It was lunchtime on Monday, and Jack was sitting alone独自 /əˈloʊn/ on a bench长椅 /bentʃ/ in the school学校 /skuːl/ playground操场 /ˈpleɪ.ɡraʊnd/. A boy男孩 /bɔɪ/ with a sketchbook素描本 /ˈsketʃ.bʊk/ sat down nearby附近 /ˌnɪəˈbaɪ/ and smiled微笑 /smaɪld/. "Hi, I'm Ben. I just joined加入 /dʒɔɪnd/ this school last week周 /wiːk/." "Hey, I'm Jack. Nice to meet you!" Jack replied. Ben opened打开 /ˈoʊ.pənd/ his sketchbook and began开始 /bɪˈɡæn/ to sketch素描 /sketʃ/ the trees树 /triːz/ at the edge边缘 /edʒ/ of the playground. His pencil铅笔 /ˈpen.sɪl/ moved移动 /muːvd/ quickly迅速地 /ˈkwɪk.li/ and confidently自信地 /ˈkɒn.fɪ.dənt.li/.
"Wow, that's really good!" Jack said. "Do you draw画画 /drɔː/ a lot?" "Yeah, it's my main hobby爱好 /ˈhɒb.i/," Ben said. "I sketch and sometimes paint绘画 /peɪnt/ at home. What about you — what do you enjoy喜欢 /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ/ doing in your spare空闲 /speər/ time时间 /taɪm/?" Jack thought for a moment. "I like cycling骑自行车 /ˈsaɪ.klɪŋ/ and I collect收集 /kəˈlekt/ old coins硬币 /kɔɪnz/. And I recently最近 /ˈriː.sənt.li/ started photography摄影 /fəˈtɒɡ.rə.fi/." "Oh, really? That's interesting有趣的 /ˈɪn.trə.stɪŋ/!"
"What else do you like?" Jack asked. "Well, I actually其实 /ˈæk.tʃu.ə.li/ play chess象棋 /tʃes/ too. I'm in the school club社团 /klʌb/ back in my old school. Do you play?" "I tried once," Jack said, "but I wasn't very good. I prefer更喜欢 /prɪˈfɜːr/ team sports运动 /spɔːrts/. I swim游泳 /swɪm/ twice两次 /twaɪs/ a week and I run跑步 /rʌn/ on weekends." "Nice! I should try尝试 /traɪ/ running. I haven't done much sport运动 /spɔːrt/ lately最近 /ˈleɪt.li/."
"Do you play演奏 /pleɪ/ any music音乐 /ˈmjuː.zɪk/?" Jack asked. Ben's face脸 /feɪs/ lit up. "Yes! I play guitar吉他 /ɡɪˈtɑːr/. I've been practising练习 /ˈpræk.tɪ.sɪŋ/ for two years. I'm in a small band乐队 /bænd/ with some friends from my old school. We practise练习 /ˈpræk.tɪs/ every Saturday." "That's so cool," Jack said. "I'm not very musical有音乐天赋的 /ˈmjuː.zɪ.kəl/, but I love listening听 /ˈlɪs.ən.ɪŋ/ to music. What style风格 /staɪl/ does your band play?" "Mostly rock. Nothing serious正式的 /ˈsɪər.i.əs/ yet — just for fun乐趣 /fʌn/."
"Do you read much?" Ben asked. "I go through magazines杂志 /ˌmæɡ.əˈziːnz/ about art艺术 /ɑːrt/ and sometimes novels小说 /ˈnɒv.əlz/." Jack nodded. "I read novels too, especially adventure冒险 /ədˈven.tʃər/ stories. I read one last weekend周末 /ˈwiːk.end/." Ben smiled. "We have a lot of similar相似的 /ˈsɪm.ɪ.lər/ interests兴趣 /ˈɪn.trəsts/, actually."
"Do you like photography too?" Jack asked. "A little. I use my phone camera相机 /ˈkæm.ər.ə/ sometimes. But I don't have a proper camera yet. Do you have one?" "Yes, I got it last month. It's great for outdoor户外 /ˈaʊt.dɔːr/ shots拍摄 /ʃɒts/. I've been taking拍 /ˈteɪ.kɪŋ/ pictures of nature自然 /ˈneɪ.tʃər/ — trees, birds, rivers." "That sounds fantastic极好的 /fænˈtæs.tɪk/! Could I join一起 /dʒɔɪn/ you sometime? I could sketch while you photograph拍照 /ˈfoʊ.tə.ɡrɑːf/."
"That's a great idea!" Jack said. "What about this weekend? There's a nice park公园 /pɑːrk/ near my house." Ben looked pleased. "I'd love that. What time suits适合 /suːts/ you?" "How about ten in the morning? We can cycle骑车 /ˈsaɪ.kəl/ there together if you have a bike." "Perfect. I have a bike自行车 /baɪk/. I'll bring my sketchbook." "And I'll bring my camera," Jack said. "It's a plan计划 /plæn/!" Ben said. They exchanged交换 /ɪksˈtʃeɪndʒd/ numbers号码 /ˈnʌm.bərz/ just as the lunch bell铃声 /bel/ rang响了 /ræŋ/. "See you Saturday!" Jack called. "Can't wait等不及 /weɪt/!" Ben replied回答 /rɪˈplaɪd/.