Page 75-79
New Words
1.
trust
(相信)
2.
risk
(冒險)
3.
shut
(關閉)
4.
a list
(清單)
5.
failing
(失敗)
6.
darted
(狂奔)
7.
topics
(主題)
8.
throw up
(嘔吐)
9.
qualities
(氣質)
10.
suggested
(建議)
11.
restlessly
(慌張的)
12.
on purpose
(故意)
13.
appreciate
(感激)
14.
good grades
(好成績)
15.
mean and nasty
(討厭)
16.
hesitatingly
(吞吞吐吐地)
17.
trick questions
(腦筋急轉彎)
18.
homework assignments
(家庭作業)
19.
I have confidence in you
(我對你有信心)
20.
a pleasure to see you
(很高興看到你)
Definitions
1.
a pleasure to see you
being with you
makes me happy,
I feel good
when I meet you 
2.
appreciate
feeling thankful
about something
3.
trick questions
asking something in a way
that fools someone,
wanting someone
to get the wrong answer
4.
trust
to believe in someone,
thinking a person
is good and true
5.
qualities
what a person is like,
the good or bad things about someone
6.
throw up
when food suddenly
moves up
from the stomach
and out of the mouth
7.
shut
when something is closed,
made something close
8.
darted
moved around quickly,
making short or quick
or sudden movements
9.
restlessly
doing something in a way
that shows you can’t sit still,
moving all the time
10.
mean and nasty
when a person is
horrible to other people,
doing things to make people sad
11.
failing
not passing tests,
getting a very low score for tests,
not succeeding
12.
hesitatingly
doing something in a way
that shows you are not sure,
stopping and starting
13.
homework assignment
work that you have to do
by yourself outside of the classroom,
tasks
14.
suggested
gave someone an idea,
told someone how
to do something,
gave advice
15.
on purpose
planned,
doing something
because you plan to do it,
not by mistake
16.
good grades
doing well in tests,
getting good scores,
having good results at school
17.
I have confidence in you
thinking that a person can do well,
being sure of a person’s ability
18.
a list
words written one under
the other on a piece of paper
19.
topics
story titles,
information about different things
20.
risk
taking a chance,
doing something that
could be a little dangerous
Page 75-79
Page 75
“Hello, Bradley,”
said Carla.
“It’s a pleasure
to see you today.
I appreciate
your coming
to see me.”
She held out
her hand.
“I punched myself
in the eye,”
he said
as he walked
past her.
He didn’t want
her thinking
someone else
gave it to him.
“I’m the only one
who can beat me up.”
“Did it hurt?”
she asked.
“No,” he said,
sitting at the round table.
“Nobody can hurt me.
Not even me.”
She sat
across from him.
She was wearing
a light blue shirt
with yellow mice
running all over it.
The shirt was
the same color
as her eyes.
The mice
were the same color
as her hair.
“I wanted to hit somebody,”
he explained
as he stared
at her shirt.
“But if I hit
another kid,
I would have gotten
in trouble,
so I hit myself.”
“Why’d you want
to hit somebody?”
“Because I hate him.”
“Who?”
“Everybody.”
“Is that why
you hit yourself?
Do you hate yourself?”
He didn’t answer.
He thought it was
another one of
her trick questions.
Page 76
“Do you like yourself?”
she asked.
He didn’t trust
that question either.
“Maybe the reason
you say you don’t like
anybody else
is because you really
don’t like yourself.”
“I like myself,”
he said.
“You’re the one
I don’t like!”
“Tell me some things
about yourself
that you like.”
He glared at her.
“I like you,”
she said.
“I think you have
lots of good qualities.
But I want you
to tell me things
you like about yourself.”
“I can’t talk anymore,”
he said.
“Why not?”
“I’m sick.
The doctor said
I can’t talk.
The more I talk,
the sicker I get.”
“That sounds serious.”
“It is!
I’ve probably said
too much already,
and it’s your fault.
I’ll probably throw up.”
Carla nodded.
“Don’t say another word,”
she said quietly.
“We’ll just sit together
in silence.
Sometimes
people can learn a lot
about each other
just by sitting together
in silence.”
She locked her mouth shut,
then opened it
to swallow the key.
“You’re weird,”
said Bradley.
“A lot of people
tell me that,”
she admitted,
then put her finger
to her lips.
They sat together
in silence.
Bradley shifted
in his chair.
His eyes darted restlessly
around the room.
He put his hands
behind his head
and leaned back,
then brought his hands
out in front of him
and folded them.
Then he unfolded them.
Page 77
He didn’t like
sitting together
in silence.
He thought
she was probably
learning too much
about him.
“I can probably talk
a little bit,”
he said.
“No, I don’t want you
to get sick,”
said Carla.
“I like you too much.”
“The doctor says
I’m supposed to talk
a little,
just not a lot.”
“All right.
Shall we talk
about school?”
“No!
The doctor says
if I talk about school,
I’ll die!”
Carla frowned.
“That’s a problem,”
she said.
“See, as part of my job,
I’m supposed
to help you do better
in school.
But how can I help you
if we can’t even
talk about it?”
Bradley put his fingers
to his chin and
thought it over.
“I know!”
he said.
“Just tell everybody
that you tried to help me,
but I wouldn’t let you.
Tell them that
I was too mean
and nasty.
That’s it.
Tell them I said
I’d spit on you.”
“Oh no,
I couldn’t say that
about you,”
said Carla.
“You’re too nice.”
“They’ll believe you,”
he assured her.
“It doesn’t matter
whether they believe me
or not,” said Carla.
“I’d know it was a lie.”
“So?”
“So when you tell a lie,
the only person
you’re lying to
is yourself.”
He didn’t see
anything wrong
with that.
If you’re only lying
to yourself,
and you know it’s a lie,
then it doesn’t matter.
“I just wish I knew
why a smart kid like
you keeps failing.”
Page 78
“It’s because Mrs. Ebbel
doesn’t like me,”
said Bradley.
“Shh!” said Carla.
“Don’t talk about it!”
“Well, I can probably
talk about school
a little bit
without dying,”
he said.
“O-kay,”
Carla said
hesitatingly,
“but as soon as
you feel even
a little bit like dying,
let me know
and we’ll stop.”
They talked about school
for about fifteen minutes
before Bradley felt like dying.
Carla pointed out
that the same questions
that were on the tests
were also on his
homework assignments.
She suggested that
if he did his homework,
the tests might be easy
for him.
“The tests are easy,”
he told her.
“I could get a hundred
if I wanted.
I’m the oldest kid
in the class.
I answer all the questions wrong
on purpose.”
“You want to know
what I think?”
asked Carla.
“I think you would like
to get good grades.
I think that
the only reason
you say you want to fail
is because you’re afraid
to try.
You’re afraid
that even if you try,
you’ll still fail.”
“I’m not afraid
of anything,”
said Bradley.
“I think you’re afraid
of yourself,”
said Carla.
“But you shouldn’t be.
I have lots of confidence
in you, Bradley.
I know you’d
do so well,
if only you’d try.
I can help you.
We can help each other.
We can try together.”
It was then
that he told her
he couldn’t talk
about school anymore
or else he’d die.
She thanked him
for talking about it
as much as he had.
Page 79
“You were
very brave,”
she said.
She suggested that
for their next meeting
he make a list of topics
to discuss
so that they wouldn’t
have to risk
talking about school
again.
“Is that homework?”
he asked.
“No-o-o,”
she assured him.
“You don’t even
have to put your name
at the top.”
“Good,”
said Bradley.
He was glad
it wasn’t homework.
It was time
to return
to class.
“Thank you
for sharing so much
with me today,”
Carla said to him.
“I enjoyed your visit
very much.”
She held out
her hand.
He stuck his hands
in his pockets
and walked out of
her office.
The End
ThEnd