The Robinsons，先来认识主角罗宾逊一家。Kipper，牛津阅读树学校版L1的12册无字书均以 Kipper 作封面，孩子最先认识、记住的就是他。This is Kipper. Kipper is four years old. His favourite thing to wear is his orange and white striped top.

 

牛津阅读树学校版的L1和L2，各有一册讲 Kipper 的五岁生日派对，所以女儿更认定 Kipper is five years old. 她觉得有点奇怪，问怎么 Kipper 过了两次五岁生日，邀不同的人参加 party？（作者在不同年份就同一主题创作了不同的故事，大人会脑补个理由试图合理解释，觉得不足为奇。图画书经常无声地鼓励孩子多观察发现，提出疑问。）

 

His real name is not Kipper, it’s Christopher, but when he was very little and learning to talk he couldn’t say Christopher and it sounded like Kipper. So from then on, everyone called him Kipper. Sometimes Kipper gets into trouble.

 

 

Kipper 和他的爸爸妈妈、哥哥姐姐住一起，喜欢在他们家的后院玩。（孩子已观察到许多牛津树故事发生在他们家的后院子里，问「为什么我们家后面没有花园呢？L1+有一册 The Mud Pie 的故事，意外的结尾令女儿忍俊不禁，尤其是妈妈没注意到浇花的水洒向隔壁邻居这个画面细节。Kipper 还有一只他最喜欢的泰迪熊玩偶，叫 Little Ted。Kipper 去哪儿都带着 Little Ted，有什么事都告诉它。有一次 Kipper 把它忘在公交车上，非常难过，好在妈妈带他去公交车站的失物招领处找回了它。Kipper 活泼开朗，有时候也会惹出麻烦。

 

比如他开始学骑三轮车时，只懂骑快却不懂停下。他在院子里骑着三轮车压过妈妈种的植物，撞上姐姐 Biff 的帐篷，碰倒哥哥 Chip 的画，最后才停下，好险的场面。又比如 L2 有一册 The Toy’s Party 故事，没人陪 Kipper 玩，他就和一堆玩偶开 party，拿出好多食物想做蛋糕，最后搞得自己和玩偶身上、家里一团糟，妈妈都生气了呢。同我们的孩子一样，顽皮不完美。

 

Biff & Chip，This is Kipper with his sister Biff and his brother Chip. Biff and Chip are older than Kipper and there is something special about them. They are twins. Kipper likes having an older brother and sister.

 

 

Kipper 的真名并不叫 Kipper，那么同样地，Biff, Chip 会是这对双胞胎的真名吗？Biff’s real name is not Biff. It’s Elizabeth. Chip’s real name is not Chip. It’s David. But when Kipper was little he couldn’t say Elizabeth. He said Biff. And he couldn’t say David. He said Chip. Biff and Chip don’t sound a bit like Elizabeth and David, but that’s how Kipper said it and it made everyone laugh so the nicknames stuck.

 

原来 Biff 的真名叫 Elizabeth，Chip 的真名叫 David。但是当 Kipper 还很小的时候，他不会说「Elizabeth」，而说 Biff；也不会说「David」，而说 Chip。Biff 和 Chip 听起来一点都不像 Elizabeth 和 David，但 Kipper 小时候就是这样叫他们的。大家都觉得很搞笑，所以这两个昵称就叫开了。哈哈，厉害了 Kipper！怪不得三个孩子的名字让人感觉有些奇怪。

 

一天，妈妈给这对双胞胎做七岁生日的蛋糕时说「我不擅长在蛋糕上写名字，要在蛋糕上写 Elizabeth 和 David 的名字太长了，我就写 Biff 和 Chip 吧。Biff 喜欢踢足球，滑板和游泳。Chip 喜欢骑自行车和踢足球。双胞胎都喜欢踢足球。

 

 

L1+有一册讲 Biff、Chip 和其他朋友们踢足球的故事。书中不写任何孩子的名字，女儿最初读这个故事时，也只能认出Biff 和 Chip；之后读过更多牛津阅读树故事，又回头来认出更多人物（Wilf/Wilma/Anneena/Nadim），并欣喜地告诉我。孩子因读书感受到快乐，我喜闻乐见，愿更多孩子能感受读书的乐趣。

 

Biff 喜爱制作东西，总是随时准备参加任何工艺制作活动。不过你可千万别让 Biff 保管任何东西哟，因为她可能会粗心地弄丢它们！L2有一册故事讲 Biff 做了架飞机，去公园里试飞。飞机做得太好了，能飞得又高又远，全家人四处帮忙找飞机都没找到，Biff 难过得快要哭了，伤心回房间。同牛津阅读树的其他许多故事一样，结尾常出现惊喜反转，原来飞机自己飞回了家，落在 Biff 床上，令 Biff 和读者都欣喜。

 

Chip 十分擅长画画。如果你有什么想画的，找他帮忙吧。不像 Biff 会小粗心，Chip 非常仔细。养育双胞胎有特殊的美好与烦恼。双胞胎会更多面临谁先谁后的问题，比如最想知道的：他俩到底谁先出生呢？

 

“Which one of us was born first?” said Chip.“Mum!” called Biff. “Am I older than Chip or is Chip older than me? Which one of us was born first?”就连 Biff 和 Chip 自己都不知道。“I’m not going to say,” said Mum. “If I told you, one of you might start getting bossy!”

 

 

妈妈决定不说出来，因为一旦他们俩知道谁更大，大的那个就可能会开始爱指挥小的，所以就让它一直是个秘密吧。再比如他俩谁先学会骑自行车、游泳的等众多先后问题，一起去超市购物还会争执谁来推购物车呢。

 

It was Chip who learned to ride a bicycle before Biff! Mum and Dad helped Biff and Chip learn to ride but Biff was a little bit frightened and Mum had to keep hold of the saddle.“Come on, Biff,” Chip would shout. “Use the pedals, or you’ll never ride your bike.”

 

Then one day Mum forgot the hold the saddle and Biff pedalled forward all by herself. And she found that it wasn’t as diffcult and frightening as she thought. Very soon she cold ride her bicycle just as well as Chip could ride his.

 

 

Biff 开始学骑自行车时有些害怕，还要妈妈帮忙扶着车座，是 Chip 先学会骑自行车的。L1+有一册 Look at Me 的故事，Chip 在故事中大胆地花样骑自行车，不停地说「Look at me, Mum」，让妈妈欣赏他的绝技。从此女儿在生活中想让我注意她时，也套用「Look at me, Mum」，将读故事学的英语用在生活中。

 

Chip learned to ride a bicycle before Biff, but Biff learned to swim before Chip. Every week Biff and Chip went to the swimming pool with their mum and dad. Biff loved the water. She liked to splash about, and she didn’t mind a bit if she got her hair wet or if some of the water splashed in her face. Chip didn’t like the pool as much as Biff. He wasn’t happy when the water splashed in his face. It made his eyes sting and he felt a bit frightened in case he went under the water.

 

“Come on in, Chip,” Biff would shout, “or you’ll never learn to swim.”Then one day, when Chip was in the pool and he wasn’t expecting it, someone pushed into him and knocked him over. He went right under the water. And Chip found that going under the wate wasn’t so bad after all. So, of course, as soon as he didn’t mind getting water on his face, and wasn’t frightened of going under, he very soon learned to swim just like Biff.

 

学游泳时则是 Biff 先学会的。Chip 一开始不喜欢水溅到自己脸上，有点害怕去水下。L2有一个故事，讲爸爸做了辆小型游戏汽车，Biff 和 Chip 争抢着要先玩，甚至打起架来。爸爸妈妈跑来阻止，还把小型汽车收起来不让玩了，大家一起做了个秋千。你猜怎么着？双胞胎又争抢起谁先坐秋千了。

 

Biff, Chip 和 Kipper 非常喜爱和爸爸妈妈去海边玩，他们玩水、游泳、在沙滩堆沙堡、玩各种游戏。（我们能读到很多他们去海边玩的故事），L1+的 The Sandcastle 讲三个孩子去海边参加一个堆沙堡比赛的故事。他们堆得太好了，吸引不少人驻足围观，最终获得第一名。他们还喜欢和爸爸妈妈一起下厨，做过煎饼、蛋糕等各种东西。英国孩子4岁开始读小学，Biff、Chip 和 Kipper 都在 Ortree Primary （牛津阅读树小学）上学啦。

 

 

Mum & Dad，妈妈还喜欢园艺，在后院里种花和灌木。妈妈会做各种装扮服。她给三个孩子做过恐龙、海盗、小丑和国王等服装，自己装扮过稻草人和圣诞老人，甚至还给爸爸装扮成鸡。装扮演出服装真是满满一箩筐。

 

比如L1+的 The Bag in the Bin 故事讲妈妈刚从超市买东西回来、放在门口的购物袋被爱帮忙的爸爸当垃圾袋丢了。妈妈从垃圾桶找回袋子时，看见袋里的鸡蛋都碎了；爸爸一副尴尬表情逗得小读者哈哈大笑。

 

又比如L2的 Red Noses 故事中，妈妈打扮得漂漂亮亮地出门聚会，把孩子们和家务交给爸爸；爸爸捉弄孩子，把 Chip 和 Kipper 的鼻子涂成红色，追着想涂 Biff 的鼻子时，却不巧涂到刚回家的妈妈。Oops!爸爸做的这类乌龙事还很多。女儿 Kiki 总喜欢补充说「Dad, you made a mistake again. Haha, silly dad!」

 

爸爸喜欢果酱，尤其喜欢草莓酱。他做的果酱很好吃，但也常因做果酱把家里弄得很脏。L1+中的 A Big Mess 和 What a Mess! 两册都有写爸爸做草莓酱的故事。爸爸妈妈结婚十周年啦。

 

Floppy，This is Floppy. He belongs to Biff, Chip and Kipper. He’s a great big, soppy dog who loves to romp and roll and run all over the place.这条黄色、毛茸茸的大狗就是罗宾逊家的宠物狗 Floppy。它喜欢嬉闹、翻滚、到处跑，像人类一样情感丰富。

 

Floppy 喜欢出门散步、跑动玩耍；还喜欢挖洞、在池塘戏水。它常常玩得自己一身泥，却讨厌洗澡。Floppy 喜欢骨头，爱啃、藏或把骨头埋在院子里。妈妈可不喜欢 Floppy 挖院子里的花圃或草坪。Floppy 大部分时候都很乖，有根大骨头啃已感到满足，不过有时它会啃别的东西，比如爸爸的拖鞋。爸爸可非常不喜欢 Floppy 啃他的拖鞋！

 

Floppy 会在很多牛津阅读树故事出现。刚来家里时，Floppy 给家人制造了不少麻烦，某次阻止了家里发生火灾后，获得全家人的感激。对 Biff, Chip 和 Kipper 来说，Floppy 是最佳狗狗（top dog）。L2的 A New Dog 告诉了我们 Floppy 是怎么来到 Kipper 他们家的，那么 Floppy 的名字又是怎么来的？

 

 

When Biff, Chip and Kipper first had this dog, they didn’t know what to call him.In fact the children’s dad called the dog “A nuisance!” This was because the dog was racing round and round the house. It chased round all the rooms, it bounded in and out of doors, it rushed up and down stairs. Then it charged into the kitchen, skidded on the mat, and knocked over a bottle of milk that was standing on the floor. The milk spilt all over the floor, and that’s when their dad called the dog a nuisance.

 

“I hope we haven’t made a mistake,” said Mum when the dog began chasing all over the house again. “Maybe we should have got a dog that is smaller and quieter.”“What shall we call the dog, then?” asked Kipper. “I think we should call him Marmalade Mackintosh.”

 

“Marmalade Mackintosh! Marmalade Mackintosh!” said Biff. “What sort of a name is that? I think his name should be short. I think we should call him Prince.”“He dosen’t look much like a Prince to me,” said Chip. “How about Hector? That really suits him.”

 

“It’s better than Marmalade Mackintosh, at any rate,” said Dad. “By the way, where is the dog? What’s he up to? Why isn’t he chasing all over the house?”“He’s here,” said Kipper, looking under the table. “He’s flopped down under the table, and he’s fast asleep.”

 

“He must have worn himself out,” said Mum. “Fancy being able to flop down just like that, and fall asleep.”“Look at him,” said Biff. “He’s a lovely dog, really. Look at his floppy old ears.”“He’s just a floppy sort of dog altogether,” said Dad.“I like that as a name,” said Biff. “Floppy. That would be a good name for him.”Everyone liked the name “Floppy”. It suited the dog. So that’s what they called him - Floppy.

 

 

原来名字背后也有故事。Floppy 初来家里，爱跑来跑去，冲上冲下，甚至撞倒奶瓶、牛奶倒了一地。爸爸就管它叫「nuisance（讨厌的东西）」。妈妈还担心他们挑错了狗，应该选条小一点、安静些的狗。Kipper, Biff 和 Chip 分别想了 Marmalade Mackintosh、Prince 和 Hector 名字。「Marmalade Mackintosh」名字太长，这条狗看起来可不像什么王子Prince，Hector比前面几个名字好点。正当家人们在讨论取名时，之前跑来跑去的狗狗疲劳地倒在桌子底下很快睡着了（flop down）。就像睡着的孩子最让老母亲松口气、惹人怜爱一样，睡着的狗在 Biff 看来是这么可爱，说「看看它那松软垂下来的耳朵呀（floppy），它真是一条可爱的狗。」Biff 就想出「Floppy」这个名字很适合它。全家人都喜欢这个名字，从此大家叫它 Floppy。