnight, I saw an old abandoned house on a hill. "I think we'll have to spend the night in that old house and wait till morning," I said. My friends didn't think it was a good idea, but they were cold and wet, so they agreed. We walked up the old wooden steps to the front door. The door creaked open, and we went inside, sat down, and started to eat a chocolate bar, when ... 【红霞译】 …… 我听见什么东西嗥叫，起先还以为自己在做梦。我连忙问罗比是否听到奇怪的声响，罗比点了点头，我浑身上下立刻哆嗦起来。这时，树丛方向也出现动静，我疾步跑向窗前，结果发现一个黑影忽隐忽现。我转身离去，不料内心害怕，竟失去了控制。眼前出现一个穿白色衣服的人，相貌越来越清晰。正如我想的那样，是一个幽灵。我眼前发黑，吓得魂不附体，以后什么事都不知道了。 “儿歌，儿歌！”“嗯？”我睁开眼睛，只见山姆站在我身旁。 “出什么事了？”我问。 “哦，你晕了过去。”山姆回答。 “我们必须离开她！”我急促地说。 “为什么？”夏恩不解地问。 “难到你看不出吗?”我高声嚷着：“这屋子闹鬼！” 不一会儿，我们听到响声，接着就是大叫。“快走！”夏恩使劲拽着我的胳膊。 我们沿着走廊急转弯，跑进房里。“床下！”我说了一声，随后我们一起消失在黑暗中。 “哎哟！”我不由得叫了起来：“山姆，你别踢我好不好？” “太黑啦！” 山姆赶紧解释。 我们爬出床下，终于找到了安全之地。 “那儿！”这时，罗比又喊了起来。 我顺着罗比指的方向望去，发现一束光从窗子和门口照了进来。我又开始发冷，连头发也一根一根地竖了起来。 “幽灵！”我禁不住大叫了一声。 我们撒腿就跑，如野兔乱逃一气。我忍不住回头张望，差点没吓个半死。幽灵只有几步之遥，虽然大门离我们更近。我突然觉得胳膊一阵剧痛，我们终于破门而出。这时，晨曦透过门缝射进屋内，我顾不上环视周围，径直朝家奔去。 
Halloween Costumes (万圣节盛装 10-31-2011) 相关博文(Crosslink): 小学三年级(3rd Grade) |
