The Dinner

1

By the time I got home, I knew it would be selfish of me to?

boycott

?the Loskis' dinner party.

boycott /?b??kɑ?t/ vt.?拒絕參加

2

My mother had already spent a lot of time?

humming

?over pie?

recipes

?and going through her closet for “something?

suitable

?to wear.”

hum /h?m/ v.?活躍

recipe /?res?pi/ n.?食譜

suitable /?su?t?bl/ adj.?合適的

3

She'd even bought a new shirt for Dad and had?

scrutinized

?what the boys?

intended

?to wear.

scrutinize /?skru?t?na?z/ vt.?仔細(xì)檢查

intend /?n?tend/ vi.?想要

4

Obviously she was?

looking forward

?to the dinner— not that I really understood that, but I didn't want to ruin everything by telling her about my?

newfound

?

hatred

?of Bryce.

look forward?期待

newfound /?nu?fa?nd/ adj.?新發(fā)現(xiàn)的

hatred /?he?tr?d/ n.?憎恨

5

And Dad felt?

bad

?enough about David already.

bad /b?d/ adj.?難過的

6

The last thing he needed was to hear about?

crackpot

?comments made by?

immature

?eighth graders.

crackpot /?kr?kpɑ?t/ adj.?離奇的

immature /??m??t??r/ adj.?不成熟的

7

So that night I?

went through the motions

?of baking pies with my mother and?

convinced

?myself that I was doing the right thing.

go through the motions?走過場

baking /'bek??/ n.?烘焙

convince /k?n?v?ns/ vt.?說服

8

One dinner couldn't change anyone's life. I just had to?

get through

?it.

get through?度過，熬過(困難時(shí)期等)

9

Friday at school I avoided the blue-eyed?

brat

?

the best I could

, but that night as I got dressed, I found myself staring at the painting my father had given me and became?

furious

?all over again.

brat /br?t/ n.?乳臭未干的小孩

the best I can?盡我所能

furious /?fj?ri?s/ adj.?暴怒的

10

Bryce had never been a friend to me, ever!

11

He hadn't made a stand for the tree, he'd thrown away my eggs, and he'd made fun of me at my uncle's?

expense

….

expense /?k?spens/ n.?代價(jià)

12

Why was I playing along like we were?

jolly

?friends and neighbors?

jolly /?d?ɑ?li/ adj.?愉快的

13

When my mother called that it was time to go, I went out in the hall with every intention of telling her that I would not, could not go to the Loskis' for dinner,

14

but she looked so lovely and happy that I couldn't.

15

I just couldn't.

16

I took a deep breath, wrapped up a pie, and?

shuffled

?across the street behind my brothers and parents.

shuffle /???fl/ vi.?拖著腳走

17

Chet?

answered

?the door.

answer /'?ns?/ vt. & vi.?應(yīng)門

18

Maybe I should've been mad at him, too, for telling the Loskis about my uncle, but I wasn't.

19

I hadn't asked him not to tell, and he certainly wasn't the one making fun of David.

20

Mrs. Loski came up behind Chet,?

whisked

?us in, and?

fluttered about

.

whisk /w?sk/ vi.?飛奔

flutter about?輕快興奮地走動

21

And even though she had quite a bit of makeup on, I was surprised to see the?

blueness

?of bags beneath her eyes.

blueness /'blu:nis/ n.?憂郁

22

Then Mrs. Loski and my mother went off with the pies, my brothers vanished down the hall with Lynetta, and my father followed Chet into the living room.

23

And wasn't that just?

dandy

?

dandy /'d?ndi/ adj.?極好的（口語）

24

That left me alone in the?

foyer

?with Bryce.

foyer /?f???r/ n.?門廳

25

He said hi to me and I lost it.

26

I?

spun

?on him, snapping, “Don't you speak to me! I?

overheard

?you and Garrett in the library, and I don't want to talk to you now or ever!”

spin /sp?n/ v. (使)急轉(zhuǎn)身

overhear /?o?v?r?h?r/ vt.?無意中聽到

27

I started to walk into the living room, but he stopped me.

28

“Juli! Juli, wait!” he whispered. “I'm not the bad guy here! That was Garrett. That was all Garrett!”

29

I glared at him. “I know what I heard.”

30

“No! No you don't! I …I was feeling bad about, you know, the eggs and what I'd said about your yard.

31

I didn't know anything about your uncle or what kind of situation your family was in, okay? I just wanted to talk to someone about it.”

32

Our eyes locked for a minute, and for the first time the blueness of his didn't freeze up my brain.

33

“I heard you laugh. He made a joke about me being a retard, and you laughed.”

34

“Juli, you don't understand. I wanted to punch him! Really, I did! But we were in the library….” 36 “So instead you laughed.”

35

He shrugged and looked?

miserable

?and?

sheepish

. “Yeah.”

miserable /?m?zr?bl/ adj.?可憐的

sheepish /??ip??/ adj.?懦弱的

37

I left him.

38

Just walked into the living room and left him.

39

If he was?

making it up

, he was quite an actor.

make up?編造

40

If he was telling the truth, then Chet was right—he was a?

coward

.

coward /?ka??rd/ n.?懦夫

41

Either way

, I didn't want to be anywhere near him.

either way?不管怎樣

42

I stood beside my father and tried to follow his discussion with Chet about something they'd both read in the paper.

43

My father was saying, “But what he's?

proposing

?would require a?

perpetual-motion machine

, so it's not possible.”

propose /pr??po?z/ vt. & vi.?提議

perpetual-motion machine?永動機(jī)

44

Chet replied, “Maybe in the?

context

?of what scientists know now, but do you?

rule it out

?completely?”

context /?kɑ?ntekst/ n.?環(huán)境

rule out?排除

45

At that moment I was feeling absolutely no scientific curiosity.

46

But in a?

desperate

?attempt to block Bryce Loski from my mind, I asked, “What's a perpetual-motion machine?”

desperate /?desp?r?t/ adj.?不顧一切的

47

My father and Chet glanced at each other, chuckled, then shrugged, giving me the sense that they'd just agreed to let me into a secret club.

48

My father explained, “It's a machine that runs without any?

external

?power source.”

external /?k?st??rnl/ adj.?外部的

49

“No electricity, no?

fuel

, no water?

propulsion

, nothing.” Chet glanced over my shoulder and asked rather?

absently

, “You think that's a?

doable

?thing?”

fuel /?fju??l/ n.?燃料

propulsion /pr??p?l?n/ n.?推進(jìn)

absently /'?bs?ntli/ adv.?心不在焉地

doable /'du?bl/ adj.?可做的

50

What had?

distracted

?him? Was Bryce still in the foyer? Why didn't he just go away?

distract /d??str?kt/ vt.?分心

51

I forced myself to focus on the conversation.

52

“Do I think that's a doable thing? Well, I don't really know. All machines use energy, right? Even real?

efficient

?ones. And that energy has to come from somewhere….”

efficient /??f??nt/ adj.?效率高的

53

“What if the machine?

generated

?it itself?” Chet asked, but one eye was still on the foyer.

generate /?d?en?re?t/ v.?產(chǎn)生

54

“How could it do that?”

55

Neither of them answered me.

56

Instead, my father stuck out his hand and said, “Good evening, Rick. Nice of you to?

have us over

.”

have someone over?邀請某人來作客

57

Mr. Loski?

pumped

?my dad's hand and joined our group, making little comments about the weather.

pump /p?mp/ v. (上下或內(nèi)外)快速反復(fù)運(yùn)動

58

When that topic was all?

dried up

, he said, “And wow, that yard of yours has really?

come along

. I told Chet here that we ought to?

hire him out

. He really?

knows

?his?

pickets

, doesn't he?”

dry up?講不出話來

come along?進(jìn)步

hire out?受雇

know /no/ vt.?精通

picket /'p?k?t/ n. [建]尖木樁

59

He was joking. I think.

60

But my father didn't?

take it

?that way, and neither did Chet.

take it?以為

61

I was afraid of what might happen next, but then Mrs. Loski?

tinkled

?a little dinner bell and called, “

Hors d'oeuvres

, everybody!”

tinkle /?t??kl/ vi.?發(fā)叮當(dāng)聲

hors d'oeuvres?（法）飯前點(diǎn)心

62

The hors d'oeuvres were delicious.

63

But when my father whispered that the?

teeny

-tiny black berries on top of the crackers weren't berries at all, but?

caviar

, I stopped midbite.

teeny /'tini/ adj.?〈口〉極小的

caviar /'k?v?'ɑr/ n.?魚子醬

64

Fish eggs??

Repulsive

!

repulsive /r?'p?ls?v/ adj.?令人厭惡的

65

Then my father?

pointed out

?that I ate chicken eggs all the time, so why get?

squeamish

?over fish eggs?

point out?點(diǎn)出

squeamish /?skwi?m??/ adj.?容易嘔吐的

66

He?

had a point

.

have a point?有道理

67

I?

hesitantly

?finished the cracker, and before long I was having another.

hesitantly /?h ?z?t?ntl?/ adv.?遲疑地

68

Bryce was standing all by himself across the room, and every time I happened to look his way, he was staring at me.

69

Finally I completely turned my back on him and said to my father, “So who's trying to?

invent

?a perpetual-motion machine, anyway?”

invent /?n?vent/ vt.?發(fā)明

70

My father laughed. “Mad scientists all over the world.”

71

“Really?”

72

“Yes. For hundreds of years.”

73

“Well, what do they do? What's one look like?”

74

It wasn't long before Chet was in on the discussion.

75

And just as I was finally starting to?

catch on

?to magnetism,?

gyroscopic

?

particles

, and?

zero-point energy

, I felt someone standing behind me.

dcatch on?理解

gyroscopic /?d?ai?r?s'k?pik/ adj.?回轉(zhuǎn)儀的

particle /?pɑ?rt?kl/ n.?顆粒

zero-point energy?零點(diǎn)能量

76

It was Bryce.

77

I could feel my cheeks flush with anger.

78

Couldn't he see I wanted to be left alone?

79

I took a step away from him, but what that did was open up the group and allow him to move forward.

80

Now he was standing in our circle listening to our discussion!

81

Well! Surely he was not interested in perpetual motion.

82

I?

barely

?was myself!

barely /?berli/ adv.?幾乎不

83

So, I?

reasoned

, continuing our discussion would?

drive him away

.

reason /?riz?n/ vt. & vi.?思考

drive away?趕走

84

I?

dove back in

, and when the conversation started to?

peter out

, I?

came up with

?my own ideas on perpetual-motion machines.

dive in?潛心做某事

peter out v.?逐漸減少

come up with?提出

85

I was like a?

perpetual

-idea machine,?

spinning

?

ridiculous

?suggestions right?

out of the air

.

perpetual /p?r?pet?u?l/ adj.?連續(xù)不斷的

spin /sp?n/ vt.?編造

ridiculous /r??d?kj?l?s/ adj.?可笑的

out of the air?無中生有(習(xí)語）

86

And still he wouldn't leave.

87

He didn't say anything, he just stood there, listening.

88

Then when Mrs. Loski announced that dinner was ready, Bryce held my arm and whispered,?

89

“Juli, I'm sorry. I've never been so sorry about anything in my whole life. You're right, I was a jerk, and I'm sorry.”

90

I?

yanked

?my arm free from his grasp and said, “It seems to me you've been sorry about a whole lot of things?

lately

!” and left him there with his apology hanging?

wounded

?in the air.

yank /j??k/ vt.?猛拉

lately /?le?tli/ adv.?最近

wound /wund/ vi.?受傷

91

It didn't take me long to realize that I'd made a mistake.

92

I should have let him say he was sorry and then simply continued to ignore him.

93

But I'd?

snapped

?at him in the middle of an apology, which somehow made me the rude one.

snap /sn?p/ v.?突然折斷

94

I sneaked a peek at him across the table, but he was watching his dad, who was asking my brothers about graduating and their plans for college.

95

I had, of course, seen Mr. Loski many times, but usually from a distance.

96

Still, it seemed impossible that I'd never noticed his eyes before.

97

They were blue. Brilliant blue.

98

And although Mr. Loski's were set farther back and were?

hidden

?somewhat by his eyebrows and?

cheekbones

, there was no mistaking where Bryce had gotten his eyes.

hide /ha?d/ v.?遮擋

cheekbone /'t?ikbon/ n.?面頰骨

99

His hair was black, too, like Bryce's, and his teeth were white and straight.

100

Even though Chet had called Bryce the spitting image of his father, I'd never really thought of them as looking?

alike

.

alike /??la?k/ adv.?相似地

101

But now I saw that they did look alike, though where his dad seemed kind of?

smug

, Bryce seemed… well, right now he seemed angry.

smug /sm?ɡ/ adj.?自以為是的

102

Then from the other side of the table, I heard, “Your?

sarcasm

?is not?

appreciated

, Dad.”

sarcasm /?sɑ?rk?z?m/ n.?諷刺

appreciate /??pri??ie?t/ vt.?欣賞

103

Mrs. Loski gave a small gasp, and everyone looked at Lynetta. “Well, it's not,” she said.

104

In all the years we've lived across the street from the Loskis, I've said about ten words to Lynetta, and she's said fewer back.

105

To me she's scary.

106

So it wasn't a surprise to see her glaring at her father, but it was uncomfortable.

107

Mrs. Loski was keeping a smile?

perched

?on her face, but she was blinking a lot, glancing nervously around the table.

perch /p??rt?/ v.?停留

108

I looked from one person to the next, too, wondering if dinner at the Loskis' was always this?

tense

.

tense /tens/ adj.?緊張的

109

Suddenly Lynetta got up and dashed down the hall, but she was back in a flash with a CD in her hand.

110

And when she put it in the player, I recognized one of my brothers' songs?

blaring

?through the speakers.

blare /bler/ vi. (喇叭或其他高音器具)刺耳地大聲鳴響

111

We'd heard this song, “Candle Ice,” pouring out of my brothers' bedroom at least a million times, so we were used to it.

112

But I looked over at my mom, worried that she might be embarrassed by the?

distorting

?guitars and the?

gritty

?lyrics.

distort /d??st??rt/ vt.?使失真

gritty /'gr?ti/ adj.?多沙的；(對消極事物的描述)逼真的

113

This was definitely not caviar music.

114

She seemed a little?

uncertain

, but in a happy way. She was sharing secret smiles with my father, and honestly, I think she even giggled.

uncertain /?n?s??rtn/ adj.?猶豫的

115

My dad was looking amused, although he was very?

reserved

?about it, and it took me until the end of the song to realize that he was proud.

reserve /r??z??rv/ n.?矜持

116

Proud that this noise came from his boys.

117

That surprised me.

118

Dad has never been real?

big on

?any?

rendition

?of my brothers' band, although he's never really criticized it either.

big on?對......熱情的

rendition /ren?d??n/ n.?演唱

119

But then Mr. Loski started?

grilling

?Matt and Mike about how they'd afforded to record their own music,

grill /ɡr?l/ vt.?拷問

120

and they explained about working and saving and shopping for good deals on?

equipment

, and that's when I realized why my father was proud.

equipment /??kw?pm?nt/ n.?設(shè)備

121

My brothers were feeling pretty good, too, you could tell.

122

And it was no wonder, with the way Lynetta was?

carrying on

?about how great “Candle Ice” was.

carry on?絮絮叨叨

123

She was positively?

gushing

, which seemed very odd, coming from Lynetta.

gush /ɡ??/ vi.?滔滔不絕地說話

124

As I looked around, it?

struck

?me that we were having dinner with a group of strangers.

strike /stra?k/ v.?突然意識到

125

We'd lived across the street for years, but I didn't know these people at all.

126

Lynetta did know how to smile.

127

Mr. Loski was clean and smooth on the?

outside

, but there was a?

distinct

?

whiff

?of something?

rotten

?buried just beneath the surface.

outside /?a?t'sa?d/ n.?外表

distinct /d??st??kt/ adj.?明顯的

whiff /w?f/ n.?一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)

rotten /?rɑ?tn/ adj.?腐爛的

128

And the ever-

efficient

?Mrs. Loski seemed?

flustered

, almost hyper.

efficient /??f??nt/ adj.?有能力的

flustered adj.?慌張的

129

Was it having us over that was making her nervous?

130

Then there was Bryce—the most disturbing of all because I had to admit that I didn't really know him, either.

131

And?

based

?on what I'd discovered lately, I didn't care to know any more.

base /be?s/ vt.?以…作基礎(chǔ)

132

Looking across the table at him, all I got was a strange,?

detached

,?

neutral

?feeling.

ddetached /d?'t?t?t/ adj.?不帶感情的

neutral /?nu?tr?l/ adj.?中立的

133

No fireworks, no?

leftover

?anger or?

resurging

?

flutters

.

leftover /'l?ftov?/ adj.?剩余的

resurge /r??s?d?/ v.?復(fù)活

flutter /?fl?t?r/ n. (心臟)跑怦怦亂跳

134

Nothing.

135

After we'd had dessert and it was time to go, I went up to Bryce and told him I was sorry for having been so fierce when we'd first come in.

136

“I should've let you apologize, and really, it was very nice of your family to have us over. I know it was a lot of work and, well, I think my mom had a really good time and that's what matters to me.”

137

We were looking right at each other, but it was almost as though he didn't hear me.

138

“Bryce? I said I'm sorry.”

139

He nodded, and then our families were waving good-bye and saying good night.

140

I walked behind my mother, who was holding hands with my father, and beside my brothers, who were carrying home what was left of our pies.

141

We all?

wound up

?in the kitchen, and Matt poured himself a glass of milk and said to Mike, “That Mr. Loski was?

sniffing us out

?pretty good tonight, wasn't he?”

wind up?結(jié)束

sniff out?發(fā)現(xiàn)

142

“No kidding. Maybe he thinks we're hot for his daughter.”

143

“Not me, dude! You?”

144

Mike got himself a glass of milk, too.

145

“That's Skyler's?

gig

. No way I'd go there.” He grinned.

gig /ɡ?ɡ/ n.?現(xiàn)場演出

146

“But she was really cool tonight. Did she come down on?

papa bear

?or what?”

papa bear?熊爸爸

147

My dad took a paper plate out of the cupboard and cut a slice of pie.

148

“You boys showed a lot of?

restraint

?tonight. I don't know if I could've kept my cool that way.”

restraint /r??stre?nt/ n.?克制

149

“Aw, he's just, you know…?

entrenched

,” Matt said. “Gotta?

adjust

?to the?

perspective

?and?

deal

?from there.”

entrenched /?n?tr?nt?t/ adj.?根深蒂固的

adjust /??d??st/ vi.?適應(yīng)

perspective /p?r?spekt?v/ n. (觀察問題的)視角

deal /di?l/ vi.?打交道

150

Then he added, “Not that I'd want him as my dad….”

151

Mike practically?

sprayed

?his milk. “Dude! Can you imagine?”

spray /spre?/ vt.?噴射

152

Then Matt gave my dad a slap on the back and said, “No way. I'm?

sticking with

?my main man here.”

stick with?和...呆在一起

153

My mom grinned from across the kitchen and said, “Me too.”

154

I'd never seen my father cry.

155

And he didn't exactly sit there?

bawling

, but there were definitely tears?

welling

?up in his eyes.

bawl /b??l/ vi.?放聲痛哭

well /w?l/ vi. (液體)涌出

156

He blinked them back the best he could and said, “Don't you boys want some pie to go with that milk?”

157

“Dude,” said Matt as he?

straddled

?a chair. “I was just thinking that.”

straddle /'str?dl/ vt.?跨坐

158

“Yeah,” Mike added. “I'm starved.”

159

“Get me a plate, too!” I called as Mike dug through the cupboard.

160

“But we just ate,” my mother cried.

161

“Come on, Trina, have some pie. It's delicious.”

162

I went to bed that night feeling very full and very happy.

163

And as I lay there in the dark, I wondered at how much emotion can go into any?

given

?day, and thought how nice it was to feel this way at the end of it.

given /?ɡ?vn/ adj.?特定的

164

And as I?

nestled

?in and?

drifted off

?to sleep, my heart felt wonderfully… free.

nestle /'n?sl/ vi.?舒適地坐定

drift off?迷迷糊糊地睡去

165

The next morning I still felt good.

166

I went outside and sprinkled the yard, enjoying the?

splish

?and?

patter

?of water on soil, wondering when, when, that first little?

blade

?of grass would spring up into the sunshine.

splish?水花四濺的擬聲詞

patter /'p?t?/ n.?急速拍打聲

blade /ble?d/ n. (草，小麥等的)葉片

167

Then I went out back, cleaned the?

coop

,?

raked

?the yard, and dug up some of the bigger weeds growing along the edges.

coop /k?p/ n.?雞籠

rake /rek/ vt. & vi.?以耙子耙平(泥土等)

168

Mrs. Stueby leaned over the side fence as I was?

shoveling

?my?

rakings

?and weeds into a trash can and said, “How's it going, Julianna? Making neat for a rooster?”

shovel /'??vl/ vt.?鏟除

raking n.?用耙子扒壟

169

“A rooster?”

170

“Why, certainly. Those hens need some?

motivation

?to start laying more!”

motivation /?mo?t??ve??n/ n.?動力

171

It was true.

172

Bonnie and Clydette and the others were only laying about half the eggs that they used to, but a rooster?

173

“I don't think the neighborhood would appreciate my getting a rooster, Mrs. Stueby. Besides, we'd get chicks and I don't think we can handle any more?

poultry

?back here.”

poultry /?po?ltri/ n.?家禽

174

“Nonsense. You've?

spoiled

?these birds, giving them the whole yard. They can share the space. Easily!

175

How else are you going to?

maintain

?your business? Soon those birds won't be laying anything a-tall!”

maintain /me?n?te?n/ vt.?繼續(xù)

176

“They won't?”

177

“Well, very little.”

178

I shook my head, then said, “They were just my chicks that grew into chickens and started laying eggs. I never really thought of it as a business.”

179

“Well, my runnin' a?

tab

?has probably?

contributed

?to that, and I'm sorry. I'll be sure and get you the whole?

sum

?this week, but consider buying yourself a rooster with some of it.

tab /t?b/ n. (待付的)帳單

contribute /k?n?tr?bju?t/ vt. & vi.?貢獻(xiàn)出

sum /s?m/ n.?金額

180

I've got a friend down on Newcomb Street who is positively?

green

?over my?

deviled eggs

. I gave her my?

recipe

, but she says hers just don't taste the same.”

deviled eggs?魔鬼蛋

recipe /?res?pi/ n.?食譜

green /ɡrin/ adj.?羨慕的

181

She winked at me.

182

“I'm certain she'd pay?

handsomely

?for a?

supply

?of my secret?

ingredient

?if it became?

available

.”

handsomely /'h?ns?mli/ adv.?大方地

supply /s??pla?/ n.?供應(yīng)

ingredient /?n?ɡri?di?nt/ n.?配料

available /??ve?l?bl/ adj.?可購得的

183

She turned to go, then said, “By-the-by, Julianna, you have done a?

mighty

?fine job on that front yard. Most impressive!”

mighty /?ma?ti/ adv.?非常

184

“Thanks, Mrs. Stueby,” I called as she slid open her?

patio

?door. “Thanks very much.”

patio /'p?t?o/ n.?露臺

185

I finished?

scooping up

?the piles I'd made and thought about what Mrs. Stueby had said.

scoop up?用鏟子取

186

Should I really get a rooster?

187

I'd heard that having one around made chickens lay more, whether they were in?

contact

?with each other or not.

contact /?kɑ?nt?kt/ vi.?接觸

188

I could even?

breed

?my chickens and get a whole new set of?

layers

.

breed /bri?d/ vt.?繁殖

layer /?le??r/ n.?產(chǎn)卵者

189

But did I really want to go through all of that again?

190

Not really. I didn't want to be the neighborhood?

rancher

. If my girls quit laying altogether, that would be just fine with me.

rancher /?r?nt??r/ n.?大農(nóng)場經(jīng)營者

191

Not really. I didn't want to be the neighborhood?

rancher

. If my girls quit laying altogether, that would be just fine with me.

192

I put away the?

rake

?and?

shovel

,?

clucked

?a kiss on each of the hens, and went inside.

rake /rek/ n.?耙子

shovel /'??vl/ n.?鐵鏟

cluck /kl?k/ v.?（雞）咯咯地叫

193

It felt good to?

take charge

?of my own destiny!

take charge /?tek?t?ɑrd?/?掌管

194

I felt strong and right and certain.

195

Little did I know

?how a few days back at school would change all of that.

little did I know?我一點(diǎn)也沒想到

196