小小班

夏天的上海总是很热。

shanghai is always hot in summer.

傍晚走过一些老式弄堂，总能看到人们一边往地上泼凉水，一边把屋里的凳子椅子搬出来，然后围在一起或者打牌，或者聊天，非常热闹。每当这时，妈妈的脸上总会流露出一丝甜甜的微笑。妈妈说她小时候夏天的弄堂也是这样的。她常给我讲她的童年故事，讲那时的橡皮筋、糖纸、八音盒……还有那最让我感兴趣的“小小班”。

in the evening, when i walk through some old-fashioned alleys, i can always see people pouring cold water on the ground and moving out the benches and chairs in the room, and then surrounding them or playing cards or chatting, which is very lively. at this time, there is always a sweet smile on my mother's face. mom said the same thing happened in the alley in summer when she was a child. she often tells me stories of her childhood, such as rubber bands, sugar paper, eight tone boxes and the "little class" that interests me the most.

妈妈说，她小时候只上半天课，每天下午和寒暑假期，老师就把班里住得近的同学组织成一个“小小学习班”。那时候，弄堂里的孩子们一吃完饭，就背着书包，拿着小板凳来到“小小班”的活动地———天井。孩子们围坐在用两条长板凳和一块大木板拼成的桌子四周，小组长一声令下，一天中最有趣的“小小班”活动就开始了！大家专心致志地做作业，个个憋足劲儿，看谁做得最好、最快。碰到难题时，大家便互相探讨，互相帮助。做完作业，小组长还要检查一遍，真可谓“双保险”。

mother said that she only had half a day of classes when she was a child. every afternoon and winter and summer holidays, the teacher organized the students who lived close to her class into a "small learning class". at that time, as soon as the children in the alley finished eating, they came to the activity ground of "little class" - patio with schoolbags and small benches. the children are sitting around the table made of two long benches and a big board. at the command of the group leader, the most interesting "small class" activity of the day begins! we all concentrate on doing our homework, and we all have enough energy to see who can do it best and fastest. when confronted with difficulties, we will discuss and help each other. after finishing the homework, the team leader has to check it again. it's really "double insurance".

学习之后便到了娱乐时间，大家尽情地玩。女孩子们在一起跳橡皮筋，男孩子们在一起打弹子、斗鸡……那时虽然没有溜冰鞋、滑板车、电脑，但孩子们用自己制作的玩具一样玩得很开心，整个弄堂充满了欢歌笑语。有时候“小小班”还会组织一些活动，唱歌啦，跳舞啦……看到大人们做事，大家都会积极主动地去帮忙。有一次妈妈的腿骨折了，同学们就把“小小班”搬到妈妈家门口。妈妈说，在那段难熬的日子里，每天最盼望的就是“小小班”。

after studying, it's time to have fun. girls play rubber bands together, boys play marbles and cockfights together although there were no skates, scooters or computers at that time, the children had a good time with their own toys. the whole hall was full of songs and laughter. sometimes "small class" will organize some activities, singing, dancing when we see adults doing things, we will take the initiative to help. once my mother's leg broke, the students moved the "small class" to my mother's door. mom said that in those tough days, the most expected thing every day is "small class".

每当妈妈讲“小小班”的故事时，我都会羡慕不已。现在的高楼大厦越来越多了，同学们却越住越远，尽管有电话，甚至有些同学还有手机，可是大家一起玩的时间越来越少了。没有了“小小班”，取而代之的是“晚托班”、“兴趣班”……有时，我们想玩水，大人们会说：“哎呀，小宝贝，会感冒的。”有时，我们想玩泥巴，大人们会说：“哎呀，小祖宗，会弄脏衣服的。”其实，也许我们今天在水沟里做个小堤，说不定，明天就会在江河上建造一座拦河大坝。也许我们今天用泥巴做一个呆头呆脑的机器人，说不定明天会发明一个现代化的智能机器人。

every time my mother tells the story of "little class", i envy it. nowadays, there are more and more high-rise buildings, but the students are living far away. although there are telephones, some students even have mobile phones, the time we play together is less and less. no "small class", instead of "late class", "interest class" sometimes, when we want to play with water, the adults will say, "gee, baby, we will catch a cold." sometimes, when we want to play with mud, the adults will say, "oh, my little ancestors, they will dirty their clothes." in fact, maybe we can build a small dike in the ditch today, or we can build a dam on the river tomorrow. maybe we can make a stupid robot out of mud today, maybe we can invent a modern intelligent robot tomorrow.

我向往过去的弄堂生活，向往那时的无忧无虑，向往那充满欢乐的“小小班”。

i yearn for the past life in the alley, the carefree life at that time, and the "small class" full of joy.