The Giant in the House · 屋裡的巨人 · Alice in Wonderland · Traditional Mandarin · HSK 5

Deep in the unfamiliar woods, a floating, striped smile suddenly appears to block Alice's path with a dark, unsolicited story.

Chapter 3 · 屋裡的巨人

在陌生而昏暗的森林裡，愛麗絲完全迷失了方向。

突然，半空中出現了一個懸浮的、帶著條紋的微笑，擋住了她的去路。這是神秘的柴郡貓。柴郡貓慢慢現出全身，漫不經心地看著她，給了愛麗絲一個可怕的警告。

牠用低沉的聲音，講述了一個關於小牡蠣的黑暗故事。「那些可憐的牡蠣被騙出海面，最後全遭到無情地吞食。」

愛麗絲聽得莫名其妙，心裡卻感到一陣深深的恐懼。這到底算什麼警告？難道這個奇妙的世界裡，隱藏著專吃小孩的危險怪物嗎？

愛麗絲不想繼續聽下去，於是悄悄地離開了柴郡貓。她繼續在樹林中穿梭，很快就發現自己不再迷失。前方出現了一座可愛的小房子。白兔先生正站在門口，神情慌張地看著手中的懷錶。他把愛麗絲誤認成自己的僕人，大聲命令她立刻進屋去找手套。

愛麗絲乖乖地走進屋子，並沒有找到手套。不過，她卻看到桌上放著一塊裝飾精美的餅乾。由於她實在太餓了，因此毫不猶豫地拿起餅乾咬了一口。

誰能想到，這塊看起來普通的餅乾竟然有著可怕的魔力！愛麗絲的身體瞬間失控地急速膨脹。短短幾秒鐘，她變得像一個巨大的怪物。她的手臂粗暴地從窗戶伸了出去，雙腳踢破了木門。最後，她的頭甚至直接撞破了房子的屋頂！

愛麗絲被死死地困住，卡在牆壁之間，根本無法動彈。看著自己的身體變得如此龐大，她不禁流下了崩潰的眼淚。這究竟是一場什麼樣的噩夢？

屋外的白兔先生看到房子被嚴重破壞，嚇得瘋狂尖叫起來。由於白兔先生認為屋裡藏著一隻巨獸，因此他決定採取極端的行動。他大喊著要燒掉這座房子，以此消滅威脅。

很快，窗外傳來了木柴燃燒的聲音和刺鼻的煙味。火勢越來越大，屋頂上的木板也開始猛烈地燃燒著。愛麗絲驚恐萬分，她被大火困住，差一點就被活活燒死。難道她短暫的生命就要在這裡結束嗎？

就在這生死關頭，白兔先生朝窗戶裡扔進了幾根胡蘿蔔。愛麗絲勉強伸出巨大的手指，幸運地抓住了其中一根胡蘿蔔。哪怕食物再奇怪，她也別無選擇，只能大口大口地吞嚥。

奇蹟發生了，她的身體急遽縮小，變得像一隻微小的昆蟲。變成昆蟲般大小的愛麗絲，趕緊從燃燒的門縫裡拚命跑出來。她終於成功地逃脫了這場可怕的火災。在奔跑的過程中，她差一點就被掉落的火柱狠狠砸中。

既然幸運地逃脫了死亡的命運，她就必須想辦法活下去。然而，現在的她無比微小。愛麗絲站在高聳入雲的草叢中，無助地仰望著天空。周圍的每一根雜草都像大樹一樣高，讓她感到前所未有的脆弱。

生詞 · New Words

懸浮to hover / to be suspended半空中出現了一個懸浮的、帶著條紋的微笑HSK 6

吞食to devour / to swallow最後全遭到無情地吞食HSK 6

穿梭to pass through / to shuttle back and forth她繼續在樹林中穿梭HSK 6

膨脹to expand / to swell愛麗絲的身體瞬間失控地急速膨脹HSK 6

崩潰to break down / to collapseoften used for emotional breakdowns她不禁流下了崩潰的眼淚HSK 5

刺鼻pungent / irritating to the nose窗外傳來了木柴燃燒的聲音和刺鼻的煙味HSK 6

吞嚥to swallow / to gulp down只能大口大口地吞嚥HSK 6

脆弱fragile / vulnerable讓她感到前所未有的脆弱HSK 5

語法 · Grammar

Hypothetical Concession with 哪怕... 也...

哪怕 + Extreme Condition，Subject + 也 + Result

The conjunction 哪怕 means 'even if' or 'no matter how'. It introduces a hypothetical or extreme condition, and is usually paired with 也 (or 還) in the following clause to show that the result or decision will not change regardless of that condition.

哪怕食物再奇怪，她也別無選擇，只能大口大口地吞嚥。Even if the food was incredibly strange, she had no other choice and could only swallow it in huge gulps.

Logical Conclusions with 既然... 就...

既然 + Premise / Fact，Subject + 就 + Conclusion

既然 means 'since' or 'now that'. It states an established fact or premise. The second clause typically uses 就 to introduce the logical consequence, conclusion, or next course of action based on that fact.

既然幸運地逃脫了死亡的命運，她就必須想辦法活下去。Since she had luckily escaped the fate of death, she had to find a way to survive.

練習二 · Matching

Match each word or phrase to its meaning.

1.吞食

2.刺鼻

3.吞嚥

4.漫不經心

5.莫名其妙

a.to gulp down

b.baffled / inexplicable

c.to devour

d.pungent

e.careless / indifferent

1-c · 2-d · 3-a · 4-e · 5-b

譯文 · Translation

In the unfamiliar and dim forest, Alice had completely lost her direction.

Suddenly, a suspended, striped smile appeared in mid-air, blocking her path. This was the mysterious Cheshire Cat. The Cheshire Cat slowly revealed its entire body, looked at her carelessly, and gave Alice a terrifying warning.

In a low voice, it told a dark story about little oysters. "Those poor oysters were tricked out to the surface of the sea, and eventually were all mercilessly devoured."

Alice felt utterly baffled listening to this, yet she felt a deep wave of fear in her heart. What kind of warning was this anyway? Could it be that in this wonderful world, there hid dangerous monsters that specialized in eating children?

Alice didn't want to keep listening, so she quietly left the Cheshire Cat. She continued to pass through the woods and soon realized she was no longer lost. A lovely little house appeared ahead. Mr. White Rabbit was standing at the door, looking at the pocket watch in his hand with a flustered expression. He mistook Alice for his servant and loudly ordered her to go inside the house immediately to find his gloves.

Alice obediently walked into the house but did not find any gloves. However, she saw a beautifully decorated cookie sitting on the table. Because she was truly too hungry, she grabbed the cookie without hesitation and took a bite.

Who could have thought that this seemingly ordinary cookie actually possessed terrifying magic! Alice's body instantly expanded out of control at a rapid pace. In just a few seconds, she became like a giant monster. Her arm roughly stretched out from the window, and her feet kicked down the wooden door. Finally, her head even directly crashed through the roof of the house!

Alice was pinned dead in her tracks, stuck between the walls, completely unable to move. Seeing her own body become so massive, she couldn't help but shed tears of emotional breakdown. What kind of nightmare was this?

Outside the house, Mr. White Rabbit saw that the house was severely destroyed and screamed frantically in terror. Because Mr. White Rabbit believed that a giant beast was hiding inside the house, he decided to take extreme action. He yelled about burning down the house to eliminate the threat.

Soon, the sound of burning firewood and a pungent smell of smoke came from outside the window. The fire grew bigger and bigger, and the wooden boards on the roof also began to burn fiercely. Alice was extremely terrified; trapped by the raging fire, she was almost burned alive. Was her short life going to end here?

Right at this life-or-death moment, Mr. White Rabbit threw a few carrots through the window. Alice managed to stretch out her enormous fingers and luckily grabbed one of the carrots. Even if the food was incredibly strange, she had no other choice but to swallow it in huge gulps.

A miracle occurred; her body shrank drastically, becoming like a tiny insect. Having become the size of an insect, Alice hurried to run out desperately through the burning crack of the door. She finally successfully escaped this terrible fire. While running, she was almost violently struck by a falling pillar of fire.

Since she had luckily escaped the fate of death, she had to find a way to survive. However, now she was incredibly tiny. Standing in the towering grass, Alice looked up helplessly at the sky. Every single weed around her was as tall as a large tree, making her feel an unprecedented vulnerability.