儿童故事集：Katie’s Magic Personality Part 1

 Hello, this is Natasha, and I’m here with the first in a two part story about Katie the Witch. As you know, Katie lives in the ordinary world and goes to an ordinary school with ordinary pupils.

 

You might think that witches would travel everywhere by broomstick. And indeed there was a time, even as recently as Great Aunt Chloe’s girlhood, when it was more or less safe to fly by broom, unseen on a dark night. But those days are gone. You wouldn’t get far before air traffic control spotted¹ you on the radar². Alarms would sound and the words UFO would flash on computer screens at the Defence Ministry³. Who could say what sort of incident might happen next?

 

And so now I have explained all that, you can understand why Katie and her mum were hanging around at the railway station. They went into the newspaper shop, and Katie’s mum bought one of those glossy⁴ women’s magazines.

 

When eventually they were seated on the train, and they were slowly rattling⁵ past the backs of suburban⁶ houses, Katie’s mum thumbed through the magazine.

 

“Oh well, I’m not really interested in the latest royal baby,” she said and she handed it to Katie.

 

Katie looked at the contents page. Among all the features about celebrity⁷ diets, relationships and beauty treatments, there was one that caught her eye.

 

The Magic Personality – how to cast your personality like a spell, and charm everyone you meet, and win instant popularity.

 

“Hmm, that looks intriguing,” thought Katie and she turned to page 45 to read on.

 

It’s not everyday you meet a girl or a guy who wins you over with a single smile. But it can happen anywhere, any time. It might be a waitress, it might be a film star, it might be that man standing⁸ on the other side of the room – each of these special people has a magnetic attraction. You feel it instantly. They speak one sentence and you melt. They make you feel like you are the only person in their life.

 

We all love to meet that person, the one who possesses the magical personality. But how much better to BE that person? Yes, you too can possess a magical personality in these 7 easy steps.

 

Of course Katie realised that the article wasn’t about real magic. People who aren’t witches use the word “magic” very loosely. Still Katie wanted to know what tips they were offering. She read on.

 

1. Be Warm –

It’s ok to smile, so long as you retain your innate⁹ superiority.

 

2. Be Confident –

It doesn’t matter how you feel inside, walk into the room like you own it.

 

3. Be Witty¹⁰ –

You don’t have to be super-intelligent, or even that funny, just be quick and confident with a reply.

 

4. Dress snappily –

It’s not so much what you wear, it’s how you wear it. Dress with attitude.

 

5. Learn to Dance –

Everyone’s eyes are on the dancing queen.

 

6. Master Small Talk –

You can chat forever about the weather, but never talk about anything serious, because you might say something that irks somebody.

 

7. Be Busy – Even if you aren’t –

Sure you are tucked up in bed with a cup of hot cocoa, but let people believe your diary is chock-a-block with hot dates and important functions.

 

The train went clackety clack and Katie looked around the carriage at the passengers fiddling¹¹ with their mobile phones, plugged into their earbuds listening to music, reading magazines, or staring into space. Not one of them seemed to possess that Magical Personality. It was a rare quality indeed.

 

She thought of her class at school. Isis was certainly popular – but not universally liked by any means. She dressed well, could dance beautifully, and was quite busy. But come to think of it, even Isis did not obey all the rules. Once you got to know her, she didn’t seem like an innately¹² superior being. She had a really funny and quite dangerous sense of humour, and she and Katie could talk for hours about anything and everything. Yes, thought Katie, if Isis really wants to go to the top and become a Hollywood superstar, she’ll have to be more careful about what she says and to whom.

 

Then Katie began to ponder – could she be that popular person? She was anything but popular now. Lots of people thought she was weird¹³ and stayed away from her. Worse, they said nasty things behind her back and spread ugly rumours¹⁴ about her magic. Sometimes she hated being a witch! If only she could just be ordinary and popular. Life would be so much more pleasant and easy.

 

Their destination was Great Aunt Chloe’s country cottage. All the time they were there, it rained. Katie went into the conservatory¹⁵ and looked through the glass doors and a the bedraggled flowers in the garden. Then she went up to the spare room where she was staying. A large bookshelf full of spells covered one wall. She ran her finger over the spine¹⁶ until she found one that looked promising¹⁷. It was about “Personality Spells.” She read the introduction. It warned that altering personality is a powerful and dangerous area of magic that is best performed under the guidance of a qualified¹⁸ specialist, and the book was intended as coursework for students in their third year of studying witchcraft¹⁹ at University.

 

“Oh, they always say that,” thought Katie. “They are just covering their backs incase somebody does something stupid and sues them.”

 

She spent the whole afternoon engrossed²⁰ in the book and making notes in her magic pocket books. When she came down for tea her mum asked:

 

“What have you been up to darling?”

 

“Oh just thumbing through Great Aunt Chloe’s magic books. She has some really good ones.”

 

“The best way to spend a rainy afternoon,” agreed Great Aunt Chloe.

 

For the next few days, Katie thought about little else but how to create her magic personality. She worked on her spell. Her ideal self would be warm, but not too warm, incase people thought she was trying too hard to make people like her. She definitely wanted bags of confidence – that would make her feel great. As for intelligence – perhaps she needed a little less than she had already, because very smart people aren’t usually that popular. She knew she needed a lot of extra dress sense because, although she liked her clothes, people were always niggling her about the way she looked. And yes, she had to admit, she was the worst dancer! She tossed lots of rhythm and coordination²¹ into the spell.

 

Skill at Small Talk was a difficult one to conjure²² up – but eventually she found the solution – she took the Profundity²³ Spell and reversed it . And as for “the appearance of being busy” she mixed in plenty of “bluff.”

 

Back home, she continued to work for a whole week on her mega spell for her new self. Her mum thought she was working hard on a school project, but really she was writing down all the ingredients and the precise quantities that she was going to use. Late one night, she sneaked²⁴ down into the kitchen to mix them, and then took the result back up to her bedroom.

 

“Wow! I’m going to be so popular,” she thought as she looked at the glass of purple mixture on her dressing²⁵ room table.

 

She lifted it up and said “cheers” to her old self in the mirror and knocked it back. It tasted awful, but she felt great! Even Solomon her cat seemed to notice an instant change. He jumped up onto her lap and purred, which he hardly ever did.

 

When Katie got dressed in the morning, she spent just a few seconds longer than usual, adjusting her tie in the mirror.

 

“Yes, that’s a good knot,” she thought. “I’ll just put it at a slight angle.” And then: “No I won’t wear that enamel²⁶ hairclip with a cat face on it, this one is more funky²⁷.”

 

There was something just a little bit different about her as she walked across the playground. A positive energy sprung her step. Most of the other kids looked half sleepy as they shambled into the cloakroom, but Katie slipped out of her coat sleeves elegantly and hung up her coat on the hook like she meant it to stay there. She could feel the difference already – but did anyone else notice?

 

And that was the first part of Katie’s Magical Personality. In the next part, events take quite a dramatic turn – so listen out for Part Two of the story coming soon on Storynory.com.

 

For now, from me, Natasha

1 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

2 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

5 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

6 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

7 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

10 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

11 fiddling   

微小的

参考例句：

• He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
• All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

12 innately   

adv.天赋地；内在地，固有地

参考例句：

• Innately conservative, Confucius was fascinated by the last of these disciplines. 由于生性保守，孔子特别推崇“礼”。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Different individuals are innately fitted for different kinds of employment. 不同的人适合不同的职业，这是天生的。 来自互联网

13 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

14 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

15 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

16 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

17 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

18 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

19 witchcraft   

n.魔法，巫术

参考例句：

• The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。
• All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。

20 engrossed   

adj.全神贯注的

参考例句：

• The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
• No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。

21 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

22 conjure   

v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法

参考例句：

• I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
• I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

23 profundity   

n.渊博；深奥，深刻

参考例句：

• He impressed his audience by the profundity of his knowledge.他知识渊博给听众留下了深刻的印象。
• He pretended profundity by eye-beamings at people.他用神采奕奕的眼光看着人们，故作深沉。

24 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

25 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

26 enamel   

n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质

参考例句：

• I chipped the enamel on my front tooth when I fell over.我跌倒时门牙的珐琅质碰碎了。
• He collected coloured enamel bowls from Yugoslavia.他藏有来自南斯拉夫的彩色搪瓷碗。

27 funky   

adj.畏缩的，怯懦的，霉臭的；adj.新式的，时髦的

参考例句：

• The kitchen smelled really funky.这个厨房有一股霉味。
• It is a funky restaurant with very interesting art on the walls.那是一家墙上挂着很有意思的绘画的新潮餐馆。