The Flour Burst- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Warm yeast drifted through the community kitchen, and thin sunlight flashed on the steel bowls near the window.

Eva carried a large poster board that already had a blue sheet glued on it. She hoped to finish a giant whale drawing before the science fair began. The only wide surface sat in the middle of the room, yet a visiting chef had placed trays of rising dough there for lunchtime baking. Steam lifted from the trays, and bits of flour jumped each time the chef slapped the dough. Eva set one corner of her board on the table edge, but a sudden puff of air scattered flour across the blue sheet. White spots spread like fast snow on water.

The chef paused, hands in mid-air. Eva’s shoulders tightened, and she lifted the board away. The powder pattern looked oddly beautiful, so she pinned the board to a metal cabinet door with magnets that had been holding recipe cards. Standing, she traced whale outlines over the scattered flour shapes. The whale appeared to swim through foamy waves. By the time the naturalist who would judge the posters entered the room, the kitchen had grown quieter. Dough continued to rise, the chef slid fresh loaves into the oven, and Eva wiped her dusty fingers on her jeans. The cabinet door stayed open, holding the speckled poster in place while warm air from the oven curled along its lower edge.

溫暖的酵母香飄過社區廚房，細薄的陽光在窗邊的鋼盆上閃動。

艾娃抱著一塊已經貼好藍紙的大海報板，打算在科學展開始前完成一幅巨大的鯨魚圖。房裡唯一寬闊的檯面在中央，但一位來訪的主廚已經把午餐烘焙用的發酵麵團托盤擺滿其上。蒸氣從托盤升起，主廚拍打麵團時，麵粉四處飛濺。艾娃小心將海報板一角擱在桌邊，卻被突然吹起的一陣氣流灑滿白粉，白點在藍紙上迅速擴散，像落在水面的雪片。

主廚停住，雙手懸在半空。艾娃聳了聳肩，將板子拿開。粉末形成的圖案出奇地美，她便用磁鐵把板子固定在金屬櫃門上，那裡原先夾著食譜卡。站著的她沿著粉點描繪鯨魚，鯨魚像在白色浪花中游動。當將為海報評審的自然觀察家走進廚房時，四周已經安靜許多。麵團繼續膨脹，主廚把新鮮麵包送進烤箱，艾娃則拍掉牛仔褲上的麵粉。櫃門敞開，托住點點白紋的海報，而烤箱的暖風輕輕捲起海報下緣。