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The First Day of Middle School
添加时间:2014-01-17 15:16:07 浏览次数: 作者:Patty Hansen
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  • My stomach tied in knots, and I could feel the sweat soaking through my T-shirt. My hands were clammy as I spun1 the face of my combination lock. I tried and tried to remember the numbers, and every time I thought I had it, the lock wouldn't open. Around and around went the numbers, left, right, right, left...which way was it supposed to go? I couldn't make it work. I gave up and started to run down the hallway. As I ran, the hall seemed to get longer and longer...the door I trying to reach was farther away than when I had started. I began to sweat even worse, then I could feel the tears forming. I was late, late, late for my first class on my first day of middle school. As I ran, people were watching me and they were laughing...laughing...laughing...then the bell rang! In my dream, it was the school bell. But as I sat up in bed, I realized that it was my alarm clock jarring me awake.I was having the dream again. I started having the dream around the end of the sixth grade, and as the start of seventh grade grew closer, the more I had the dream. This time the dream was even more real, because today was the first day of seventh grade.

    In my heart, I knew I never would make it. Everything was too different. School, friends - even my own body.

    I was used to walking to school, and now I had to walk six blocks to the bus stop so that I could take the bus to and from school. I hated buses. They made me carsick from the jiggling and the smell of the fuel.

    I had to get up for school earlier than in the past, partly because of having to be bussed to school and partly because I had to take better care of myself now that I was in my preteen years. My mom told me I would have to shower every morning since my hormones3 were kicking in - that's why I perspired4 so easily.

    I was totally uncomfortable with my body. My feet didn't want to respond to my own directions, and I tripped a lot. I constantly had a sprained5 ankle, wet armpits and things stuck in my braces7" target="_blank">braces6. I felt awkward, smelly, insecure and like I had bad breath on a full-time8 basis.

    In middle school, I would have to learn the rules and personalities9 of six different teachers instead of just one. There would be different kids in all my classes, kids I didn't even know. I had never made friends very easily, and now I would have to start all over again.

    I would have to run to my locker10 between classes, remembering my combination, open it, put in the books from the last class and take out different books...and make it to the next class all within five minutes!

    I was also scared because of some stories I had heard about the first day of middle school, like being canned by the eighth-graders. That's when a bunch of eighth-graders pick you up and put you in a trash can. I had also heard that when eighth-grade girls catch a new seventh-grader in the girls' bathroom alone, they smear11 her with lipstick12. Neither one of these first-day activities sounded like something I wanted to take part in.

    No one had ever told me that growing up was going to be so hard, so scary, so unwelcome, so...unexpected. I was the oldest kid in my family - in fact, in my entire neighborhood - and no one had been there before me, to help lead me through the challenges of middle school.

    I was on my own.

    The first day of school was almost everything I feared. I didn't remember my combination. I wrote the combination on my hand, but my hand was so sweaty it came off. I was late to every class. I didn't have enough time to finish my lunch; I had just sat down to eat when the bell rang to go back to class. I almost choked on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich as I ran down the dreaded13 hallway. The classrooms and the teachers were a blur14. I wasn't sure what teacher went with which subject and they had all assigned homework...on the very first day of school! I couldn't believe it.

    But the first day wasn't like my dream in another way. In my dream, all the other kids had it together and I was the only one who was the nerd. In real life, I wasn't the only one who was late for classes. Everyone else was late, too. No one could remember their combination either, except Ted2 Milliken, the kid who carried a briefcase15 to school. After most of the kids realized that everyone else was going through the same thing they were going through, we all started cracking up. We were bumping into each other in our rush to get to the next class, and books were flying everywhere. No one got canned or smeared16 - at least no one I knew. I still didn't go into the girls' bathroom alone, just in case. Yeah, there was laughter in the hallway, but most of it was the laughter of kids sharing a common experience: complete hysteria!

    As the weeks went by, it became easier and easier. Pretty soon I could twirl my combination without even looking at it. I hung posters in my locker, and finally felt like I was at home. I learned all my teacher's names and decided17 who I liked the best. Friendships from elementary school were renewed and made stronger, and new friends were made. I learned how to change into a gym suit in front of other girls. It never felt comfortable, but I did it - just like everyone else did. I don't think any of us felt very comfortable.

    I still didn't like the bus; it did make me carsick. I even threw up on the bus once. (At least it was on the way home, not on the way to school.) I went to dances and parties, and I started to wonder what it would feel like to be kissed by a boy. The school had track tryouts, and I made the team and learned how to jump the low hurdles18. I got pretty good at it, too.

    First semester turned into second, and then third. Before I knew it, eighth grade was just around the corner. I had made it through.

    Next year, on the first day of school, I would be watching the new seventh-graders sweating it out just like I did - just like everyone does. I decided that I would feel sorry for them...but only for the FIRST day of seventh grade. After that, it's a breeze.



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    1 spun [spʌn] kvjwT   第11级
    v.(spin的过去式)纺,杜撰,急转身
    参考例句:
    • His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire. 他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
    • Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread. 她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。
    2 ted [ted] 9gazhs   第11级
    vt.翻晒,撒,撒开
    参考例句:
    • He tedded the grains on a sunny noon. 天气晴朗的中午他翻晒了谷物。
    • She often teds the corn when it's sunny. 天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
    3 hormones ['hɔ:məʊn] hormones   第8级
    n. 荷尔蒙,激素 名词hormone的复数形式
    参考例句:
    • This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
    • The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。
    4 perspired [pəˈspaɪəd] a63dc40f0cd5e754eb223baaff7c3c36   第10级
    v.出汗,流汗( perspire的过去式和过去分词 )
    参考例句:
    • The air became cooler but Feliks perspired all the same. 空气凉爽了,但费利克斯仍然浑身出汗。 来自辞典例句
    • Sit down, you look perspired. 坐下,看你满头是汗。 来自辞典例句
    5 sprained [spreɪnd] f314e68885bee024fbaac62a560ab7d4   第9级
    v.&n. 扭伤
    参考例句:
    • I stumbled and sprained my ankle. 我摔了一跤,把脚脖子扭了。
    • When Mary sprained her ankles, John carried her piggyback to the doctors. 玛丽扭伤了足踝,约翰驮她去看医生。
    7 braces [b'reɪsɪz] ca4b7fc327bd02465aeaf6e4ce63bfcd   第7级
    n.吊带,背带;托架( brace的名词复数 );箍子;括弧;(儿童)牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 );撑牢;使自己站稳;振作起来
    参考例句:
    • The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃,因为支架全松了。
    • You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带,就用不着吊带了。
    8 full-time [ˈfʊlˈtaɪm] SsBz42   第8级
    adj.满工作日的或工作周的,全时间的
    参考例句:
    • A full-time job may be too much for her. 全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
    • I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job. 既要照顾家庭又要全天工作,我不知道她是如何对付的。
    9 personalities [ˌpɜ:sə'nælɪtɪz] ylOzsg   第12级
    n. 诽谤,(对某人容貌、性格等所进行的)人身攻击; 人身攻击;人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )
    参考例句:
    • There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks. 她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
    • Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation. 在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。
    10 locker [ˈlɒkə(r)] 8pzzYm   第7级
    n.更衣箱,储物柜,冷藏室,上锁的人
    参考例句:
    • At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker. 在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
    • He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit. 他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。
    11 smear [smɪə(r)] 6EmyX   第9级
    vt.涂抹;诽谤,玷污;vi.被弄脏;n.污点;诽谤,污蔑
    参考例句:
    • He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us. 他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
    • There's a smear on your shirt. 你衬衫上有个污点。
    12 lipstick [ˈlɪpstɪk] o0zxg   第8级
    n.口红,唇膏
    参考例句:
    • Taking out her lipstick, she began to paint her lips. 她拿出口红,开始往嘴唇上抹。
    • Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics. 口红和护发素都是化妆品。
    13 dreaded [ˈdredɪd] XuNzI3   第7级
    adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)
    参考例句:
    • The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
    • He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》
    14 blur [blɜ:(r)] JtgzC   第7级
    n.模糊不清的事物;vt.使模糊,使看不清楚
    参考例句:
    • The houses appeared as a blur in the mist. 房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
    • If you move your eyes and your head, the picture will blur. 如果你的眼睛或头动了,图像就会变得模糊不清。
    15 briefcase [ˈbri:fkeɪs] lxdz6A   第8级
    n.手提箱,公事皮包
    参考例句:
    • He packed a briefcase with what might be required. 他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
    • He requested the old man to look after the briefcase. 他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。
    16 smeared [smiəd] c767e97773b70cc726f08526efd20e83   第9级
    弄脏; 玷污; 涂抹; 擦上
    参考例句:
    • The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
    • A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。
    17 decided [dɪˈsaɪdɪd] lvqzZd   第7级
    adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
    参考例句:
    • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents. 这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
    • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting. 英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
    18 hurdles [ˈhə:dlz] ef026c612e29da4e5ffe480a8f65b720   第9级
    n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 );跳栏;(供人或马跳跃的)栏架;跨栏赛
    参考例句:
    • In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时,必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    • There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

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