Level 2 · Reading series
Lesson 6 · The Reply I Did Not Send
Audio track 06
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
After basketball practice, I found a message from my friend. He wrote, "You never pass the ball to me."
I felt angry at first. I wanted to reply, "That is not true." My thumb was already on the send button.
Then I stopped. I was tired, and he was probably tired too. I put my phone down and took a shower.
Later, I wrote, "I'm sorry it felt that way. Can we talk before practice tomorrow?"
Not sending the first reply was my best play of the day.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
篮球训练结束后，我看见朋友发来一条消息：‘你从来不把球传给我。’
起初我很生气，想回他一句‘才不是这样’。我的拇指已经按在发送键上了。
这时我停了下来。我很累，他大概也很累。我放下手机，去冲了个澡。
后来，我写道：‘让你有这样的感觉，我很抱歉。明天训练前我们能聊聊吗？’
没有把第一条回复发出去，是我今天打得最好的一球。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- practice
- 训练；文中指篮球训练。
- pass the ball
- 传球；pass the ball to me 是‘把球传给我’。
- reply
- 回复；可作名词或动词。
- true
- 真实的；That is not true 意为‘那不是真的’。
- thumb
- 拇指；文中拇指停在发送键上。
- send button
- 发送键；点击后消息就会发出。
- probably
- 大概；表示根据情形作出的推测。
- put ... down
- 放下……；put my phone down 是‘放下手机’。
- felt that way
- 有那样的感受；承认对方的感受，并不等于承认对方说的都是事实。
- best play
- 最佳表现；结尾用篮球用语比喻一次明智的克制。
Background notes (Chinese)
情绪激动时，文字消息很容易变成争辩。主人公先休息，再约朋友当面谈，这给两个人留下了解释误会的空间。结尾的‘最好的一球’把沟通中的克制比作篮球场上的好表现。