Rainbow Interrupted- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Joy pushed the narrow iron hatch and entered the lantern room atop the lighthouse. Shards of late-morning light bounced between the curved glass plates of the great lens, then spilled onto the floor, where they formed a colorful band that glided in a slow circle. Warm air met the cool smell of salt, and the faint hum of the turning mechanism mixed with distant waves—two sounds rising and falling together.

She laid a sheet of thick white card inside the band. Her plan was simple: trace the shifting rainbow before it slipped away. Yet two forces argued over the paper. The lens twisted steadily, so the bright stripe slid quickly toward the far wall, while her own tall shadow followed every move and drowned the colors. Joy crouched lower, trying to let the glare pass over her shoulder, but the stripe flashed across the card and vanished. She pivoted the card, then lifted it higher; the spectrum reappeared for an instant, only to fade under the dark outline of her arm. She inhaled, waited for the beam to return, and angled the card slowly until the hues poured across its surface again.

Just as her pencil touched the violet edge, a hawk sailed outside the lantern glass. Its silhouette zoomed through the beam and sliced the rainbow into jagged pieces. The sudden cut drew a short laugh from her; she shifted a foot, continued the line, and let the bird’s shadow become part of the drawing. Light whirled along the walls once more. Far below, spray leaped against the black rocks and kept rising with each restless wave.

喬伊推開狹窄的鐵門，走進燈塔頂端的燈室。上午偏後的陽光在巨大透鏡的彎曲玻璃板間來回反射，然後灑落在地面上，形成一條彩帶似的光圈，緩緩繞著石地板移動。暖空氣碰上鹹味冷香，微弱的轉軸嗡嗡聲和遠處浪聲交織，一起起伏。

她把一張厚卡紙放進光帶中央。她的念頭很簡單：在彩虹移走前把它描下來。然而兩股力量在紙面上爭執。透鏡持續旋轉，亮條迅速滑向遠壁，而她高大的影子追隨每個動作，把色彩壓暗。喬伊彎低身子，想讓刺眼光芒從肩旁越過，可光條掠過紙面就消失了。她轉動卡紙，又把它舉高；光譜短暫重現，隨即被自己手臂的暗影覆蓋。她吸口氣，等光束回來，再慢慢調角度，直到色帶再度傾瀉其上。

鉛筆剛觸到紫邊，一隻鷹掠過燈室玻璃外。牠的剪影穿過光束，將彩虹切成鋸齒狀。這突如其來的剪影逗得她輕笑，她換腳站立，繼續描線，讓鳥影成了畫的一部分。光線再次旋轉掃過牆面。遠下方，浪花衝擊黑色岩石，不斷躍起，層層疊疊。