Looming Large and Smelly

1

Sunday I woke up feeling like I'd been sick with the?

flu

.

flu /flu?/ n.?流行性感冒

2

Like I'd had one of those bad,?

convoluted

, unexplainable?

fever

?dreams.

convoluted /?kɑ?nv?lu?t?d/ adj.?費(fèi)解的

fever /?fi?v?r/ n.?發(fā)燒

3

And what I've?

figured out

?about bad, convoluted, unexplainable dreams of any kind is that you've just got to?

shake them off

.

figure out?想通了

shake off?擺脫

4

Try to forget that they ever happened.

5

I shook it off, all right, and got out of bed early 'cause I had eaten almost nothing the night before and I was starving!

6

But as I was trucking into the kitchen, I glanced into the family room and noticed that my dad was?

sacked out

?on the couch.

sack out?睡覺(jué)

7

This was not good.

8

This was a sign of battles still?

in progress

, and it made me feel like an?

invader

?in my own?

territory

.

in progress?正在進(jìn)行

invader /?n'ved?/ n.?入侵者

territory /?ter?t??ri/ n.?領(lǐng)土

9

He?

rolled over

?and kind of groaned, then?

curled up

?tighter under his?

skinny

?little?

quilt

?and muttered some pretty unfriendly-sounding stuff into his pillow.

roll over?翻身

curl up?蜷縮

skinny /?sk?ni/ adj.?極瘦的

quilt /kw?lt/ n.?被子

10

I beat it into the kitchen and poured myself a killer bowl of?

corn flakes

.

corn flake?玉米片

11

And I was about to drown it in milk when my mother comes?

waltzing

?in and?

snags

?it away from me.

waltz /w?lts/ v.?輕快地走動(dòng)

snag /sn?ɡ/ vt.?迅速抓到

12

“You are going to wait, young man,” she says. “This family is going to have Sunday breakfast together.”

13

“But I'm starving!”

14

“So are the rest of us. Now go! I'm making pancakes, and you're taking a shower. Go!”

15

Like a shower's going to prevent?

imminent

?starvation.

imminent /??m?n?nt/ adj.?迫近的

16

But I headed down to the bathroom, and on my way I noticed that the family room was empty.

17

The quilt was folded and back on the?

armrest

, the pillow was gone…it was like I'd imagined the whole thing.

armrest /'ɑrm'r?st/ n.?坐椅扶手

18

At breakfast my father didn't look like he'd spent the night on the couch.

19

No?

bags

?under his eyes, no whiskers on his chin. ”

bag /b?ɡ/ n.?眼袋

20

He was?

decked out

?in tennis shorts and a lavender polo shirt, and his hair was all blown dry like it was a workday.

deck out?打扮

21

Personally I thought the shirt looked kind of girly, but my mom said, “You look very nice this morning, Rick.

22

My father just eyed her?

suspiciously

.

suspiciously /s?'sp???sli/ adv.?猜疑地

23

Then my grandfather came in, saying, “Patsy, the house smells wonderful! Good morning, Rick. Hi there, Bryce,” and winked at me as he sat down and put his napkin in his lap.

24

Then my grandfather came in, saying, “Patsy, the house smells wonderful! Good morning, Rick. Hi there, Bryce,” and winked at me as he sat down and put his napkin in his lap.

napkin /?n?pk?n/ n.?餐巾

25

“Lyn-et-ta!” my mother sang out. “Break-fast!”

26

My sister appeared in a?

triple-X

?

miniskirt

?and?

platform

?shoes, with eyes that were definitely of the raccoon?

variety

.

triplex /'tra?pl?ks/ adj.?三重的

miniskirt /'m?n?'sk?t/ n.?超短裙

platform shoes?厚底鞋

variety /v??ra??ti/ n.?種類

27

My mother gasped, but then took a deep breath and said, “Good morning, honey. You're… you're …I thought you were going to church this morning with your friends.”

28

“I am.” Lynetta scowled and sat down.

29

Mom brought pancakes, fried eggs, and?

hash browns

?to the table.

hash browns?土豆煎餅

30

My father just sat there?

stiff

?as a board for a minute, but finally he shook out his napkin and?

tucked

?it into his?

collar

.

stiff /st?f/ adv.?僵硬地

tuck /t?k/ v.?把......塞入

collar /?kɑ?l?r/ n.?領(lǐng)子

31

“Well,” my mother said as she sat down, “I have come up with a solution to our?

situation

.”

situation /?s?t?u'e??n/ n.?形勢(shì)

32

“Here it comes …,” my father muttered, but my mother gave him a glare that shut him down cold.

33

“The solution is …,” my mom said as she?

served

?herself some pancakes, “… we're going to invite the Bakers over for dinner.”

serve /s??rv/ vt. & vi.?端上(食物)

34

My father?

blurts

?out, “What?”; Lynetta asks, “All of them?”; I?

put in

, “Are you serious?”; but my grandfather heaps on another fried egg and says, “That, Patsy, is a?

marvelous

?idea.”

blurt /bl?t/ vt.?脫口而出

put in vt.?插入

marvelous /?mɑrv?l?s/ adj.?非凡的

35

“Thanks, Dad,” she says with a smile, then tells Lynetta and me, “Of course I'm serious, and yes, if Juli and the boys want to come, they'll be invited.”

36

My sister starts?

cracking up

. “Do you know what you're saying?”

crack up vt.?突然大笑起來(lái)

37

Mom?

smooths

?the napkin into her?

lap

. “Maybe it's about time I found out.”

smooth /smu?e/ v.?撫平

lap /l?p/ n.?膝蓋

38

Lynetta turns to me and says, “She's inviting the?

core

?of Piss Poor over for dinner — oh, this is something I really woke up expecting!”

core /k??r/ n.?核心

39

My father shakes his head and says, “Patsy, what purpose does this serve? So I made some stupid?

cracks

?last night. Is this the next phase in my punishment?”

crack /kr?k/ n.?粗魯?shù)脑?/p>

40

“It is something we should have done years ago.”

41

“Patsy, please. I know you feel bad about what you found out, but an?

awkward

?dinner party isn't going to change anything!”

awkward /???kw?rd/ adj.?尷尬的

42

My mother ran?

syrup

?all over her pancakes,?

popped

?the top closed, licked her finger, then locked eyes with my dad. “We are having the Bakers over for dinner.”

syrup /'s?r?p/ n.?糖漿

pop /pɑ?p/ vt.?（迅速或突然）放置

43

And that, she didn't have to tell him, was that.

44

Dad took a deep breath, then sighed and said, “Whatever you want, Patsy. Just don't say I didn't warn you.”

45

He took a bite of hash browns and mumbled, “A?

barbecue

, I suppose?”

barbecue /?bɑ?rb?kju?/ n.?吃烤肉的野宴

46

“No, Rick. A?

sit-down

?dinner. Like we have when your?

clients

?come over.”

sit-down dinner.?正式晚宴

client /?kla??nt/ n.?顧客

47

He stopped chewing. “You're expecting them to dress up?”

48

Mom glared at him. “What I'm expecting is for you to behave like the gentleman I always thought you were.”

49

Dad went back to his potatoes. Definitely safer than arguing with Mom.

50

Lynetta wound up eating the entire?

white

?of a fried egg and almost a whole pancake besides.

white /wa?t/ n.?蛋白

51

Plain

, of course, but from the way she was?

glutting

?and?

giggling

?as she ate, it was obvious that at least she was in a good mood.

plain /ple?n/ adj.?簡(jiǎn)單的

glut /ɡl?t/ vt.?吃得過(guò)多

giggle /?ɡ?ɡl/ vt.?咯咯地笑著說(shuō)

52

Granddad ate plenty, even for him, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He was back to looking more?

granite

?than human.

granite /'gr?n?t/ n.?花崗巖

53

Me, I'd started?

tuning in

?to the fact that this dinner could be more than?

awkward

?— it could be trouble.

awkward /???kw?rd/ adj.?尷尬的

tune in v.?開(kāi)始注意

54

Those?

rotten

?eggs were back from the grave,?

looming

?large and?

smelly

?right over my head.

rotten /?rɑ?tn/ adj.?腐爛的

loom /lu?m/ vi.?可怕地出現(xiàn)

smelly /'sm?li/ adj.?有臭味的

55

Sure, Granddad knew, but no one else in my family did.

56

What if it came up at dinner? I'd be dead, fried, cluck-faced meat.

57

Later, as I was brushing my teeth, I considered?

bribing

?Juli.

bribe /bra?b/ vt. & vi.?賄賂

58

Getting her on board

?so that nobody brought up the subject of eggs.

get on board?入伙

59

Or maybe I could?

sabotage

?the dinner somehow. Make it not happen.

sabotage /?s?b?tɑ??/ vt.?對(duì)…采取破壞行動(dòng)

60

Yeah, I could — I stopped myself and looked in the mirror.

61

What kind of?

wimp

?was I,?

anyway

? I?

spit

?and headed back to find my mom.

wimp /w?mp/ n.?懦弱的人

anyway /?eniwe?/ adv.?到底

spit /sp?t/ vt. & vi.?吐痰

62

“What is it, honey?” she asked me as she?

wiped off

?the?

griddle

. “You look worried.”

wipe off?洗刷

griddle /'ɡr?dl/ n.?煎餅用淺鍋

63

I double-checked to make sure my dad or Lynetta wasn't?

lurking

?around somewhere, then whispered, “Will you swear to?

secrecy

?”

lurk /l??rk/ vi.?潛伏

secrecy /'sikr?si/ n.?保密

64

She laughed. “I don't know about that.”

65

I just waited.

66

“What can be …,” she said, then looked at me and stopped cleaning. “Oh, it is serious. Honey, what's wrong?”

67

It had been?

ages

?since I'd?

voluntarily

?

fessed up

?about something to my mom.

age /ed?/ n. [非正式]?很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間

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

fess up?爽快地坦白

68

It just didn't seem necessary anymore; I'd learned to deal with things on my own.

69

At least, that's what I'd thought. Until now.

70

She touched my arm and said, “Bryce, tell me. What is it?”

71

I?

hopped

?up to sit on the?

counter

, then took a deep breath and said, “It's about Juli's eggs.”

hop /hɑ?p/ v.?快速前往

counter /?ka?nt?r/ n.?柜臺(tái)式長(zhǎng)桌

72

“About her … eggs?”

73

“Yeah. Remember that whole chicken-hen-salmonella disaster?”

74

“That was quite a while ago, but sure….”

75

“Well, what you don't know is that Juli didn't bring eggs over just that once. She's been bringing them over every week…or about that, anyway.”

76

“She has? Why didn't I know about this?”

77

“Well, I was afraid Dad would get mad at me for not telling her we didn't want them, so I started?

intercepting

?them.

intercept /??nt?r?sept/ vt.?攔截

78

I'd see her coming, get to her before she rang the bell, and then I'd toss them in the trash before anyone knew she'd been here.”

79

“Oh, Bryce!”

80

“Well, I kept thinking they'd stop! How long can a stupid chicken lay eggs?”

81

“But I take it they have stopped?”

82

“Yeah. As of last week. Because Juli caught me?

chucking

?a carton in the trash outside.”

chuck /t??k/ vt.?丟棄

83

“Oh, dear.”

84

“Exactly.”

85

“So what did you tell her?”

86

I looked down and mumbled,

87

“I told her that we were afraid of salmonella poisoning because their yard was such a mess. She ran off crying, and the next thing I know, she's starting to fix up their yard.”

88

“Oh, Bryce!”

89

“Exactly.”

90

She was dead quiet for a minute; then very softly she said, “Thank you for your honesty, Bryce. It does help to explain a lot.”

91

She shook her head and said, “What that family must think of us,” and got back to cleaning the griddle. “All the more reason to have them over for dinner, if you ask me.”

92

I whispered, “You're sworn to secrecy on this whole egg thing, right? I mean, Juli told Granddad, so he knows, but I don't want this to spread to, you know, Dad.”

93

She studied me a minute, then said, “Tell me you've?

learned your lesson

, honey.”

learn lesson?從中吸取教訓(xùn)

94

“I have, Mom.”

95

“Okay, then.”

96

I let out a big sigh of relief. “Thanks.”

97

“Oh, and Bryce?”

98

“Yeah?”

99

“I'm very glad you told me about it.” She kissed me on the cheek, then smiled and said, “Now, didn't I hear you promise you'd mow the lawn today?”

100

“Right,” I said, and headed outside to trim the?

turf

.

turf /t?f/ n.?草皮

101

That evening my mother announced that the Bakers would be over Friday night at six o'clock;

102

that the?

menu

?included?

poached

?

salmon

,?

crab

?

risotto

, and fresh?

steamed

?vegetables;?

menu /'m?nju/ n.?菜單

poached adj.?水煮的

salmon /?s?m?n/ n.?三文魚(yú)

crab /kr?b/ n.?蟹

risotto /r?'s?to/ n.?意大利調(diào)味飯

steamed /sti:md/ adj.?蒸熟的

103

and that none of us had better?

weasel

?out of being there.

weasel /'wizl/ v.?逃避

104

My dad muttered that if we were really going to do this, it would be a whole lot better to barbecue because at least that way he'd have something to do,

105

but my mom?

positively

?

smoked

?him with her eyes and he?

dropped

?it.

positively /'pɑz?t?vli/ adv.?堅(jiān)定地

smoke /smok/ v. (戰(zhàn)斗或競(jìng)賽中)徹底擊敗

drop /drɑ?p/ v.?放棄

106

So. They were coming.

107

And it made seeing Juli at school even more uncomfortable than usual. Not because she?

gushed

?about it or even waved and winked or something.

gush /ɡ??/ vi.?滔滔不絕地說(shuō)話

108

No, she was back to avoiding me.

109

She'd say hi if we happened to?

run into

?each other, but instead of being, like,?

right over my shoulder anytime I looked

, she was?

nowhere

.

run into vt.?偶然遇見(jiàn)

look over someone's shoulder?從某人背后看過(guò)去

nowhere /?no?wer/ adj. [口]不存在的

110

She must have ducked out?

back doors

?and taken?

roundabout

?ways through?

campus

.

back door?后門(mén)

roundabout /?ra?nd?ba?t/ adj.?繞道的

campus /?k?mp?s/ n. (大學(xué))校園

111

She was, I don't know,?

scarce

.

scarce /skers/ adj.?罕見(jiàn)的

112

I found myself looking at her in class.

113

The teacher'd be talking and all eyes would be up front … except mine.

114

They kept wandering over to Juli. It was weird. One minute I'd be listening to the teacher, and the next I'd?

be completely tuned out

, looking at Juli.

be tune out?心不在焉

115

It wasn't until Wednesday in math that I?

figured it out

. With the way her hair fell back over her shoulders and her head was?

tilted

, she looked like the picture in the paper.

figure out?弄明白

tilt /t?lt/ vt.?使傾斜

116

Not just like it — the angle was different, and the wind wasn't blowing through her hair — but she did look like the picture. A lot like the picture.?

117

Making that connection sent a chill down my?

spine

. And I wondered — what was she thinking? Could she really be that interested in?

root

?

derivations

?

spine /spa?n/ n.?脊柱

root /ru?t/ n. (數(shù)學(xué))方根

derivation /?der??ve??n/ n.?求導(dǎo)

118

Darla Tressler caught me watching, and man, she gave me the world's?

wickedest

?smile.

wicked /?w?k?d/ adj.?頑皮的

119

If I didn't do something fast, this was going to spread like wildfire, so I?

squinted

?at her and whispered, “There's a bee in her hair, stupid,” then pointed around in the air like, There it goes, see?

squint /skw?nt/ vi.?斜視

120

Darla's neck whipped around searching for the bee, and I?

straightened out

?my focus for the rest of the day.

straightened out?改正

121

The last thing I needed was to be?

scorched

?by the likes of Darla Tressler.

scorch /sk??rt?/ vt.?烤焦

122

That night I was doing my homework, and just to prove to myself that I'd been wrong, I pulled that newspaper article out of my trash can.

123

And as I'm?

flipping it over

, I'm telling myself, It's a?

distortion

?of reality; it's my imagination; she doesn't really look like that….But there she was.

flip over?翻過(guò)來(lái)

distortion /d??st??r?n/ n.?扭曲

124

The girl in my math class, two rows over and one seat up, glowing through?

newsprint

.

newsprint /'nuzpr?nt/ n.?新聞紙

125

Lynetta barged in. “I need your?

sharpener

,” she said.

sharpener /'?ɑrp?n?/ n.?卷筆刀

126

I slammed my?

binder

?

closed over

?the paper and said, “You're supposed to knock!”

binder /'ba?nd?/ n.?活頁(yè)夾

close over?封蓋

127

And then, since she was?

zooming

?in and the paper was still?

sticking out

, I?

crammed

?the binder into my backpack as fast as I could.

zoom /zu?m/ v.?快速移動(dòng)

stick out?醒目

cram /kr?m/ vt.?塞入

128

“What are you trying to hide there, baby brother?”

129

“Nothing, and stop calling me that! And don't barge into my room anymore!”

130

“Give me your sharpener and?

I'm history

,” she said with her hand out.

I'm history?我要離開(kāi)了

131

I dug it out of my drawer and tossed it at her, and sure enough, she disappeared.

132

But two seconds later my mom was calling for me, and after that, well, I forgot that the paper was in my binder.

133

Until first?

period

?the next morning, that is.

period /'p?r??d/ n.?課時(shí)

134

Man! What was I supposed to?

do with

?it?

do with?處理

135

I couldn't get up and throw it out; Garrett was right there. 137 Besides that, Darla Tressler's in that class, and I could tell — she was?

keeping an eye out for

?

wayward

?bees.

keep an eye out for?留心或注意到某人或某事物

wayward /'wew?d/ adj.?不規(guī)則的

136

If she?

caught wind of

?this, I'd be the one?

stung

.

catch wind of?聽(tīng)聞

sting /st??/ vi.?蜇

138

Then Garrett?

reaches over

?to?

snag

?a piece of paper like he does about fourteen times a day,?

only

?I have a complete mental?

spaz

?and?

slam

?down on his hand with mine.

reach over?越過(guò)某人拿某物

snag /sn?ɡ/ vt.?迅速抓到

only /'onli/ conj.?但是

spaz /sp?z/ n.?怪人

slam /sl?m/ vt.?突然(或猛然)采取行動(dòng)

139

“Dude!” he says. “What's your problem?”

140

“Sorry,” I say, tuning in to the fact that he was only going for?

lined paper

, not newspaper.

lined paper?橫格紙

141

“Dude,” he says again.

142

“You know you've been really?

spaced

?lately? Anyone else tell you that?”

space /spes/ v.?瞪著眼發(fā)呆

143

He?

rips

?a piece of paper out of my binder, then notices the edges of the newspaper.

rip /r?p/ vt.?撕

144

He eyes me, and before I can stop him, he?

whips it out

.

whip out?突然拿出

145

I?

pounce

?on him and tear it out of his hands, but it's too late.

pounce /pa?ns/ vi.?猛撲

146

He's seen her picture.

147

Before he can say a word, I get in his face and say, “You shut up, you hear me? This is not what you think.”

148

“Whoa,?

kick back

, will ya? I wasn't thinking anything….”

kick back?輕松休息

149

But I could see the little?

gears

?go click-click-click in his brain.

gear /ɡ?r/ n.?齒輪

150

Then he smirks at me and says, “I'm sure you've got a perfectly?

reasonable

?explanation for why you're carrying a picture of Juli Baker around with you.”

reasonable /?ri?zn?bl/ adj.?合乎情理的

151

The way he said it scared me.

152

Like he was playing with the idea of?

roasting

?me in front of the whole class.

roast /ro?st/ vt.?嘲諷

153

I leaned over and said, “

Zip it

, would you?”

zip it?閉嘴

154

The teacher?

hammered

?on us to be quiet, but it didn't stop Garrett from smirking at me or doing the double-eyebrow?

wiggle

?in the direction of my binder.

hammer /?h?m?r/ v.?反復(fù)強(qiáng)調(diào)

wiggle /?w?ɡl/ vt.?擺動(dòng)

155

After class Darla tried to act all cool and preoccupied, but she had her?

radar

?up and?

pointed

?our way.

radar /?re?dɑ?r/ n.?雷達(dá)

point /p??nt/ vt.?指向

156

She?

shadowed

?me?

practically

?all day, so there was no real?

window

?of opportunity to explain things to Garrett.

shadow /???do?/ v.?暗地跟蹤

practically /?pr?kt?kli/ adv.?幾乎

window /'w?ndo/ n.?一絲的機(jī)會(huì)

157

What was I going to tell him, anyway? That the paper was in my binder because I was trying to hide it from my sister? That would help.

158

Besides, I didn't want to make up some?

lame

?lie about it. I actually wanted to talk to Garrett.

lame /le?m/ adj.?站不住腳的

159

I mean, he was my friend, and a lot had happened in the last couple of months that was?

weighing on

?me.

weigh on?使苦惱

160

I thought that if I talked to him, maybe he'd help get me back?

on track

. Help me to stop thinking about everything.

on track?步入正軌

161

Garrett was real?

reliable

?in that?

arena

.

reliable /r??la??bl/ adj.?可靠的

arena /??ri?n?/ n.?舞臺(tái)

162

Luckily, in?

social studies

?our class got library time to do?

research

?for our famous historical figure?

report

.

social studies?社會(huì)學(xué)科

research /r??s??rt?/ n.?研究

report /r?'p?rt/ n.?調(diào)查報(bào)告

163

Darla and Juli were both in that class, but I managed to drag Garrett into a back corner of the library without either of them noticing.

164

And the minute we were?

by ourselves

, I found myself?

laying into

?Garrett about chickens.

by ourselves?獨(dú)自地

lay into v.?痛斥

165

He shakes his head at me and says, “Dude! What are you talking about?”

166

“Remember when we went and looked over her fence?”

167

“Back in the sixth grade?”

168

“Yeah. Remember how you were?

down on

?me for wondering what a hen was?”

down on?瞧不起

169

He rolled his eyes. “Not this again….”

170

“Man, you didn't know jack-

diddly-squat

?about chickens. I put my life in your hands and you?

dumped

?me in a bucket of bull.”

diddly-squat (多用于否定句)一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)

dump /d?mp/ vt.?傾倒

171

So I told him about my dad and the eggs and salmonella and how I'd been intercepting eggs for nearly two years.

172

He just shrugged and said, “

Makes sense

?to me.”

make sense?情理之中

173

“Man, she caught me!”

174

“Who?”

175

“Juli!”

176

“Whoa, dude!”

177

I told him about what I'd said, and how almost right after that she was out playing weed?

warrior

?in her front yard.

warrior /?w??ri?r/ n.?戰(zhàn)士

178

“Well, so? It's not your fault her yard's a mess.”

179

“But then I found out that they don't even own that house. They're all poor because her dad's got a retarded brother that they're, you know, paying for.”

180

Garrett gives me a real?

chumpy

?grin and says, “A retard? Well, that explains a lot, doesn't it?”

chump n.?傻瓜

181

I couldn't believe my ears. “What?”

182

“You know,” he says, still grinning, “about Juli.”

183

My heart started?

pounding

?and my hands?

clenched up

.

pound /pa?nd/ v. (心臟)劇烈地跳動(dòng)

clench up?握緊了

184

And for the first time since I'd learned to dive?

away from

?trouble, I wanted to?

deck

?somebody.

away from?遠(yuǎn)離

deck /dek/ v. [非正式]?用力擊倒

185

But we were in the library.

186

And besides, it flashed through my mind that if I decked him for what he'd said, he'd turn around and tell everyone that I?

was hot for

?Juli Baker, and I was not hot for Juli Baker!

be hot for?熱切得到

187

So I made myself laugh and say, “Oh, right,” and then came up with an excuse to put some distance between him and me.

188

After school Garrett asked me to come to his house and hang for a while, but I had zero interest in that. I still wanted to?

slug

?him.

slug /sl?ɡ/ vt.?重?fù)?/p>

189

I tried to talk myself down from feeling that way, but?

in my gut

?I was?

flaming

?mad at the guy.

in my gut?在我直覺(jué)

flame /fle?m/ v.?焚燒

190

He'd crossed the line, man. He'd crossed it big-time.

191

And what made the whole thing so?

stinking

?hard to ignore was the fact that standing right next to him, on the other side of the line, was my father.

stinking /'st??k??/ adj.?臭的

192