李懿芬老師



The City of Ember------Summary From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia How It All Goes DownMeet Lina and Doon. They're your average twelve-year-olds, except for the fact that they live in the city of Ember, and lead lives that couldn't be more different from your own. Since they're graduating from school, they and their classmates are all assigned jobs. Lina draws a job in the underground Pipeworks, when she'd really wanted to become a Messenger. Doon offers to trade with her, and soon enough, she's gallivanting around town, delivering messages like nobody's business.Her job puts her ear right up to the grapevine, so while she's out and about in town, Lina gets the skinny on all the goings on. She learns that all the citizens are afraid that the lights will go out for good, and that the food stores are dwindling. Meanwhile Doon, down in the Pipeworks, learns that the generator which powers the city is slowly degrading, and no one knows how to fix it. This stuff is a big deal because Ember is surrounded by darkness, and there's no way out of the city—nowhere to go if the lights fail or the food runs out. Yeah, this is not good.Things aren't good on the domestic front, either. Lina's grandmother is supposed to be looking after her baby sister, Poppy, but she's starting to go senile and isn't much help with the kiddo. To make matters worse, Granny's obsessed with finding something her grandfather, a former mayor of Ember, had stored away. When a mysterious box surfaces in their home, Lina thinks its contents might be helpful in handling the city's current situation. There's just one problem: Poppy has already chewed on the paper inside.With Doon's help, Lina figures out that the paper contains instructions for the city's Builders on how exactly to exit the city and head for safety when the time comes. The kids also discover that the mayor, aided by an unscrupulous clerk named Looper, is stealing and hoarding rations. When the mayor tries to have the kids arrested for their accusations, Lina and Doon have a decision to make: what should they do with their information about how to leave the city?In the end, they opt to take a chance and get the heck out of Dodge. They head out into the darkness with Poppy in tow, and plan to leave directions on how to exit the city for the other residents to find. After a trip by river, they ascend to the outside world, and discover that Ember has actually been underground this whole time. They also discover a journal written by one of the first residents of Ember, which warns of impending disaster and calls the city a last resort. There's definitely more to this story.Seeing the sunrise for the first time is mind-blowing. And trees—who knew the natural world was so beautiful? The kids stumble upon a crevice and throw their directions down into the city below. Mrs. Murdo, who has been taking care of Lina and Poppy since Granny's death, finds the instructions, but that's where it all ends, leaving us to wonder what will happen next.The City of Ember Chapter 1 SummaryAssignment DayThe sky is always dark in Ember. The only lights are attached to the buildings, and they're turned off between 9pm and 6am. When the lights are out, there is seriously no light anywhere. None at all. Creepy.Obviously the lights are only supposed to go out at night, but every once in a while, they'll shut off in the daytime, leaving people stranded during their normal activities, unable to see a thing.Normal activities, for kids, include going to school until they reach the age of twelve, when they graduate.Sounds young, right? But that's just how it goes in Ember.?And speaking of which, the twenty-four students who are about to graduate from the Ember School are sitting in their classroom on Assignment Day.Everyone's nervous. See, the job you're assigned is completely random, and some of them just plain stink. Plus, you have to keep yours for at least three years before you can ask for another one. So yeah, getting a plum position is pretty important.Lina Mayfleet is one of the students. She's got long dark hair and is fidgety (probably thanks to the nervousness).Doon Harrow is another student; he's got dark messy hair and a serious look on his face because with a name like Doon Harrow, you can't exactly be smirking now can you?Both of them are wishing very hard that they get their dream jobs. Lina's picturing herself in a red messenger jacket, and simultaneously saying goodbye to the classroom, which is filled with books about the history of Ember.Mayor Cole shows up to oversee Assignment Day. He makes a so-so speech, then has the students draw the names of jobs out of bags.Lina's friend Lizzie draws Supply Depot clerk, which makes Lina feel bad for her because it's boring. Other kids make their choices, and finally Lina gets up.She gets… Pipeworks laborer, ugh. That means she'll be stuck underground all the time, when Lina truly wants to run the streets of Ember as a Messenger.Doon is the last to draw, and he gets Messenger. He's not happy about it, crumpling the paper and throwing it on the ground. Apparently that's a bit of a?no-no in Ember, so the mayor reprimands him for bad behavior.The mayor makes another boring speech about how everyone needs to do their part for Ember to prosper. But Doon ain't havin' it. So he says (loudly) that living conditions are getting worse. Bad move, kid.Lina's confused by all this; life in Ember is the way it's always been, isn't it? Why get so upset?As they all leave, Doon asks Lina if she wants to trade jobs. Overjoyed, she says absofreakinlutely.Then she's confused: who'd wanna be down in the Pipeworks? Doon explains that he'd wanted electrician's helper, but the lucky kid who got it wouldn't trade. Pipeworks at least puts him close to the generator that powers the city, so he can investigate it.Sure, whatever—all Lina cares about is getting to be a messenger: she loves to run, and now her job will be to run all over the city, delivering messages for people and exploring. Excellent.Chapter 2 SummaryA Message to the MayorLina runs home, taking a different route as usual. Passing a particular street, she notices that a bunch of lights are out and haven't been replaced. Hmm. That's odd.There have been rumors of shortages, but they've never been completely out of light bulbs before. Without light bulbs, nobody would be able to see. Could Doon be right that something's seriously wrong with the city?Lina shakes off those dark thoughts and keeps running, thinking about how lucky she is to have her job. She used to be friends with Doon, until an awkward moment when she'd laughed at him when he was embarrassed. But she's so grateful to him now, maybe they'll become friends again.When Lina gets home—her grandmother's yarn shop—she tells Granny the good news. Lina's little sister Poppy is around two years old, so not quite old enough to understand all this.Turns out that two years ago, Lina's father had died from a coughing sickness going around the city, and Lina's mother had died a few months later giving birth to Poppy.Now, Lina takes Poppy up to their apartment, which is above the shop. It's absolutely crammed with old stuff, because the people of Ember don't throw away anything that they can still use. They're not hoarders, they swear.Among the many things decorating the walls are pictures that Lina drew, of a shining city where the lights are always on. She's only seen the place in her imagination, but she's convinced that it's a real place. (It's called Vegas.)The next day, Lina goes to the messengers' headquarters. There, Captain Fleery instructs her in how to be a good messenger. Basically, Lina has to repeat back a message anyone gives her to make sure she's getting it right; she has to wear red so people can identify her; and she can only deliver the message to the person it's intended for.Lina spends the morning delivering messages for people about mundane things (dinner plans, etc.). But hey, at least she learns a little more about the city and its inhabitants each time.One guy who wants a message delivered is a little strange looking (big teeth and bushy hair). He wants her to tell the mayor that a delivery will be ready at eight from Looper.Lina goes to the mayor's office, which is in Gathering Hall (at the town's center). An assistant guard admits her to a waiting room, but since she's bored, Lina goes up on the roof of the hall. It's fun waving at the people down below until she gets in trouble with the guards.The mayor is also annoyed, until Lina delivers the message. Then he smiles and lets her go without any trouble.As Lina leaves the Gathering Hall, Doon considers saying hi, but doesn't. He'd seen her on top of the roof during her shenanigans. But he's dirty from his day at work, so he decides to talk to her later.The City of Ember Chapter 3 SummaryUnder EmberDoon had been super-excited to go to the Pipeworks that morning. Finally, his chance to do something useful.The whole place is damp, so Doon's issued some rubber boots and other gear for his work shift. A girl named Arlin shows him around and pairs with him on his first day in Tunnel 97.Once they reach the Main Tunnel, Doon is surprised to come face to face with the river (he knows what the word means, but he's never seen one before).It's a huge loud rush of water that powers the generator of Ember.Arlin walks him through fixing a particular pipe that's leaking, and then she has lunch with her friends. Doon uses the time to check out the generator room, where he's not supposed to be without permission.It's too loud to hear anything, and the old man Doon talks to just shoos him away. Doon is humbled—he's spent his life studying how things work, and the generator is clearly way beyond him.He tries to talk to the old dude at the day's end, asking how the generator works. The man says nobody knows how it works, only how to try to fix it when it breaks down.This is what Doon's thinking about when he sees Lina on the roof. He doesn't get how she can be so light-hearted, so he just trudges home.He lives with his father over his father's shop, which sells odds and ends. Doon goes upstairs to their apartment and broods, like the budding teenager he is.The more he thinks about his situation—how eager to help and smart he is, but without any clear idea of what to do—the more upset he gets. Angry, Doon hurls an old shoe heel at the door, because throwing stuff always solves problems (said no one ever).At that moment, his dad opens the door, and gets hit in the ear with the heel.Doon's father asks if he wants to talk about it. So Doon complains about his first day at work, and his father advises him to pay attention to the little things, and maybe he'll figure something out.After their chat, Doon goes to his room, where he observes the worm he's been keeping in a box (Doon thinks bugs are cool and likes to study them).Doon talks to his dad about the worm, and his dad encourages him to keep notes, and to look for interesting new bugs in the Pipeworks. Doon remains determined to accomplish something important there.The City of Ember Chapter 4 SummarySomething Lost, Nothing FoundLina comes home from her messenger job one day to find the apartment torn apart because Granny's looking for something.Problem is, Granny doesn't know exactly what she's looking for—only that it's important.As Lina starts to clean up, she asks where the baby is. Granny forgot her down in the shop.Lina finds Poppy tangled in a hank of yarn, and rescues her. Not good. Granny is still riffling through things up in the apartment.Granny explains that her father had heard her grandfather (the seventh mayor) saying that something was lost and he couldn't find it. Lina chalks it up to the ramblings of an old man.The next day, Lina stops at their neighbor's place. Mrs. Murdo lives alone, and doesn't work anymore since her shop closed. She's a kind woman, so Lina asks her to look in on Granny and Poppy while she's gone, and Mrs. Murdo agrees.Lina has to carry a message to the greenhouse, which makes her sad because that's where her father worked before he died.Clary, one of the greenhouse workers, has always been friendly to Lina, so they talk a bit (not about happy things, but about the fact that a bunch of potatoes are dying mysteriously, and potatoes are a staple of Ember's cuisine).Suddenly, they hear a strange sound, like someone wailing. It gets louder, until a man stumbles out of the darkness.They recognize a guy named Sadge, who works in the Supply Depot. Between sobs, he tells them how he went outside of Ember, to see what there was in the darkness.He basically had a panic attack out there and ran back to Ember before he could get lost or fall in a hole or get eaten by monsters.Clary calms him down and sends him on his way. Lina has heard of similar ventures out into the Unknown Regions, all of which have failed. Part of the problem is that none of the lights in Ember are portable; they're all fixed to buildings.Lina asks Clary what she thinks about the Unknown Regions, and whether Ember is the only light in a dark world.Clary answers that she doesn't know, but that she does know that life comes from inside a seed somehow, so they (the people of Ember) must have come from somewhere, too. They may not have the answers yet, but those answers have to be somewhere—maybe even outside of Ember.Before Lina leaves, Clary gives her a little bean seed and tells her to put it in dirt and water it. There's life inside the seed, which will emerge as it grows, so maybe that's some kind of clue to help Lina get thinking. ................
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