明天的购物单
Tomorrow’s Shopping List
Name: ________________ Date: ________
许然在公交车上捡到一个黑色的小本子。她正要交给司机，封面上忽然出现了两个字：许然。
是她的名字。
她翻开本子。第一页写着明天的日期，下面有三样东西：一个大碗，一盒创可贴，一袋猫粮。
她不养猫。
许然把本子带到失物招领处。工作人员翻了几页，说：“这不是空的吗？”
字还在，只有她能看见。
第二天早上，她去超市，只买了牛奶和面包。经过卖碗的地方时，她故意走远了一点。
回到家，旧碗还放在桌上。她对本子说：“你看，猜错了。”
下午，楼道里传来一声轻轻的叫声。她开门，看见一只小猫坐在墙边。脖子上没有项圈，身上的毛湿了一半。
许然蹲下，伸出手。小猫往后一缩，躲进了门边的空纸箱。
她没有追，进屋拿了毛巾。她搬着箱子，走到不淋雨的地方。搬箱子时，硬纸板的边缘划破了她的手背。
她低头看了一眼手背，突然想起购物单上的第二样东西。
半小时后，许然又站在超市里。篮子里有创可贴和猫粮。最后，她走到卖碗的地方，选了一个又大又浅的。
晚上，她给小猫拍了照，发到小区群里问有没有人认识它。等消息的时候，小猫已经在她的拖鞋旁边睡着了。
她翻到本子的下一页。明天的日期下面，一片空白。
许然等了一会儿，自己拿起笔，写下两个字：猫砂。
下面慢慢浮出一行小字：不要有香味的。
她低头看猫。小猫不知什么时候醒了，正看着那本黑色的本子。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 忽然 | hūrán | suddenly; all of a sudden |
| 出现 | chūxiàn | to appear; to emerge; to arise |
| 日期 | rìqī | date |
| 空 | kōng | empty; hollow |
| 故意 | gùyì | deliberately; on purpose |
| 猜 | cāi | to guess |
| 毛巾 | máojīn | towel |
| 购物 | gòuwù | to shop; shopping |
| 拍 | pāi | to take (a photo); to shoot (a film) |
| 消息 | xiāoxi | news; word; information; message |
| 片 | piàn | film; movie (as in 影片) |
| 醒 | xǐng | to wake up |
English (for the teacher)
Xu Ran found a little black notebook on the bus. She was about to hand it to the driver when two characters suddenly appeared on the cover: Xu Ran.
It was her name.
She opened the notebook. The first page showed tomorrow’s date, with three things below it: a large bowl, a box of plasters and a bag of cat food.
She didn’t have a cat.
Xu Ran took the notebook to the lost property office. A member of staff flipped through a few pages and said, ‘Isn’t this empty?’
The writing was still there. Only she could see it.
The next morning, she went to the supermarket and bought only milk and bread. When she passed the bowls, she deliberately walked a little further away.
Back home, her old bowl was still on the table. She said to the notebook, ‘See? You guessed wrong.’
That afternoon, a soft cry came from the corridor. She opened the door and saw a kitten sitting by the wall. It had no collar, and half its fur was wet.
Xu Ran crouched down and held out her hand. The kitten drew back and hid in an empty cardboard box by the door.
She didn’t chase it, but went inside to get a towel. She carried the box to somewhere out of the rain. As she carried it, the edge of the stiff cardboard cut the back of her hand.
She looked down at the back of her hand and suddenly remembered the second item on the shopping list.
Half an hour later, Xu Ran was back in the supermarket. There were plasters and cat food in her basket. Finally, she went to the bowls and chose a large, shallow one.
That evening, she took a photo of the kitten and posted it in the neighbourhood group, asking whether anyone recognised it. While she waited for replies, the kitten fell asleep beside her slippers.
She turned to the next page of the notebook. Below tomorrow’s date, it was completely blank.
Xu Ran waited a while, then picked up a pen herself and wrote two characters: cat litter.
A line of small writing slowly appeared below: nothing scented.
She looked down at the cat. It had woken up without her noticing and was staring at the little black notebook.