The Rolling Marble on the Station Bench - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Copper shine flashed from the station clock's brass rim and striped the boards below. Wanda placed three glass marbles along the long bench they always chose while waiting with Yorick. The boards leaned slightly toward the track. So she watched each marble roll and stop against the bench's back rail. After each short trip she gathered them and wiped dust from their colored swirls. She then set them at the starting line again. A cool breeze slipped beneath the wooden awning and lifted Wanda's fringe. Water from last night's rain still dripped off one corner, forming a thin waterfall beside the timetable. Sounds of distant crows mixed with the slow tick of the clock.

The regular rhythm changed when a faint tremor ran through the planks earlier than expected. The approaching train pressed air ahead of it, and the bench vibrated. One marble shot forward, picked up speed, and bounced from the bench edge. Wanda lunged to catch it, lost balance for a moment, and her shoulder bumped Yorick's canvas bag. The bag tipped and slid down the bench. It knocked against the wooden framework of the support post before stopping. Yorick steadied the bag with one hand and said, "Quick hands, partner." Wanda's knees thumped against the warm boards beneath her sneakers. Her quick recovery left a dusty print on her jeans. She smiled at the rescued marble resting in her palm.

They both sat back on the bench and returned to their quiet waiting. Wanda placed the marbles again. One kept rolling toward the gap the tremor had opened between two boards. The wooden platform kept humming under their shoes. Tiny ripples chased one another across the puddle beneath the little waterfall. Further along the bench, Yorick's canvas bag still rocked gently, its strap tapping the post. The ripple line widens across the puddle.

車站時鐘的黃銅邊緣反射出銅色光芒，為木板地投下細長條紋。Wanda 和 Yorick 總會選這張長椅等車，她把三顆玻璃彈珠排在椅面上。椅面微微朝軌道傾斜，所以她看著每顆彈珠滾動後停在椅背橫條前。每次短短的旅程結束，她便收回彈珠，拂去彩色漩渦上的灰塵，再把它們放回起點。涼風穿過木製雨棚，掀起 Wanda 的瀏海。昨夜的雨水仍從一角滴落，在時刻表旁形成細小瀑布。遠處烏鴉聲與時鐘的緩慢滴答混在一起。

意料之外的微震順著木板傳來，打破原先的節奏。即將進站的列車推動前方空氣，長椅隨之顫動。一顆彈珠猛然加速，彈離椅緣。Wanda 撲身去接，一時失衡，肩膀碰到 Yorick 的帆布袋。袋子傾倒，沿著長椅滑動，撞上支撐柱的木框才停下。Yorick 伸手穩住袋子，笑說：「動作真快。」Wanda 的膝蓋撞在暖木板上，迅速恢復時在牛仔褲上留下一片灰印，掌心裡的彈珠安然無恙。

他們又坐回長椅，繼續安靜地等待。Wanda 再次排好彈珠，其中一顆卻老是往木板縫隙滾。木質月台在腳下持續輕震。細小漣漪追逐著，穿過瀑布下的水窪。長椅另一端，Yorick 的帆布袋仍輕輕晃動，背帶敲著柱子。水窪上的波紋正不斷向外擴散。