The Mouse That Started the Printer- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Quinn slid a stack of reports across the smooth meeting-room table toward the projector’s tangled power brick. His fingers brushed the braided cord, searching for slack, yet the plug refused to budge against the crowded socket. Cool air drifted from the ceiling vent, carrying the faint plastic smell of new folders. A quick jerk loosened it, but the cord snagged the porcelain mug painted with bright zinnia petals lining its rim. The mug glided over the glossy surface and bumped a tiny pot that held an azalea cutting in damp soil. Ceramic kissed glass with a dull tap; watered earth spread cool grit across Quinn’s palm. Loose soil slid into the wireless mouse cradle; the mouse rolled, struck the space bar, and woke Gwen’s laptop. Overhead, chandelier crystals trembled when a recorded quartet burst from the ceiling speakers.

A thumbnail-sized print icon flashed; unseen code traveled through the firm’s network toward the shared printer beside the corridor corner. The machine stirred, rubber rollers gripping smooth sheets, yet the magnitude of sudden pages bent the top ream. Paper bowed, wedged tight, and the jam halted the queue while red lights blinked against the matte plastic. Quinn hurried down the corridor, soles slipping slightly on scattered petals that had clung to his sleeve and fallen behind him. Gwen followed, her jacket sleeve brushing the rough doorframe before she knelt to open the printer’s front hatch. Warm air rushed out, but a curled sheet remained stuck, its edge pressed firm between two hot rollers. She pinched the paper, found it brittle from heat, and eased it forward until the tension released. With one decisive tug, Gwen unplugged the power cord; gears inside slowed, ending the clatter before more pages joined the jam. One floor above, a lone tube buzzed; another printer groaned awake, and a crumpled page slid outward along the silent tray.

奎恩將一疊報告沿著光滑的會議桌推向纏在一起的投影機電源磚。 他的手指掃過編織電線，想要找出鬆動處，然而插頭卡在擁擠的插座裡動也不動。 天花板通風口送下來的冷空氣，夾帶著新資料夾淡淡的塑膠味。 他猛地一扯好不容易鬆開電線，卻勾住一只外壁繪有百日菊花瓣的瓷杯。 瓷杯在光亮桌面上滑行，撞倒一個裝著杜鵑枝插、泥土仍溼的迷你花盆。 陶瓷碰上玻璃發出沉悶一擊，濕土化成涼涼砂粒散在奎恩手心。 鬆散的泥土滑進無線滑鼠底座，滑鼠翻滾後撞上空白鍵，喚醒了格溫的筆電。 上方的吊燈水晶微顫，天花板喇叭裡忽然湧出一段弦樂四重奏。

桌面跳出的迷你列印圖示一閃即逝；無形的指令沿著公司網路竄向走廊轉角旁的共用印表機。 機器甦醒，橡膠滾輪緊抓平整紙張，但突如其來的大量頁面把最上層紙栈壓彎。 紙張因受壓卡住，佔滿紙道，紅燈在啞光外殼上閃動。 奎恩穿過走廊，鞋底在袖口掉落的花瓣上輕輕打滑。 格溫跟了上來，外套袖口擦過粗糙門框，她跪下打開印表機前蓋。 熱風撲出，可仍有一張卷曲的紙卡在兩個發燙的滾輪之間。 她捏住紙邊，發現因熱而變脆，慢慢往外拉直到拉力消失。 格溫往後一扯將電源線拔掉；內部齒輪速度降下來，喀響停歇，新的紙張再也進不了紙道。 樓上一層，一支孤零螢光管嗡鳴著；另一台印表機剛甦醒，一張揉皺的紙片沿靜止托盤外滑。