全文 The whole set, with pinyin and English
看图 The pictures
图①：吴叔叔和我站在组屋楼下长满杂草的空地上。
wú shū shu hé wǒ zhàn zài zǔ wū lóu xià zhǎng mǎn zá cǎo de kòng dì shàng
Uncle Wu and I stand on the weedy patch of land below our HDB block.
图②：王阿姨和张爷爷也来了，空地旁竖起了“社区花园”的牌子。
wáng ā yí hé zhāng yé ye yě lái le kòng dì páng shù qǐ le shè qū huā yuán de pái zi
Auntie Wang and Grandpa Zhang come too, and a "Community Garden" sign goes up beside the plot.
图③：菜苗长高了，我提着水壶来给它们浇水。
cài miáo zhǎng gāo le wǒ tí zhe shuǐ hú lái gěi tā men jiāo shuǐ
The seedlings have grown, and I come with a watering can to water them.
图④：青菜和番茄成熟了，大家捧着自己种的菜，开心极了。
qīng cài hé fān qié chéng shú le dà jiā pěng zhe zì jǐ zhòng de cài kāi xīn jí le
The greens and tomatoes are ripe, and everyone is delighted, holding the vegetables they grew.
想一想 Guiding questions
问：故事开始的时候，组屋楼下的空地是什么样子的？
gù shi kāi shǐ de shí hou zǔ wū lóu xià de kòng dì shì shén me yàng zi de
At the start of the story, what was the plot below the block like?
答：空地上长满了杂草，看起来乱糟糟的，谁也不想走近。
kòng dì shàng zhǎng mǎn le zá cǎo kàn qǐ lái luàn zāo zāo de shéi yě bù xiǎng zǒu jìn
It was overgrown with weeds and looked a mess; nobody wanted to go near it.
问：吴叔叔有什么想法？谁来帮忙？
wú shū shu yǒu shén me xiǎng fǎ shéi lái bāng máng
What idea did Uncle Wu have? Who came to help?
答：吴叔叔想把空地变成社区花园，王阿姨和张爷爷都来帮忙。
wú shū shu xiǎng bǎ kòng dì biàn chéng shè qū huā yuán wáng ā yí hé zhāng yé ye dōu lái bāng máng
Uncle Wu wanted to turn the plot into a community garden, and Auntie Wang and Grandpa Zhang both came to help.
问：菜苗种下以后，我做了什么？
cài miáo zhòng xià yǐ hòu wǒ zuò le shén me
After the seedlings were planted, what did I do?
答：我每天放学后都提着水壶来浇水，看着菜苗一天天长高。
wǒ měi tiān fàng xué hòu dōu tí zhe shuǐ hú lái jiāo shuǐ kàn zhe cài miáo yì tiān tiān zhǎng gāo
Every day after school I came with a watering can to water them, and watched the seedlings grow taller day by day.
问：天气怎么样？浇水辛苦吗？
tiān qì zěn me yàng jiāo shuǐ xīn kǔ ma
What was the weather like? Was watering hard work?
答：太阳火辣辣的，我常常晒得满头大汗，可是我一点也不觉得累。
tài yáng huǒ là là de wǒ cháng cháng shài de mǎn tóu dà hàn kě shì wǒ yì diǎn yě bù jué de lèi
The sun was scorching and I often ended up dripping with sweat, but I didn't feel tired at all.
问：丰收的时候，大家的心情怎么样？
fēng shōu de shí hou dà jiā de xīn qíng zěn me yàng
At harvest time, how did everyone feel?
答：大家捧着自己种的青菜和番茄，脸上都挂着笑容，开心得不得了。
dà jiā pěng zhe zì jǐ zhòng de qīng cài hé fān qié liǎn shàng dōu guà zhe xiào róng kāi xīn de bù dé liǎo
Holding the greens and tomatoes they had grown, everyone wore a smile and was overjoyed.
问：这件事让你明白了什么？
zhè jiàn shì ràng nǐ míng bai le shén me
What did this teach you?
答：只要邻居们齐心协力，再乱的空地也能变成美丽的花园。
zhǐ yào lín jū men qí xīn xié lì zài luàn de kòng dì yě néng biàn chéng měi lì de huā yuán
As long as neighbours work together, even the messiest plot can become a beautiful garden.
好词好句 Good words and sentences
杂草丛生 乱糟糟 主意 齐心协力 火辣辣 满头大汗 一天天 丰收 新鲜 远亲不如近邻 熟悉
杂草丛生 zá cǎo cóng shēng: overgrown with weeds; 乱糟糟 luàn zāo zāo: messy; 主意 zhǔ yi: idea; 齐心协力 qí xīn xié lì: to work together as one; 火辣辣 huǒ là là: scorching; 满头大汗 mǎn tóu dà hàn: dripping with sweat; 一天天 yì tiān tiān: day by day; 丰收 fēng shōu: a good harvest; 新鲜 xīn xiān: fresh; 远亲不如近邻 yuǎn qīn bù rú jìn lín: a near neighbour is better than a distant relative; 熟悉 shú xī: familiar; to know well
太阳火辣辣地照着大地，汗水顺着我的脸往下流。
tài yáng huǒ là là de zhào zhe dà dì hàn shuǐ shùn zhe wǒ de liǎn wǎng xià liú
The sun blazed down on the ground, and sweat ran down my face.
菜苗一天天长高，好像在跟我比赛谁长得快。
cài miáo yì tiān tiān zhǎng gāo hǎo xiàng zài gēn wǒ bǐ sài shéi zhǎng de kuài
The seedlings grew taller day by day, as if racing me to see who grew faster.
红红的番茄挂在枝头，像一个个小灯笼。
hóng hóng de fān qié guà zài zhī tóu xiàng yí gè gè xiǎo dēng long
Red tomatoes hung on the stems like little lanterns.
远亲不如近邻，大家齐心协力，我们的家园变得更美了。
yuǎn qīn bù rú jìn lín dà jiā qí xīn xié lì wǒ men de jiā yuán biàn de gèng měi le
A near neighbour is better than a distant relative: working together, we made our home even more beautiful.
范文 Sample composition: 楼下的社区花园
我家住在一座组屋里，楼下有一块空地。
wǒ jiā zhù zài yí zuò zǔ wū lǐ lóu xià yǒu yí kuài kòng dì
My family lives in an HDB block, and below it there is an empty plot of land.
空地上杂草丛生，看起来乱糟糟的，谁也不想走近。
kòng dì shàng zá cǎo cóng shēng kàn qǐ lái luàn zāo zāo de shéi yě bù xiǎng zǒu jìn
It was overgrown with weeds and looked a mess, and nobody wanted to go near it.
有一个星期六，戴着草帽的吴叔叔带我到空地上走了一圈。
yǒu yí gè xīng qī liù dài zhe cǎo mào de wú shū shu dài wǒ dào kòng dì shàng zǒu le yì quān
One Saturday, Uncle Wu, in his straw hat, took me for a walk around the plot.
他笑着问我：“我们把这里变成一个花园，好不好？”
tā xiào zhe wèn wǒ wǒ men bǎ zhè lǐ biàn chéng yí gè huā yuán hǎo bu hǎo
He asked me with a smile, "How about we turn this into a garden?"
吴叔叔的主意得到了邻居们的支持。
wú shū shu de zhǔ yi dé dào le lín jū men de zhī chí
Uncle Wu's idea won the neighbours' support.
王阿姨和张爷爷都来帮忙，大家有的拔草，有的松土，有的种菜苗。
wáng ā yí hé zhāng yé ye dōu lái bāng máng dà jiā yǒu de bá cǎo yǒu de sōng tǔ yǒu de zhòng cài miáo
Auntie Wang and Grandpa Zhang came to help: some pulled weeds, some loosened the soil, some planted seedlings.
吴叔叔还在空地旁边竖起了一块牌子，写着“社区花园”四个大字。
wú shū shu hái zài kòng dì páng biān shù qǐ le yí kuài pái zi xiě zhe shè qū huā yuán sì gè dà zì
Uncle Wu also put up a sign beside the plot, with "Community Garden" in big characters.
菜苗种下以后，我每天放学都提着水壶来浇水。
cài miáo zhòng xià yǐ hòu wǒ měi tiān fàng xué dōu tí zhe shuǐ hú lái jiāo shuǐ
Once the seedlings were in, I came every day after school with a watering can to water them.
太阳火辣辣地照着大地，我常常晒得满头大汗。
tài yáng huǒ là là de zhào zhe dà dì wǒ cháng cháng shài de mǎn tóu dà hàn
The sun blazed down, and I was often dripping with sweat.
可是，看着菜苗一天天长高，我心里像喝了糖水一样甜。
kě shì kàn zhe cài miáo yì tiān tiān zhǎng gāo wǒ xīn li xiàng hē le táng shuǐ yí yàng tián
But watching the seedlings grow taller day by day, I felt as sweet inside as if I had drunk sugar water.
王阿姨教我怎样给菜苗施肥，张爷爷告诉我哪些是杂草，要及时拔掉。
wáng ā yí jiāo wǒ zěn yàng gěi cài miáo shī féi zhāng yé ye gào su wǒ nǎ xiē shì zá cǎo yào jí shí bá diào
Auntie Wang taught me how to feed the seedlings, and Grandpa Zhang showed me which plants were weeds that had to be pulled out quickly.
我学会了很多课本上学不到的知识。
wǒ xué huì le hěn duō kè běn shàng xué bu dào de zhī shi
I learnt a lot that you can't learn from textbooks.
过了一段时间，花园里的青菜长得又大又绿，番茄也红了。
guò le yí duàn shí jiān huā yuán lǐ de qīng cài zhǎng de yòu dà yòu lǜ fān qié yě hóng le
Some time later, the greens in the garden had grown big and green, and the tomatoes had turned red.
丰收的那天，吴叔叔把菜分给大家，王阿姨和张爷爷手里都捧着一大把青菜。
fēng shōu de nà tiān wú shū shu bǎ cài fēn gěi dà jiā wáng ā yí hé zhāng yé ye shǒu lǐ dōu pěng zhe yí dà bǎ qīng cài
On harvest day, Uncle Wu shared out the vegetables, and Auntie Wang and Grandpa Zhang each held a big bunch of greens.
张爷爷笑着说：“这是我吃过最新鲜的菜！”
zhāng yé ye xiào zhe shuō zhè shì wǒ chī guo zuì xīn xiān de cài
Grandpa Zhang laughed, "These are the freshest vegetables I've ever eaten!"
大家听了，都忍不住笑了。
dà jiā tīng le dōu rěn bu zhù xiào le
Hearing that, everyone couldn't help laughing.
现在，楼下的社区花园成了邻居们最喜欢的地方。
xiàn zài lóu xià de shè qū huā yuán chéng le lín jū men zuì xǐ huan de dì fang
Now the community garden below our block is the neighbours' favourite place.
大家常常在这里聊天、种菜，彼此也越来越熟悉。
dà jiā cháng cháng zài zhè lǐ liáo tiān zhòng cài bǐ cǐ yě yuè lái yuè shú xī
People often chat and grow vegetables here, and are getting to know each other better and better.
这件事让我明白：远亲不如近邻，只要大家齐心协力，就能让我们的家园变得更美丽。
zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ míng bai yuǎn qīn bù rú jìn lín zhǐ yào dà jiā qí xīn xié lì jiù néng ràng wǒ men de jiā yuán biàn de gèng měi lì
This taught me that a near neighbour is better than a distant relative: as long as we all work together, we can make our home more beautiful.
范文二 从吴叔叔的角度 From Uncle Wu's side
我在这座组屋住了十几年，楼下那块空地一直长满杂草。
wǒ zài zhè zuò zǔ wū zhù le shí jǐ nián lóu xià nà kuài kòng dì yì zhí zhǎng mǎn zá cǎo
I have lived in this block for over ten years, and the plot below has always been full of weeds.
每次经过，我都觉得很可惜。
měi cì jīng guò wǒ dōu jué de hěn kě xī
Every time I passed it, I felt it was such a waste.
有一天，我下定决心，要在这里开一个花园。
yǒu yì tiān wǒ xià dìng jué xīn yào zài zhè lǐ kāi yí gè huā yuán
One day, I made up my mind to start a garden here.
我先找来住在楼上的小杰，他听了我的计划，高兴得拍起手来。
wǒ xiān zhǎo lái zhù zài lóu shàng de xiǎo jié tā tīng le wǒ de jì huà gāo xìng de pāi qǐ shǒu lái
First I fetched Xiaojie from upstairs; when he heard my plan, he clapped his hands with joy.
接着，王阿姨和张爷爷也来帮忙了。
jiē zhe wáng ā yí hé zhāng yé ye yě lái bāng máng le
Then Auntie Wang and Grandpa Zhang came to help too.
我们竖起了一块“社区花园”的牌子，大家都干劲十足。
wǒ men shù qǐ le yí kuài shè qū huā yuán de pái zi dà jiā dōu gàn jìn shí zú
We put up a "Community Garden" sign, and everyone was full of energy.
种下菜苗以后，小杰每天放学都来浇水。
zhòng xià cài miáo yǐ hòu xiǎo jié měi tiān fàng xué dōu lái jiāo shuǐ
After we planted the seedlings, Xiaojie came every day after school to water them.
太阳那么大，他晒得满头大汗，却从来没有偷懒。
tài yáng nà me dà tā shài de mǎn tóu dà hàn què cóng lái méi yǒu tōu lǎn
Under that strong sun he was dripping with sweat, yet he never slacked off.
我看在眼里，心里很感动。
wǒ kàn zài yǎn lǐ xīn li hěn gǎn dòng
I saw it all, and it moved me.
丰收的那天，青菜绿油油的，番茄红通通的，菜地里一片丰收的景象。
fēng shōu de nà tiān qīng cài lǜ yóu yóu de fān qié hóng tōng tōng de cài dì lǐ yí piàn fēng shōu de jǐng xiàng
On harvest day the greens were lush and the tomatoes bright red: the whole bed was a picture of a good harvest.
我把菜分给每一位邻居，大家的脸上都笑开了花。
wǒ bǎ cài fēn gěi měi yí wèi lín jū dà jiā de liǎn shàng dōu xiào kāi le huā
I shared the vegetables with every neighbour, and everyone's face broke into a big smile.
我心想：一块小小的空地，让邻居们走到了一起。
wǒ xīn xiǎng yí kuài xiǎo xiǎo de kòng dì ràng lín jū men zǒu dào le yì qǐ
I thought: one small plot of land has brought the neighbours together.
这就是社区花园带给我们最大的收获。
zhè jiù shì shè qū huā yuán dài gěi wǒ men zuì dà de shōu huò
That is the greatest harvest the community garden has given us.