Penguin Before Lunch - 適合中高級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

Maya arrived at the community hall carrying a folded table and a rolled banner for the coastal outreach booth. Hugo, already inside, wrestled with a tall cardboard penguin whose beak repeatedly knocked against the swinging door. They had been asked to finish the display before lunch, and a clock above the stage ticked at irritating speed. Several information posters had been printed by the city library, yet their edges curled as soon as they met the humid air. When Maya pressed fresh tape across a corner, the tape surrendered, sliding away from the glossy surface.

If they had remembered stronger clips, the task would have taken half the time. Instead, every stubborn corner demanded yet another improvised idea from their shrinking supplies. Behind them, fresh paint on the window frames suggested quiet renewal after years of peeling neglect. Light from the tall windows stretched across the floor, and their arms moved faster whenever their work passed through the brighter patch. Hugo spread the pamphlets, calling them a valuable resource, but a sudden gust scattered half across the polished floor.

Maya knelt, gathered the loose pamphlets, and noticed that the tape roll now dangled empty like a spent ribbon. She wished she had packed the spare roll stored in her bedroom drawer. After a considerable pause, Hugo tugged a thin cord from an unused banner stand and threaded it behind the posters. The cord bit into his fingers, yet the posters finally flattened against the plywood backdrop. Next, they shifted the wobbly table until its legs locked against a groove in the wooden floorboards. Shoulders finally dropping, they stepped back, only to discover the cardboard penguin facing the rear wall. Laughter escaped both volunteers, echoing between empty chairs, and the simple act of turning the bird completed their struggle. The posters no longer moved, and stray pamphlets stayed flat beneath a paperweight shaped like a seashell. The cardboard penguin stood upright beside a neat row of gleaming pamphlets.

瑪雅帶著一張摺疊桌和一幅捲起的布條來到社區大廳，準備海岸外展攤位。雨果已經在裡面，正拼命扶著一隻高大的紙板企鵝，牠的喙不停撞向旋轉門。兩人早已被交代要在午餐前完成佈置，舞台上方的時鐘以惱人的速度滴答作響。市立圖書館印好的多張資訊海報一遇潮濕空氣就捲曲。瑪雅把新膠帶壓在一角，膠帶卻馬上鬆開，從光滑的表面滑落。

如果他們當時帶了更強力的夾子，工作就會省下一半時間。相反地，每個固執的邊角都逼得他們不斷即興想招。身後，窗框上的新漆顯示出多年剝落後的安靜更新。高窗射進的光拉長在地板上，他們的手臂每當掠過那片亮斑就動得更快。雨果把宣傳單攤開，自稱那是寶貴的資源，卻被一陣突來的風捲走大半，散落在拋光地面。

瑪雅跪下撿起散落的宣傳單，注意到膠帶卷像用盡的緞帶般空蕩懸垂。她真希望自己把房間抽屜裡的備用卷帶來。經過相當長的停頓，雨果從沒用過的布條架扯下一條細繩，穿過海報背後。繩子勒進他的指節，但海報終於貼平在夾板背板上。接著，他們挪動搖晃的桌子，直到桌腳卡進木地板的縫槽。肩膀終於放鬆時，兩人退後一步，卻發現紙板企鵝正面對後牆。兩名志工爆笑，笑聲在空椅間迴盪，轉動那隻鳥的簡單動作結束了這場折騰。海報不再飄動，散落的宣傳單也在貝殼形鎮紙下平貼。紙板企鵝端端正正地立在一排閃亮宣傳單旁。