「新北師課文」高中英語選擇性必修四課文（Unit 11｜LESSON 1）

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高中英語

選擇性必修

第四冊 Unit 11

A

LESSON 1

課文再現

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英漢對照

Lesson 1 Living in a Community

第一課 社群生活

Drummer Hits the Road

鼓手走人

Ma Ming， drummer for the rock band “Storm”， had to pack his bags。 He moved out of his rented flat after complaints from his neighbours about disturbing the peace。

搖滾樂隊“暴風雨”的鼓手馬明不得不收拾行李，搬出租用的公寓，因為鄰居們投訴他擾亂社群的寧靜。

Being single， Ma Ming often held parties at night， but the biggest problem was his tendency to drum late at night。 Ma Ming’s neighbours said they were being driven mad being exposed to such noise。 The flat-owner said if he had known that Ma Ming was a drummer， he wouldn’t have rented the flat to him。 The neighbours quickly realised they were in trouble when he moved in。 And from then on， they rarely got a full night’s sleep。 They couldn’t relax or read a book without plugging their ears。 One neighbour also claimed that Ma Ming had a bad influence on his teenage son。

In the end， the community council took action。 “We took a vote， and came to a resolution。 We gave Ma Ming a warning。 We told him that he ought to cease drumming or leave the property，” a council member said。 “Getting enough sleep is important for people’s health and， after such a chorus of complaints， we had to take action。”

馬明是個單身漢，經常在晚上開派對，但最大的問題是他常常打鼓到深夜。鄰居說他們都快被這樣的噪聲逼瘋了。房東說他如果知道馬明是個鼓手，就不會把房子租給他。馬明一搬進來，鄰居們就意識到麻煩來了。從那以後，他們很少能安安穩穩地睡一整晚。如果不堵住耳朵，他們就不能放鬆或看書。有個鄰居還說，馬明對他十幾歲的兒子造成了不良影響。

最後，居委會採取了行動。一位居委會成員說：“我們投票表決，達成了一項決議。警告馬明，告訴他應該停止打鼓，否則就搬走。充足的睡眠對人們的健康很重要，收到這樣的集體投訴，我們不得不採取行動。”

Ma Ming’s departure has pleased his neighbours。 “Life will go back to normal now，” they said。

馬明離開了，鄰居都很高興。“生活終於要恢復正常了，”他們說。

For Ma Ming’s version of the story， we found him in a hotel in Shanghai。 Ma Ming felt that they were prejudiced against him。 He’s bitter over the fact that people thought of his music as “noise”。 Otherwise he didn’t really mind having to leave the flat。 “Living in a hotel means the hotel staff

makes the bed every day and I don’t have to do my own washing！ Anyhow， I’m now looking for a remote house on the edge of the city。”

我們在上海的一家酒店裡找到了馬明，想聽聽他對這個事件的看法。馬明覺得鄰居對自己有偏見，認為他的音樂是“噪聲”，這是他的傷心之處。不過他並不介意離開公寓。“住在旅館裡就意味著每天都有服務員整理床鋪，我也不必自己洗衣服！不過，我現在正在城郊找位置稍微偏僻一點的房子。”

Grandpa Arrested After One Shower Too Many

洗了“大澡”而被捕的爺爺

Eighty-year-old retired tailor， James McKay， spent Saturday night in a cell after hitting 30-year-old Keith Smith over the head with his walking stick。 McKay’s wife， Laurene said that， while McKay is usually a peaceful and pleasant person， he had been driven to this act of violence by literally getting wet just once too often。 He could no longer tolerate it。

80歲的退休裁縫詹姆斯·邁奇，週六的晚上是在監獄裡度過的，因為用柺杖打了30歲的基思·史密斯的頭。邁奇的妻子勞瑞恩說，他平時是個平和、愉悅的人，是因為再三被淋溼，才會做出這種暴力的行為，他實在是忍無可忍了。

Smith lives above the McKays。 He is a keen gardener， and also a fish collector。 Unfortunately， the water he sent over his balcony every day ended up on the McKay’s floor， or too often， on the unsuspecting McKays themselves。

史密斯住在邁奇家樓上。他熱愛園藝，喜歡養魚。但不幸的是，他每天在陽臺上澆的水最後都落到邁奇家的地板上，也經常灑在毫無防備的邁奇夫婦身上。

“For the last two weeks， since Smith moved into the flat above us， we dared not go onto our balcony，” said Laurene。 She added that it wasn’t only the water falling onto their balcony from Smith watering his plants that bothered them， but also the way he cleaned his fish tanks。 “We’d be sitting there happily reading our newspapers， when suddenly so much water would come from above that we’d be as wet as if we had showered with our clothes on！ We could hardly get rid of the smell of fish！”

勞瑞恩說：“過去兩週，自從史密斯搬到樓上，我們都不敢去陽臺了。”她還說，困擾他們的不僅是史密斯給植物澆水時灑到陽臺上的水，還有他清理魚缸的方式。“我們本來高興地坐在陽臺看報紙，突然間很多水從天而降，把我們都給澆溼了，就像穿著衣服洗了個澡一樣！滿身的魚腥味，怎麼也洗不掉！”

And on Saturday evening it was just too much。 “It was James’ birthday，” Laurene recalled， “and it was such a beautiful night to enjoy the starry night outside。 I made him a birthday cake。 The candles were a great sight as you can imagine， but James didn’t get to blow them out。” Instead， Smith emptied one of his larger tanks over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet through。 “I have never seen him move so fast and I couldn’t stop him。 He was up there in a flash。”

這週六晚上實在是忍無可忍了。勞瑞恩回憶道：“那天是詹姆斯的生日，是個特別美麗的夜晚，可以坐在外面享受夜晚的星空。我給他做了個生日蛋糕，你可以想象點上蠟燭有多麼漂亮，可詹姆斯卻沒能把蠟燭吹滅。”相反，史密斯從陽臺上倒掉他的一個大魚缸的水，將邁奇夫婦和蛋糕都澆透了。“我從沒見過他動作那麼快，根本沒辦法阻止，他一下子就衝到樓上去了。”

Smith is not going to take things further with the police。 He has also promised to change his ways from now on。 And what of James McKay？ As he left the police station， a large crowd of supporters sang him “Happy Birthday”。 “Definitely the most exciting birthday ever！” said the cheerful old man。 The best since my youth， I’d say！”

史密斯不會讓警方進一步追究這件事。他還承諾從現在開始改變他的習慣。而詹姆斯·邁奇呢？他離開警察局時，一大群支持者為他唱起了《生日快樂》歌。“這絕對是最激動人心的一次生日啦！”老人快樂地說道。“我得說，這是自打年輕以來最棒的一次生日！”