《怦然心动》｜单词注释｜Chapter 6
The Eggs
1
After they cut down the sycamore tree, it seemed like everything else
fell apart
, too.
fall apart 土崩瓦解
2
Champ died. And then I
found out
about the eggs.
find out 发现
3
It was Champ's
time to go
, and even though I still miss him, I think it's been easier for me to deal with his death than it has been for me to deal with the truth about the eggs.
time to go 该走了
4
I still cannot believe it about the eggs.
5
The eggs came before the chickens in our
case
, but the dog came before them both.
case /keɪs/ n. 情况
6
One night when I was about six years old, Dad came home from work with a
full-grown
dog
tied down
in the back of his truck.
full-grown /'ful'ɡrəun/ adj. 发育完全的
tie down 栓系
7
Someone had
hit
it in the middle of an
intersection
, and Dad had stopped to see how badly it was hurt.
hit /hɪt/ vt. 碰撞
intersection /ˌɪntərˈsekʃn/ n. 十字路口
8
Then he noticed that the
poor
thing was
skinny
as a rail and didn't have any tags.
poor /pʊr/ adj. 可怜的
skinny /ˈskɪni/ adj. 极瘦的
9
“Starving and completely
disoriented
,” he told my mother.
disorient /dɪs'ɔrɪəntet/ vt. 使(某人)迷失方向
10
“Can you imagine someone abandoning their dog like that?”
11
The whole family had
converged
on the front porch, and I could hardly
contain
myself.
converge /kənˈvɜːrdʒ/ v. （使）汇聚
contain /kənˈteɪn/ vt. 控制
12
A dog! A wonderful, happy,
panty
dog!
pant vi. 气喘（加上后缀-y变形容词）
13
I realize now that Champ was never much of a
looker
, but when you're six, any dog—no matter how
mangy
—is a
glorious
,
huggable
creature.
looker /'lʊkɚ/ n. 十分漂亮的人
mangy /'mendʒi/ adj. 肮脏的
glorious /ˈɡlɔːriəs/ adj. 值得称道的
huggable /'hʌgəbl/ adj. 令人想拥抱的
14
He looked pretty good to my brothers, too, but from the way my mother's face was
pinched
, I could tell she was thinking, Abandon this dog?
pinch /pɪntʃ/ vt. 使苦恼
15
Oh, I can see it.
16
I can definitely see it.
17
What she said, though, was simply, “There is no room for that animal in this house.”
18
“Trina,” my dad said, “it's not a matter of
ownership
. It's a matter of
compassion
.”
ownership /ˈoʊnərʃɪp/ n. 所有(权)
compassion /kəmˈpæʃn/ n. 同情
19
“You're not
springing
it on me as a …a pet, then?”
spring /sprɪŋ/ v. 突然向某人提供(或提出)
20
“That is definitely not my
intention
.”
intention /ɪnˈtenʃn/ n. 打算
21
“Well, then what do you intend to do?”
22
“Give him a
decent
meal, a bath … then maybe we'll place an ad and find him a home.”
decent /ˈdiːsnt/ adj. 像样的
23
She eyed him from across the
threshold
. “There'll be no ‘maybe’ about it.”
threshold /ˈθreʃhoʊld/ n. 门槛
24
My brothers said, “We don't get to keep him?”
25
“That's right.”
26
“But Mo-om,” they moaned.
27
“It's not open to discussion,” she said.
28
“He gets a bath, he gets a meal, he gets an ad in the paper.”
29
My father put one arm around Matt's shoulder and the other around Mike's. “Someday, boys, we'll get a puppy.”
30
My mother was already heading back inside, but over her shoulder came, “Not until you learn to keep your room neat, boys!”
31
By the end of the week, the dog was named Champ.
32
By the end of the next week, he'd made it from the backyard into the kitchen area.
33
And not too long after that, he was all moved in.
34
It seemed nobody wanted a full-grown dog with a happy bark.
35
Nobody but four-fifths of the Baker family, anyway.
36
Then my mother started noticing an
odor
.
odor /ˈodɚ/ n. 气味
37
A mysterious odor of
indeterminate
origin
.
indeterminate /'ɪndɪ'tɝmənət/ adj. 不确定的
origin /ˈɔːrɪdʒɪn/ n. 来源
38
We all admitted we smelled it, too, but where my mother was convinced it was
Eau de
Champ, we disagreed.
Eau de [法] 带有香气的某种东西
39
She had us bathing him so often that it couldn't possibly be him.
40
We each sniffed him out pretty good and he smelled perfectly rosy.
41
My personal suspicion was that Matt and Mike were the ones not bathing enough, but I didn't want to get close enough to sniff them.
42
And since our
camp
was
divided on
just who the
culprit
or culprits were, the odor was
dubbed
the Mystery Smell.
camp /kæmp/ n. 阵营
divide on 在......方面有分歧
culprit /ˈkʌlprɪt/ n. 引起问题的事物
dub /dʌb/ v. 把......称为
43
Whole dinnertime discussions
revolved around
the Mystery Smell, which my brothers found
amusing
and my mother did not.
revolved around 以......为中心
amusing /əˈmjuːzɪŋ/ adj. 好玩的
44
Then one day my mother
cracked the case
.
crack the case 破案
45
And she might have cracked Champ's
skull
as well if my dad hadn't come to the rescue and
shooed
him outside.
skull /skʌl/ n. 脑壳
shoo /ʃu/ vi. 发出嘘声赶走
46
Mom was
fuming
.
fume /fjuːm/ vi. 发怒
47
“I told you it was him. The Mystery Smell comes from the Mystery Pisser! Did you see that? Did you see that? He just
squirted
on the end table!”
squirt /skwɜːrt/ vt. 喷湿
48
My father raced with a roll of paper towels to where Champ had been, and said, “Where? Where is it?”
49
All of three drops were dripping down the table leg.
50
“There,” my mother said, pointing a
shaky
finger at the wetness. “There!”
shaky /ˈʃeɪki/ adj. 摇晃的
51
Dad wiped it up, then checked the carpet and said, “It was
barely
a drop.”
barely /ˈberli/ adv. 几乎不
52
“Exactly!” my mother said with her hands on her hips.
53
“Which is why I've never been able to find anything. That dog stays outside from now on. Do you hear me? He is no longer allowed in this house!”
54
“How about the garage?” I asked. “Can he sleep in there?”
55
“And have him
tag
everything that's out there? No!”
tag /tæɡ/ vt. 给......贴标签
56
Mike and Matt were grinning at each other. “Mystery Pisser! That could be the name for our band!”
57
“Yeah! Cool!”
58
“Band?” my mother asked. “Wait a minute, what band?”
59
But they were already flying down to their room, laughing about the
possibilities
for a logo.
possibility /ˌpɑːsəˈbɪləti/ n. 可能的选项
60
My father and I spent the rest of the day sniffing out and destroying criminal
evidence
.
evidence /ˈevɪdəns/ n. 证据
61
My dad used a
spray
bottle of
ammonia
; I followed up with
Lysol
.
spray /spreɪ/ n. 喷雾器
ammonia /ə'monɪə/ n. [化]氨
lysol /ˈlaɪˌsɔl/ n. 来沙尔(一种消毒剂)
62
We did try to
recruit
my brothers, but they wound up getting into a spray-bottle fight, which got them locked in their room, which, of course, was fine with them.
recruit /rɪˈkruːt/ v. 动员
63
So Champ became an outside dog, and he might have been our only pet ever if it hadn't been for my fifth-grade science fair.
64
Everyone around me had great project ideas, but I couldn't seem to come up with one.
65
Then our teacher, Mrs. Brubeck, took me aside and told me about a friend of hers who had chickens, and how she could get me a
fertilized
egg for my project.
fertilized /'fə:rtilaizd/ 已受精的
66
“But I don't know anything about hatching an egg,” I told her.
67
She smiled and put her arm around my shoulders.
68
“You don't have to be an
immediate
expert at everything, Juli. The idea here is to learn something new.”
immediate /ɪˈmiːdiət/ adj. 立即的
69
“But what if it dies?”
70
“Then it dies.
Document
your work
scientifically
and you'll still get an A, if that's what you're worried about.”
document /ˈdɑːkjumənt/ v. 记录
scientifically /saɪənˈtɪfɪklɪ/ adv. 合乎科学地
71
An A? Being responsible for the death of a baby chick—that's what I was worried about.
72
Suddenly there was real
appeal
in building a
volcano
or making my own
neoprene
or
demonstrating
the various scientific
applications
of
gear ratios
.
appeal /əˈpiːl/ n. 吸引力
volcano /vɑːlˈkeɪnoʊ/ n. 火山
neoprene /'niəprin/ n. [化]氯丁橡胶
demonstrate /ˈdemənstreɪt/ vt. 演示
application /ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃn/ n. 实际应用
gear ratio 齿轮齿数比
73
But the ball was in motion, and Mrs. Brubeck would have no more discussion about it.
74
She pulled The
Beginner's
Guide to Raising Chickens from her bookshelf and said, “Read the section on
artificialincubation
and set yourself up tonight. I'll get you an egg tomorrow.”
beginner /bɪ'gɪnɚ/ n. 初学者
artificial /ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃl/ adj. 人工的
incubation /ˌɪŋkjuˈbeɪʃn/ n. 孵化
75
“But …”
76
“Don't worry so much, Juli,” she said. “We do this every year, and it's always one of the best projects at the fair.”
77
I said, “But…,” but she was gone.
78
Off to put an end to some other student's battle with
indecision
.
indecision /'ɪndɪ'sɪʒən/ n. 无决断力
79
That night I was more worried than ever.
80
I'd read the chapter on incubation at least four times and was still confused about where to start.
81
I didn't happen to have an old
aquarium
lying around!
aquarium /ə'kwɛrɪəm/ n. 养鱼缸
82
We didn't happen to have an incubation
thermometer
! Would a
deep-fry
model
work?
thermometer /θərˈmɑːmɪtər/ n. 温度计
deep-fry /ˈdipˈfraɪ/ v. 油炸
model /ˈmɑːdl/ n. 型号
83
I was supposed to control
humidity
, too, or horrible things would happen to the chick.
humidity /hjuːˈmɪdəti/ n. 湿度
84
Too dry and the chick couldn't peck out; too wet and it would die of
mushy chick disease
.
mushy chick disease 蔫雏病
85
Mushy chick disease?!
86
My mother, being the sensible person that she is, told me to tell Mrs. Brubeck that I
simply
wouldn't be hatching a chick.
simply /ˈsɪmpli/ adv. 简直
87
“Have you
considered
growing beans?” she asked me.
consider /kənˈsɪdər/ vt. & vi. 考虑
88
My father, however, understood that you can't refuse to do your teacher's
assignment
, and he promised to help.
assignment /əˈsaɪnmənt/ n. 分派
89
“An incubator's not difficult to build. We'll make one after dinner.”
90
How my father knows exactly where things are in our garage is one of the wonders of the universe.
91
How he knew about incubators, however, was
revealed
to me while he was
drilling
a one-inch hole in an old
scrap
of
Plexiglas
.
reveal /rɪˈviːl/ vt. 显示
drill /drɪl/ vt. 钻孔
scrap /skræp/ n. 小块（纸、布匹等）
plexiglas /ˈplɛksɪˌɡlæs/ n. 树脂玻璃
92
“I raised a duck from an egg when I was in high school.” He grinned at me. “Science fair project.”
93
“A duck?”
94
“Yes, but the
principle
is the same for all
poultry
. Keep the temperature constant and the humidity right, turn the egg several times a day, and in a few weeks you'll have yourself a little
peeper
.”
principle /ˈprɪnsəpl/ n. 原理
poultry /ˈpoʊltri/ n. 家禽
peep /piːp/ n. (鼠、小鸟等的)吱吱声
95
He handed me a
lightbulb
and an
extension
cord with a
socket
attached.
lightbulb n. 灯泡
extension cord 延长线
socket /ˈsɑːkɪt/ n. 插座
96
“
Fasten
this through the hole in the Plexiglas. I'll find some thermometers.”
fasten /ˈfæsn/ vt. 系紧
97
“Some? We need more than one?”
98
“We have to make you a
hygrometer
.”
hygrometer /haɪ'grɑmətɚ/ n. 湿度计
99
“A hygrometer?”
100
“To check the humidity inside the incubator. It's just a thermometer with wet
gauze
around the
bulb
.”
gauze /gɔz/ n. 纱布
bulb /bʌlb/ n. 电灯泡
101
I smiled. “No mushy chick disease?”
102
He smiled back. “
Precisely
.”
precisely /prɪˈsaɪsli/ 对
103
By the next afternoon I had not one, but six chicken eggs incubating at a
cozy
102 degrees
Fahrenheit
.
cozy /ˈkoʊzi/ adj. 舒适的
Fahrenheit /'færən'haɪt/ n. 华氏温标
104
“They don't all make it, Juli,” Mrs. Brubeck told me.
105
“Hope for one. The record's three. The grade's in the
documentation
. Be a scientist. Good luck.” And with that, she was off.
documentation /'dɑkjəmɛn'teʃən/ n. 记录
106
Documentation? Of what?
107
I had to turn the eggs three times a day and
regulate
the temperature and humidity, but aside from that what was there to do?
regulate /ˈreɡjuleɪt/ vt. 调节
108
That night my father came out to the garage with a
cardboard tube
and a
flashlight
.
cardboard tube 硬纸管
flashlight /'flæʃlaɪt/ n. 手电筒
109
He
taped
the two together so that the light beam was forced straight out the tube.
tape /teɪp/ vt. 用带子捆起来
110
“Let me show you how to
candle
an egg,” he said, then
switched
off the garage light.
candle /'kændl/ vt. 对着光检查
switch /swɪtʃ/ v. (用开关)打开，关闭
111
I'd seen a section on candling eggs in Mrs. Brubeck's book, but I hadn't really read it yet.
112
“Why do they call it that?” I asked him. “And why do you do it?”
113
“People used candles to do this before they had
incandescent
lighting.”
incandescent /ˌɪnkænˈdesnt/ adj. [术] 白炽的
114
He held an egg up to the cardboard tube.
115
“The light lets you see through the shell so you can watch the
embryo
develop. Then you can
cull
the weak ones, if necessary.”
embryo /'ɛmbrɪo/ n. [动]胚胎
cull /kʌl/ vt. 剔除
116
“Kill them?”
117
“Cull them. Remove the ones that don't develop
properly
.”
properly /'prɑpɚli/ adv. 正确地
118
“But … wouldn't that also kill them?”
119
He looked at me. “Leaving an egg you should cull might have
disastrous
results on the healthy ones.”
disastrous /dɪˈzæstrəs/ adj. 灾难性的
120
“Why? Wouldn't it just not hatch?”
121
He went back to lighting up the egg. “It might
explode
and
contaminate
the other eggs with
bacteria
.”
explode /ɪkˈsploʊd/ vt. 爆炸
contaminate /kənˈtæmɪneɪt/ vt. 把…弄脏
bacteria /bækˈtɪriə/ n. 细菌
122
Explode! Between mushy chick disease, exploding eggs, and culling, this project was turning out to be the worst!
123
Then my father said, “Look here, Julianna. You can see the embryo.”
124
He held the flashlight and egg out so I could see.
125
I looked inside and he said, “See the dark spot there? In the middle? With all the
veins
leading
to it?”
vein /veɪn/ n. 血管
lead /liːd/ v. 相通
126
“The thing that looks like a bean?”
127
“That's it!”
128
Suddenly it felt real.
129
This egg was alive.
130
I quickly checked the rest of the group.
131
There were little bean babies in all of them!
132
Surely they had to live. Surely they would all
make it
!
make it 成功
133
“Dad? Can I take the incubator inside? It might get too cold out here at night, don't you think?”
134
“I was going to suggest the same thing. Why don't you
prop open
the door? I'll carry it for you.”
prop open 撑开
135
For the next two weeks I was completely
consumed
with the growing of chicks.
consume /kənˈsuːm/ vt. 消耗
136
I
labeled
the eggs A, B, C, D, E, and F, but before long they had names, too: Abby, Bonnie, Clyde, Dexter, Eunice, and Florence.
label /ˈleɪbl/ vt. 标注
137
Every day I weighed them, candled them, and turned them.
138
I even thought it might be good for them to hear some
clucking
, so for a while I did that, too, but clucking is
tiring
!
cluck /klʌk/ n. (母鸡)咯咯声
tiring /ˈtaɪərɪŋ/ adj. 令人厌倦的
139
It was much easier to hum around my quiet little
flock
, so I did that, instead.
flock /flɑːk/ n. 群
140
Soon I was humming without even thinking about it, because when I was around my eggs, I was happy.
141
I read The Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens cover to cover twice.
142
For my project I drew diagrams of the various
stages
of an embryo's development, I made a giant chicken
poster
, I
graphed
the daily
fluctuations
in temperature and humidity,
stage /steɪdʒ/ n. 阶段
poster /ˈpoʊstər/ n. 海报
graph /ɡræf/ v. 用图表表示
fluctuate /ˈflʌktʃueɪt/ vi. 波动
143
and I made a line chart documenting the weight loss of each egg.
144
On the outside eggs were boring, but I knew what was happening on the inside!
145
Then two days before the science fair I was candling Bonnie when I noticed something.
146
I called my dad into my room and said, “Look, Dad! Look at this! Is that the heart beating?”
147
He studied it for a moment, then smiled and said, “Let me get your mother.”
148
So the three of us crowded around and watched Bonnie's heart beat, and even my mother had to admit that it was absolutely amazing.
149
Clyde was the first to
pip
.
pip /pɪp/ vt. 破壳而出
150
And of course he did it right before I had to leave for school.
151
His little beak cracked through, and while I
held my breath
and waited, he rested.
hold breath 屏住呼吸
152
And rested.
153
Finally his beak poked through again, but almost right away, he rested again.
154
How could I go to school and just leave him this way?
155
What if he needed my help?
156
Surely this was a
valid
reason to stay home, at least for a little while!
valid /ˈvælɪd/ adj. 正当的
157
My father tried to assure me that hatching out could take all day and that there'd be plenty of action left after school, but I'd have
none of that
.
none of that 不要这样
158
Oh, no-no-no! I wanted to see Abby and Bonnie and Clyde and Dexter and Eunice and Florence come into the world. Every single one of them.
159
“I can't miss the hatch!” I told him. “Not even a second of it!”
160
“So take it to school with you,” my mother said.
161
“Mrs. Brubeck shouldn't mind. After all, this was her idea.”
162
Sometimes it pays to have a sensible mother.
163
I'd just
set up for
the science fair early, that's what I'd do!
set up for 为......做准备
164
I packed up my entire operation, posters, charts, and all, and got a ride to school from my mom.
165
Mrs. Brubeck didn't mind a bit.
166
She was so busy helping kids with their projects that I got to spend nearly the entire day watching the hatch.
167
Clyde and Bonnie were the first ones out.
168
It was disappointing at first because they just lay there all wet and
matted
, looking exhausted and ugly.
matted /'mætɪd/ adj. 无光泽的
169
But by the time Abby and Dexter broke out, Bonnie and Clyde were
fluffing
up, looking for action.
fluffing /flʌf/ adj. 起毛的
170
The last two took forever, but Mrs. Brubeck insisted that I leave them alone, and that worked out pretty great because they hatched out during the fair that night.
171
My whole family came, and even though Matt and Mike only watched for about two minutes before they took off to look at some other
demonstration
, my mom and dad stuck around for the whole thing.
demonstration /ˌdemənˈstreɪʃn/ n. 展示
172
Mom even picked Bonnie up and nuzzled her.
173
That night after it was all over and I was packing up to go home, Mom asked, “So do these go back to Mrs. Brubeck now?”
174
“Do what go back to Mrs. Brubeck?” I asked her.
175
“The chicks, Juli. You're not planning to raise chickens, are you?”
176
To be honest, I hadn't thought
beyond
the hatch.
beyond /bɪˈjɑːnd/ adv. 到......之后
177
My focus had been
strictly
on bringing them into the world.
strictly /ˈstrɪktli/ adv. 完全地
178
But she was right—here they were.
179
Six fluffy little adorable chicks, each of which had a name and, I could already tell, its own unique
personality
.
personality /ˌpɜːrsəˈnæləti/ n. 个性
180
“I…I don't know,” I
stammered
. “I'll ask Mrs. Brubeck.”
stammer /ˈstæmər/ vi. 结结巴巴地说
181
I tracked down Mrs. Brubeck, but I was praying that she didn't want me to give them back to her friend.
182
After all, I'd hatched them. I'd named them. I'd saved them from mushy chick disease! These little peepers were mine!
183
To my relief and my mother's
horror
, Mrs. Brubeck said they were
indeed
mine. All mine.
horror /ˈhɔːrər/ n. 恐惧
indeed /ɪnˈdiːd/ adv. 真正地
184
“Have fun,” she said, then zipped off to help Heidi
dismantle
her
exhibit
on
Bernoulli's law
.
dismantle /dɪsˈmæntl/ vt. 拆卸
exhibit /ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/ n. 展览品
Bernoulli's law 伯努利定律
185
Mom was quiet the whole
way home
, and I could tell—she wanted chickens like she wanted a
tractor
and a goat.
way home 回家路上
tractor /ˈtræktər/ n. 拖拉机
186
“Please, Mom?” I whispered as we parked at the curb. “Please?”
187
She covered her face. “Where are we going to raise chickens, Juli? Where?”
188
“In the backyard?” I didn't know what else to suggest.
189
“What about Champ?”
190
“They'll
get along
, Mom. I'll teach him. I promise.”
get along 与......和睦相处
191
My dad said softly, “They're pretty
self-sufficient
, Trina.”
self-sufficient /ˌself səˈfɪʃnt/ adj. 自给自足的
192
But then the boys
piped up
with, “Champ'll
piss
'em to death, Mom,” and suddenly they were on a
roll
.
pipe up [俚] 开始说
piss /pɪs/ vi. 小便
roll /roʊl/ n. 打滚
193
“Yeah! But you won't even notice 'cause they're yellow already!”
194
“Whoa! Yellow Already—cool name.”
195
“That could work! But wait— people might think we mean our
bellies
!”
belly /ˈbeli/ n. 肚子
196
“Oh, yeah—forget that!”
197
“Yeah, just let him kill the chicks.”
198
My brothers looked at each other with enormous eyes and started up all over again.
199
“Kill the Chicks! That's it! Get it?”
200
“You mean like we're chick killers? Or like we kill the chicks?”
201
Dad turned around and said, “Out. Both of you, get out. Go find a name elsewhere.”
202
So they scrambled out, and the three of us sat in the car with only the gentle peep-peep-peep from my little flock breaking the silence.
203
Finally my mother heaved a heavy sigh and said, “They don't cost much to
keep
, do they?”
keep /kip/ v. 饲养
204
My dad shook his head.
205
“They eat bugs, Trina. And a little feed. They're very
low-maintenance
.”
maintenance /ˈmeɪntənəns/ n. 生活费
206
“Bugs? Really? What sort of bugs?”
207
“
Earwigs
,
worms
,
roly-polys
… probably spiders, if they can catch them. I think they eat
snails
, too.”
earwig /'ɪrwɪɡ/ n. 地蜈蚣
worm /wɜːrm/ n. 蠕虫
roly-poly /ˌroliˈpoli/ n. 卷布丁
snails /snel/ n. 蜗牛
208
“Seriously?” My mother smiled. “Well, in that case …”
209
“Oh, thank you, Mom. Thank you!”
210
And that's how we wound up with chickens.
211
What none of us thought of was that six chickens scratching for bugs not only gets rid of bugs, it also
tears
up grass.
tear /tɪr/ v. 摧残
212
Within six months there was nothing
whatsoever
left of our yard.
whatsoever /ˌhwɑtso'ɛvɚ/ pron. 无论什么
213
What we also didn't think of was that chicken
feed
attracts mice, and mice attract cats.
Feral
cats.
feed /fid/ n. 动物的饲料
feral /ˈferəl/ adj. 野生的
214
Champ was pretty good at keeping the cats out of the yard,
215
but they'd hang around the front yard or the side yard, just waiting for him to
snooze
so they could sneak in and
pounce
on some
tender
little
mousy
vittles
.
snooze /snuːz/ vi. 小睡
pounce /paʊns/ vi. 突然袭击
tender /ˈtendər/ adj. 脆弱的
mousy /'maʊsi/ adj. 胆小如鼠的
vittle /ˈvɪtəl/ n. 食物
216
Then my brothers started trapping the mice, which I thought was just to
help out
.
help out 帮助......摆脱困难
217
I didn't
suspect
a thing until the day I heard my mother screaming from the
depths
of their room.
suspect /səˈspekt/ vt. 猜想
depth /depθ/ n. 深处
218
They were,
it turns out
, raising a boa constrictor.
it turns out 原来
219
Mom's foot came down
in a big way
, and I thought she was going to throw us out, lock, stock, and boa, but then I made the most amazing discovery—chickens lay eggs!
in a big way 彻底地
220
Beautiful, shiny,
creamy
white eggs!
creamy /'krimi/ adj. 奶油色的
221
I first found one under Bonnie, then Clyde—whom I immediately renamed Clydette—and one more in Florence's bed. Eggs!
222
I raced inside to show my mom, and after a brief moment of blinking at them, she
withered
into a chair.
wither /ˈwɪðər/ vt. & vi. 衰弱
223
“No,” she whimpered. “No more chicks!”
224
“They're not chicks, Mom … they're eggs!”
225
She was still looking quite pale, so I sat in the chair next to her and said, “We don't have a rooster…?”
226
“Oh.” The
color
was coming back to her cheeks. “Is that so?”
color /ˈkʌlər/ n. 肤色
227
“I've never heard a
cock-a-doodle-do
, have you?”
cock-a-doodle-doo 公鸡叫
228
She laughed. “A
blessing
I guess I've forgotten to count.”
blessing /ˈblesɪŋ/ n. (上帝的)祝福
229
She sat up a little and took an egg from my palm. “Eggs, huh. How many do you suppose they'll lay?”
230
“I have no idea.”
231
As it turns out
, my hens laid more eggs than we could eat.
As it turns out 结果
232
At first we tried to keep up, but soon we were tired of
boiling
and
pickling
and
deviling
, and my mother started complaining that all these free eggs were costing her way too much.
boil /bɔɪl/ vt. 煮沸
pickle /'pɪkl/ vt. 腌制
devil /ˈdevl/ v. 抹辣味料烤
233
Then one afternoon as I was collecting eggs, our neighbor Mrs. Stueby leaned over the side fence and said, “If you ever have any extra, I'd be happy to buy them from you.”
234
“Really?” I asked.
235
“Most certainly. Nothing quite like
free-range
eggs. Two dollars a dozen sound fair to you?”
free-range /ˈfriˌrendʒ/ adj. 在农场自由放养的(鸡)
236
Two dollars a dozen! I laughed and said, “Sure!”
237
“Okay, then. Whenever you have some extras, just bring 'em over.
238
Mrs. Helms and I got to discussing it last night on the phone, but I asked you first, so make sure you offer 'em up to me before her, okay, Juli?”
239
“Sure thing, Mrs. Stueby!”
240
Between Mrs. Stueby and Mrs. Helms three doors down, my egg
overflow
problem was solved.
overflow /ˌoʊvərˈfloʊ/ n. 溢出
241
And maybe I should've turned the money over to my mother as
payment
for having destroyed the backyard, but one “Nonsense, Julianna. It's yours,” was all it took for me to start
squirreling
it away.
payment /ˈpeɪmənt/ n. 报偿
squirrel /'skwɝəl/ vt. 贮藏
242
Then one day as I was walking down to Mrs. Helms' house, Mrs. Loski drove by.
243
She waved and smiled, and I realized with a
pang
of
guilt
that I wasn't being very
neighborly
about my eggs.
pang /pæŋ/ n. 突然的剧痛
guilt /ɡɪlt/ n. 使人内疚的责备
neighborly /'nebɚli/ adj. 友善的
244
She didn't know that Mrs. Helms and Mrs. Stueby were paying me for these eggs.
245
She probably thought I was delivering them out of the
kindness
of my heart.
kindness /ˈkaɪndnəs/ n. 好意
246
And maybe I should've been giving the eggs away, but I'd never had a steady
income
before.
income /ˈɪnkʌm/ n. 收入
247
Allowance
at our house is a
hit-or-miss
sort of thing. Usually a miss.
allowance /əˈlaʊəns/ n. 零用钱
hit-or-miss /ˈhɪtɚˈmɪs/ adj. 无计划的
248
And earning money from my eggs gave me this secret happy feeling, which I was
reluctant
to have the kindness of my heart
encroach
upon.
reluctant /rɪˈlʌktənt/ adj. 不情愿的
encroach /ɪnˈkroʊtʃ/ vi. 侵害
249
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Mrs. Loski
deserved
some free eggs.
deserve /dɪˈzɜːrv/ vi. 应得
250
She had been a good neighbor to us, lending us
supplies
when we ran out unexpectedly and being late to work herself when my mother needed a ride because our car wouldn't start.
supply /səˈplaɪ/ n. 生活必需品
251
A few eggs
now and again
… it was the
least
I could do.
now and again 不时地
least /liːst/ n. 起码
252
There was also the
decidedly
blissful
possibility of running into Bryce.
decidedly /dɪ'saɪdɪdli/ adv. 毫无疑问
blissful /ˈblɪsfl/ adj. 充满喜悦的
253
And in the
chilly
sparkle
of a new day, Bryce's eyes seemed bluer than ever.
chilly /ˈtʃɪli/ adj. （天气、房间或人体）寒冷的
sparkle /ˈspɑːrkl/ n. 光亮
254
The way he looked at me—the smile, the blush—it was a Bryce I didn't get to see at school.
255
The Bryce at school was way more protected.
256
By the third time I brought eggs over to the Loskis, I realized that Bryce was waiting for me.
257
Waiting to pull the door open and say, “Thanks, Juli,” and then, “See you at school.”
258
It was worth it.
259
Even after Mrs. Helms and Mrs. Stueby offered me more money per dozen, it was still worth it.
260
So, through the rest of sixth grade, through all of seventh grade and most of eighth, I delivered eggs to the Loskis.
261
The very best, shiniest eggs went straight to the Loskis, and in return I got a few moments alone with the world's most dazzling eyes.
262
It was
a bargain
.
a bargain n. 物美价廉
263
Then they cut down the sycamore tree.
264
And two weeks later Champ died.
265
He'd been spending a lot of time sleeping, and even though we didn't really know how old he was, no one was really surprised when one night Dad went out to feed him and discovered he was dead.
266
We buried him in the backyard, and my brothers
put up
a
cross
that reads:
put up 建造
cross /krɔs/ n. 十字架
267
HERE LIES THE MYSTERY PISSER
268
P.I.P
.
R.I.P.（Requiescat in peace碑铭简称）希望逝者永享安宁；这里P可能通Piss
269
I was upset and pretty
dazed
for a while.
dazed /dezd/ adj. 头昏的
270
It was raining a lot and I was riding my bike to school to avoid having to take the bus,
271
and each day when I'd get home, I'd
retreat
to my room, lose myself in a novel, and
simply
forget about collecting eggs.
retreat /rɪˈtriːt/ vi. 退避
simply /ˈsɪmpli/ adv. 简直
272
Mrs. Stueby was the one who got me back on schedule.
273
She called to say she'd read about the tree in the paper and was sorry about everything that had happened,
274
but it had been some time now and she missed her eggs and was worried that my hens might quit laying.
275
“
Distress
can push a bird straight into a
molting
, and we wouldn't want that! Feathers everywhere and not an egg in sight.
distress /dɪˈstres/ n. 悲痛
molt /molt/ vt. & vi. 脱毛
276
I'm quite
allergic
to the feathers myself or I'd probably have a flock of my own, but
never you mind
. You just bring 'em over when you're
up to
it.
allergic /əˈlɜːrdʒɪk/ adj. 过敏的
never mind 没有关系
up to 能做得到
277
All's I wanted was to
check in
and let you know how
sorry
I was about the tree. And your dog, too. Your mother mentioned he
passed away
.”
check in 报到
sorry /'sɔri/ adj. 感到伤心的
pass away 去世
278
So I got back to work.
279
I cleared away the eggs I'd
neglected
and got back into my routine of collecting and cleaning.
neglect /nɪˈɡlekt/ n. 疏忽
280
And one morning when I had enough, I made the rounds.
281
First Mrs. Stueby, then Mrs. Helms, and finally the Loskis.
282
And as I stood at the Loskis'
threshold
,
it occurred to me
that I hadn't seen Bryce in the longest time.
threshold /ˈθreʃhoʊld/ n. 门槛
it occurred to me 突然想到
283
Sure, we'd both been at school, but I'd been so
preoccupied
with other things that I hadn't really seen him.
preoccupy /priˈɑːkjupaɪ/ vt. 使对…全神贯注
284
My heart started beating faster, and when the door
whooshed
open and his blue eyes looked right at me, it took everything I had just to say, “Here.”
whoosh /wʊʃ/ vi. 飞快地移动
285
He took the half-carton and said, “You know, you don't have to give us these….”
286
“I know,” I said, and looked down.
287
We stood there for a record-breaking amount of time saying nothing.
288
Finally he said, “So are you going to start riding the bus again?”
289
I looked up at him and shrugged.
290
“I don't know. I haven't been up there since … you know.”
291
“It doesn't look so bad anymore. It's all cleared. They'll probably start on the
foundation
soon.”
foundation /faʊnˈdeɪʃn/ n. 地基
292
It sounded perfectly awful to me.
293
“Well,” he said, “I've got to get ready for school. See you there.”
294
Then he smiled and closed the door.
295
For some reason I just stood there.
296
I felt odd.
Out of sorts
. Disconnected from everything around me.
Out of sorts 心情不佳
297
Was I ever going to go back up to Collier Street?
298
I had to eventually, or so my mother said.
299
Was I just making it harder?
300
Suddenly the door flew open and Bryce came hurrying out with an
overfull
kitchen trash can in his hands.
overfull /'əuvə'ful/ adj. 太满的
301
“Juli!” he said. “What are you still doing here?”
302
He startled me, too.
303
I didn't know what I was still doing there.
304
And I was so
flustered
that I would probably just have run home if he hadn't started
struggling
with the trash, trying to
shove
the contents down.
flustered /ˈflʌstərd/ adj. 慌张的
struggle /ˈstrʌɡl/ vt. 搏斗
shove /ʃʌv/ v. 乱挤
305
I reached over and said, “Do you need some help?” because it looked like he was about to spill the trash.
306
Then I saw the corner of an egg carton.
307
This wasn't just any egg carton either.
308
It was my egg carton.
309
The one I'd just brought him.
310
And through the little blue cardboard
arcs
I could see eggs.
arc /ɑːrk/ n. 弧(度)
311
I looked from him to the eggs and said, “What happened? Did you drop them?”
312
“Yeah,” he said quickly. “Yeah, and I'm really sorry about that.”
313
He tried to stop me, but I took the carton from the trash, saying, “All of them?”
314
I opened the carton and gasped.
315
Six whole, perfect eggs.
316
“Why'd you throw them away?”
317
He
pushed past
me and went around the house to the
trash bin
, and I followed him, waiting for an answer.
push past 从......身边挤过去
trash bin 垃圾箱
318
He shook the garbage out, then turned to face me.
319
“Does the word salmonella mean anything to you?”
320
“Salmonella? But …”
321
“My mom doesn't think it's worth the risk.”
322
I followed him back to the porch.
323
“Are you saying she won't eat them because—”
324
“Because she's afraid of being poisoned.”
325
“Poisoned! Why?”
326
“Because your backyard is, like, covered in turds! I mean, look at your place, Juli!”
327
He pointed at our house and said, “Just look at it. It's a complete
dive
!”
dive /daɪv/ n. 低级的餐馆(或酒吧、娱乐场所)
328
“It is not!” I cried, but the truth was sitting right across the street, impossible to deny.
329
My throat suddenly choked closed and I found it painful to speak.
330
“Have you… always thrown them away?”
331
He shrugged and looked down. “Juli, look. We didn't want to hurt your feelings.”
332
“My feelings? Do you realize Mrs. Stueby and Mrs. Helms pay me for my eggs?”
333
“You're kidding.”
334
“No! They pay me two dollars a dozen!”
335
“
No way
.”
no way 不可能
336
“It's true! All those eggs I gave to you I could've sold to Mrs. Stueby or Mrs. Helms!”
337
“Oh,” he said, and looked away.
338
Then he eyed me and said, “Well, why did you just give them to us?”
339
I was
fighting back
tears, but it was hard.
fight back 强忍住
340
I choked out, “I was trying to be
neighborly
…!”
neighborly /'nebɚli/ adj. 友好的
341
He put down the trash can, then did something that made my brain freeze.
342
He held me by the shoulders and looked me right in the eyes. “Mrs. Stueby's your neighbor, isn't she? So's Mrs. Helms, right? Why be neighborly to us and not them?”
343
What was he trying to say?
344
Was it still so obvious how I felt about him?
345
And if he knew, how could he have been so
heartless
, just throwing my eggs away like that, week after week, year after year?
heartless /'hɑrtləs/ adj. 狠心的
346
I couldn't find any words.
347
None at all.
348
I just stared at him, at the clear, brilliant blue of his eyes.
349
“I'm sorry, Juli,” he whispered.
350
I stumbled home, embarrassed and confused, my heart completely cracked open.
351
