A modern fairy tale with a Taiwanese twist
有台灣風味的現代童話
June and her mother were walking around Ximending in the middle of August when they saw an arcade filled with claw machines. Each one contained different sized stuffed animals like Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse, and even all the characters from Angry Birds. June begged her mother for some change so she could try to get one of the green pigs from Angry Birds in the claw machine. June's mother agreed, and June was soon moving the claw over the choices in the machine. When she hit the button, the claw went down, but it only grabbed air. Each time she tried, she got more depressed because she didn't succeed at getting the pig she wanted.
An older, heavy-set foreign gentleman with a big belly and white beard was watching and walked over to June and her mother. "Let me give it a shot," the man said before he placed a token in the machine and expertly guided the claw to the biggest green pig in the machine. He pressed the button, and the claw swooped down, picked up the green pig, and dropped it into the chute. He grabbed the green pig, handed it to June, and said, "Here you go, little girl. Have fun with your new toy."
June happily accepted the pig, turned to her mother, and said, "What a nice man." Her mother took the pig and turned around to thank the man, only to see that he had vanished. June asked, "Where did he go?" Her mother answered, "I think I know what Santa Claus does during his time off."
1. What happened first in the story?
(A) June's mother told her Santa Claus didn't exist.
(B) June and her mother were taking a leisurely stroll around Ximending.
(C) June wanted to try the claw game.
(D) An older gentleman was nice to June.
2. What happened when June tried her luck at the claw game?
(A) She managed to get the item she wanted on her first try.
(B) She decided she didn't like green pigs.
(C) She was upset about not achieving her goal.
(D) She begged for someone to help her.
3. According to the article, which of the following statements is true?
(A) June's mother was grateful to the old man for his timely help.
(B) June's mother didn't like her talking to strangers.
(C) June needed to practice being nicer to people.
(D) June was an expert at the claw game.
精解字詞片語
1.in the middle of... 在（時間、空間）中間
I was very embarrassed when my car broke down in the middle of the busy intersection.
我的車子在交通繁忙的十字路口故障，當時真是尷尬極了。
Peter fell asleep in the middle of the lecture.
演講到一半彼得便睡著了。
2.contain vt. 包含
Try to avoid foods which contain a lot of fat.
儘量避免吃含有過多脂肪的食物。
3.beg vt. & vi. 懇求
beg sb to V 懇求某人從事……
beg (sb) for sth 懇求（某人）給予某物
Henry begged his girlfriend to stay with him, but she had already made up her mind to break up.
亨利懇求他女友留下，但她已下定決心分手。
The woman had to beg for food and money for her children.
那名女子必須為小孩乞討食物和金錢。
4.grab vt. 抓住
The father grabbed his son's arm to stop him from running out into the road.
那位父親從後面抓住他兒子的手臂，阻止他跑到馬路上。
5.depressed a. 感到憂鬱的
be depressed about... 對……感到鬱悶
Ted seemed a bit depressed about having to work on the weekend.
泰德對於周末要上班感到有點鬱悶。
6.give sth a shot 嘗試某事
= give sth a try
I've never tried hang-gliding before, but I thought I'd give it a shot.
我從來沒嘗試過滑翔翼，但我想我會試試看。
7.guide vt. 引導 & n. 導遊
Nick took the old lady's arm to guide her through the busy station.
尼克牽著老太太的手臂，引導她穿越繁忙的車站。
8.swoop vi. 俯衝
The eagle swooped down on its prey.
老鷹朝向獵物俯衝而下。
9.vanish vi. 消失（= disappear）
We rushed out of the restaurant, but the thief had vanished into thin air.
我們衝出餐廳，但那個小偷已經憑空消失了。
10.stroll n. & vi. 散步
take a stroll / go for a stroll 去散步
We've made it a habit to go for a stroll in the park with the puppy after dinner.
我們已經養成習慣晚餐後帶著小狗去公園散步。
11.upset a. 感到沮喪的
Don't get so upset about the dress because the stain is barely visible.
不要為了那件洋裝感到沮喪嘛，因為那個小汙漬幾乎看不見。
12.achieve vt. 達到（= attain）
achieve a goal / an objective / a target
達到目標
The sales team failed to achieve its sales target for the 3rd straight quarter.
業務團隊連續 3 季都未能達到業績目標。
13.grateful a. 感激的
be grateful to sb for sth 感激某人某事
I'm so grateful to you for all that you've done.
我很感激你為我做的一切。
字小舖
1.arcade n. 遊樂場；騎樓
2.a claw machine 夾娃娃機
3.a stuffed animal 填充玩具
4.character
n.（小說、戲劇的）人物，角色
5.change n. 零錢（集合名詞，不可數）
6.heavy-set a. 體型魁梧的
7.belly n. 肚子
8.token n. 代幣
9.expertly adv. 熟練地，巧妙地
10.chute n. 輸送槽
11.timely a. 及時的
中文翻譯
八月中旬的某一天，茱恩與媽媽在西門町附近散步，就在這時她們看見了一座電動遊戲場，裡面滿滿的都是夾娃娃機。每台機器內都有大小不一的填充玩具，像是凱蒂貓、米老鼠，甚至還有憤怒鳥裡的所有角色。茱恩向媽媽討了一些零錢，這樣她就可以設法從夾娃娃機裡抓出其中一隻綠色小豬。茱恩的媽媽同意給她一些零錢，茱恩就很快地將夾娃娃機的爪子移到她想要挑選的填充玩具上。當茱恩按了按鈕，爪子就往下移動，但爪子卻撲了個空。她每試一次就變得更加地沮喪，因為她還是無法成功地夾到想要的小豬。
一位年長且體格魁梧的外國紳士，挺著大肚腩、臉上長滿白色的鬍子，他當時就在一旁觀看，接著便走向茱恩和她媽媽那裡。在將一枚代幣投入機器前，這名男人說:『讓我來試試看。』，接著很熟練地將爪子指引到機器裡最大的那隻綠色小豬。他壓下按鈕，爪子就俯衝而下，夾起了那隻綠色小豬，接著把小豬投入輸送槽。他抓起了那隻綠色小豬，將玩具遞給茱恩，接著說：『小妹妹，拿去。祝妳玩新玩具玩得開心。』
茱恩開心地接受了小豬玩具這項禮物，並轉向她母親說：『他人真好。』她媽媽接過小豬玩具並轉身要感謝那名男子，卻只看見他早已消失無蹤了。茱恩問到：『他人去哪兒了呢？』她媽媽回答：『我想我知道聖誕老公公休假時都在做些什麼事了。』
1. 這則故事一開始發生了什麼事？
(A) 茱恩的媽媽告訴她聖誕老公公不存在。
(B) 茱恩和媽媽當時正在西門町附近閒逛。
(C) 茱恩想嘗試夾娃娃機的遊戲。
(D) 一位老伯伯對茱恩很友善。
題解：根據本文第 1 段第 1 句 "June and her mother were walking around Ximending in the middle of August..."（八月中旬的某一天，茱恩和媽媽在西門町附近散步，……），得知 (B) 項應為正選。
2. 茱恩在玩夾娃娃機碰運氣時發生了什麼事？
(A) 她在第一次嘗試就成功地設法取得她想要的物品。
(B) 她決定不要喜歡綠色小豬。
(C) 她沒達到目標感到很沮喪。
(D) 她央求某人幫助她。
題解：根據本文第 1 段最後 1 句 "Each time she tried, she got more depressed because she didn't succeed at getting the pig she wanted."（她每試一次就變得更加地沮喪，因為她還是無法成功地夾到想要的小豬。），得知 (C) 項應為正選。
3. 根據本文，下列哪一項陳述是正確的？
(A) 茱恩的媽媽很感激那位老伯伯及時的幫助。
(B) 茱恩的媽媽不喜歡她和陌生人談話。
(C) 茱恩需要練習對他人好一點。
(D) 茱恩是夾娃娃機的專家。
題解：由本文最後 1 段第 3 句 " Her mother took the pig and turned around to thank the man..."（她母親接過小豬玩具並轉身要感謝那名男子，……），
得知 (A) 項應為正選。
答案：1. B 2. C 3. A
Idioms for You
Here you go. 拿去。（= Here you are.）
注意
Here we go. 開始囉。
Here we are. 我們到囉。
Here we go again. （壞事）又來了。
There you go again. 你老毛病又犯了。
Man, here we go again. I bet Claude's calling to borrow more money from me.
喔，又來了。我打賭克勞德要開口向我借更多錢了。
There you go again. You just jumped to conclusions.
你老毛病又犯了。你剛才又妄下結論了。
文法一點靈
Her mother took the pig and turned around to thank the man, only to see that he had vanished.
注意
主要子句, only to V ……，結果卻……
"only to V" 為表示意外或與預料相反的結果之不定詞片語，使用時其前通常要置逗點。
Frank rushed to the airport, only to find that he had forgotten his passport.
法蘭克趕到機場時，卻發現自己忘了帶護照。
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