Wonder | Part One Reading Notes

paul-mccartney-and-flowers-1967

【序】

庸医自远方来
只为看我一面
他们站在我的床前
难以置信


他们说
我必定为上帝创造的奇迹
这是他们
唯一想到的原因

【一】

一个面容超级丑陋的孩子，自认为是最普通的一个。但是别人不这样想，纵使他已经习惯。


父母和姐姐都在保护他，说他不是ordinary而是extraordinary.


他不能去学校，尽管该上五年级了，只得一直在家受母亲教育。朋友也没几个，除了一起出生的伙伴习惯了他的样子，没新朋友和他玩。


他出生时——他母亲每次都是这样讲的，接生室里两位护士在，一位很甜美很漂亮，一位很粗鲁还老是放屁。甜美护士把刚出生的他抱去给主治医师看，医师立马晕了，然后放屁护士放了一个很大很臭很长的....屁——每次他母亲讲到这里时他总觉得是最有趣的——然后把医师给臭醒了。

护士跟他母亲说他可能活不过当晚，然后默念：Everyone born of God overcometh the world. 等他度过当晚时，医师才带着他给母亲看，并再三叮嘱做好心理准备。母亲唯一看到的是他的眼睛很好看。他的脸却像玉米糊倒在地上的一样。顺便说一声，他母亲很美，父亲英俊，他姐姐也很漂亮。


可是他现在该去学校了。母亲已经无法教再多了，总有她不会的东西。虽然他不想去，但父母夜里偷偷带着他去，见到校长和三位同学，虽然很生气，但是因为好奇校长的名字（Mr. Tushman，tush， 俚语，屁股），到了地方之后还是跟着同学们逛了下校园。最终他还是进了学校，同学们大部分都会盯着他的脸看，但是很快就习惯了。

第一堂英语课上，老师给出九月份开学的戒律：

MR. BROWNE’S SEPTEMBER PRECEPT: WHEN GIVEN THE CHOICE BETWEEN BEING RIGHT OR BEING KIND, CHOOSE KIND.

有个同学经常带他到处逛，但是在万圣节大家都戴面具玩那天，他无意间听到这位同学说他也很讨厌自己，其实领着自己到处逛都是老师要求的。

这位同学没有choose kind 而是choose right.

他的心沉到了谷底。

【学】

Since I’ve never been to a real school before, I am pretty much totally and completely petrified.

petrify: make someone so frightened——使惊呆

近义词：astonished surprised frightened

注意这里的四个副词强调：pretty much totally and completely

 If we bump into each other on the street, they’re still nice to me, though.

  meet by chance——偶遇

近义词：encounter

I was mostly doodling in my notebook while he talked, but every once in a while I would sneak a look at the other students.

doodle: scribble absent-mindedly——乱涂

sneak: do in a stealthy way——偷偷做

讲小孩子小动作的词

His skin gets all shriveled up and his whole face just kind of melts.

shrivel: wrinkle due to loss of moisture——因失水而起皱 

Followers simply shriveled up.

I peeked at Julian and he was looking at me.

peek: look quickly——偷看

近义词：sneak a look

Julian scrunched up his face and started tapping his forehead like he was thinking really hard.

scrunch: become crushed——受到挤压

Their faces scrunch up with concentration.

Then he plopped his backpack up really high on the right side of the desk so it was kind of like a wall between his desk and mine.

plop: fall with such a sound——扑通一声掉下

The stone plopped into the pond.

以上是重点单词。

以下是常见口语：

“Then that’s it, case closed,”I said, shrugging, and I sat in her lap like I was a baby.

事情结束了、就这样。

不想和别人怎么解释是这样这么说。

And that great shot of you holding that flounder on the boat!

这是讲拍的照片，你在照片里的样子

The shot of you is very awesome.

In hindsight——马后炮，事情结束后才知道

a white lie——善意的谎言

And you’re into science——你热爱科学

You’ve just made my day. ——你让我今天非常开心

I lost track of the time.——我忘了时间

If he starts throwing up or runs a temperature, you should call the doctor.

发烧了

【答】

[1] 

What happened when the boy was born?

When he came out of Mom’s stomach, she said the whole room got very quiet.

Mom didn’t even get a chance to look at him because the nice nurse immediately rushed him out of the room. Dad was in such a hurry to follow her that he dropped the video camera, which broke into a million pieces.

And then Mom got very upset and tried to get out of bed to see where they were going, but the farting nurse put her very big arms on Mom to keep her down in the bed.

They were practically fighting, because Mom was hysterical and the farting nurse was yelling at her to stay calm, and then they both started screaming for the doctor. But he had fainted right on the floor!

So when the farting nurse saw that he had fainted, she started pushing him with her foot to get him to wake up, yelling at him the whole time: “What kind of doctor are you? What kind of doctor are you? Get up! Get up!” And then all of a sudden she let out the biggest, loudest, smelliest fart in the history of farts. 

[2] Among the three ones who showed August around the school, which one did August feel not nice? And why?
 

Julian.

Because he is the kind of kid who’s one way in front of grown-ups and another way in front of kids. And he asked: "So, August, what’s the deal with your face? ” and  “ ‘Were you in a fire or something? ”

[3] What is Mr. Browne's precept in the first class? And how do you think about it?

Mr. Browne’s September precept: when given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.

For some kind is more important than right. Mr. Browne hope his students (and the author us, I believe) could learn to be kind. I think if not crucial, I mean, when confronting about the existence of life or civilization, one needs to change between right and kind, provided he knows what is right and kind, really, he could have choose to be kind, and he should.