Page 80-85
New Words
1. canes
(拐杖)
2. chalk
(粉筆)
3. closets
(衣櫃)
4. discuss
(商量)
5. reflexes
(反射)
6. shoved
(猛推)
7. enemies
(敵人)
8. in fact
(事實上)
9. flunking
(不及格)
10. costumes
(服裝)
11. lunged for
(猛撲)
12. invisible
(看不見的)
13. demanded
(要求)
14. constantly
(不斷地)
15. hopscotch
(跳房子)
16. big mouths
(大嘴巴)
17. dodgeball
(躲避球)
18. military school
(軍校)
19. cracked up laughing
(突然大笑)
20. on the lookout
(在尋找)
Definitions
1.
to talk about something
with someone 
2.
actually
3.
doing something all the time
without stopping
4.
trying to see something
that you are hoping to see,
ready to notice something
5.
clothes that people wear
when they want to pretend
to be someone or something else
6.
something used to write
on blackboards
(that are green…)
at schools
7.
a place that prepares young people
to be soldiers
8.
special sticks
used to help people
who have trouble walking
9.
people who are not your friends,
those who want to
do bad things to you
10.
a game where children
jump on or over squares
marked on the ground
11.
a game
where children have to move quickly
to not be hit by a ball
12.
people who are loud,
and can’t keep secrets,
always talking about others
13.
actions that are
done without thinking
because of some action
done to someone
14.
cupboards,
places for keeping clothes,
small storerooms with doors
15.
when something can’t be seen
even when it is
in front of a person
16.
pushed something
very strongly
17.
failing,
doing very badly at school,
not succeeding
18.
moved quickly
to try to get or take something,
dived for
19.
suddenly began
to laugh loudly
and uncontrollably
20.
asked something
in a strong way,
insisting that a person
answers you
Page 80-85
Page 80
All week Bradley worked on his list of topics to discuss with Carla. It’s not homework, he kept telling himself. In fact, it’s the opposite of homework! Because if I think of some good topics, then we won’t have to talk about homework.
He didn’t scribble during class. He listened closely to what Mrs. Ebbel and the other kids said in order to get ideas for his list. He took it with him wherever he went. At recess, he kept his eyes and ears open, constantly on the lookout for a new topic.
The other kids were meaner to him than they’d ever been before. They were no longer afraid of him. They called him names, and when he didn’t do anything about it, they called him more names.
A fourth-grade boy who wanted to show off to his friends ran up to him and said, “You’re not even human! You’re a monster! You’re a monster from outer space!”
The boy ran away, but Bradley didn’t chase him. He added three new topics to his list: Humans, Monsters, and Outer Space.
Monday was Halloween. Most of the kids brought costumes, which they were allowed to put on at lunch. Brian, one of Jeff s friends, didn’t bring a costume. So he borrowed a black Magic Marker from Mrs. Ebbel and colored a circle around one eye
Page 81
When he came back from lunch, he told everyone he was a Bradley Chalkers.
While everyone laughed, Bradley busily worked on his list. It covered both sides of three sheets of paper.
1. Trees that lose their leaves
2. Gold stars
3. Chalk
4. Tape
5. Are chickens really afraid?
6. Why people laugh
7. What does it feel like to be shot in the leg?
8. Pencils
9. Pencil sharpeners
10. Accidents
11. Coffee
12. Military school
13. Canes
14. Basketball
15. Friends
16. Enemies
17. Hopscotch
18. Dodgeball
19. Four square
20. One potato
21. Two potato
22. Three potato
23. Four
24. Five potato
25. Six potato
26. Seven potato
Page 82
27. More
28. Less
29. Nothing at all
30. What’s it like to be in jail?
31. Good boys
32. Bad boys
33. Breakfast
34. Lunch
35. Dinner
36. Have you ever been to the White House?
37. Who shot my father?
38. Why did he get away?
39. Peanut butter and jelly
40. Gold stars
41. Black eyes
42. Fighting
43. Girls with big mouths!
44. What’s it like inside a girls’ bathroom?
45. Saying hello
46. Reflexes
47. Hate
48. When will I be able to grow a beard?
49. Things that smell bad
50. Things you like about yourself
51. Things you don’t like about yourself
52. Things nobody likes about yourself
53. Things you don’t like about anybody else
54. Gold stars
55. Does my head look like a chili bowl?
56. Closets
57. Hiding places
Page 83
58. Dreaming
59. Bad dreams
60. I wish I could fly.
61. Kids with glasses
62. Glasses you drink from
63. Why people like some people and hate other people
64. Breaking things
65. I wish I was invisible.
66. Cry babies
67. What happens to you when you grow old?
68. Humans
69. Monsters
70. Outer space
71. Why is Halloween a holiday?
72. Pirates
73. Princesses
74. Ghosts
75. What happens when you die?
76. What if you were never born?
77. Can someone else be you?
78. Can you be someone else?
79. If I was someone else, I wouldn’t make fun of me.
80. Magic
81. Markers
He didn’t go trick-or-treating that evening, though Ronnie and Bartholomew did. The other animals gave them lots of candy.
”I’m making a list of topics to talk about with my counselor,”
Page 84
he told them. ‘ ‘Do you have any ideas?” how about rabbits?” suggested Ronnie.
“That’s a good one,” said Bradley. He added “Rabbits” to his list.
“Bears,” said Bartholomew.
“That’s good too.”
Claudia barged into his room.
Bradley quickly shoved his list under the pillow on his bed.
“How about what Dad’s going to do to you when he finds out you’re flunking?” she asked. “That’s a good topic.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Bradley.
”The list.”
“What list?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Claudia. She slowly wandered toward the bed, then lunged for the pillow.
Bradley dived for it, too, but Claudia beat him to it. She held the list above her head and read it. As she looked at each new page, she cracked up laughing.
“What’s so funny?” he demanded.
“Your list!”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“This isn’t the kind of stuff you talk about with a counselor.”
“How do you know?”
“Chalk?” asked Claudia. “What can you say about chalk?”
”A lot!” he insisted.
Page 85
Claudia laughed. “One potato! Two potato! Your counselor’s going to be mad when she sees this.
“Give it to me!”
“Yes,” she answered as if he had asked a question.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes. Your head looks like a chili bowl.” She laughed.
“Shut up!”
” ‘Who shot my father?’ ” read Claudia. “How’s she going to know that?”
Bradley shrugged.
Claudia gave him back the list. “You wrote ‘Gold stars’ three times,” she said, shaking her head.
Bradley grabbed it from her hand and looked at what he’d written.
“That’s the stupidest list I’ve ever seen,” said Claudia. “Your counselor’s not going to want to talk about anything on that list.”
”You don’t know her,” he replied. “She’ll talk about anything I want to talk about. She listens to me. She likes me!”
“No she doesn’t,” scoffed Claudia. “That’s just her job!” She walked out of his room, laughing.
Bradley watched her go. Then he added two new topics to his list: Sisters and Jobs.
Tears filled his eyes as he tried to think of another topic. He crossed off two of the “Gold stars,” then crumpled the list into a ball and threw it in his trash basket.
The End
ThEnd