我的邻居是一对年轻夫妻，家里养了一只猫。
Wǒ de línjū shì yí duì niánqīng fūqī, jiā lǐ yǎng le yī zhī māo.
My neighbors are a young couple with a cat.
猫的名字叫包子，胖胖的，特别可爱。
Māo de míngzi jiào bāozi, pàng pàng de, tèbié kě’ài.
The cat is named Baozi, chubby and really cute.
上个星期，他们两个人要出差半个月。
Shàng gè xīngqī, tāmen liǎng gèrén yào chūchāi bàn gè yuè.
Last week they both had to travel for work for half a month.
走以前，他们来敲我的门，问能不能帮忙喂猫。
Zǒu yǐqián, tāmen lái qiāo wǒ de mén, wèn néng bù néng bāngmáng wèi māo.
Before leaving they knocked on my door and asked if I could help feed the cat.
我马上答应了，他们就把钥匙给了我。
Wǒ mǎshàng dāying le, tāmen jiù bǎ yàoshi gěi le wǒ.
I agreed at once, and they gave me the key.
刚去的那天，我开门进去，包子躲在了沙发后面。
Gāng qù de nà tiān, wǒ kāi mén jìnqù, bāozi duǒ zài le shāfā hòumiàn.
The first day when I opened the door and went in, Baozi hid behind the sofa.
我把猫饭放进碗里，坐在客厅等它。
Wǒ bǎ māo fàn fàng jìn wǎn lǐ, zuò zài kètīng děng tā.
I put the cat food in the bowl and sat in the living room waiting for it.
它看了我很久，就是不想下来。
Tā kàn le wǒ hěn jiǔ, jiùshì bù xiǎng xiàlái.
It watched me for a long time but just did not want to come down.
我只好先回家，晚上又来看了一次。
Wǒ zhǐ hǎo xiān huí jiā, wǎnshang yòu lái kàn le yí cì.
I had to go home first and came back to check again in the evening.
饭没有了不少，包子又躲了起来。
Fàn méiyǒu le bù shǎo, bāozi yòu duǒ le qǐlái.
The food was partly gone, and Baozi had hidden itself again.
就这样，我们一个躲，一个喂。
Jiù zhèyàng, wǒmen yí gè duǒ, yí gè wèi.
So it went: one hid, the other fed.
第五天，我带了一张报纸，坐在地上看。
Dì wǔ tiān, wǒ dài le yì zhāng bàozhǐ, zuò zài de shàng kàn.
On the fifth day I brought a newspaper and sat on the floor reading it.
我没有看它，它反而走过来闻我的鞋。
Wǒ méiyǒu kàn tā, tā fǎn’ér zǒu guòlái wén wǒ de xié.
I did not look at it, and instead it came over to smell my shoes.
我坐着不动，心里特别高兴。
Wǒ zuò zhe bú dòng, xīnlǐ tèbié gāoxìng.
I sat without moving, feeling really happy inside.
从那天起，它会在阳台上晒太阳，让我摸它的毛。
Cóng nà tiān qǐ, tā huì zài yángtái shàng shài tàiyáng, ràng wǒ mō tā de máo.
From that day on it would sun itself on the balcony and let me touch its fur.
我下午去一次，有的时候带上一个小球。
Wǒ xiàwǔ qù yí cì, yǒude shíhou dài shàng yí gè xiǎo qiú.
I went once every afternoon, sometimes bringing a little ball.
它追着球跑来跑去，样子特别好看。
Tā zhuī zhe qiú pǎo lái pǎo qù, yàngzi tèbié hǎokàn.
It chased the ball around, and it looked wonderful.
我还对着它读中文课文，读得不好也不怕它笑。
Wǒ hái duì zhe tā dú Zhōngwén kèwén, dú de bù hǎo yě bú pà tā xiào.
I even read my Chinese texts to it, unafraid of being laughed at for reading badly.
邻居回来那天，我隔着墙都能听见包子的叫声。
Línjū huílái nà tiān, wǒ gé zhe qiáng dōu néng tīngjiàn bāozi de jiào shēng.
The day the neighbors came back, I could hear Baozi meowing through the wall.
我心里有点空，好像一个朋友搬走了。
Wǒ xīnlǐ yǒu diǎn kōng, hǎoxiàng yí gè péngyou bān zǒu le.
I felt a bit empty inside, as if a friend had moved away.
星期二晚上，有人轻轻抓我的门。
Xīngqī èr wǎnshang, yǒu rén qīng qīng zhuā wǒ de mén.
Tuesday evening, something scratched my door softly.
开门一看，包子坐在门口，小球就在它脚下。
Kāi mén yí kàn, bāozi zuò zài ménkǒu, xiǎo qiú jiù zài tā jiǎo xià.
I opened the door and there sat Baozi, with my little ball at its feet.
原来邻居忘了锁他们家的猫门。
Yuánlái línjū wàng le suǒ tāmen jiā de māo mén.
It turned out the neighbors had forgotten to lock their cat door.
从那以后，每个星期二的晚上，我们一起读课文。
Cóng nà yǐhòu, měi gè xīngqī èr de wǎnshang, wǒmen yìqǐ dú kèwén.
Since then, every Tuesday evening, we read texts together.
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