The Yard

1

I'd never been embarrassed by where we lived before.

2

I'd never looked at our house, or even our side of the street, and said, Oh!

3

I wish we lived in the new?

development

—those houses are so much newer, so much better!

development /d??vel?pm?nt/ n.?新開發(fā)區(qū)

4

This is where I'd grown up. This was my home.

5

I was aware of the yard, sure.

6

My mother had?

grumbled

?about it for years.

grumble /?ɡr?mbl/ vi.?抱怨

7

But it was a low grumbling, not worthy of?

deep concern

. Or?

so

?I'd supposed.

deep concern?深切關注

so /so/ adv.?如此

8

But maybe I should have?

wondered

. Why?

let the outside go

?and keep the inside so nice?

wonder /'w?nd?/ vt. & vi.?對…感到疑惑

let go?放手

9

It was?

spotless

?inside our house.

spotless /'spɑtl?s/ adj.?無可挑剔的

10

Except for the boys' room,?

that is

.

that is?換言之

11

Mom gave up on that after she discovered the snake.

12

If they were old enough to?

adopt

?a snake, she told my brothers, they were old enough to clean their own room.

adopt /??dɑ?pt/ vt.?收養(yǎng)

13

Matt and Mike translated this to keep the door closed, and became quite?

diligent

?about doing just that.

diligent /?d?l?d??nt/ adj.?勤奮的

14

Besides the yard, I also never really wondered about the money, or the?

apparent

?

lack

?

thereof

.

apparent /??p?r?nt/ adj.?明顯的

lack /l?k/ n.?缺乏

thereof /?e?r'?v/ adv.?由此

15

I knew we weren't rich, but I didn't feel like I was missing anything.

16

Anything you could buy, anyway.

17

Matt and Mike did ask for things a lot,

18

but even though my mother would tell them, No, boys, we just can't?

afford

?that, I took this to mean, No, boys, you don't deserve that, or, No, boys, you don't really need that.

afford /??f??rd/ vt.?買得起

19

It wasn't until Bryce called our home a complete dive that I started really seeing things.

20

It wasn't just the yard.

21

It was my dad's truck, my mother's car, the family bike that was more?

rust

?than?

steel

, and the fact that when we did buy something new, it always seemed to come from a second-time-around store.

rust /r?st/ n.?生銹

steel /sti?l/ n.?鋼

22

Plus, we never went on?

vacation

. Ever.

vacation /ve??ke??n/ n.?假期

23

Why was that?

24

My father was the hardest-working man in the world, and my mother worked for?

TempService

?doing?

secretarial

?jobs whenever she could.

TempService?臨時服務

secretarial /'s?kr?'t?r??l/ adj.?秘書的

25

What was all that hard work about if this is where it got you?

26

Asking my parents whether we were poor seemed?

incredibly

?impolite.

incredibly /?n?kred?bli/ adv.?極為

27

But as the days went by, I knew I had to ask. Just had to.

28

Every day I'd ride home from school on our rusty bike, pull past the?

broken

?fence and?

patchy

?yard, and think, Tonight. I'll ask them tonight.

broken /'brok?n/ adj.?破裂的

patchy /'p?t?i/ adj.?參差不齊的

29

But then I wouldn't ask them. I just didn't know how.

30

Then one day I had an idea.

31

A way to talk to them about it and maybe help out a little, too.

32

And since my brothers were working at the music store that night, and nobody was saying much of anything at the table,

33

I took a deep breath and said,

34

“I was thinking, you know, that it wouldn't be hard to fix up the front yard if I could get some nails and a hammer and maybe some paint?

35

And how much does grass seed cost? It can't be that much, right? I could plant a lawn, and maybe even some flowers?”

36

My parents stopped eating and stared at me. 38 “I know how to use a saw and a hammer—it could be, you know, a project.”

37

My mother quit looking at me and stared at my father, instead.

39

My father sighed and said, “The yard is not our?

responsibility

, Julianna.”

responsibility /r??spɑ?ns??b?l?ti/ n.?責任

40

“It's … it's not?”

41

He shook his head and said, “It's Mr. Finnegan's.”

42

“Who's Mr. Finnegan?”

43

“The man who owns this house.”

44

I couldn't believe my ears. “What?”

45

My father cleared his throat and said, “The landlord.”

46

“You mean we don't own this house?”

47

They looked at each other, having some?

private

?

wordless

?conversation I couldn't?

decipher

.

private /?pra?v?t/ adj.?私下的

wordless /'w?dl?s/ adj.?沉默的

decipher /d??sa?f?r/ v.?破譯

48

Finally my father said, “I didn't realize you didn't know that.”

49

“But … but that doesn't make sense! Aren't landlords supposed to come and do things? Like fix the roof when it?

leaks

and clear the?

drains

?when they're?

plugged

?

leak /li?k/ vi.?漏，滲

drain /dre?n/ n.?下水道

plug /pl?ɡ/ vi.?塞住

50

You always do that stuff, Dad. Why do you do it when he's supposed to?”

51

“Because,” he sighed, “it's easier than asking him for help.”

52

“But if—”

53

“And,” my father interrupted me, “it?

keeps

?him from raising the rent.”

keep /kip/ vt.?防止

54

“But …”

55

My mother reached over and took my hand. “Sweetheart, I'm sorry if this is a shock. I guess we always thought you knew.”

56

“But what about the yard? Why keep up the inside but not the outside?”

57

My father frowned and said, “When we signed the?

lease

, he assured us he would fix the fences, front and back, and plant?

sod

?in the front yard. Obviously that never happened.”

lease /li?s/ n.?租約

sod /sɑd/ n.?草皮

58

He shook his head. “It's a major?

undertaking

, and fencing is not cheap. I can't see putting that sort of investment into a property that's not ours. Plus, it's the principle of the thing.”

undertaking /??nd?r?te?k??/ n. (重大而艱巨的)任務

59

He shook his head. “It's a major?

undertaking

, and fencing is not cheap. I can't see putting that sort of investment into a property that's not ours. Plus, it's the principle of the thing.”

investment /?n?vestm?nt/ n.?投資

property /?prɑ?p?rti/ n.?財產(chǎn)

60

He shook his head. “It's a major?

undertaking

, and fencing is not cheap. I can't see putting that sort of investment into a property that's not ours. Plus, it's the principle of the thing.”

61

“But we live here,” I whispered, “and it looks so bad.”

62

My father studied me. “Julianna, what happened?”

63

“Nothing, Daddy,” I said, but he knew I was lying.

64

“Sweetheart,” he whispered, “tell me.”

65

I knew what he'd say if I told him, and?

yet

?I couldn't not tell him.

yet /j?t/ adv.?終歸

66

Not with the way he was looking at me.

67

So I took a deep breath and said, “The Loskis have been throwing my eggs away because they were afraid they'd have salmonella because our yard is such a mess.”

68

My father said, “Oh, that's?

ridiculous

,” but my mother gasped, “What?”

ridiculous /r??d?kj?l?s/ adj.?荒謬的

69

Then she cried, “Did Patsy say that?”

70

I looked down. “No, Bryce did.”

71

“But it must've been a family discussion! A boy doesn't come up with that on his own … !” My mother looked for all the world like a?

doe

?waiting to be shot through the heart.

doe /do/ n.?母鹿

72

She covered her face with her hands and said, “I can't go on like this! Robert, things have got to change. They've just got to!”

73

“Trina, you know I'm doing the best I can. I'm sorry about the yard, I'm sorry about the situation. This isn't the?

picture

?I had for my life, either, but sometimes you have to?

sacrifice

?for what's right.”

picture /?p?kt??r/ n.?想象

sacrifice /?s?kr?fa?s/ v.?犧牲

74

My mother looked up from her hands and said, “This is not right for our family. Your daughter is?

suffering

?because we won't fix up our own yard.”

suffer /?s?f?r/ vi.?受痛苦

75

“It's not our yard.”

76

“How can you say that? Robert, wake up! We have lived here for twelve years. It's not?

temporary

?anymore!

temporary /?temp?reri/ adj.?臨時的

77

If we ever want to have a?

decent

?place with our own yard, if we're going to help the kids through college or do any of the other things we've promised each other,

decent /?di?snt/ adj.?得體的

78

we're going to have to move him into government care.”

79

My father let out a deep sigh and whispered, “We've discussed this so many times, Trina. In the end you always agree that keeping him at Greenhaven is the right thing to do.”

80

I wanted to say, Wait! What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?

81

But the conversation was flying so fast and?

furious

?that I couldn't seem to break in, and it wasn't long before they were?

bickering

?so badly that it was almost like I wasn't there.

furious /?fj?ri?s/ adj.?激烈的

bicker /?b?k?r/ vi.?斗嘴

82

Then in the back of my mind, it?

clicked

. Everything clicked.

click /kl?k/ v.?恍然大悟

83

It was my dad's brother they were talking about. My uncle. David.

84

To me Uncle David was only a name.

85

Someone my parents had explained to me, but not someone I'd ever actually met.

86

And even though I knew my dad visited him, I never knew exactly when.

87

He never talked about it.

88

Dad also thought we shouldn't talk about Uncle David to others because David was retarded.

89

Dad also thought we shouldn't talk about Uncle David to others because David was retarded.

retarded /r??tɑ?rd?d/ adj.?弱智的

90

“People?

jump to conclusions

,” he'd told me. “They?

assume

?that, by?

association

, something must also be?

wrong

with you. Trust me, I know.”

jump to conclusion?過早下結(jié)論

assume /??su?m/ v.?認為

association /??so?si?e??n/ n.?聯(lián)想

wrong /r??/ adj.?有毛病

91

So we didn't talk about it. Not at home, not with friends. It was almost like there was no Uncle David.

92

Until now.

93

Now he felt larger than life, and I could tell from their argument that he was the reason we didn't have our own house; he was the reason we didn't have nice cars or?

fancy

?things.

fancy /?f?nsi/ adj.?昂貴的

94

He was the reason there always seemed to be a cloud of?

weariness

?hanging over my parents.

weariness /'w?r?n?s/ n.?疲倦

95

Why did I have to?

bring up

?the yard in the first place?

bring up?提出

in the first place?起初

96

I'd never seen my parents fight like this. Ever.

97

I wanted to grab them and say, Stop it! Stop it! You love each other! You do! But I just sat there with tears?

streaming

down my face.

stream /stri?m/ vi.?流；涌進

98

My mother stopped suddenly and whispered, “We should not be doing this in front of her!”

99

“I'm sorry, Julianna,” my dad said, then?

reached over

?and held my?

forearm

. “Don't cry. None of this is your fault. We'll work it out, I promise we will.”

reach over?伸手過去

forearm /f?r?ɑrm/ n.?前臂

100

My mother tried to laugh through her tears, saying, “We always have, and we always will.”

101

That night my parents came into my room and talked to me,?

one at a time

.

one at a time adv.?一次一個人

102

My father talked about his brother and how much he loved him and how he'd promised his parents he'd always take care of him.

103

My mother talked about how much she loved my father for his?

strength

?and?

kind heart

, about dreams and?

reality

, and the need to?

count your blessings

.

strength /stre?θ/ n.?意志力

kind heart?心地善良

reality /ri??l?ti/ n.?現(xiàn)實

count your blessings?多往好處想

104

And she made me cry all over again when she kissed me goodnight and whispered that of all her many?

blessings

, I was her best and?

brightest

.

blessing /?bles??/ n.?幸運

bright /bra?t/ adj.?聰明的

105

I felt sorry for my father.

106

I felt sorry for my mother.

107

But most of all I felt lucky for me that they were mine.

108

And in the morning, as I rode my rusty bike out the driveway to school, I promised myself that when I got home, I'd?

tackle

?the yard.

tackle /?t?kl/ vt.?解決

109

Rented or not, this was our home, and I was going to help make living here better.

110

As it turns out

, this was easier thought than done.

as it turns out?事實證明

111

First it took me half an hour of?

rummaging

?through the garage to find a hammer and a box of nails, a saw, and some?

pruners

.

rummage /'r?m?d?/ vt.?翻找出

pruner /'pru:n?/ n.?修樹枝剪刀

112

Then it took another half hour of standing around to figure out just where to start.

113

The actual yard was just?

clumps

?of weeds, but what about the?

bordering

?shrubs?

clump /kl?mp/ n.?叢

bordering /'b?:d?ri?/ n.?邊緣

114

Should I dig them up, or prune them way back?

115

Were they shrubs, or just?

overgrown

?weeds? And what about the fence?

overgrown /?ov?'ɡron/ adj.?雜草叢生

116

Should I?

knock it down

, or?

rebuild

?it?

knock down?拆除

rebuild /?ri'b?ld/ vi.?重建

117

Maybe I should take out the front end entirely and use the wood to fix up the sides

118

The longer I looked around, the more I felt like forgetting the whole thing.

119

Why bother?

120

It wasn't our?

property

. Mr. Finnegan should be the one making repairs.

property /?prɑ?p?rti/ n.?財產(chǎn)

121

But then I remembered my mother's words from the night before.

122

Surely, I thought, a few bushes and some?

dilapidated

?wood couldn't stop someone's best and brightest blessing! Surely not!

dilapidated /d??l?p?de?t?d/ adj.?失修的

123

And with that, I picked up the?

clippers

?and got to work.

clipper /'kl?p?/ n.?大剪刀

124

Half an hour later I was?

keeper

?of the knowledge that one bush?

equals

?many branches, and that?

the volume of

?a bush increases?

exponentially

?as it's cut and tossed into the middle of a yard.

keeper /'kip?/ n.?保管人

equal /?i?kw?l/ vt.?達到

the volume of ......的數(shù)量

exponential /'?ksp?'n?n??l/ n.?指數(shù)

125

It was ridiculous! Where was I going to put all this stuff?

126

Mom came home and tried to talk me out of my?

mission

, but I'd?

have none of

?it.

mission /?m??n/ n.?任務

have none of?不同意

127

Oh, no-no-no! I'd already?

pruned

?two bushes down to a?

respectable

?size, and before long she'd see— the place was going to look just dandy.

prune /pru?n/ vt.?修剪(樹木等)

respectable /r??spekt?bl/ adj.?體面的

128

“You didn't get that?

stubborn

?

streak

?from me,” she said, but came back outside with a glass of juice and a kiss for my cheek.

stubborn /?st?b?rn/ adj.?固執(zhí)的

streak /stri?k/ n. (尤指不好的)性格特征

129

Good enough for me!

130

By the end of that first day, what I'd made was a big mess.

131

But if?

chaos

?is a necessary step in the organization of one's universe, then I was well on my way.

chaos /?ke?ɑ?s/ n.?混亂

132

At least that's what I tried to tell myself when I?

flopped

?into bed that night, dead tired.

flop /flɑp/ vi. (笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地)移動或落下

133

And the next afternoon I was busily expanding the chaos of my little universe when I heard a deep voice say, “That's quite an undertaking, young lady.”

134

The man standing on our?

sidewalk

?was Bryce's grandfather, I knew that much.

sidewalk /'sa?dw?k/ n.?人行道

135

But I'd only ever seen him outside one time.

136

All the other times I'd seen him had been through windows—?

either one in their sitting room or

?one in their car.

either...or?不是......就是......

137

To me he was just a dark-haired man behind glass.

138

Having him appear on my sidewalk was like having someone from TV step through the screen and talk to you.

139

“I know we've seen each other from time to time,” he was saying.

140

“I'm sorry it's taken me over a year to come introduce myself. I'm Chester Duncan, Bryce's grandfather. And you, of course, are Julianna Baker.”

141

He stuck out his hand, so I took off my work glove and watched my hand completely disappear inside his as we shook. 143 “Nice to meet you, Mr. Duncan,” I said, thinking that this man was way bigger than he looked from the sitting-room window.

142

Then the strangest thing happened.

144

He pulled his own work gloves and a pair of clippers from a back pocket and said, “Are you pruning all of these to the same height?”

145

“Oh,” I said. “Well, yes. That is what I was thinking. Although now I don't know. Do you think it would look better to just take them out?”

146

He shook his head and said, “They're Australian?

tea shrubs

. They'll prune up nicely.”

tea shrub?茶樹

147

And with that, he put on his gloves and started clipping.

148

At first I didn't know what to say to this man.

149

It was very strange to be getting his help, but from the way he was acting, it was as though I shouldn't have thought a thing of it.

150

Clip-clip-clip, he went, like this was something he really enjoyed doing.

151

Then I remembered what Bryce had said about our yard, and suddenly I knew why he was there.

152

“What's the matter?” he asked, throwing his clippings into my pile. “Did I cut it down too far?”

153

“N-no.”

154

“Then why the look?” he asked. “I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just thought you might like a little help.”

155

“Well, I don't. I can do this by myself.”

156

He laughed and said, “Oh, I have no doubt about that,” then got back to clipping.

157

“You see, Julianna, I read about you in the paper, and I've lived across the street from you for over a year now. It's easy to see that you're a very?

competent

?person.”

competent /?kɑ?mp?t?nt/ adj.?有能力的

158

We both worked quietly for a minute, but I found myself throwing the clippings into the pile?

harder and harder

.

harder and harder?越來越難

159

And before long I couldn't stand it.

160

I just couldn't stand it!

161

I?

spun

?on him and said,

spin /sp?n/ v. (使)急轉(zhuǎn)身

162

“You're here because you feel bad about the eggs, aren't you? Well, our eggs are perfectly fine! We've been eating them for nearly three years and none of us have gotten poisoned.

163

Mrs. Stueby and Mrs. Helms seem in good health to me, too, and the fact of the matter is, if you didn't want them, you should've just told me so!”

164

His hands fell to his sides and he shook his head as he said, “Eggs? Poisoned? Julianna, I?

have no idea

?what you're talking about.”

have no idea?一點不知道

165

Inside I was so angry and?

hurt

?and embarrassed that I didn't even feel like me.

hurt /h??rt/ adj.?痛苦的

166

“I'm talking about the eggs that I've been bringing over to your house for more than two years— eggs that my chickens laid that I could've sold! Eggs that your family has been throwing away!”

167

I was shouting at him. Shouting at an adult, like I'd never shouted at anyone in my entire life.

168

His voice got very quiet. “I'm sorry. I don't know about any eggs. Who did you give them to?”

169

“Bryce!” My throat choked closed as I said his name again. “Bryce.”

170

Mr. Duncan nodded slowly and said, “Well,” then went back to pruning his bush. “That probably explains it.”

171

“What do you mean?”

172

He sighed. “The boy still has a ways to go.”

173

I just stared at him, not trusting myself with the words?

sizzling

?on my tongue.

sizzle /'s?zl/ vi.?發(fā)嘶嘶聲

174

“Oh, he's a very handsome boy, there's no denying that,” he said with a frown.

175

Then he?

snapped

?a branch and added, “The?

spitting image

?of his father.”

snap /sn?p/ vt.?突然折斷

spitting image n.?幾乎長得一摸一樣的人

176

I shook my head. “Why are you over here, Mr. Duncan? If you don't think I need the help and you're not feeling bad about the eggs, then why would you do this?”

177

“Honestly?”

178

I just looked at him, straight in the eye.

179

He nodded, then said, “Because you remind me of my wife.”

180

“Your wife?”

181

“That's right.”

182

He gave me a little smile and said, “Renée would've sat up in that tree with you. She would've sat there all night.”

183

And with those two sentences, my anger vanished. “Really?”

184

“Absolutely.”

185

“She's … she died?”

186

He nodded. “And I miss her?

terribly

.”

terribly /?ter?bli/ adv.[口]非常

187

He tossed a branch into the heap and chuckled. “There's nothing like a?

head-strong

?woman to make you happy to be alive.”

head-strong /?hedstr???/ adj.?固執(zhí)的

188

The last thing in the world I expected was to become friends with Bryce's grandfather.

189

But by?

dinnertime

?I knew so much about him and his wife and the adventures they'd had together that it seemed like I'd known him for a very long time.

dinnertime /?d?n??ta?m/ n.?正餐時間

190

Plus, all his stories made the work seem easy.

191

When I went in for the night, the bushes were all pruned back, and except for the enormous heap in the center of the yard, things were already looking a whole lot better.

192

The next day he was back.

193

And when I smiled and said, “Hi, Mr. Duncan,” he smiled back and said, “Call me Chet, won't you?”

194

He looked at the hammer in my hand and said, “I take it we're starting on the fence today?”

195

Chet taught me how to plumb a line for the pickets,

196

Chet taught me how to plumb a line for the pickets,

plumb /pl?m/ vt.?使垂直

picket /'p?k?t/ n. [建]尖木樁

197

how to hold a hammer down on the end of the handle instead of?

choking

?up on it, how to?

calculate

?an?

adjustedspacing

?for the pickets, and how to use a?

level

?to get the wood exactly?

vertical

.

choke /t?o?k/ vt. & vi.?卡住

calculate /?k?lkjule?t/ vt. & vi.?計算

adjusted /??d??st?d/ adj.?調(diào)整過的

spacing /'spes??/ n.?間距

level /?levl/ n.?水平儀

vertical /?v??rt?kl/ adj.?垂直的

198

We worked on the fence for days, and the whole time we worked we talked. It wasn't just about his wife, either.

199

He wanted to know about the sycamore tree and seemed to understand exactly what I meant when I told about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

200

“It's that way with people, too,” he said, “only with people it's sometimes that the whole is less than the sum of the parts.”

201

I thought that was pretty interesting.

202

And the next day during school I looked around at the people I'd known since elementary school, trying to figure out if they were more or less than the sum of their parts.

203

Chet was right. A lot of them were less.

204

Top of the list, of course, was Shelly Stalls.

205

To look at her, you'd think she had everything, but there's not much?

solid

?underneath her?

Mount Everest

?hair.

solid /?sɑ?l?d/ adj.?可靠的

Mount Everest?珠穆朗瑪峰

206

And even though she's like a?

black hole

?at?

sucking

?people in, it doesn't take them long to?

figure out

?that being friends with her requires?

fanning the flames

?of a?

wildfire

?

ego

.

black hole?黑洞

suck /s?k/ vi.?吮吸

figure out?弄明白

fan the flame v.?煽動情緒

wildfire n. (消息或謠言等)迅速傳播

ego /?i?ɡo?/ n.?自我

207

But of all my classmates, the one person I couldn't seem to place was Bryce.

208

Until recently I'd have said with absolute certainty that he was greater—far greater—than the sum of his parts.

209

What he did to my heart was?

sheer

,?

inexplicable

?magic.

sheer /??r/ adj.?純粹的

inexplicable /??n?k?spl?k?bl/ adj.?難以言喻的

210

But inexplicable was the?

operative

?word here.

operative /?ɑ?p?r?t?v/ adj.?最適合的

211

And as I looked across the room at him during math, I couldn't help feeling?

crushed

?

all over

?again about how he'd thrown out my eggs.

crush /kr??/ vt. & vi.?壓碎

all over?渾身

212

What kind of person would do that?

213

Then he looked my way and smiled, and my heart?

lurched

.

flurch /l??rt?/ v.?突然改變(行為或態(tài)度)

214

But I was mad at myself for it.

215

How could I still feel this way after what he'd done?

216

I avoided him the rest of the day, but by the end of school there was a?

tornado

?inside me, tearing me up from one end to the other.

tornado /t??r?ne?do?/ n.?龍卷風

217

I jumped on my bike and rode home faster than I ever had before.

218

The right?

pedal

?

clanked

?against the?

chain guard

, and the whole bike rattled and squeaked,?

threatening to

?collapse into a pile of rusty parts.

pedal /?pedl/ n.?踏板

clank /kl??k/ vi.?發(fā)鏗鏘聲

chain guard?鏈罩

threaten to?威脅著要

219

The tornado, however, was still going strong when I?

skidded

?to a halt in our driveway.

skid /sk?d/ vt.?剎住

220

So I?

transferred

?

pedal

?power into?

painting

?power.

transfer /tr?ns?f??r/ vt.?使轉(zhuǎn)移

pedal /?pedl/ adj.?腳踏的

paint /pe?nt/ v. (給......)上油漆

221

I pried open the?

gallon

?of Navajo White my dad had bought me and started?

slopping

?paint around.

gallon /?ɡ?l?n/ n.?加侖

slop /slɑp/ vi.?潑出

222

Chet appeared about ten minutes later.

223

“

My

,” he laughed, “you've got an?

enviable

?amount of energy today, don't you?”

my /ma?/ int.?哎呀（表示驚奇等）

enviable /?envi?bl/ adj.?令人羨慕的

224

“No,” I said, brushing back some hair with the back of my hand, “I'm just mad.”

225

He?

produced

?his own brush and an empty coffee?

can

. “Uhoh. Who at?”

produce /pr??du?s/ vt.?拿出

can /k?n/ n.?罐頭

226

“Myself!”

227

“Oh, that's a?

tough

?one. Did you do?

poorly on a test

?”

tough /t?f/ adj.?倒霉的

poorly on a test?在考試中表現(xiàn)不佳

228

“No! I …” I turned to him and said, “How did you fall in love with your wife?”

229

He poured some Navajo White into his can and smiled.

230

“Ah,” he said. “Boy problems.”

231

“I do not have boy problems!”

232

He hesitated but didn't argue.

233

Instead, he said, “I fell in love with her by mistake.”

234

“By mistake? What do you mean?”

235

“I didn't?

intend to

. At the time I was engaged to somebody else, and?

in no position

?to fall in love.?

Fortunately

?for me I saw how blind I'd been before it was too late.”

intend to?打算做......

in no position?沒有資格去......

fortunately /'f?rt??n?tli/ adv.?幸運地

236

“Blind?”

237

“Yes. My?

fiancée

?was very beautiful. She had the most?

magnificent

?brown eyes, and skin like an angel.

fiancée /'fi?ɑ?nse?/ n.?未婚妻

magnificent /m?ɡ?n?f?snt/ adj.?華麗的

238

And for a time all I could see was her beauty. But then … well, let's just say I discovered she wasn't a?

fraction

?of the person Renée was.”

fraction /?fr?k?n/ n.?小部分

239

He dipped his brush in the coffee can and?

stroked

?a picket with paint.

stroke /stro?k/ v.?在......上輕輕涂抹

240

“It's easy to look back and see it, and it's easy to give the advice, but the sad fact is, most people don't look beneath the surface until it's too late.”

241

We were quiet a minute, but I could see Chet thinking.

242

And from the?

furrow

?in his?

brow

, I knew it had nothing to do with my problems.

furrow /'f?o/ n.?皺紋

brow /bra?/ n.?額

243

“I'm … I'm sorry I brought up your wife,” I said.

244

“Oh, don't be, that's all right.” He shook his head and tried on a smile.

245

“

Besides

, I wasn't thinking of Renée. I was thinking of someone else. Someone who's never been able to look beneath the surface. At this point I don't suppose I even want her to.”

besides /b??sa?dz/ adv.?此外

246

Who was he talking about? I wanted to know!

247

But I felt it would be?

crossing some line

?to ask, so we painted pickets in silence.

cross the line?做得太過分了

248

At last he turned to me and said, “Get beyond his eyes and his smile and the?

sheen

?of his hair—look at what's really there.”

sheen /?i?n/ n.?光澤

249

The way he said it sent a?

chill

?through me.

chill /t??l/ n.?寒氣

250

It was as though he knew.

251

And suddenly I felt?

defensive

.

defensive /d??fens?v/ adj.?懷有戒心的

252

Was he telling me his grandson wasn't worth it?

253

When it was time to go in for dinner, I still didn't feel right, but at least the tornado was gone.

254

Mom said Dad was working late, and since the boys were off with their friends, it was just the two of us.

255

She told me that she and Dad had talked about it and that they both felt a little strange having Chet come over like he was.

256

Maybe, she said, they should find a way to pay him for his help.

257

I told her I thought Chet would?

find

?that?

insulting

, but the next day she went ahead and?

insulted

?him anyway.

find /fa?nd/ vt.?感到

insulting /?n?s?lt??/ adj.?侮辱的

insult /?n?s?lt/ vt.?冒犯

258

Chet said, “No, Mrs. Baker. It's been my pleasure to help out your daughter on this project,” and wouldn't hear another word about it.

259

The week ended with my dad?

loading

?the back of his truck with all the clippings and?

scraps

?before he?

set off

?for work on Saturday morning.

load /lo?d/ vi.?裝載

scrap /skr?p/ n.?碎片

set off?動身

260

Then Chet and I spent the rest of the day?

hoeing

?up weeds and?

raking

?and?

readying

?the dirt for seeding.

hoe /ho?/ vt. & vi.?鋤

rake /rek/ vt. & vi.?以耙子耙平(泥土等)

ready /?redi/ vt.?使準備好

261

It was on this last day that Chet asked, “Your family's not moving, are you?”

262

“Moving? Why do you say that?”

263

“Oh, my daughter?

brought up

?the possibility at the dinner table last night. She thought that maybe you're fixing up the house because you're getting ready to sell it.”

bring up?提出

264

Even though Chet and I had talked about a lot of things while we were working,

265

I probably wouldn't have told him about Mr. Finnegan or Uncle David or why the yard was such a mess if he hadn't asked me about moving.

266

But since he had, well, I wound up telling him everything.

267

And it felt good to talk about it. Especially about Uncle David.

268

It felt like blowing a?

dandelion

?into the wind and watching all the little seeds float off, up and away.

dandelion /'d?nd?la??n/ n.?蒲公英

269

I was proud of my parents, and looking around the front yard, I was proud of me, too.

270

Just wait until I?

got my hands on

?the backyard! Then maybe I'd even?

paint

?the house.

get my hands on?與......一起工作(俗語)

paint /pe?nt/ v.?粉刷

271

I could do it. I could.

272

Chet was pretty quiet after I told him the story, and when Mom brought us out sandwiches at lunchtime, we sat on the porch and ate without saying a word.

273

Then he broke the silence by nodding across the street and saying, “I don't know why he doesn't just come out and say hello.”

274

“Who?” I asked, then looked across the street to where he'd nodded.

275

The curtain in Bryce's room moved quickly back into place, and I couldn't help asking, “Bryce?”

276

“That's the third time I've seen him watching.”

277

“Really?” My heart was fluttering about like a baby bird trying to fly.

278

He frowned and said, “Let's finish up and get that seed sown, shall we? You'll want the warmth of the?

day

?to help with the?

germination

.”

day /de/ n.?白晝

germination /?d??m?'ne??n/ n.?萌芽

279

I was happy to finally be planting the yard, but I couldn't help being?

distracted

?by Bryce's window. Was he watching?

distracted /d??str?kt?d/ adj.?注意力分散的

280

During the rest of the afternoon, I checked more often than I'd like to admit.

281

And I'm afraid Chet noticed, too, because when we were all done and we'd?

congratulated

?each other on what was sure to be a?

fine-looking

?yard,

congratulate /k?n?ɡr?t?ule?t/ vt.?祝賀

fine-looking adj.?美貌的

282

he said, “He may be acting like a?

coward

?now, but I do hold out hope for the boy.”

coward /?ka??rd/ n.?懦夫

283

A coward? What?

on earth

?could I say to that? I just stood there with the hose in one hand and the?

spigot

?

valve

beneath the other.

on earth?到底

spigot /'sp?ɡ?t/ n.?龍頭

valve /v?lv/ n.?閥

284

And with that, Chet waved so long and walked across the street.

285

A few minutes later I saw Bryce coming down the sidewalk toward his house.

286

I?

did a double take

.

do a double take n.?再仔細看一下

287

All this time I'd thought he was inside the house watching, and he was really outside walking around?

288

I was embarrassed all over again.

289

I turned my back on him and concentrated on watering the yard.

290

What a fool I was! What a complete idiot!

291

And I had just?

built up

?a nice head of angry steam when I heard,

build up?積累

292

“It's looking good, Juli. Nice job.”

293

It was Bryce, standing right there on our driveway.

294

And suddenly I wasn't mad at me anymore.

295

I was mad at him.

296

How could he stand there like my?

supervisor

?and tell me, Nice job?

supervisor /?su?p?rva?z?r/ n.?管理者

297

He had no business saying anything after what he'd done.

298

I was about to?

hose

?him down when he said, “I'm sorry for what I did, Juli. It was, you know… wrong.”

hose /ho?z/ vt.?用軟管澆[沖洗]

299

I looked at him—into those brilliant blue eyes.

300

And I tried to do what Chet had said—I tried to look past them.

301

What was behind them? What was he thinking? Was he really sorry?

302

Or was he just feeling bad about the things he'd said?

303

It was like looking into the sun, though, and I had to turn away.

turn away?把臉轉(zhuǎn)過去

304

I couldn't tell you what we talked about after that, except that he was nice to me and he made me laugh.

305

And after he left, I shut off the water and went inside feeling very, very strange.

306

The rest of the evening I bounced?

back and forth

?between upset and uneasy.

back and forth?來回地

307

The worst part being, I couldn't really?

put my finger on

?what exactly I was upset or uneasy about.

put my finger on?確切說出

308

Of course it was Bryce, but why wasn't I just mad? He'd been such a …?

scoundrel

.

scoundrel /'ska?ndr?l/ n.?壞蛋

309

Or happy? Why wasn't I just happy? He'd come over to our house. He'd stood on our driveway. He'd said nice things. We'd laughed.?

310

But I wasn't mad or happy.

311

And as I lay in bed trying to read, I realized that?

upset

?had been?

overshadowed

?by uneasy. I felt as though someone was watching me.

upset /?p?set/ adj.?心煩的

overshadow /?o?v?r???do?/ vt.?使(某物)被遮暗

312

And as I lay in bed trying to read, I realized that?

upset

?had been?

overshadowed

?by uneasy. I felt as though someone was watching me.

313

I got so?

spooked

?I even got up and checked out the window and in the closet and under the bed, but still the feeling didn't go away.

spook /spuk/ v.?使驚慌

314

It took me until nearly midnight to understand what it was.

315

It was me. Watching me.

316