When Flour Filled the Air- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Sam tipped a scoop of rice onto the brass scale. Ada, the stall keeper, checked the pointer and smiled. Cool morning air brushed the bright yellow melons stacked along the reed mat. The low hum of voices mixed with soft clinks of metal bowls. Beside the rice, an open basket of salt formed a white mound. A striped insect hovered over bunches of wildflowers on the next wooden stand. The busy pollinator zigzagged between petals while customers drifted past colorful stalls.

A loaded cart rumbled by and its back wheel struck a loose pebble. The jolt travelled through the ground and shook Sam’s stall. The salt basket slid, tipped, and poured crystals across the scale pan. The falling salt hit a cloth sack of flour; the thin fabric tore. Flour burst upward like smoke, then drifted outward in a widening cloud. Peppercorns, stored in a shallow crate, started to scatter as the cloud pushed them. Sam twisted his shoulders sideways, blocking the scale with his arm. Grains of rice still hopped from the pan and trickled onto the wooden shelf. Nothing stopped the white dust; it floated over coins, price tags, and Ada’s shoes. Ada wiped her sleeve, yet the pale fog rolled past her knees. Sam emptied the last scoop into a canvas bag and folded the paper top tight. Flour continued to swirl around his shoes.

山姆把一勺米倒進黃銅秤盤。艾達這位攤主查看指針，露出微笑。清晨的涼意拂過鋪著蘆葦墊的鮮黃色哈密瓜。低沉的嗡嗡人聲交雜著金屬碗的輕響。旁邊，一個敞口的鹽籃堆出白色小丘。條紋小昆蟲在隔壁木製貨架上的野花之間盤旋。那忙碌的授粉者在花瓣間曲折飛行，客人穿梭於色彩繽紛的攤位。

一輛滿載的推車隆隆經過，後輪撞到鬆動石子。震動沿地面傳開，搖動了山姆的攤位。鹽籃滑動、傾倒，晶粒灑滿秤盤。落下的鹽撞到一袋麵粉，薄布撕裂。麵粉像煙霧般衝起，隨後擴散成越來越大的雲。存放在淺木箱中的胡椒粒被推動，開始四散。山姆扭身側過，用手臂擋住秤盤。米粒仍從盤中跳出，沿木架涓滴落下。白霧沒有停歇，它飄過硬幣、標價牌和艾達的鞋面。艾達抹了抹袖子，但淡淡粉雲仍在她膝邊翻滾。山姆把最後一勺倒進帆布袋，緊緊折好了紙口。麵粉仍在他腳邊翻飛。