×

Używamy ciasteczek, aby ulepszyć LingQ. Odwiedzając stronę wyrażasz zgodę na nasze polityka Cookie.


image

The Yellow Sticker Girl (Graded Reader), Chapter 3. A Bank with a Difference

Chapter 3. A Bank with a Difference

I didn't turn my phone on all weekend, social media was my new enemy, but on Monday morning I had to check my online diary. My phone started pinging immediately. A girl from my science class, who I thought was my friend, tagged me in one of the posts. There was a big photo of me in my uniform and the hashtag this time was #theyellowsticker#fashiondisaster. Ok, so it was embarrassing but luckily I wasn't wearing my hat! Maybe the other kids at school won't even see the photo. Or maybe they will … as I looked at my screen, comments started to appear: ‘No food, no clothes, no life!', ‘Total loser!'. I heard other phones pinging and that's when the laughing and the pointing started AGAIN! The other kids were all looking at me and I wanted to disappear. Please, please make me invisible! There was only one solution: the toilets. I ran down the corridor, into the girls toilets, into a cubicle, locked the door … and cried. Why is my life such a nightmare?! I hated school. I hated Kyla and the other bullies. I just wanted to go home.

Home. I know it's a cliché but home really is where the heart is. We didn't have a lot of money but we had a lot of love. Leah was always so happy to see me … especially when I had cake!

‘Meggie, Meggie, come and look at my unicorn,' she shouted as I walked through the front door that Saturday after work.

‘Hey, Leah! Wow, that's a fabulous unicorn!' I replied as I looked at her latest painting.

‘It's for you, Meggie!' she smiled.

‘Thank you so much,' I laughed, picking her up for a hug.

I couldn't really see a unicorn among the blue, pink and yellow splodges of paint to be honest, but Leah made it just for me and I felt better already after my terrible week at school.

The other kids were still making fun of me and I didn't want to tell mum and dad because they had enough problems.

‘Where are mum and dad?' I asked Leah as I gave her an iced finger.

‘In the kitchen. Talking,' she said. ‘Grown-up stuff'.

Grown up stuff? Uh-oh. Sounds like more trouble.

‘Mum! Dad! I'm home,' I shouted through to the kitchen.

‘Just a minute, Meggie. We're coming,' mum shouted back.

I had a feeling that my bad week was about to get worse … and I was right.

Mum and dad came into the living room, said hello, and then continued whispering in the corner. Dad was holding a couple of pound coins in his hand and mum had something in her hand too. It looked like a letter. What was it? Who was it from?

Leah and I were watching some cartoons while she ate her iced finger but after a few minutes mum and dad told me to follow them into the kitchen.

‘Come in here in a minute, Meggie. We want to talk to you,' mum said.

No more bad news! Please!

‘Ok, Meggie, so the situation is quite bad now,' mum explained. ‘We have this gas bill to pay and we have no money for food.'

No money for food! We really are going to starve!

‘Are we going to die, cold and hungry?' I asked my mum in a panic.

‘We're NOT going to die, Meggie,' mum reassured me, ‘but we do need help.'

My grandparents were dead and mum and dad didn't have any brothers or sisters. Who will help us?

‘There is a food bank in town,' mum continued. ‘We can go there for some food today.'

A food bank? I thought banks were places for people to keep their money…

‘What's a food bank?' I asked.

‘It's a charity,' dad explained. ‘They give people food when they don't have enough money to buy it for themselves.'

Charity?! Oh no! First the yellow stickers, now free food like homeless people!

‘I don't want charity,' I shouted angrily. ‘I don't want to be poor!'

‘I know, Meggie,' dad said as he hugged me. ‘I know it's a horrible situation but we're lucky that there are organisations that want to help us.'

Even as I cried, I knew that dad was right. I didn't want Leah to be hungry and I didn't want her to know how bad our situation was.

‘I'll go with mum,' I offered. ‘You stay here and play with Leah, dad'.

Dad smiled and gave me an even bigger hug.

‘My sweet, sweet Meggie,' he said. ‘Thank you, love.'

The bus stopped right outside the community food bank on Market Street. Mum and I were both a bit nervous but we were greeted at the door by a volunteer.

‘Hi. Come in, come in,' she said. ‘My name's Maureen. Is this your first time?'

‘Yes, it is,' mum answered hesitantly. ‘I'm Abbie and this is my daughter Meghan.'

‘Ok. Well, don't worry about anything Abbie and Meghan. I'll show you what to do,' Maureen reassured us.

We walked into a big hall and there was food EVERYWHERE. It was so organised. Maureen gave us a shopping bag and took us to the different tables. On one table there were boxes of pasta, rice and cereal; on another there were tins of soup, tuna, beans and spaghetti hoops and on another there was soap and shampoo.

Wow! Where did all this stuff come from? !

‘Just choose all the things you need,' said Maureen to mum, ‘and I'll go and get you a cup of tea and a biscuit.'

Mum and I soon had a full bag of shopping. There was even a big fridge in the corner and I found some vanilla yoghurt for me and some chocolate milk for Leah! Before we left, Mum and Maureen had a quick chat about our situation.

‘Any family can have problems sometimes,' Maureen reassured mum. ‘Just remember, you're not alone. You're part of a community and we're here to help.'

‘Thank you so much,' mum replied.

Maureen walked us to the door and mum was still chatting to her when we went outside. I was feeling better about everything when suddenly I heard laughing. Oh no! Kyla!

Kyla and a couple of other girls were standing on the other side of the road and … they were taking another photo of me. I wanted to run over the road and tell Kyla to stop. I wanted to break her stupid phone! But I didn't want mum to know about the bullying so I just turned around and pretended they weren't there.

‘Come on, mum, let's go,' I said. ‘Leah is waiting for us.'

‘I'm coming, love,' mum shouted happily.

Learn languages from TV shows, movies, news, articles and more! Try LingQ for FREE

Chapter 3. A Bank with a Difference Kapitel 3. Eine Bank, die sich von anderen unterscheidet Capítulo 3. Un banco diferente Un banco diferente Chapitre 3. Une banque différente Capitolo 3. Una banca con una differenza 第3章.一味違う銀行 3장. 차별화된 은행 Rozdział 3. Bank z różnicami Capítulo 3. Um banco com uma diferença Глава 3. Банк с отличием Bölüm 3. Fark Yaratan Bir Banka Розділ 3. Банк, що відрізняється від інших 第 3 章 一家与众不同的银行 第 3 章 一家與眾不同的銀行

I didn't turn my phone on all weekend, social media was my new enemy, but on Monday morning I had to check my online diary. 我整個週末都沒有打開手機,社群媒體是我的新敵人,但週一早上我必須查看我的線上日記。 My phone started pinging immediately. |||making notification sounds| 我的電話立即開始響。 A girl from my science class, who I thought was my friend, tagged me in one of the posts. 我認為科學課上的一個女孩是我的朋友,她在其中一個帖子中標記了我。 There was a big photo of me in my uniform and the hashtag this time was \#theyellowsticker\#fashiondisaster. Ok, so it was embarrassing but luckily I wasn't wearing my hat! 好吧,這很尷尬,但幸運的是我沒有戴帽子! Maybe the other kids at school won't even see the photo. Or maybe they will … as I looked at my screen, comments started to appear: ‘No food, no clothes, no life!', ‘Total loser!'. 或者也許他們會…當我看著我的螢幕時,評論開始出現:“沒有食物,沒有衣服,沒有生命!”,“徹底的失敗者!”。 I heard other phones pinging and that's when the laughing and the pointing started AGAIN! 我聽到其他電話響起,就在那時,笑聲和指指點點又開始了! The other kids were all looking at me and I wanted to disappear. 其他孩子都看著我,我想消失。 Please, please make me invisible! 拜託,請讓我隱形吧! There was only one solution: the toilets. I ran down the corridor, into the girls toilets, into a cubicle, locked the door … and cried. 我跑過走廊,跑進女廁,跑進小隔間,鎖上門……然後哭了。 Why is my life such a nightmare?! 為什麼我的生活如此惡夢? I hated school. 我討厭學校。 I hated Kyla and the other bullies. 我討厭凱拉和其他惡霸。 I just wanted to go home.

Home. I know it's a cliché but home really is where the heart is. ||||overused expression|||||||| 我知道這有些陳腔濫調,但家確實是心所在的地方。 We didn't have a lot of money but we had a lot of love. Leah was always so happy to see me … especially when I had cake!

‘Meggie, Meggie, come and look at my unicorn,' she shouted as I walked through the front door that Saturday after work. |||||||toy unicorn||||||||||||| 「梅吉,梅吉,過來看看我的獨角獸,」那個星期六下班後我走進前門時,她喊道。

‘Hey, Leah! Wow, that's a fabulous unicorn!' I replied as I looked at her latest painting. |||amazing|||||||||| 哇,那是一隻神奇的獨角獸!我邊看著她最新的畫邊回答。

‘It's for you, Meggie!' she smiled. “這是給你的,梅吉!”她笑了。

‘Thank you so much,' I laughed, picking her up for a hug. 「非常感謝你,」我笑著抱起她擁抱。

I couldn't really see a unicorn among the blue, pink and yellow splodges of paint to be honest, but Leah made it just for me and I felt better already after my terrible week at school. ||||||||||||blobs||||||||||||||||||||||| 說實話,在藍色、粉紅色和黃色的油漆斑點中,我真的看不到獨角獸,但利亞為我做了它,在學校度過了糟糕的一周後,我已經感覺好多了。

The other kids were still making fun of me and I didn't want to tell mum and dad because they had enough problems. 其他孩子還在取笑我,我不想告訴爸爸媽媽,因為他們有足夠的問題了。

‘Where are mum and dad?' I asked Leah as I gave her an iced finger. ||||||||||||||pastry treat “爸爸媽媽在哪裡?”我一邊問莉亞,一邊給了她一根冰的手指。

‘In the kitchen. Talking,' she said. 說話,」她說。 ‘Grown-up stuff'. 「成年人的東西」。

Grown up stuff? 長大的東西? Uh-oh. Sounds like more trouble. 聽起來比較麻煩。

‘Mum! Dad! I'm home,' I shouted through to the kitchen.

‘Just a minute, Meggie. 「等一下,梅吉。 We're coming,' mum shouted back. 我們來了。

I had a feeling that my bad week was about to get worse … and I was right. 我有一種預感,糟糕的一周將會變得更糟……我是對的。

Mum and dad came into the living room, said hello, and then continued whispering in the corner. Dad was holding a couple of pound coins in his hand and mum had something in her hand too. 爸爸手裡拿著幾英鎊硬幣,媽媽手上也拿著一些東西。 It looked like a letter. 它看起來像一封信。 What was it? 它以前如何? Who was it from? 是誰發來的?

Leah and I were watching some cartoons while she ate her iced finger but after a few minutes mum and dad told me to follow them into the kitchen. 莉亞和我正在看一些動畫片,她吃著冰鎮的手指,但幾分鐘後,媽媽和爸爸要我跟著他們進廚房。

‘Come in here in a minute, Meggie. “梅吉,一會兒就到這裡來。” We want to talk to you,' mum said. 我們想和你談談,」媽媽說。

No more bad news! 沒有更多的壞消息了! Please!

‘Ok, Meggie, so the situation is quite bad now,' mum explained. 「好吧,梅吉,現在的情況很糟糕,」媽媽解釋道。 ‘We have this gas bill to pay and we have no money for food.' “我們要付煤氣費,卻沒有錢買食物。”

No money for food! We really are going to starve! 我們真的要餓死了!

‘Are we going to die, cold and hungry?' I asked my mum in a panic. “我們會又冷又餓地死去嗎?”我驚慌地問媽媽。

‘We're NOT going to die, Meggie,' mum reassured me, ‘but we do need help.' “我們不會死,梅吉,”媽媽向我保證,“但我們確實需要幫助。”

My grandparents were dead and mum and dad didn't have any brothers or sisters. 我的祖父母過世了,爸爸媽媽沒有任何兄弟姊妹。 Who will help us?

‘There is a food bank in town,' mum continued. 「鎮上有一家食物銀行,」媽媽繼續說。 ‘We can go there for some food today.' “今天我們可以去那裡吃點東西。”

A food bank? 食物銀行? I thought banks were places for people to keep their money… 我以為銀行是人們存放錢的地方...

‘What's a food bank?' I asked. “什麼是食物銀行?”我問。

‘It's a charity,' dad explained. 「這是一項慈善事業,」爸爸解釋道。 ‘They give people food when they don't have enough money to buy it for themselves.' “當人們沒有足夠的錢為自己購買食物時,他們就會給他們食物。”

Charity?! 慈善機構? Oh no! 不好了! First the yellow stickers, now free food like homeless people! 首先是黃色貼紙,現在像無家可歸的人一樣免費食物!

‘I don't want charity,' I shouted angrily. 「我不需要施捨,」我憤怒地喊道。 ‘I don't want to be poor!' “我不想變窮!”

‘I know, Meggie,' dad said as he hugged me. 「我知道,梅吉,」爸爸擁抱著我說。 ‘I know it's a horrible situation but we're lucky that there are organisations that want to help us.' “我知道情況很糟糕,但我們很幸運,有組織願意幫助我們。”

Even as I cried, I knew that dad was right. 雖然我哭了,但我知道爸爸是對的。 I didn't want Leah to be hungry and I didn't want her to know how bad our situation was. 我不想讓利亞挨餓,也不想讓她知道我們的處境有多糟。

‘I'll go with mum,' I offered. 「我會和媽媽一起去,」我提議。 ‘You stay here and play with Leah, dad'. 「你留在這裡和莉亞一起玩,爸爸」。

Dad smiled and gave me an even bigger hug. 爸爸微笑著給了我一個更大的擁抱。

‘My sweet, sweet Meggie,' he said. ‘Thank you, love.'

The bus stopped right outside the community food bank on Market Street. 巴士就停在市場街社區食物銀行外。 Mum and I were both a bit nervous but we were greeted at the door by a volunteer. 我和媽媽都有點緊張,但我們在門口受到了志工的迎接。

‘Hi. Come in, come in,' she said. 進來吧,進來吧,」她說。 ‘My name's Maureen. Is this your first time?' 這是你第一次嗎?

‘Yes, it is,' mum answered hesitantly. 「是的,是的,」媽媽猶豫地回答。 ‘I'm Abbie and this is my daughter Meghan.'

‘Ok. Well, don't worry about anything Abbie and Meghan. I'll show you what to do,' Maureen reassured us. 我會告訴你們該怎麼做,」莫琳向我們保證。

We walked into a big hall and there was food EVERYWHERE. 我們走進一個大廳,到處都是食物。 It was so organised. 事情就這麼安排好了。 Maureen gave us a shopping bag and took us to the different tables. 莫琳給了我們一個購物袋,帶我們去了不同的桌子。 On one table there were boxes of pasta, rice and cereal; on another there were tins of soup, tuna, beans and spaghetti hoops and on another there was soap and shampoo. |||||||noodles|||breakfast food|||||cans|||canned fish|||spaghetti hoops|spaghetti shapes||||||||hair cleanser 一張桌子上放著一盒盒義大利麵、米和麥片。另一個是罐頭湯、鮪魚、豆子和義大利麵條圈,另一個是肥皂和洗髮精。

Wow! Where did all this stuff come from? 所有這些東西是從哪裡來的? !

‘Just choose all the things you need,' said Maureen to mum, ‘and I'll go and get you a cup of tea and a biscuit.' |||||||||||||||||||||||cookie “選擇你需要的所有東西,”莫琳對媽媽說,“我去給你拿一杯茶和一塊餅乾。”

Mum and I soon had a full bag of shopping. 我和媽媽很快就買了滿滿一袋東西。 There was even a big fridge in the corner and I found some vanilla yoghurt for me and some chocolate milk for Leah! ||||||||||||||yogurt|||||||| 角落裡甚至還有一個大冰箱,我為我找到了一些香草酸奶,為利亞找到了一些巧克力牛奶! Before we left, Mum and Maureen had a quick chat about our situation. 在我們離開之前,媽媽和莫琳簡短地聊了聊我們的情況。

‘Any family can have problems sometimes,' Maureen reassured mum. ‘Just remember, you're not alone. 「請記住,你並不孤單。 You're part of a community and we're here to help.' 您是社區的一部分,我們隨時為您提供幫助。

‘Thank you so much,' mum replied.

Maureen walked us to the door and mum was still chatting to her when we went outside. 莫琳送我們到門口,當我們出去時,媽媽還在跟她聊天。 I was feeling better about everything when suddenly I heard laughing. Oh no! Kyla!

Kyla and a couple of other girls were standing on the other side of the road and … they were taking another photo of me. 凱拉和其他幾個女孩站在路的另一邊……她們正在為我拍另一張照片。 I wanted to run over the road and tell Kyla to stop. 我想跑過馬路並告訴凱拉停下來。 I wanted to break her stupid phone! 我真想摔碎她那愚蠢的手機! But I didn't want mum to know about the bullying so I just turned around and pretended they weren't there. 但我不想讓媽媽知道霸凌事件,所以我轉過身來假裝他們不在那裡。

‘Come on, mum, let's go,' I said. ‘Leah is waiting for us.'

‘I'm coming, love,' mum shouted happily. 「我來了,親愛的,」媽媽高興地喊道。