《怦然心动》｜单词注释｜Chapter 11
The Serious Willies
1
Realizing that my father had the same sense of humor as Garrett gave me the serious
willies
.
willies /'wɪlɪz/ n. 使某人害怕和不安
2
I had the hardest time just looking at my dad,
let alone
speaking to him.
let alone 更不用说
3
But at about five o'clock Friday afternoon I agreed with him about one thing — we should've barbecued.
4
A barbecue is more, you know,
low-key
.
low-key /ˈloˈki/ adj. 低调的
5
Instead, my mom was flying around the kitchen, slicing and
dicing
and
barking
orders at Dad and me like the
president
was coming to dinner.
dice /daɪs/ vt. 切成方块
bark /bɑːrk/ vt. 大声喊出
president /ˈprezɪdənt/ n. 总统
6
We swept the floor, put an extra
leaf
in the table, brought in five more chairs, and set the table.
7
We set it all wrong, of course, but all my mother had to do was
shuffle
things around to make it right. It looked the same to me, but what do I know?
shuffle /ˈʃʌfl/ vi. 把……变换位置
8
She put out
candlesticks
and said, “Rick, can you
load
the dishes and run them? I'd like a chance to get cleaned up. After that you can
change
. And Bryce? What are you wearing?”
candlestick /'kændlstɪk/ n. 烛台
load /loʊd/ vt. 装上
change /tʃendʒ/ vt. & vi. 换衣服
9
“Mom, it's the Bakers. Are you trying to make them feel totally
worthless
?”
worthless /ˈwɜːrθləs/ adj. 一文不值
10
“Trina and I agreed on a dress-up, so — ”
11
“But why?”
12
My dad put a hand on my shoulder and said, “So we can all feel
equally
uncomfortable, son.”
equally /ˈiːkwəli/ adv. 同样地
13
Women.
14
I looked at her and said, “Does that mean I have to wear a tie?”
15
“No, but some sort of
button-down
instead of a T-shirt would be nice.”
button-down /ˈbʌtnˌdaʊn/ adj. 〈美〉领尖钉有钮扣的
16
I went down to my room and
ripped through
my closet looking for something with buttons.
rip through 横撞直闯
17
There were lots of buttons, all right.
18
Lots of
geeky
buttons.
geeky /'ɡi:ki/ adj. （俚）令人讨厌的
19
I thought about
boycotting
my mother's
dress-code
requirements
, but instead I started putting on shirts.
boycott /ˈbɔɪkɑːt/ vt. 联合抵制
dress-code 着装要求
requirement /rɪˈkwaɪərmənt/ n. 要求
20
Twenty minutes later I still wasn't dressed. And I was extremely
ticked off
about it because what did it
matter
?
ticked off 生气
matter /ˈmætər/ v. 要紧，有关系
21
Why did I care what I
looked like
at this stupid dinner?
22
I was acting like a girl.
23
Then through a
gap
in my curtains I saw them coming.
gap /ɡæp/ n. 缝隙
24
Out their front door, down their walkway, across the street.
25
It was like a
weird
dream.
weird /wɪrd/ adj. 奇怪的
26
They seemed to be floating toward our house.
27
All five of them.
28
I pulled a shirt off my bed, punched my arms in, and
buttoned
up.
button /ˈbʌtn/ v. 用纽扣扣住
29
Two seconds later the doorbell rang and Mom called, “Can you get that, Bryce?”
30
Luckily, Granddad
beat
me to it.
beat /bit/ v. 赶在......之前
31
He greeted them all like they were
long-lost
family and even seemed to know which one was Matt and which one was Mike.
long-lost adj. 很久不见的
32
One was wearing a purple shirt and the other was wearing a green one, so it shouldn't have been that hard to remember which was which,
33
but they came in and pinched my cheeks and said, “Hey, baby brother!
How's it goin'
?” and I got so mad I
mixed them up
again.
How's it goin 最近怎么样(goin通going)
mix up 混淆
34
My mother zoomed in from the kitchen, saying, “Come in, come in. It's so nice you all could make it.”
35
She called, “Lyn-et-ta! Rick! We've got
com-pa-ny
!” but then
stopped short
when she saw Juli and Mrs. Baker.
company /ˈkʌmpəni/ n. 宾客
stop short 中途停下
36
“Well, what's this?” she asked. “
Homemade
pies?”
homemade /ˌhomˈmed/ adj. (衣服、食品等)自家制的
37
Mrs. Baker said, “Blackberry cheesecake and
pecan
.”
pecan /pɪˈkɑːn/ n. 美洲山核桃
38
“They look wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!” My mother was acting so
hyper
I couldn't believe it.
hyper /'haɪpɚ/ adj. 亢奋的
39
She took Juli's pie, then
whooshed
a path to the kitchen with Mrs. Baker.
whoosh /wʊʃ/ vt. 使飞快地移动
40
Lynetta appeared from around the corner, which made Matt and Mike grin and say, “Hey, Lyn. Lookin' good.”
41
Black skirt, black
nails
, black eyes — for a
nocturnal
rodent
, yeah, I suppose she was looking good.
nail /neɪl/ n. 指甲
nocturnal /nɑːkˈtɜːrnl/ (动物)夜间活动的
rodent /'rodnt/ n. [动] 啮齿目动物
42
They disappeared down to Lynetta's room, and when I turned around, my granddad was taking Mr. Baker into the front room, which left me in the entry hall with Juli. Alone.
43
She wasn't looking at me.
44
She seemed to be looking at everything but me.
45
And I felt like an idiot, standing there in my geeky button-down shirt with
pinched
cheeks and nothing to say.
pinched /pɪntʃt/ adj. （因疾病、寒冷、愁苦等)苍白清瘦的
46
And I got so nervous about having nothing to say that my heart started going
wacko
on me,
hammering
like it does right before a race or a game or something.
wacko /ˈwæko/ adj. 发疯的
hammer /ˈhæmər/ vi. 重复
47
On top of that, she looked more like that stupid picture in the paper than the picture did, if that makes any sense.
48
Not because she was all
dressed up
— she wasn't.
dressed up 精心装扮的
49
She was wearing some normal-looking dress and normal-looking shoes, and her hair was the way it always is except maybe a little more brushed out.
50
It was the way she was looking at everything but me, with her shoulders back and her chin out and her eyes flashing.
51
We probably only stood there for five seconds, but it felt like a year.
52
Finally I said, “Hi, Juli.”
53
Her eyes flashed at me, and that's when it
sank in
— she was mad.
sink in 完全被理解
54
She whispered, “I heard you and Garrett making fun of my uncle in the library, and I don't want to speak to you! You understand me? Not now, not ever!”
55
My mind was racing. Where had she been? I hadn't seen her anywhere near me in the library!
56
And had she heard it? Or had she heard it from somebody else.
57
I tried to tell her it wasn't me, that it was Garrett, all Garrett.
58
But she shut me down and made tracks for
the front room
to be with her dad.
the front room 前厅
59
So I'm standing there, wishing I'd punched Garrett out in the library so Juli wouldn't stick me in the same class as someone who makes retard jokes,
60
when my dad shows up and claps me on the shoulder.
61
“So. How's the party, son?”
62
Speak of the devil
. I wanted to
whack
his hand off my shoulder.
speak of the devil 说曹操，曹操到
whack /wæk/ vt. 重击
63
He leans out so he can see into the front room and says, “Hey, the dad cleans up pretty good, doesn't he?”
64
I shrug away from him. “Mr. Baker's name is Robert, Dad.”
65
“Yeah, you know, I knew that.” He
rubs
his hands together and says, “I guess I ought to go in and say hello. Coming?”
rub /rʌb/ vi. 摩擦
66
“Nah. Mom probably needs my help.”
67
I didn't run off to the kitchen, though.
68
I stood there and watched Mr. Baker shake my father's hand.
69
And as they stood there
pumping
and smiling, this weird feeling started coming over me again.
pump /pʌmp/ n. [非正式] 盘问，套问
70
Not about Juli — about my father.
71
Standing next to Mr. Baker, he looked small. Physically small.
72
And compared to the
cut
of Mr. Baker's
jaw
, my dad's face looked kind of
weaselly
.
cut /kʌt/ n. 式样
jaw /dʒɔː/ n. 下巴
weaselly /'wi:zəli/ adj. 狡猾的
73
This is not the way you want to feel about your father.
74
When I was little, I'd always thought that my dad was right about everything and that there wasn't a man on earth he couldn't take.
75
But standing there looking in, I realized that Mr. Baker could squash him like a bug.
76
Worse, though, was the way he was acting.
77
Watching my dad
chum
it up with Juli's dad—it was like seeing him lie.
chum /tʃʌm/ vi. (与某人)成为好友
78
To Mr. Baker, to Juli, to my grandfather—to everybody.
79
Why was he being such a
worm
?
worm /wɜːrm/ n. 蠕虫；小人物
80
Why couldn't he just act normal?
81
You know, civil?
82
Why did he have to put on such a
phony
show?
put on 上演
phony /ˈfoʊni/ adj. [口] 假的
83
This went way beyond keeping the peace with my mother. This was disgusting.
84
And people said I was the
spitting image
of my father.
spitting image n. 几乎一模一样的人
85
How often had I heard that one? I'd never thought about it much, but now it was
turning my stomach
.
turn one's stomach 使恶心欲吐
86
Mom jingled the dinner bell and called, “
Hors d'oeuvres
are ready!” and then saw me still standing in the hallway.
Hors d'oeuvres (法)饭前点心
87
“Bryce, where'd your sister and the boys go?”
88
I shrugged. “Down to her room, I think.”
89
“Go tell them, would you? And then come have some hors d'oeuvres.”
90
“Sure,” I said.
91
Anything to get rid of the taste in my mouth.
92
Lynetta's door was closed.
93
And normally I would have knocked and called, Mom wants you, or, Dinner! or something, but in that split second before my knuckles hit wood, my hand became possessed by Evil Baby Brother.
knuckle /'nʌkl/ n. (指人)指关节
94
I turned the
knob
and walked right in.
knob /nɑːb/ n. (门、抽屉的)球形把手
95
Does Lynetta freak out or throw stuff at me and scream for me to get out?
96
No. She ignores me.
97
Matt-and-Mike give me a nod, and Lynetta sees me, but she's got her hands over some
headphones
and her whole body's bobbing up and down as she listens to a
portable
CD player.
headphones /'hɛdfonz/ n. 头戴式耳机
portable /ˈpɔːrtəbl/ adj. 便携的
98
Matt-or-Mike whispers, “It's about over. We'll be right there,” like of course I was there to say it was time to eat.
99
What else would I be doing there?
100
Something about that made me feel, I don't know,
left out
.
left out 被遗忘
101
I wasn't even a person to those guys. I was just baby brother.
102
Nothing new there, but now it really bugged me. Like all of a sudden I didn't fit in anywhere.
103
Not at school, not at home … and every time I turned around, another person I'd known forever felt like a stranger to me.
104
Even I felt like a stranger to me.
105
Standing around eating little round
crackers
smeared
with
whipped
cheese and fish eggs didn't do much for my mood either.
crackers /'krækɚz/ n. 咸饼干
smear /smɪr/ v. 涂抹
whipped /hwipt/ adj. （奶油、蛋及其他食物）搅打起泡沫的
106
My mother was acting like
an entire swarm of
busy bees. She was everywhere.
a swarm of 一大群
107
In the kitchen, out of the kitchen. Serving drinks, handing out napkins.
108
Explaining the food, but not eating a thing.
109
Lynetta didn't buy Mom's explanation on the hors d'oeuvres — she wound up
dissecting
hers,
categorizing
the parts into
gross
, disgusting, and
revolting
.
dissect /dɪˈsekt/ v. 仔细分析或研究
categorize /'kætəgə'raɪz/ vt. 把…归类
gross /ɡrəʊs/ adj. 恶劣的
revolting /rɪ'voltɪŋ/ adj. 令人恶心的
110
Hanging near her didn't stop the Baker boys from shoving crackers in whole, though.
111
Man, I was just waiting for them to wrap themselves around a table leg and
flex
.
flex /flɛks/ vi. 绷紧(肌肉)
112
Juli, her dad, and my grandfather were off to the side talking
nonstop
about something, and my dad was over with Mrs. Baker looking about as stupid as I felt, standing by myself talking to no one.
nonstop /nɑn'stɑp/ adv. 不休息的
113
My mom
flutters
over to me and says, “You doing okay, honey?”
flutter /ˈflʌtər/ vi. 飘动
114
“Yeah,” I tell her, but she forces me over to where Granddad is anyway.
115
“Go on, go on,” she whispers. “Dinner will be ready in a minute.”
116
So I stand there and the group of them opens up, but it's more like a
reflex
than anything.
reflex /'riflɛks/ n. 反射作用
117
No one says a word to me.
118
They just keep right on talking about
perpetual motion
.
perpetual motion n. [物]永恒运动
119
Perpetual motion.
120
My friend, I didn't even know what perpetual motion was.
121
They were talking
closed systems
, open systems,
resistance
,
energy source
,
magnetism
… it was like joining a discussion in a different language.
closed systems 封闭系统
resistance /rɪˈzɪstəns/ n. 阻力
energy source 能源
magnetism /'mægnə'tɪzəm/ n. 磁力
122
And Juli, Juli was saying stuff like, “Well, what if you put the
magnets
back to back
— reversed the
polarity
?” like she really understood what they were talking about.
magnet /ˈmæɡnət/ n. 磁铁
back to back 背靠背
polarity /pə'lærəti/ n. [物] 极性
123
Then my granddad and her dad would explain why her idea wouldn't work, but all that did was make Juli ask another question.
124
I was completely
lost
.
lost /lɔst/ adj. 困惑的
125
And even though I was pretending to follow along with what they were saying, what I was really doing was trying not to stare at Juli.
126
When my mom called us for dinner, I did my best to pull Juli aside and apologize to her, but she gave me the
cold shoulder
, and who could blame her, really?
cold shoulder 冷淡对待
127
I sat down across from her, feeling pretty
low
.
low /loʊ/ adj. 消沉的
128
Why hadn't I said something to Garrett in the library? I didn't have to punch him.
129
Why hadn't I just told him he was out of line?
130
After Mom served everyone their food, Dad seemed to decide that he ought to be the one directing the conversation.
131
“So, Mike and Matt,” he says, “you're
seniors
this year.”
senior /ˈsiːniər/ n. [美]（中学或大学的）毕业班学生
132
“
Amen
!” they say together.
amen /ˈɑmən/ int. （祈祷时的结尾语）阿门
133
“Amen? As in you're glad high school's over?”
134
“Absolutely.”
135
My father starts twirling his fork. “Why's that?”
136
Matt and Mike look at each other, then back at my dad. “The
regurgitation
gets to you after a while.”
regurgitation /riɡɝdʒɪ'teʃən/ n. 反胃
137
“Isn't that funny,” he says, looking around the table. “High school was probably the best time of my life.”
138
Matt-or-Mike says, “Seriously? Dude, it's totally lame!”
139
Mrs. Baker shoots him a look, but that doesn't stop him.
140
“Well, it is, Mom. It's that whole
robotron
attitude of education.
Confine
,
confute
,
conform
—I've had totally enough of that
scene
.”
robotron 机器人
confine /kənˈfaɪn/ v. 限制
confute /kən'fjut/ vt. 驳斥
conform /kənˈfɔːrm/ v. 顺从
scene /siːn/ n. 情景
141
My dad eyes my mom with a little I-told-you-so grin, then says to Matt and Mike, “So I take it college is out of the question?”
142
God, what was with him?
143
In a flash I was clutching my fork and knife, ready to
duke it out
for a couple of guys who pinched my cheeks and called me baby brother.
duke it out 打个输赢
144
I took a deep breath and tried to relax. Tried to dive down to calmer water.
145
This wasn't my fight.
146
Besides, Matt and Mike seemed cool with it.
147
“Oh, no,” they said. “College is a total possibility.”
148
“Yeah, we got accepted a couple of places, but we're going to give the music thing a shot first.”
149
“Oh, the music thing,” my father says.
150
Matt and Mike look at each other, then shrug and get back to eating.
151
But Lynetta glares at him and says, “Your
sarcasm
is not appreciated, Dad.”
sarcasm /ˈsɑːrkæzəm/ n. 讽刺
152
“Lyn, Lyn,” says Matt-or-Mike.
153
“It's cool. Everyone's like that about it. It's a show-me-don't-tell-me thing.”
154
“That's a great idea,” Lynetta says, jumping out of her seat and dashing down the hall.
155
Mom freezes, not sure what to do about Lynetta, but then Mrs. Baker says, “Dinner is absolutely delicious, Patsy.”
156
“Thanks, Trina. It's … it's nice to have all of you over.”
157
There's about three seconds of quiet and then Lynetta comes in and
jabs
at the CD player buttons until the drawer slides back in.
jab /dʒæb/ vt. 猛击
158
“Lyn, no! Not a good idea,” says Matt-or-Mike. “Yeah, Lyn. It's not exactly dinner music.”
159
“
Tough
,” says Lynetta, and cranks the volume.
tough /tʌf/ v. 忍受
160
Boom, whack! Boom-boom, whack!
161
The candles practically shake in their
holders
; then guitars
rip
through the air and about blow them out.
holder /ˈhoʊldər/ n. （台、架等）支持物
rip /rɪp/ vt. 撕
162
Matt and Mike look up at the
speakers
, then grin at each other and call over to my dad, “
Surround sound
—
awesome
setup
, Mr. Loski!”
speaker /'spikɚ/ n. 扬声器
surround sound 环绕立体声
awesome /ˈɑːsəm/ adj. 令人惊叹的
setup /'sɛt,ʌp/ n. 装备
163
All the adults were dying to jump up and turn the thing down, but Lynetta stood guard and just
glowered
at them.
glower /ˈɡlaʊər/ vi. 怒视
164
And when the song's over, Lynetta pulls out the CD, punches off the player, and then smiles — actually smiles — at Matt and Mike and says,
165
“That is the
raddest
song. I want to hear it again and again and again.”
rad /ræd/ adj. [俚] 非常棒的，极好的
166
Matt-or-Mike says to my dad, “You probably don't like it, but it's what we do.”
167
“You boys wrote that song?”
168
“Uh-huh.”
169
He
motions
Lynetta to pass the CD over, saying, “Just the one song?”
motion /ˈmoʊʃn/ vt. 向…打手势
170
Matt-or-Mike laughs and says, “Dude, we've got a thousand songs, but there's only three on the demo.”
171
Dad holds up the CD. “This is the demo?”
172
“Yeah.”
173
He looks at it a minute and says, “So if you're Piss Poor, how do you afford to press CDs?”
174
“Dad!” Lynetta snaps at him.
175
“It's okay, Lyn. Just a joke, right, Mr. Loski?”
176
My dad laughs a little and says, “Right,” but then adds,
177
“Although I am a little curious. This is obviously not a home-done demo, and I
happen
to know studio time's cost-
prohibitive
for most bands….”
happen /ˈhæpən/ vi. 碰巧
prohibitive /prəˈhɪbətɪv/ adj. (指价格等)高得买不起的
178
Matt and Mike interrupt him with a slamming hard high five.
179
And while I'm getting
uptight
about my dad asking them questions about money, of all things, my mom's
fumbling
all over herself, trying to
sweep
away my dad's big
pawprints
.
uptight /'ʌp'taɪt/ adj. [口] 愤怒的
fumble /ˈfʌmbl/ vi. 支支吾吾地说
sweep away 清除
pawprint n. 爪印
180
“When Rick and I met, he was playing in a band….”
181
Poached salmon was suddenly swimming down the wrong
hatch
.
hatch /hætʃ/ n. 舱口
182
And while I'm choking, Lynetta's
bugging
out her raccoon eyes, gasping, “You? Played in a band? What did you play,
clarinet
?”
bug /bʌɡ/ v. (由于吃惊或害怕)张大眼睛
clarinet /ˌklærə'nɛt/ n. 单簧管
183
“No, honey,” my mom says, trying to hold it all together. “Your father played guitar.”
184
“Guitar?”
185
“Cool!” Matt-or-Mike says. “Rock? Country? Jazz?”
186
“Country,” my dad says. “Which is nothing to
scoff
at, boys.”
scoff /skɑːf/ vi. 嘲笑
187
“Dude! We know. Total respect, man.”
188
“And when our band looked into getting a demo made, it was
astronomically
expensive. That was in a big city, where there was a little
competition
.
astronomically /ˌæstrə'nɔmikli/ adv. 天文学上
competition /ˌkɑːmpəˈtɪʃn/ n. 竞争
189
Getting a demo made around here? I didn't even know there was a
facility
.”
facility /fəˈsɪləti/ n. 设备
190
Matt and Mike are still grinning. “There's not.”
191
“So where'd you go? And how'd you afford it?”
192
My mother whacks him under the table again, so he says, “I'm just curious, Patsy!”
193
Matt and Mike lean in. “We did it ourselves.”
194
“This right here? You did this yourselves? That's impossible.” He's looking almost mad about it. “How'd you get the
gear
?”
gear /ɡɪr/ n. 设备
195
My mom kicks him again, but Dad turns on her and says, “Stop it, would you? I'm just curious!”
196
Matt-or-Mike says, “It's cool, Mrs. Loski.” He smiles at my dad and says,
197
“We kept
cruising
the Internet and the
trades
looking for a deal. Everyone's blowing out their old
analog
gear for digital because that's the
move
everyone else has made.
cruise /kruːz/ vt. 漫游
trades /tred/ n. 各种营业
analog /'ænəlɔg/ [电脑] 模拟
move /muv/ n. 行动
198
Digital, if you want to know our opinion, is weak. You lose too much of the
waveform
. There's not enough fat to it, and obviously we like it
beefy
.”
waveform /ˈwevˌfɔrm/ n. 波形
beefy /'bifi/ adj. 健壮的
199
My granddad puts up a finger and says, “But a CD's digital, so…”
200
“Exactly, but that is the last and only step we'll
compromise
on. It's just a necessity of being part of the
industry
. Everyone wants CDs. But the
multitrack
and the
mixdown
to
two-track
is analog.
compromise /ˈkɑːmprəmaɪz/ vi. 折中解决
industry /ˈɪndəstri/ n. 行业
multitrack /ˈmʌltɪˌtræk/ n. 多声道
mixdown n. 混音
two-track 双轨
201
And we could afford it, Mr. Loski, because we got
used
gear and we've been saving up our pennies since we were twelve years old.”
used /just/ adj. 二手的
202
He grins and says, “You still play? We could, you know,
lay down
some of your tunes if you want.”
lay down 制定
203
My dad looks down, and for a second I couldn't tell if he was going to get mad or cry.
204
Then he sort of
snorts
and says, “Thanks, but that's not me anymore.”
snort /snɔrt/ vt. & vi. 喷鼻息(以表示不耐烦, 轻蔑等)
205
Which was probably the only honest thing my dad said all night. After that he was quiet.
206
He'd try to
plaster
up a smile now and then, but man, underneath it he was
broody
.
plaster /ˈplæstər/ vt. 粘贴
broody /'brʊdi/ adj. 郁郁寡欢的
207
And I was feeling kind of bad for him.
208
Was he thinking about the good old days playing in a band?
209
I tried
picturing
him in
cowboy
boots and a cowboy hat, with a guitar
strapped
across his shoulder, playing some old Willie Nelson song.
picture /ˈpɪktʃər/ v. 想象
cowboy /ˈkaʊbɔɪ/ n. 牛仔
strap /stræp/ vt. 用带捆绑
210
He was right — it just wasn't him.
211
But the fact that it ever had been made me feel even more like a stranger in a strange land.
212
Then, when the night was over and the Bakers were
piling out
the front door, something else strange happened.
pile out 走出
213
Juli touched my arm.
214
And for the first time that night she was looking at me.
215
It was that look, too,
channeled
directly
and
solely
at me.
channel /ˈtʃænl/ vt. 输送
directly /dəˈrektli/ adv. 直接地
solely /ˈsoʊlli/ adv. 唯一地
216
She says, “I'm sorry I was so angry when we first came in. Everyone had a good time, and I think your mom's really nice for inviting us.”
217
Her voice was quiet. Almost a
whisper
.
whisper /ˈwɪspər/ n. 耳语
218
I just stood there like a
moron
, staring at her.
moron /'mɔrɑn/ n. [口]傻瓜
219
“Bryce?” she says, touching my arm again. “Did you hear me? I'm sorry.”
220
I managed a nod, but my arm was
tingling
, and my heart was pounding, and I felt myself pulling toward her.
tingle /'tɪŋɡl/ vi. 感到刺痛
221
Then she was gone. Out the door and into the night, part of a
chorus
of happy good-byes.
chorus /ˈkɔːrəs/ n. 异口同声
222
I tried to
catch my breath
.
catch breath 喘口气
223
What was that? What was wrong with me?
224
My mother closed the door and said,
225
“There. Now what did I tell you? That is one
delightful
family! Those boys are nothing like I
expected
. Lynetta, why didn't you tell me they were so…so charming!”
delightful /dɪˈlaɪtfl/ adj. 讨人喜欢的
226
“They're
drug dealers
is what they are.”
drug dealer 毒品走私犯
227
Everyone turned to my father and dropped their jaws.
228
“What?” my mother said.
229
“There is no other way those boys could afford to buy
recording
gear like that.” He glared at Lynetta. “Isn't that so?”
recording /rɪˈkɔːrdɪŋ/ n. 录音
230
Lynetta's eyes looked like they were going to
pop right out
of her head.
pop out 弹出
231
“Rick, please!” my mother said. “You can't just make
accusations
like that!”
accusation /ˌækjuˈzeɪʃn/ n. 指控
232
“It's the only thing that makes sense, Patsy. Believe me, I know how musicians are. There is no other explanation for this.”
233
Lynetta shouted, “I happen to know for a fact that they don't use or deal. Where do you get off saying something like that? You are such a
two-faced
,
condescending
, narrow-minded
jackass
!”
two-faced /ˈtuˈfest/ adj. (人)表里不一的
condescending /ˌkɑːndɪˈsendɪŋ/ adj. 傲慢的
jackass /'dʒækæs/ n. 愚人
234
There was a split second of silence, and then he slapped her,
smack
, right across the cheek.
smack /smæk/ n. 掌掴(声)
235
That put my mother in his face like I'd never seen and sent my sister screaming
insults
over her shoulder as she ran down to her room.
insult /ɪnˈsʌlt/ v. 辱骂
236
My heart was pounding.
237
Lynetta was right and I almost, almost got in his face, too, and told him so.
238
But then my granddad pulled me aside and we both
retreated
to our own little corners of the house.
retreat /rɪˈtriːt/ vi. 退避
239
Pacing
around my room, I had the urge to go talk to Lynetta. To tell her that she was right, that Dad was way out of line.
pace /peɪs/ vt. & vi. 踱步于
240
But I could hear her through the walls, crying and screaming while my mom tried to calm her down.
241
Then she stormed out of the house to who-knows-where, and my mom took up with my dad again.
242
So I
stayed put
.
stay put 留在原地不动
243
And even though the earth quit
quaking
around eleven o'clock, there were
tremors
out there.
quake /kweɪk/ vi. (地面)震动
tremor /ˈtremər/ n. 风波
244
I could feel them.
245
As I lay in my bed staring out the window at the sky, I thought about how my dad had always
looked down
on the Bakers.
look down 瞧不起
246
How he'd put down their house and their yard and their cars and what they did for a
living
.
living /ˈlɪvɪŋ/ n. 生活
247
How he'd called them trash and made fun of Mr. Baker's paintings.
248
And now I was seeing that there was something really cool about that family.
249
All of them.
250
They were just…real.
251
And who were we?
252
There was something
spinning
wickedly
out of control inside this house.
spin /spɪn/ vt. 飞驰
wickedly /'wikidli/ adv. 恶劣地
253
It was like seeing inside the Bakers' world had opened up windows into our own, and the view was not a pretty one.
254
Where had all this stuff come from?
255
And why hadn't I ever seen it before.
256
