Friday morning began badly. Class 5B had practiced their electricity presentation for two weeks, and the projector refused to wake. Ms. Qiao pressed every button twice. Then, at ten past nine, the lights went out. The computer sighed, and the whole room went quiet.
星期五的早晨开头就不顺。五班为他们的“电”主题展示排练了两个星期，投影仪却怎么也不肯亮。乔老师把每个按钮都按了两遍。接着，九点十分，灯灭了。电脑轻轻叹了一声，整间教室安静下来。
“Power cut,” said the caretaker from the doorway. “The whole street.” Everyone groaned. Their charts were useless without the screen, and the principal had promised to watch. Tian, who had never spoken during rehearsals, raised one hand. “We could still show them,” he said. “We just need a dark room.”
“停电了，”管理员站在门口说，“整条街都停了。”大家唉声叹气。没有屏幕，他们的图表都用不上，而校长答应过要来观看。排练时从没开过口的天宇举起了一只手。“我们还是可以演给他们看，”他说，“只需要一间黑屋子。”
The class borrowed candles from the kitchen and a sheet from the drama cupboard. They taped the sheet across the window, and suddenly the classroom became a small theatre. Tian held a cardboard sun in front of a flashlight while two girls moved clouds across the wall. When the sun “rose,” the audience clapped.
全班从厨房借来蜡烛，又从戏剧柜里借了一条床单。他们把床单贴在窗户上，教室忽然变成了一个小剧场。天宇把纸板做的太阳举在手电筒前，两个女孩让云朵在墙上游过。当太阳“升起”时，观众鼓起了掌。
Other groups followed. A boy explained circuits by walking along a rope of hands. Another drew a water cycle with chalk on a dark board. Nobody missed the screen. Even Ms. Qiao forgot to check her watch, and the principal stayed until the last candle burned low.
其他小组也接着表演。一个男孩让大家手拉手站成一排，沿着这条“人绳”讲解电路。另一个男孩在黑板上用粉笔画水循环。没有人想念屏幕。连乔老师都忘了看表，校长一直待到最后一根蜡烛快烧完。
At half past two the lights flickered back on. The projector woke with a cheerful chime, and the principal asked them to finish their presentation properly. The class looked at one another. Then Tian switched the projector off again. “We already did it,” he said. “But we can do it once more, if you like, with the lights out.”
两点半，灯闪了几下又亮了。投影仪伴着一声轻快的提示音醒来，校长让他们把展示正式完成。同学们互相看了看。然后天宇又把投影仪关掉了。“我们已经演完了，”他说，“不过如果您愿意，我们可以关着灯再演一遍。”
The principal laughed and sat down. Afterward, Ms. Qiao wrote a note on the board: For the next presentation, bring candles. Nobody knew whether she was joking. They kept the cardboard sun in the cupboard anyway. It became the first thing anyone looked for at the start of every term.
校长笑着坐了下来。结束后，乔老师在黑板上写下一行字：下次展示，请带蜡烛。没人知道她是不是在开玩笑。不过他们还是把纸板太阳留在了柜子里。每到新学期开始，大家第一件要找的就是它。