What Set the Screws Rolling- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Milo pushed a narrow wooden board toward the center of the shed. He wanted a quick workbench before the afternoon rain. Cool air met a stripe of pale light that lay across the dusty floorboards. Small spiders thrive in the corners, weaving between paint cans. One end of the board tapped a leaning broom. The broom swung outward, its bristles sweeping a hanging chain that had been fixed above the window. Metal rattled against metal; the chain slapped a low shelf, which held small tins of nails and a glass jar of screws. A dry layer of glue, the last bond of an old repair, cracked under the hit. The jar shivered, then tipped forward. Milo watched it roll along the slightly sloping boards, gathering speed toward a stack of wooden slats near the doorway.

The jar struck the slats with a dull thud, and the whole row tumbled like giant dominoes. Screws spilled ahead of them, forming a surprise glittering path across the boards. One sliding slat clipped a small, heartfelt carving of a leaf, sending it skittering into a half-full bucket. Water jumped over the rim and ran toward the back wall, yet the steady drip from the roof gave no reassurance about leaks already hidden above. Milo lunged, caught the last slat, and braced it against a toolbox. The sudden wedge broke the chain of motion; remaining pieces rattled but stayed put. He exhaled slowly, then noticed the floor’s gentle tilt that had turned a single nudge into a wandering cascade. A single screw spun lazily toward the open doorway.

米洛把一塊窄木板推向工具屋中央，想在午後下雨前臨時搭一張工作桌。涼空氣掠過一條斜斜的淡光，落在滿是灰塵的地板上。角落裡的小蜘蛛在漆罐間穿梭，似乎很能適應這裡的環境。木板一頭碰到歪靠的掃帚，掃帚向外擺動，刷毛掃過掛在窗上方的鐵鏈。金屬撞擊金屬的聲音響起；鏈子拍上放低的層板，層板上擺著幾罐鐵釘和一個裝螺絲的玻璃罐。舊修補留下、已乾透的膠層是最後的黏著點，這時被撞裂。玻璃罐顫了一下，隨即向前傾倒，沿著微斜的地板滾動，加速衝向門口邊的木條堆。

玻璃罐鈍撞木條，整排木條像巨型骨牌倒下。螺絲在前方灑落，閃成一條意外的亮帶。滑動的木條碰到一塊小小的葉形刻飾，把它撞進半滿的水桶。水濺出桶沿，流向後壁；屋頂持續的滴水卻無法保證上方沒有隱藏的漏點。米洛撲過去，抓住最後一根木條，將它頂在工具箱邊。這突然的楔子中斷了動力傳遞，剩下的物件仍顫卻停住。他慢慢吐氣，才注意到地板微微的傾斜，使一次輕碰演變成漫長的連鎖動作。一顆螺絲懶懶旋轉，朝敞開的門口滾去。