那是七月的一个晚上，热得不得了。
Nà shì qī yuè de yí gè wǎnshang, rè de bùdéliǎo.
It was a night in July, terribly hot.
我开着空调，在房间里准备第二天的考试。
Wǒ kāi zhe kōngtiáo, zài fángjiān lǐ zhǔnbèi dì èr tiān de kǎoshì.
With the air conditioning on, I was studying for the next day's exam.
九点多，灯突然不亮了，空调也停了。
Jiǔ diǎn duō, dēng tūrán bú liàng le, kōngtiáo yě tíng le.
Around nine the lights suddenly went out, and the air conditioning stopped too.
整个屋子一下子黑了。
Zhěnggè wūzi yíxià zi hēi le.
The whole room went dark at once.
我打开手机看，楼里群里的消息一条接一条。
Wǒ dǎkāi shǒujī kàn, lóu lǐ qún lǐ de xiāoxi yì tiáo jiē yì tiáo.
I turned on my phone and saw messages in the building group coming one after another.
原来整个小区都停电了。
Yuánlái zhěnggè xiǎoqū dōu tíng diàn le.
It turned out the whole neighborhood had lost power.
房间里越来越热，我只好开门出去。
Fángjiān lǐ yuè lái yuè rè, wǒ zhǐ hǎo kāi mén chūqù.
The room got hotter and hotter, so I had to open the door and go out.
电梯不能用，楼梯上都是手机的亮光。
Diàntī bù néng yòng, lóutī shàng dōu shì shǒujī de liàng guāng.
The elevator was out, and the stairway was lit by the glow of phones.
对面的阿姨摇着扇子说：下楼去吧。
Duìmiàn de āyí yáo zhe shànzi shuō: xià lóu qù ba.
The auntie across waved her fan and said: let's go downstairs.
楼下的小花园里，人越来越多。
Lóu xià de xiǎo huāyuán lǐ, rén yuè lái yuè duō.
In the little garden downstairs, more and more people gathered.
有人搬来了小椅子，有人切了西瓜分给大家。
Yǒu rén bān lái le xiǎo yǐzi, yǒu rén qiē le xīguā fēn gěi dàjiā.
Some brought out small chairs, and some cut up a watermelon to share.
我拿着一块西瓜，突然不知道说什么好。
Wǒ ná zhe yí kuài xīguā, tūrán bù zhīdào shuō shénme hǎo.
Holding a piece of watermelon, I suddenly did not know what to say.
我在这里住了两年，这些人一个都不认识。
Wǒ zài zhèlǐ zhù le liǎng nián, zhèxiē rén yí gè dōu bú rènshi.
I had lived here for two years and did not know a single one of these people.
一个大爷问我住几楼，我说十一楼。
Yí gè dàye wèn wǒ zhù jǐ lóu, wǒ shuō shí yī lóu.
An old uncle asked which floor I lived on, and I said the eleventh.
他笑着说，他家在九楼，天天坐同一部电梯。
Tā xiào zhe shuō, tā jiā zài jiǔ lóu, tiān tiān zuò tóngyī bù diàntī.
He smiled and said his home was on the ninth floor, and we took the same elevator every day.
楼上有个男生坐在台阶上唱起了歌。
Lóu shàng yǒu gè nánshēng zuò zài táijiē shàng chàng qǐ le gē.
A young man from upstairs sat on the steps and started singing.
孩子们在他周围跑来跑去，一点也不怕黑。
Háizi men zài tā zhōuwéi pǎo lái pǎo qù, yì diǎn yě bú pà hēi.
Children ran around him, not afraid of the dark at all.
没有电视，没有电脑，大家反而说话了。
Méiyǒu diànshì, méiyǒu diànnǎo, dàjiā fǎn’ér shuōhuà le.
With no TV and no computers, people actually talked to each other.
十点半，灯一下子全亮了。
Shí diǎn bàn, dēng yíxià zi quán liàng le.
At half past ten, all the lights came back on at once.
有人高兴地叫了起来，也有人说：怎么这么快。
Yǒu rén gāoxìng de jiào le qǐlái, yě yǒu rén shuō: zěnme zhème kuài.
Some cried out happily, and some said: why so soon.
大家慢慢站起来，拿着自己的椅子回家去了。
Dàjiā màn màn zhàn qǐlái, ná zhe zìjǐ de yǐzi huí jiā qù le.
Everyone slowly stood up and carried their chairs home.
我回到房间，空调很凉，房间里很亮。
Wǒ huí dào fángjiān, kōngtiáo hěn liáng, fángjiān lǐ hěn liàng.
Back inside, the air conditioning was cool and the room was bright.
可是我坐在桌子前，很久都没有开始学习。
Kěshì wǒ zuò zài zhuōzi qián, hěn jiǔ dōu méiyǒu kāishǐ xuéxí.
But I sat at my desk and did not start studying for a long time.
我走到窗户前，看向楼下的小花园。
Wǒ zǒu dào chuānghu qián, kàn xiàng lóu xià de xiǎo huāyuán.
I walked to the window and looked down at the little garden.
那里又黑了，也安静了。
Nàlǐ yòu hēi le, yě ānjìng le.
It was dark there again, and quiet.
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