The Eggs

1

After they cut down the sycamore tree, it seemed like everything else?

fell apart

, too.

fall apart?土崩瓦解

2

Champ died. And then I?

found out

?about the eggs.

find out?發(fā)現(xiàn)

3

It was Champ's?

time to go

, and even though I still miss him, I think it's been easier for me to deal with his death than it has been for me to deal with the truth about the eggs.

time to go?該走了

4

I still cannot believe it about the eggs.

5

The eggs came before the chickens in our?

case

, but the dog came before them both.

case /ke?s/ n.?情況

6

One night when I was about six years old, Dad came home from work with a?

full-grown

?dog?

tied down

?in the back of his truck.

full-grown /'ful'ɡr?un/ adj.?發(fā)育完全的

tie down?栓系

7

Someone had?

hit

?it in the middle of an?

intersection

, and Dad had stopped to see how badly it was hurt.

hit /h?t/ vt.?碰撞

intersection /??nt?r?sek?n/ n.?十字路口

8

Then he noticed that the?

poor

?thing was?

skinny

?as a rail and didn't have any tags.

poor /p?r/ adj.?可憐的

skinny /?sk?ni/ adj.?極瘦的

9

“Starving and completely?

disoriented

,” he told my mother.

disorient /d?s'?r??ntet/ vt.?使(某人)迷失方向

10

“Can you imagine someone abandoning their dog like that?”

11

The whole family had?

converged

?on the front porch, and I could hardly?

contain

?myself.

converge /k?n?v??rd?/ v.?（使）匯聚

contain /k?n?te?n/ vt.?控制

12

A dog! A wonderful, happy,?

panty

?dog!

pant vi.?氣喘（加上后綴-y變形容詞）

13

I realize now that Champ was never much of a?

looker

, but when you're six, any dog—no matter how?

mangy

—is a?

glorious

,?

huggable

?creature.

looker /'l?k?/ n.?十分漂亮的人

mangy /'mend?i/ adj.?骯臟的

glorious /?ɡl??ri?s/ adj.?值得稱道的

huggable /'h?g?bl/ adj.?令人想擁抱的

14

He looked pretty good to my brothers, too, but from the way my mother's face was?

pinched

, I could tell she was thinking, Abandon this dog?

pinch /p?nt?/ vt.?使苦惱

15

Oh, I can see it.

16

I can definitely see it.

17

What she said, though, was simply, “There is no room for that animal in this house.”

18

“Trina,” my dad said, “it's not a matter of?

ownership

. It's a matter of?

compassion

.”

ownership /?o?n?r??p/ n.?所有(權(quán))

compassion /k?m?p??n/ n.?同情

19

“You're not?

springing

?it on me as a …a pet, then?”

spring /spr??/ v.?突然向某人提供(或提出)

20

“That is definitely not my?

intention

.”

intention /?n?ten?n/ n.?打算

21

“Well, then what do you intend to do?”

22

“Give him a?

decent

?meal, a bath … then maybe we'll place an ad and find him a home.”

decent /?di?snt/ adj.?像樣的

23

She eyed him from across the?

threshold

. “There'll be no ‘maybe’ about it.”

threshold /?θre?ho?ld/ n.?門檻

24

My brothers said, “We don't get to keep him?”

25

“That's right.”

26

“But Mo-om,” they moaned.

27

“It's not open to discussion,” she said.

28

“He gets a bath, he gets a meal, he gets an ad in the paper.”

29

My father put one arm around Matt's shoulder and the other around Mike's. “Someday, boys, we'll get a puppy.”

30

My mother was already heading back inside, but over her shoulder came, “Not until you learn to keep your room neat, boys!”

31

By the end of the week, the dog was named Champ.

32

By the end of the next week, he'd made it from the backyard into the kitchen area.

33

And not too long after that, he was all moved in.

34

It seemed nobody wanted a full-grown dog with a happy bark.

35

Nobody but four-fifths of the Baker family, anyway.

36

Then my mother started noticing an?

odor

.

odor /?od?/ n.?氣味

37

A mysterious odor of?

indeterminate

?

origin

.

indeterminate /'?nd?'t?m?n?t/ adj.?不確定的

origin /???r?d??n/ n.?來(lái)源

38

We all admitted we smelled it, too, but where my mother was convinced it was?

Eau de

?Champ, we disagreed.

Eau de [法]?帶有香氣的某種東西

39

She had us bathing him so often that it couldn't possibly be him.

40

We each sniffed him out pretty good and he smelled perfectly rosy.

41

My personal suspicion was that Matt and Mike were the ones not bathing enough, but I didn't want to get close enough to sniff them.

42

And since our?

camp

?was?

divided on

?just who the?

culprit

?or culprits were, the odor was?

dubbed

?the Mystery Smell.

camp /k?mp/ n.?陣營(yíng)

divide on?在......方面有分歧

culprit /?k?lpr?t/ n.?引起問(wèn)題的事物

dub /d?b/ v.?把......稱為

43

Whole dinnertime discussions?

revolved around

?the Mystery Smell, which my brothers found?

amusing

?and my mother did not.

revolved around?以......為中心

amusing /??mju?z??/ adj.?好玩的

44

Then one day my mother?

cracked the case

.

crack the case?破案

45

And she might have cracked Champ's?

skull

?as well if my dad hadn't come to the rescue and?

shooed

?him outside.

skull /sk?l/ n.?腦殼

shoo /?u/ vi.?發(fā)出噓聲趕走

46

Mom was?

fuming

.

fume /fju?m/ vi.?發(fā)怒

47

“I told you it was him. The Mystery Smell comes from the Mystery Pisser! Did you see that? Did you see that? He just?

squirted

?on the end table!”

squirt /skw??rt/ vt.?噴濕

48

My father raced with a roll of paper towels to where Champ had been, and said, “Where? Where is it?”

49

All of three drops were dripping down the table leg.

50

“There,” my mother said, pointing a?

shaky

?finger at the wetness. “There!”

shaky /??e?ki/ adj.?搖晃的

51

Dad wiped it up, then checked the carpet and said, “It was?

barely

?a drop.”

barely /?berli/ adv.?幾乎不

52

“Exactly!” my mother said with her hands on her hips.

53

“Which is why I've never been able to find anything. That dog stays outside from now on. Do you hear me? He is no longer allowed in this house!”

54

“How about the garage?” I asked. “Can he sleep in there?”

55

“And have him?

tag

?everything that's out there? No!”

tag /t?ɡ/ vt.?給......貼標(biāo)簽

56

Mike and Matt were grinning at each other. “Mystery Pisser! That could be the name for our band!”

57

“Yeah! Cool!”

58

“Band?” my mother asked. “Wait a minute, what band?”

59

But they were already flying down to their room, laughing about the?

possibilities

?for a logo.

possibility /?pɑ?s??b?l?ti/ n.?可能的選項(xiàng)

60

My father and I spent the rest of the day sniffing out and destroying criminal?

evidence

.

evidence /?ev?d?ns/ n.?證據(jù)

61

My dad used a?

spray

?bottle of?

ammonia

; I followed up with?

Lysol

.

spray /spre?/ n.?噴霧器

ammonia /?'mon??/ n. [化]氨

lysol /?la??s?l/ n.?來(lái)沙爾(一種消毒劑)

62

We did try to?

recruit

?my brothers, but they wound up getting into a spray-bottle fight, which got them locked in their room, which, of course, was fine with them.

recruit /r??kru?t/ v.?動(dòng)員

63

So Champ became an outside dog, and he might have been our only pet ever if it hadn't been for my fifth-grade science fair.

64

Everyone around me had great project ideas, but I couldn't seem to come up with one.

65

Then our teacher, Mrs. Brubeck, took me aside and told me about a friend of hers who had chickens, and how she could get me a?

fertilized

?egg for my project.

fertilized /'f?:rtilaizd/?已受精的

66

“But I don't know anything about hatching an egg,” I told her.

67

She smiled and put her arm around my shoulders.

68

“You don't have to be an?

immediate

?expert at everything, Juli. The idea here is to learn something new.”

immediate /??mi?di?t/ adj.?立即的

69

“But what if it dies?”

70

“Then it dies.?

Document

?your work?

scientifically

?and you'll still get an A, if that's what you're worried about.”

document /?dɑ?kjum?nt/ v.?記錄

scientifically /sa??n?t?f?kl?/ adv.?合乎科學(xué)地

71

An A? Being responsible for the death of a baby chick—that's what I was worried about.

72

Suddenly there was real?

appeal

?in building a?

volcano

?or making my own?

neoprene

?or?

demonstrating

?the various scientific?

applications

?of?

gear ratios

.

appeal /??pi?l/ n.?吸引力

volcano /vɑ?l?ke?no?/ n.?火山

neoprene /'ni?prin/ n. [化]氯丁橡膠

demonstrate /?dem?nstre?t/ vt.?演示

application /??pl??ke??n/ n.?實(shí)際應(yīng)用

gear ratio?齒輪齒數(shù)比

73

But the ball was in motion, and Mrs. Brubeck would have no more discussion about it.

74

She pulled The?

Beginner's

?Guide to Raising Chickens from her bookshelf and said, “Read the section on?

artificialincubation

?and set yourself up tonight. I'll get you an egg tomorrow.”

beginner /b?'g?n?/ n.?初學(xué)者

artificial /?ɑ?rt??f??l/ adj.?人工的

incubation /???kju?be??n/ n.?孵化

75

“But …”

76

“Don't worry so much, Juli,” she said. “We do this every year, and it's always one of the best projects at the fair.”

77

I said, “But…,” but she was gone.

78

Off to put an end to some other student's battle with?

indecision

.

indecision /'?nd?'s???n/ n.?無(wú)決斷力

79

That night I was more worried than ever.

80

I'd read the chapter on incubation at least four times and was still confused about where to start.

81

I didn't happen to have an old?

aquarium

?lying around!

aquarium /?'kw?r??m/ n.?養(yǎng)魚(yú)缸

82

We didn't happen to have an incubation?

thermometer

! Would a?

deep-fry

?

model

?work?

thermometer /θ?r?mɑ?m?t?r/ n.?溫度計(jì)

deep-fry /?dip?fra?/ v.?油炸

model /?mɑ?dl/ n.?型號(hào)

83

I was supposed to control?

humidity

, too, or horrible things would happen to the chick.

humidity /hju??m?d?ti/ n.?濕度

84

Too dry and the chick couldn't peck out; too wet and it would die of?

mushy chick disease

.

mushy chick disease?蔫雛病

85

Mushy chick disease?!

86

My mother, being the sensible person that she is, told me to tell Mrs. Brubeck that I?

simply

?wouldn't be hatching a chick.

simply /?s?mpli/ adv.?簡(jiǎn)直

87

“Have you?

considered

?growing beans?” she asked me.

consider /k?n?s?d?r/ vt. & vi.?考慮

88

My father, however, understood that you can't refuse to do your teacher's?

assignment

, and he promised to help.

assignment /??sa?nm?nt/ n.?分派

89

“An incubator's not difficult to build. We'll make one after dinner.”

90

How my father knows exactly where things are in our garage is one of the wonders of the universe.

91

How he knew about incubators, however, was?

revealed

?to me while he was?

drilling

?a one-inch hole in an old?

scrap

?of?

Plexiglas

.

reveal /r??vi?l/ vt.?顯示

drill /dr?l/ vt.?鉆孔

scrap /skr?p/ n.?小塊（紙、布匹等）

plexiglas /?pl?ks??ɡl?s/ n.?樹(shù)脂玻璃

92

“I raised a duck from an egg when I was in high school.” He grinned at me. “Science fair project.”

93

“A duck?”

94

“Yes, but the?

principle

?is the same for all?

poultry

. Keep the temperature constant and the humidity right, turn the egg several times a day, and in a few weeks you'll have yourself a little?

peeper

.”

principle /?pr?ns?pl/ n.?原理

poultry /?po?ltri/ n.?家禽

peep /pi?p/ n. (鼠、小鳥(niǎo)等的)吱吱聲

95

He handed me a?

lightbulb

?and an?

extension

?cord with a?

socket

?attached.

lightbulb n.?燈泡

extension cord?延長(zhǎng)線

socket /?sɑ?k?t/ n.?插座

96

“

Fasten

?this through the hole in the Plexiglas. I'll find some thermometers.”

fasten /?f?sn/ vt.?系緊

97

“Some? We need more than one?”

98

“We have to make you a?

hygrometer

.”

hygrometer /ha?'grɑm?t?/ n.?濕度計(jì)

99

“A hygrometer?”

100

“To check the humidity inside the incubator. It's just a thermometer with wet?

gauze

?around the?

bulb

.”

gauze /g?z/ n.?紗布

bulb /b?lb/ n.?電燈泡

101

I smiled. “No mushy chick disease?”

102

He smiled back. “

Precisely

.”

precisely /pr??sa?sli/?對(duì)

103

By the next afternoon I had not one, but six chicken eggs incubating at a?

cozy

?102 degrees?

Fahrenheit

.

cozy /?ko?zi/ adj.?舒適的

Fahrenheit /'f?r?n'ha?t/ n.?華氏溫標(biāo)

104

“They don't all make it, Juli,” Mrs. Brubeck told me.

105

“Hope for one. The record's three. The grade's in the?

documentation

. Be a scientist. Good luck.” And with that, she was off.

documentation /'dɑkj?m?n'te??n/ n.?記錄

106

Documentation? Of what?

107

I had to turn the eggs three times a day and?

regulate

?the temperature and humidity, but aside from that what was there to do?

regulate /?reɡjule?t/ vt.?調(diào)節(jié)

108

That night my father came out to the garage with a?

cardboard tube

?and a?

flashlight

.

cardboard tube?硬紙管

flashlight /'fl??la?t/ n.?手電筒

109

He?

taped

?the two together so that the light beam was forced straight out the tube.

tape /te?p/ vt.?用帶子捆起來(lái)

110

“Let me show you how to?

candle

?an egg,” he said, then?

switched

?off the garage light.

candle /'k?ndl/ vt.?對(duì)著光檢查

switch /sw?t?/ v. (用開(kāi)關(guān))打開(kāi)，關(guān)閉

111

I'd seen a section on candling eggs in Mrs. Brubeck's book, but I hadn't really read it yet.

112

“Why do they call it that?” I asked him. “And why do you do it?”

113

“People used candles to do this before they had?

incandescent

?lighting.”

incandescent /??nk?n?desnt/ adj. [術(shù)]?白熾的

114

He held an egg up to the cardboard tube.

115

“The light lets you see through the shell so you can watch the?

embryo

?develop. Then you can?

cull

?the weak ones, if necessary.”

embryo /'?mbr?o/ n. [動(dòng)]胚胎

cull /k?l/ vt.?剔除

116

“Kill them?”

117

“Cull them. Remove the ones that don't develop?

properly

.”

properly /'prɑp?li/ adv.?正確地

118

“But … wouldn't that also kill them?”

119

He looked at me. “Leaving an egg you should cull might have?

disastrous

?results on the healthy ones.”

disastrous /d??z?str?s/ adj.?災(zāi)難性的

120

“Why? Wouldn't it just not hatch?”

121

He went back to lighting up the egg. “It might?

explode

?and?

contaminate

?the other eggs with?

bacteria

.”

explode /?k?splo?d/ vt.?爆炸

contaminate /k?n?t?m?ne?t/ vt.?把…弄臟

bacteria /b?k?t?ri?/ n.?細(xì)菌

122

Explode! Between mushy chick disease, exploding eggs, and culling, this project was turning out to be the worst!

123

Then my father said, “Look here, Julianna. You can see the embryo.”

124

He held the flashlight and egg out so I could see.

125

I looked inside and he said, “See the dark spot there? In the middle? With all the?

veins

?

leading

?to it?”

vein /ve?n/ n.?血管

lead /li?d/ v.?相通

126

“The thing that looks like a bean?”

127

“That's it!”

128

Suddenly it felt real.

129

This egg was alive.

130

I quickly checked the rest of the group.

131

There were little bean babies in all of them!

132

Surely they had to live. Surely they would all?

make it

!

make it?成功

133

“Dad? Can I take the incubator inside? It might get too cold out here at night, don't you think?”

134

“I was going to suggest the same thing. Why don't you?

prop open

?the door? I'll carry it for you.”

prop open?撐開(kāi)

135

For the next two weeks I was completely?

consumed

?with the growing of chicks.

consume /k?n?su?m/ vt.?消耗

136

I?

labeled

?the eggs A, B, C, D, E, and F, but before long they had names, too: Abby, Bonnie, Clyde, Dexter, Eunice, and Florence.

label /?le?bl/ vt.?標(biāo)注

137

Every day I weighed them, candled them, and turned them.

138

I even thought it might be good for them to hear some?

clucking

, so for a while I did that, too, but clucking is?

tiring

!

cluck /kl?k/ n. (母雞)咯咯聲

tiring /?ta??r??/ adj.?令人厭倦的

139

It was much easier to hum around my quiet little?

flock

, so I did that, instead.

flock /flɑ?k/ n.?群

140

Soon I was humming without even thinking about it, because when I was around my eggs, I was happy.

141

I read The Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens cover to cover twice.

142

For my project I drew diagrams of the various?

stages

?of an embryo's development, I made a giant chicken?

poster

, I?

graphed

?the daily?

fluctuations

?in temperature and humidity,

stage /ste?d?/ n.?階段

poster /?po?st?r/ n.?海報(bào)

graph /ɡr?f/ v.?用圖表表示

fluctuate /?fl?kt?ue?t/ vi.?波動(dòng)

143

and I made a line chart documenting the weight loss of each egg.

144

On the outside eggs were boring, but I knew what was happening on the inside!

145

Then two days before the science fair I was candling Bonnie when I noticed something.

146

I called my dad into my room and said, “Look, Dad! Look at this! Is that the heart beating?”

147

He studied it for a moment, then smiled and said, “Let me get your mother.”

148

So the three of us crowded around and watched Bonnie's heart beat, and even my mother had to admit that it was absolutely amazing.

149

Clyde was the first to?

pip

.

pip /p?p/ vt.?破殼而出

150

And of course he did it right before I had to leave for school.

151

His little beak cracked through, and while I?

held my breath

?and waited, he rested.

hold breath?屏住呼吸

152

And rested.

153

Finally his beak poked through again, but almost right away, he rested again.

154

How could I go to school and just leave him this way?

155

What if he needed my help?

156

Surely this was a?

valid

?reason to stay home, at least for a little while!

valid /?v?l?d/ adj.?正當(dāng)?shù)?/p>

157

My father tried to assure me that hatching out could take all day and that there'd be plenty of action left after school, but I'd have?

none of that

.

none of that?不要這樣

158

Oh, no-no-no! I wanted to see Abby and Bonnie and Clyde and Dexter and Eunice and Florence come into the world. Every single one of them.

159

“I can't miss the hatch!” I told him. “Not even a second of it!”

160

“So take it to school with you,” my mother said.

161

“Mrs. Brubeck shouldn't mind. After all, this was her idea.”

162

Sometimes it pays to have a sensible mother.

163

I'd just?

set up for

?the science fair early, that's what I'd do!

set up for?為......做準(zhǔn)備

164

I packed up my entire operation, posters, charts, and all, and got a ride to school from my mom.

165

Mrs. Brubeck didn't mind a bit.

166

She was so busy helping kids with their projects that I got to spend nearly the entire day watching the hatch.

167

Clyde and Bonnie were the first ones out.

168

It was disappointing at first because they just lay there all wet and?

matted

, looking exhausted and ugly.

matted /'m?t?d/ adj.?無(wú)光澤的

169

But by the time Abby and Dexter broke out, Bonnie and Clyde were?

fluffing

?up, looking for action.

fluffing /fl?f/ adj.?起毛的

170

The last two took forever, but Mrs. Brubeck insisted that I leave them alone, and that worked out pretty great because they hatched out during the fair that night.

171

My whole family came, and even though Matt and Mike only watched for about two minutes before they took off to look at some other?

demonstration

, my mom and dad stuck around for the whole thing.

demonstration /?dem?n?stre??n/ n.?展示

172

Mom even picked Bonnie up and nuzzled her.

173

That night after it was all over and I was packing up to go home, Mom asked, “So do these go back to Mrs. Brubeck now?”

174

“Do what go back to Mrs. Brubeck?” I asked her.

175

“The chicks, Juli. You're not planning to raise chickens, are you?”

176

To be honest, I hadn't thought?

beyond

?the hatch.

beyond /b??jɑ?nd/ adv.?到......之后

177

My focus had been?

strictly

?on bringing them into the world.

strictly /?str?ktli/ adv.?完全地

178

But she was right—here they were.

179

Six fluffy little adorable chicks, each of which had a name and, I could already tell, its own unique?

personality

.

personality /?p??rs??n?l?ti/ n.?個(gè)性

180

“I…I don't know,” I?

stammered

. “I'll ask Mrs. Brubeck.”

stammer /?st?m?r/ vi.?結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說(shuō)

181

I tracked down Mrs. Brubeck, but I was praying that she didn't want me to give them back to her friend.

182

After all, I'd hatched them. I'd named them. I'd saved them from mushy chick disease! These little peepers were mine!

183

To my relief and my mother's?

horror

, Mrs. Brubeck said they were?

indeed

?mine. All mine.

horror /?h??r?r/ n.?恐懼

indeed /?n?di?d/ adv.?真正地

184

“Have fun,” she said, then zipped off to help Heidi?

dismantle

?her?

exhibit

?on?

Bernoulli's law

.

dismantle /d?s?m?ntl/ vt.?拆卸

exhibit /?ɡ?z?b?t/ n.?展覽品

Bernoulli's law?伯努利定律

185

Mom was quiet the whole?

way home

, and I could tell—she wanted chickens like she wanted a?

tractor

?and a goat.

way home?回家路上

tractor /?tr?kt?r/ n.?拖拉機(jī)

186

“Please, Mom?” I whispered as we parked at the curb. “Please?”

187

She covered her face. “Where are we going to raise chickens, Juli? Where?”

188

“In the backyard?” I didn't know what else to suggest.

189

“What about Champ?”

190

“They'll?

get along

, Mom. I'll teach him. I promise.”

get along?與......和睦相處

191

My dad said softly, “They're pretty?

self-sufficient

, Trina.”

self-sufficient /?self s??f??nt/ adj.?自給自足的

192

But then the boys?

piped up

?with, “Champ'll?

piss

?'em to death, Mom,” and suddenly they were on a?

roll

.

pipe up [俚]?開(kāi)始說(shuō)

piss /p?s/ vi.?小便

roll /ro?l/ n.?打滾

193

“Yeah! But you won't even notice 'cause they're yellow already!”

194

“Whoa! Yellow Already—cool name.”

195

“That could work! But wait— people might think we mean our?

bellies

!”

belly /?beli/ n.?肚子

196

“Oh, yeah—forget that!”

197

“Yeah, just let him kill the chicks.”

198

My brothers looked at each other with enormous eyes and started up all over again.

199

“Kill the Chicks! That's it! Get it?”

200

“You mean like we're chick killers? Or like we kill the chicks?”

201

Dad turned around and said, “Out. Both of you, get out. Go find a name elsewhere.”

202

So they scrambled out, and the three of us sat in the car with only the gentle peep-peep-peep from my little flock breaking the silence.

203

Finally my mother heaved a heavy sigh and said, “They don't cost much to?

keep

, do they?”

keep /kip/ v.?飼養(yǎng)

204

My dad shook his head.

205

“They eat bugs, Trina. And a little feed. They're very?

low-maintenance

.”

maintenance /?me?nt?n?ns/ n.?生活費(fèi)

206

“Bugs? Really? What sort of bugs?”

207

“

Earwigs

,?

worms

,?

roly-polys

?… probably spiders, if they can catch them. I think they eat?

snails

, too.”

earwig /'?rw?ɡ/ n.?地蜈蚣

worm /w??rm/ n.?蠕蟲(chóng)

roly-poly /?roli?poli/ n.?卷布丁

snails /snel/ n.?蝸牛

208

“Seriously?” My mother smiled. “Well, in that case …”

209

“Oh, thank you, Mom. Thank you!”

210

And that's how we wound up with chickens.

211

What none of us thought of was that six chickens scratching for bugs not only gets rid of bugs, it also?

tears

?up grass.

tear /t?r/ v.?摧殘

212

Within six months there was nothing?

whatsoever

?left of our yard.

whatsoever /?hwɑtso'?v?/ pron.?無(wú)論什么

213

What we also didn't think of was that chicken?

feed

?attracts mice, and mice attract cats.?

Feral

?cats.

feed /fid/ n.?動(dòng)物的飼料

feral /?fer?l/ adj.?野生的

214

Champ was pretty good at keeping the cats out of the yard,

215

but they'd hang around the front yard or the side yard, just waiting for him to?

snooze

?so they could sneak in and?

pounce

?on some?

tender

?little?

mousy

?

vittles

.

snooze /snu?z/ vi.?小睡

pounce /pa?ns/ vi.?突然襲擊

tender /?tend?r/ adj.?脆弱的

mousy /'ma?si/ adj.?膽小如鼠的

vittle /?v?t?l/ n.?食物

216

Then my brothers started trapping the mice, which I thought was just to?

help out

.

help out?幫助......擺脫困難

217

I didn't?

suspect

?a thing until the day I heard my mother screaming from the?

depths

?of their room.

suspect /s??spekt/ vt.?猜想

depth /depθ/ n.?深處

218

They were,?

it turns out

, raising a boa constrictor.

it turns out?原來(lái)

219

Mom's foot came down?

in a big way

, and I thought she was going to throw us out, lock, stock, and boa, but then I made the most amazing discovery—chickens lay eggs!

in a big way?徹底地

220

Beautiful, shiny,?

creamy

?white eggs!

creamy /'krimi/ adj.?奶油色的

221

I first found one under Bonnie, then Clyde—whom I immediately renamed Clydette—and one more in Florence's bed. Eggs!

222

I raced inside to show my mom, and after a brief moment of blinking at them, she?

withered

?into a chair.

wither /?w?e?r/ vt. & vi.?衰弱

223

“No,” she whimpered. “No more chicks!”

224

“They're not chicks, Mom … they're eggs!”

225

She was still looking quite pale, so I sat in the chair next to her and said, “We don't have a rooster…?”

226

“Oh.” The?

color

?was coming back to her cheeks. “Is that so?”

color /?k?l?r/ n.?膚色

227

“I've never heard a?

cock-a-doodle-do

, have you?”

cock-a-doodle-doo?公雞叫

228

She laughed. “A?

blessing

?I guess I've forgotten to count.”

blessing /?bles??/ n. (上帝的)祝福

229

She sat up a little and took an egg from my palm. “Eggs, huh. How many do you suppose they'll lay?”

230

“I have no idea.”

231

As it turns out

, my hens laid more eggs than we could eat.

As it turns out?結(jié)果

232

At first we tried to keep up, but soon we were tired of?

boiling

?and?

pickling

?and?

deviling

, and my mother started complaining that all these free eggs were costing her way too much.

boil /b??l/ vt.?煮沸

pickle /'p?kl/ vt.?腌制

devil /?devl/ v.?抹辣味料烤

233

Then one afternoon as I was collecting eggs, our neighbor Mrs. Stueby leaned over the side fence and said, “If you ever have any extra, I'd be happy to buy them from you.”

234

“Really?” I asked.

235

“Most certainly. Nothing quite like?

free-range

?eggs. Two dollars a dozen sound fair to you?”

free-range /?fri?rend?/ adj.?在農(nóng)場(chǎng)自由放養(yǎng)的(雞)

236

Two dollars a dozen! I laughed and said, “Sure!”

237

“Okay, then. Whenever you have some extras, just bring 'em over.

238

Mrs. Helms and I got to discussing it last night on the phone, but I asked you first, so make sure you offer 'em up to me before her, okay, Juli?”

239

“Sure thing, Mrs. Stueby!”

240

Between Mrs. Stueby and Mrs. Helms three doors down, my egg?

overflow

?problem was solved.

overflow /?o?v?r?flo?/ n.?溢出

241

And maybe I should've turned the money over to my mother as?

payment

?for having destroyed the backyard, but one “Nonsense, Julianna. It's yours,” was all it took for me to start?

squirreling

?it away.

payment /?pe?m?nt/ n.?報(bào)償

squirrel /'skw??l/ vt.?貯藏

242

Then one day as I was walking down to Mrs. Helms' house, Mrs. Loski drove by.

243

She waved and smiled, and I realized with a?

pang

?of?

guilt

?that I wasn't being very?

neighborly

?about my eggs.

pang /p??/ n.?突然的劇痛

guilt /ɡ?lt/ n.?使人內(nèi)疚的責(zé)備

neighborly /'neb?li/ adj.?友善的

244

She didn't know that Mrs. Helms and Mrs. Stueby were paying me for these eggs.

245

She probably thought I was delivering them out of the?

kindness

?of my heart.

kindness /?ka?ndn?s/ n.?好意

246

And maybe I should've been giving the eggs away, but I'd never had a steady?

income

?before.

income /??nk?m/ n.?收入

247

Allowance

?at our house is a?

hit-or-miss

?sort of thing. Usually a miss.

allowance /??la??ns/ n.?零用錢

hit-or-miss /?h?t??m?s/ adj.?無(wú)計(jì)劃的

248

And earning money from my eggs gave me this secret happy feeling, which I was?

reluctant

?to have the kindness of my heart?

encroach

?upon.

reluctant /r??l?kt?nt/ adj.?不情愿的

encroach /?n?kro?t?/ vi.?侵害

249

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Mrs. Loski?

deserved

?some free eggs.

deserve /d??z??rv/ vi.?應(yīng)得

250

She had been a good neighbor to us, lending us?

supplies

?when we ran out unexpectedly and being late to work herself when my mother needed a ride because our car wouldn't start.

supply /s??pla?/ n.?生活必需品

251

A few eggs?

now and again

?… it was the?

least

?I could do.

now and again?不時(shí)地

least /li?st/ n.?起碼

252

There was also the?

decidedly

?

blissful

?possibility of running into Bryce.

decidedly /d?'sa?d?dli/ adv.?毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)

blissful /?bl?sfl/ adj.?充滿喜悅的

253

And in the?

chilly

?

sparkle

?of a new day, Bryce's eyes seemed bluer than ever.

chilly /?t??li/ adj.?（天氣、房間或人體）寒冷的

sparkle /?spɑ?rkl/ n.?光亮

254

The way he looked at me—the smile, the blush—it was a Bryce I didn't get to see at school.

255

The Bryce at school was way more protected.

256

By the third time I brought eggs over to the Loskis, I realized that Bryce was waiting for me.

257

Waiting to pull the door open and say, “Thanks, Juli,” and then, “See you at school.”

258

It was worth it.

259

Even after Mrs. Helms and Mrs. Stueby offered me more money per dozen, it was still worth it.

260

So, through the rest of sixth grade, through all of seventh grade and most of eighth, I delivered eggs to the Loskis.

261

The very best, shiniest eggs went straight to the Loskis, and in return I got a few moments alone with the world's most dazzling eyes.

262

It was?

a bargain

.

a bargain n.?物美價(jià)廉

263

Then they cut down the sycamore tree.

264

And two weeks later Champ died.

265

He'd been spending a lot of time sleeping, and even though we didn't really know how old he was, no one was really surprised when one night Dad went out to feed him and discovered he was dead.

266

We buried him in the backyard, and my brothers?

put up

?a?

cross

?that reads:

put up?建造

cross /kr?s/ n.?十字架

267

HERE LIES THE MYSTERY PISSER

268

P.I.P

.

R.I.P.（Requiescat in peace碑銘簡(jiǎn)稱）希望逝者永享安寧；這里P可能通Piss

269

I was upset and pretty?

dazed

?for a while.

dazed /dezd/ adj.?頭昏的

270

It was raining a lot and I was riding my bike to school to avoid having to take the bus,

271

and each day when I'd get home, I'd?

retreat

?to my room, lose myself in a novel, and?

simply

?forget about collecting eggs.

retreat /r??tri?t/ vi.?退避

simply /?s?mpli/ adv.?簡(jiǎn)直

272

Mrs. Stueby was the one who got me back on schedule.

273

She called to say she'd read about the tree in the paper and was sorry about everything that had happened,

274

but it had been some time now and she missed her eggs and was worried that my hens might quit laying.

275

“

Distress

?can push a bird straight into a?

molting

, and we wouldn't want that! Feathers everywhere and not an egg in sight.

distress /d??stres/ n.?悲痛

molt /molt/ vt. & vi.?脫毛

276

I'm quite?

allergic

?to the feathers myself or I'd probably have a flock of my own, but?

never you mind

. You just bring 'em over when you're?

up to

?it.

allergic /??l??rd??k/ adj.?過(guò)敏的

never mind?沒(méi)有關(guān)系

up to?能做得到

277

All's I wanted was to?

check in

?and let you know how?

sorry

?I was about the tree. And your dog, too. Your mother mentioned he?

passed away

.”

check in?報(bào)到

sorry /'s?ri/ adj.?感到傷心的

pass away?去世

278

So I got back to work.

279

I cleared away the eggs I'd?

neglected

?and got back into my routine of collecting and cleaning.

neglect /n??ɡlekt/ n.?疏忽

280

And one morning when I had enough, I made the rounds.

281

First Mrs. Stueby, then Mrs. Helms, and finally the Loskis.

282

And as I stood at the Loskis'?

threshold

,?

it occurred to me

?that I hadn't seen Bryce in the longest time.

threshold /?θre?ho?ld/ n.?門檻

it occurred to me?突然想到

283

Sure, we'd both been at school, but I'd been so?

preoccupied

?with other things that I hadn't really seen him.

preoccupy /pri?ɑ?kjupa?/ vt.?使對(duì)…全神貫注

284

My heart started beating faster, and when the door?

whooshed

?open and his blue eyes looked right at me, it took everything I had just to say, “Here.”

whoosh /w??/ vi.?飛快地移動(dòng)

285

He took the half-carton and said, “You know, you don't have to give us these….”

286

“I know,” I said, and looked down.

287

We stood there for a record-breaking amount of time saying nothing.

288

Finally he said, “So are you going to start riding the bus again?”

289

I looked up at him and shrugged.

290

“I don't know. I haven't been up there since … you know.”

291

“It doesn't look so bad anymore. It's all cleared. They'll probably start on the?

foundation

?soon.”

foundation /fa?n?de??n/ n.?地基

292

It sounded perfectly awful to me.

293

“Well,” he said, “I've got to get ready for school. See you there.”

294

Then he smiled and closed the door.

295

For some reason I just stood there.

296

I felt odd.?

Out of sorts

. Disconnected from everything around me.

Out of sorts?心情不佳

297

Was I ever going to go back up to Collier Street?

298

I had to eventually, or so my mother said.

299

Was I just making it harder?

300

Suddenly the door flew open and Bryce came hurrying out with an?

overfull

?kitchen trash can in his hands.

overfull /'?uv?'ful/ adj.?太滿的

301

“Juli!” he said. “What are you still doing here?”

302

He startled me, too.

303

I didn't know what I was still doing there.

304

And I was so?

flustered

?that I would probably just have run home if he hadn't started?

struggling

?with the trash, trying to?

shove

?the contents down.

flustered /?fl?st?rd/ adj.?慌張的

struggle /?str?ɡl/ vt.?搏斗

shove /??v/ v.?亂擠

305

I reached over and said, “Do you need some help?” because it looked like he was about to spill the trash.

306

Then I saw the corner of an egg carton.

307

This wasn't just any egg carton either.

308

It was my egg carton.

309

The one I'd just brought him.

310

And through the little blue cardboard?

arcs

?I could see eggs.

arc /ɑ?rk/ n.?弧(度)

311

I looked from him to the eggs and said, “What happened? Did you drop them?”

312

“Yeah,” he said quickly. “Yeah, and I'm really sorry about that.”

313

He tried to stop me, but I took the carton from the trash, saying, “All of them?”

314

I opened the carton and gasped.

315

Six whole, perfect eggs.

316

“Why'd you throw them away?”

317

He?

pushed past

?me and went around the house to the?

trash bin

, and I followed him, waiting for an answer.

push past?從......身邊擠過(guò)去

trash bin?垃圾箱

318

He shook the garbage out, then turned to face me.

319

“Does the word salmonella mean anything to you?”

320

“Salmonella? But …”

321

“My mom doesn't think it's worth the risk.”

322

I followed him back to the porch.

323

“Are you saying she won't eat them because—”

324

“Because she's afraid of being poisoned.”

325

“Poisoned! Why?”

326

“Because your backyard is, like, covered in turds! I mean, look at your place, Juli!”

327

He pointed at our house and said, “Just look at it. It's a complete?

dive

!”

dive /da?v/ n.?低級(jí)的餐館(或酒吧、娛樂(lè)場(chǎng)所)

328

“It is not!” I cried, but the truth was sitting right across the street, impossible to deny.

329

My throat suddenly choked closed and I found it painful to speak.

330

“Have you… always thrown them away?”

331

He shrugged and looked down. “Juli, look. We didn't want to hurt your feelings.”

332

“My feelings? Do you realize Mrs. Stueby and Mrs. Helms pay me for my eggs?”

333

“You're kidding.”

334

“No! They pay me two dollars a dozen!”

335

“

No way

.”

no way?不可能

336

“It's true! All those eggs I gave to you I could've sold to Mrs. Stueby or Mrs. Helms!”

337

“Oh,” he said, and looked away.

338

Then he eyed me and said, “Well, why did you just give them to us?”

339

I was?

fighting back

?tears, but it was hard.

fight back?強(qiáng)忍住

340

I choked out, “I was trying to be?

neighborly

…!”

neighborly /'neb?li/ adj.?友好的

341

He put down the trash can, then did something that made my brain freeze.

342

He held me by the shoulders and looked me right in the eyes. “Mrs. Stueby's your neighbor, isn't she? So's Mrs. Helms, right? Why be neighborly to us and not them?”

343

What was he trying to say?

344

Was it still so obvious how I felt about him?

345

And if he knew, how could he have been so?

heartless

, just throwing my eggs away like that, week after week, year after year?

heartless /'hɑrtl?s/ adj.?狠心的

346

I couldn't find any words.

347

None at all.

348

I just stared at him, at the clear, brilliant blue of his eyes.

349

“I'm sorry, Juli,” he whispered.

350

I stumbled home, embarrassed and confused, my heart completely cracked open.

351