《怦然心动》｜单词注释｜Chapter 13
Flipped
1
After the dinner Juli was
nice
to me at school.
2
Which I hated. Mad was better than nice.
nice /naɪs/ adj. 友好的
3
Gaga
was better than … nice.
gaga /'ɡɑɡɑ/ adj. (对某人)狂热的
4
It was like I was a stranger to her, and man, it bugged me. Bugged me big-time.
5
Then the auction happened, and I found myself with even bigger problems.
6
The
auction
is this
bogus
way the Booster Club raises money for the school.
auction /ˈɔːkʃn/ n. 拍卖
bogus /ˈɔːkʃn/ adj. 虚假的
7
They insist it's an honor to be chosen, but
bull
-
stinkin
'-
loney
to that!
baloney /bəˈloni/ n. 胡说八道
stinking /'stɪŋkɪŋ/ adj. 讨厌的
8
Bottom line
is, twenty guys get
shanghaied
.
bottom line /ˈbɑtəmˌlaɪn/ n. 概要
shanghai /ˌʃæŋ'haɪ/ n. (用酒或麻醉剂)使…失去知觉而把人劫掠到船上去服劳役
9
They have to come up with
fancy
picnic
lunches and then be
humiliated
in front of the whole school while girls
bid
to have lunch with them.
fancy /ˈfænsi/ adj. 昂贵的
picnic /'pɪknɪk/ n. 野餐
humiliate /hjuːˈmɪlieɪt/ vt. 使蒙羞
bid /bɪd/ vi. 投标
10
Guess who made this year's top twenty.
11
You'd think mothers would say, Hey, there's no way you're going to auction my son off to the highest
bidder
, but no.
bidder /'bɪdɚ/ n. 投标人
12
Instead, they're all
flattered
that their son's been
elected
a basket boy.
flatter /ˈflætər/ v. 使感到荣幸
elect /ɪˈlekt/ vt. 选举
13
Yes, my friend, that's what they call you.
14
Over the
P.A.
you hear stuff like, “There will be an organizational meeting of the
newly
elected basket boys in the MPR at lunch today. All basket boys must attend.”
P.A. abbr. 每年（Per Annum）
newly /'nuli/ adv. 新近
MBR 多功能厅(multi-purpose room缩写)
15
Pretty soon you've completely lost your name.
16
You and nineteen other
saps
are known simply as Basket Boy.
sap /sæp/ n. [非正式] 傻瓜，容易上当的人
17
My mom, of course, was into it, coming up with all sorts of stuff to put in my basket so I'd get the highest
bid
.
bid /bɪd/ n. 出价
18
I tried to explain that I didn't want to be in Mayfield Junior High's Basket Boy Hall of
Fame
, and that really, what was in the basket didn't matter.
fame /feɪm/ n. 名声
19
It wasn't like girls were bidding on the basket. When you
got right down
to it, this was a
meat market
.
get right down 彻底了解
meat market 性市场（美国俚语）
20
“You eat lunch on campus and that's the end of it. It is
hardly
a meat market, Bryce. It's an honor! Besides, maybe someone really nice will bid on you and you'll make a new friend!”
hardly /'hɑrdli/ adv. 简直不
21
Mothers can be in such
denial
.
denial /dɪˈnaɪəl/ n. 否认
22
And then Garrett bends my ear with the news that Shelly Stalls is
breaking up with
Mitch Michaelson, and that she, Miranda Humes, and Jenny Atkinson are starting some bidding war over me.
break up with 跟......分手
23
“Dude!” he tells me.
24
“The two hottest chicks on campus. And I swear to god, man, Shelly's dumped Mitch because of you. I heard it
direct
from Shagreer, and dude, Shagreer the Ear knows all.”
direct /dɪ'rekt/ adv. 亲自地
25
He throws me this
nasty
grin and says, “Me, I'm
rooting for
Jumbo Jenny. It would serve you right for being such a basket boy.”
nasty /ˈnæsti/ adj. 污秽的
root for 支持
26
I told him to shut up, but he was right. With the way my
luck
was running, I'd probably get
stuck with
Jumbo Jenny.
luck /lʌk/ n. 运气
stuck with 被迫接受
27
I could just see it — six feet of beefy
babe
downing
both halves of my lunch and then
coming after
me.
babe /beb/ n. 女孩
down /daʊn/ v. [非正式] 一口气吃下
come after 紧跟
28
Jenny's the only girl or guy on campus who can
dunk
a basketball.
dunk /dʌŋk/ v. 扣篮
29
The whole gym shakes when she lands.
30
And since she's got no, you know… female
parabolas
, the girl could shave her head and make it in the NBA. Seriously.
parabola /pə'ræbələ/ n. [数]抛物线
31
No one would ever suspect.
32
Her parents give her anything she wants, too.
33
Rumor
has it they
converted
their garage into a
full-on
basketball
court
just for her.
rumor /ˈrumɚ/ n. 传闻
convert /kənˈvɜːrt/ vt. & vi. (使)转变
full-on 完全的
court /kɔːrt/ n. 球场
34
Which meant that in the game of the basket boys, I was
as good as
slam-dunked
.
as good as 和......几乎一样
slam-dunk /ˈslæmˈdʌŋk/ v. (篮球比赛中)扣篮
35
Unless, unless Shelly or Miranda was high bidder.
36
But how could I make sure that happened?
37
My brain went into
overdrive
,
constructing
a plan, and in the end I decided that there was only one
sensible
course of action
.
overdrive /ˈovɚˌdraɪv/ vt. 使过度工作
construct /kənˈstrʌkt/ vt. 构思
sensible /ˈsensəbl/ adj. 合理的
course of action 做法
38
Kiss up to
both of them.
Kiss up to 讨好
39
Halfway through my first day of doing this, I felt like a
skunk
.
skunk /skʌŋk/ n. [口] 卑鄙的人
40
Not that
I was being
gross
about it or anything.
not that 并不是说
gross /ɡrəʊs/ adj. 恶劣的
41
I was just, you know, friendly.
42
And even though Shelly and Miranda didn't seem to smell a thing, Garrett did.
43
“Dude!” he says to me on Thursday. “I can see your
game
, man.”
game /ɡem/ n. 花招
44
“What are you talking about?”
45
“Don't deny it, dude. You're working them both.” He comes up and whispers in my ear, “Basket boy or not, I'm in
awe
.”
awe /ɔː/ n. 敬畏
46
“Shut up, man.”
47
“Seriously! The Ear says they were, like,
clawing
each other in P.E. today.”
claw /klɔː/ v. (用爪)撕，抓
48
I had to know. “What about … Jumbo Jenny?”
49
He shrugs. “Haven't heard. But we'll find out tomorrow, won't we, dude?”
50
My mother
dropped
me off at school on Friday with my stupid oversized picnic basket, and since all basket boys have to dress up,
drop /drɑːp/ v. 送
51
I was choking in a tie and feeling completely
dweeb
like in
slacks
and
dress shoes
.
dweeb /dwib/ n. 〈俚〉呆子
slacks /slæks/ n. 宽松长裤
dress shoes n. 皮鞋，礼服鞋
52
Kids
whistled
and shouted, “Oooh, baby!” as I headed up the walkway, and then Jumbo Jenny passed me, taking the front steps three at a time.
whistle /ˈwɪsl/ v. 吹口哨
53
“Wow, Bryce,” she said over her shoulder. “You look… delicious.”
54
Oh, man! I practically ran to the classroom where all the basket boys were supposed to meet, and the minute I walked in, I felt better.
55
I was surrounded by other dweebs, who seemed
genuinely
happy to see me.
genuinely /ˈdʒɛnjʊɪnlɪ/ adv. 真地
56
“Hey, Loski”;“Yo, dude”;“Doesn't this
suck eggs
?”;“Why didn't you take the bus, man?”
Misery loves company
.
suck egg [俚] 令人讨厌
Misery loves company 同病相怜
57
Then Mrs. McClure, the president of the
Boosters
, the lady who
lassoed
us all,
hoofs
it through the door.
president /ˈprezɪdənt/ n. 主席
booster /'bustɚ/ n. 支持者
lasso /ˈlæsoʊ/ vt. [美] 用套索套捕
hoof /huf/ vt. 步行
58
“Oh, my!” she says. “You all look so handsome!”
59
Not one word about our baskets.
60
Not one little sneak peek inside.
61
No, for all she cared, those
puppies
were
empty
.
puppy /'pʌpi/ n. 人，家伙(戏谑语)
empty /ˈempti/ adj. 空虚的
62
Meat market?
63
You better believe it!
64
“Don't be so nervous, boys,” Mrs. McClure was saying. “You're going to have a wonderful day!”
65
She pulls out a list of names and starts ordering us into line.
66
We get numbers; our baskets get numbers; we fill out three-by-five cards to her
insane
specifications
;
insane /ɪnˈseɪn/ adj. 极愚蠢的
specification /ˌspesɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/ n. 明细单
67
and by the time she's got us all organized and is sure we know what to do and what not to do, we've missed all of first and most of second period.
68
“Okay, gentlemen,” she says. “Leave your baskets where they are and go to… where are we now? Still in second?”
69
She looks at the clock. “Right. Second.”
70
“What about
passes
?” some sensible basket boy asked.
pass /pæs/ n. 通行证
71
“Your teachers have a list. But if they say anything, tell them I say your
neckties
are your passes. I'll meet you back here when everyone's
dismissed
for the auction. Got it? Don't dawdle!”
necktie /'nɛk'tai/ n. 领带
dismiss /dɪsˈmɪs/ vi. 解散
72
We
grumbled
, Yeah, yeah, and headed to class.
grumble /ˈɡrʌmbl/ vi. 抱怨
73
And I can tell you this, not one of the twenty of us listened to a word any of our teachers said that morning.
74
How can you listen with a
noose
around your neck,
pinched
toes
, and a room full of idiots thinking it's
open season
on basket boys?
noose /nuːs/ n. 套索
pinch /pɪntʃ/ vt. 捏
toe /toʊ/ n. 脚趾
open season 狩猎季节
75
Whoever started this stupid tradition ought to be
crammed
into a basket and tossed
downstream
without a serving spoon.
cram /kræm/ vt. 塞入
downstream /ˌdaʊn'strim/ adv. 顺流地
76
I was basket boy number nine.
77
Which meant I had to stand there on the stage in the gym while nearly half the guys got auctioned off.
78
Minimum
bid, ten
bucks
. And if nobody bid, the secret was a teacher was
assigned
to bid on you.
minimum /ˈmɪnɪməm/ adj. 最低限度
buck /bʌk/ n.（美）钱，元
assign /əˈsaɪn/ vt. 指派
79
Yes, my friend, the possibilities for
mortification
were
infinite
.
mortification /ˌmɔːrtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/ n. 屈辱
infinite /ˈɪnfɪnət/ n. 无限的
80
Some of the moms showed up and stood off to the side with their
camcorders
and
zoom lenses
,
fidgeting
and waving and
basically
acting as dweeby as their sons looked.
camcorder /'kæm'kɔrdɚ/ n. (VCR)摄像机
zoom lens n. 变焦透镜
fidget /'fɪdʒɪt/ v. 坐立不安
basically /ˈbeɪsɪkli/ adv. 基本上
81
I should know. My mom took an hour off work to be one of them.
82
Tim Pello was basket boy number five, and his mom actually bid on him.
83
No kidding.
84
She jumped up and down, yelling, “Twenty! I'll give you twenty!”
85
Man, that'll brand you for life.
86
Lucky for Tim, Kelly Trott came up with twenty-two fifty and saved his sorry self from
everlasting
torture
as a mama's boy — one of the few
fates
worse than basket boy.
everlasting /ˌevərˈlæstɪŋ/ adj. 永久的
torture /ˈtɔːrtʃər/ n. 折磨
fate /feɪt/ n. 命运
87
Caleb Hughes was up next, and he
fetched
the Boosters all of eleven fifty.
fetch /fetʃ/ vt. (卖得)某价
88
Then came Chad Ormonde, who I swear was ready to
pee
his pants when Mrs. McClure made him step forward.
pee /pi/ vi. 撒尿
89
She read his card,
pinched
his cheeks, and
raked in
fifteen even.
pinch vt. 捏
rake in 轻易赚取
90
At this point what stood between me and the auction block was Jon Trulock.
91
And I wasn't exactly interested in what he had in his basket or what his hobbies and favorite sports were.
92
I was too busy
scanning
the crowd for Jumbo Jenny, sweating my
pits
off.
scan /skæn/ vt. 细看
pit /pɪt/ n. [非正式] 腋窝
93
Mrs. McClure calls into the microphone, “Do I hear ten?” and it took me a minute to
tune in to
the fact that no one said “Ten!” No one said anything.
tune in to 收听
94
“Come on, out there! The lunch is delicious. Strawberry tarts, um …”
95
And Mrs. McClure goes back to reading off the three-by-five about Jon Trulock's lunch.
96
Talk about embarrassing! This was worse than being a mama's boy.
97
Worse than lunch with Jumbo Jenny!
98
How'd he get voted basket boy if nobody wanted to have lunch with him?
99
Then off to the right of the crowd I hear, “Ten!”
100
“Ten? Did I hear ten?” Mrs. McClure says with a
fluttery
smile.
fluttery adj. 焦急不安的
101
“Twelve!” came a different voice from the same area.
102
The first voice came back with “Fifteen!” and all of a sudden I recognized whose voice it was.
103
Juli Baker's.
104
I searched through the crowd and found her, hand waving in the air, that look all over her face.
105
“Sixteen!” came the other voice.
106
There was a pause, but then Juli shoots back with “Eighteen!”
107
“Eighteen!” cries Mrs. McClure, who looks like she's about to collapse from relief.
108
She pauses, then says, “Eighteen going once … Eighteen going twice … Sold! for eighteen dollars.”
109
To Juli?
110
She was the
last
person I expected to bid on a lunch.
last /læst/ adj. 最不可能的
111
Anybody's lunch.
112
Jon
staggered
back into line. And I knew I was supposed to step forward, but I couldn't
budge
.
stagger /ˈstæɡər/ vi. 蹒跚
budge /bʌdʒ/ vt. & vi. (使)稍微移动
113
I felt like I'd been
slugged
in the stomach.
slug /slʌɡ/ vt. 重击
114
Did Juli like Jon?
115
Is that why she'd been so…so… nice lately? Because she didn't care about me anymore?
116
All my life she'd been there, waiting to be avoided, and now it was like I didn't even exist.
117
“Step up, Bryce. Come on, don't be shy!”
118
Mike Abenido shoved me a little and said, “Your turn for
torture
. Get up there!”
torture /ˈtɔːrtʃər/ n. 折磨
119
It felt like walking the
plank
.
plank /plæŋk/ n. 木板
120
I just stood up front
sweating bullets
while the Booster queen
dissected
my lunch and started
running through
my list of favorites.
sweat bullets 汗如雨下
dissect /dɪˈsekt/ vt. 仔细检查
run through 浏览
121
Before she's even finished, though, Shelly Stalls calls out, “Ten!”
122
“What's that?” says Mrs. McClure.
123
“I'll give you ten!”
124
“Oh,” she laughs as she puts down her notes. “Well, I guess I hear ten!”
125
“Twenty!” calls Miranda Humes from
dead center
.
dead center 正中央
126
“Twenty-five!” It's Shelly again.
127
I'm
looking around
for Jumbo Jenny, praying she's gone home sick or something, while Shelly and Miranda go up by fives. “Thirty!”
look around 到处寻找
128
“Thirty-five!”
129
“Forty!”
130
Then I spot her. She's about twenty feet behind Miranda, cleaning her fingernails with her teeth.
131
“Forty-five!”
132
“Fifty!”
133
“Fifty-two.”
134
“Fifty-two?” interrupts the Booster queen.
135
“Well, this has been
lively
! And from the looks of this basket, well worth the —”
lively /'laɪvli/ adj. 激烈的
136
“Sixty!” 138 “Sixty-two!” calls Shelly.
137
Miranda scrambles around trying to
beg
money off her friends as Mrs. McClure calls, “Going once!”
beg /beɡ/ vt. & vi. 乞求
139
But then Jenny stands up and
bellows
, “A hundred!”
bellow /ˈbeloʊ/ vi. 吼叫
140
A hundred.
141
There's a
collective
gasp, and then the entire student body turns and stares at Jenny.
collective /kəˈlektɪv/ adj. 集体的
142
“Well!” laughs Mrs. McClure.
143
“We have a hundred! That is certainly an all-time record. And such a
generous
donation
to the Boosters!”
generous /ˈdʒenərəs/ adj. 慷慨的
donation /doʊˈneɪʃn/ n. 捐赠
144
I wanted to
boost
her, right off the stage.
boost /buːst/ vt. 推动
145
I was doomed.
146
This was something I would never
live down
.
live down 使人们忘记（错误、失败、恶名等）
147
Then there's this big
commotion
, and all of a sudden Shelly and Miranda are standing right next to each other calling, “One-twenty-two… fifty! We'll give you one-twenty-two fifty!”
commotion /kə'moʃən/ n. 骚动
148
“One hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents?” I thought the Booster queen was gonna
polka
.
polka /'polkə/ n. 波尔卡舞
149
“You're
pooling
your resources to have lunch with this fine young man?”
pool /puːl/ vt. 集中…共同使用
150
“Yeah!” they call, then look over Jenny's way.
151
Everybody looks over Jenny's way.
152
Jenny just shrugs and goes back to cleaning a nail.
153
“Well, then! One hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents going once… One hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents going twice …
154
Sold to those two beautiful young ladies for an all-time record of one hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents!”
155
“Dude!” Mike whispered when I got back in line. “Shelly and Miranda? How am I supposed to follow that?”
156
He didn't even
come close
.
come close 接近
157
He got Terry Norris for sixteen bucks, and the most anyone else got was forty.
158
And when it was over, all the guys told me, “Dude! You are, like, the man….
Score
!” but I didn't feel like the man. I felt
wiped out
.
score /skɔ/ v. [非正式] (使)成功
wiped out 精疲力竭的
159
My mom came up and gave me a hug and a kiss like I'd won a gold medal or something, then whispered, “My little baby,” and clickity-clicked off in her high heels, back to work.
160
So I was wiped out, embarrassed, and then practically dragged to the
multi-purpose room
by Shelly and Miranda.
multi-purpose room 多功能厅
161
The Boosters had
outfitted
the MPR with little tables for two, all decorated in shades of pink and blue and yellow, with balloons and
streamers
everywhere.
outfit /ˈaʊtfɪt/ v. 配备
streamer /'strimɚ/ n. (作装饰用的)彩色纸带
162
I felt like the
Easter
bunny
with my stupid basket boy lunch clutched in both hands while Miranda held on to one arm and Shelly
latched
on to the other.
Easter /ˈiːstər/ n. 〈宗〉复活节
bunny /'bʌni/ n. 兔子
latch /lætʃ/ v. 附着(在某物上)
163
They gave us the biggest table and
whisked
in an extra chair, and when everyone was seated, Mrs. McClure said,
whisk /wɪsk/ vi. 飞奔
164
“Boys and girls? I don't think I need to remind you that you are
excused
from class for the rest of the day. Enjoy your lunches, enjoy your friendships….
excuse /ɪkˈskjuz/ v. 同意免除
165
Take your time, relax, and thanks again for supporting your Boosters. We wouldn't be us without you!”
166
So there I was, with the two hottest girls on campus, having lunch.
167
I was “the man,” the
envy
of every other guy in school.
envy /ˈenvi/ n. 嫉妒
168
Buddy, I was
miserable
.
miserable /ˈmɪzrəbl/ adj. 痛苦的
169
I mean, these two girls may be
gorgeous
, but what was coming out of their mouths about Jumbo Jenny was
embarrassingly
ugly
.
gorgeous /ˈɡɔːrdʒəs/ adj. 非常漂亮的
embarrassingly /im'bærəsiŋli/ adv. 使人尴尬地
ugly /ˈʌɡli/ adj. 无礼的
170
Miranda works herself up to, “What was she thinking? Like you would ever want to go out with her, right, Bryce?”
171
Well, yeah. That was right.
172
But it seemed really wrong to say so.
173
“Look, can we talk about something else?”
174
“Sure. Like what?”
175
“I don't care. Anything else. You guys going anywhere this summer?”
176
Miranda
shoots off
first. “We're taking a
cruise
to the
Mexican Riviera
. We're supposed to stop in all these cool
ports
and shop and stuff.”
shoot off 夸夸其谈
cruise /kruːz/ n. 乘船游览
Mexican Riviera 墨西哥蔚蓝海岸
port /pɔːrt/ n. 港口
177
She flutters her
eyelids
at me and says, “I could bring you something back….”
eyelid /'aɪ'lɪd/ n. 眼皮
178
Shelly
scoots
her chair in a little and says,
scoot /skut/ vt. 猛冲
179
“We're going up to the lake. My dad has a
cabin
there, and you can get the most
outrageous
tan
. Do you remember what I looked like at the beginning of this year? I was, like, black.
cabin /ˈkæbɪn/ n. 小屋
outrageous /aʊt'redʒəs/ adj. 令人惊讶的
tan /tæn/ n. 棕褐色
180
I'm going to do that again, only this time I've got a schedule all worked out so that it's even every where.”
181
She giggles and says, “Don't tell my mom, okay? She would have a ka-
nip
!”
nip /nɪp/ vt. 阻止
182
And this, my friend, is how the Tan Wars began.
183
Miranda told Shelly that she didn't even notice her tan at the beginning of the year and that the place to really
roast
is on a cruise ship.
roast /roʊst/ vt. & vi. 烤
184
Shelly told Miranda that anyone with
freckles
can't really get tan and since Miranda had freckles everywhere, the cruise was a
guaranteed
waste of money.
freckle /'frɛkl/ n. 雀斑
guarantee /ˌɡærənˈtiːd/ adj. 确定会发生的
185
I choked down my third of the lunch and looked around the room, trying to let it all flow past me.
186
Then I saw Juli. She was two tables away from me, facing my direction.
187
Only she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Jon, her eyes all
sparkly
and laughing.
sparkly /ˈspɑrkli/ adj. 闪耀的
188
My heart lurched. What was she laughing about? What were they talking about?
189
How could she sit there and look so… beautiful?
190
I felt myself spinning out of control.
191
It was weird.
192
Like I couldn't even
steer
my own body.
steer /stɪr/ vt. & vi. 掌舵
193
I'd always thought Jon was pretty cool, but right then I wanted to go over and throw him across the room.
194
Shelly grabbed my arm and said, “Bryce, are you all right? You look…I don't know… possessed or something.”
195
“What? Oh.” I tried taking a deep breath.
196
“What are you staring at?” Miranda asked.
197
They both looked over their shoulders, then shrugged and went back to picking at their food.
198
But I couldn't stop myself from looking again.
199
And in the back of my mind, I could hear my grandfather's voice saying, “The choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life. Do the right thing….”
200
Do the right thing….
201
Do the right thing….
202
Miranda shook me out of it, asking, “Bryce? Are you in there? I asked, what are you going to do this summer?”
203
“I don't know,” I snapped.
204
“Hey, maybe you can spend some time up at the lake with us!” Shelly said.
205
It was torture.
206
I wanted to scream, Shut up! Leave me alone!
207
I wanted to run out of the building and keep on running until I didn't feel like this anymore.
208
“Lunch is really delicious, Bryce.” Miranda's voice was floating around. “Bryce? Did you hear me? This is really a
spectacular
lunch.”
spectacular /spekˈtækjələr/ adj. 令人惊叹的
209
A simple little thank you would've
sufficed
.
suffice /səˈfaɪs/ vt. 使满足
210
But could I come up with a simple little thank you?
211
No. I turned on her and said, “Can we not talk about food or tans or hair?”
212
She gave me an
uppity
little smile. “Well, what do you want to talk about, then?”
uppity /ˈʌpɪti/ adj. 傲慢的
213
I blinked at her, then at Shelly. “How about perpetual motion? Know anything about that?”
214
“Perpetual what?” Miranda starts laughing.
215
“What?” I ask her. “What's so funny?”
216
She looks at me a minute, then
snickers
. “I didn't realize I'd bid on an
intellectual
.”
snicker /ˈsnɪkər/ v. 窃笑
intellectual /ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəl/ n. 知识分子
217
“Hey… I'm plenty smart!”
218
“Yeah?” Miranda giggles. “Can you spell intellectual?”
219
“He is too smart, Miranda.”
220
“Oh, stop kissing up, Shelly. You're trying to tell me
you're after
his brain? God, it's making me
sick
to watch you
grovel
.”
be after 追求
sick /sɪk/ adj. 想吐的
grovel /ˈɡrɑːvl/ vi. 卑躬屈膝
221
“Grovel? Excuse me?”
222
“You heard me. He's not going to take you to the
grad
dance anyway, so just give it up, why don't you?”
grad /ɡræd/ n. 毕业生
223
And with that, it was all over.
224
One of my mom's
flaky
apple
tarts
got
ground
into Miranda's hair; the extra
ranch
dressing
got
smeared
into Shelly's.
flaky /'fleki/ adj. 薄片的
tart /tɑːrt/ n. 果馅饼
ground /ɡraʊnd/ vi. 着陆
ranch /ræntʃ/ n. 大牧场
dressing /ˈdresɪŋ/ n. （拌制色拉用的）调料
smear /smɪr/ vt. 涂上
225
And before Mrs. McClure could say, In the name of Boosters! What are you doing? they were rolling on the floor, scratching each other's makeup off.
226
I took this opportunity to leave my table and head for Juli's.
227
I grabbed her by the hand and said, “I've got to talk to you.”
228
She sort of half-stands and says, “What? What's going on, Bryce? Why are they fighting?”
229
“Excuse us a minute, would you, Jon?” I pull her away from the table, but there's no place to go.
230
And I've got her hand in mine, and I just can't think.
231
So I stop right there in the middle of the room and look at her.
232
At that face.
233
I want to touch her cheek and see what it feels like.
234
I want to touch her hair, it looks so incredibly soft.
235
“Bryce,” she whispers. “What's wrong?”
236
I can barely breathe as I ask her, “Do you like him?”
237
“Do I… you mean Jon?”
238
“Yes!”
239
“Well, sure. He's nice and — ”
240
“No, do you like him?” My heart was pounding through my chest as I took her other hand and waited.
241
“Well, no. I mean, not like that….”
242
No! She said no! I didn't care where I was, I didn't care who saw.
243
I wanted, just had to kiss her.
244
I leaned in, closed my eyes, and then …
245
She broke away from me.
246
Suddenly, the room was dead quiet.
247
Miranda and Shelly stared at me through their
slimy
hair, everyone was looking at me like I'd
blown
my entire
circuit board
,
slimy /ˈslaɪmi/ adj. 黏滑的
blow /bloʊ/ v. 炸毁
circuit board 电路板
248
and I just stood there, trying to
reel
in my lips and pull myself back together.
reel /riːl/ vt. 卷
249
Mrs. McClure took me by the shoulders, guided me to my chair, and told me, “You sit here, and you stay here!”
250
Then she
hauled
Miranda and Shelly outside,
scolding
them and telling them to find
separate
bathrooms and clean up while she ran down the
janitor
to
mop
up their mess.
haul /hɔːl/ vt. 拖拉
scold /skoʊld/ vt. 责骂
separate /ˈseprət/ adj. 单独的
janitor /ˈdʒænɪtər/ n. 清洁工
mop /mɑːp/ vt. 擦干
251
I sat there by myself and didn't even care about
covering up
.
cover up 掩盖
252
I just wanted to be with her. To talk to her. To hold her hand again.
253
To kiss her.
254
Before school was out, I tried to talk to her again, but every time I got close, she'd dodge me.
255
And then when the final bell rang, she disappeared.
256
I looked everywhere for her, but she was just gone. Garrett, however, wasn't.
257
He tracked me down and said, “Dude! Tell me it isn't true!”
258
I didn't say a word.
259
I just headed for the
bike racks
, still hoping to find Juli.
bike rack 自行车车架
260
“Oh, man …it is true!”
261
“Leave me alone, Garrett.”
262
“You get
hooked up with
the two finest chicks on campus, then
bail on
them for Juli?”
hook up with 和......有联系
bail on 放弃
263
“You don't understand.”
264
“You're right, dude. I completely don't understand. Did you seriously try to kiss her? I couldn't believe that part.
265
We're talking Julianna Baker? Your nightmare neighbor? The know-it-all
nuisance
? The coop poop babe?”
nuisance /ˈnuːsns/ n. 讨厌的东西[人, 行为]
266
I stopped cold and shoved him. Just
laid into
him with both hands and shoved. “That was a long time ago, man.
Knock it off
!”
lay into v. 痛打
Knock it off 少来这一套
267
Garrett put both hands up, but moved in at me. “Dude, you have flipped, you know that?”
268
“Just back off, would you?”
269
He blocked my path.
270
“I can't believe this! Two hours ago you were the man. The man! The whole school was
on their knees
before you! Now look at you. You're, like, a social
hazard
.”
on one's knees 下跪
hazard /ˈhæzərd/ n. 公害
271
He
snorted
and said, “And, dude, the truth is, if you're gonna be like this, I don't need the
association
.”
snort /snɔrt/ vt. & vi. 喷鼻息(以表示不耐烦, 轻蔑等)
association /əˌsoʊsiˈeɪʃn/ n. 交往
272
I got right in his face and said, “Good! 'Cause you know what? Neither do I!”
273
I shoved him aside and ran.
274
I wound up walking home.
275
In my pinchy shoes, with dirty dishes
clanking
inside my
sticky
picnic
hamper
, this basket boy
hiked
all the way home.
clank /klæŋk/ vi. 发叮当声
sticky /ˈstɪki/ adj. 粘性的
hamper /ˈhæmpər/ n. 食篮
hike /haɪk/ vi. 徒步旅行
276
And there was a battle
raging
inside me.
rage /reɪdʒ/ vi. 大怒
277
The old Bryce wanted to go back in time, wanted to hang with Garrett and
shoot the breeze
, wanted to hate Juli Baker again.
shoot the breeze 闲聊
278
Wanted to be the man.
279
But in my heart I knew the old Bryce
was toast
.
be toast 完蛋了
280
There was no
going back
.
go back 回去
281
Not to Garrett or Shelly or Miranda or any of the other people who wouldn't understand.
282
Juli was different, but after all these years that didn't bother me anymore.
283
I liked it.
284
I liked her.
285
And every time I saw her, she seemed more beautiful. She just seemed to glow.
286
I'm not talking like a hundred-
watt
bulb
; she just had this warmth to her.
watt /wɑːt/ n. 〈物〉(电力计量单位)瓦
bulb /bʌlb/ n. 电灯泡
287
Maybe it came from climbing that tree.
288
Maybe it came from singing to chickens.
289
Maybe it came from
whacking
at two-by-fours and dreaming about perpetual motion.
whack /wæk/ vt. 重击
290
I don't know.
291
All I know is that compared to her, Shelly and Miranda seemed so…ordinary.
292
I'd never felt like this before. Ever.
293
And just admitting it to myself instead of hiding from it made me feel strong. Happy.
294
I took off my shoes and socks and stuffed them in the basket.
295
My tie whipped over my shoulder as I ran home
barefoot
, and I realized that Garrett was right about one thing — I had flipped.
barefoot /'bɛr'fʊt/ adj. & adv. 赤脚的〔地〕
296
Completely.
297
I
trucked
down our street and spotted her bike lying on its side on the driveway.
truck /trʌk/ v. 轻松前进
298
She was home!
299
I rang the bell until I thought it would
break
.
break /breɪk/ v. 损坏
300
No answer.
301
I pounded on her door.
302
No answer.
303
I went home and called on the phone, and finally, finally her mother answers.
304
“Bryce? No, I'm sorry. She doesn't want to talk.” Then she whispers, “Give her a little time, won't you?”
305
I gave her an hour. Almost.
306
Then I went across the street. “Please, Mrs. Baker. I've got to see her!”
307
“She's locked herself in her room, dear. Why don't you try phoning tomorrow.”
308
Tomorrow? I couldn't wait until tomorrow!
309
So I went around the side of their house, climbed the fence, and knocked on her window. “Juli! Juli, please. I've got to see you.”
310
Her curtains didn't open, but the back door did, and out came Mrs. Baker to
shoo
me away.
shoo /ʃu/ vi. 发出嘘声赶走
311
When I got home, my granddad was waiting at the front door.
312
“Bryce, what is going on? You've been running back and forth to the Bakers', climbing over their fence…. You're acting like the world's on fire!”
313
I blurted, “I can't believe this! I just can't believe this! She won't talk to me!”
314
He led me into the front room, saying, “Who won't talk to you?”
315
“Juli!”
316
He hesitated. “Is she … mad at you?”
317
“I don't know!”
318
“Does she have reason to be mad at you?”
319
“No! Yes! I mean, I don't know!”
320
“Well, what happened?”
321
“I tried to kiss her! In front of this whole room of people, while I was supposed to be having that stupid basket boy lunch with Shelly and Miranda, I tried to kiss her!”
322
Slowly a smile spread across his face. “You did?”
323
“I was, like, possessed. I couldn't stop myself! But she pulled away and…”
324
I looked out the window at the Bakers' house. “And now she won't talk to me!”
325
Very quietly my grandfather said, “Maybe she thinks this is all a little sudden?”
326
“But it's not!”
327
“It's not?”
328
“No, I mean …” I turned to him.
329
“It started with that stupid newspaper article. And I don't know… I've been weirded out ever since.
330
She doesn't look the
same
, she doesn't sound the same, she doesn't even seem like the same person to me!”
same /sem/ adj. 和从前一样的人(或事情)
331
I stared out the window at the Bakers'. “She's… she's just different.”
332
My grandfather stood beside me and looked across the street, too.
333
“No, Bryce,” he said softly. “She's the same as she's always been; you're the one who's changed.”
334
He clapped his hand on my shoulder and whispered, “And, son, from here on out, you'll never be the same again.”
335
Maybe my grandfather's happy about all this, but I'm miserable.
336
I can't eat; I can't watch TV; I can't seem to do anything.
337
So I went to bed early, but I can't sleep.
338
I've watched her house from my window for hours now. I've stared at the sky; I've counted sheep.
339
But man, I can't stop
kicking myself
for what an idiot I've been all these years.
kick myself 恨死自己(非正式)
340
And now how am I going to make her listen to me?
341
I'd
scale
that monster sycamore if I could. Right to the top.
scale /skeɪl/ vi. 攀登
342
And I'd yell her name across the rooftops for the whole world to hear.
343
And since you know what a tree-climbing
weenie
I am, I think it's pretty
clear
that I'm willing to do anything to get her to talk to me.
weenie /ˈwini/ n. 窝囊废
clear /klɪr/ adj. 明显的
344
Man, I'll dive after her into a chicken coop full of poop if that's what it takes.
345
I'll ride my bike all the stinkin' way to school for the rest of
eternity
if it means being with her.
eternity /ɪ'tɝnəti/ n. 无穷无尽的时间
346
Something.
347
I've got to come up with some thing to show her that I've changed.
348
To prove to her that I understand.
349
But what?
350
How do I show her that I'm not the guy she thinks I am?
351
How do I
erase
everything I've done and start over?
erase /ɪˈreɪs/ vt. 擦除
352
Maybe I can't.
353
Maybe it just can not be done.
354
But if I've learned one thing from Juli Baker, it's that I've got to put my whole
heart and soul
into it and try.
heart and soul 全心全意地
355
Whatever happens, I know that my grandfather's right about one thing.
356
I'll never be the same again.
357
