Eve Before First Bell- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Eve balanced on a narrow garden stool behind her apartment just before dawn. Yesterday a simple task had been announced in class: build a birdhouse and hang it. Eve wanted a real photo, not a model resting on the ground. A rough branch stretched above her reach, and an owl stared from a higher limb. Morning air rolled, cold and thin, when her first jump failed. She shifted the stool closer, yet the wooden walls of the birdhouse shook beside her face. A distant train horn drifted across roofs and marked the quick passing minutes. Her sneakers had already gathered thin streaks of mud.

A soft tap sounded as the stool slipped on wet leaves, tilting her sideways. Her phone slid from a pocket and buzzed with a new message, flashing the teacher’s name. Instead of another jump, she pulled a skipping rope that has lived in her bag since summer. She looped the rope over the branch and tugged until the house rose smoothly upward. The startled owl beat its wings once, then glided toward a nearby roof. The rope creaked, but the knot held, and the birdhouse settled under the leaves. Sunlight touched the fresh paint while the yard fell quiet.

黎明前，伊芙站在公寓後方的一張狹窄園藝凳上保持平衡。昨天課堂上公布了一項簡單的任務：做一個鳥屋並把它掛起來。伊芙想拍一張真正掛好的照片，而不是地上模型的照片。一根粗枝伸在她的可及範圍之外，一隻貓頭鷹在更高的樹枝上注視著她。清晨的空氣寒冷而稀薄，她第一次跳起時就失敗了。她把凳子挪得更近，但鳥屋的木牆在她臉旁顫動。遠處的火車鳴笛聲掠過屋頂，提醒時間正快速流逝。她的運動鞋已經沾上細細的泥痕。

凳子在濕葉上打滑時傳來輕輕一下聲響，她的身體側傾。手機從口袋滑出並震動，顯示老師的新訊息。沒有再跳，她從包裡抽出自夏天以來一直帶著的跳繩。她把繩子套上樹枝，用力一拉，鳥屋便平穩升起。受驚的貓頭鷹振翅一下，飛向鄰近屋頂。繩子發出嘎吱聲，但結依然牢固，鳥屋安穩地掛在葉下。陽光照在新漆的表面，院子靜了下來。