李红娟

绘本《烟囱小镇的普佩尔》近来受到读者追捧，它主要讲述一个有关友情和亲情、梦想和成长的故事，由这本绘本改编的电影也于2020年上映了。

难词探意

1. scrap /skr?p/ n. 废料;碎片

2. subsequent /?s?bs?kw?nt/ adj. 后来的;随后的

3. devastate /?dev?ste?t/ v. 毁坏

4. animated /??n?me?t?d/ adj. 动画（片）的

5. release /r??li?s/ v. 上映

“Believe， even if youre the only one.” Thats the message of Poupelle of Chimney Town， a childrens book by Japanese comedian and author Akihiro Nishino. Since its publication in 2016， the book has sold more than 500，000 copies.

The story follows a boy named Lubicchi who lives in a chimney town. The smoke in the isolated town is so thick that the sky and stars cannot be seen. When Lubicchi， a chimney sweeper， meets Poupelle， a man made of rubbish and scraps， the two find stars and hope.

I recently visited a book exhibition featuring Poupelle in Higashi?Matsushima， a city in Japan. In 2011， the area was hit hard by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed nearly 16，000 people and caused an estimated $365 billion in damage.

“I wanted to deliver the message that your dreams will come true if you work hard like the trashman and the boy who believed in the sky with stars and went to the top of the clouds，” said Kiyoko Mii， who organized the exhibition. “I believe their challenge will encourage us to live our lives looking upwards， even during the pandemic.” Mii also talked about the significance of the exhibition place. “The exhibition is in the former Nobiru Elementary School， which was devastated by the tsunami in 2011，” she said. “We operate this facility so as not to forget the disaster and to learn the skills to deal with future challenges. I hope that visiting this exhibition will give children hope and inspire a positive mindset that we are alive now.”

“The pictures are amazingly beautiful and fantastic，” said Yoshiko Hiratsuka， who was visiting the exhibition with her family. “Id like to buy and read the book， and Im also planning to see the film.” The animated feature film， Poupelle of Chimney Town， was released on December 25， 2020 in Japan and around the world in 2021. You can read the story online in English.

Reading Check

1. What can we know about Poupelle？

A. He is a chimney sweeper. B. He is a man made of trash.

C. He is a fan of colorful stars. D. He is an invisible man.

2. Who was the organizer of the book exhibition mentioned in the text？

A. Akihiro Nishino. B. Lubicchi.

C. Kiyoko Mii. D. Yoshiko Hiratsuka.

3. Whats the purpose of the book exhibition？

A. To share latest story books.

B. To raise enough funds for an elementary school.

C. To increase sales of the book during the pandemic.

D. To encourage people to be positive towards life.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph？

A. Yoshiko Hiratsuka thinks highly of the book exhibition.

B. Yoshiko Hiratsuka went to the exhibition with her friends.

C. The film of Poupelle of Chimney Town can be seen now.

D. Readers can read the story online in Japanese only.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

The smoke in the isolated town is so thick that the sky and stars cannot be seen. 孤城煙浓，看不见天上繁星。

【信息提取】so...that..意为“如此……以致……”。

【句式仿写】她说话轻得我几乎听不见。

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