Wen's school got a new helper in March. It was a small blue light on a round stand. The teacher put it on the front desk.
三月，文的学校来了一个新帮手。那是一盏小小的蓝灯，装在一个圆底座上。老师把它放在了讲台上。
"This is the Help Light," she said. "You can ask it a question. It talks back."
“这是求助灯，”她说，“你们可以问它问题，它会回答。”
The students laughed. Wen was the first in line.
同学们笑了起来。文第一个排到队伍最前面。
"Light, what is nine times seven?" he said.
“灯，九乘七等于多少？”他说。
The light stayed dark. Wen waited. Nothing happened.
灯一直暗着。文等了等，什么也没发生。
"Maybe it is broken," said a boy behind him.
“也许它坏了，”他身后的一个男孩说。
Wen tried again. "Nine times seven. Quick!"
文又试了一次。“九乘七。快点！”
The light made a small, sad sound. Then it turned gray.
灯发出一声小小的、难过的声音，然后变成了灰色。
The teacher smiled. "Read the card on the stand," she said.
老师笑了笑。“看看底座上的卡片吧，”她说。
Wen picked up the card. It had one line. "I only wake up for a kind, full question."
文拿起卡片，上面只有一行字：“我只为有礼貌、说完整的问题醒来。”
"What does that mean?" Wen asked.
“这是什么意思？”文问。
"Try it," said the teacher.
“试试看，”老师说。
Wen went back to the stand. He felt silly. He took a breath.
文回到底座前，觉得自己有点傻。他深吸了一口气。
"Hello, Light. Please tell me the answer to nine times seven."
“你好，灯。请告诉我九乘七的答案。”
The light turned bright blue. A soft voice said, "Hello, Wen. Thank you for asking so nicely. The answer is sixty-three."
灯亮成了明亮的蓝色。一个温柔的声音说：“你好，文。谢谢你这样客气地问我。答案是六十三。”
Wen's mouth fell open. The class clapped.
文张大了嘴。全班都鼓起了掌。
After that, every student wanted a turn. Some forgot the card. They shouted short words at the light. The light stayed gray. Other students asked in full, kind sentences. The light helped them at once.
从那以后，每个同学都想轮一次。有些人忘了卡片，对着灯大喊几个字，灯依旧是灰的。另一些同学用完整、友善的句子提问，灯立刻就帮了他们。
A tall boy wanted to trick it. He said, "Please, please, give me the answer." His voice was flat and rude.
一个高个子男孩想捉弄它。他说：“请，请，把答案给我。”他的声音又平又没礼貌。
The light stayed dark for a long time. Then it said, "I hear your voice. It is not kind. Try again."
灯暗了很久。然后它说：“我听到了你的声音，它不友善。再试一次吧。”
The tall boy went red. The class laughed, but not in a bad way. He tried again with a real smile. The light woke up.
高个子男孩脸红了。全班笑了，但不是恶意的笑。他带着真正的笑容又试了一次，灯醒了过来。
Wen watched for a long time. He saw a pattern. The light did not like short, rude words. It also did not like questions with no details.
文看了很久，发现了一个规律。灯不喜欢简短、没礼貌的话，也不喜欢没有细节的问题。
A girl said, "Please help me with my map." The light stayed gray.
一个女孩说：“请帮我看看我的地图。”灯还是灰的。
"Tell it more," Wen said quietly. "Say what you need."
“多告诉它一点，”文小声说，“说说你需要什么。”
The girl tried again. "Please find the capital on my map of Spain."
女孩又试了一次。“请在我的西班牙地图上找出首都。”
"Of course," said the light. "The capital is Madrid. Look in the middle of the map."
“好的，”灯说，“首都是马德里。请看地图的中间。”
The girl smiled at Wen. "Thank you!"
女孩对文笑了笑。“谢谢你！”
That night, Wen thought about the light. At home, he asked his mother in the same way. He did not say, "Where are my shoes?" He said, "Mom, please help me find my shoes."
那天晚上，文一直想着那盏灯。在家里，他也用同样的方式问妈妈。他没有说“我的鞋呢？”，而是说：“妈妈，请帮我找找我的鞋。”
His mother looked at him. "Who are you, and where is my son?" she said. Then she laughed. She found the shoes in two minutes.
妈妈看着他。“你是谁？我儿子去哪儿了？”她说。然后她笑了起来，两分钟就找到了鞋。
The next day, Wen asked the light a harder question. "Hello, Light. Please tell me why the sky is blue. I want a short answer and one example."
第二天，文问了灯一个更难的问题。“你好，灯。请告诉我天空为什么是蓝色的。我想要一个简短的回答和一个例子。”
The light glowed. "Sunlight has many colors. The air spreads the blue light the most. For example, at sunset the sky is red. The light travels far."
灯发出了光。“阳光里有很多种颜色。空气把蓝光散射得最多。比如，日落的时候天空是红色的，因为光要走很远的路。”
Wen wrote it in his notebook. Then he looked at the light.
文把它写进了笔记本，然后看着那盏灯。
"You are a good teacher," he said. "You teach us to ask well."
“你是个好老师，”他说，“你教我们怎样好好提问。”
The light blinked. "You are a good student, Wen. What is your next question?"
灯闪了闪。“你是个好学生，文。你的下一个问题是什么？”
Wen smiled and lifted his pen. "I have forty questions," he said. "Is that okay?"
文笑了，举起了笔。“我有四十个问题，”他说，“可以吗？”
"Please begin," said the light.
“请开始吧，”灯说。
