七楼 · 第十天
The Seventh Floor, Episode 10: The Bottom Drawer
Name: ________________ Date: ________
昨天晚上，妈妈告诉乔安，快递站那张旧桌子是邹奶奶的。桌子最下面的那个抽屉，她一次也没打开过。
今天早上六点半，她就来上班了。她坐在桌子前面，拉了一下最下面的抽屉。抽屉没动。她又用了两只手，可是它还是不动。
七点半，宁宁来了。听她说完，他马上走到桌子旁边。
“我奶奶家也有这样的旧桌子，”他说，“得先往上推一下，才能打开。”
他把手放在抽屉下面，往上推了推，再一拉，抽屉就打开了。
里面的东西不多，只有一个旧本子和几个小纸袋。宁宁拿起一个，轻轻动了动，里面马上响了。
“种子！”他大声说，“和七楼的快递一样！我说对了，你得给我买面包！”
她笑了：“好，今天就给你买。”
宁宁又把一只手放进抽屉最里面，找了找，拿出来一张旧照片。
照片上有一个女人，四五十岁，笑得很开心。她站在很多很多花中间，什么颜色的都有。她后面是一个小房间，房间有一个小小的窗户。
那个窗户，乔安认识。第一天晚上，她就在那儿看见了灯，也看见了一个人。
宁宁说：“这是七楼！”
她看着照片，小声说：“这是邹奶奶。”她记得，小时候，她见过这样的笑。
宁宁又看了看照片，手一下子不动了。“你看这儿。”
照片的最右边，还站着一个男人，只能看见他的一半。他那时候头发还是黑的，正看着那些花。可是乔安一看就知道他是谁。是邹爷爷。他也在笑。
宁宁说：“我一次也没见过他笑。”
她把照片小心地放好了。“今天晚上，我们去六楼，给他看看这张照片。”
宁宁想起了那天的事，心里有一点儿害怕。“如果他还是不让我们进去呢？”
乔安说：“他会开门的。”可是说完，她自己也不太相信。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 告诉 | gàosù | to tell; to inform |
| 站 | zhàn | station; stop |
| 下面 | xiàmiàn | next; following |
| 打开 | dǎkāi | to open |
| 过 | guò | (particle) marks a past experience: have ever |
| 前面 | qiánmiàn | in front; ahead |
| 动 | dòng | to move |
| 手 | shǒu | hand |
| 走 | zǒu | to go; to leave |
| 旁边 | pángbiān | beside; next to; nearby |
| 奶奶 | nǎinai | grandmother (father's mother); grandma |
| 张 | zhāng | surname Zhang |
English (for the teacher)
Last night, Mum told Qiao An that the old desk in the parcel station had belonged to Zou Nainai. She had never once opened the bottom drawer of that desk.
This morning she came in to work at half past six. She sat down at the desk and gave the bottom drawer a tug. The drawer didn't move. She tried with both hands, but it still wouldn't budge.
At half past seven, Ningning came in. As soon as she finished telling him, he went straight over to the desk.
“My grandma has an old desk like this too,” he said. “You have to push it up a bit first, then it opens.”
He put his hand under the drawer, pushed it up a little, then pulled, and the drawer opened.
There wasn't much inside, only an old notebook and a few small paper packets. Ningning picked one up and gave it a gentle shake, and it rattled at once.
“Seeds!” He shouted, “Just like the seventh-floor parcels!” “I was right, so you owe me a bread roll!”
She laughed: “All right, I'll buy you one today.”
Ningning reached into the very back of the drawer again, felt around, and pulled out an old photo.
In the photo was a woman of about forty or fifty, smiling happily. She was standing among lots and lots of flowers, in every colour you could think of. Behind her was a small room with a tiny window.
Qiao An knew that window. On her first evening, that was where she had seen the light, and someone there too.
Ningning said, “This is the seventh floor!”
She looked at the photo and said softly, “This is Zou Nainai.” She remembered seeing that smile when she was little.
Ningning looked at the photo again, and his hand suddenly went still. “Look here.”
At the far right edge of the photo stood a man; you could only see half of him. His hair was still black then, and he was looking at the flowers. But Qiao An knew at once who he was. It was Zou Yeye. He was smiling too.
Ningning said, “I've never once seen him smile.”
She put the photo away carefully. “Tonight we'll go up to the sixth floor and show him this photo.”
Ningning remembered what had happened that day, and he felt a little scared. “What if he still won't let us in?”
Qiao An said, “He'll open the door.” But as soon as she said it, she didn't quite believe it herself.