Brawk-Brawk-Brawk!

1

Eggs?

scare

?me. Chickens, too. And buddy, you can laugh at that all you want, but I'm being?

dead

?

serious

?here.

scare /sker/ v.?使驚恐

dead /d?d/ adv.?完全地

serious /'s?r??s/ adj.?認(rèn)真的

2

It started in the sixth grade with eggs.

3

And a snake.

4

And the Baker brothers.

5

The Baker brothers' names are Matt and Mike, but even now I can't tell you which one's which.

6

You never see one without the other.

7

And even though they're not twins, they do look and sound pretty much the same, and they're both in Lynetta's class, so maybe one of them?

got held back

.

get held back?留級(jí)

8

Although I can't exactly see a teacher?

voluntarily

?having either of those maniacs two years?

in a row

.

voluntarily /?vɑl?n't?r?li/ adv.?自發(fā)地

in a row?連續(xù)

9

Regardless

, Matt and Mike are the ones who taught me that snakes eat eggs.

regardless /r??ɡɑ?rdl?s/ adv.?不管怎樣

10

And when I say they eat eggs, I'm talking they eat them?

raw

?and shell-on whole.

raw /r??/ adj.?生的

11

I probably would've gone my entire life without this little bit of?

reptilian

?

trivia

?if it hadn't been for Lynetta.

reptilian /r?p't?l??n/ n.?爬行動(dòng)物

trivia /?tr?vi?/ n. (智力測(cè)驗(yàn)比賽用的)各種科目的知識(shí)

12

Lynetta had this?

major-league

?thing for Skyler Brown, who lives about three blocks down, and every chance she got, she went down there to?

hang out

?while he practiced the drums.

major-league adj.?非常重要的

hang out?閑逛

13

Well, boom-boom-whap, what did I care, right?

14

But then Skyler and Juli's brothers?

formed a band

, which they named Mystery?

Pisser

.

form a band?組建一個(gè)樂隊(duì)

pisser /?p?s?/ n.?小便的人

15

When my mom heard about it, she completely?

wigged out

.

wig out?發(fā)狂

16

“What kind of parents would allow their children to be in a band named Mystery Pisser? It's?

vile

. It's?

disgusting

!”

vile /va?l/ adj.?骯臟的

disgusting /d?s?ɡ?st??/ adj.?令人作嘔的

17

“That's the whole point, Mom,” Lynetta tried to explain.

18

“It doesn't mean anything. It's just to?

get a rise out of

?old people.”

get a rise out of?激怒

19

“Are you calling me old, young lady? Because it's certainly getting a rise out of me!”

20

Lynetta just shrugged,?

implying

?that my mom could?

draw her own conclusion

.

imply /?m?pla?/ vt.?暗示

draw conclusion?提出結(jié)論

21

“Go! Go to your room,” my mother?

snapped

.

snap /sn?p/ vi.?厲聲說

22

“For what?” Lynetta snapped back. “I didn't say a thing!”

23

“You know perfectly well what for. Now you go in there and?

adjust

?your attitude, young lady!”

adjust /??d??st/ vt.?調(diào)整

24

So Lynetta got another one of her?

teenage

?

time-outs

,

teenage /?tin?ed?/ adj.?青少年的

timeout n.?休息時(shí)間，暫停

25

and after that any time Lynetta was two minutes late coming home for dinner, my mother would messenger me down to Skyler's house to drag her home.

26

It might have been embarrassing for Lynetta, but it was worse for me.

27

I was still in elementary school, and the Mystery Pisser guys were in high school.

28

They were?

ripe

?and?

ragged

,?

raging

?power?

chords

?through the neighborhood, while I looked like I'd just gotten back from?

Sunday school

.

ripe /ra?p/ adj.?成熟的

rag /r?ɡ/ vi.?穿著講究

raging /'red???/ adj.?狂暴的

chord /k??rd/ n.?和弦

Sunday school?主日學(xué)校

29

I'd get so nervous going down there that my voice would squeak when I'd tell Lynetta it was time for dinner.

30

It literally squeaked.

31

But after a while the band dropped Mystery from their name, and Pisser and its?

entourage

?

got used to

?me showing up.

entourage /?ɑ?nturɑ??/ n.?隨行人員

get used to?習(xí)慣于

32

And instead of glaring at me, they started saying stuff like, “Hey, baby brother, come on in!” “Hey, Brycie boy, wanna?

jam

?”

jam n.?即興演奏

33

This, then, is how I wound up in Skyler Brown's garage, surrounded by high school kids, watching a boa constrictor swallow eggs.

34

Since I'd already seen it down a rat in the Baker brothers' bedroom, Pisser had lost at least some of the?

element

?of surprise.

element n.?元素

35

Plus

, I picked up on the fact that they'd been saving this little show to?

freak me out

, and I really didn't want to give them the satisfaction.

plus conj.?而且

freak out?崩潰

36

This wasn't easy, though, because watching a snake swallow an egg is actually much?

creepier

?than you might think.

creepy /'kripi/ adj.?令人毛骨悚然的

37

The boa opened its mouth to an enormous size, then just took the egg in and glub!

38

We could see it roll down its throat.

39

But that wasn't all.

40

After the snake had glubbed down three eggs, Matt-or-Mike said, “So, Brycie boy, how's he gonna?

digest

?those?”

digest /da??d?est/ vt.?消化

41

I shrugged and tried not to squeak when I answered, “Stomach acid?”

42

He shook his head and pretended to?

confide

, “He needs a tree. Or a leg.”

confide /k?n?fa?d/ vi.吐露秘密

43

He grinned at me. “Wanna?

volunteer

?yours?”

volunteer /?vɑ?l?n?t?r/ vi& vt.?自愿

44

I backed away a little.

45

I could just see that monster try to swallow my leg whole as an after-egg chaser.

chaser /'t?es?/ n.?飲烈酒后喝的飲料

46

“N-no!”

47

He laughed and pointed at the boa?

slithering

?across the room.

slither /'sl?e?/ v.?滑行

48

“Aw, too bad. He's going the other way. He's gonna use the piano instead!”

49

The piano! What kind of snake was this?

50

How could my sister stand being in the same room as these?

dementos

?

demento /di'ment?u/ n.?瘋子

51

I looked at her, and even though she was pretending to be cool with the snake, I know Lynetta — she was totally?

creeped

?out by it.

creep /kri?p/ vi.?起雞皮疙瘩

52

The snake wrapped itself around the piano leg about three times, and then Matt-or-Mike put his hands up and said, “Shhh! Shhh! Everybody quiet. Here goes!”

53

The snake stopped moving, then?

flexed

.

flex /fl?ks/ vi.?收縮

54

And as it flexed, we could hear the eggs?

crunch

?inside him.

crunch /kr?nt?/ vt.?壓碎

55

“Oh,?

gross

!” the girls?

wailed

. “Whoa, dude!” the guys all said.

gross /ɡr??s/ adj.?讓人惡心的

wail /wel/ vi.?哀號(hào)

56

Mike and Matt smiled at each other real big and said, “Dinner is served!”

57

I tried to act cool about the snake, but the truth is I started having bad dreams about the thing swallowing eggs. And rats. And cats.

58

And me.

59

Then the?

real-life

?nightmare began.

real-life /'ril'la?f/ adj.?實(shí)在的

60

One morning about two weeks after the boa show in Skyler's garage, Juli appears on our?

doorstep

, and what's she got in her hands?

doorstep /?d?r?st?p/ n.?門階

61

A half-carton of eggs.

62

She bounces around like it's Christmas, saying, “Hiya, Bryce! Remember Abby and Bonnie and Clyde and Dexter? Eunice and Florence?”

63

I just stared at her.

64

Somehow I remembered?

Santa

's?

reindeer

?a little different than that.

Santa /'s?nt?/?〈美〉圣誕老人

reindeer /'rend?r/ n. [動(dòng)]馴鹿

65

“You know … my chickens? The ones I hatched for the science?

fair

?last year?”

fair /fer/ n.?展覽會(huì)

66

“Oh, right. How could I forget.”

67

“They're?

laying

?eggs!” She pushed the carton into my hands.

lay /le/ v.?下(蛋)

68

“Here, take these! They're for you and your family.”

69

“Oh. Uh, thanks,” I said, and closed the door.

70

I used to really like eggs. Especially?

scrambled

, with bacon or?

sausage

.

scramble /?skr?mbl/ n.?炒蛋

sausage /?s??s?d?/ n.?香腸

71

But even without the little snake?

incident

, I knew that no matter what you did to these eggs, they would taste nothing but?

foul

?to me.

incident /??ns?d?nt/ n.?事件

foul /fa?l/ adj.?令人惡心的

72

These eggs came from the chickens that had been the?

chicks

?that had hatched from the eggs that had been?

incubated

?by Juli Baker for our fifth-grade science fair.

chick /t??k/ n.?小雞

incubate /'??kjubet/ vi.?孵化

73

It was?

classic

?Juli.

classic /?kl?s?k/ adj.?典型的

74

She totally?

dominated

?the fair, and get this — her project was all about watching eggs.

dominate /?dɑ?m?ne?t/ vt.?支配

75

My friend, there is not a lot of action to report on when you're incubating eggs.

76

You've got your light, you've got your?

container

, you've got some shredded newspaper, and that's it. You're done.

container /k?n?te?n?r/ n.?容器

77

Juli, though, managed to write an inch-thick report, plus she made?

diagrams

?and?

charts

?— I'm talking?

line charts

and?

bar charts

?and?

pie charts

?— about the activity of eggs. Eggs!

diagram /?da??ɡr?m/ n.?圖表

chart /t?ɑ?rt/ n.?曲線圖

line chart?折線圖

bar chart?長條圖

pie chart?圓形分格統(tǒng)計(jì)圖表

78

She also managed to?

time

?the eggs so that they'd hatch the night of the fair.

time /ta?m/ vt.?計(jì)時(shí)

79

How does a person do that?

80

Here I've got a?

live-action

?

erupting

?

volcano

?that I've worked pretty?

stinking

?hard on, and all anybody cares about is Juli's chicks pecking out of their shells.

live-action adj.?實(shí)景模型

erupt /??r?pt/ vi.?爆發(fā)

volcano /vɑ?l?ke?no?/ n.?火山

stink /st??k/ n. [舊]賣力地工作

81

I even went over to take a look for myself, and — I'm being completely?

objective

?here — it was boring.

objective /?b?d?ekt?v/ adj.?客觀的

82

They pecked for about five seconds, then just lay there for five minutes.

83

I got to hear Juli?

jabber

?away to the?

judges

, too.

jabber /?d??b?r/ vi.?吱吱喳喳地叫

judge /d??d?/ n.?評(píng)判員

84

She had a?

pointer

?— can you believe that?

pointer /'p??nt?/ n.?教鞭

85

Not a pencil, an actual?

retractable

?pointer,

retractable /r??tr?kt?bl../ adj.?伸縮自如的

86

so she could reach across her?

incubator

?and tap on this chart or that diagram as she explained the excitement of watching eggs grow for twenty-one days.

incubator /'??kjubet?/ n.?孵化器

87

The only thing she could've done to be more overboard was put on a chicken costume, and buddy, I'm convinced — if she'd thought of it, she would have done it.

88

But hey — I was over it.

89

It was just Juli being Juli, right?

90

But all of a sudden there I am a year later, holding a carton of?

home-grown

?eggs.

home-grown /?hom?ɡron/ adj.?自產(chǎn)的

91

And I'm having a hard time not getting annoyed all over again about her stupid?

blue-ribbon

?project when my mother leans out from the hallway and says, “Who was that, honey? What have you got there? Eggs?”

blue-ribbon /'blu:'rib?n/ adj.?頭等的

92

I could?

tell by

?the look on her face that she was hot to?

scramble

.

tell by?根據(jù)...判斷

scramble /?skr?mbl/ vi.?爭搶

93

“Yeah,” I said, and handed them to her. “But I'm having?

cereal

.”

cereal /?s?ri?l/ n.?谷類植物

94

She opened the carton, then closed it with a smile.

95

“How nice!” she said. “Who brought them over?”

96

“Juli. She grew them.”

97

“Grew them?”

98

“Well, her chickens did.”

99

“Oh?” Her smile started falling as she opened the carton again.

100

“Is that so. I didn't know she had… chickens.”

101

“Remember? You and Dad spent an hour watching them hatch at last year's science fair?”

102

“Well, how do we know there're not … chicks inside these eggs?”

103

I shrugged. “Like I said, I'm having cereal.”

104

We all had cereal, but what we talked about were eggs.

105

My dad thought they'd be just fine — he'd had farm-fresh eggs when he was a kid and said they were delicious.

106

My mother, though, couldn't get past the idea that she might be cracking open a dead chick,

107

and pretty soon discussion turned to the?

role

?of the?

rooster

?— something me and my?

Cheerios

?could've done without.

role /rol/ n.?角色

rooster /'rust?/ n.?公雞

Cheerio /?t??r?'o/ n. Cheerio麥片

108

Finally Lynetta said, “If they had a rooster, don't you think we'd know? Don't you think the whole neighborhood would know?”

109

Hmmm, we all said, good point.

110

But then my mom?

pipes

?up with, “Maybe they got it de-

yodeled

. You know — like they de-bark dogs?”

pipe /pa?p/ vi.?高聲說話

yodel /'jodl/ vi.?用真假嗓音互換地唱

111

“A de-yodeled rooster,” my dad says, like it's the most?

ridiculous

?thing he's ever heard.

ridiculous /r??d?kj?l?s/ adj.?可笑的

112

Then he looks at my mom and realizes that he'd be way better off going along with her de-yodeled idea than making fun of her.

113

“Hmmm,” he says, “I've never heard of such a thing, but maybe so.”

114

Lynetta shrugs and says to my mom, “So just ask them, why don't you. Call up Mrs. Baker and ask her.”

115

“Oh,” my mom says.

116

“Well, I'd hate to call her eggs into question. It doesn't seem very polite, now, does it?”

117

“Just ask Matt or Mike,” I say to Lynetta.

118

She scowls at me and hisses, “Shut up.”

119

“What? What'd I do now?”

120

“Haven't you noticed I haven't been going down there, you?

idiot

?”

idiot /??di?t/ n.?白癡

121

“Lynetta!” my mom says.

122

Like this is the first time she's heard my sister talk to me or something.

123

“Well, it's true! How can he not have noticed?”

124

“I was going to ask you about that, honey. Did something happen?”

125

Lynetta stands up and shoves her chair in.

126

“Like you care,” she snaps, and charges down to her room.

127

“Oh, boy,” my dad says.

128

Mom says, “Excuse me,” and follows Lynetta down the hall.

129

When my mother's gone, my dad says, “So, son, why don't you just ask Juli?”

130

“Dad!”

131

“It's just a little question, Bryce. No harm,?

no foul

.”

foul /fa?l/ adj.?不道德的

132

“But it'll get me a half-hour answer!”

133

He studies me for a minute, then says, “No boy should be this afraid of a girl.”

134

“I'm not afraid of her…!”

135

“I think you are.”

136

“Dad!”

137

“Seriously, son. I want you to get us an answer.?

Conquer

?your fear and get us an answer.”

conquer /?kɑ??k?r/ vt.?克服

138

“To whether or not they have a rooster?”

139

“That's right.”

140

He gets up and clears his cereal bowl, saying, “I've got to get to work and you've got to get to school. I'll expect a report tonight.”

141

Great. Just great. The day was?

doomed

?before it had started.

doomed /du:md/ v.?宣告......必然毀滅

142

But then at school when I told Garrett about what had happened, he just shrugged and said, “Well, she lives right across the street from you, right?”

143

“Yeah, so?”

144

“So just go look over the fence.”

145

“You mean spy?”

146

“Sure.”

147

“But … how can I tell if one of them's a rooster or not?”

148

“Roosters are …I don't know… bigger. And they have more feathers.”

149

“Feathers? Like I've got to go and count feathers?”

150

“No, stupid! My mom says that the male's always brighter.”

151

Then he laughs and says, “Although in your case I'm not so sure.”

152

“Thanks. You are giving me big-time help here, buddy. I really appreciate it.”

153

“Look, a rooster's going to be bigger and have brighter feathers. You know, those long ones in the back? They're redder or blacker or?

whatever

.

whatever /w?t'?v?/ pron.?諸如此類

154

And don't roosters have some rubbery red stuff growing off the top of their head? And some off their neck, too? Yeah, the rooster's got all sorts of?

rubbery

?red stuff all around its face.”

rubbery /?r?b?ri/ adj.?橡膠似的

155

“So you're saying I'm supposed to look over the fence for big feathers and rubbery red stuff.”

156

“Well, come to think of it, chickens have that rubbery red stuff, too. Just not as much of it.”

157

I rolled my eyes at him and was about to say, Forget it, I'll just ask Juli, but then he says, “I'll come with you if you want.”

158

“Seriously?”

159

“Yeah, dude. Seriously.”

160

And that, my friend, is how I wound up spying over the Bakers' back fence with Garrett Anderson at three-thirty that afternoon.

161

Not my choice of?

covert

?operations, but a?

necessary

?one in order to report back to my dad that night at dinner.

covert /?ko?v??rt/ adj.?秘密的

necessary /?nes?seri/ adj.?迫不得已的

162

We got there fast, too.

163

The bell rang and we basically charged off?

campus

?because I figured if we got to the Bakers' quick enough, we could look and leave before Juli was anywhere near her house.

campus /?k?mp?s/ n.?（大學(xué)或?qū)W院的）校園

164

We didn't even drop off our backpacks.

165

We went straight down the?

alley

?and started spying.

alley /??li/ n.?小路

166

It's not really necessary to look over the Bakers' fence.

167

You can see almost as well looking through it.

168

But Garrett kept?

sticking

?his head up, so I figured I should too, although in the back of my mind I was aware that Garrett didn't have to live in this neighborhood — I did.

stick /st?k/ vi.?伸出

169

The backyard was a mess. Big surprise.

170

The bushes were out of control, there was some kind of?

hodgepodge

?wood-and-wire?

coop

?off to one side, and the yard wasn't grass, it was highly?

fertilized

?

dirt

.

hodgepodge /'hɑd?pɑd?/ n.?大雜燴

coop /k?p/ n.?雞籠

fertilize /?f??rt?la?z/ vt.?使肥沃

dirt /d??rt/ n.?泥土

171

Garrett was the first to notice their dog,?

sacked out

?on the?

patio

?between two sorry-looking folding chairs.

sack out?睡覺

patio /'p?t?o/ n.?露臺(tái)

172

He points at him and says, “You think he's going to give us trouble?”

173

“We're not going to be here?

long

?enough to get in trouble! Where are those stupid chickens?”

long /l??/ adv.?長久地

174

“Probably in the coop,” he says, then picks up a rock and throws it at the mess of?

plywood

?and chicken wire.

plywood /'pla?w?d/ n.?膠合板

175

At first all we hear is a?

bunch

?of feathers?

flapping

, but then one of the birds comes?

fluttering

?out.

bunch /b?nt?/ n.群

flap /fl?p/ vt. & vi.?輕拍

flutter /?fl?t?r/ vt. & vi.?拍翅膀

176

Not very far, but enough so we can see it's got feathers and rubbery red stuff.

177

“So?” I ask him. “Is that a rooster?”

178

He shrugs. “Looks like a chicken to me.”

179

“How can you tell?”

180

He shrugs again. “Just does.”

181

We watch it?

scratching

?at the dirt for a minute, and then I ask, “What's a hen, anyway?”

scratch /skr?t?/ vt.?用嘴(或爪子)扒地找食物

182

“A hen?”

183

“Yeah. You got roosters, you got chickens, and then there's hens. What's a hen?”

184

“It's one of those,” he says, pointing into the Bakers' backyard.

185

“Then what's a chicken?”

186

He looks at me like I'm crazy.

187

“What are you talking about?”

188

“Chickens! What's a chicken?”

189

He takes a step back from me and says, “Brycie boy, you are losin' it. That's a chicken!”

190

He?

stoops

?down to pick up another rock, and he's just about to let it fly when the sliding-glass door to the back patio opens up and Juli steps outside.

stoop /stu?p/ vt. & vi.?彎腰

191

We both?

duck

.

duck /d?k/ vi. (迅速)低頭

192

And as we're checking her out through the fence, I say, “When did she get home?”

193

Garrett?

grumbles

, “While you were losing it about chickens.”

grumble /?ɡr?mbl/ vi.?嘟囔

194

Then he whispers, “But hey, this'll work great. She's got a basket, right? She's probably coming out to collect eggs.”

195

First she had to get all?

mushy

?with that?

mangy

?

mutt

?of hers.

mushy /?m??i/ adj.?多愁善感的

mangy /'mend?i/ adj.?骯臟的

mutt /m?t/ n.?雜種狗

196

She got down and?

nuzzled

?and?

ruffled

?and patted and hugged, telling him what a good boy he was.

nuzzle /'n?zl/ vi.?用鼻擦

ruffle /?r?fl/ vt.?弄皺

197

And when she finally let him go back to sleep, she had to stop and?

coo

?at the bird Garrett had scared out, and then she started singing.

coo /ku/ vt.?咕咕地叫

198

Singing. At the top of her lungs, she goes,

199

“I've got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outsi-ye-yide, I've got the month of May. I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girls. Talkin' 'bout my little gir-ur-rls …”

200

She looks inside the coop and coos, “Hello, Flo! Good afternoon, Bonnie! Come on out,?

punkin

!”

punkin /?p??k?n/ [美]小南瓜（一種稱呼所愛的人的方式）

201

The coop wasn't big enough for her to walk in.

202

It was more like a mini?

lean-to

?

shack

?that even her dog would have trouble crawling in.

lean-to /?lin?tu/ adj.?具有一個(gè)斜坡或斜角的

shack /??k/ n.?簡陋的小屋

203

Does that stop Juli Baker? No.

204

She gets down on her hands and knees and dives right in.

205

Chickens come squawking and flapping out, and pretty soon the yard's full of birds, and all we can see of Juli is her?

poop

-covered shoes.

poop /pup/ n. [美，非正式]屎，糞便

206

That's not all we can hear, though.

207

She's?

warbling

?inside that coop, going,

warble /'w?rbl/ v.?鳥鳴

208

“I don't need money, no?

fortune

?or?

faaa-ya-yame

. I got all the riches, baby, anyone can?

claim

.

fortune /?f??rt??n/ n.?財(cái)富

fame /fe?m/ n.?名聲

claim /kle?m/ vt.?需要

209

Well, I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girls. Talkin' 'bout my little gir-ur-rls, my girls…”

210

At this point I wasn't checking the chickens out for rubbery red stuff or feathers.

211

I was looking at the bottom of Juli Baker's feet, wondering how in the world a person could be so happy?

tunneling

through a?

dilapidated

?chicken coop with poop stuck all over her shoes.

tunnel /?t?nl/ v.?開鑿隧道

dilapidated /d??l?p?de?t?d/ adj.?破爛的

212

Garrett got me back?

on track

.

on track?走上正軌

213

“They're all chickens,” he says. “Look at 'em.”

214

I quit checking out Juli's shoes and started checking out birds.

215

The first thing I did was count them.

216

One-two-three-four-five-six. All accounted for.

217

After all, how could anyone forget she'd hatched six?

218

It was the?

all-time

?school record — everyone in the county had heard about that.

all-time /??l?ta?m/ adj.?空前的

219

But I was not really sure how to ask Garrett about what he had said.

220

Yeah, they were all chickens, but what did that mean?

221

I sure didn't want him?

coming down on

?me again, but it still didn't?

make sense

.

come down on?斥責(zé)

make sense?理解

222

Finally I asked him, “You mean there's no rooster?”

223

“

Correctomundo

.”

Correctomundo?通"correct"(強(qiáng)調(diào)地說法)

224

“How can you tell?”

225

He shrugged. “Roosters?

strut

.”

strut /str?t/ vi.?趾高氣揚(yáng)地走

226

“Strut.”

227

“That's right. And look — none of them have long feathers. Or very much of that rubbery red stuff.” He nodded. “Yeah. They're definitely all chickens.”

228

That night my father got right to the point. “So, son,?

mission

?

accomplished

?” he asked as he?

stabbed

?into a mountain of?

fettuccine

?and?

whirled

?his fork around.

mission /?m??n/ n.?任務(wù)

accomplished /??kɑ?mpl??t/ adj.?完成的

stab /st?b/ vt. & vi.?刺入

fettuccine /?f?t?'t?ini/ n.?意大利寬面條

whirl /w??rl/ vt. & vi.?使旋轉(zhuǎn)

229

I attacked my noodles too and gave him a smile.

230

“Uhhuh,” I said as I?

sat up tall

?to deliver the news. “They're all chickens.”

sit up tall?坐直

231

The turning of his fork came to a?

grinding halt

. “And…?”

grinding halt?戛然而止

232

I could tell something was wrong, but I didn't know what.

233

I tried to keep the smile?

plastered

?on my face as I said, “And what?”

plaster /?pl?st?r/ v.?涂抹

234

He rested his fork and stared at me. “Is that what she said? ‘They're all chickens’?”

235

“Uh, not exactly.”

236

“Then exactly what did she say?”

237

“Uh … she didn't exactly say anything.”

238

“Meaning?”

239

“Meaning I went over there and took a look for myself.”

240

I tried very hard to sound like this was a major?

accomplishment

, but he wasn't buying.

accomplishment /??kɑ?mpl??m?nt/ n.?成就

241

“You didn't ask her?”

242

“I didn't have to. Garrett knows a lot about chickens, and we went over there and?

found out

?for ourselves.”

find out?查明了

243

Lynetta came back from?

rinsing

?the Romano?

sauce

?off her seven and a half noodles, then reached for the salt and scowled at me, saying, “You're the chicken.”

rinsing /'r?ns??/ v.?（用清水）沖洗

sauce /s??s/ n.?調(diào)味汁

244

“Lynetta!” my mother said. “Be?

nice

.”

nice /na?s/ adj.?有教養(yǎng)的

245

Lynetta stopped shaking the salt.

246

“Mother, he spied. You get it? He went over there and looked over the fence. Are you saying you're okay with that?”

247

My mom turned to me. “Bryce? Is that true?”

248

Everyone was staring at me now, and I felt like I had to?

save face

.

save face?保住面子

249

“What's the?

big deal

? You told me to find out about her chickens, and I found out about her chickens!”

big deal?大不了

250

“Brawk-brawk-brawk!” my sister whispered.

251

My father still wasn't eating.

252

“And what you found out,” he said, like he was?

measuring

?every word, “was that they're all… chickens.”

measure /?me??r/ vt.?估量

253

“Right.”

254

He sighed, then took that bite of noodles and chewed it for the longest time.

255

It felt like I was sinking fast, but I couldn't figure out why.

256

So I tried to?

bail

?out with, “And you guys can go ahead and eat those eggs, but there's no way I'm going to touch them, so don't even ask.”

bail /be?l/ vt.?從......中擺脫出來

257

My mother's looking back and forth from my dad to me while she eats her salad, and I can tell she's waiting for him to address my?

adventure

?as a neighborhood?

operative

.

adventure /?d?vent??r/ n.?冒險(xiǎn)活動(dòng)

operative /?ɑ?p?r?t?v/ n.?（尤指政府的）特工人員

258

But since he's not saying anything, she clears her throat and says, “Why's that?”

259

“Because there's … well, there's …I don't know how to say this nicely.”

260

“Just say it,” my father snaps.

261

“Well, there's, you know,?

excrement

?everywhere.”

excrement /'?kskr?m?nt/ n.?排泄物(糞便)

262

“Oh, gross!” my sister says, throwing down her fork.

263

“You mean chicken droppings?” my mother asks.

264

“Yeah. There's not even a lawn. It's all dirt and, uh, you know, chicken?

turds

. The chickens walk in it and peck through it and…”

turd /t?d/ n.?糞便

265

“Oh, gross!” Lynetta wails.

266

“Well, it's true!”

267

Lynetta stands up and says, “You expect me to eat after this?” and?

stalks

?out of the room.

stalk /st??k/ vi.?高視闊步地

268

“Lynetta! You have to eat something,” my mother calls after her.

269

“No, I don't!” she shouts back;

270

then a second later she sticks her head back into the dining room and says, “And don't expect me to eat any of those eggs either, Mother. Does the word?

salmonella

?mean anything to you?”

salmonella /'s?lm?'n?l?/ n.?沙門氏菌

271

Lynetta takes off down the hall and my mother says, “Salmonella?”

272

She turns to my father. “Do you suppose they could have salmonella?”

273

“I don't know, Patsy. I'm more concerned that our son is a?

coward

.”

coward /?ka??rd/ n.?懦夫

274

“A coward! Rick, please. Bryce is no such thing. He's a wonderful child who's — ”

275

“Who's afraid of a girl.”

276

“Dad, I'm not afraid of her, she just bugs me!”

277

“Why?”

278

“You know why! She bugs you, too. She's?

over the top

?about everything!”

over the top?過分了

279

“Bryce, I asked you to conquer your fear, but all you did was?

give in

?to it. If you were in love with her, that would be one thing. Love is something to be afraid of, but this, this is embarrassing.

give in?屈服

280

So she talks too much, so she's too?

enthused

?about every little thing, so what? Get in, get your question answered, and get out. Stand up to her, for cryin' out loud!”

enthuse /?n'θuz/ vi.?熱心

281

“Rick …,” my mom was saying, “Rick, calm down. He did find out what you asked him to — ”

282

“No, he didn't!”

283

“What do you mean?”

284

“He tells me they're all chickens! Of course they're all chickens!

285

The question is how many are hens, and how many are roosters.”

286

I could almost hear the click in my brain, and man, I felt like a complete?

doofus

.

doofus /?duf?s/ n.?〈美〉〈俚〉蠢人

287

No wonder he was disgusted with me.

288

I was an idiot!

289

They were all chickens … du-uh!

290

Garrett acted like he was some expert on chickens, and he didn't know?

diddly-squat

! Why had I listened to him?

diddly-squat n.?〈美〉〈俚〉(多用于否定句)任何事物

291

But it was too late.

292

My dad was convinced I was a coward, and to get me over it,

293

he decided that what I should do was take the carton of eggs back to the Bakers and tell them we didn't eat eggs, or that we were?

allergic

?to them, or something.

allergic /??l??rd??k/ adj.?過敏的

294

Then my mom?

butts in

?with, “What are you teaching him here, Rick? None of that is true. If he returns them, shouldn't he tell them the truth?”

butt in?插手

295

“What, that you're afraid of salmonella?

poisoning

?”

poisoning /?p??z?n??/ n.?中毒

296

“Me? Aren't you a little concerned, too?”

297

“Patsy, that's not the point. The point is, I will not have a coward for a son!”

298

“But teaching him to lie?”

299

“Fine. Then just throw them away. But from now on I expect you to look that little tiger?

square

?in the eye, you hear me?”

square /skwer/ adv.?直接地

300

“Yes, sir.”

301

“Okay, then.”

302

I was?

off the hook

?for all of about eight days.

off the hook?脫身

303

Then there she was again, at seven in the morning, bouncing up and down on our porch with eggs in her hands. “Hi, Bryce! Here you go.”

304

I tried to look her square in the eye and tell her, No thanks, but she was so?

darned

?happy, and I wasn't really awake enough to?

tackle

?the tiger.

darned /dɑrnd/ adv.?非常地

tackle /?t?kl/ vt.?應(yīng)付

305

She wound up pushing another carton into my hands, and I wound up ditching them in the kitchen trash before my father sat down to breakfast.

306

This went on for two years.

307

Two years!

308

And it got to a point where it was just part of my morning?

routine

.

routine /ru??ti?n/ n.?日常工作

309

I'd be on the?

lookout

?for Juli so I could?

whip

?the door open before she had the chance to knock or ring the bell, and then I'd bury the eggs in the trash before my dad?

showed up

.

lookout n.?監(jiān)視

whip /w?p/ n.?快速移開

show up?露面

310

Then came the day I?

blew it

.

blow it?搞砸了

311

Juli'd actually been making herself pretty?

scarce

?because it was around the time they'd taken the sycamore tree down, but suddenly one morning she was back on our doorstep, delivering eggs.

scarce /skers/ adj.?罕見的

312

I took them, as usual, and I went to?

chuck

?them, as usual.

chuck /t??k/ vt.?丟棄

313

But the kitchen trash was so full that there wasn't any room for the carton, so I put it on top, picked up the trash, and beat it out the front door to empty everything into the?

garbage can

?outside.

garbage can n.?垃圾桶

314

Well, guess who's just standing there like a statue on my porch?

315

The Egg Chick.

316

I about?

spilled

?the trash all over the porch.

spill /sp?l/ vt.?使摔下

317

“What are you still doing here?” I asked her.

318

“I…I don't know. I was just … thinking.”

319

“About what?” I was?

desperate

.

desperate /?desp?r?t/ adj.?絕望的

320

I needed a?

distraction

. Some way around her with this garbage before she noticed what was sitting right there on top.

distraction /d??str?k?n/ n.?使人分心的事物

321

She looked away like she was embarrassed.

322

Juli Baker embarrassed? I didn't think it was possible.

323

Whatever.

324

The golden opportunity to whip a soggy magazine over the egg carton had presented itself, and buddy, I took it.

soggy /?sɑ?ɡi/ adj.?透濕的

325

Then I tried to make a fast break for the garbage can in the side yard, only she body-blocked me.

326

Seriously.

327

She stepped right in my way and put her arms out like she's guarding the?

goal

.

goal /ɡo?l/ n.?球門

328

She chased me and blocked me again.

329

“What happened?” she wants to know. “Did they break?”

330

Perfect.

331

Why hadn't I thought of that? “Yeah, Juli,” I told her.

332

“And I'm real sorry about that.”

333

But what I'm thinking is, Please, God, oh please, God, let me make it to the garbage can.

334

God must've been sleeping in.

335

Juli tackled the trash and pulled out her?

precious

?little carton of eggs, and she could tell right off that they weren't broken.

precious /?pre??s/ adj.?寶貴的

336

They weren't even cracked.

337

She stood frozen with the eggs in her hands while I dumped the rest of the trash.

338

“Why did you throw them out?” she asked, but her voice didn't sound like Juli Baker's voice.

339

It was quiet. And?

shaky

.

shaky /??e?ki/ adj.?顫抖的

340

So I told her we were afraid of salmonella poisoning because her yard was a mess and that we were just trying to?

spare

?her feelings.

spare /sp?r/ vt.?不傷害

341

I told it to her like we were right and she was wrong, but I felt like a jerk.

342

A complete cluck-faced jerk.

343

Then she tells me that a couple of neighbors have been buying eggs off her.

344

Buying them.

345

And while I'm coming to?

grips

?with this?

incredible

?bit of news, she?

whips out

?her mental calculator.

grip /ɡr?p/ n.?理解

incredible /?n?kred?bl/ adj.?〈非正〉難以置信的

whip out?突然拿出

346

“Do you realize I've lost over a hundred dollars giving these eggs to you?”

347

Then she races across the street in a?

flood

?of tears.

flood /fl?d/ n.?洪水

348

As much as I tried to tell myself that I hadn't asked her for the eggs—I hadn't said we wanted them or needed them or liked them—the fact was, I'd never seen Juli cry before.

349

Not when she'd broken her arm in P.E., not when she'd been?

teased

?at school or ditched by her brothers.

tease /ti?z/ vt. & vi.?取笑

350

Not even when they'd cut down the sycamore tree.

351

I'm pretty sure she cried then, but I didn't actually see it.

352

To me, Juli Baker had always been too tough to cry.

353

I went down to my room to pack my stuff for school, feeling like the biggest jerk to ever?

hit

?the planet.

hit /h?t/ v.?碰到

354

I'd been sneaking around throwing out eggs for over two years, avoiding her, avoiding my father — what did that make me?

355

Why hadn't I just stood up and said, No thanks, don't want 'em, don't need 'em, don't like 'em…. Give them to the snake, why don't you? Something!

356

Was I really afraid of hurting her feelings?

357

Or was I afraid of her?

358