Ice Mortar at the Snow Fort Entrance - 適合中高級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Fresh flakes slid through the quiet air, but the entrance gap stayed a clean rectangle inside the wall.

Shea and Cedric had stamped the floor flat, and the same mould kept turning out neat blocks. A neighbor's dog waited by the fence snow bank, nose low, puffing damp breaths with a warm, grainy smell. They aimed to brace the right side of the doorway with three solid bricks, level with the third row. Clean, cold mineral notes rode the air, while wet wool from their scarves added a heavy barnyard tang around their faces. Shea packed the mould hard; the plastic edges bit through wet fabric, and her thermal lining grew damp and sour. She tipped the mould, and a blue-white block slid out, cracked across the middle like a dry cookie. She kept the larger portion, pressed it onto the doorway stack, and the height reached only to her knee.

Cedric said, "Mine is leaning a little," and he lifted his mould, his breath fogging the cold rim. Near Shea, scraped snow smelled thin and chalky, so she crossed to the fence bank for heavier, wetter stuff. Her gloves sank with a soft squelch; that drift gave an earthy bite, like clean stones rinsed in spring water. She packed a second brick, turned it out, and set it above the first; the doorway still tipped inward. The entrance edges tested the wall's integrity, while loose flakes sifted down, laying a damp dust along the ledge. She trudged ten steps to the porch, lifted the bucket, and carried back a shallow portion sloshing against metal. In that short walk, brief neglect let new flakes settle into the empty mould's corners, a soft rind she brushed away. She packed a third brick from the drift, seated it square, then poured a thin line along the seam. On contact, the water skinned clear and stiff across the faces, and the inward slide stopped at once.

Inside the circle, the air now mixed sharp ice with scarf wool and a hint of warm dog breath. Sound fell to a soft thud, and snow on Shea's lip tasted faintly sweet, like a clean spoon. The dog nosed the fresh seam, licked a tiny drip, and sneezed a puff that smelled like damp grain. Cedric laughed through his scarf and pressed his own brick, his mitts smelling of wet knit and cold plastic. At the same moment, by the corner stop, a bus door sighed open, breathing rubber, salt, and hot brake air. Upstairs, a cat on the sill touched the window with its nose, and a round fog patch spread.

片片雪花靜靜落下，但牆上的入口缺口仍維持成一個俐落的長方形。

Shea 和 Cedric 已把地面踩平，那個一樣的模型還在倒出整齊的雪磚。院旁的狗等在籬笆邊的雪堆前，鼻子貼著地面，哈出帶穀物氣味的溫熱白霧。他們想把門口右邊用三塊結實的雪磚加高，對齊第三層。空氣裡帶著清冷的礦物氣，圍巾的溼羊毛又添上一股厚重的畜棚味。Shea 使勁把雪壓進模型；塑膠邊緣透過溼布咬著手套，手套的保暖內裡變得又溼又有酸味。她把模型翻倒，一塊帶藍白的雪磚滑出來，在中間像乾餅一樣裂開。她留了較大的那半塊，壓上門邊的疊磚，可高度只到她的膝蓋。

Cedric 說：「我的這邊有點傾斜。」他抬起自己的模型，白霧把冷硬的邊緣都蒙上了。Shea 身邊被刮過的雪帶著淡淡粉筆味，她便走向籬笆邊那堆更重更溼的雪。她的手套陷下去，發出濕悶的聲音；那一團雪帶著像清水沖過石頭的土石氣。她壓好第二塊，翻出來，又放到第一塊上面；門口還是微微往裡傾。入口邊緣在考驗牆面的完整性，鬆散的小片雪不斷落下，在邊緣鋪了一層溼粉。她跨十步到門廊，提起水桶，端回一淺層在金屬壁上拍打的水。短短一趟，疏忽的空檔讓新雪落進空著的模型角落，結了一圈鬆軟的邊，她刷掉再用。她又從雪堆壓出第三塊，端正地坐上去，接著沿縫倒了一條細水。水一接觸就結成透明而硬的薄皮，往內的滑動立刻停住。

走進圓圈裡，空氣混著尖冷的冰氣、圍巾的羊毛味，以及一絲狗兒的暖氣味。聲音變成悶沉的鈍響，落在 Shea 嘴唇上的雪帶著淡淡的甜味，像一支乾淨的湯匙。狗把鼻子伸到新封的縫邊，舔了小小一滴，又打了個有穀味的噴嚏。Cedric 隔著圍巾笑出聲，按上他那一塊，他的連指手套帶著濕針織和冷塑膠的味道。就在同一刻，轉角的公車門嘶地打開，吐出橡膠、鹽分與暖煞車氣味。樓上，窗臺上的一隻貓用鼻子碰玻璃，圓圓的一片霧印慢慢擴開。