Mia Before the Judges Arrived- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Mia set up her science project in the school gym on Saturday morning. A circular string ran between two metal stands, marking the path where a tennis ball would orbit. She had glued a tiny silver spacecraft to the ball. Pictures showing a global chain of satellites lay beside the stands. A low wooden platform had been prepared for each project nearby. Wind from an open door shook the string, so the line sagged and the ball slid downward. A knot she had tied slipped twice, leaving the model hanging unevenly. She has tested the model many times in her bedroom, but nothing had moved there except calm air.

A shout from the basketball court turned into trouble. The ball bounced through the door, hit a stand, and sent the spacecraft rolling across the floor. The impact also loosened the knot again, so one side of the string drooped sharply. Mia knelt and replaced the weak knot with tighter fishing line carried for emergencies. She then lifted the connection to a higher beam. This fresh angle shortened the span, giving the orbit more tension. She added two small magnets hidden in her pocket. They guided the tennis ball along a smoother trajectory. Before long, the yellow sphere slid around the circle without wobbling, and Mia brushed glitter from her palms.

星期六早上，米亞在學校體育館佈置她的科學作品。兩個金屬支架之間拉著一圈細繩，網球將沿繩道繞行。她把一艘銀色的小太空船黏在球上。桌面上擺著描繪全球衛星鏈的圖片。每組作品旁邊都已備好低矮的木台。敞開的門吹進陣陣風，細繩被搖得下垂，球跟著往下滑。她打的結鬆開了兩次，模型懸在半空歪斜。她在臥室已經測試過很多次，但那裡的空氣一直平靜。

籃球場傳來一聲喊叫，麻煩跟著出現。籃球彈進門口，撞到支架，太空船滾到地板上。撞擊也再度鬆動繩結，一側立刻垂落。米亞跪下，用隨身攜帶的釣魚線換掉薄弱的結，然後把連接點掛到更高的橫樑。新的角度縮短了距離，讓繞行更緊實。她又掏出藏在口袋裡的兩顆小磁鐵，引導網球走出更平順的軌跡。不久之後，黃色球體穩穩繞圈，米亞拍拍手上的亮粉。