吃西瓜

Other people love cold drinks in summer, but I don't really like them. In summer there's only one thing I love: eating watermelon.

Watermelon is sweet, and nice and cool. One bite, and the heat seems to disappear. I'll speak slowly, so you can listen and learn Chinese along with me.

It's really hot today, and I want watermelon again. So I'm going to buy a big, sweet watermelon.

There's a fruit shop right downstairs, it only takes five minutes to walk there. In summer, there are always lots of watermelons there.

The watermelons in the shop are piled up like a little hill, green and round, just looking at them makes me happy.

But you can't just pick a watermelon randomly. Pick a good one, and you'll get a sweet, red melon.

The shop owner once taught me a trick: pat the watermelon with your hand, and if it sounds hollow, it's ripe.

I also look at the pattern on the watermelon's skin. The clearer the pattern, the sweeter the melon, that's what my mom told me.

Once I've picked one, I carry it home in my arms. It's a bit heavy, so I hold it carefully, afraid of dropping it.

Once I'm home, I don't cut it right away. I put the watermelon in the fridge to let it get cold. Ice-cold watermelon tastes the best.

Two hours later, the watermelon is nice and cold. I take it out and put it on the table.

I get out a clean cutting board, and a big knife. Before cutting the watermelon, I always wash my hands first.

I cut the watermelon in half right through the middle. With a crack, the watermelon splits open.

Inside is the bright red flesh, with a few small black seeds. Just looking at it makes my mouth water.

The color of this melon is beautiful, red like the sun. I just know this must be a sweet watermelon.

I cut the watermelon into slices, shaped like little boats, or like triangles. This way it's easiest to eat.

Once it's cut, I lay the slices one by one onto a plate, and just looking at them makes me want to eat.

I pick up a slice and take a big bite. Sweet and cool, it's so delicious!

Watermelon juice drips onto my hands and down my chin, but I don't care, because it's just too good.

While I'm eating watermelon, I'm always spitting out the seeds as I go. Sometimes the seeds end up everywhere, haha.

As soon as I finish one slice, I grab another. Eating watermelon in summer, I could keep eating and never stop.

By the end, my stomach is completely full, but I'm still really happy.

I'll put the leftover watermelon in the fridge and eat it again tonight. Sometimes I even turn it into watermelon popsicles, which taste even better.

When it's hot in summer, getting to eat a bite of sweet, cool watermelon is truly the happiest thing. Thank you for eating watermelon with me today, see you next time!