Milo and the Noon Breeze- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Milo has worked on his original sculpture for two weeks. He shaped empty bottles, tins, and paper rolls into a tall lighthouse. All the recycled materials glued together in bright layers that caught morning light. Today, the community center opens an art exhibit at noon, and his entry still stands in his garage. A buzzer vibrated on his phone; a short message warned that only twenty minutes remained. He balanced the lighthouse on a wooden tray and stepped outside. At that moment, a sudden breeze swept along the street, bending tree branches and rattling bins. The lighthouse swayed, and one plastic bird at the top nearly snapped off.

Milo ducked behind the garden wall, waiting while gusts passed. Time kept racing, so he changed strategy. He slid the sculpture into a large cardboard box that had protected a fridge last year. The sides, already smoothed by tape, blocked the wind. The box rested on a skateboard he had rescued from the landfill during a cleanup day. Wheels rattled, but the lighthouse no longer rocked. He rolled toward the center, crossed the courtyard, and reached the registration desk with three minutes left. When he lifted the sculpture, the plastic bird was missing. His breath caught, yet something clinked inside the box. The bird had fallen through a gap and landed safely beside the wheels. He pressed it back into its perch. The lighthouse stood straight on the display table, sparkling under the hall lights.

米洛花了兩週時間製作一座原創燈塔模型。他把空瓶、鐵罐和紙捲組合起來，彩色層次在早晨的光線中閃耀。今天中午，社區中心要開放藝術展覽，可是他的作品仍放在車庫裡。手機突然震動，一則短訊提醒他只剩二十分鐘。他把燈塔放在木盤上，走出屋外。此時一陣突風沿街席捲，樹枝搖動、垃圾桶響個不停。燈塔左右晃動，頂端的塑膠海鳥差點折斷。

米洛躲到花園牆後等風減弱，時間依舊緊迫，他便改變作法。他把模型滑進一個去年盛放冰箱的大紙箱。箱側已被膠帶貼平，可擋住風；紙箱則放在他於清理日從垃圾掩埋場撿來的滑板上。輪子喀啦作響，但燈塔不再搖晃。他推著滑板穿過院子，抵達報到桌時只剩三分鐘。當他提起模型，發現那隻海鳥不見了。他屏住呼吸，箱內卻傳來一聲輕響；海鳥從縫隙跌落，安穩地躺在輪子旁。他把海鳥重新卡回位置，燈塔直立在展示桌上，在大廳燈光下閃閃發亮。