A Novel,适合初级水平学习地道英语

cherrywang

看到一本英文小说，名字叫‘bad girls’。感觉里面的英语比较地道，准备type下来，让自己从头再学一遍英语，开贴以坚持和分享。

cherrywang

Bad Girls

Chapter 1    Red
They were going to get me.

I saw them the moment I turned the corner. They were halfway down, waiting near the bus stop. Melanie, Sarah and Kim. Kim, the worst one of all.

I didn’t know what to do. I took a step forward, my sandal sticking to the pavement.

They were nudging each other. They’d spotted me.

I couldn’t see that far, even with my glasses, but I knew Kim would have that great big smile on her face.

I stood still. I looked over my shoulder. Perhaps I could run back to school? I’d hung around for ages already. Maybe they’d locked the playground gates? But perhaps one of the teachers would still be there? I could pretend I had a stomachache or something and then maybe I’d get a lift in their car?

‘Look at Mandy! She’s going to go rushing back to school. Baby!’ Kim yelled.

She seemed to have her own magic glasses that let her see right inside my head. She didn’t wear ordinary glasses, of course. Girls like Kim never wear glasses or braces on their teeth. They never get fat. They never wear stupid baby clothes.

If I ran back they’d only run after me. So I went on walking, even though my legs were wobbly. I was getting near enough to see them properly. Kim was smiling all right. They all were.

I tried to think what to do.

Daddy told me to try teasing her back. But you can’t tease girls like Kim. There’s nothing to tease her about.

Mum said just ignore them and then they’ll get tired of teasing.

They hadn’t got tired yet.

I was getting nearer and nearer. My sandals were still sticking. I was sticking, too. My dress stuck to my back. My forehead was wet under my fringe.

But I tried very hard to look cool. I tried to stare straight past them. Arthur King was waiting at the bus stop. I stared at him instead. He was reading a book. He was always reading books.

cherrywang

I like reading too. It was a shame Arthur King was a boy. And a bit weird. Otherwise we might have been friends.

I didn’t have any proper friends now. I used to have Melanie, but then she got friendly with Sarah. Then Kim decided she’d have them in her gang.

Melanie always said she hated Kim. But now she was her best friend. If Kim wants you as a friend then that’s it. You don’t argue with her. She can be so scary.

She was right in front of me now. I couldn’t stare past her any more. I had to look at her. Her bright black eyes and her glossy hair and her big mouth smiling, showing all her white teeth.

I could even see her when I shut my eyes. It was as if she’d stepped through my glasses, straight into my head. Smiling and smiling.

‘She’s got her eyes shut. Hey, let’s bump into her,’ said Kim.

I opened my eyes up quick.

‘She’s mad,’ said Sarah.

‘She’s playing one of her pretend games,’ said Melanie.

They all cracked up laughing.

I couldn’t stand it that Melanie had told them all our private games. My eyes started stinging. I blinked hard. I knew I mustn’t cry no matter what.

Ignore them, ignore them, ignore them…

cherrywang

以上是我劳动一天的成果，真累呀。

cherrywang

‘She’s trying to ignore us!’ said Kim triumphantly. ‘Did Mumsie-Wumsie tell you to ignore us rude nasty girlies, then?’

There was no point trying to ignore her any more. I couldn’t, anyway. She’d stepped straight in front of me. She had Melanie on one side, Sarah on the other. I was surrounded.

I swallowed. Kim went on smiling.

‘Where is Mumsie, anyway?’ she said. ‘Not like Mumsie to let little Mandy mince home all by herself. We were looking out for her, weren’t we, Mel, weren’t we, Sarah?’

They always nudged each other and whispered and giggled when my mum went past. They nudged and whispered and giggled even more when Mum and I were together. One terrible time Mum took hold of my hand and they all saw before I could snatch it away. They went on about it for weeks. Kim made up tales of toddler reins and pushchairs and baby bottles. And a dummy for the dummy.

They were nudging and whispering and giggling now. I didn’t answer Kim. I tried to dodge round her but she dodged too, so she was standing in front of me. Right up close. Bigger than me.

‘Hey, I’m talking to you! You deaf or something? Had I better shout?’ said Kim. She bent so close her silky black hair brushed my cheek. ‘WHERE’S MUMSIE?’ she bellowed into my ear.

I could feel her voice roaring right through my head, whirling up and down every little squiggle of my brain. I peered round desperately. Arthur King was looking up from his book, staring.

I couldn’t stand him seeing. I tried hard to pretend that everything was completely normal

‘My mum’s at the dentist’s,’ I said, acting as if Kim and I were having a completely ordinary conversation.

Melanie and Sarah started sniggering. Kim smiled on steadily.

‘Oooh, at the dentist’s,’ she said. She sounded as if she was chatting, too. ‘Mmm, yes, well, your mum would have to go to the dentist’s, wouldn’t she, Mandy?’ She waited.

I didn’t know whether to say anything or not. I waited too.

‘Your mum jolly well needs to go to the dentist’s,’ said Kim. ‘She’s so wrinkly and grey and ancient I expect all her own teeth are crumbling right away. Gone for a full set of false choppers, has she, Mandy?’

cherrywang

今天的，坚持呀。

ghrong

Is this a juniors non-fiction?

ghrong

Is it this book?

http://books.google.com.au/books ... amp;ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA

pinxinge

原帖由 ghrong 于 27-9-2010 14:04 发表

                               
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Is this a juniors non-fiction?

I guess the book is about the girls' life in public school.

yunsa

谢谢LZ分享!

cherrywang

就是这一本，网上能下载吗？这样敲字累死我了。

ghrong

No I don't think it can be downloaded for free.

It's a book that has copyrights, selling for 10 bucks on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Girls- ... 85586895&sr=1-1

cherrywang

那我还是继续我的工作吧。

cherrywang

She smiled sweetly as she said it, baring her own perfect teeth.  It felt as if she were biting me with them. Cruel little nips, again and again. ‘You shut up about my mum,’ I said. I meant it to sound threatening but it came out like I was pleading. Either way it wouldn’t make any difference. No-one could ever shut Kim up when she got started. Especially not me.

‘Your mum looks older than my grandma,’ said Kim. ‘No, she looks older than my great-grandma. How old was she when she had you, Mandy? Sixty? Seventy? A hundred?’

‘You are just being stupid,’ I said. ‘My mum’s not that old.’

‘So how old is she, then?’

‘It’s none of your business,’ I said.

‘She’s fifty-five,’ said Melanie. ‘And her dad’s even older, he’s sixty-two.’

I felt my face flushing deep red. I’d told her when we were best friends and she had sworn she’d never ever tell.

‘That’s ancient!’ said Sarah. ‘My mum’s only thirty-one.’

They all started miming aged old ladies, smacking their lips together and hobbling wide-legged.

‘Stop it!’ I said, and my glasses started to go smeary. I could still see Arthur King through them. He’d gone back to his book, but his face was red, too.


‘ Oooh, Mumsie’s little pet sugar lump is throwing a wobbly,’ said Kim. She stopped clowning and put her arm round Melanie. ‘So what’s Daddy like then? Is he all googly-eyed and ga-ga?’

‘He’s got this silly beard and he wears a smock,’ said Melanie, and she looked thrilled when Kim hugged her gleefully.

‘A smock! Like a frock? Mandy’s dad wears a frock!’ Kim yelled, and they all doubled up laughing.

‘A smock isn’t a frock,’ I gabbled desperately. ‘And it’s a man’s smock, a fisherman’s smock; Daddy just wears it when he’s painting.’

‘Daddy!’ They all shrieked again.

My face felt as if it were on fire. I didn’t know how the Daddy slipped out. I tried so hard to say Mum and Dad like all the others. I thought Daddy’s smock looked a bit silly too. And I wished my mum didn’t have grey hair and a big bulky body that strained tight against her cotton frocks and puffy feet strapped into sandals. I wished my mum was young and cool and pretty like all the other mums. I wished my dad was young and strong and swung me around in the air like the other dads.

cherrywang

Poor little girl! She had no friends at school and was laughed at because of her old mum and dad.

葩菈

加油啊！

cherrywang

对不起，这几天要照顾生病的宝宝。

老林

鹰扬天下

感动

beckyniu

LZ辛苦！

qingyingwanlv

辛苦啦！

sotmaomao

LZ辛苦了 加油 ！赞一个！

cherrywang

很惭愧，最近忙着上课找工作没更新。