18.小英雄雨来

Lesson Eight

Little Hero: Yu Lai

One

1.In the northern part of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border region, there is a Huanxiang River, in which there are many reeds.

2.There is a small village by the river.

3.When the reed flowers bloom, the yellow-green reeds seem to be covered with a thick layer of white snow looking from afar.

4.As soon as the wind blows, the fluffy reed flocs will fly leisurely, covering the dozens of small houses in the soft reed flowers.

5.Therefore, this village is called Luhua Village.

6.Twelve-year-old Yu Lai is from this village.

7.Yu Lai likes the Huanxiang River close to the village very much.

8.Every summer, Yu Lai, Tie Tou, San Zuanr and many children, like a group of fish, drill up and down in the river, playing hide-and-seek and swimming in doggy paddle, standing and floating on their back.

9.Yu Lai is the best in floating on his back.He can lie face up in the water, not only without sinking to the bottom, but also exposing his belly on the water.

10.His mother doesn’t let Yu Lai play with water, for fear of danger.

11.One day, when his mother saw Yu Lai coming in from the outside, he was naked and was tanned and shiny by the sun.

12.Knowing that he was playing with water again, his mother sank her face and told him to come over.She leaned forward and grabbed the broom on the Kang.

13.As soon as Yu Lai came, he knew that he was going to be beaten, so he ran out.

14.His mother followed him.

15.Look back as Yu Lai ran.

16.Oh, No! I’m going to catch up.Where should I go?

17.Tie Tou was driving the cattle back from the riverside, calling to Yu Lai from afar, “Run to the riverside!

18.Run to the riverside!”

19.Yu Lai heard that and knew what he meant.He turned and ran towards the river bank.

20.His mother still chased after him, but he was so naked that she couldn’t catch him.

21.With a plop, Yu Lai fell into the river and disappeared.

22.His mother stood on the edge of the river, staring at the expanding water circle.

23.Suddenly, a small head appeared on the water far away.

24.Yu Lai shook the water on his head like a duckling and wiped his eyes and nose with his hand, blowing air in his mouth, looking at his mother and laughing.

Two

1.In the autumn, Yu Lai’s father came back from selling reed mats on the fair and discussed with his mother, “I saw the comrades in the district.They said that the children should to go to school.At least they had to go to night school.

2.Yu Lai should go.Otherwise, he will be illiterate in the future.”

3.The night school was in the tofu room of San zuanr’s house, which was very shabby.

4.The night class was taught by a female teacher in Dongzhuang School, who wore a blue cloth trousers and coat, and was fat with short hair.

5.When the teacher came to the blackboard, the buzzing voice in the room stopped immediately.Only the sound of flipping over the textbooks was heard.

6.Yu Lai took out the textbook from his pocket, which was printed with clay paper, soft and bulging.

7.In order to keep the book from destroy, Yu Lai asked his mother for a piece of red cloth and wrapped it, on which the two words “Yu Lai” were written askew with a pencil.

8.Yu Lai put the book on his lap and opened it.

9.The teacher leaned over, pointed the words on the blackboard with her finger, and read, “We are Chinese.We love our motherland.”

10.With the female teacher’s fingers, the students quietly read in unison, “We are Chinese.We love our motherland.”

Three

1.One day, Yu Lai came home from night school and lay on the Kang to recite the text learned that night.

2.But he fell asleep after less than half of it was recited.

3.“Creak”, the door opened.

4.Yu Lai opened his eyes and saw a shadow flash in.

5.Mom struck a match and lit the light.It turned out that it was Dad who came back from the takeout mat.

6.He had a bullet bag over his shoulder, a grenade in his waist, and a long rifle on his back.

7.Why does Dad suddenly dress up like this?

8.Dad said to his mother, “The Japanese invaders are conducting a sweeping attack again.The militia will gather in the District, and it will take a month or two to come back.”

9.Yu Lai asked, “Dad, is it far away?”

10.Dad put his hand into the quilt, touched his bare back and said, “It is hard to say.

11.Maybe it is far away, maybe not.”

12.Dad turned to Mom and said, “Tomorrow you go to his grandmother’s house in Dongzhuang.Tell his uncle that the superior ask him to bring the village militia to the district to gather.”

13.Mom asked, “Where is the district?”

14.Dad packed a bag of cigarettes and said, “They can inquire in the villages around Hebei.”

15.Yu Lai was about to say anything more, the door clanged, and he heard the footsteps of his father going out.

16.After a while, nothing was heard, only two barks came from the street.

17.The next day, after breakfast, his mother went to Dongzhuang and said that she would come back in the evening.

18.After noon, Yu Lai ate some leftovers.He could not go outside because he was a housekeeper, he lay on the Kang and read his literacy textbook wrapped in red cloth.

19.Suddenly he heard someone running in the street, as if the house was shaking, and the window paper was clattering.

20.Yu Lai came down from the Kang, put the book in his arms and ran out.Just about to step on the threshold, a man came in, and Yu Lai ran into the man’s arms.

21.He looked up and saw that it was Uncle Li.

22.Uncle Li was a messenger in the district.He often came and stayed at home. 

23.Then he heard the Japanese were hooting.

24.Uncle Li moved away the jar filled with half the chaff in the corner.

25.Yu Lai was stunned, “Eh!

26.When was this hole dug?”

27.Uncle Li jumped into the hole and said, “Move it back to its original place, and you go to other courtyards and do not tell anyone about this.”

28.Twelve-year-old Yu Lai made every effort to move the jar back.

29.As soon as Yu Lai came to the main room, he saw more than a dozen bright bayonets coming in from the front door, so he ran back into the backyard.

30.He heard someone reloading the gun, and called out, “Stop!”

31.Yu Lai ignored him.He ran to the backyard like stepping on the wind.

32.Only bullets were heard whizzing over his head.

33.But there was no door in the backyard, which flustered him.

34.There was a peach tree against the wall.Yu Lai hugged the tree and climbed up.

35.The Japanese invaders had already chased under the tree.They grasped the foot of Yu Lai and pulled him down.Yu Lai fell to the ground.

36.The invaders twisted his arms behind him, tied them up, and pushed him back into the house.

Four

1.The invaders turned over the front and back yards.

2.The house was in a disaster, even the pillow was torn by bayonet.

3.On the edge of the Kang was an officer with red eyes.He said to Yu Lai in Chinese, “Kid, I’ll ask you some questions, and do not lie to me!”

4.He suddenly looked at the chest of Yu Lai, his mouth was open and his eyes were round.

5.Yu Lai looked down, it turned out that the literacy textbook came out of his arms because of struggling before.

6.The Japanese officer grasped it in his hand, turned it over and asked him, “Who gave it to you?”

7.Yu Lai said, “Picked it up!”

8.The Japanese showed his golden teeth and made a face.He said gently to Yu Lai, “Don’t be afraid!

9.Child, we won’t hurt you!”

10.Then he asked someone to untie him.

11.Yu Lai put his hand down.He felt numbness and pain in his arm.

12.The officer with flat nose touched the head of Yu Lai and said, “Whoever gave you this book is nothing for me, and I won’t ask you.

13.Tell me everything else!

14.Someone ran in just now, have you ever seen?”

15.Yu Lai wiped his nose with the back of his hand and mumbled, “I stayed in the house and I haven’t seen anything.”

16.The officer with flat nose threw the book on the ground and reached for his bag.

17.Yu Lai thought to himself, “What are you taking out?

18.Looking for a knife?

19.The Japanese was angry and wanted to dig the children’s eyes!”

20.What he took out was a bunch of white sugar.

21.The officer with high nose put the sugar into Yu Lai and said, “Take it!

22.It is for you!

23.But you have to tell me where he is!”

24.He held out the finger with the gold ring and said, “This, the gold one, also for you!”

25.Yu Lai neither took his sugar nor answered him.

26.An invader nearby whizzed out his knife, staring at Yu Lai to chop his head.

27.The officer with a flat nose shook his head.

28.The two men muttered for a while.

29.The invader gave Yu Lai a ferocious stare and put the knife back into the scabbard.

30.The officer with a flat nose pressed his anger in his stomach, patted Yu Lai’s shoulder with his hand and said, “I like children best.

31.Did you see that man? Tell me!”

32.Yu Lai shook his head and said, “I stayed in the house and I haven’t seen anything.”

33.The eyes of the officer with a flat nose turned ferocious at once.He bent forward and held out his big hands.

34.Ah! Those hands were like eagle’s claws, twisting Yu Lai’s two ears and pulling to both sides.

35.Yu Lai grinned with pain.

36.The Japanese took out another hand, slapped Yu Lai twice in the face, and pulled up a piece of flesh on Yu Lai’s face, twisted his teeth.

37.Yu Lai’s face was turned white, blue and purple at once.

38.The Japanese hit him on the chest again.

39.When Yu Lai staggered and stepped back.The back of his head was touching the cabinet board, but he was caught again, and his stomach hit the edge of the Kang.

40.It took a long time before Yu Lai caught his breath.There was a buzz in his head.

41.He had stars in his eyes and blood in his nose.

42.Drop by drop of blood splashed on the lines of the textbook.

43.“We are Chinese.We love our motherland.”

43.When the Japanese was tired, Yu Lai still bit his teeth and said, “I didn’t see it!”

44.The officer with flat nose jumped up in anger and cried, “Shoot him, shoot him!

45.Pull him out, pull him out!”

Five

1.The sun had set.

2.The floating clouds in the blue sky were like pieces of red silk, reflecting on the Huanxiang River, like a big cockscomb.

3.The reed flowers in the reed pond were blown up by the wind and fluttered leisurely on the river.

4.The people in Luhua Village heard several shots on the riverside.

5.With tears in their eyes, the old people said, “Yu Lai is a good child!

6.It’s a pity to die!”

7.“It’s not high years to be ambitious.”

8.Tie Tou and San Zuanr, the children in Luhua Village and the good friends of Yu Lai, cried when they heard the gunshot.

Six

1.Uncle Li waited for a long time in the underground cave.He didn’t see Yu Lai coming to move the jar, so he went to another exit.

2.He tried to push away the stone slab at the entrance of the cave and cut off the reed leaves.

3.The yard was empty without people, and there was no movement around.

4.Suddenly someone in the street yelled, “Tofu!

5.Tofu!”

6.This was the secret signal of Luhua Village.Uncle Li knew that the enemy has gone far away.

7.But why didn’t Yu Lai come?

8.He ran to the street and saw many people running to the riverside.After inquiring, he knew that Yu Lai had been killed by the Japanese in the river!

9.Uncle Li was shocked and tears came down.

10.He ran with the people to the riverside.

11.When they got to the riverside, they didn’t see a drop of blood, let alone the corpse.

12.Everyone stood on the side of the river.

13.The Huanxiang River was quiet, and the river flew down in a whirlpool.

14.The insects were crying in the grass nest.

15.One said, “Maybe Yu Lai was threw into the river the Japanese and washed away!”

16.They looked down the river bank.

17.Suddenly Tie Tou cried out, “Ah! Yu Lai! It’s Yu Lai!”

18.In the reeds, a small head appeared on the water.

19.Yu Lai still shook the water on his head like a duckling, wiped his eyes and nose with his hand.He picked up the reed, and asked the people on the shore, “Are the Japanese gone?”

20.“Ah!” Everyone cried with joy, “Yu Lai is not dead! Yu Lai is not dead!”

21.It turns out that after the gunshot, Yu Lai fell into the river while the Japanese invaders were not on guard.

22.They shot into the water in a hurry, but our little hero, Yu Lai, had already swum from the bottom of the water to the distance.