看英文原著《Wonder》学单词 -1

I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.

If I found a magic lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish that I had a normal face that no one ever noticed at all. I would wish that I could walk down the street without people seeing me and then doing that look-away thing. Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.

But I’m kind of used to how I look by now. I know how to pretend I don’t see the faces people make. We’ve all gotten pretty good at that sort of thing: me, Mom and Dad, Via. Actually, I take that back: Via’s not so good at it. She can get really annoyed when people do something rude. Like, for instance, one time in the playground some older kids made some noises. I don’t even know what the noises were exactly because I didn’t hear them myself, but Via heard and she just started yelling at the kids. That’s the way she is. I’m not that way.

Via doesn’t see me as ordinary. She says she does, but if I were ordinary, she wouldn’t feel like she needs to protect me as much. And Mom and Dad don’t see me as ordinary, either. They see me as extraordinary. I think the only person in the world who realizes how ordinary I am is me.

My name is August, by the way. I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.

ordinary

not special, different, or unusual
普通的；平常的；一般的；平凡的

The book is about ordinary people.
这本书描写的是普通人。

extraordinary

/ɪkˈstrɔːrdəneri/

not normal or ordinary; greater or better than usual
不平常的；不一般的；非凡的；卓越的

She was a truly extraordinary woman.
她是位非常杰出的女性。

stare

stare at sb/sth

to look at someone or something for a long time
盯着看；凝视；注视

What are you staring at?
你在盯着看什么？

lamp

灯

a table lamp
台灯

a street lamp
路灯

be used to

talk about something that you are familiar with so that it no longer seems new or strange to you
习惯于

We're used to the noise from the traffic now.
现在我们已经适应车辆往来的噪音了。

I'm used to getting up early.
我习惯早起。

pretend

to behave in a particular way, in order to make other people believe sth that is not true
假装

To pretend ignorance of the situation would be irresponsible.
装作不知情是不负责任的做法。

annoyed

slightly angry
恼怒；生气；烦恼

It annoyed me that I didn't have time to do more reading.
腾不出时间多看会儿书让我很烦。

for instance

for example
例如；比如

Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies, for instance.
请记住，世界上最美丽的东西也是最无用的； 例如，孔雀和百合花。

yell

to shout loudly, for example because you are angry, excited, frightened or in pain
叫喊；大喊；吼叫

She yelled at the child to get down from the wall.
她喊着让小孩从墙上下来。