Spinning Spool and the Popping Jar Lid - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Cardboard and warm wax gave the storeroom a faint, gently sweet smell. Cool air sat under the ceiling bulb, and quiet dust lay along the shelves. A striped cat stepped into a narrow aisle beside a low wooden crate. The crate stood firm, and the shelves held their boxes without a shake. Its whiskers brushed a wooden thread spool resting near the edge of a box. The cat tapped the spool, and the round piece dropped and began to spin. It rolled through a pale square of light on the floor and rattled softly. Cool tile pressed its pads, and paper gave a soft, dry rustle nearby.

The spinning spool bumped the base of a glass jar filled with buttons. The cat raised a paw to the loose lid, and the metal circle wobbled. The rubber sealing ring slipped a little, and the lid turned with a tiny pop. Buttons clicked against the glass, and the cat’s ears stood high toward the sound. Janet came down the aisle and said, "It’s open a bit, I see." She gripped the lid, felt a small catch, and then twisted it tight again. When Janet stood, her sleeve brushed the pull cord, and its small bead twirled once. She set the spool on its end, and the cat pawed once to make it twirl. It spun in place, and a short thread unwound into a loose loop on the tile. From the loading dock, a tiny beetle came through the doorway and paused by the loop. It touched the thread with its feelers and went on along the wall.

紙箱和溫熱的蠟讓庫房帶著淡淡的甜味。天花板燈下的空氣很涼，層架上鋪著一層靜靜的灰塵。一隻帶條紋的貓走進窄窄的走道，停在一個矮木箱旁。木箱擺得很穩，層架托著箱子，沒有半點晃動。牠的鬚輕擦到一個放在箱邊的木線軸。牠拍了一下線軸，那個圓物便落下並開始旋轉。它滾過地板上淡淡的方形光斑，並發出輕輕的碰聲。涼涼的磁磚貼著牠的肉墊，旁邊的紙發出乾乾的細響。

旋轉的線軸碰到一只裝滿鈕扣的玻璃罐底部。貓抬起一隻爪子碰向鬆鬆的蓋子，那金屬圓片晃了晃。橡膠密封圈滑開一點，蓋子轉動，輕輕啵的一聲。鈕扣撞著玻璃叮噹作響，貓的耳朵豎起來朝向那聲音。Janet 走到走道這頭，說道：「好像開了一點呢。」她握住蓋子，感到一點卡住，接著又旋緊了它。Janet 起身時，袖子擦到拉繩，那顆小珠子轉了一圈。她把線軸立起來，貓又拍了一下，讓它轉起來。它原地旋轉，一小段線鬆開，在磁磚上畫出一個鬆鬆的圈。從卸貨口那邊，一隻小甲蟲穿過門口，停在那個圓圈旁。它用觸角碰了碰那條線，然後沿著牆邊繼續走。