Green Ink and the Fluttering Sheet in the Print Shop - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Two wooden tables stood an arm-length apart, the hand press between them. A low bench waited under the drying rack, just two steps from the door. Basil set tiny metal letters in a stick, and Sian held a stack of clean paper. He pulled the lever; the plate pressed down and rose with a heavy sigh. The roller left a jealous green track across the ink slab and gleamed under the light. Basil lifted the fresh sheet and eased it onto the table beside Sian. "It sits clear," he said, tapping the corner with one knuckle.

Sian carried the dry sheet to the rack; the paper slid smooth and cool under her fingers. She hooked its top edge over a bar, then pressed it flat with the side of her hand. Basil pondered the spacing; his thumb rocked the stick, and the tiny letters clicked like pebbles. She reached for another sheet and felt a faint tack, then a soft release as ink let go. Pale light stroked the metal type, while the smell of ink met the dry scent of paper. The door swung a finger wider, and a brief gust lifted a hanging corner of paper. It brushed a scrap on the bench and left an oval smudge, a small surprised mouth.

Basil leaned in; his eyebrows rose, and he pointed at the mark. "That came from an O," he said, and he tapped a round block in the tray. Sian set her new sheet anyway, steady and straight, and the rack gained another line. The oval smudge dried on the scrap, and a thin gloss cooled on the other prints. A green beetle climbed onto the bench rung from the open door's sill. It touched the wood with quick feet and skittered.

兩張木桌相距一個手臂長，手動壓印機在中間。晾紙架下方放著一張矮凳，離門口只有兩步。巴希爾把細小的金屬字排進排字棒，西安抱著一疊乾淨的紙。她拉下手柄；壓板往下一壓，又帶著沉沉一聲回升。滾輪在墨板上拖出一條帶著嫉妒般綠色的痕跡，在光下發亮。巴希爾把新鮮印好的紙抬起，輕輕放到西安身旁的桌上。「很清楚，」他說，一個指節碰了碰紙角。

西安把乾的紙拿到晾紙架；紙張在她指間滑過，既滑又涼。她把上緣勾上木條，再用手側面壓平。巴希爾在字距上打量，拇指輕輕搖著排字棒，細小字塊叩叩作響。她又去拿一張，先感到輕微的黏貼，接著在墨跡放手時發出柔軟的脫離感。淡淡的光掠過金屬字，而墨香和乾紙的味道在空氣中相遇。門縫又開大了一指，短短一陣風讓一角掛著的紙向上掀起。那角擦到矮凳上的一張廢紙，留下一個橢圓的痕跡，像一張驚訝的小嘴。

巴希爾俯身，眉毛抬起，用手指著那個印記。「那是從一個 O 來的，」他說，並在字盤裡輕敲了一塊圓圓的字模。西安還是把新紙掛好，平穩又筆直，晾紙架多了一列。橢圓的痕跡在廢紙上乾掉，其他印張表面也漸漸帶起薄薄的光澤。一隻綠色甲蟲從打開的門檻爬上矮凳的橫桿。牠用快速的小腳碰了碰木頭，然後飛快地竄走。