Sunflowers

美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习

“I’ve got another idea,” Mike announced.

Mike宣布,

He was sitting at the kitchen table, cracking the shells of sunflower seeds between his molars, spitting them out, then eating the seeds.

他坐在厨房桌子上,把向日葵种子的贝壳打碎在他的摩尔之间,吐出后再吃出种子来.

“ Another idea for making money?”

“...... 又想赚钱? “

asked Mr.

问:

McCarthy.

麦卡锡

Mike nodded and pulled another seed out of his bag.

迈克点头,从他包里取出另一个种子.

Since the end of second grade, Mike had been trying to pull together sufficient funds to buy a Super Spy kit.

自二年级毕业后,迈克就一直试图筹集到足够的资金来购买"超级间谍"套装.

A retail kit was seventy-five dollars, but Mike’s friend Derek had offered to sell his kit to Mike for twenty- five dollars—what a bargain!

一个零售套装是75美元,但迈克的朋友德里克提出用25美元把套装卖给迈克,这算什么便宜!

So far, Mike hadn’t managed to get together even that amount, but he was not a quitter.

迈克至今还没有设法凑合,

He held up his favorite snack and narrowed his eyes speculatively.

他举起他最喜欢的点心,并投机地收缩了眼睛.

What if he grew his own giant sunflowers and harvested the seeds?

如果他种出自己的巨型向日葵并收割出种子怎么办?

He could save his allowance dollars and sell the extra seeds at the farmers’ market!

在农民市场出售额外种子!

Then he might accrue enough to buy a Super Spy kit.

然后他可能积蓄足够 买一个超级间谍工具包。

“I’ll cut out the middleman,” he explained to his family, “because I’ll be the farmer and the salesman.”

“我会砍掉中间人,”他向家人解释说,“因为我是农民和推销员。 “

“You’ d have to sell an awful lot of seeds to clear twenty-five dollars,” Mrs.

“你必须卖出一大笔种子,

McCarthy said.

麦卡锡说。

“Not if I go organic,” Mike said.

“如果我是有机的,

Organic crops didn’t come cheap—Mike had learned that the hard way with his lemonade stand.

有机作物并不便宜, 迈克已经知道 用柠檬水站的艰难方式。

If he grew organic seeds, he could charge an arm and a leg for them.

如果他种出有机种子,他可以为它们充电一臂一腿.

Organic farmers had stuck it to him with their pricey organic sugar and lemons.

有机农夫用高价有机糖和柠檬粘住他

Now it was his turn to stick it to the consumer!

现在轮到他把它粘在消费者身上了!

“You probably need a license to sell at the farmers’ market,” Mr.

“你可能需要许可证才能在农民市场销售,”

McCarthy said.

麦卡锡说。

“I’ll look into it,” Mike said.

Mike说,

He was not the kind of guy to be intimidated by a little legal mumbo jumbo.

他不是那种被一个 法律大亨恐吓的人

“Gardening takes patience,” said his little sister, Aster.

他的妹妹阿斯特说:“加德宁需要耐心”。

“I can be patient,” Mike said.

Mike说:“我可以耐心一点。”

After lunch, Mike carried his bag of sunflower seeds out to the backyard.

午饭后,迈克带着他包里的向日葵种子去后院.

Under the blazing summer sun, Mike could feel himself baking like a potato.

在炎热的夏日下,迈克可以感觉自己烤得像土豆.

He gravitated toward a shady patch of dirt in one corner of the yard, sat down in it, and started digging.

他向院子一角的一块地皮倾斜,坐在里面,开始挖掘。

Soon Aster popped her head out of her bedroom window.

很快,阿斯特从卧室的窗户上弹出她的头.

“You don’t want to plant there,” she called.

“你不想在那里栽培”,

“Why not?”

“为什么不呢? “

shouted Mike.

大叫麦克。

“Too shady,” she called.

她打电话说,“太阴险了”。

“It’s too sunny in the sun!”

“太阳太阳光了!”

Mike shouted.

迈克大叫

Aster smiled.

阿斯特笑了起来.

“They’re sunflowers, Mike,” she said.

" 他们是向日葵,迈克, " 她说。

Her head disappeared back inside.

她的头从里面消失了

Mike sighed and relocated his garden.

迈克叹息并搬迁了他的花园.

After a week of watering, Mike scratched his head.

经过一周取水后,迈克把头抓了下来.

“Do you think I should’ve removed the shells first?”

“你认为我应该先取出炮弹吗? “

he asked his mom.

他问了他的妈妈。

“I don’t think so,” Mrs.

“我不这么认为。”

McCarthy said.

麦卡锡说。

“Just out of curiosity, where did you get your seeds?”

“只是出于好奇,你从哪里得到种子的? “

“You got them for me,” Mike said, “at the grocery store.”

“你给我买的,”迈克说,“在杂货店。 “

Mrs.

夫人,请原谅

McCarthy’s eyes widened.

麦卡锡的眼睛被睁开。

“I bought them for you?

“我为你买的?

When did I buy you seeds?”

我什么时候给你买种子的? “

“ A couple weeks ago,” he said.

他说,“几周前,”

“Wait,” she said.

她说,“等等,”

“Was this a packet of gardening seeds or a bag of snacks?”

“这是一包园艺种子还是一包小吃? “

Mike shrugged.

迈克·夏克

“Both,” he said.

他说,“两个,”

“Mike,” she said, “your snacks are roasted and salted.

她说:“迈克,你的小吃是烤的,是盐的。

Is that what you planted?”

这就是你种的? “

“Right,” Mike said.

“对”,迈克说。

“Roasted, salted, and organic!”

“烤、盐和有机物!”

“Yes,” his mom said, “but not alive.”

“是的,”他母亲说,“但不是活的。 “

“Seeds are alive?”

“种子还活着吗? “

Mike asked.

迈克问。

“Gardening seeds are alive,” she said.

她说,“加德宁种子是活的。”

“The seeds you eat aren’t.”

“你们吃的种子不是。 “

“What are you saying?”

“你在说什么? “

demanded Mike.

要求迈克。

“My snacks are dead?”

“我的零食死了吗? “

“In a manner of speaking,” said Mrs.

“从某种意义上说,”夫人说。

McCarthy.

麦卡锡

Mike groaned.

迈克呻吟了。

That afternoon, Mrs.

当天下午, 夫人,请原谅

McCarthy took her son to buy live, organic seeds at the hardware store.

麦卡锡带她的儿子去五金店买活的有机种子.

He planted them after dinner as huge clouds massed in the western sky.

他晚饭后把它们放入了西部天空 巨大的云层

Later that night, a July thunderstorm swept through and soaked Mike’s garden patch.

当晚晚些时候,一场7月的雷暴席卷并浸透了麦克的花园地段.

Within a matter of days, neat green lines of sprouts sprung up.

在几天之内, 纯洁的绿线发芽出。

Mike was thrilled at first—it was happening!

迈克一开始很激动,

—but plants were so still, so quiet, and he just had to keep watering them.

-但是植物是那么的静静,太安静了,他只好不停地给它们浇水.

It was hard to stay interested.

很难保持兴趣。

One day he found Aster in his patch, pulling weeds.

有一天他发现Aster在他的补丁,拔出杂草.

“How do you know which are the good plants and which are the bad ones?”

“你们怎么知道哪些是优良的植物,哪些是不良的? “

Mike asked.

迈克问。

“They’re all good plants,” Aster said, “but the sunflowers are the ones reaching for the sky.”

Aster说,“这些植物都是好植物,”但向天飞去的是向日葵。 “

He also noticed her out there sometimes with their dad’s camera.

他有时还带着爸爸的相机,

A good photographer explored different angles and perspectives, but Aster always stood in exactly the same spot, taking exactly the same photo.

一个好摄影师探索了不同的角度和视角,但阿斯特总是站在完全相同的位置上,拍摄完全相同的相片.

Mike laughed and shook his head.

迈克取笑并摇头.

Crazy kid.

疯狂的孩子。

By August, the plants were seven feet tall.

至8月,植物高7英尺.

When they bloomed, Aster snapped another photo.

当它们开花时,Aster又拍出一张照片.

“Look how their faces follow the sun,” she said.

她说,“看看他们的脸如何跟随太阳。”

By September, those faces had filled with seeds.

到9月,这些面孔已经充满了种子。

Mike rubbed his hands.

迈克擦了手

“ Almost there,” he said.

“...... 他说,“快到了。”

The next time Mike glanced out the window, though, he spied a little brown bird perched on the stem of one of his flowers.

下一次迈克从窗外一看,虽然,他看到了一只小棕色的鸟被附在他的一朵花的干上.

Mike watched in horror as the bird reached up and stole a seed.

迈克惊恐地看着这只鸟爬上来并偷走了种子.

Another bird landed, then another, all eating his crop.

另一只鸟落地了,然后又一只鸟 都吃了他的收成

It was a sparrow conspiracy!

这是麻雀阴谋!

Mike ran outside, shouting.

迈克跑出去,喊叫。

The startled birds lifted off and f lew away.

惊起出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出入出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出出

A little laugh issued from above.

上面放出一点笑声

Mike looked up to find his sister swinging her legs from a maple branch.

迈克抬头看,发现他姐姐从枫树枝上摇起腿来.

“What are you doing?”

“你在做什么? “

Mike asked.

迈克问。

“Watching,” Aster said.

Aster说,“观察,”

Mike told his friend Derek about the birds.

迈克告诉他的朋友德里克关于鸟。

“They’re eating my investment!”

「他们正在吃我的投资!

Mike complained.

迈克抱怨。

“Sic Pickles on them,” Derek advised.

Derek建议说,

Pickles was Mike’s cat.

泡菜是迈克的猫。

“Bye-bye, birdies.”

“再见,小鸟们。 “

“ Aw, they’re just birds,” Mike mumbled.

“...... 他们只是鸟,

He wasn’t really thinking about the birds, though.

不过,

He was thinking about Aster, up in the tree, watching the birds.

他在想阿斯特,在树上,看着鸟。

Math Minute In some situations, knowing the exact count of something is unimportant, impossible, or both!

数学分钟 在某些情况下,知道某物的确切数量并不重要,不可能,或者两者兼而有之!

Yet a general number—an estimate—may be helpful.

然而,一般数字——一个估计数字——也许有用。

In those cases, estimation is a good math skill to use.

在这种情况下,估计是一种很好的数学技能。

A single sunflower can easily produce more than 1,000 seeds.

单向葵可以轻易地出出出1000多颗种子.

You probably couldn’t count them all, nor would you want to, but you can make an estimated guess.

你可能无法全部统计,

Start by trying to count how many seeds are in a section of the head—say, one-tenth of the whole.

首先要数一下头部的一分之一的种子。

Then multiply that number by ten.

然后将这个数字乘以10。

You should come pretty close to the head’s actual number of seeds.

您应该靠近种子数量。

If you estimate that one-tenth of this head contains 40 seeds, how many seeds does the head have in total?

如果你估计这个头的十分之一含有40个种子,那么这个头总共有多少个种子?

Answer: 400 Mike constructed a scarecrow instead, but the birds ignored it.

回答:400个迈克建造了稻草人取而代之,但被鸟儿忽略了.

The squirrels used the scarecrow’s hat to launch themselves onto the flowers.

松鼠们用稻草人所戴的帽子,

By the time the seeds were ripe enough to harvest, there were only a handful left—another money-making venture down the tubes.

等到种子熟到可以收割的时候,只剩下一小撮人,还有另一起赚钱的冒险事件。

On the first day of autumn, Mike woke to a bag of sunflower seeds on his pillow—the roasted, salted kind.

在秋天的第一天,迈克醒来时看到枕头上放着一袋向日葵的种子——即被烤熟,被盐分的种类.

He carried them to the kitchen, where Aster’s photos were spread across the table.

他把照片带到厨房,

The photos chronicled the sunflowers from start to finish, along with the birds and the squirrels and the scarecrow.

相片从头到尾都记录了向日葵,还有鸟和松鼠和稻草人.

She’ d even snapped a couple of the farmer.

她甚至打倒了一对农民。

Mike studied the photos and watched the sunflowers rise before his eyes.

迈克研究了相片,并看着向日葵从他眼前升起.

Maybe, he thought, she knew what she was doing after all.

也许,他认为, 她知道她毕竟在做什么。

“Thanks for the seeds,” he said to his mom.

他对母亲说:“感谢种子”,

“What seeds?”

“什么种子? “

she asked.

她问。

Mike lifted the bag and shook it.

迈克取出包并摇动.

“Those didn’t come from me,” said Mrs.

夫人说,

McCarthy.

麦卡锡

She plated up some scrambled eggs and handed them to Mike.

她把一些被炒了的蛋 交给了迈克

Aster smiled at her brother.

阿斯特向她哥哥微笑着.

“They came from me,” she said.

她说,“他们来自我。”

“You bought them?”

“你买的? “

Mike asked.

迈克问。

“Why?”

“为什么?”

Aster looked back at her photos and everything captured there.

阿斯特回头看她的照片 和那里所有的东西

“That’s why,” she said.

她说, " 这就是为什么, " 。