Every Sunday, our family goes to the market集市 /ˈmɑːr.kɪt/ together. It is a busy热闹的 /ˈbɪz.i/ place full of colour色彩 /ˈkʌl.ɚ/ and noise噪声 /nɔɪz/. There are long rows of fresh新鲜的 /freʃ/ vegetables蔬菜 /ˈvedʒ.tə.bəlz/ and fruit水果 /fruːt/, and the smell气味 /smel/ of bread面包 /bred/ from the bakery面包店 /ˈbeɪ.kɚ.i/ drifts飘过 /drɪfts/ across穿过 /əˈkrɑːs/ the whole street.
Mum pushes a trolley推着购物车 and checks查看 /tʃeks/ her list清单 /lɪst/. "We need onions洋葱 /ˈʌn.jənz/, carrots胡萝卜 /ˈkær.əts/, potatoes土豆 /pəˈteɪ.toʊz/, and some chicken鸡肉 /ˈtʃɪk.ɪn/," she says. Dad picks up拿起 /pɪks ʌp/ a big cabbage卷心菜 /ˈkæb.ɪdʒ/ and holds it up举起来. "What about this?" Mum shakes摇 /ʃeɪks/ her head and laughs笑 /læfs/. "Put it back, Tom. We still have half a cabbage at home." Lily meanwhile与此同时 /ˈmiːn.waɪl/ has run off跑去了 to the fruit stand摊位 /stænd/ and is pointing指着 /ˈpɔɪnt.ɪŋ/ at a pile一堆 /paɪl/ of strawberries草莓 /ˈstrɔː.ber.iz/. "Can we get买 /ɡet/ these? Please?" I look over看过去 at Mum. She nods点头 /nɑːdz/.
Back home, Dad puts on系上 his apron围裙 /ˈeɪ.prən/ and gets to work开始干活. He washes清洗 /ˈwɑːʃ.ɪz/ the vegetables under the tap水龙头 /tæp/ and then chops切碎 /tʃɑːps/ them on a large board菜板 /bɔːrd/. The knife moves quickly快速移动 and the pieces碎块 /ˈpiː.sɪz/ fall into a bowl碗 /boʊl/. Mum heats加热 /hiːts/ some oil油 /ɔɪl/ in a pan平底锅 /pæn/ and adds加入 /ædz/ the onions first. They sizzle滋滋作响 /ˈsɪz.əl/ loudly and turn变成 /tɜːrn/ a soft golden金黄色 /ˈɡoʊl.dən/ colour. "That's the secret秘诀 /ˈsiː.krɪt/," Dad says, "low heat小火, and patience耐心 /ˈpeɪ.ʃəns/."
I am in charge of负责 the rice米饭 /raɪs/. I measure量 /ˈmeʒ.ɚ/ two cups杯 /kʌps/ of rice, rinse冲洗 /rɪns/ it three times, and set it放它 to cook煮 /kʊk/ in the cooker电饭锅 /ˈkʊk.ɚ/. Lily wanders in溜进来 and lifts the lid揭开锅盖. A cloud of steam蒸汽 /stiːm/ rises up腾起. "Is it ready好了 /ˈred.i/?" she asks. "Not yet. Give it ten more minutes分钟 /ˈmɪn.ɪts/," I say. She puts the lid back, sighs叹气 /saɪz/, and disappears消失 /ˌdɪs.əˈpɪrz/.
By the time everything is ready, the kitchen table桌子 /ˈteɪ.bəl/ is full. There is a big pot锅 /pɑːt/ of chicken soup汤 /suːp/, a plate盘子 /pleɪt/ of stir-fried爆炒的 /ˈstɜːr.fraɪd/ vegetables, and a bowl of steamed蒸的 /stiːmd/ egg蛋 /eɡ/. Dad sets out摆好 the chopsticks筷子 /ˈtʃɑːp.stɪks/ and spoons汤匙 /spuːnz/. We sit down坐下 together. " Try尝一口 /traɪ/ the soup first," Mum says. I lift舀起 /lɪft/ a spoonful一勺 /ˈspuːn.fʊl/ and taste品尝 /teɪst/ it. It is rich浓郁的 /rɪtʃ/ and warm温热的 /wɔːrm/. " Delicious美味的 /dɪˈlɪʃ.əs/!" I say. Lily nods with her mouth嘴 /maʊθ/ already full装满了 /fʊl/.
Dad pours倒 /pɔːrz/ everyone a glass杯子 /ɡlɑːs/ of juice果汁 /dʒuːs/. Lily reaches across伸手越过 the table and grabs抓取 /ɡræbz/ the last piece of bread. "Hey, I wanted that!" I say. She grins咧嘴笑 /ɡrɪnz/ and breaks it in half掰成两半, handing递 /ˈhænd.ɪŋ/ one piece to me. " Share and share alike人人有份," she says. Mum smiles微笑 /smaɪlz/ and says, "Who taught教 /tɔːt/ you that?" Lily points指 /pɔɪnts/ at Dad. Dad looks up抬起头 from his bowl and says, " Guilty认罪 /ˈɡɪl.ti/." We all laugh笑 /lɑːf/.
After dinner晚饭 /ˈdɪn.ɚ/, I help clear the table收拾桌子 while Lily rinses the dishes碟子 /ˈdɪʃ.ɪz/ under the tap. Dad wraps包起来 /ræps/ the leftovers剩菜 /ˈleft.oʊ.vɚz/ and stores储存 /stɔːrz/ them in the fridge冰箱 /frɪdʒ/. "Good team," Mum says, looking around环顾四周 the clean kitchen. Lily wipes擦 /waɪps/ her hands on a cloth抹布 /klɑːθ/ and says, "Can we have the strawberries now?" Mum fetches取来 /ˈfetʃ.ɪz/ the bowl from the fridge and rinses them at the sink水槽 /sɪŋk/. The strawberries are sweet甜的 /swiːt/ and juicy多汁的 /ˈdʒuː.si/. Lily eats three in a row without stopping停下 /ˈstɑːp.ɪŋ/.
"You know," Dad says, leaning back向后靠 in his chair椅子 /tʃer/, "when I was a kid, we didn't have a fridge. My mum used to preserve腌制 /prɪˈzɜːrv/ vegetables in jars罐子 /dʒɑːrz/." "What did they taste like?" I ask. " Sour酸的 /ˈsaʊɚ/ and salty咸的 /ˈsɔːl.ti/," he says with a grin微笑 /ɡrɪn/. "But honestly说实话 /ˈɑːn.ɪst.li/, I still miss想念 /mɪs/ them." Mum reaches over伸手过来 and pats his hand轻拍他的手. "Next autumn秋天 /ˈɔː.təm/, we'll pickle腌制 /ˈpɪk.əl/ some together," she says. Dad's face lights up亮了起来.