Unit 8     返回中級閱讀第六冊總表     Unit 10 

Unit 9 : Trina's Special Birthday

It was Trina's birthday. She was the happiest little girl in the world. Her parents had just given her the very thing she had longed for: a new bicycle.
“Thank you so much, mommy and daddy,” the excited toddler screamed. “This is the best present ever and it even has a basket on the front for my dolls.”
“You're welcome, Trina,” her mother said. “You are so well-behaved all the time that we decided to give you exactly what you asked for.”
It was a beautiful sunny day outside and Trina immediately took advantage by taking her new bike out to the driveway so that she could try it out. She was so excited, but she still stopped for a moment to look at her old tricycle and reflect on the good times they had had together. It had been her best friend since she’d got it, but now that she was getting bigger the tiny tricycle was too small. The time for them to go their separate ways had come.
In the driveway, she stood next to her bike, not quite sure what to do. Trina looked to her mother for help.
“Can you help me on, mommy?” she politely asked.
Her mother steadied the bike as she climbed on and sat comfortably with her hands on the handlebars and her feet on the pedals.
“I’m a little afraid that I might fall over, so can you hold on to me for a while?” she nicely requested.
“Of course I can, dear.” Her mother tried to assure her that there was nothing to be worried about. “This bike has training wheels. If you start to tip over, the little wheels on the back will prevent you from falling over.”
Trina's mother walked alongside her for a while as Trina pedaled. She was a bit wobbly at first, but soon her mother wasn’t even holding on anymore. Trina was so excited to be riding her new bike that she wasn’t even aware that she was doing it all by herself. Soon her mother stopped following altogether and just watched her little girl ride.
“Look at me, mommy,” Trina yelled gleefully.
“I’m so proud of you, Trina,” her mother told her. “You’re getting to be a big girl.” How fast they grow up, she thought.
Trina continued to ride all afternoon until it was time to eat supper. Reluctantly she parked her bike next to the old tricycle, though this time she didn't even notice it. As she walked into the house, she gave both her parents a big hug.
“You're the best parents ever,” she said sincerely. “You’ve made my birthday the most special birthday ever. Thanks.”
Trina and her bike would create many happy moments together riding through the neighborhood and exploring the world around them. But eventually the tiny bike would find itself parked next to the old tricycle. Inevitably, she would outgrow it, too.

第九課：崔娜特別的生日

今天是崔娜的生日。她是世界上最快樂的小女孩。她的父母剛剛送給她最想要的禮物：一輛新的腳踏車。

「謝謝媽咪和爹地。」興奮的嬰兒尖叫。「這是我收過最好的禮物，它甚至有一個籃子在前面可以裝我的娃娃。」

「不客氣，崔娜。」她媽媽說，「你總是表現得這麼好，讓我們決定買你想要的禮物給你。」

外面是美麗陽光的天氣，崔娜立刻趁著好天氣把腳踏車牽到外面車道上，所以她可以試騎。她是那麼的興奮，但她仍然停下來看著她的舊三輪車，並回想她們一起度過的好時光。從她拿到三輪車的那刻起，它就成為了她的好朋友，但現在她長大了，小三輪車對她來說已經太小了。他們分別的時刻到了。

車道上，她站在腳踏車旁，不確定要怎麼做。崔娜看著媽媽向她求救。

「可以幫助我上去嗎，媽媽？」她禮貌地問。

當她爬上腳踏車並舒服地坐在位置上，把雙手放在把手上，雙腳踏在腳踏板上時，她媽媽幫她穩住腳踏車。

「我有點害怕會摔倒，媽媽你可以扶著我一會兒嗎？」她客氣地問。

「當然可以，親愛的。」她媽媽試著向她保證沒什麼需要擔心的。「這輛腳踏車有輔助輪，當你開始翻倒的時候，後面的小輪子會防止你跌倒。」

當崔娜騎車的時候媽媽走在她身邊。她一開始有點搖擺，但很快她媽媽就不再扶著她了。雖然崔娜因為可以騎新腳踏車而感到興奮，甚至沒發現她可以自己騎。很快的，她媽媽不再跟在腳踏車旁邊，只是看著她的小女孩騎車。

「看看我，媽咪。」崔娜興高采烈地喊道。

「我真為你感到驕傲，崔娜。」她媽媽告訴她。「你要變成大女孩了。」他們長大得真快，她想。

崔娜繼續騎了整個下午，一直到晚餐時間。她勉強得把腳踏車停在舊三輪車旁，雖然這次她甚至沒注意到它。當她走進房子，她給了爸爸和媽媽一個大擁抱。

「你們是最棒的父母，」她真誠地說。「你們讓我的生日成為最特別的一次生日，謝謝。」

崔娜和她的腳踏車將會騎過社區，探索周遭的世界，一起製造快樂的時光。但最終，這輛小腳踏車會發現自己停在舊三輪車旁。無可避免的，她將也會長得比它大。