《怦然心动》｜单词注释｜Chapter 5
Brawk-Brawk-Brawk!
1
Eggs
scare
me. Chickens, too. And buddy, you can laugh at that all you want, but I'm being
dead
serious
here.
scare /sker/ v. 使惊恐
dead /dɛd/ adv. 完全地
serious /'sɪrɪəs/ adj. 认真的
2
It started in the sixth grade with eggs.
3
And a snake.
4
And the Baker brothers.
5
The Baker brothers' names are Matt and Mike, but even now I can't tell you which one's which.
6
You never see one without the other.
7
And even though they're not twins, they do look and sound pretty much the same, and they're both in Lynetta's class, so maybe one of them
got held back
.
get held back 留级
8
Although I can't exactly see a teacher
voluntarily
having either of those maniacs two years
in a row
.
voluntarily /ˌvɑlən'tɛrəli/ adv. 自发地
in a row 连续
9
Regardless
, Matt and Mike are the ones who taught me that snakes eat eggs.
regardless /rɪˈɡɑːrdləs/ adv. 不管怎样
10
And when I say they eat eggs, I'm talking they eat them
raw
and shell-on whole.
raw /rɔː/ adj. 生的
11
I probably would've gone my entire life without this little bit of
reptilian
trivia
if it hadn't been for Lynetta.
reptilian /rɛp'tɪlɪən/ n. 爬行动物
trivia /ˈtrɪviə/ n. (智力测验比赛用的)各种科目的知识
12
Lynetta had this
major-league
thing for Skyler Brown, who lives about three blocks down, and every chance she got, she went down there to
hang out
while he practiced the drums.
major-league adj. 非常重要的
hang out 闲逛
13
Well, boom-boom-whap, what did I care, right?
14
But then Skyler and Juli's brothers
formed a band
, which they named Mystery
Pisser
.
form a band 组建一个乐队
pisser /ˈpɪsɚ/ n. 小便的人
15
When my mom heard about it, she completely
wigged out
.
wig out 发狂
16
“What kind of parents would allow their children to be in a band named Mystery Pisser? It's
vile
. It's
disgusting
!”
vile /vaɪl/ adj. 肮脏的
disgusting /dɪsˈɡʌstɪŋ/ adj. 令人作呕的
17
“That's the whole point, Mom,” Lynetta tried to explain.
18
“It doesn't mean anything. It's just to
get a rise out of
old people.”
get a rise out of 激怒
19
“Are you calling me old, young lady? Because it's certainly getting a rise out of me!”
20
Lynetta just shrugged,
implying
that my mom could
draw her own conclusion
.
imply /ɪmˈplaɪ/ vt. 暗示
draw conclusion 提出结论
21
“Go! Go to your room,” my mother
snapped
.
snap /snæp/ vi. 厉声说
22
“For what?” Lynetta snapped back. “I didn't say a thing!”
23
“You know perfectly well what for. Now you go in there and
adjust
your attitude, young lady!”
adjust /əˈdʒʌst/ vt. 调整
24
So Lynetta got another one of her
teenage
time-outs
,
teenage /ˈtinˌedʒ/ adj. 青少年的
timeout n. 休息时间，暂停
25
and after that any time Lynetta was two minutes late coming home for dinner, my mother would messenger me down to Skyler's house to drag her home.
26
It might have been embarrassing for Lynetta, but it was worse for me.
27
I was still in elementary school, and the Mystery Pisser guys were in high school.
28
They were
ripe
and
ragged
,
raging
power
chords
through the neighborhood, while I looked like I'd just gotten back from
Sunday school
.
ripe /raɪp/ adj. 成熟的
rag /ræɡ/ vi. 穿着讲究
raging /'redʒɪŋ/ adj. 狂暴的
chord /kɔːrd/ n. 和弦
Sunday school 主日学校
29
I'd get so nervous going down there that my voice would squeak when I'd tell Lynetta it was time for dinner.
30
It literally squeaked.
31
But after a while the band dropped Mystery from their name, and Pisser and its
entourage
got used to
me showing up.
entourage /ˈɑːnturɑːʒ/ n. 随行人员
get used to 习惯于
32
And instead of glaring at me, they started saying stuff like, “Hey, baby brother, come on in!” “Hey, Brycie boy, wanna
jam
?”
jam n. 即兴演奏
33
This, then, is how I wound up in Skyler Brown's garage, surrounded by high school kids, watching a boa constrictor swallow eggs.
34
Since I'd already seen it down a rat in the Baker brothers' bedroom, Pisser had lost at least some of the
element
of surprise.
element n. 元素
35
Plus
, I picked up on the fact that they'd been saving this little show to
freak me out
, and I really didn't want to give them the satisfaction.
plus conj. 而且
freak out 崩溃
36
This wasn't easy, though, because watching a snake swallow an egg is actually much
creepier
than you might think.
creepy /'kripi/ adj. 令人毛骨悚然的
37
The boa opened its mouth to an enormous size, then just took the egg in and glub!
38
We could see it roll down its throat.
39
But that wasn't all.
40
After the snake had glubbed down three eggs, Matt-or-Mike said, “So, Brycie boy, how's he gonna
digest
those?”
digest /daɪˈdʒest/ vt. 消化
41
I shrugged and tried not to squeak when I answered, “Stomach acid?”
42
He shook his head and pretended to
confide
, “He needs a tree. Or a leg.”
confide /kənˈfaɪd/ vi.吐露秘密
43
He grinned at me. “Wanna
volunteer
yours?”
volunteer /ˌvɑːlənˈtɪr/ vi& vt. 自愿
44
I backed away a little.
45
I could just see that monster try to swallow my leg whole as an after-egg chaser.
chaser /'tʃesɚ/ n. 饮烈酒后喝的饮料
46
“N-no!”
47
He laughed and pointed at the boa
slithering
across the room.
slither /'slɪðɚ/ v. 滑行
48
“Aw, too bad. He's going the other way. He's gonna use the piano instead!”
49
The piano! What kind of snake was this?
50
How could my sister stand being in the same room as these
dementos
?
demento /di'mentəu/ n. 疯子
51
I looked at her, and even though she was pretending to be cool with the snake, I know Lynetta — she was totally
creeped
out by it.
creep /kriːp/ vi. 起鸡皮疙瘩
52
The snake wrapped itself around the piano leg about three times, and then Matt-or-Mike put his hands up and said, “Shhh! Shhh! Everybody quiet. Here goes!”
53
The snake stopped moving, then
flexed
.
flex /flɛks/ vi. 收缩
54
And as it flexed, we could hear the eggs
crunch
inside him.
crunch /krʌntʃ/ vt. 压碎
55
“Oh,
gross
!” the girls
wailed
. “Whoa, dude!” the guys all said.
gross /ɡrəʊs/ adj. 让人恶心的
wail /wel/ vi. 哀号
56
Mike and Matt smiled at each other real big and said, “Dinner is served!”
57
I tried to act cool about the snake, but the truth is I started having bad dreams about the thing swallowing eggs. And rats. And cats.
58
And me.
59
Then the
real-life
nightmare began.
real-life /'ril'laɪf/ adj. 实在的
60
One morning about two weeks after the boa show in Skyler's garage, Juli appears on our
doorstep
, and what's she got in her hands?
doorstep /ˈdɔrˌstɛp/ n. 门阶
61
A half-carton of eggs.
62
She bounces around like it's Christmas, saying, “Hiya, Bryce! Remember Abby and Bonnie and Clyde and Dexter? Eunice and Florence?”
63
I just stared at her.
64
Somehow I remembered
Santa
's
reindeer
a little different than that.
Santa /'sæntə/ 〈美〉圣诞老人
reindeer /'rendɪr/ n. [动]驯鹿
65
“You know … my chickens? The ones I hatched for the science
fair
last year?”
fair /fer/ n. 展览会
66
“Oh, right. How could I forget.”
67
“They're
laying
eggs!” She pushed the carton into my hands.
lay /le/ v. 下(蛋)
68
“Here, take these! They're for you and your family.”
69
“Oh. Uh, thanks,” I said, and closed the door.
70
I used to really like eggs. Especially
scrambled
, with bacon or
sausage
.
scramble /ˈskræmbl/ n. 炒蛋
sausage /ˈsɔːsɪdʒ/ n. 香肠
71
But even without the little snake
incident
, I knew that no matter what you did to these eggs, they would taste nothing but
foul
to me.
incident /ˈɪnsɪdənt/ n. 事件
foul /faʊl/ adj. 令人恶心的
72
These eggs came from the chickens that had been the
chicks
that had hatched from the eggs that had been
incubated
by Juli Baker for our fifth-grade science fair.
chick /tʃɪk/ n. 小鸡
incubate /'ɪŋkjubet/ vi. 孵化
73
It was
classic
Juli.
classic /ˈklæsɪk/ adj. 典型的
74
She totally
dominated
the fair, and get this — her project was all about watching eggs.
dominate /ˈdɑːmɪneɪt/ vt. 支配
75
My friend, there is not a lot of action to report on when you're incubating eggs.
76
You've got your light, you've got your
container
, you've got some shredded newspaper, and that's it. You're done.
container /kənˈteɪnər/ n. 容器
77
Juli, though, managed to write an inch-thick report, plus she made
diagrams
and
charts
— I'm talking
line charts
and
bar charts
and
pie charts
— about the activity of eggs. Eggs!
diagram /ˈdaɪəɡræm/ n. 图表
chart /tʃɑːrt/ n. 曲线图
line chart 折线图
bar chart 长条图
pie chart 圆形分格统计图表
78
She also managed to
time
the eggs so that they'd hatch the night of the fair.
time /taɪm/ vt. 计时
79
How does a person do that?
80
Here I've got a
live-action
erupting
volcano
that I've worked pretty
stinking
hard on, and all anybody cares about is Juli's chicks pecking out of their shells.
live-action adj. 实景模型
erupt /ɪˈrʌpt/ vi. 爆发
volcano /vɑːlˈkeɪnoʊ/ n. 火山
stink /stɪŋk/ n. [旧]卖力地工作
81
I even went over to take a look for myself, and — I'm being completely
objective
here — it was boring.
objective /əbˈdʒektɪv/ adj. 客观的
82
They pecked for about five seconds, then just lay there for five minutes.
83
I got to hear Juli
jabber
away to the
judges
, too.
jabber /ˈdʒæbər/ vi. 吱吱喳喳地叫
judge /dʒʌdʒ/ n. 评判员
84
She had a
pointer
— can you believe that?
pointer /'pɔɪntɚ/ n. 教鞭
85
Not a pencil, an actual
retractable
pointer,
retractable /rɪˈtræktəbl../ adj. 伸缩自如的
86
so she could reach across her
incubator
and tap on this chart or that diagram as she explained the excitement of watching eggs grow for twenty-one days.
incubator /'ɪŋkjubetɚ/ n. 孵化器
87
The only thing she could've done to be more overboard was put on a chicken costume, and buddy, I'm convinced — if she'd thought of it, she would have done it.
88
But hey — I was over it.
89
It was just Juli being Juli, right?
90
But all of a sudden there I am a year later, holding a carton of
home-grown
eggs.
home-grown /ˈhomˈɡron/ adj. 自产的
91
And I'm having a hard time not getting annoyed all over again about her stupid
blue-ribbon
project when my mother leans out from the hallway and says, “Who was that, honey? What have you got there? Eggs?”
blue-ribbon /'blu:'ribən/ adj. 头等的
92
I could
tell by
the look on her face that she was hot to
scramble
.
tell by 根据...判断
scramble /ˈskræmbl/ vi. 争抢
93
“Yeah,” I said, and handed them to her. “But I'm having
cereal
.”
cereal /ˈsɪriəl/ n. 谷类植物
94
She opened the carton, then closed it with a smile.
95
“How nice!” she said. “Who brought them over?”
96
“Juli. She grew them.”
97
“Grew them?”
98
“Well, her chickens did.”
99
“Oh?” Her smile started falling as she opened the carton again.
100
“Is that so. I didn't know she had… chickens.”
101
“Remember? You and Dad spent an hour watching them hatch at last year's science fair?”
102
“Well, how do we know there're not … chicks inside these eggs?”
103
I shrugged. “Like I said, I'm having cereal.”
104
We all had cereal, but what we talked about were eggs.
105
My dad thought they'd be just fine — he'd had farm-fresh eggs when he was a kid and said they were delicious.
106
My mother, though, couldn't get past the idea that she might be cracking open a dead chick,
107
and pretty soon discussion turned to the
role
of the
rooster
— something me and my
Cheerios
could've done without.
role /rol/ n. 角色
rooster /'rustɚ/ n. 公鸡
Cheerio /ˌtʃɪrɪ'o/ n. Cheerio麦片
108
Finally Lynetta said, “If they had a rooster, don't you think we'd know? Don't you think the whole neighborhood would know?”
109
Hmmm, we all said, good point.
110
But then my mom
pipes
up with, “Maybe they got it de-
yodeled
. You know — like they de-bark dogs?”
pipe /paɪp/ vi. 高声说话
yodel /'jodl/ vi. 用真假嗓音互换地唱
111
“A de-yodeled rooster,” my dad says, like it's the most
ridiculous
thing he's ever heard.
ridiculous /rɪˈdɪkjələs/ adj. 可笑的
112
Then he looks at my mom and realizes that he'd be way better off going along with her de-yodeled idea than making fun of her.
113
“Hmmm,” he says, “I've never heard of such a thing, but maybe so.”
114
Lynetta shrugs and says to my mom, “So just ask them, why don't you. Call up Mrs. Baker and ask her.”
115
“Oh,” my mom says.
116
“Well, I'd hate to call her eggs into question. It doesn't seem very polite, now, does it?”
117
“Just ask Matt or Mike,” I say to Lynetta.
118
She scowls at me and hisses, “Shut up.”
119
“What? What'd I do now?”
120
“Haven't you noticed I haven't been going down there, you
idiot
?”
idiot /ˈɪdiət/ n. 白痴
121
“Lynetta!” my mom says.
122
Like this is the first time she's heard my sister talk to me or something.
123
“Well, it's true! How can he not have noticed?”
124
“I was going to ask you about that, honey. Did something happen?”
125
Lynetta stands up and shoves her chair in.
126
“Like you care,” she snaps, and charges down to her room.
127
“Oh, boy,” my dad says.
128
Mom says, “Excuse me,” and follows Lynetta down the hall.
129
When my mother's gone, my dad says, “So, son, why don't you just ask Juli?”
130
“Dad!”
131
“It's just a little question, Bryce. No harm,
no foul
.”
foul /faʊl/ adj. 不道德的
132
“But it'll get me a half-hour answer!”
133
He studies me for a minute, then says, “No boy should be this afraid of a girl.”
134
“I'm not afraid of her…!”
135
“I think you are.”
136
“Dad!”
137
“Seriously, son. I want you to get us an answer.
Conquer
your fear and get us an answer.”
conquer /ˈkɑːŋkər/ vt. 克服
138
“To whether or not they have a rooster?”
139
“That's right.”
140
He gets up and clears his cereal bowl, saying, “I've got to get to work and you've got to get to school. I'll expect a report tonight.”
141
Great. Just great. The day was
doomed
before it had started.
doomed /du:md/ v. 宣告......必然毁灭
142
But then at school when I told Garrett about what had happened, he just shrugged and said, “Well, she lives right across the street from you, right?”
143
“Yeah, so?”
144
“So just go look over the fence.”
145
“You mean spy?”
146
“Sure.”
147
“But … how can I tell if one of them's a rooster or not?”
148
“Roosters are …I don't know… bigger. And they have more feathers.”
149
“Feathers? Like I've got to go and count feathers?”
150
“No, stupid! My mom says that the male's always brighter.”
151
Then he laughs and says, “Although in your case I'm not so sure.”
152
“Thanks. You are giving me big-time help here, buddy. I really appreciate it.”
153
“Look, a rooster's going to be bigger and have brighter feathers. You know, those long ones in the back? They're redder or blacker or
whatever
.
whatever /wət'ɛvɚ/ pron. 诸如此类
154
And don't roosters have some rubbery red stuff growing off the top of their head? And some off their neck, too? Yeah, the rooster's got all sorts of
rubbery
red stuff all around its face.”
rubbery /ˈrʌbəri/ adj. 橡胶似的
155
“So you're saying I'm supposed to look over the fence for big feathers and rubbery red stuff.”
156
“Well, come to think of it, chickens have that rubbery red stuff, too. Just not as much of it.”
157
I rolled my eyes at him and was about to say, Forget it, I'll just ask Juli, but then he says, “I'll come with you if you want.”
158
“Seriously?”
159
“Yeah, dude. Seriously.”
160
And that, my friend, is how I wound up spying over the Bakers' back fence with Garrett Anderson at three-thirty that afternoon.
161
Not my choice of
covert
operations, but a
necessary
one in order to report back to my dad that night at dinner.
covert /ˈkoʊvɜːrt/ adj. 秘密的
necessary /ˈnesəseri/ adj. 迫不得已的
162
We got there fast, too.
163
The bell rang and we basically charged off
campus
because I figured if we got to the Bakers' quick enough, we could look and leave before Juli was anywhere near her house.
campus /ˈkæmpəs/ n. （大学或学院的）校园
164
We didn't even drop off our backpacks.
165
We went straight down the
alley
and started spying.
alley /ˈæli/ n. 小路
166
It's not really necessary to look over the Bakers' fence.
167
You can see almost as well looking through it.
168
But Garrett kept
sticking
his head up, so I figured I should too, although in the back of my mind I was aware that Garrett didn't have to live in this neighborhood — I did.
stick /stɪk/ vi. 伸出
169
The backyard was a mess. Big surprise.
170
The bushes were out of control, there was some kind of
hodgepodge
wood-and-wire
coop
off to one side, and the yard wasn't grass, it was highly
fertilized
dirt
.
hodgepodge /'hɑdʒpɑdʒ/ n. 大杂烩
coop /kʊp/ n. 鸡笼
fertilize /ˈfɜːrtəlaɪz/ vt. 使肥沃
dirt /dɜːrt/ n. 泥土
171
Garrett was the first to notice their dog,
sacked out
on the
patio
between two sorry-looking folding chairs.
sack out 睡觉
patio /'pætɪo/ n. 露台
172
He points at him and says, “You think he's going to give us trouble?”
173
“We're not going to be here
long
enough to get in trouble! Where are those stupid chickens?”
long /lɔŋ/ adv. 长久地
174
“Probably in the coop,” he says, then picks up a rock and throws it at the mess of
plywood
and chicken wire.
plywood /'plaɪwʊd/ n. 胶合板
175
At first all we hear is a
bunch
of feathers
flapping
, but then one of the birds comes
fluttering
out.
bunch /bʌntʃ/ n.群
flap /flæp/ vt. & vi. 轻拍
flutter /ˈflʌtər/ vt. & vi. 拍翅膀
176
Not very far, but enough so we can see it's got feathers and rubbery red stuff.
177
“So?” I ask him. “Is that a rooster?”
178
He shrugs. “Looks like a chicken to me.”
179
“How can you tell?”
180
He shrugs again. “Just does.”
181
We watch it
scratching
at the dirt for a minute, and then I ask, “What's a hen, anyway?”
scratch /skrætʃ/ vt. 用嘴(或爪子)扒地找食物
182
“A hen?”
183
“Yeah. You got roosters, you got chickens, and then there's hens. What's a hen?”
184
“It's one of those,” he says, pointing into the Bakers' backyard.
185
“Then what's a chicken?”
186
He looks at me like I'm crazy.
187
“What are you talking about?”
188
“Chickens! What's a chicken?”
189
He takes a step back from me and says, “Brycie boy, you are losin' it. That's a chicken!”
190
He
stoops
down to pick up another rock, and he's just about to let it fly when the sliding-glass door to the back patio opens up and Juli steps outside.
stoop /stuːp/ vt. & vi. 弯腰
191
We both
duck
.
duck /dʌk/ vi. (迅速)低头
192
And as we're checking her out through the fence, I say, “When did she get home?”
193
Garrett
grumbles
, “While you were losing it about chickens.”
grumble /ˈɡrʌmbl/ vi. 嘟囔
194
Then he whispers, “But hey, this'll work great. She's got a basket, right? She's probably coming out to collect eggs.”
195
First she had to get all
mushy
with that
mangy
mutt
of hers.
mushy /ˈmʌʃi/ adj. 多愁善感的
mangy /'mendʒi/ adj. 肮脏的
mutt /mʌt/ n. 杂种狗
196
She got down and
nuzzled
and
ruffled
and patted and hugged, telling him what a good boy he was.
nuzzle /'nʌzl/ vi. 用鼻擦
ruffle /ˈrʌfl/ vt. 弄皱
197
And when she finally let him go back to sleep, she had to stop and
coo
at the bird Garrett had scared out, and then she started singing.
coo /ku/ vt. 咕咕地叫
198
Singing. At the top of her lungs, she goes,
199
“I've got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outsi-ye-yide, I've got the month of May. I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girls. Talkin' 'bout my little gir-ur-rls …”
200
She looks inside the coop and coos, “Hello, Flo! Good afternoon, Bonnie! Come on out,
punkin
!”
punkin /ˈpʌŋkɪn/ [美]小南瓜（一种称呼所爱的人的方式）
201
The coop wasn't big enough for her to walk in.
202
It was more like a mini
lean-to
shack
that even her dog would have trouble crawling in.
lean-to /ˈlinˌtu/ adj. 具有一个斜坡或斜角的
shack /ʃæk/ n. 简陋的小屋
203
Does that stop Juli Baker? No.
204
She gets down on her hands and knees and dives right in.
205
Chickens come squawking and flapping out, and pretty soon the yard's full of birds, and all we can see of Juli is her
poop
-covered shoes.
poop /pup/ n. [美，非正式]屎，粪便
206
That's not all we can hear, though.
207
She's
warbling
inside that coop, going,
warble /'wɔrbl/ v. 鸟鸣
208
“I don't need money, no
fortune
or
faaa-ya-yame
. I got all the riches, baby, anyone can
claim
.
fortune /ˈfɔːrtʃən/ n. 财富
fame /feɪm/ n. 名声
claim /kleɪm/ vt. 需要
209
Well, I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girls. Talkin' 'bout my little gir-ur-rls, my girls…”
210
At this point I wasn't checking the chickens out for rubbery red stuff or feathers.
211
I was looking at the bottom of Juli Baker's feet, wondering how in the world a person could be so happy
tunneling
through a
dilapidated
chicken coop with poop stuck all over her shoes.
tunnel /ˈtʌnl/ v. 开凿隧道
dilapidated /dɪˈlæpɪdeɪtɪd/ adj. 破烂的
212
Garrett got me back
on track
.
on track 走上正轨
213
“They're all chickens,” he says. “Look at 'em.”
214
I quit checking out Juli's shoes and started checking out birds.
215
The first thing I did was count them.
216
One-two-three-four-five-six. All accounted for.
217
After all, how could anyone forget she'd hatched six?
218
It was the
all-time
school record — everyone in the county had heard about that.
all-time /ˈɔlˈtaɪm/ adj. 空前的
219
But I was not really sure how to ask Garrett about what he had said.
220
Yeah, they were all chickens, but what did that mean?
221
I sure didn't want him
coming down on
me again, but it still didn't
make sense
.
come down on 斥责
make sense 理解
222
Finally I asked him, “You mean there's no rooster?”
223
“
Correctomundo
.”
Correctomundo 通"correct"(强调地说法)
224
“How can you tell?”
225
He shrugged. “Roosters
strut
.”
strut /strʌt/ vi. 趾高气扬地走
226
“Strut.”
227
“That's right. And look — none of them have long feathers. Or very much of that rubbery red stuff.” He nodded. “Yeah. They're definitely all chickens.”
228
That night my father got right to the point. “So, son,
mission
accomplished
?” he asked as he
stabbed
into a mountain of
fettuccine
and
whirled
his fork around.
mission /ˈmɪʃn/ n. 任务
accomplished /əˈkɑːmplɪʃt/ adj. 完成的
stab /stæb/ vt. & vi. 刺入
fettuccine /ˌfɛtʊ'tʃini/ n. 意大利宽面条
whirl /wɜːrl/ vt. & vi. 使旋转
229
I attacked my noodles too and gave him a smile.
230
“Uhhuh,” I said as I
sat up tall
to deliver the news. “They're all chickens.”
sit up tall 坐直
231
The turning of his fork came to a
grinding halt
. “And…?”
grinding halt 戛然而止
232
I could tell something was wrong, but I didn't know what.
233
I tried to keep the smile
plastered
on my face as I said, “And what?”
plaster /ˈplæstər/ v. 涂抹
234
He rested his fork and stared at me. “Is that what she said? ‘They're all chickens’?”
235
“Uh, not exactly.”
236
“Then exactly what did she say?”
237
“Uh … she didn't exactly say anything.”
238
“Meaning?”
239
“Meaning I went over there and took a look for myself.”
240
I tried very hard to sound like this was a major
accomplishment
, but he wasn't buying.
accomplishment /əˈkɑːmplɪʃmənt/ n. 成就
241
“You didn't ask her?”
242
“I didn't have to. Garrett knows a lot about chickens, and we went over there and
found out
for ourselves.”
find out 查明了
243
Lynetta came back from
rinsing
the Romano
sauce
off her seven and a half noodles, then reached for the salt and scowled at me, saying, “You're the chicken.”
rinsing /'rɪnsɪŋ/ v. （用清水）冲洗
sauce /sɔːs/ n. 调味汁
244
“Lynetta!” my mother said. “Be
nice
.”
nice /naɪs/ adj. 有教养的
245
Lynetta stopped shaking the salt.
246
“Mother, he spied. You get it? He went over there and looked over the fence. Are you saying you're okay with that?”
247
My mom turned to me. “Bryce? Is that true?”
248
Everyone was staring at me now, and I felt like I had to
save face
.
save face 保住面子
249
“What's the
big deal
? You told me to find out about her chickens, and I found out about her chickens!”
big deal 大不了
250
“Brawk-brawk-brawk!” my sister whispered.
251
My father still wasn't eating.
252
“And what you found out,” he said, like he was
measuring
every word, “was that they're all… chickens.”
measure /ˈmeʒər/ vt. 估量
253
“Right.”
254
He sighed, then took that bite of noodles and chewed it for the longest time.
255
It felt like I was sinking fast, but I couldn't figure out why.
256
So I tried to
bail
out with, “And you guys can go ahead and eat those eggs, but there's no way I'm going to touch them, so don't even ask.”
bail /beɪl/ vt. 从......中摆脱出来
257
My mother's looking back and forth from my dad to me while she eats her salad, and I can tell she's waiting for him to address my
adventure
as a neighborhood
operative
.
adventure /ədˈventʃər/ n. 冒险活动
operative /ˈɑːpərətɪv/ n. （尤指政府的）特工人员
258
But since he's not saying anything, she clears her throat and says, “Why's that?”
259
“Because there's … well, there's …I don't know how to say this nicely.”
260
“Just say it,” my father snaps.
261
“Well, there's, you know,
excrement
everywhere.”
excrement /'ɛkskrɪmənt/ n. 排泄物(粪便)
262
“Oh, gross!” my sister says, throwing down her fork.
263
“You mean chicken droppings?” my mother asks.
264
“Yeah. There's not even a lawn. It's all dirt and, uh, you know, chicken
turds
. The chickens walk in it and peck through it and…”
turd /tɝd/ n. 粪便
265
“Oh, gross!” Lynetta wails.
266
“Well, it's true!”
267
Lynetta stands up and says, “You expect me to eat after this?” and
stalks
out of the room.
stalk /stɔːk/ vi. 高视阔步地
268
“Lynetta! You have to eat something,” my mother calls after her.
269
“No, I don't!” she shouts back;
270
then a second later she sticks her head back into the dining room and says, “And don't expect me to eat any of those eggs either, Mother. Does the word
salmonella
mean anything to you?”
salmonella /'sælmə'nɛlə/ n. 沙门氏菌
271
Lynetta takes off down the hall and my mother says, “Salmonella?”
272
She turns to my father. “Do you suppose they could have salmonella?”
273
“I don't know, Patsy. I'm more concerned that our son is a
coward
.”
coward /ˈkaʊərd/ n. 懦夫
274
“A coward! Rick, please. Bryce is no such thing. He's a wonderful child who's — ”
275
“Who's afraid of a girl.”
276
“Dad, I'm not afraid of her, she just bugs me!”
277
“Why?”
278
“You know why! She bugs you, too. She's
over the top
about everything!”
over the top 过分了
279
“Bryce, I asked you to conquer your fear, but all you did was
give in
to it. If you were in love with her, that would be one thing. Love is something to be afraid of, but this, this is embarrassing.
give in 屈服
280
So she talks too much, so she's too
enthused
about every little thing, so what? Get in, get your question answered, and get out. Stand up to her, for cryin' out loud!”
enthuse /ɪn'θuz/ vi. 热心
281
“Rick …,” my mom was saying, “Rick, calm down. He did find out what you asked him to — ”
282
“No, he didn't!”
283
“What do you mean?”
284
“He tells me they're all chickens! Of course they're all chickens!
285
The question is how many are hens, and how many are roosters.”
286
I could almost hear the click in my brain, and man, I felt like a complete
doofus
.
doofus /ˈdufəs/ n. 〈美〉〈俚〉蠢人
287
No wonder he was disgusted with me.
288
I was an idiot!
289
They were all chickens … du-uh!
290
Garrett acted like he was some expert on chickens, and he didn't know
diddly-squat
! Why had I listened to him?
diddly-squat n. 〈美〉〈俚〉(多用于否定句)任何事物
291
But it was too late.
292
My dad was convinced I was a coward, and to get me over it,
293
he decided that what I should do was take the carton of eggs back to the Bakers and tell them we didn't eat eggs, or that we were
allergic
to them, or something.
allergic /əˈlɜːrdʒɪk/ adj. 过敏的
294
Then my mom
butts in
with, “What are you teaching him here, Rick? None of that is true. If he returns them, shouldn't he tell them the truth?”
butt in 插手
295
“What, that you're afraid of salmonella
poisoning
?”
poisoning /ˈpɔɪzənɪŋ/ n. 中毒
296
“Me? Aren't you a little concerned, too?”
297
“Patsy, that's not the point. The point is, I will not have a coward for a son!”
298
“But teaching him to lie?”
299
“Fine. Then just throw them away. But from now on I expect you to look that little tiger
square
in the eye, you hear me?”
square /skwer/ adv. 直接地
300
“Yes, sir.”
301
“Okay, then.”
302
I was
off the hook
for all of about eight days.
off the hook 脱身
303
Then there she was again, at seven in the morning, bouncing up and down on our porch with eggs in her hands. “Hi, Bryce! Here you go.”
304
I tried to look her square in the eye and tell her, No thanks, but she was so
darned
happy, and I wasn't really awake enough to
tackle
the tiger.
darned /dɑrnd/ adv. 非常地
tackle /ˈtækl/ vt. 应付
305
She wound up pushing another carton into my hands, and I wound up ditching them in the kitchen trash before my father sat down to breakfast.
306
This went on for two years.
307
Two years!
308
And it got to a point where it was just part of my morning
routine
.
routine /ruːˈtiːn/ n. 日常工作
309
I'd be on the
lookout
for Juli so I could
whip
the door open before she had the chance to knock or ring the bell, and then I'd bury the eggs in the trash before my dad
showed up
.
lookout n. 监视
whip /wɪp/ n. 快速移开
show up 露面
310
Then came the day I
blew it
.
blow it 搞砸了
311
Juli'd actually been making herself pretty
scarce
because it was around the time they'd taken the sycamore tree down, but suddenly one morning she was back on our doorstep, delivering eggs.
scarce /skers/ adj. 罕见的
312
I took them, as usual, and I went to
chuck
them, as usual.
chuck /tʃʌk/ vt. 丢弃
313
But the kitchen trash was so full that there wasn't any room for the carton, so I put it on top, picked up the trash, and beat it out the front door to empty everything into the
garbage can
outside.
garbage can n. 垃圾桶
314
Well, guess who's just standing there like a statue on my porch?
315
The Egg Chick.
316
I about
spilled
the trash all over the porch.
spill /spɪl/ vt. 使摔下
317
“What are you still doing here?” I asked her.
318
“I…I don't know. I was just … thinking.”
319
“About what?” I was
desperate
.
desperate /ˈdespərət/ adj. 绝望的
320
I needed a
distraction
. Some way around her with this garbage before she noticed what was sitting right there on top.
distraction /dɪˈstrækʃn/ n. 使人分心的事物
321
She looked away like she was embarrassed.
322
Juli Baker embarrassed? I didn't think it was possible.
323
Whatever.
324
The golden opportunity to whip a soggy magazine over the egg carton had presented itself, and buddy, I took it.
soggy /ˈsɑːɡi/ adj. 透湿的
325
Then I tried to make a fast break for the garbage can in the side yard, only she body-blocked me.
326
Seriously.
327
She stepped right in my way and put her arms out like she's guarding the
goal
.
goal /ɡoʊl/ n. 球门
328
She chased me and blocked me again.
329
“What happened?” she wants to know. “Did they break?”
330
Perfect.
331
Why hadn't I thought of that? “Yeah, Juli,” I told her.
332
“And I'm real sorry about that.”
333
But what I'm thinking is, Please, God, oh please, God, let me make it to the garbage can.
334
God must've been sleeping in.
335
Juli tackled the trash and pulled out her
precious
little carton of eggs, and she could tell right off that they weren't broken.
precious /ˈpreʃəs/ adj. 宝贵的
336
They weren't even cracked.
337
She stood frozen with the eggs in her hands while I dumped the rest of the trash.
338
“Why did you throw them out?” she asked, but her voice didn't sound like Juli Baker's voice.
339
It was quiet. And
shaky
.
shaky /ˈʃeɪki/ adj. 颤抖的
340
So I told her we were afraid of salmonella poisoning because her yard was a mess and that we were just trying to
spare
her feelings.
spare /spɛr/ vt. 不伤害
341
I told it to her like we were right and she was wrong, but I felt like a jerk.
342
A complete cluck-faced jerk.
343
Then she tells me that a couple of neighbors have been buying eggs off her.
344
Buying them.
345
And while I'm coming to
grips
with this
incredible
bit of news, she
whips out
her mental calculator.
grip /ɡrɪp/ n. 理解
incredible /ɪnˈkredəbl/ adj. 〈非正〉难以置信的
whip out 突然拿出
346
“Do you realize I've lost over a hundred dollars giving these eggs to you?”
347
Then she races across the street in a
flood
of tears.
flood /flʌd/ n. 洪水
348
As much as I tried to tell myself that I hadn't asked her for the eggs—I hadn't said we wanted them or needed them or liked them—the fact was, I'd never seen Juli cry before.
349
Not when she'd broken her arm in P.E., not when she'd been
teased
at school or ditched by her brothers.
tease /tiːz/ vt. & vi. 取笑
350
Not even when they'd cut down the sycamore tree.
351
I'm pretty sure she cried then, but I didn't actually see it.
352
To me, Juli Baker had always been too tough to cry.
353
I went down to my room to pack my stuff for school, feeling like the biggest jerk to ever
hit
the planet.
hit /hɪt/ v. 碰到
354
I'd been sneaking around throwing out eggs for over two years, avoiding her, avoiding my father — what did that make me?
355
Why hadn't I just stood up and said, No thanks, don't want 'em, don't need 'em, don't like 'em…. Give them to the snake, why don't you? Something!
356
Was I really afraid of hurting her feelings?
357
Or was I afraid of her?
358
