奶奶的麻将桌
How to play mahjong: grandma's table
Name: ________________ Date: ________
春节，我第一次去男朋友家。吃完晚饭，奶奶拿出了麻将：“来，打麻将！”
可是桌子旁边只坐了三个人：奶奶和男朋友的爸爸妈妈。男朋友说：“我不会。”奶奶看着我：“那你来！”
“我？我一次也没玩过。”
奶奶说：“没关系，不难。”
“一共四个人打。每个人先拿十三张牌。然后大家一个一个来：拿一张，再出一张。”
“三个一样的，比如三个‘东’，是一组。三个连着的，比如‘一、二、三’，也是一组。四组，再加两个一样的，一共十四张，你就赢了。”
我一点儿也没听懂，可是我说：“好。”
开始了。我看着我的牌，有“万”，有“条”，有“饼”，还有“东、南、西、北”。我不知道怎么玩，就把一个“北”放到了桌子上。
他爸爸出了一个，他妈妈也出了一个，最后奶奶出了一个。到我了，我拿了一张新牌，看了半天。
男朋友在我后边看了一下，大叫：“你赢了！”
大家都站起来看。他爸爸说：“第一次打就赢了？”他妈妈说：“新手运气好！”
那天晚上，我赢了三次。奶奶输得最多，可是她最高兴。
打完了，大家都去睡觉了。我帮奶奶收牌，看到了她最后的牌。我看了半天，突然发现：她早就赢了，可是她什么也没说。
奶奶看见我的样子，笑着说：“第一次来的人，要多赢几次。这样，明年才会再来。”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 奶奶 | nǎinai | grandmother (father's mother); grandma |
| 旁边 | pángbiān | beside; next to; nearby |
| 过 | guò | (particle) marks a past experience: have ever |
| 每 | měi | each; every |
| 拿 | ná | to take; to hold; to carry |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out |
| 开始 | kāishǐ | to begin; to start; beginning |
| 万 | wàn | ten thousand |
| 站 | zhàn | station; stop |
| 帮 | bāng | to help; to assist |
| 笑 | xiào | to laugh; to smile |
| 次 | cì | next; second (as in 次日) |
English (for the teacher)
At Spring Festival, I went to my boyfriend’s family home for the first time. After dinner, Grandma brought out the mahjong set: “Come on, let’s play mahjong!”
But there were only three people at the table: Grandma and his mum and dad. My boyfriend said: “I can’t play.” Grandma looked at me: “Then you play!”
“Me? I’ve never played, not once.”
Grandma said: “Doesn’t matter, it’s not hard.”
“Four people play. Everyone starts with thirteen tiles. Then you take turns: draw one, then put one out.”
“Three the same, like three ‘east’, is a set. Three in a row, like ‘one, two, three’, is a set too. Four sets, plus two the same, fourteen tiles in all, and you win.”
I didn’t understand a word, but I said: “OK.”
We began. I looked at my tiles: there were “wan”, “bamboo”, “circles”, and “east, south, west, north”. I had no idea how to play, so I put a “north” down on the table.
His dad put one out, his mum put one out too, and last Grandma put one out. My turn: I drew a new tile and stared at it for a long time.
My boyfriend glanced over my shoulder and shouted: “You’ve won!”
Everyone stood up to look. His dad said: “Won on your very first go?” His mum said: “Beginner’s luck!”
That night I won three times in all. Grandma lost the most, but she was the happiest.
When we finished, everyone went to bed. I helped Grandma put the tiles away and saw her last hand. I looked at it for a long time, and suddenly I realised: she had won long ago, but she hadn’t said a word.
Grandma saw my face and smiled: “Someone who comes for the first time should win a few times. That way, they’ll come back next year.”