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Friendship · HSK 5

The Guitar and the Unfinished Paintings

On a rainy afternoon, two friends sitting in a café discover that each of them has been quietly nursing a love of art that neither has dared to see through.

Scene 1: In the Café on a Rainy Afternoon

外面下着小雨,咖啡馆里只剩下他们两个人。

wàimiànxiàzhexiǎoyǔ,kāfēiguǎnlǐzhīshèngxiàtāmenliǎnggèrén。

A light rain was falling outside, and the two of them were the only ones left in the café.

Li Na

你那个袋子一直藏在桌子底下,装的到底是什么呀?

nǐnàgedàiziyìzhícángzàizhuōzidǐxià,zhuāngdedàodǐshìshénmeya?

You've been hiding that bag under the table this whole time. What on earth is in it?

Xiao Wang

唉,别提了,是。我学了三个月,连一首完整的歌都弹不下来。

ài,biétíle,shìjítāpǔ。wǒxuélesāngèyuè,liányìshǒuwánzhěngdegēdōutánbúxiàlái。

Ugh, don't even ask. It's guitar sheet music. I've been at it for three months and still can't play a single song all the way through.

Li Na

我还以为只有我一个人偷偷瞎呢。

wǒháiyǐwéizhǐyǒuwǒyígèréntōutōuxiāzhētengne。

And here I thought I was the only one secretly fumbling away at something.

她说着从包里翻出一个小本子,递了过去。

tāshuōzhecóngbāolǐfānchūyígèxiǎoběnzi,dìleguòqù。

As she spoke, she dug a little notebook out of her bag and handed it over.

Li Na

画画。三年了,可没几张是画完的。

huàhuà。sānniánle,kěméijǐzhāngshìhuàwánde。

Drawing. Three years now, and hardly any of them are actually finished.

Scene 2: The Flyer on the Table

小王一页一页地翻着,停在一幅没上色的街道上。

xiǎowángyíyèyiyèdìfānzhe,tíngzàiyìfúméishàngsèdejiēdàoshàng。

Xiao Wang turned the pages one by one, stopping at a drawing of a street that had never been colored in.

Xiao Wang

这条街我认识,画得挺像的,你怎么不接着画完?

zhètiáojiēwǒrènshi,huàdétǐngxiàngde,nǐzěnmebùjiēzhehuàwán?

I know this street—it really looks like it. Why didn't you keep going and finish it?

Li Na

一个人画着画着就没劲了,画一半就扔在那儿。

yígèrénhuàzhehuàzhejiùméijìnle,huàyíbànjiùrēngzàinàr。

Drawing alone, I just lose steam after a while—get halfway and leave it sitting there.

服务员收拾隔壁桌子时,落下了一张皱皱的,李娜顺手捡了起来。

fúwùyuánshōushígébìzhuōzishí,luòxiàleyìzhāngzhòuzhòudechuándān,lǐnàshùnshǒujiǎnleqǐlái。

While the waiter was clearing the next table, a crumpled flyer slipped off, and Li Na picked it up without thinking.

Li Na

哎,你看这个——市中心新开了一个兴趣,周末有人一起画画、弹琴。

āi,nǐkànzhège——shìzhōngxīnxīnkāileyígèxìngqùjùlèbù,zhōumòyǒurényìqǐhuàhuà、tánqín。

Hey, look at this—there's a new hobby club downtown where people get together on weekends to draw and play music.

Xiao Wang

你看你眼睛都亮了。要不……这周末咱们去看看?

nǐkànnǐyǎnjīngdōuliàngle。yàobù……zhèzhōumòzánmenqùkànkàn?

Look, your eyes just lit up. How about… we go check it out this weekend?

Scene 3: Through the Club's Door

周末的里乱哄哄的,角落有人在调吉他的弦。

zhōumòdejùlèbùlǐluànhōnghōngde,jiǎoluòyǒurénzàitiáojítādexián。

The club was a noisy bustle that weekend, with someone tuning a guitar's strings in the corner.

墙上贴满了画,连那些没画完的也被钉了上去。

qiángshàngtiēmǎnlehuà,liánnàxiēméihuàwándecǎogǎoyěbèidīngleshàngqù。

The walls were covered in artwork—even the unfinished sketches had been pinned up.

Li Na

原来画不完也可以挂出来呀。

yuánláihuàbùwányěkěyǐguàchūláiya。

So you can hang up a picture even when it isn't finished.

One of the painters

当然啦,画完的才没意思呢——画到一半的,大家凑过来,反而帮你想出下一笔。

dāngránlā,huàwándecáiméiyìsine——huàdàoyíbànde,dàjiācòuguòláiqīzuǐbāshé,fǎnérbāngnǐxiǎngchūxiàyìbǐ。

Of course—the finished ones are the boring ones. With a half-done piece, everyone crowds around chiming in, and that's how they help you figure out the next stroke.

Xiao Wang

那……我这首弹了三个月都的歌,能不能也凑过去问问?

nà……wǒzhèshǒutánlesāngèyuèdōukǎzhùdegē,néngbunéngyěcòuguòqùwènwèn?

So… this song I've been stuck on for three months—could I crowd in and ask about it too?

Scene 4: The Guitar and the Notebook

傍晚回去的路上,雨已经停了。

bàngwǎnhuíqùdelùshang,yǔyǐjīngtíngle。

On the way back at dusk, the rain had already stopped.

Xiao Wang

那个人教了我两下,我刚才居然把整首歌弹下来了,你听见没?

nàgerénjiàolewǒliǎngxià,wǒgāngcáijūránbǎzhěngshǒugētánxiàláile,nǐtīngjiànméi?

That guy showed me a couple of tricks, and just now I actually played the whole song through—did you hear it?

Li Na

听见了,就是中间还停了一下。

tīngjiànle,jiùshìzhōngjiānháitíngleyíxià。

I heard it—though you did stumble for a beat in the middle.

Li Na

下周我把那条街画完,你给我弹这首,咱俩一。

xiàzhōuwǒbǎnàtiáojiēhuàwán,nǐgěiwǒtánzhèshǒu,zánliǎpèiyipèi。

Next week I'll finish that street, you play me this song, and the two of us will see how they fit together.

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