《怦然心动》｜单词注释｜Chapter 3
Buddy, Beware!
1
Seventh grade brought changes, all right, but the biggest one didn't happen at school — it happened at home.
2
Granddad Duncan came to live with us.
3
At first it was kind of
weird
because none of us really knew him. Except for Mom, of course.
weird /wɪrd/ adj. 奇怪的
4
And even though she's spent the past year and a half trying to convince us he's a great guy, from what I can tell, the thing he likes to do best is stare out the front-room window.
5
There's not much to see out there except the Bakers' front yard, but you can find him there day or night, sitting in the big
easy chair
they moved in with him, staring out the window.
easy chair n. 安乐椅
6
Okay, so he also reads Tom Clancy novels and the newspapers and does
crossword puzzles
and
tracks
his
stocks
, but those things are all
distractions
.
crossword puzzle 纵横字谜游戏
track /træk/ vt. 追踪
stock /stɑːk/ n. 股票
distraction /dɪˈstrækʃn/ n. 消遣
7
Given no one to
justify
it to, the man would stare out the window until he fell asleep.
justify v. 对......作出解释
8
Not that
there's anything wrong with that. It just seems so … boring.
not that 并不是说
9
Mom says he stares like that because he misses Grandma, but that's not something Granddad had ever discussed with me.
10
As a matter of fact, he never discussed much of anything with me until a few months ago when he read about Juli in the newspaper.
11
Now, Juli Baker did not wind up on the front page of the Mayfield Times for being an eighth-grade Einstein, like you might suspect.
12
No, my friend, she got front-page
coverage
because she refused to climb out of a
sycamore
tree.
coverage /ˈkʌvərɪdʒ/ n. 新闻报道
sycamore /'sɪkəmɔr/ n. 西克莫无花果树
13
Not that I could tell a sycamore from a
maple
or a
birch
for that matter
, but Juli, of course, knew what kind of tree it was and passed that knowledge along to every creature
in her wake
.
maple /ˈmeɪpl/ n. 枫树
birch /bɝtʃ/ n. 桦树
for that matter 就此而言
in wake 在...身后
14
So this tree, this sycamore tree, was up the hill on a
vacant lot
on Collier Street, and it was
massive
. Massive and ugly.
vacant lot n. 空地
massive /ˈmæsɪv/ adj. 巨大的
15
It was twisted and
gnarled
and
bent
, and I kept expecting the thing to blow over in the wind.
gnarled /nɑrld/ adj. (树、树干、树枝)多瘤的
bent /bɛnt/ adj. 弯的
16
One day last year I'd finally had enough of her
yakking
about that stupid tree.
yak /jæk/ v. 连篇废话
17
I came right out and told her that it was not a
magnificent
sycamore, it was, in reality, the ugliest tree known to man.
magnificent /mæɡˈnɪfɪsnt/ adj. 壮丽的
18
And you know what she said? She said I was
visually challenged
. Visually challenged!
visually challenged 视力障碍
19
This from the girl who lives in a house that's the
scourge
of the neighborhood.
scourge /skɜːrdʒ/ n. 灾祸
20
They've got
bushes
growing over windows,
weeds
sticking out
all over the place, and a
barnyard
's worth of animals
running wild
.
bush /bʊʃ/ n. 灌木(丛)
weed /wiːd/ n. 杂草
stick out 突出
barnyard /'bɑrnjɑrd/ n. 谷仓前的空场地
run wild 失去控制
21
I'm talking dogs, cats, chickens, even snakes.
22
I swear to God, her brothers have a
boa constrictor
in their room.
boa constrictor n. 蟒蛇
23
They dragged me in there when I was about ten and made me watch it eat a rat.
24
A live, beady-eyed rat.
25
They held that
rodent
up by its tail and
gulp
, the boa swallowed it whole.
rodent /'rodnt/ n. [动]啮齿目动物
gulp /ɡʌlp/ vt. 吞咽
26
That snake gave me
nightmares
for a month.
nightmare /ˈnaɪtmer/ n. 噩梦
27
Anyway, normally I wouldn't care about someone's yard, but the Bakers'
mess
bugged
my dad
big-time
, and he
channeled
his
frustration
into our yard.
mess /mes/ n. 杂乱
bug /bʌɡ/ vt. 使......厌烦
big-time /ˈbɪɡˌtaɪm/ adv. 极大地
channel /ˈtʃænl/ v. 把......用于
frustration /frʌˈstreɪʃn/ n. 懊恼
28
He said it was our neighborly duty to show them what a yard's supposed to look like.
29
So while Mike and Matt are busy
plumping up
their boa, I'm having to
mow
and
edge
our yard, then
sweep
the walkways and
gutter
, which is going a little
overboard
, if you ask me.
plump up v. 使膨胀
mow /moʊ/ vt. 割草
edge /edʒ/ v. 修剪(草地边缘)
sweep /swiːp/ vi. 打扫
gutter /ˈɡʌtər/ n. 排水沟
overboard /'ovɚbɔrd/ adv. 全身心投入
30
And you'd think Juli's dad — who's a big, strong,
bricklaying
dude
— would
fix the place up
, but no.
bricklaying /'brɪk,leɪŋ/ n. 砌砖
dude /dud/ n. [美，非正式]家伙
fix up 修理
31
According to my mom, he spends all his free time painting.
32
His
landscapes
don't seem like anything special to me, but judging by his price tags, he thinks quite a lot of them.
landscape /ˈlændskeɪp/ n. 风景画
33
We see them every year at the Mayfield County Fair, and my parents always say the same thing:
34
“The world would have more beauty in it if he'd fix up the yard instead.”
35
Mom and Juli's mom do talk some.
36
I think my mom feels sorry for Mrs. Baker — she says she married a dreamer, and because of that, one of the two of them will always be unhappy.
37
Whatever. Maybe Juli's
aesthetic
sensibilities
have been
permanently
screwed up
by her father and none of this is her fault,
aesthetic /esˈθetɪk/ adj. 美学的
sensibility /ˌsɛnsə'bɪləti/ n. (尤指文艺方面的)感受能力
permanently /ˈpə..mənəntlɪ/ adv. 永久地
screw up 搞砸了
38
but Juli has always thought that that sycamore tree was God's gift to our little corner of the universe.
39
Back in the third and fourth grades she used to
clown around
with her brothers in the branches or peel big
chunks
of
bark
off so they could slide down the
crook
in its
trunk
.
clown around 胡闹
chunk /tʃʌŋk/ n. 大块
bark /bɑːrk/ n. 树皮
crook /krʊk/ n. 弯曲处
trunk /trʌŋk/ n. 树干
40
It seemed like they were playing in it whenever my mom took us somewhere in the car.
41
Juli'd be swinging from the branches, ready to fall and break every bone in her body, while we were waiting at the
stoplight
, and my mom would shake her head and say,
stoplight /'stɑp,laɪt/ n. 红绿灯
42
“Don't you ever climb that tree like that, do you hear me, Bryce? I never want to see you doing that! You either, Lynetta. That is much too dangerous.”
43
My sister would
roll her eyes
and say, “As if,” while I'd
slump
beneath the window and pray for the light to change before Juli
squealed
my name for the world to hear.
roll her eyes 翻白眼
slump /slʌmp/ v. 重重地坐下
squeal /skwil/ vt. 长声尖叫
44
I did try to climb it once in the fifth grade.
45
It was the day after Juli had rescued my kite from its
mutant
toy-eating
foliage
.
mutant /'mjutənt/ n. [生] 突变体
foliage /ˈfoʊliɪdʒ/ n. 植物
46
She climbed miles up to get my kite, and when she came down, she was actually very cool about it.
47
She didn't hold my kite
hostage
and stick her lips out like I was afraid she might.
hostage /ˈhɑːstɪdʒ/ n. 人质
48
She just handed it over and then backed away. I was relieved, but I also felt like a
weenie
.
weenie /ˈwini/ n. 窝囊废
49
When I'd seen where my kite was trapped, I was sure it was a
goner
. Not Juli.
goner /'ɡɔnɚ/ n. 无法挽救的人
50
She scrambled up and got it down
in no time
.
in no time 立即
51
Man, it was embarrassing.
52
So I made a
mental
picture of how high she'd climbed, and the next day I
set off
to
outdo
her by at least two branches.
mental /ˈmentl/ adj. 头脑的
set off vt. 动身
outdo /ˌaʊt'du/ vt. 超过
53
I made it past the crook, up a few
limbs
, and then — just to see how I was doing — I looked down.
limb /lɪm/ n. 枝干
54
Mis-take! It felt like I was on top of the
Empire State Building
without a
bungee
.
bungee /'bʌndʒi:/ n. 高空弹跳绳索
Empire State Building 帝国大厦(位于美国纽约州)
55
I tried looking up to where my kite had been, but it was hopeless.
56
I was
indeed
a tree-climbing weenie.
indeed /ɪnˈdiːd/ adv. 真正地
57
Then junior high started and my dream of a Juli-
free
existence
shattered
.
free /friː/ adj. 摆脱...的
shatter /ˈʃætər/ vi. 粉碎
58
I had to take the bus, and you-know-who did, too.
59
There were about eight kids altogether at our bus stop, which created a
buffer
zone, but it was no comfort zone.
buffer /ˈbʌfər/ n. 起缓冲作用的人(或物)
60
Juli always tried to stand beside me, or talk to me, or in some other way
mortify
me.
mortify /ˈmɔːrtɪfaɪ/ vt. 使受辱
61
And then she started climbing.
62
The girl is in the seventh grade, and she's climbing a tree — way,
way up
in a tree.
way up adv. 远远在上
63
And why does she do it? So she can yell down at us that the bus is five! four! three blocks away!
64
Blow-by-blow
traffic
watch from a tree - what every kid in junior high feels like hearing first thing in the morning.
blow-by-blow /ˈblobaɪˈblo/ adj. 逐一记录的
traffic /'træfɪk/ n. 交通
65
She tried to get me to come up there with her, too.
66
“Bryce, come on! You won't believe the colors! It's absolutely magnificent! Bryce, you've got to come up here!”
67
Yeah, I could just hear it: “Bryce and Juli sitting in a tree…”
68
Was I ever going to leave the second grade behind?
69
One morning I was
specifically
not looking up when
out of nowhere
she swings down from a branch and practically knocks me over.
specifically /spəˈsɪfɪkli/ adv. 特意地
out of nowhere 莫名其妙地出现
70
Heart a-ttack!
heart attack 心脏病发作
71
I dropped my backpack and
wrenched
my neck, and that did it.
wrench /rentʃ/ vt. (猛力地)扭
72
I refused to wait under that tree with that
maniac
monkey
on the loose
anymore
.
maniac /'menɪæk/ adj. 癫狂的
on the loose 逍遥法外
anymore /ˌɛniˈmɔr/ adv. 再也不
73
I started leaving the house at the very last minute.
74
I made up my own waiting spot, and when I'd see the bus
pull up
, I'd
truck
up the hill and get on board.
pull up 停下来
truck /trʌk/ v. 轻松前进
75
No Juli, no problem.
76
And that, my friend,
took care
of the rest of seventh grade and almost all of eighth, too, until one day a few months ago.
take care 坚持到底
77
That's when I heard a
commotion
up the hill and could see some big trucks parked up on Collier Street where the bus pulls in.
commotion /kə'moʃən/ n. 骚动
78
There were some men shouting stuff up at Juli, who was, of course, five
stories
up in the tree.
story /'stɔri/ n. 一种测量单位(1story 等于3.3米)
79
All the other kids started to gather under the tree, too, and I could hear them telling her she had to come down.
80
She was fine — that was obvious to anyone with a pair of ears — but I couldn't figure out what they were all arguing about.
81
I trucked up the hill, and as I got closer and saw what the men were
holding
, I figured out in a hurry what was making Juli refuse to come out of the tree.
hold /hoʊld/ v. 握住
82
Chain saws
.
chain saw n. 链锯
83
Don't
get me wrong
here, okay? The tree was an ugly mutant
tangle
of gnarly branches.
get me wrong 误解我
tangle /ˈtæŋɡl/ vt. & vi. (使)缠结
84
The girl arguing with those men was Juli - the world's
peskiest
,
bossiest
, most know-it-all female.
pesky /'pɛski/ adj. [非正] 烦人的
bossy /'bɔsi/ adj. 专横的
85
But
all of a sudden
my stomach completely
bailed on
me.
all of a sudden 猛然地
bail on 放弃
86
Juli loved that tree.
87
Stupid as it was, she loved that tree, and cutting it down would be like cutting out her heart.
88
Everyone tried to talk her down. Even me.
89
But she said she wasn't coming down, not
ever
, and then she tried to talk us up. “Bryce, please! Come up here with me. They won't cut it down if we're all up here!”
ever /'ɛvɚ/ adv. 在任何时候
90
For a second I considered it.
91
But then the bus arrived and I
talked myself out
of it.
talk myself out 反复地劝自己
92
It wasn't my tree, and even though she acted like it was, it wasn't Juli's, either.
93
We
boarded
the bus and left her behind, but school was pretty much a waste.
board /bɔːrd/ vt. 上(船、车或飞机)
94
I couldn't seem to stop
thinking about
Juli.
think about v. 认真考虑
95
Was she still up in the tree? Were they going to
arrest
her?
arrest /əˈrest/ vt. 逮捕
96
When the bus dropped us off that afternoon, Juli was gone and so was half the tree.
97
The top branches, the place my kite had been stuck, her favorite
perch
— they were all gone.
perch /pɜːrtʃ/ n. 栖息处
98
We watched them work for a little while, the chain saws
gunning
at full
throttle
, smoking as they
chewed
through wood.
gun /ɡʌn/ vt. & vi. 加大油门
throttle /'θrɑtl/ n. 油门
chew /tʃuː/ vt. 嚼碎
99
The tree looked
lopsided
and
naked
, and after a few minutes I had to get out of there.
lopsided /ˌlɑːpˈsaɪdɪd/ adj. 向一侧歪斜的
naked /ˈneɪkɪd/ adj. 裸露的
100
It was like watching someone
dismember
a body, and for the first time in ages, I felt like crying.
dismember /dɪsˈmembər/ vt. 肢解
101
Crying. Over a stupid tree that I hated.
102
I went home and tried to
shake it off
, but I kept wondering,
shake off 摆脱
103
Should I have gone up the tree with her? Would it have done any good?
104
I thought about calling Juli to tell her I was sorry they'd cut it down, but I didn't.
105
It would've been too, I don't know, weird.
106
She didn't show at the bus stop the next morning and didn't ride the bus home that afternoon, either.
107
Then that night, right before dinner, my grandfather
summoned
me into the front room.
summon /ˈsʌmən/ vt. 召集
108
He didn't call to me as I was
walking by
- that would have
bordered
on friendliness.
walk by 在......旁边走过
border /ˈbɔːrdər/ v. 近似
109
What he did was talk to my mother, who talked to me.
110
“I don't know what it's about, honey,” she said.
111
“Maybe he's just ready to get to know you a little better.”
112
Great.
113
The man's had a year and a half to get
acquainted
, and he chooses now to get to know me.
acquaint /əˈkweɪnt/ v. 使了解
114
But I couldn't exactly blow him off.
115
My grandfather's a big man with a
meaty
nose and
greased
-back salt-and-
pepper
hair.
meaty /ˈmiːti/ adj. 肥的
grease /gri:zd/ adj. 加过润滑脂的
pepper /ˈpepər/ n. 胡椒粉
116
He lives in house
slippers
and a sports coat, and I've never seen a
whisker
on him.
slipper /ˈslɪpər/ n. 拖鞋
whisker /'wɪskɚ/ n. 胡须
117
They grow, but he shaves them off like three times a day. It's a real
recreational
activity
for him.
recreational /ˌrekriˈeɪʃənl/ adj. 消遣的
activity /æk'tɪvəti/ n. 行动
118
Besides his meaty nose, he's also got big meaty hands.
119
I suppose you'd notice his hands
regardless
, but what makes you realize
just
how
beefy
they are is his wedding ring.
regardless /rɪˈɡɑːrdləs/ adv. 无论如何
just /dʒʌst/ adv. 实在
beefy /'bifi/ adj. 健壮的
120
That thing's never going to come off, and even though my mother says that's how it should be, I think he ought to get it
cut off
.
cut off 切断
121
Another few
pounds
and that ring's going to
amputate
his finger.
pound /paʊnd/ n. 英镑
amputate /'æmpjutet/ vt. 切断
122
When I went in to see him, those big hands of his were
woven
together, resting on the newspaper in his lap.
woven /'wovn/ v. 编织(weave的过去分词)
123
I said, “Granddad? You wanted to see me?”
124
“Have a seat, son.”
125
Son?
126
Half the time he didn't seem to know who I was, and now suddenly I was “son”?
127
I sat in the chair opposite him and waited.
128
“Tell me about your friend Juli Baker.”
129
“Juli? She's not exactly my friend … !”
130
“Why is that?” he asked. Calmly.
131
Like he had
prior
knowledge
.
prior /ˈpraɪər/ adj. 事先的
knowledge /ˈnɑːlɪdʒ/ n. 了解
132
I started to justify it, then stopped myself and asked, “Why do you want to know?”
133
He opened the paper and pressed down the
crease
, and that's when I realized that Juli Baker had made the front page of the Mayfield Times.
crease /kris/ n. 折痕
134
There was a huge picture of her in the tree, surrounded by a
fire brigade
and policemen, and then some smaller photos I couldn't
make out
very well.
fire brigade n. 消防队
make out (勉强地)辨认
135
“Can I see that?”
136
He folded it up but didn't hand it over. “Why isn't she your friend, Bryce?”
137
“Because she's …” I shook my head and said, “You'd have to know Juli.”
138
“I'd like to.”
139
“What? Why?”
140
“Because the girl's got an
iron
backbone
. Why don't you invite her over sometime?”
iron /ˈaɪərn/ n. 铁
backbone /'bæk'bon/ n. 脊梁
141
“An iron backbone? Granddad, you don't understand! That girl is a
royal
pain
. She's a show-off, she's a know-it-all, and she is
pushy
beyond belief
!”
royal /ˈrɔɪəl/ adj. (用于强调某人或某物极度糟糕) 极度的
pain /peɪn/ n. [非正式] 讨厌的人(或事)
pushy /ˈpʊʃi/ adj. 爱出风头的
beyond belief 难以置信
142
“
Is that so
.”
Is that so 真的是这样么？
143
“Yes! That's absolutely so! And she's been
stalking
me since the second grade!”
stalk /stɔːk/ vt. 跟踪
144
He frowned, then looked out the window and asked, “They've lived there that long?”
145
“I think they were all born there!”
146
He frowned some more before he looked back at me and said, “A girl like that doesn't live next door to everyone, you know.”
147
“Lucky them!”
148
He
studied
me, long and hard.
study /'stʌdi/ v. 仔细看
149
I said, “What?” but he didn't flinch.
150
He just kept staring at me, and I couldn't take it — I had to look away.
take /tek/ v. 忍受
151
Keep in mind
that this was the first real conversation I'd had with my grandfather.
keep in mind 记住
152
This was the first time he'd made the
effort
to talk to me about something besides passing the salt.
effort /ˈefərt/ n. 努力
153
And does he want to get to know me? No! He wants to know about Juli!
154
I couldn't just stand up and leave, even though that's what I felt like doing.
155
Somehow
I knew if I left like that, he'd
quit
talking to me at all. Even about salt.
somehow /ˈsʌmhaʊ/ adv. 不知为什么
quit /kwɪt/ vt. 停止
156
So I sat there feeling sort of
tortured
.
tortured /'tɔrtʃɚd/ adj. 饱受煎熬的
157
Was he mad at me? How could he be mad at me? I hadn't done anything wrong!
158
When I looked up, he was sitting there
holding out
the newspaper to me.
hold out 伸出
159
“Read this,” he said. “Without prejudice.”
160
I took it, and when he went back to looking out the window, I knew - I'd been
dismissed
.
dismiss /dɪsˈmɪs/ vi. 让......离开
161
By the time I got down to my room, I was
mad
.
mad /mæd/ adj. 气愤的
162
I
slammed
my bedroom door and
flopped
down on the bed, and after
fuming
about my
sorry
excuse
for a grandfather for a while, I shoved the newspaper in the bottom
drawer
of my desk.
slam /slæm/ vt. & vi. 砰地关上(门或窗)
flop /flɑp/ v. (尤指疲劳时)猛然倒下
fume /fjuːm/ v. 生气
sorry /'sɔri/ adj. 可怜的
excuse /ɪkˈskjuz/ n. 宽恕
drawer /drɔːr/ n. 抽屉
163
Like I needed to know any more about Juli Baker.
164
At dinner my mother asked me why I was so
sulky
, and she kept looking from me to my grandfather.
sulky /ˈsʌlki/ adj. 生闷气的
165
Granddad didn't seem to need any salt, which was a good thing because I might have thrown the
shaker
at him.
shaker /'ʃekɚ/ n. (盖上有孔的)作料瓶
166
My sister and dad were all
business as usual
, though.
business as usual 一如往常
167
Lynetta ate about two
raisins
out of her carrot salad, then peeled the skin and meat off her chicken wing and
nibbledgristle
off the bone,
raisins /'reizən/ n. 葡萄干
nibble /ˈnɪbl/ vt. & vi. 啃
gristle /'ɡrɪsl/ n. 软骨
168
while my father filled up
airspace
talking about office politics and the need for a
shakedown
in
upper
management.
airspace /'ɛr'spes/ n. 上空
shakedown /'ʃekdaʊn/ n. 整顿
upper /ˈʌpər/ adj. 上层的
169
No one was listening to him — no one ever does when he gets on one of his if-I-ran-the-
circus
jags
— but for once Mom wasn't even pretending.
circus /ˈsɜːrkəs/ n. 马戏团
jag /dʒæɡ/ n. 狂欢
170
And for once she wasn't trying to convince Lynetta that dinner was delicious either.
171
She just kept eyeing me and Granddad, trying to pick up on why we were
miffed
at each other.
miff /mɪf/ vt. 使……恼怒
172
Not that he had anything to be miffed at me about. What had I done to him, anyway? Nothing.
Nada
. But he was, I could tell.
nada /'nædə/ n. 没有什么
173
And I completely avoided looking at him until about halfway through dinner, when I sneaked a peek.
174
He was studying me, all right.
175
And
even though
it wasn't a mean stare, or a
hard
stare, it was, you know,
firm
.
Steady
. And it
weirded me out
.
What was his deal
?
even though 虽然
hard /hɑːrd/ adj. 严厉的
firm /fɜːrm/ adj. 坚定的
steady /ˈstedi/ adj. 沉着的
weird out 使人感到纳闷
what's one’s deal 他(她)怎么回事？
176
I didn't look at him again. Or at my mother. I just went back to eating and pretended to listen to my dad.
177
And the first chance I got, I
excused myself
and
holed up
in my room.
excuse oneself 请求准予离开
hole up 躲藏
178
I was planning to call my friend Garrett like I usually do when I'm
bent
about something.
bent /bɛnt/ adj. 下定决心的
179
I even punched in his number, but I don't know. I just
hung up
.
hung up 挂断
180
And later when my mom came in, I
faked
like I was sleeping.
fake /feɪk/ vt. & vi. 假装
181
I haven't done that in years.
182
The whole night was weird like that.
183
I just wanted to be left alone.
184
Juli wasn't at the bus stop the next morning. Or Friday morning.
185
She was at school, but you'd never know it if you didn't actually look.
186
She didn't
whip
her hand through the air trying to get the teacher to
call
on her or
charge
through the halls getting to class.
whip /wɪp/ v. 快速移动(某物)
call /kɔːl/ vi. 呼叫
charge /tʃɑːrdʒ/ vt. 向...冲去
187
She didn't make
unsolicited
comments
for the teacher's
edification
or challenge the kids who
took cuts
in the milk line.
unsolicited /'ʌnsə'lɪsɪtɪd/ adj. 主动提供的
comment /ˈkɑːment/ n. 评论
edification /ˌɛdɪfɪ'keʃən/ n. 教诲
take cuts 插队
188
She just sat. Quiet.
189
I told myself I should be glad about it - it was like she wasn't even there, and isn't that what I'd always wanted? But still, I felt bad.
190
About her tree, about how she hurried off to eat by herself in the library at lunch, about how her eyes were red around the edges.
191
I wanted to tell her, Man, I'm sorry about your sycamore tree, but the words never seemed to come out.
192
By the middle of the next week, they'd finished taking down the tree.
193
They cleared the
lot
and even tried to pull up the
stump
, but that
sucker
would not
budge
, so they wound up
grinding
it down into the dirt.
lot n. 小块土地
stump /stʌmp/ n. 树桩
sucker /'sʌkɚ/ n. （从植物的根部、主茎等长出的）吸根
budge /bʌdʒ/ vt. & vi (使)稍微移动
grind /ɡraɪnd/ vi. 磨碎
194
Juli still didn't show at the bus stop, and by the end of the week I learned from Garrett that she was riding a bike.
195
He said he'd seen her on the side of the road twice that week, putting the chain back on the
derailleur
of a
rusty
old ten-speed.
derailleur /dɪ'reljɚ/ n. 装有变速器的自行车
rusty /'rʌsti/ adj. 生锈的
196
I
figured
she'd be back.
figure /ˈfɪɡjər/ vi. [美，非正式] 估计
197
It was a long ride out to Mayfield Junior High, and
once
she
got over
the tree, she'd start riding the bus again.
once /wʌns/ conj. 一旦...就...
get over 从......中恢复过来
198
I even
caught
myself looking for her. Not on the lookout, just looking.
catch /kætʃ/ vi. 突然发现
199
Then one day it rained and I thought for sure she'd be up at the bus stop, but no.
200
Garrett said he saw her trucking along on her bike in a bright yellow
poncho
, and in math I noticed that her pants were still
soaked
from the knees down.
poncho /ˈpɑːntʃoʊ/ n. 雨披
soaked /sokt/ adj. (尤指被雨)淋透的
201
When math let out, I started to chase after her to tell her that she ought to try riding the bus again, but I stopped myself in the nick of time.
202
What was I thinking? That Juli wouldn't take a little friendly concern and completely
misinterpret
it?
misinterpret /ˌmɪsɪnˈtɜːrprət/ vt. 误解
203
Whoa now, buddy,
beware
!
beware /bɪˈwer/ vi. 当心
204
Better to just leave well enough alone.
205
After all, the last thing I needed was for Juli Baker to think I missed her.
last /læst/ adj. 最后的
206
