七楼 · 第十一天
The Seventh Floor, Episode 11: The Iron Door Opens
Name: ________________ Date: ________
昨天，快递站那张旧桌子最下面的抽屉终于打开了。里面有一张旧照片：一个奶奶站在六号楼上面，旁边都是花，她笑得像太阳一样。
今天一下班，乔安就把照片放进包里，一个人来到了六号楼。楼里没有电梯，她一层一层往上走。楼梯很黑，她的心跳得很快。
到了六楼，她看了看旁边的旧铁门，门上的新锁还在。然后，她敲了敲邹爷爷的门。
门开了。邹爷爷一看见她，脸就黑了：“又是你？我说过了，这儿没有七楼。”
“爷爷，我不是来问快递的。”她从包里拿出那张照片，“这是在快递站的旧桌子里找到的。我想，它应该是您的。”
他看了看照片，就不说话了。
他慢慢地拿起照片，看了很久很久。楼里很安静，只能听见楼下有人在做饭。
乔安从来没见过他这样。他没有大声说话，也没有关门。
过了一会儿，他小声说：“这是她最后一个春天。那年，七楼的花开得最好。”
“我妈妈说，我小时候常去邹奶奶的商店看花。”
他看着她，好像这是第一次好好地看她。“那个每天都来看花的小女孩，是你吗？”
乔安点了点头。
“她以前常说，那个小女孩比别人都喜欢花。”
他回到了房间里，乔安在门口等着，不知道他要做什么。过了一会儿，他出来了，手里拿着一把小钥匙，很新，也很干净。
他走到铁门前面，把钥匙放进了门锁。
锁很快就开了。
他推开铁门，旧门响了很久。门后面是一个很小的楼梯，很黑。楼梯上面好像有一点儿亮，还有风从那儿进来。
他站在楼梯下面，看着她。“来吧，”他说，“我带你去七楼。”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 站 | zhàn | station; stop |
| 下面 | xiàmiàn | next; following |
| 打开 | dǎkāi | to open |
| 里面 | lǐmiàn | inside; interior |
| 奶奶 | nǎinai | grandmother (father's mother); grandma |
| 上面 | shàngmiàn | above; on top of; on the surface of |
| 旁边 | pángbiān | beside; next to; nearby |
| 花 | huā | flower; blossom |
| 笑 | xiào | to laugh; to smile |
| 张 | zhāng | surname Zhang |
| 旧 | jiù | old; used; worn |
| 照片 | zhàopiàn | photo; picture |
English (for the teacher)
Yesterday, the bottom drawer of the old desk in the parcel station was finally opened. Inside was an old photo: a grandma standing on top of Building Six, flowers all around her, smiling like the sun.
As soon as she finished work today, Qiao An put the photo in her bag and went to Building Six on her own. There was no lift in the building, so she climbed floor by floor. The stairs were dark, and her heart was beating fast.
When she reached the sixth floor, she glanced at the old iron door beside her; the new lock was still on it. Then she knocked on Zou Yeye's door.
The door opened. The moment Zou Yeye saw her, his face darkened: "You again? I told you, there's no seventh floor here."
"Grandpa, I'm not here to ask about parcels." She took the photo out of her bag. "I found this in the old desk at the parcel station. I think it must be yours."
He looked at the photo and fell silent.
He slowly picked it up and looked at it for a long, long time. The building was very quiet; all she could hear was someone cooking downstairs.
Qiao An had never seen him like this. He didn't raise his voice, and he didn't shut the door.
After a while, he said softly, "This was her last spring. That year, the flowers on the seventh floor bloomed their best."
"My mum says that when I was little, I often went to Zou Nainai's shop to look at the flowers."
He looked at her, as if he were really looking at her for the first time. "That little girl who came to see the flowers every day — was that you?"
Qiao An nodded.
"She used to say that little girl loved flowers more than anyone."
He went back inside, and Qiao An waited at the door, not knowing what he was going to do. A moment later he came out holding a small key, new and clean.
He walked up to the iron door and put the key in the lock.
The lock opened right away.
He pushed the iron door open, and the old door creaked for a long time. Behind it was a tiny staircase, all in darkness. There seemed to be a little light at the top, and a breeze was coming in from up there.
He stood at the foot of the stairs and looked at her. "Come on," he said. "I'll take you to the seventh floor."