HC-L01_A Package for Mrs. Jewls

# Lesson 1
## Vocabulary in Context

**specialty（專長）**  
A schoolroom may be set up for one skill, or specialty. In this room, students use computers.一間教室可能會為了一種技能或專長（specialty）而設立。在這間教室裡，學生使用電腦。

**disturbing（打擾的）**  
Loud noises are disturbing students working in the library. Please be courteous.大聲的噪音正在打擾（disturbing）圖書館裡讀書的學生。請保持禮貌。

**collapsed（癱坐）**  
After a hard practice, you might find a tired team collapsed onto benches in the gym.辛苦練習後，你可能會看到疲累的隊員癱坐（collapsed）在體育館的長椅上。

**squashing（擠壓）**  
It's not unusual to see students squashing, or pressing, clay into shapes in the art room.在美術教室裡，常常可以看到學生把黏土擠壓（squashing），也就是用力壓，做成各種形狀。

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**shifted（轉移）**  
These students shifted, or moved, their attention to the first question on the test.這些學生把注意力轉移（shifted），也就是把注意力移動到，考試的第一題。

**numb（麻木的）**  
Wear mittens on cold, numb hands. When your fingers warm up you will feel them.在冰冷、麻木的（numb）手上戴手套。當你的手指變暖時，你就會有感覺。

**staggered（搖搖晃晃地走）**  
Wearing heavy backpacks, these students staggered unsteadily to class.背著沉重背包的學生搖搖晃晃地走（staggered）去上課。

**struggled（努力）**  
These science students struggled to make their difficult chemistry experiment work.這些科學課的學生努力（struggled）讓困難的化學實驗成功。

**wobbled（搖晃）**  
This girl held her stack of books steady when it wobbled. She kept it from falling over.當這個女孩手上的一疊書搖晃（wobbled）時，她把它扶穩，讓書沒有倒下。

**interrupted（打斷）**  
This band teacher interrupted, or briefly stopped, the band to ask them to start over.這位樂隊老師打斷了（interrupted），也就是短暫停止，樂隊的演奏，請他們重新開始。

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A PACKAGE FOR MRS. JEWLS from Wayside School Is Falling Down by Louis Sachar selection illustrated by Bruce MacPherson《給 Jewls 太太的包裹》選自《Wayside School Is Falling Down》作者：Louis Sachar／插畫：Bruce MacPherson

## ESSENTIAL QUESTION
**How can an experiment clarify an idea?（實驗如何幫助釐清一個想法？）**

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Louis, the yard teacher, frowned.操場老師 Louis 皺起了眉頭。

The school yard was a mess. There were pencils and pieces of paper everywhere. How’d all this junk get here? he wondered. Well, I'm not going to pick it up!學校的操場一團亂。到處都是鉛筆和紙屑。「這些垃圾怎麼會跑到這裡來？」他心想。「哼，我才不要去撿！」

It wasn't his job to pick up garbage. He was just supposed to pass out the balls during lunch and recess, and also make sure the kids didn't kill each other.撿垃圾不是他的工作。他的工作只是要在午餐時間和下課休息時分發球，還要確保孩子們不會把彼此弄死。

He sighed, then began cleaning it up. He loved all the children at Wayside School. He didn't want them playing on a dirty playground.他嘆了一口氣，然後開始打掃。他愛 Wayside School 的每一個孩子。他不希望他們在骯髒的操場上玩。

As he was picking up the pencils and pieces of paper, a large truck drove into the parking lot. It honked its horn twice, then twice more.當他正在撿鉛筆和紙屑時，一輛大卡車開進了停車場。它按了兩次喇叭，接著又按了兩次。

Louis ran to the truck. "Quiet!" he whispered. "Children are trying to learn in there!" He pointed at the school. Louis 跑向卡車。「小聲一點！」他低聲說。「裡面的孩子正在學習！」他指著學校。

A short man with big, bushy hair stepped out of the truck. "I have a package for somebody named Mrs. Jewls," he said.一個矮個子、頭髮又多又蓬的男人從卡車上下來。「我有一個包裹要送給一位叫 Jewls 太太的人。」他說。

"I'll take it," said Louis.「我來拿就好。」Louis 說。

"Are you Mrs. Jewls?" asked the man.「你是 Jewls 太太嗎？」那個男人問。

"No," said Louis.「不是。」Louis 說。

"I have to give it to Mrs. Jewls," said the man.「我一定得把它交給 Jewls 太太。」那個男人說。

Louis thought a moment. He didn't want the man disturbing the children. He knew how much they hated to be interrupted when they were working. Louis 想了一下。他不想讓這個男人去打擾孩子們。他知道孩子們在做事情的時候有多討厭被打斷。

"I'm Mrs. Jewls," he said.「我是 Jewls 太太。」他說。

"But you just said you weren't Mrs. Jewls," said the man.「可是你剛剛才說你不是 Jewls 太太。」那個男人說。

"I changed my mind," said Louis.「我改變主意了。」Louis 說。

The man got the package out of the back of the truck and gave it to Louis. "Here you go, Mrs. Jewls," he said.那個男人從卡車後面把包裹搬出來，交給 Louis。「給妳，Mrs. Jewls。」他說。

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"Uhh!" Louis grunted. It was a very heavy package. The word FRAGILE was printed on every side. He had to be careful not to drop it.  
「呃！」Louis 悶哼一聲。那是一個非常重的包裹。每一面都印著 FRAGILE（易碎）。他得小心，不能把它掉到地上。

The package was so big, Louis couldn't see where he was going. Fortunately, he knew the way to Mrs. Jewls's class by heart. It was straight up.  
包裹大到 Louis 看不見自己要走到哪裡。幸好，他早就把去 Mrs. Jewls 教室的路背得滾瓜爛熟。就是一直往上走。

Wayside School was thirty stories high, with only one room on each story. Mrs. Jewls's class was at the very top. It was Louis's favorite class.  
Wayside School 有三十層樓高，每一層只有一間教室。Mrs. Jewls 的班在最頂樓。那是 Louis 最喜歡的班。

He pushed through the door to the school, then started up the stairs. There was no elevator.  
他推開學校的大門，接著開始爬樓梯。那裡沒有電梯。

There were stairs that led down to the basement, too, but nobody ever went down there. There were dead rats living in the basement.  
也有樓梯可以通往地下室，可是從來沒有人下去過。地下室裡住著死老鼠。

The box was pressed against Louis's face, squashing his nose. Even so, when he reached the fifteenth floor, he could smell Miss Mush cooking in the cafeteria. It smelled like she was making mushrooms. Maybe on my way back I'll stop by Miss Mush's room and get some mushrooms, he thought. He didn't want to miss Miss Mush's mushrooms. They were her specialty.  
箱子緊緊頂在 Louis 的臉上，把他的鼻子都壓扁了。即使如此，當他爬到第十五樓時，他還是聞得到 Miss Mush 在餐廳做菜的味道。聞起來像她在煮蘑菇。也許我回去的路上可以去 Miss Mush 的教室拿些蘑菇，他想。他不想錯過 Miss Mush 的蘑菇，那是她的拿手菜。

He huffed and groaned and continued up the stairs. His arms and legs were very sore, but he didn't want to rest. This package might be important, he thought. I have to get it to Mrs. Jewls right away.  
他氣喘吁吁，又一邊呻吟，一邊繼續往上爬。他的手臂和腿都很痠痛，但他不想休息。這個包裹可能很重要，他想。我得立刻把它送到 Mrs. Jewls 那裡。

He stepped easily from the eighteenth story to the twentieth. There was no nineteenth story.  
他很輕鬆地從第十八樓踏到第二十樓。因為沒有第十九樓。

Miss Zarves taught the class on the nineteenth story. There was no Miss Zarves。  
Miss Zarves 在第十九樓教書。也沒有 Miss Zarves。

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At last he struggled up the final step to the thirtieth story. He knocked on Mrs. Jewls’s door with his head.  
最後，他辛苦地踏上通往第三十樓的最後一階。他用頭敲了敲 Mrs. Jewls 的門。

Mrs. Jewls was in the middle of teaching her class about gravity when she heard the knock. “Come in,” she called.  
Mrs. Jewls 正在教全班「重力」的時候，聽到了敲門聲。「請進。」她喊道。

“I can’t open the door,” Louis gasped. “My hands are full. I have a package for you.”  
「我沒辦法開門。」Louis 喘著氣說。「我手上拿滿了東西。我有個包裹要給妳。」

Mrs. Jewls faced the class. “Who wants to open the door for Louis?” she asked.  
Mrs. Jewls 轉向全班。「誰想幫 Louis 開門？」她問。

All the children raised their hands. They loved to be interrupted when they were working.  
所有孩子都舉起手。他們最喜歡在做事情做到一半時被打斷了。

“Oh dear, how shall I choose?” asked Mrs. Jewls. “I have to be fair about this. I know! We’ll have a spelling bee. And the winner will get to open the door.”  
「哎呀，我該怎麼選呢？」Mrs. Jewls 說。「我得公平一點才行。我知道了！我們來辦一場拼字比賽。贏的人就可以去開門。」

Louis knocked his head against the door again. “It’s heavy,” he complained. “And I’m very tired.”  
Louis 又用頭敲了敲門。「很重耶，」他抱怨說，「而且我好累。」

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**Point of View From what point of view is the story told? How does the point of view affect the descriptions of characters and events?（觀點：這個故事是用什麼觀點來寫的？這種觀點如何影響角色和事件的描述？）**  
**觀點：這個故事是用什麼觀點來寫的？這種觀點如何影響角色和事件的描述？**

可以暫停思考一下，答案可以是：  
你可以先暫停想一想，答案可以是：

The story is told from the third-person point of view. The narrator tells about Louis, Mrs. Jewls, and the class by using words like “he” and “she.” This point of view helps readers understand the actions and feelings of different characters.（這個故事是用第三人稱觀點來寫的。敘述者用「he」和「she」來描述 Louis、Mrs. Jewls 和班上的學生。這種觀點幫助讀者了解不同角色的行動和感受。）  
這個故事是用第三人稱觀點來寫的。敘述者用像「he」和「she」這樣的字來描述 Louis、Mrs. Jewls 和班上的學生。這種觀點能幫助讀者了解不同角色的行動和感受。

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"Just a second," Mrs. Jewls called back. "Allison, the first word's for you. Heavy."  
「等一下喔，」Mrs. Jewls 回喊。「Allison，第一個字給你。Heavy（重的）。」

"Heavy," said Allison. "HEAVY. Heavy."  
「Heavy，」Allison 說。「H-E-A-V-Y，Heavy。」

"Very good. Jason, You're next. Tired."  
「很好。Jason，換你了。Tired（疲倦的）。」

"Tired," said Jason. "SLEEPY. Tired."  
「Tired，」Jason 說。「S-L-E-E-P-Y，Tired。」

Louis felt the package slipping from his sweaty fingers. He shifted his weight to get a better grip. The corners of the box dug into the sides of his arms. He felt his hands go numb.  
Louis 感覺包裹正從他滿是汗的手指間滑下去。他換了重心，好抓得更牢。箱子的角落刺進他手臂兩側。他覺得自己的手開始發麻。

Actually, he didn't feel them go numb.  
其實，他並沒有感覺到它們變麻。

"Jenny, package."  
「Jenny，package。」

"Package," said Jenny. "BOX. Package."  
「Package，」Jenny 說。「BOX。Package。」

"Excellent!" said Mrs. Jewls.  
「太棒了！」Mrs. Jewls 說。

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Louis felt like he was going to faint.  
Louis 覺得自己快要昏倒了。

At last John opened the door. "I won the spelling bee, Louis!" he said.  
終於，John 打開了門。「Louis，我贏得拼字比賽了！」他說。

"Very good, John," muttered Louis.  
「很好，John，」Louis 小聲嘟囔。

"Aren't you going to shake my hand?" asked John.  
「你不跟我握手嗎？」John 問。

Louis shifted the box to one arm, quickly shook John's hand, then grabbed the box again and staggered into the room.  
Louis 把箱子移到一隻手臂上，快速跟 John 握了手，接著又抓回箱子，搖搖晃晃地走進教室。

"Where do you want it, Mrs. Jewls?"  
「Mrs. Jewls，你要我把它放哪裡？」

"I don't know," said Mrs. Jewls. "What is it?"  
「我不知道，」Mrs. Jewls 說。「那是什麼？」

"I don't know," said Louis. "I'll have to put it down someplace so you can open it."  
「我也不知道，」Louis 說。「我得先把它放在某個地方，你才可以打開。」

"But how can I tell you where to put it until I know what it is?" asked Mrs. Jewls. "You might put it in the wrong place."  
「可是我還不知道它是什麼，怎麼告訴你要放哪裡呢？」Mrs. Jewls 問。「你可能會放錯地方。」

So Louis held the box as Mrs. Jewls stood on a chair next to him and tore open the top. His legs wobbled beneath him.  
所以 Louis 抱著箱子，Mrs. Jewls 就站在他旁邊的椅子上，把上面的封口撕開。他的雙腿在下面發抖、搖晃。

"It's a computer," exclaimed Mrs. Jewls.  
「是一台電腦！」Mrs. Jewls 驚呼。

Everybody booed.  
大家都發出噓聲。

"What's the matter?" asked Louis. "I thought everyone loved computers."  
「怎麼了？」Louis 問。「我以為大家都喜歡電腦。」

"We don't want it, Louis," said Eric Bacon.  
「我們不想要它，Louis，」Eric Bacon 說。

"Take it back, Jack," said Terrence.  
「把它帶回去，Jack，」Terrence 說。

"Get that piece of junk out of here," said Maurecia.  
「把那個爛東西拿出去，」Maurecia 說。

"Now, don't be that way," said Mrs. Jewls. "The computer will help us learn. It's a lot quicker than a pencil and paper."  
「好了，不要這樣嘛，」Mrs. Jewls 說。「電腦會幫助我們學習。它比鉛筆和紙快多了。」

"But the quicker we learn, the more work we have to do," complained Todd.  
「可是我們學得越快，就要做越多功課，」Todd 抱怨。

"You may set it over there on the counter, Louis," said Mrs. Jewls.  
「Louis，你可以把它放到那邊的檯面上，」Mrs. Jewls 說。

Louis set the computer on the counter next to Sharie's desk. Then he collapsed on the floor.  
Louis 把電腦放在 Sharie 的桌子旁邊的檯面上。接著他就癱倒在地板上。

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**Story Structure Why does Louis collapse to the floor? What story details explain the reason?（故事結構：為什麼 Louis 會倒在地板上？故事中的哪些細節說明了原因？）**  
**故事結構：為什麼 Louis 會倒在地板上？故事中的哪些細節說明了原因？**

可以暫停思考一下，答案可以是：  
你可以先暫停想一想，答案可能是：

Louis collapses to the floor because he is very tired from carrying the heavy box up to the thirtieth floor. The story says he struggled up the stairs, his legs wobbled, and he felt like he was going to faint.（Louis 會倒在地板上，是因為他搬著沉重的箱子走到三十樓，非常疲累。故事提到他很辛苦地爬樓梯、雙腿搖晃，而且覺得自己快昏倒了。）  
Louis 會倒在地板上，是因為他搬著沉重的箱子走到三十樓，非常疲累。故事提到他很辛苦地爬樓梯、雙腿搖晃，而且覺得自己快昏倒了。

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"Now watch closely," said Mrs. Jewls.  
「現在看清楚喔，」Mrs. Jewls 說。

Everyone gathered around the new computer. It had a full-color monitor and two disk drives.  
大家都圍到新電腦旁邊。它有全彩螢幕，還有兩個磁碟機。

Mrs. Jewls pushed it out the window.  
Mrs. Jewls 把它推到窗外。

They all watched it fall and smash against the sidewalk.  
大家看著它掉下去，砰的一聲摔在路邊的人行道上，碎掉了。

"See?" said Mrs. Jewls. "That's gravity."  
「看到了嗎？」Mrs. Jewls 說。「那就是重力。」

"Oh, now I get it!" said Joe.  
「喔，我現在懂了！」Joe 說。

"Thank you, Louis," said Mrs. Jewls. "I've been trying to teach them about gravity all morning. We had been using pencils and pieces of paper, but the computer was a lot quicker."  
「謝謝你，Louis，」Mrs. Jewls 說。「我整個早上都在想教他們重力。我們本來用鉛筆和紙，但電腦快多了。」

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**Author's Craft: Irony How does the computer help the students learn more quickly? Is it what you expected when Mrs. Jewls said the computer would help them learn? Why or why not?（作者技巧：反諷。電腦如何幫助學生更快學習？這和你原本以為 Mrs. Jewls 說電腦能幫助學習的方式一樣嗎？為什麼？）**  
**作者技巧：反諷：電腦如何幫助學生更快學習？這和你原本以為 Mrs. Jewls 說電腦能幫助學習的方式一樣嗎？為什麼？**

The computer helps the students learn more quickly because Mrs. Jewls throws it out the window to show gravity.（電腦幫助學生更快學習，是因為 Mrs. Jewls 把它丟出窗外來示範地心引力。）  
No, it is not what I expected.（不，這和我原本預期的不一樣。）  
I thought the students would use the computer for studying, but instead they learned by watching it fall and smash.（我原本以為學生會用電腦來學習，但他們是看著電腦掉下去摔壞來學習。）

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