The Lamp That Slid- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Rain pressed against the balcony doors while Milo arranged a small reading corner beside the sofa. A curious striped cat, which often visited from the apartment below, followed his feet. Milo placed a tablet, already holding a new ebook, on the armrest. Next to it he set a narrow lamp whose orange wax shifted like slow lava. He had planned to relax, yet the plug dangled a bit too far from the wall socket. As he leaned forward, the cat’s tail brushed the cord and the lamp rocked toward the floor.

Thick blobs inside the glass rolled faster; the lamp balanced on one edge, and Milo caught it with both hands. Now his arms were full, so the tablet slipped onto a cushion. He changed approach. The magazines that had been stacked under the coffee table were slid beneath the lamp to raise it. Then the cord was looped around a chair leg, gaining the few missing centimeters. The cat sniffed the new tower, lost interest, and settled on the rug. Victory arrived when the plug clicked into place. Warm light flowed through the blobs, the tablet glowed, and Milo turned the first page while rain kept tapping outside.

雨水拍打陽台的玻璃門，米洛在沙發旁佈置一個小小的閱讀角落。一隻常從樓下跑上來的虎斑貓跟著他的腳步，顯得十分好奇。米洛把已經載入新電子書的平板放在扶手上，又擺了一盞橘色蠟液緩慢流動、像岩漿般的細長檯燈。他原本想輕鬆閱讀，但插頭離牆壁插座稍微遠了一點。就在他前傾身體時，貓尾掃到電線，檯燈向地板傾倒。

玻璃內的蠟團滾得更快；檯燈只剩一邊支撐，米洛雙手把它接住，結果平板滑到靠墊上。他改變方法，把咖啡桌下原本堆放的雜誌抽出，墊在檯燈底下增加高度，然後把電線繞到椅腳，多出了那幾公分。貓聞了聞新的雜誌塔，失去興趣後趴在地毯。當插頭「喀」地插牢時，小小的勝利到來。暖光透過蠟流散開，平板亮起，米洛翻開第一頁，而窗外的雨聲仍持續拍打。