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Science Fiction · HSK 5

The Little Guest Who Fell on the Balcony

On a rainy night, something heavy drops onto Xiao Yu's balcony, and the tiny soaked machine claims it has just returned from the Moon.

Scene 1: A Noise on the Balcony

半夜下着大雨,小雨被阳台上一声闷响惊醒了。

bànyèxiàzhedàyǔ,xiǎoyǔbèiyángtáishàngyìshēngmēnxiǎngjīngxǐngle。

It was pouring rain in the middle of the night, and Xiao Yu was jolted awake by a dull thud out on the balcony.

Xiao Yu

奶奶,外面好像掉下来一个什么东西,我去看看。

nǎinai,wàimiànhǎoxiàngdiàoxiàláiyígèshénmedōngxī,wǒqùkànkàn。

Grandma, it sounds like something fell out there. I'm going to go take a look.

她推开门,看见一个巴掌大的金属机器人趴在水里,浑身湿透。

tātuīkāimén,kànjiànyígèbāzhǎngdàdejīnshǔjīqìrénpāzàishuǐlǐ,húnshēnshītòu。

She pushed the door open and saw a metal robot the size of her palm lying flat in a puddle, soaked from head to toe.

Robot

请别害怕,我是,刚刚返回地球,出了。

qǐngbiéhàipà,wǒshìyuèqiútàncèqì,gānggāngfǎnhuídìqiú,dǎohángchūlegùzhàng。

Please don't be scared. I'm a lunar probe. I just got back to Earth, and my navigation system broke down.

Scene 2: Drying Off the Strange Guest

Xiao Yu

你从来的?真的假的呀,我用毛巾先把你擦干。

nǐcóngyuèqiúláide?zhēndejiǎdeya,wǒyòngmáojīnxiānbǎnǐcāgān。

You came from the Moon? No way, are you serious? Here, let me dry you off with a towel first.

Robot

谢谢你。我的只剩百分之三,再泡在水里就彻底了。

xièxiènǐ。wǒdediànliàngzhīshèngbǎifēnzhīsān,zàipàozàishuǐlǐjiùchèdǐbàofèile。

Thank you. My battery is down to just three percent. If I'd stayed soaking in the water any longer, I'd have been done for.

奶奶端来一盏小台灯,让机器人趴在暖暖的灯光下烘着。

nǎinǎiduānláiyìzhǎnxiǎotáidēng,ràngjīqìrénpāzàinuǎnnuǎndedēngguāngxiàhōngzhe。

Grandma brought over a little desk lamp and set the robot under its warm glow to dry.

Grandma

慢慢来,跑了这么远的路,先暖和暖和身子吧。

mànmànlái,pǎolezhèmeyuǎndelù,xiānnuǎnhuonuǎnhuoshēnziba。

Take your time. You've come such a long way—warm yourself up first.

Scene 3: The Photo on the Screen

Robot

我胸口的里,存着一张在拍的地球照片,想给你们看看。

wǒxiōngkǒudepíngmùlǐ,cúnzheyìzhāngzàiyuèqiúpāidedìqiúzhàopiàn,xiǎnggěinǐmenkànkàn。

On the screen in my chest there's a photo of Earth that I took from the Moon. I'd like to show it to you both.

亮起,蓝色的地球安安静静地挂在黑色的太空里。

píngmùliàngqǐ,lánsèdedìqiúānānjìngjìngdìguàzàihēisèdetàikōnglǐ。

The screen lit up, and there was the blue Earth, hanging quietly in the blackness of space.

Xiao Yu

哇,原来我们住的地方,从那么远看,这么好看!

wā,yuánláiwǒmenzhùdedìfāng,cóngnàmeyuǎnkàn,zhèmehǎokàn!

Wow, so the place we live—seen from that far away—is this beautiful!

Robot

在上,我每天都对着这颗星星,盼着能早点回家。

zàiyuèqiúshàng,wǒměitiāndōuduìzhezhèkēxīngxīng,pànzhenéngzǎodiǎnhuíjiā。

Up on the Moon, every day I would gaze at this little star, longing to get home soon.

Scene 4: A Goodbye at Daybreak

天快亮时,机器人的重新闪了起来,也慢慢回升。

tiānkuàiliàngshí,jīqìréndexìnhàodēngchóngxīnshǎnleqǐlái,diànliàngyěmànmànhuíshēng。

As dawn drew near, the robot's signal light began to blink again, and its battery slowly crept back up.

Robot

修好了,研究所的人正在定位我,我该走了。

dǎohángxiūhǎole,yánjiūsuǒderénzhèngzàidìngwèiwǒ,wǒgāizǒule。

My navigation is fixed. The people at the research institute are locating me right now—I have to go.

Xiao Yu

那张地球的照片,能不能留一张给我呀?

nàzhāngdìqiúdezhàopiàn,néngbunéngliúyìzhānggěiwǒya?

That photo of Earth—could you leave a copy of it for me?

机器人朝她眨了下灯光,把照片传进了她的手机,才慢慢飞向晨光里。

jīqìréncháotāzhǎlexiàdēngguāng,bǎzhàopiànchuánjìnletādeshǒujī,cáimànmànfēixiàngchénguānglǐ。

The robot winked its light at her, sent the photo to her phone, and only then drifted slowly off into the morning light.

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