七楼 · 第二十二天
The Seventh Floor, Episode 22: Not Safe
Name: ________________ Date: ________
昨天晚上，宁宁的妈妈带着很多邻居上了七楼。大家看见了邹奶奶的旧花盆，看见了那两把椅子，也看见了那五个花盆里的小绿叶。
今天早上，小区里的人一见面就说七楼。
七点，乔安来上班。昨天晚上她睡得很晚，现在还很困。可是快递站门口已经站着好几个邻居了。
三号楼的一个阿姨说：“我在这儿住了三十年，都忘了还有七楼！”
一个男人说：“邹奶奶以前种的花，真是好看。我女儿小时候也常去看花。”
这时候，宁宁骑着自行车来了。他小声说：“对不起，是我妈妈说出去的。”
她笑了：“没关系。大家都喜欢七楼，这是好事。”
八点，门又开了。进来的是小区办公室的董阿姨。她手里拿着一张纸，脸上一点儿笑也没有。
“我们早上去七楼看了，”董阿姨说，“那儿很不安全。旁边什么都没有，孩子上去玩怎么办？昨天晚上风那么大，如果一个花盆被吹到楼下，打到人，怎么办？”
乔安想起了昨天晚上的大风，她的伞一下子就被吹坏了。她不知道怎么回答。
董阿姨把手里的纸放在桌子上。“办公室说了，下个星期天以前，七楼的花盆和椅子都要搬走。那个铁门也要换一把新锁，以后谁都不能上去。”
宁宁大声说：“不行！那是邹奶奶的花！”
“我知道大家都是好心，”董阿姨说，“可是安全最重要。”
乔安看着那张纸，心里很难过。孙女说过，下个月奶奶生日那天，她想回到七楼，看着爷爷说对不起。可是到了那天，七楼可能只有一个关着的铁门了。
就在这时候，门口有人说：“谁要搬她的花盆？”
大家都转过身。门口站着的是邹爷爷，脚上还是那双旧鞋，脸很黑。他看着董阿姨，一个字一个字地说：“七楼的东西，谁也不能动。”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 带 | dài | to bring; to take; to carry |
| 邻居 | línjū | neighbor |
| 旧 | jiù | old; used; worn |
| 把 | bǎ | disposal 把: marks the object and moves it before the verb — what is done to it |
| 小区 | xiǎoqū | residential compound; housing estate |
| 见面 | jiànmiàn | to meet; to see each other |
| 可是 | kěshì | but; however |
| 男人 | nánrén | man; men |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; previously; formerly |
| 种 | zhòng | to plant; to grow |
| 常 | cháng | often; frequently |
| 骑 | qí | to ride (a horse, bike, etc.) |
Lesson plan: 45 minutes (for the teacher)
HSK 3 · The Seventh Floor, Episode 22: Not Safe. By the end, students can read it aloud, say what it is about and use 带 and 邻居 in sentences of their own.
Warm-up 5 min
Write 七楼 · 第二十二天 on the board. Ask what the class thinks it is about, then give the English: “The Seventh Floor, Episode 22: Not Safe”.
Key words 10 min
Teach 带 (dài, to bring; to take; to carry), 邻居 (línjū, neighbor), 旧 (jiù, old; used; worn), 把 (bǎ, disposal 把: marks the object and moves it before the verb — what is done to it), 小区 (xiǎoqū, residential compound; housing estate), 见面 (jiànmiàn, to meet; to see each other). Say each one, the class says it back, then ask for its meaning with the word covered. The rest are in the handout’s table.
Listen 10 min
Play it read aloud from mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-seventh-floor-episode-22-not-safe: once with the text face down, once reading along. Students tap any word there for its meaning.
Read and check 10 min
Students read it alone, then tell a partner in two sentences of Chinese what it says.
Use it 10 min
In pairs, each student writes two sentences of their own, one with 带 and one with 邻居, and reads one to the class.
Homework. Students read it again at home and Review its words. Put it in a free class (mandarinthewild.com/teachers/class) and you see who read it.
English (for the teacher)
Last night, Ningning's mum took lots of neighbours up to the seventh floor. Everyone saw Zou Nainai's old flowerpots, saw the two chairs, and saw the little green leaves in those five pots.
This morning, as soon as people in the compound met, they talked about the seventh floor.
At seven, Qiao An came to work. She had gone to bed very late last night, and she was still very sleepy. But several neighbours were already standing at the door of the parcel station.
An auntie from Building Three said, “I've lived here thirty years, and I'd forgotten there was a seventh floor!”
A man said, “The flowers Zou Nainai used to grow were really beautiful. My daughter often went to see the flowers when she was little, too.”
Just then, Ningning rode up on his bike. He said quietly, “Sorry, it was my mum who told everyone.”
She smiled. “That's all right. Everyone loves the seventh floor, and that's a good thing.”
At eight, the door opened again. In came Dong Ayi from the compound office. She was holding a sheet of paper, and there wasn't a trace of a smile on her face.
“We went up to the seventh floor this morning,” said Dong Ayi. “It's really not safe up there. There's nothing around the edge, so what if children go up and play? The wind was so strong last night. If a flowerpot got blown down and hit someone, what then?”
Qiao An remembered last night's wind; it had wrecked her umbrella in a second. She didn't know what to say.
Dong Ayi put the paper in her hand down on the desk. “The office has decided: before next Sunday, all the flowerpots and chairs on the seventh floor must be moved out. That iron door will get a new lock too, and from now on nobody can go up.”
Ningning shouted, “No way! Those are Zou Nainai's flowers!”
“I know everyone means well,” said Dong Ayi, “but safety comes first.”
Qiao An looked at the paper and felt very sad. The granddaughter had said that on Grandma's birthday next month she wanted to come back to the seventh floor and say sorry to her grandpa's face. But by that day, the seventh floor might be nothing but a locked iron door.
Just then, someone at the door said, “Who wants to move her flowerpots?”
Everyone turned around. Standing in the doorway was Zou Yeye, still in that pair of old shoes, his face dark and stern. He looked at Dong Ayi and said, one word at a time, “Nobody touches anything on the seventh floor.”