Tin Funnel Rolling Down the Lighthouse Stairs - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

“Who tied a red streamer on the stair rail?” Ned asked.

Morning light slid across the winding stairs and flashed on the brass bolts. Cool salty air brushed his sleeves. A low gull call drifted through the open window. The keeper, Rafferty, tapped the stone with his boot. He said, “Dust clings to the lamp again, lad. The bellows wait upstairs.” Ned folded the streamer over the rail and climbed toward the lamp room.

Ned reached the lantern deck and lifted an old leather bellows. Each squeeze sent a short puff that hopped across the glass and chased dust toward the window. Outside, a keen sea gust climbed the steep hillside. It curved around the tower wall and slipped through the half-open pane. The breeze tugged the streamer below and made its fluttering grow louder against the iron posts. For a moment, two rhythms filled the tower. Steady puffs left Ned’s bellows, and the untamed breath from the sea answered.

On the next squeeze, Ned aimed the bellows toward a speck near the lens. The puff met the racing draft; together they spun the streamer upward like a tiny flag. It snapped against a curved tin funnel on a shelf. The funnel clattered down the stairs and rang on every stone. Rafferty laughed below, the sound bouncing back up the shaft. Ned set the bellows on the wooden ledge. He stepped down three treads and lifted the funnel from the last step. He placed it upright beside the wall. The metal settled with a dull tap.

「誰把這條紅色緞帶綁在樓梯扶手上？」奈德問。

晨光滑過迴旋樓梯，在黃銅螺栓上閃動。涼爽的鹹味海風拂過他的袖子。一聲低沉的海鷗叫聲飄進開著的窗戶。燈塔看守拉法迪用靴子敲了敲石階。他說：「燈罩又沾了灰，孩子。風箱在樓上等著。」奈德把緞帶折好掛回扶手，向燈室走去。

奈德抵達燈室平台，拿起舊皮革風箱。每次擠壓都送出短促的氣流，在玻璃上彈跳，把灰推向窗邊。窗外，銳利的海風越過陡峭山坡，繞過塔壁，鑽進半開的窗縫。那股風扯動下方的緞帶，讓拍動聲在鐵柱上愈加響亮。片刻間，塔內充滿兩種節奏：奈德風箱的均勻噗聲與海風自由的呼吸。

下一次擠壓時，奈德把風箱對準鏡片旁的灰點。氣流撞上疾速的氣旋，一起把緞帶捲上空中，像面小旗。緞帶抽打到架上的彎錫漏斗，漏斗沿階梯撞擊，每一級都叮噹作響。拉法迪在下方笑聲回盪塔內。奈德把風箱放上木架，走下三級，撿起最後一梯上的漏斗。他把漏斗直立靠牆放好。金屬發出沉悶的咚聲。