公园里的象棋
Chinese chess in the park: the crowd that plays for you
Name: ________________ Date: ________
我家旁边有一个小公园。每天早上，公园的大树下都有两个老人在下象棋：张爷爷和李爷爷。他们旁边总是站着十几个人。
树上有一块牌子，上面写着：“观棋不语真君子。”意思是，看别人下棋的时候，不要说话。
可是没有一个人听。“马，马！”“别动你的车！”“你看，他有炮！”张爷爷和李爷爷不说话，旁边的人说得最多。
我是用手机学的象棋，下得不太好。我只敢在旁边看，从来没坐下过。
今天，李爷爷的手机响了。他听了一会儿，站起来说：“我太太叫我回家吃饭。”然后他看着我：“小伙子，你来！”
我只好坐了下来。张爷爷是这个公园下得最好的人。
我的手刚一动，身后就有五个人一起说：“别动那个！”“动这个！”“不对，车！”每个人说的都不一样。我听听这个，又听听那个，手一直在动。
过了半个小时，后面的一个老人大声说：“快动马，将军！”我动了马。张爷爷看了很久，笑着说：“好，我输了。”大家都给我鼓掌。
张爷爷站起来，对我说：“小伙子，今天你不是一个人赢了我，是十个人赢了我。”
他又看了看树上的那几个字：“那几个字，是我写的。”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 旁边 | pángbiān | beside; next to; nearby |
| 站 | zhàn | station; stop |
| 上面 | shàngmiàn | above; on top of; on the surface of |
| 意思 | yìsi | meaning; idea |
| 过 | guò | (particle) marks a past experience: have ever |
| 一会儿 | yíhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 手 | shǒu | hand |
| 动 | dòng | to move |
| 一起 | yìqǐ | together |
| 每 | měi | each; every |
| 快 | kuài | fast; quick |
| 笑 | xiào | to laugh; to smile |
English (for the teacher)
There's a little park next to my home. Every morning, under the big tree in the park, two old men play Chinese chess, Grandpa Zhang and Grandpa Li. There are always a dozen or so people standing around them.
On the tree there's a sign that says: “A true gentleman watches the game in silence.” It means that when you watch other people play, you don't talk.
But nobody listens. “Horse, the horse!” “Don't touch your chariot!” “Look, he's got a cannon there!” Grandpa Zhang and Grandpa Li say nothing; it's the people watching who talk the most.
I learned Chinese chess on my phone, and I'm not very good. I only ever dared to watch from the side; I'd never sat down to play.
Today, Grandpa Li's phone rang. He listened for a moment, stood up and said, “My wife wants me home for lunch.” Then he looked at me. “Young man, you play!”
So I had to sit down. Grandpa Zhang is the best player in the whole park.
My hand had barely moved when five people behind me all spoke at once: “Not that one!” “This one!” “No, the chariot!” Every one of them said something different. I listened to this one, then that one, and my hand never stopped moving.
Half an hour later, an old man behind me said loudly, “Quick, move the horse, check!” I moved the horse. Grandpa Zhang studied the board for a long time, then smiled. “All right, I've lost.” Everyone clapped for me.
Grandpa Zhang stood up and said to me, “Young man, today it wasn't you alone who beat me. It was ten of you.”
Then he looked up at the words on the tree. “I wrote those, you know.”