Elizabeth Castro 高齊云

On Monday， snow made the front page of the newspaper. James and his sister， Ashley， helped Dad collect fallen branches for firewood. But a warm breeze blew dry leaves around the yard.

This isnt hot chocolate weather， thought James.

NO SNOW！

星期一，雪成了報紙的頭版。詹姆斯和他的妹妹阿什莉幫爸爸收集散落的樹枝做木柴。但是，溫暖的微風(fēng)吹走了院子里的干樹葉。

詹姆斯想，這不是喝熱巧克力的天氣。

沒下雪！

On Tuesday， the morning news predicted1 six to eight inches of snow before night. James filled up the bird feeder2 in his yard. A squirrel3 stopped by. A hungry bird got food. But the sky was blue.

This isnt hot chocolate weather， thought James.

NO SNOW！

周二，早間新聞預(yù)測到傍晚會降雪六到八英寸。詹姆斯給他院子里的喂鳥器裝滿了食物。一只松鼠停在一旁，饑餓的小鳥大吃一頓。但是天空還是藍(lán)色的。

詹姆斯想，這不是喝熱巧克力的天氣。

沒下雪！

On Wednesday， James listened to the weather report on the radio. “Snow by late afternoon.” James helped Mom find flashlights4， candles， batteries5， food， and bottled water in case6 the power went out.

James and Mom met Ashley at the bus stop after school. A cold wind blew Jamess face. He put his hands into his coat pockets.

This could be hot chocolate weather， thought James， smiling. Rain fell from the sky.

NO SNOW！

星期三，詹姆斯聽了廣播中的天氣預(yù)報， “下午晚些時候下雪?！闭材肥繋蛬寢屨液檬蛛娡?、蠟燭、電池、食物和瓶裝水，以防斷電。

詹姆斯和媽媽放學(xué)后在公交車站遇到了阿什莉。詹姆斯的臉上吹著冷風(fēng)，他把雙手埋在外套的口袋里。

詹姆斯笑了，心想，這可能是個喝熱巧克力的天氣。雨珠從天上掉下來。

沒下雪！

On Thursday， James looked at Moms phone. Snow danced on the screen. He ran to the window.

The swing set was missing！ The bushes were gone！ The yard was blanketed7 in white.

SNOW！ No school.

Hot chocolate weather， thought James. He and Ashley had a lot for their breakfast. Dad turned on the stove8. James and Ashley measured9， mixed， poured， and stirred10. Yum！ Hot chocolate.

星期四，詹姆斯看著媽媽的電話，雪花在手機(jī)屏上舞動。他沖到窗戶那邊。

秋千不見了！灌木叢不見了！院子里覆蓋著白茫茫的一片。

下雪了！不用上學(xué)了。

詹姆斯想，喝熱巧克力的天氣來了。他和阿什莉早餐吃得很飽。爸爸打開爐子，詹姆斯和阿什莉測量、混合、傾倒并攪拌。熱巧克力真好喝！

On Friday， James and Ashley wore warm coats and big hats and ran outside. They ran down the hill in the backyard and threw snowballs at the fence11.

When they went inside for lunch， Mom and Dad were still in pajamas12， sitting by the fire. Chicken soup filled the house with the smells of carrots， peas， and potatoes.

Still hot chocolate weather， thought James.

星期五，詹姆斯和阿什莉穿好暖和的外套和寬大的帽子，跑到了外面。他們從后院的山上跑下來，向籬笆扔雪球。

當(dāng)他們進(jìn)屋吃午飯時，爸爸媽媽仍然穿著睡衣坐在火爐旁。家里飄著雞肉湯里的胡蘿卜、豌豆和土豆的味道。

詹姆斯想，仍然是喝熱巧克力的天氣。

On Saturday， James and Ashley took a walk. The snow inched13 further up Jamess boots with each step he took. He looked at the boot prints he and Ashley had made in the yard. The snow was dotted14 with tracks15. Teeny， tiny tracks. Cat tracks. Tracks that looked like handprints. Dog tracks. Claw marks！

Hot chocolate weather， thought James. Ashley and James went inside.They measured， mixed， poured， and stirred. Yum！ Hot chocolate.

星期六，詹姆斯和阿什莉去散步。每走一步，積雪就使詹姆斯的靴子陷得更深。他看著他和阿什莉在院子里踩出來的靴子印，雪地上布滿了足跡。微小的足跡是貓的，看起來像手印的是狗的爪??！

詹姆斯想，喝熱巧克力的天氣到了。阿什莉和詹姆斯走進(jìn)了屋里，測量、混合、傾倒并攪拌。熱巧克力真好喝！

On Sunday， James and Ashley went out to play. Melting16 ice dripped17 off the trees. Water ran down the street. James tried to make a snowball. Wet snow dripped between his fingers. This isnt hot chocolate weather， thought James.

NO SNOW！

The big weekend newspaper landed at the door. James picked it up. There was a picture of snow on the front cover18.

“Snow next week，” read Ashley.

Hot chocolate weather is coming back， thought James happily.

周日，詹姆斯和阿什莉出去玩了。融化的冰從樹上滴下來，水流進(jìn)了街道。詹姆斯試圖捏一個雪球。濕潤的雪滴落在他的手指間。詹姆斯想，這不是喝熱巧克力的天氣。

沒下雪！

大周末的報紙落在門口。詹姆斯撿起它，封面上是雪的照片。

“下周下雪，”阿什莉讀道。

詹姆斯高興地想，喝熱巧克力的天氣又回來了。

【Notes】

1. predict [?????t] v. 預(yù)言，預(yù)知，預(yù)卜;做預(yù)報

2. feeder [?????] n. 支線;喂食器

3. squirrel [?????] n. 松鼠

4. flashlight [?????] n. 手電筒;閃光燈

5. battery [?????] n. [電] 電池，蓄電池

6. in case萬一;假使

7. blanket [?????] vt. 覆蓋，掩蓋;用毯覆蓋

8. stove [?????] n. 火爐

9. measure [?????] v. 測量;估量

10. stir [?????] v. 攪拌

11. fence [?????] n. 柵欄;圍墻

12. pajama [?????] n. 睡衣;寬長褲

13. inch [?????] vt. 使緩慢地移動vi. 慢慢前進(jìn)

14. dot [?????] vt. 遍布于

15. track [?????] n. 軌道;足跡，蹤跡

16. melt [?????] vi. 熔化，溶解

17. drip [?????] v. 滴下，使滴下;（液體）滴下，漏下

18. cover [?????] n. 封面，封皮