Page 115-117
New Words
1.
sheets
(張)
2.
pile
(一堆)
3.
tore
(撕碎)
4.
faint
(暈倒)
5.
folded
(對折)
6.
puddle
(水坑)
7.
exhaled
(呼出)
8.
relieved
(放鬆)
9.
nervous
(緊張)
10.
bell rings
(鐘聲)
11.
horrified
(使恐懼)
12.
instantly
(立即地)
13.
rattled
(發出喀喀聲)
14.
sneak up
(悄悄接近)
15.
focus on
(專注在…)
16.
pounding
(心臟據跳)
17.
doesn’t count
(不算數)
18.
fumbled
(笨手笨腳地)
19.
returned to normal
(回到正常時)
20.
turn in homework
(繳交作業)
Definitions
1.
folded
when
a piece of paper
is bent (bend)
in half 
2.
puddle
a small hole
filled with water
on a rainy day
3.
horrified
feeling something
is very terrible,
feeling scared
that something bad
will happen
4.
sneak up
to move quietly
to get close to someone,
not wanting
to be seen or heard
5.
sheets
pieces of paper
6.
turn in homework
to give your work
to your teacher
7.
pile
when things
have been put
one on top of
the other
8.
bell rings
something
makes a loud sound
at the beginning
and end of lessons
9.
doesn’t count
it’s not important,
it can’t be used,
it’s not good enough,
not accepted
10.
fumbled
trying
to pick up something
but your fingers
can’t hold it well
11.
nervous
a little worried
about something
12.
faint
when a person
falls down
and is not awake
because of some shock
13.
rattled
when something shook (shakes),
vibrated, trembled
14.
focus on
to pay attention
to something,
to look at something
carefully,
to only look at
that thing
15.
tore
broke (break)
a piece of paper
into pieces,
the past tense
of ‘tear’
16.
instantly
immediately,
happening in a
very short time,
very suddenly
17.
returned to normal
became the same
as usual again,
went back
to the way
it should be
18.
pounding
the loud beating
of a person’s heart,
the boom…boom…boom
of a heart
19.
exhaled
breathed out,
making air
go out of
your mouth and nose
20.
relieved
feeling happy
because a bad thing
didn’t happen,
not scared anymore
Page 115-117
Page 115
Bradley was too excited
to sleep.
Mrs. Ebbel
will be so surprised,
he thought.
She’ll tell the whole class,
“Only one person
got a hundred percent –
Bradley!”
But there were
so many things
that could
still go wrong.
What if I lose it
on the way to school ?
he worried.
What if Jeff
and his friends steal it ?
Twice during the night
he got out of bed
to make sure
it was safely folded
inside his arithmetic book.
What if I did
the wrong page ?
He was no longer sure
whether Mrs. Ebbel
had said page 43
or page 62!
He tried to remember
exactly what
she said to him.
He sat up in horror.
She never said
it was arithmetic homework.
Mrs. Ebbel
had just said
a page number.
She never said
what book!
She could have
meant history,
or language,
or any
of his other books!
He lay back down
and trembled.
His tears
wet his pillow.
He got out of bed
early in the morning,
checked to see
if his homework
was still there,
then quickly got ready
and left for school
without eating breakfast.
On the way
he stopped
to make sure
he still had
his homework.
As he opened
his book,
the paper
fell onto the sidewalk,
right next to
a puddle of water.
He stared at it,
horrified
by what
he had almost done,
then quickly
picked it up
and placed it back
in his book.
Page 116
He held the book
tightly shut
the rest of the way
to school.
He was
one of
the first ones
there.
He had to wait
for the doors
to open.
He kept
on the lookout
for Jeff
and his gang.
He stood
with his back
to the school wall
so they couldn’t
sneak up
behind him.
He saw Andy.
He thought Andy
had seen him, too,
but if he had,
he didn’t do anything
about it.
When the doors opened,
he was
the first one
in Mrs. Ebbel’s class.
He sat at his desk –
last seat,
last row –
and waited.
As the other kids
came in,
he saw them
put sheets of paper
on Mrs. Ebbel’s desk.
He wondered
if that was
their homework.
He now had
a new worry.
He didn’t know
how he was supposed
to turn in his homework.
Jeff entered,
placed a piece of paper
on the pile
on top of Mrs. Ebbel’s desk,
then came toward
the back of the room.
It must be
his homework,
thought Bradley.
What else
could it be ?
“Shawne,” he said aloud.
The girl
who sat in front of Jeff
turned around.
“Are you
supposed to put
your homework
on Mrs. Ebbel’s desk?”
“Don’t tell me
what to do, Bradley!”
Shawne snapped.
“You worry
about your homework,
and I’ll worry
about mine, okay?”
She turned back around.
It was almost time
for school to start.
What if
I have to put it
on her desk
before the bell rings
or it doesn’t count?
Page 117
He fumbled
through his book
for his homework,
stood up,
then headed for
Mrs. Ebbel’s desk.
He became
more nervous
with each step
he took.
His mouth
was dry
and he had trouble
breathing.
He could
hardly see
where he was going.
He felt like
he was going
to faint.
Mrs. Ebbel’s desk
seemed so far away.
It was like
he was looking at it
through the wrong end
of a telescope.
His heart pounded
and his homework rattled
in his hand.
Somehow he made it
to her desk
and tried to focus
on the sheets of paper
the other kids
had put there.
It looked like
arithmetic homework!
Page 43!
But instead
of feeling better,
he felt worse –
like he was
going to explode.
“Do you want something,
Bradley?”
asked Mrs. Ebbel.
He looked at his homework
shaking in his hand.
Then he tore it in half
and dropped it
in the wastepaper basket
next to
Mrs. Ebbel’s desk.
He instantly
felt better.
His head cleared
and his breathing
returned to normal.
His heart
stopped pounding.
He walked back
to his desk,
took a deep breath,
exhaled,
and sat down.
He folded his arms
on his desktop
and lay his head
down sideways
across them.
He felt sad,
but relieved,
as he gazed at
the gold stars.
The End
ThEnd