Rubber Bands Flip the Wicker Basket Lid - 適合初級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

A quick twang came from the first rubber band.

Stella and Eli watched their table course. They had one goal: send a foam ball into a basket. They made a plan and began to prepare parts. A small wicker basket sat at the end. "I hear that twang," said Eli.

Warm air sat near the window glass. They set two chairs and a low step stool. Eli climbed the stool and clipped a band higher. Stella bent a plastic ruler against a cup. A clothespin held the ruler under a loop. The foam ball rested in the small spoon.

Stella counted three, then tapped the clothespin open. The ruler sprang up and struck the spoon. The spoon flexed and threw the foam ball forward. The ball hit a web of thin rubber bands. The web stretched and then snapped the ball sideways. "There it goes now," said Eli.

The sideways hit pressed a stick on a clothespin. The pin popped, and it released a second band. That band snapped a light paddle under the basket lid. A hidden hair tie stretched under the handle and sprang. Stella pinched the whipping band with a thick mitten. The foam ball bumped the wicker rim and spun along it. A narrow loop on the web still quivered.

第一聲清脆的「彈」響自第一條橡皮筋。

Stella 和 Eli 盯著他們在桌上的裝置。他們只有一個目標：把泡棉球送進籃子。他們做了一個計畫，然後開始準備零件。前方放著一只小小的藤編籃。Eli 說：「我聽到那個彈聲了。」

窗邊的空氣帶著微微的溫熱。他們擺好兩張椅子和一張矮踏凳。Eli 爬上踏凳，把一條橡皮筋夾得更高。Stella 把一把塑膠尺壓在杯子邊。衣夾夾住那把尺，卡在一個圈底下。泡棉球安安穩穩地放在小湯匙裡。

Stella 數到三，然後把衣夾一彈打開。尺子彈起來，敲到湯匙。湯匙一彎，把泡棉球拋向前。球撞上一張細橡皮筋編成的網。那張網先被拉開，接著把球彈到一邊。Eli 說：「它出發了。」

從側邊的撞擊壓到一根靠在衣夾上的小棒。衣夾一彈，放開了第二條橡皮筋。那條橡皮筋抽了一片籃蓋下的小拍板。把手底下藏著的髮圈被拉長，接著猛然彈回。Stella 用一只厚手套夾住還在甩的橡皮筋。泡棉球撞到藤編籃的邊緣，在邊上轉著走。網上的一個細圈還在顫動。