It is Saturday星期六 /ˈsæt.ər.deɪ/. There is no work上班 /wɜːrk/, no school上课 /skuːl/, and nobody has to leave离开 /liːv/ early早 /ˈɝː.li/. Our whole family家人 /ˈfæm.ɪ.li/ is home在家 /hoʊm/ for the day一整天 /deɪ/. I wake up醒来 slowly慢慢地 /ˈsloʊ.li/ and lie躺 /laɪ/ still for a moment片刻 /ˈmoʊ.mənt/, listening to the sounds声音 /saʊndz/ of the house. I can hear听见 /hɪr/ Dad moving around in the kitchen already已经 /ɔːlˈred.i/.
I get up起床 and walk downstairs走下楼. Dad is standing站着 /ˈstænd.ɪŋ/ at the counter台面 /ˈkaʊn.t̬ɚ/, cutting vegetables蔬菜 /ˈvedʒ.tə.bəlz/. "Morning, Jack," he says without turning转身 /ˈtɜːr.nɪŋ/ around. " Put on烧上 some water水 /ˈwɑː.t̬ɚ/ for me, will you?" I fill装满 the pot锅 /pɒt/ and set it on放上 the stove炉灶 /stoʊv/. We work干活 /wɜːrk/ side并排 /saɪd/ by side without不用 /wɪˈðaʊt/ saying much多少话 /mʌtʃ/, and it feels感觉 /fiːlz/ good很好 /ɡʊd/.
After breakfast早餐 /ˈbrek.fəst/, Mum calls out喊道 from the living room: "I'm going to clean打扫 /kliːn/ the house房子 /haʊs/ this morning上午 /ˈmɔːr.nɪŋ/. Can everyone help帮忙 /help/?" Dad says he will handle负责 /ˈhæn.dəl/ the yard院子 /jɑːrd/. Lily says she will tidy整理 /ˈtaɪ.di/ her room房间 /ruːm/. I keep负责 /kiːp/ the kitchen厨房 /ˈkɪtʃ.ɪn/. Within an hour小时 /aʊɚ/, the whole place looks看起来 /lʊks/ different不一样 /ˈdɪf.ɚ.ənt/.
In the afternoon下午 /ˌæf.tɚˈnuːn/, everyone does their own thing事 /θɪŋ/. Dad sits坐 /sɪts/ in his chair椅子 /tʃer/ and reads看书 /riːdz/ a thick old旧的 /oʊld/ book书 /bʊk/ about history历史 /ˈhɪs.tɚ.i/. He holds捧着 /hoʊldz/ it with both hands手 /hændz/ and barely几乎不 /ˈber.li/ moves动 /muːvz/ for two hours小时 /aʊɚz/. Mum spends花时间 /spendz/ the time at the table桌子 /ˈteɪ.bəl/, writing letters信 /ˈlet̬.ɚz/ to her old老的 /oʊld/ friends朋友们 /frendz/ from back以前 /bæk/ home家乡 /hoʊm/. Lily is playing弹 /ˈpleɪ.ɪŋ/ the piano钢琴 /piˈæn.oʊ/ in the next room房间 /ruːm/, the same piece曲子 /piːs/ again又一遍 /əˈɡen/ and again再一遍 /əˈɡen/, getting a little better更好 /ˈbet̬.ɚ/ each time次 /taɪm/.
I go out to the yard院子 /jɑːrd/ and kick a ball踢球 against the wall墙 /wɔːl/ for a while一会儿 /waɪl/. Then I stop停下 /stɒp/ and sit down坐下 on the step台阶 /step/ by the back door门 /dɔːr/. The afternoon下午 /ˌæf.tɚˈnuːn/ sun阳光 /sʌn/ is warm暖和 /wɔːrm/ on my face脸 /feɪs/. I watch看 /wɒtʃ/ a small小 /smɔːl/ bird鸟 /bɜːrd/ land on落在 the garden fence栅栏 /fens/ and begin开始 /bɪˈɡɪn/ to sing鸣叫 /sɪŋ/. Nothing happens发生 /ˈhæp.ənz/, and that seems好像 /siːmz/ like exactly正好 /ɪɡˈzækt.li/ enough足够 /ɪˈnʌf/.
Later, around大约 /əˈraʊnd/ four o'clock, Lily opens打开 /ˈoʊ.pənz/ the back door门 /dɔːr/ and sticks her head out探出头来. "Jack, Mum says we need to buy买 /baɪ/ some food食材 /fuːd/ for dinner晚饭 /ˈdɪn.ər/. Run跑一趟 /rʌn/ to the shop商店 /ʃɒp/ with me?" I get up站起来 and say, "Sure, let's走吧 go去 /ɡoʊ/." On the way路上 /weɪ/, Lily talks non-stop说个不停 about a game游戏 /ɡeɪm/ she wants to play玩 /pleɪ/ later. I remember想起 /rɪˈmem.bɚ/ that she was always总是 /ˈɔːl.weɪz/ like this even甚至 /ˈiː.vən/ when she was a small小 /smɔːl/ kid孩子 /kɪd/.
We bring带回 /brɪŋ/ home a bag袋子 /bæɡ/ full of food食材 /fuːd/. Mum takes over接手 the kitchen厨房 /ˈkɪtʃ.ɪn/ and starts开始 /stɑːrts/ cooking做饭 /ˈkʊk.ɪŋ/. The smell香味 /smel/ soon fills the house弥漫全屋, and Dad appears出现 /əˈpɪrz/ at the kitchen door门 /dɔːr/, still holding拿着 /ˈhoʊl.dɪŋ/ his book书 /bʊk/. " Need需要 /niːd/ any help帮忙 /help/?" he asks. Mum turns转过来 /tɜːrnz/ and smiles微笑 /smaɪlz/. " Put that把那个 book down放下 /daʊn/ and set the table摆好桌子." He nods点头 /nɒdz/ and gets to work干活 /wɜːrk/.
At dinner晚饭 /ˈdɪn.ər/, the four of us sit together坐在一起 and talk聊天 /tɔːk/ about the day这一天 /deɪ/. Lily says she played弹了 /pleɪd/ the same part段落 /pɑːrt/ of her piece曲子 /piːs/ twenty times次 /taɪmz/. Dad says he finished读完了 /ˈfɪn.ɪʃt/ the book书 /bʊk/. I say I did nothing什么都没做 /ˈnʌθ.ɪŋ/ at all, and everyone laughs笑了 /læfs/. Mum says, "Sometimes有时候 /ˈsʌm.taɪmz/ doing nothing什么都不做 /ˈnʌθ.ɪŋ/ is the best最好的 /best/ thing事情 /θɪŋ/ you can do做 /duː/." Nobody argues反驳 /ˈɑːr.ɡjuːz/ with that.