The Serious Willies

1

Realizing that my father had the same sense of humor as Garrett gave me the serious?

willies

.

willies /'w?l?z/ n.?使某人害怕和不安

2

I had the hardest time just looking at my dad,?

let alone

?speaking to him.

let alone?更不用說

3

But at about five o'clock Friday afternoon I agreed with him about one thing — we should've barbecued.

4

A barbecue is more, you know,?

low-key

.

low-key /?lo?ki/ adj.?低調(diào)的

5

Instead, my mom was flying around the kitchen, slicing and?

dicing

?and?

barking

?orders at Dad and me like the?

president

?was coming to dinner.

dice /da?s/ vt.?切成方塊

bark /bɑ?rk/ vt.?大聲喊出

president /?prez?d?nt/ n.?總統(tǒng)

6

We swept the floor, put an extra?

leaf

?in the table, brought in five more chairs, and set the table.

7

We set it all wrong, of course, but all my mother had to do was?

shuffle

?things around to make it right. It looked the same to me, but what do I know?

shuffle /???fl/ vi.?把……變換位置

8

She put out?

candlesticks

?and said, “Rick, can you?

load

?the dishes and run them? I'd like a chance to get cleaned up. After that you can?

change

. And Bryce? What are you wearing?”

candlestick /'k?ndlst?k/ n.?燭臺(tái)

load /lo?d/ vt.?裝上

change /t?end?/ vt. & vi.?換衣服

9

“Mom, it's the Bakers. Are you trying to make them feel totally?

worthless

?”

worthless /?w??rθl?s/ adj.?一文不值

10

“Trina and I agreed on a dress-up, so — ”

11

“But why?”

12

My dad put a hand on my shoulder and said, “So we can all feel?

equally

?uncomfortable, son.”

equally /?i?kw?li/ adv.?同樣地

13

Women.

14

I looked at her and said, “Does that mean I have to wear a tie?”

15

“No, but some sort of?

button-down

?instead of a T-shirt would be nice.”

button-down /?b?tn?da?n/ adj.?〈美〉領(lǐng)尖釘有鈕扣的

16

I went down to my room and?

ripped through

?my closet looking for something with buttons.

rip through?橫撞直闖

17

There were lots of buttons, all right.

18

Lots of?

geeky

?buttons.

geeky /'ɡi:ki/ adj.?（俚）令人討厭的

19

I thought about?

boycotting

?my mother's?

dress-code

?

requirements

, but instead I started putting on shirts.

boycott /?b??kɑ?t/ vt.?聯(lián)合抵制

dress-code?著裝要求

requirement /r??kwa??rm?nt/ n.?要求

20

Twenty minutes later I still wasn't dressed. And I was extremely?

ticked off

?about it because what did it?

matter

?

ticked off?生氣

matter /?m?t?r/ v.?要緊，有關(guān)系

21

Why did I care what I?

looked like

?at this stupid dinner?

22

I was acting like a girl.

23

Then through a?

gap

?in my curtains I saw them coming.

gap /ɡ?p/ n.?縫隙

24

Out their front door, down their walkway, across the street.

25

It was like a?

weird

?dream.

weird /w?rd/ adj.?奇怪的

26

They seemed to be floating toward our house.

27

All five of them.

28

I pulled a shirt off my bed, punched my arms in, and?

buttoned

?up.

button /?b?tn/ v.?用紐扣扣住

29

Two seconds later the doorbell rang and Mom called, “Can you get that, Bryce?”

30

Luckily, Granddad?

beat

?me to it.

beat /bit/ v.?趕在......之前

31

He greeted them all like they were?

long-lost

?family and even seemed to know which one was Matt and which one was Mike.

long-lost adj.?很久不見的

32

One was wearing a purple shirt and the other was wearing a green one, so it shouldn't have been that hard to remember which was which,

33

but they came in and pinched my cheeks and said, “Hey, baby brother!?

How's it goin'

?” and I got so mad I?

mixed them up

?again.

How's it goin?最近怎么樣(goin通going)

mix up?混淆

34

My mother zoomed in from the kitchen, saying, “Come in, come in. It's so nice you all could make it.”

35

She called, “Lyn-et-ta! Rick! We've got?

com-pa-ny

!” but then?

stopped short

?when she saw Juli and Mrs. Baker.

company /?k?mp?ni/ n.?賓客

stop short?中途停下

36

“Well, what's this?” she asked. “

Homemade

?pies?”

homemade /?hom?med/ adj. (衣服、食品等)自家制的

37

Mrs. Baker said, “Blackberry cheesecake and?

pecan

.”

pecan /p??kɑ?n/ n.?美洲山核桃

38

“They look wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!” My mother was acting so?

hyper

?I couldn't believe it.

hyper /'ha?p?/ adj.?亢奮的

39

She took Juli's pie, then?

whooshed

?a path to the kitchen with Mrs. Baker.

whoosh /w??/ vt.?使飛快地移動(dòng)

40

Lynetta appeared from around the corner, which made Matt and Mike grin and say, “Hey, Lyn. Lookin' good.”

41

Black skirt, black?

nails

, black eyes — for a?

nocturnal

?

rodent

, yeah, I suppose she was looking good.

nail /ne?l/ n.?指甲

nocturnal /nɑ?k?t??rnl/ (動(dòng)物)夜間活動(dòng)的

rodent /'rodnt/ n. [動(dòng)]?嚙齒目動(dòng)物

42

They disappeared down to Lynetta's room, and when I turned around, my granddad was taking Mr. Baker into the front room, which left me in the entry hall with Juli. Alone.

43

She wasn't looking at me.

44

She seemed to be looking at everything but me.

45

And I felt like an idiot, standing there in my geeky button-down shirt with?

pinched

?cheeks and nothing to say.

pinched /p?nt?t/ adj.?（因疾病、寒冷、愁苦等)蒼白清瘦的

46

And I got so nervous about having nothing to say that my heart started going?

wacko

?on me,?

hammering

?like it does right before a race or a game or something.

wacko /?w?ko/ adj.?發(fā)瘋的

hammer /?h?m?r/ vi.?重復(fù)

47

On top of that, she looked more like that stupid picture in the paper than the picture did, if that makes any sense.

48

Not because she was all?

dressed up

?— she wasn't.

dressed up?精心裝扮的

49

She was wearing some normal-looking dress and normal-looking shoes, and her hair was the way it always is except maybe a little more brushed out.

50

It was the way she was looking at everything but me, with her shoulders back and her chin out and her eyes flashing.

51

We probably only stood there for five seconds, but it felt like a year.

52

Finally I said, “Hi, Juli.”

53

Her eyes flashed at me, and that's when it?

sank in

— she was mad.

sink in?完全被理解

54

She whispered, “I heard you and Garrett making fun of my uncle in the library, and I don't want to speak to you! You understand me? Not now, not ever!”

55

My mind was racing. Where had she been? I hadn't seen her anywhere near me in the library!

56

And had she heard it? Or had she heard it from somebody else.

57

I tried to tell her it wasn't me, that it was Garrett, all Garrett.

58

But she shut me down and made tracks for?

the front room

?to be with her dad.

the front room?前廳

59

So I'm standing there, wishing I'd punched Garrett out in the library so Juli wouldn't stick me in the same class as someone who makes retard jokes,

60

when my dad shows up and claps me on the shoulder.

61

“So. How's the party, son?”

62

Speak of the devil

. I wanted to?

whack

?his hand off my shoulder.

speak of the devil?說曹操，曹操到

whack /w?k/ vt.?重?fù)?/p>

63

He leans out so he can see into the front room and says, “Hey, the dad cleans up pretty good, doesn't he?”

64

I shrug away from him. “Mr. Baker's name is Robert, Dad.”

65

“Yeah, you know, I knew that.” He?

rubs

?his hands together and says, “I guess I ought to go in and say hello. Coming?”

rub /r?b/ vi.?摩擦

66

“Nah. Mom probably needs my help.”

67

I didn't run off to the kitchen, though.

68

I stood there and watched Mr. Baker shake my father's hand.

69

And as they stood there?

pumping

?and smiling, this weird feeling started coming over me again.

pump /p?mp/ n. [非正式]?盤問，套問

70

Not about Juli — about my father.

71

Standing next to Mr. Baker, he looked small. Physically small.

72

And compared to the?

cut

?of Mr. Baker's?

jaw

, my dad's face looked kind of?

weaselly

.

cut /k?t/ n.?式樣

jaw /d???/ n.?下巴

weaselly /'wi:z?li/ adj.?狡猾的

73

This is not the way you want to feel about your father.

74

When I was little, I'd always thought that my dad was right about everything and that there wasn't a man on earth he couldn't take.

75

But standing there looking in, I realized that Mr. Baker could squash him like a bug.

76

Worse, though, was the way he was acting.

77

Watching my dad?

chum

?it up with Juli's dad—it was like seeing him lie.

chum /t??m/ vi. (與某人)成為好友

78

To Mr. Baker, to Juli, to my grandfather—to everybody.

79

Why was he being such a?

worm

?

worm /w??rm/ n.?蠕蟲；小人物

80

Why couldn't he just act normal?

81

You know, civil?

82

Why did he have to put on such a?

phony

?show?

put on?上演

phony /?fo?ni/ adj. [口]?假的

83

This went way beyond keeping the peace with my mother. This was disgusting.

84

And people said I was the?

spitting image

?of my father.

spitting image n.?幾乎一模一樣的人

85

How often had I heard that one? I'd never thought about it much, but now it was?

turning my stomach

.

turn one's stomach?使惡心欲吐

86

Mom jingled the dinner bell and called, “

Hors d'oeuvres

?are ready!” and then saw me still standing in the hallway.

Hors d'oeuvres (法)飯前點(diǎn)心

87

“Bryce, where'd your sister and the boys go?”

88

I shrugged. “Down to her room, I think.”

89

“Go tell them, would you? And then come have some hors d'oeuvres.”

90

“Sure,” I said.

91

Anything to get rid of the taste in my mouth.

92

Lynetta's door was closed.

93

And normally I would have knocked and called, Mom wants you, or, Dinner! or something, but in that split second before my knuckles hit wood, my hand became possessed by Evil Baby Brother.

knuckle /'n?kl/ n. (指人)指關(guān)節(jié)

94

I turned the?

knob

?and walked right in.

knob /nɑ?b/ n. (門、抽屜的)球形把手

95

Does Lynetta freak out or throw stuff at me and scream for me to get out?

96

No. She ignores me.

97

Matt-and-Mike give me a nod, and Lynetta sees me, but she's got her hands over some?

headphones

?and her whole body's bobbing up and down as she listens to a?

portable

?CD player.

headphones /'h?dfonz/ n.?頭戴式耳機(jī)

portable /?p??rt?bl/ adj.?便攜的

98

Matt-or-Mike whispers, “It's about over. We'll be right there,” like of course I was there to say it was time to eat.

99

What else would I be doing there?

100

Something about that made me feel, I don't know,?

left out

.

left out?被遺忘

101

I wasn't even a person to those guys. I was just baby brother.

102

Nothing new there, but now it really bugged me. Like all of a sudden I didn't fit in anywhere.

103

Not at school, not at home … and every time I turned around, another person I'd known forever felt like a stranger to me.

104

Even I felt like a stranger to me.

105

Standing around eating little round?

crackers

?

smeared

?with?

whipped

?cheese and fish eggs didn't do much for my mood either.

crackers /'kr?k?z/ n.?咸餅干

smear /sm?r/ v.?涂抹

whipped /hwipt/ adj.?（奶油、蛋及其他食物）攪打起泡沫的

106

My mother was acting like?

an entire swarm of

?busy bees. She was everywhere.

a swarm of?一大群

107

In the kitchen, out of the kitchen. Serving drinks, handing out napkins.

108

Explaining the food, but not eating a thing.

109

Lynetta didn't buy Mom's explanation on the hors d'oeuvres — she wound up?

dissecting

?hers,?

categorizing

?the parts into?

gross

, disgusting, and?

revolting

.

dissect /d??sekt/ v.?仔細(xì)分析或研究

categorize /'k?t?g?'ra?z/ vt.?把…歸類

gross /ɡr??s/ adj.?惡劣的

revolting /r?'volt??/ adj.?令人惡心的

110

Hanging near her didn't stop the Baker boys from shoving crackers in whole, though.

111

Man, I was just waiting for them to wrap themselves around a table leg and?

flex

.

flex /fl?ks/ vi.?繃緊(肌肉)

112

Juli, her dad, and my grandfather were off to the side talking?

nonstop

?about something, and my dad was over with Mrs. Baker looking about as stupid as I felt, standing by myself talking to no one.

nonstop /nɑn'stɑp/ adv.?不休息的

113

My mom?

flutters

?over to me and says, “You doing okay, honey?”

flutter /?fl?t?r/ vi.?飄動(dòng)

114

“Yeah,” I tell her, but she forces me over to where Granddad is anyway.

115

“Go on, go on,” she whispers. “Dinner will be ready in a minute.”

116

So I stand there and the group of them opens up, but it's more like a?

reflex

?than anything.

reflex /'rifl?ks/ n.?反射作用

117

No one says a word to me.

118

They just keep right on talking about?

perpetual motion

.

perpetual motion n. [物]永恒運(yùn)動(dòng)

119

Perpetual motion.

120

My friend, I didn't even know what perpetual motion was.

121

They were talking?

closed systems

, open systems,?

resistance

,?

energy source

,?

magnetism

?… it was like joining a discussion in a different language.

closed systems?封閉系統(tǒng)

resistance /r??z?st?ns/ n.?阻力

energy source?能源

magnetism /'m?gn?'t?z?m/ n.?磁力

122

And Juli, Juli was saying stuff like, “Well, what if you put the?

magnets

?

back to back

?— reversed the?

polarity

?” like she really understood what they were talking about.

magnet /?m?ɡn?t/ n.?磁鐵

back to back?背靠背

polarity /p?'l?r?ti/ n. [物]?極性

123

Then my granddad and her dad would explain why her idea wouldn't work, but all that did was make Juli ask another question.

124

I was completely?

lost

.

lost /l?st/ adj.?困惑的

125

And even though I was pretending to follow along with what they were saying, what I was really doing was trying not to stare at Juli.

126

When my mom called us for dinner, I did my best to pull Juli aside and apologize to her, but she gave me the?

cold shoulder

, and who could blame her, really?

cold shoulder?冷淡對待

127

I sat down across from her, feeling pretty?

low

.

low /lo?/ adj.?消沉的

128

Why hadn't I said something to Garrett in the library? I didn't have to punch him.

129

Why hadn't I just told him he was out of line?

130

After Mom served everyone their food, Dad seemed to decide that he ought to be the one directing the conversation.

131

“So, Mike and Matt,” he says, “you're?

seniors

?this year.”

senior /?si?ni?r/ n. [美]（中學(xué)或大學(xué)的）畢業(yè)班學(xué)生

132

“

Amen

!” they say together.

amen /?ɑm?n/ int.?（祈禱時(shí)的結(jié)尾語）阿門

133

“Amen? As in you're glad high school's over?”

134

“Absolutely.”

135

My father starts twirling his fork. “Why's that?”

136

Matt and Mike look at each other, then back at my dad. “The?

regurgitation

?gets to you after a while.”

regurgitation /riɡ?d??'te??n/ n.?反胃

137

“Isn't that funny,” he says, looking around the table. “High school was probably the best time of my life.”

138

Matt-or-Mike says, “Seriously? Dude, it's totally lame!”

139

Mrs. Baker shoots him a look, but that doesn't stop him.

140

“Well, it is, Mom. It's that whole?

robotron

?attitude of education.?

Confine

,?

confute

,?

conform

—I've had totally enough of that?

scene

.”

robotron?機(jī)器人

confine /k?n?fa?n/ v.?限制

confute /k?n'fjut/ vt.?駁斥

conform /k?n?f??rm/ v.?順從

scene /si?n/ n.?情景

141

My dad eyes my mom with a little I-told-you-so grin, then says to Matt and Mike, “So I take it college is out of the question?”

142

God, what was with him?

143

In a flash I was clutching my fork and knife, ready to?

duke it out

?for a couple of guys who pinched my cheeks and called me baby brother.

duke it out?打個(gè)輸贏

144

I took a deep breath and tried to relax. Tried to dive down to calmer water.

145

This wasn't my fight.

146

Besides, Matt and Mike seemed cool with it.

147

“Oh, no,” they said. “College is a total possibility.”

148

“Yeah, we got accepted a couple of places, but we're going to give the music thing a shot first.”

149

“Oh, the music thing,” my father says.

150

Matt and Mike look at each other, then shrug and get back to eating.

151

But Lynetta glares at him and says, “Your?

sarcasm

?is not appreciated, Dad.”

sarcasm /?sɑ?rk?z?m/ n.?諷刺

152

“Lyn, Lyn,” says Matt-or-Mike.

153

“It's cool. Everyone's like that about it. It's a show-me-don't-tell-me thing.”

154

“That's a great idea,” Lynetta says, jumping out of her seat and dashing down the hall.

155

Mom freezes, not sure what to do about Lynetta, but then Mrs. Baker says, “Dinner is absolutely delicious, Patsy.”

156

“Thanks, Trina. It's … it's nice to have all of you over.”

157

There's about three seconds of quiet and then Lynetta comes in and?

jabs

?at the CD player buttons until the drawer slides back in.

jab /d??b/ vt.?猛擊

158

“Lyn, no! Not a good idea,” says Matt-or-Mike. “Yeah, Lyn. It's not exactly dinner music.”

159

“

Tough

,” says Lynetta, and cranks the volume.

tough /t?f/ v.?忍受

160

Boom, whack! Boom-boom, whack!

161

The candles practically shake in their?

holders

; then guitars?

rip

?through the air and about blow them out.

holder /?ho?ld?r/ n.?（臺(tái)、架等）支持物

rip /r?p/ vt.?撕

162

Matt and Mike look up at the?

speakers

, then grin at each other and call over to my dad, “

Surround sound

?—?

awesome

?

setup

, Mr. Loski!”

speaker /'spik?/ n.?揚(yáng)聲器

surround sound?環(huán)繞立體聲

awesome /?ɑ?s?m/ adj.?令人驚嘆的

setup /'s?t,?p/ n.?裝備

163

All the adults were dying to jump up and turn the thing down, but Lynetta stood guard and just?

glowered

?at them.

glower /?ɡla??r/ vi.?怒視

164

And when the song's over, Lynetta pulls out the CD, punches off the player, and then smiles — actually smiles — at Matt and Mike and says,

165

“That is the?

raddest

?song. I want to hear it again and again and again.”

rad /r?d/ adj. [俚]?非常棒的，極好的

166

Matt-or-Mike says to my dad, “You probably don't like it, but it's what we do.”

167

“You boys wrote that song?”

168

“Uh-huh.”

169

He?

motions

?Lynetta to pass the CD over, saying, “Just the one song?”

motion /?mo??n/ vt.?向…打手勢

170

Matt-or-Mike laughs and says, “Dude, we've got a thousand songs, but there's only three on the demo.”

171

Dad holds up the CD. “This is the demo?”

172

“Yeah.”

173

He looks at it a minute and says, “So if you're Piss Poor, how do you afford to press CDs?”

174

“Dad!” Lynetta snaps at him.

175

“It's okay, Lyn. Just a joke, right, Mr. Loski?”

176

My dad laughs a little and says, “Right,” but then adds,

177

“Although I am a little curious. This is obviously not a home-done demo, and I?

happen

?to know studio time's cost-

prohibitive

?for most bands….”

happen /?h?p?n/ vi.?碰巧

prohibitive /pr??h?b?t?v/ adj. (指價(jià)格等)高得買不起的

178

Matt and Mike interrupt him with a slamming hard high five.

179

And while I'm getting?

uptight

?about my dad asking them questions about money, of all things, my mom's?

fumbling

?all over herself, trying to?

sweep

?away my dad's big?

pawprints

.

uptight /'?p'ta?t/ adj. [口]?憤怒的

fumble /?f?mbl/ vi.?支支吾吾地說

sweep away?清除

pawprint n.?爪印

180

“When Rick and I met, he was playing in a band….”

181

Poached salmon was suddenly swimming down the wrong?

hatch

.

hatch /h?t?/ n.?艙口

182

And while I'm choking, Lynetta's?

bugging

?out her raccoon eyes, gasping, “You? Played in a band? What did you play,?

clarinet

?”

bug /b?ɡ/ v. (由于吃驚或害怕)張大眼睛

clarinet /?kl?r?'n?t/ n.?單簧管

183

“No, honey,” my mom says, trying to hold it all together. “Your father played guitar.”

184

“Guitar?”

185

“Cool!” Matt-or-Mike says. “Rock? Country? Jazz?”

186

“Country,” my dad says. “Which is nothing to?

scoff

?at, boys.”

scoff /skɑ?f/ vi.?嘲笑

187

“Dude! We know. Total respect, man.”

188

“And when our band looked into getting a demo made, it was?

astronomically

?expensive. That was in a big city, where there was a little?

competition

.

astronomically /??str?'n?mikli/ adv.?天文學(xué)上

competition /?kɑ?mp??t??n/ n.?競爭

189

Getting a demo made around here? I didn't even know there was a?

facility

.”

facility /f??s?l?ti/ n.?設(shè)備

190

Matt and Mike are still grinning. “There's not.”

191

“So where'd you go? And how'd you afford it?”

192

My mother whacks him under the table again, so he says, “I'm just curious, Patsy!”

193

Matt and Mike lean in. “We did it ourselves.”

194

“This right here? You did this yourselves? That's impossible.” He's looking almost mad about it. “How'd you get the?

gear

?”

gear /ɡ?r/ n.?設(shè)備

195

My mom kicks him again, but Dad turns on her and says, “Stop it, would you? I'm just curious!”

196

Matt-or-Mike says, “It's cool, Mrs. Loski.” He smiles at my dad and says,

197

“We kept?

cruising

?the Internet and the?

trades

?looking for a deal. Everyone's blowing out their old?

analog

?gear for digital because that's the?

move

?everyone else has made.

cruise /kru?z/ vt.?漫游

trades /tred/ n.?各種營業(yè)

analog /'?n?l?g/ [電腦]?模擬

move /muv/ n.?行動(dòng)

198

Digital, if you want to know our opinion, is weak. You lose too much of the?

waveform

. There's not enough fat to it, and obviously we like it?

beefy

.”

waveform /?wev?f?rm/ n.?波形

beefy /'bifi/ adj.?健壯的

199

My granddad puts up a finger and says, “But a CD's digital, so…”

200

“Exactly, but that is the last and only step we'll?

compromise

?on. It's just a necessity of being part of the?

industry

. Everyone wants CDs. But the?

multitrack

?and the?

mixdown

?to?

two-track

?is analog.

compromise /?kɑ?mpr?ma?z/ vi.?折中解決

industry /??nd?stri/ n.?行業(yè)

multitrack /?m?lt??tr?k/ n.?多聲道

mixdown n.?混音

two-track?雙軌

201

And we could afford it, Mr. Loski, because we got?

used

?gear and we've been saving up our pennies since we were twelve years old.”

used /just/ adj.?二手的

202

He grins and says, “You still play? We could, you know,?

lay down

?some of your tunes if you want.”

lay down?制定

203

My dad looks down, and for a second I couldn't tell if he was going to get mad or cry.

204

Then he sort of?

snorts

?and says, “Thanks, but that's not me anymore.”

snort /sn?rt/ vt. & vi.?噴鼻息(以表示不耐煩,?輕蔑等)

205

Which was probably the only honest thing my dad said all night. After that he was quiet.

206

He'd try to?

plaster

?up a smile now and then, but man, underneath it he was?

broody

.

plaster /?pl?st?r/ vt.?粘貼

broody /'br?di/ adj.?郁郁寡歡的

207

And I was feeling kind of bad for him.

208

Was he thinking about the good old days playing in a band?

209

I tried?

picturing

?him in?

cowboy

?boots and a cowboy hat, with a guitar?

strapped

?across his shoulder, playing some old Willie Nelson song.

picture /?p?kt??r/ v.?想象

cowboy /?ka?b??/ n.?牛仔

strap /str?p/ vt.?用帶捆綁

210

He was right — it just wasn't him.

211

But the fact that it ever had been made me feel even more like a stranger in a strange land.

212

Then, when the night was over and the Bakers were?

piling out

?the front door, something else strange happened.

pile out?走出

213

Juli touched my arm.

214

And for the first time that night she was looking at me.

215

It was that look, too,?

channeled

?

directly

?and?

solely

?at me.

channel /?t??nl/ vt.?輸送

directly /d??rektli/ adv.?直接地

solely /?so?lli/ adv.?唯一地

216

She says, “I'm sorry I was so angry when we first came in. Everyone had a good time, and I think your mom's really nice for inviting us.”

217

Her voice was quiet. Almost a?

whisper

.

whisper /?w?sp?r/ n.?耳語

218

I just stood there like a?

moron

, staring at her.

moron /'m?rɑn/ n. [口]傻瓜

219

“Bryce?” she says, touching my arm again. “Did you hear me? I'm sorry.”

220

I managed a nod, but my arm was?

tingling

, and my heart was pounding, and I felt myself pulling toward her.

tingle /'t??ɡl/ vi.?感到刺痛

221

Then she was gone. Out the door and into the night, part of a?

chorus

?of happy good-byes.

chorus /?k??r?s/ n.?異口同聲

222

I tried to?

catch my breath

.

catch breath?喘口氣

223

What was that? What was wrong with me?

224

My mother closed the door and said,

225

“There. Now what did I tell you? That is one?

delightful

?family! Those boys are nothing like I?

expected

. Lynetta, why didn't you tell me they were so…so charming!”

delightful /d??la?tfl/ adj.?討人喜歡的

226

“They're?

drug dealers

?is what they are.”

drug dealer?毒品走私犯

227

Everyone turned to my father and dropped their jaws.

228

“What?” my mother said.

229

“There is no other way those boys could afford to buy?

recording

?gear like that.” He glared at Lynetta. “Isn't that so?”

recording /r??k??rd??/ n.?錄音

230

Lynetta's eyes looked like they were going to?

pop right out

?of her head.

pop out?彈出

231

“Rick, please!” my mother said. “You can't just make?

accusations

?like that!”

accusation /??kju?ze??n/ n.?指控

232

“It's the only thing that makes sense, Patsy. Believe me, I know how musicians are. There is no other explanation for this.”

233

Lynetta shouted, “I happen to know for a fact that they don't use or deal. Where do you get off saying something like that? You are such a?

two-faced

,?

condescending

, narrow-minded?

jackass

!”

two-faced /?tu?fest/ adj. (人)表里不一的

condescending /?kɑ?nd??send??/ adj.?傲慢的

jackass /'d??k?s/ n.?愚人

234

There was a split second of silence, and then he slapped her,?

smack

, right across the cheek.

smack /sm?k/ n.?掌摑(聲)

235

That put my mother in his face like I'd never seen and sent my sister screaming?

insults

?over her shoulder as she ran down to her room.

insult /?n?s?lt/ v.?辱罵

236

My heart was pounding.

237

Lynetta was right and I almost, almost got in his face, too, and told him so.

238

But then my granddad pulled me aside and we both?

retreated

?to our own little corners of the house.

retreat /r??tri?t/ vi.?退避

239

Pacing

?around my room, I had the urge to go talk to Lynetta. To tell her that she was right, that Dad was way out of line.

pace /pe?s/ vt. & vi.?踱步于

240

But I could hear her through the walls, crying and screaming while my mom tried to calm her down.

241

Then she stormed out of the house to who-knows-where, and my mom took up with my dad again.

242

So I?

stayed put

.

stay put?留在原地不動(dòng)

243

And even though the earth quit?

quaking

?around eleven o'clock, there were?

tremors

?out there.

quake /kwe?k/ vi. (地面)震動(dòng)

tremor /?trem?r/ n.?風(fēng)波

244

I could feel them.

245

As I lay in my bed staring out the window at the sky, I thought about how my dad had always?

looked down

?on the Bakers.?

look down?瞧不起

246

How he'd put down their house and their yard and their cars and what they did for a?

living

.

living /?l?v??/ n.?生活

247

How he'd called them trash and made fun of Mr. Baker's paintings.

248

And now I was seeing that there was something really cool about that family.

249

All of them.

250

They were just…real.

251

And who were we?

252

There was something?

spinning

?

wickedly

?out of control inside this house.

spin /sp?n/ vt.?飛馳

wickedly /'wikidli/ adv.?惡劣地

253

It was like seeing inside the Bakers' world had opened up windows into our own, and the view was not a pretty one.

254

Where had all this stuff come from?

255

And why hadn't I ever seen it before.

256