The untied knot 散开的蝴蝶结

薛晓媛

因为妈妈再婚，“我”需要适应新的家庭环境，“我”很讨厌和继兄弟相处。一年一度的社区家庭表演日那天，当站在舞台上时，“我”发现自己裙子上的蝴蝶结没有系好，突然，蝴蝶结松了……

I was in my room， slowly getting ready to head to the community theater with the rest of my family. I wasnt in the mood for being onstage.

“Kate， come here，” my mom called from down the hall.

I found my mom outside the bathroom， holding a wet book. Henry， my new stepbrother， was nearby， working on a complicated string knot （结）， as usual.

My mother gave the book a shake. “Henrys book is in the bathtub. Did you put it there？”

“Not on purpose，” I said. “It was already on the edge， and it happened to fall in when I stepped out of the tub.”

My mother glared at me， something she never did before I had a stepfamily. “You could have picked it up，” she said. “That would have been the kind thing to do.”

As Henry walked ahead of us to the car， my mom took me aside. “This is our corner of the world now， Kate，” she said. “Lets try to make it a good one.”

The community theater was busy when we got there. Theater used to be what my mom and I did together—one play a year for our special thing. With Henry involved， it didnt seem so special anymore.

Henrys dad， who had arrived earlier to help set up， was already in costume. “Dear children，” he called in a theatrical voice. “Come to Father.” I thought he was a nice guy even before he and my mother started dating. Unfortunately， I now had a stepbrother to deal with.

Soon， it was curtain time. I peeked（偷看） out at the audience and noticed that the darkened theater was full. My heart beat faster. I forgot my annoyance at Henry as the lead actress sang， “The hills are alive with the sound of music！ ” Nothing compared to show nights.

Before long， it was my turn. I went onstage， song book in hand. As we kids lined up before Henrys dad， who was playing the part of our father， I realized how poorly Id tied the string on my skirt which was over leggings（打底褲）. I should have asked my mom for help.

[Reading][Check]

阅读上面的短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

注意：

1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;

2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

Para. 1：

And then， suddenly， the string knot on my skirt came untied.

Para. 2：

I shot Henry a grateful glance.

写作导引

Ⅰ. Sort the elements

[Characters I（Kate）， my mother， my stepfather， 1.          Plot √ Beginning： My mother 2.           me， thinking that I put my stepbrothers book in the bathtub 3.          .

√ Development： We headed to the community theatre， where my stepfather asked us to be prepared for the show.

√ Climax： When it was my turn to go onstage， I found that my knot on my skirt was 4.           tied. ]

Ⅱ. Explore the emotional changes of Kate

According to the clues found out in the story， can you conclude Kates possible emotions？

[☆ My mother gave the book a shake. “Henrys book is in the bathtub. Did you put it there？”

☆ My mother glared at me， something she never did before I had a stepfamily. “You could have picked it up，” she said. “That would have been the kind thing to do.”

☆ Theater used to be what my mom and I did together—one play a year for our special thing. With Henry involved， it didnt seem so special anymore.

☆ I thought he was a nice guy even before he and my mother started dating. Unfortunately， I now had a stepbrother to deal with.][?][    1    ][ ☆ My heart beat faster. I forgot my annoyance at Henry as the lead actress sang， “The hills are alive with the sound of music！” Nothing compared to show nights.][?][ ☆ I realized how poorly Id tied the string on my skirt.

☆ I should have asked my mom for help.  ][    2    ][    3    ]

Ⅲ. Read for the hidden information

1. “Henry， my new stepbrother， was nearby， working on a complicated string knot， as usual.” What can we infer from “as usual”？

2. “This is our corner of the world now， Kate，” she said. “Lets try to make it a good one.” What do Kates mothers words mean？

Ⅳ. Predict

1. How did Kate feel when the knot on her skirt came untied？

2. Who is the most reasonable to help solve Kates problem and why？

3. Did Kate change her attitude towards Henry？

Ⅴ. Useful expressions

1. 描写尴尬和不知所措

I was frozen with worry， at a loss， not knowing what to do.

I was struck dead with embarrassment， heart beating fast.

Extremely worried that I would lose face in front of all the audience， I grasped the skirt tightly， embarrassment written on my red face.

I peeked around anxiously to look for help， like a cat on hot bricks/restless as an ant on a hot pan.

2. 细化Henry的帮助

Henry noticed my uneasiness， sneaked onstage hiding behind me and tied the knot skillfully.

I was on the verge of breaking down when a familiar figure rested his hand on the knot.

3. 侧面描写演出的成功

The moment the performance came to an end， the applause thundered/cheers and applause took over the whole theatre/audience broke into a storm of applause.

4. 表达感恩

Tears filling my eyes， I offered my heartfelt gratitude.

Hardly had the performance ended when I dashed to Henry， saying“Had it not been for your help， I wouldnt have performed successfully.”

Ⅵ. Writing techniques

创造精彩结尾

1. 画面定格

可以以人物动作的画面定格或者以有特殊寓意的写景画面定格

I threw my arms round smiling Henry， feeling a warm current running into my heart.

2. 对话收尾

I hugged Henry tightly， patted him on the back and whispered， “Thank you， my brother.”

3. 主題升华

Henry helped me tie the knot on the skirt， but untied the knot in my heart.

The knot used to be a problem， but now， it is “knot” a problem.

阅读时要关注文中反复提到的名词，或者找到文章中的隐藏线索，考虑是否有双关意义。