The Adventures of Tom Sawyer · chapter 1 of 6
The Fence Trick
刷篱笆
Tom is ordered to whitewash a huge fence on a sunny Saturday. Then he has a very sneaky idea, and a friend shows up with an even stranger plan for midnight.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 星期六的早上，阳光很好。波莉阿姨站在院子里，指着一道长长的篱笆。
Xīngqīliù de zǎoshang, yángguāng hěn hǎo. Bōlì Āyí zhàn zài yuànzi lǐ, zhǐ zhe yí dào chángcháng de líba.
It was a bright Saturday morning. Aunt Polly stood in the yard and pointed at a very long fence.
- Aunt Polly 汤姆，你昨天没去上学，今天就要把篱笆刷白。
Tāngmǔ, nǐ zuótiān méi qù shàngxué, jīntiān jiù yào bǎ líba shuā bái.
Tom, you skipped school yesterday, so today you will paint this fence white.
- Tom Sawyer 什么？这么长的篱笆？阿姨，今天是星期六啊！
Shénme? Zhème cháng de líba? Āyí, jīntiān shì xīngqīliù a!
What? This whole long fence? Auntie, it's Saturday!
- Aunt Polly 就因为是星期六，你才有时间。下午我回来检查。
Jiù yīnwèi shì xīngqīliù, nǐ cái yǒu shíjiān. Xiàwǔ wǒ huílái jiǎnchá.
Saturday is exactly why you have time. I'll come back this afternoon to check.
- Aunt Polly 要是没刷好，今天的晚饭你就别吃了。
Yàoshi méi shuā hǎo, jīntiān de wǎnfàn nǐ jiù bié chī le.
And if it isn't done well, you can skip supper tonight.
- Tom Sawyer 好吧，好吧……我刷。
Hǎo ba, hǎo ba… wǒ shuā.
All right, all right... I'll paint it.
- Tom Sawyer 一个人刷这么长的篱笆，朋友们看见了，一定会笑我。
Yí gè rén shuā zhème cháng de líba, péngyoumen kànjiàn le, yídìng huì xiào wǒ.
Painting this long fence all by myself... my friends will see and laugh at me for sure.
- Tom Sawyer 等一下……我有办法了！
Děng yíxià… wǒ yǒu bànfǎ le!
Wait a minute... I've got a plan!
- Ben 嗨，汤姆！我要去河边玩水。你怎么了？还在工作吗？
Hāi, Tāngmǔ! Wǒ yào qù hébiān wán shuǐ. Nǐ zěnme le? Hái zài gōngzuò ma?
Hey, Tom! I'm going to play in the river. What's the matter, still working?
- Tom Sawyer 工作？谁说这是工作？这是我最喜欢的游戏！
Gōngzuò? Shéi shuō zhè shì gōngzuò? Zhè shì wǒ zuì xǐhuan de yóuxì!
Work? Who said this is work? This is my favorite game!
- Ben 刷墙是游戏？我不信。让我试一下，好不好？
Shuā qiáng shì yóuxì? Wǒ bú xìn. Ràng wǒ shì yíxià, hǎo bu hǎo?
Painting is a game? I don't believe it. Let me try it, okay?
- Tom Sawyer 那不行。波莉阿姨说，这道篱笆要刷得特别好，全城只有我能刷。
Nà bù xíng. Bōlì Āyí shuō, zhè dào líba yào shuā de tèbié hǎo, quán chéng zhǐyǒu wǒ néng shuā.
No way. Aunt Polly says this fence has to be painted extra well, and only I can do it in the whole town.
- Ben 求求你，汤姆！我给你我的苹果！
Qiúqiu nǐ, Tāngmǔ! Wǒ gěi nǐ wǒ de píngguǒ!
Please, Tom! I'll give you my apple!
- Tom Sawyer 苹果？让我想想……好吧，只让你刷一小会儿。
Píngguǒ? Ràng wǒ xiǎngxiang… hǎo ba, zhǐ ràng nǐ shuā yì xiǎo huìr.
An apple? Let me think... all right, but only for a little while.
- Ben 哇，刷墙真好玩！汤姆，你看，我刷得多好！
Wā, shuā qiáng zhēn hǎowán! Tāngmǔ, nǐ kàn, wǒ shuā de duō hǎo!
Wow, painting is such fun! Tom, look how well I'm doing!
- Tom Sawyer 是啊，你刷得比我还好。我坐下来，慢慢吃你的苹果。
Shì a, nǐ shuā de bǐ wǒ hái hǎo. Wǒ zuò xiàlái, mànmān chī nǐ de píngguǒ.
Yes, you're better at it than I am. I'll sit down and slowly eat your apple.
- Tom Sawyer 哈哈，他给我苹果，还帮我刷墙！世界上有这么好的事！
Hāhā, tā gěi wǒ píngguǒ, hái bāng wǒ shuā qiáng! Shìjiè shàng yǒu zhème hǎo de shì!
Ha ha, he gives me an apple AND paints my fence! Could life be any better?
- Narrator 一个下午，别的男孩也来了。他们一个一个地给汤姆好东西，只想刷一刷这道篱笆。
Yí gè xiàwǔ, bié de nánhái yě lái le. Tāmen yí gè yí gè de gěi Tāngmǔ hǎo dōngxi, zhǐ xiǎng shuā yi shuā zhè dào líba.
All afternoon, other boys came by. One after another they gave Tom good things, just to paint a bit of the fence.
- Ben 汤姆，我再给你一个风筝，让我再刷一次吧！
Tāngmǔ, wǒ zài gěi nǐ yí gè fēngzheng, ràng wǒ zài shuā yí cì ba!
Tom, I'll give you a kite too. Please let me paint again!
- Tom Sawyer 好吧，谁叫你是我的好朋友呢。
Hǎo ba, shéi jiào nǐ shì wǒ de hǎo péngyou ne.
Oh, all right. You are my good friend, after all.
- Tom Sawyer 一个风筝，十二个玻璃球，还有半个苹果！我是全城最有钱的男孩！
Yí gè fēngzheng, shí'èr gè bōlíqiú, hái yǒu bàn gè píngguǒ! Wǒ shì quán chéng zuì yǒuqián de nánhái!
A kite, twelve marbles, and half an apple! I'm the richest boy in town!
- Ben 汤姆，我明白了！你根本不是喜欢刷墙！
Tāngmǔ, wǒ míngbai le! Nǐ gēnběn bú shì xǐhuan shuā qiáng!
Tom, I get it now! You don't actually like painting at all!
- Tom Sawyer 嘘！小声点！你的风筝我还给你，好不好？
Xū! Xiǎo shēng diǎn! Nǐ de fēngzheng wǒ huán gěi nǐ, hǎo bu hǎo?
Shh! Keep your voice down! Want your kite back? Deal?
- Narrator 太阳快下山了，篱笆白得像新的一样。汤姆坐在树下，一边数他的宝贝，一边笑。
Tàiyáng kuài xiàshān le, líba bái de xiàng xīn de yíyàng. Tāngmǔ zuò zài shù xià, yìbiān shǔ tā de bǎobèi, yìbiān xiào.
The sun was going down and the fence was white as new. Tom sat under a tree, counting his treasures and smiling.
- Huck Finn 汤姆！汤姆！你看，我拿到了什么？一只死猫！
Tāngmǔ! Tāngmǔ! Nǐ kàn, wǒ ná dào le shénme? Yì zhī sǐ māo!
Tom! Tom! Look what I got! A dead cat!
- Tom Sawyer 死猫？哈克，你要它做什么？
Sǐ māo? Hākè, nǐ yào tā zuò shénme?
A dead cat? Huck, what do you want it for?
- Huck Finn 老人们说，半夜带着死猫去墓地，身上的小病就会好。
Lǎorénmen shuō, bànyè dàizhe sǐ māo qù mùdì, shēn shàng de xiǎo bìng jiù huì hǎo.
The old folks say if you take a dead cat to the graveyard at midnight, all your little sicknesses go away.
- Tom Sawyer 半夜？墓地？你不怕吗？
Bànyè? Mùdì? Nǐ bú pà ma?
Midnight? The graveyard? Aren't you scared?
- Huck Finn 我有你啊。今天半夜，村口的大树下见。你来不来？
Wǒ yǒu nǐ a. Jīntiān bànyè, cūnkǒu de dà shù xià jiàn. Nǐ lái bu lái?
I've got you. Tonight at midnight, under the big tree at the edge of town. Are you coming?
- Tom Sawyer ……来！可是你要一直站在我旁边！
…Lái! Kěshì nǐ yào yìzhí zhàn zài wǒ pángbiān!
...I'll come! But you have to stay right next to me!
- Huck Finn 半夜见。记住，谁怕谁是小狗！
Bànyè jiàn. Jìzhù, shéi pà shéi shì xiǎo gǒu!
See you at midnight. Remember, whoever's scared is a puppy!
What changed in the story?
- What does Aunt Polly tell Tom to do?
“今天就要把篱笆刷白。”
- How does Tom get Ben to want to paint?
“这是我最喜欢的游戏！”……“全城只有我能刷。”
- What does Ben give Tom first?
“我给你我的苹果！”
- What does Tom end up with by the end of the afternoon?
“一个风筝，十二个玻璃球，还有半个苹果！”
- Where does Huck invite Tom to go at midnight?
“半夜带着死猫去墓地”