The borrowed drill

周六下午，我借来一把电钻，准备在墙上装书架。

Zhōuliù xiàwǔ, wǒ jièlai yì bǎ diànzuàn, zhǔnbèi zài qiáng shang zhuāng shūjià.

On Saturday afternoon, I borrow a drill to put up a bookshelf on the wall.

刚打了一个孔，门外就有人敲门。是楼下的邻居。

Gāng dǎ le yí ge kǒng, mén wài jiù yǒu rén qiāo mén. Shì lóuxià de línjū.

I have only drilled one hole when someone knocks. It is my downstairs neighbour.

我以为他要抱怨，马上说：“对不起，我很快就好。”

Wǒ yǐwéi tā yào bàoyuàn, mǎshàng shuō: “Duìbuqǐ, wǒ hěn kuài jiù hǎo.”

I think he is going to complain. “Sorry, I’ll be done soon,” I say at once.

他却指着电钻问：“你用完能借我吗？我也要装东西。”

Tā què zhǐzhe diànzuàn wèn: “Nǐ yòngwán néng jiè wǒ ma? Wǒ yě yào zhuāng dōngxi.”

Instead, he points to the drill. “Could I borrow it when you’re done? I have something to put up too.”

我说：“可以，我还剩两个孔。”他问：“要不要我帮你扶着架子？”

Wǒ shuō: “Kěyǐ, wǒ hái shèng liǎng ge kǒng.” Tā wèn: “Yào bu yào wǒ bāng nǐ fúzhe jiàzi?”

“Of course. I have two holes left.” He asks, “Shall I hold the shelf for you?”

书架装好后，我跟他下楼。这次换我扶架子，换他打孔。

Shūjià zhuānghǎo hòu, wǒ gēn tā xià lóu. Zhè cì huàn wǒ fú jiàzi, huàn tā dǎ kǒng.

Once the bookshelf is up, I go downstairs with him. This time I hold the shelf and he drills.