The Unmoving Stripe of Light on the Loom - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

"Does the cloth really shine green, or is the window tricking me?" Prue held the new roll near the loom. A wide beam had slipped past the high panes, split on the wooden frame, and threw a bright stripe across the warp. She lifted the fabric, let the shuttle hang, and leaned left. The glare slid again, forming a tall silhouette on the side wall. Prue gave a soft huff, set one foot on the pedal, and decided to take a break before the next pass.

She came back with a handful of loose yarn ends from a basket and dropped them on the bench. The tiny threads caught specks of dust, and each speck sparked under the angled light. Prue tried another tactic: she pulled the window cloth to the side, hoping the color shift would stop. The curtain only thinned the beam, and pale reflections scattered across the spinning wheel. "Let me peek from the other end," Larkin suggested, already moving around the loom. They huddle by the stretched threads; his finger tapped the weft while her palm blocked a corner of the light. A faint shadow eased over the cloth, yet a second, softer beam bounced off a polished shuttle tip and danced over the same spot.

They had counted the days since the fabric first lay on the frame, but none of those days showed this stubborn glare. Prue tried angling a small mirror to redirect the beam; the mirror flashed, and bright dots flicked over the floorboards without clearing the main stripe. She lowered the mirror, wiped her brow with the back of her wrist, and left a smudge on the wood. The shining stripe stayed pinned to the cloth, unbroken.

「這塊布是真的泛著綠光，還是窗戶在捉弄我？」普魯把新織好的布匹舉到織機邊。高高的窗格縫出一道寬光束，撞在木框上後分開，正好在經線上投下一條亮帶。她抬起布面，讓梭子垂著，身子向左傾。強光再次滑動，在側牆上拉出高高的影子。普魯輕輕噓了一聲，把一隻腳踩上踏板，決定在下次穿梭前先休息一下。

她帶著一把散線回來，把它們放在長凳上。細線沾著塵粒，每粒塵在斜光中閃點亮光。普魯換個做法：她把窗簾拉到一邊，希望消除那變色效果。簾布只讓光束變淡，淡淡的反射又鋪到紡車上。「我從另一邊偷看看看。」拉金提議，已繞到織機後。他們在緊繃的經線旁擠成一團；他的手指點著緯線，她的手掌擋住一角光線。一道微弱陰影暫時蓋住布面，可另一束更柔的光從拋光的梭子頂端反射，仍在同一處跳動。

他們計著布放上框架以來的天數，但沒有一天出現過這固執的光斑。普魯試著用小鏡子改變光線方向；鏡面一閃，亮點在地板上跳動，主光條卻仍未斷。她放下鏡子，用手背抹抹額頭，在木板上留下一道淡印。那道亮帶仍牢牢貼在布上，毫無改變。