本文由中国日报网双语新闻原创，如需转载，请在主页回复“转载”获得转载说明。
之前介绍过一些大部头的书，很多小伙伴表示原著太难啃，备受打击……
那好，这次双语君就推荐一些简单易读、又有意义，适合入门级同学的英文小说。
正值暑假，一本和夏日美好气息相符的青春小说跳入脑海。
Flipped（《怦然心动》）。
你大概看过或听说过根据小说改编的这部豆瓣高分电影了。
但小说比电影更值得一看，有趣、机智、感人……我们今天就来分享其中的经典片段，大家尽量读英文，感受一下这些可爱的文字。
小说里的所有事件都给了我们两个视角来呈现：
Bryce Loski
布莱斯·罗斯基
Juli Baker
朱莉·贝克
注：书名“Flipped”有双关意。它在美国俚语中有发狂、激动的意思，而其本意则是翻转，就像男女主角视角的转换一样，让我们看到事情的两面。
故事发生在50年代末的美国。
一年级的暑假，Bryce和家人搬到了Juli家的对面。
两个小朋友第一次见面。
Juli被Bryce的一双蓝眼睛迷倒了。
The first day I met Bryce Loski, I flipped. Honestly, one look at him and I became a lunatic. It's his eyes. Something in his eyes. They're blue, and framed in the blackness of his lashes, they're dazzling. Absolutely breathtaking.
遇见布莱斯·罗斯基的第一天，我心动了。说真的，只一眼我就疯了。都因为他的眼睛。他眼中有某种东西。那是一双蓝色的眼睛，在黑色睫毛的勾勒下一闪一闪的。我忘了呼吸。
但Bryce是个害羞 叛逆的男孩子，觉得大咧咧跑来帮忙搬家的Juli太烦人，想着法儿躲开她。
然而他在逃跑的时候，却被Juli抓住了小手。
I planted myself and was about to tell her to get lost when the weirdest thing happened. I was making this big windmill motion to break away from her, but somehow on the downswing my hand wound up tangling into hers. I couldn't believe it. There I was, holding the mud monkey's hand!
我站定了，想告诉她快滚开，这时却发生了最最诡异的事情。我本来抡起胳臂想摆脱她，可是手臂落下来的时候却变成了挽着她的姿势。我简直不敢相信，我竟然站在那儿，牵着这只泥猴的手！
此刻，小姑娘的心理活动是……
My heart stopped. It just stopped beating. And for the first time in my life, I had that feeling.
我的心跳停止了。它真的停止了跳动。我的人生中第一次有了那种感觉。
You know, like the world is moving all around you, all beneath you, all inside you, and you're floating. Floating in midair. And the only thing keeping you from drifting away is the other person's eyes.
你懂的，就像整个世界在你四周旋转，从你身体由内而外地翻滚，而你漂浮在半空中。唯一能让你定在原地不飘走的，是那人的一双眼睛。
They're connected to yours by some invisible physical force, and they hold you fast while the rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls completely away.
你们两人的眼睛被一种不可见的力量连结在一起，当外面的世界旋转、翻腾并彻底分崩离析的时候，一把抓住了你。
I almost got my first kiss that day. I'm sure of it.
那天，我差一点儿就得到了我的初吻。我十分肯定。
这对冤家就在这样的你追我躲、斗智斗勇中度过了从二年级到八年级的六年……
Bryce依旧嫌弃Juli，因为学霸给人压力好大……
Juli Baker is the kind of annoying person who makes a point of letting you know she's smart. Her hand is the first one up; her answers are usually complete dissertations; her projects are always turned in early and used as weapons against the rest of the class. Teachers always have to hold her project up and say, “This is what I'm looking for, class. This is an example of A-plus work.”
朱莉·贝克是那种一心要展现自己聪明才智的人，可讨厌了。她总是第一个举手；她回答完的问题就是一篇完整论文；她的作业永远交得最早，永远被老师用来打击其他人。老师们经常举着她的作业说：“同学们，这才是我想要的。这是篇A+的模板。”
Juli呢，还在花痴着Bryce的眼睛、头发和爱羞红的脸。
她那爱画画的爸爸不太赞许，语重心长地教导她：
A painting is more than the sum of its parts.
Juli一开始不懂，她花了好长时间参悟这句话。
孩子们等校车的那条街上有一棵巨大的美国梧桐（sycamore ['sik?m?:] tree）。
Bryce觉得这棵树其丑无比：
So this tree, this sycamore tree, was up the hill on a vacant lot on Collier Street, and it was massive. Massive and ugly. It was twisted and gnarled and bent, and I kept expecting the thing to blow over in the wind.
这棵美国梧桐，长在山坡上克里尔街的一片空地里，很大很大。而且又大又丑。它长得张牙舞爪、布满结疤，树干弯曲。我总觉得一阵风能把它刮倒。
但Juli觉得它美得惊心动魄，还爱上了爬树。
在Bryce眼中，Juli爬树的动机是这样的……
The girl is in the seventh grade, and she's climbing a tree — way, way up in a tree. And why does she do it? So she can yell down at us that the bus is five! four! three blocks away!
她七年级的时候，开始爬树，爬得高高的。为什么呢？因为这样她就能居高临下地冲我们喊：校车离我们还有五！四！三！条街！
Blow-by-blow traffic watch from a tree — what every kid in junior high feels like hearing first thing in the morning.
一个挂在树上的详尽交通广播，好像上初中的孩子们每天早上最想听到的第一件事就是这个一样。
但对于Juli来说，她因为爬树，看到了别人看不到的风景。
她第一次爬高高，是为了帮Bryce捡风筝（英勇的女汉子），然后，新世界的大门打开了。
That's when the fear of being up so high began to lift, and in its place came the most amazing feeling that I was flying. Just soaring above the earth, sailing among the clouds.
这时候在高空的恐惧消失了，却有另一种令人惊奇的感受，好像我在飞，在地球上空翱翔，在云间穿行。
Then I began to notice how wonderful the breeze smelled. It smelled like … sunshine. Like sunshine and wild grass and pomegranates and rain! I couldn't stop breathing it in, filling my lungs again and again with the sweetest smell I'd ever known.
然后我开始嗅到微风的芬芳，闻上去像……阳光。像阳光、野草、石榴和雨！我忍不住深呼吸，一次又一次让肺中充盈着我有生以来闻过的最香甜的气息。
她因此爱上了爬树。在树上的时光让她豁然开朗，仿佛领悟了父亲说的那句话。
I could sit there for hours, just looking out at the world. Sunsets were amazing. Some days they'd be purple and pink, some days they'd be a blazing orange, setting fire to clouds across the horizon.
我可以在那里坐上几个小时，看着这个世界。夕阳美极了。有时它是紫色或粉色的，有时候，橙色的余晖会点燃地平线的晚霞。
It was on a day like that when my father's notion of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts moved from my head to my heart. The view from my sycamore was more than rooftops and clouds and wind and colors combined.
就在那一天，我开始真正明白爸爸所说的“整体大于部分和”。我从梧桐树上看到的景色并不仅仅是屋顶，云朵，风和颜色的结合。
It was magic.
那是一种魔力。
八年级的一天，来了一群工人，要锯掉这棵树，在那片地上建房子。
焦急的Juli不让他们砍树，坐在树上不肯下来。
等校车的同学们都在树下围观，包括Bryce。他的心里有些触动：
Don't get me wrong here, okay? The tree was an ugly mutant tangle of gnarly branches. The girl arguing with those men was Juli — the world's peskiest, bossiest, most know-it-all female. But all of a sudden my stomach completely bailed on me. Juli loved that tree. Stupid as it was, she loved that tree, and cutting it down would be like cutting out her heart.
别理解错了，好吗？那棵树是个丑陋的突变体，满是多瘤的树枝。和那些男人争吵的是朱莉——全世界最烦人、最专横、最无所不知的女生。但是突然间我的胃里开始翻江倒海。朱莉爱这棵树。虽然很愚蠢，但她爱这棵树，把这棵树砍下了就像把她的心挖出来一样。
Juli奋力疾呼，让大家都坐到树上来，阻止伐木工，但无人响应。
Bryce心理斗争了一下，还是乖乖和大家一起去上学了。他对自己说：
It wasn't my tree, and even though she acted like it was, it wasn't Juli's, either.
那不是我的树，就算她表现得像她的一样，那也不是她的树。
最终，梧桐树被锯掉了。
Bryce放学回来，看到的是这样的景象：
When the bus dropped us off that afternoon, Juli was gone and so was half the tree. The top branches, the place my kite had been stuck, her favorite perch — they were all gone.
那天下午公车到站的时候，朱莉和一半的树都不见了。最高的树枝，我的风筝被挂住的地方，她最爱的栖息处——它们都不在了。
We watched them work for a little while, the chain saws gunning at full throttle, smoking as they chewed through wood. The tree looked lopsided and naked, and after a few minutes I had to get out of there. It was like watching someone dismember a body, and for the first time in ages, I felt like crying. Crying. Over a stupid tree that I hated.
我们看着他们工作了一会儿，链锯开到了最高档，一边锯木头一边冒着烟。那棵树看起来颓向一边，赤裸裸的。没过多久我就呆不下去了。这就像看分尸现场，这么多年来第一次，我想哭。想哭！就为了一棵我讨厌的愚蠢的树。
I went home and tried to shake it off, but I kept wondering, should I have gone up the tree with her? Would it have done any good?
我回到家努力想忘掉这些事，但是我不断地想，我当时应该和她一起爬上树吗？那样事情会有改变吗？
Juli哭了好几天。之后再也不坐校车，只骑自行车，绕远路，避开那个伤心地。
善解人意的爸爸为了安慰她，画了一幅画送她。
“I want the spirit of that tree to be with you always. I want you to remember how you felt when you were up there.” He hesitated a moment, then handed me the painting. “So I made this for you.”
“我希望那棵树的灵魂永远伴随着你。我希望你永远不要忘记在那棵树上的感觉。”他犹豫了一会儿，然后把画递给我，“所以我画了这个给你。”
I pulled off the towel, and there was my tree. My beautiful, majestic sycamore tree. Through the branches he'd painted the fire of sunrise, and it seemed to me I could feel the wind. And way up in the tree was a tiny girl looking off into the distance, her cheeks flushed with wind. With joy. With magic.
我拉下画布，就看到了我的树。我美丽的、高大的梧桐树。穿透树枝的是火焰般燃烧着的日出，我几乎能感觉到风。在高高的树枝上，一个小女孩正眺望着远方，她的面颊被风吹得通红。充满了欢乐，充满了魔力。
经过这件事，Juli的人生观发生了大改观，对Bryce也有了新认知。
然后是一场鸡蛋风波。
五年级的时候，学校办了一个科技展，Juli做的项目是，孵化小鸡。
对孵蛋一窍不通的Juli在爸爸的帮助下迅速成了小专家。
还感受到了生命的神奇。
然后，不出意外地，她成为了那场科技展的焦点。
Bryce各种眼红……
My friend, there is not a lot of action to report on when you're incubating eggs.
朋友们，报告孵蛋过程并没有什么文章可做。
Juli, though, managed to write an inch-thick report, plus she made diagrams and charts — I'm talking line charts and bar charts and pie charts — about the activity of eggs. Eggs!
但是朱莉，却写了足有一英寸厚的报告，而且还制作了统计图表——我说的是条形、柱形和扇形的统计图——关于鸡蛋的活动变化。鸡蛋诶！
She also managed to time the eggs so that they'd hatch the night of the fair. How does a person do that?
她还能控制孵蛋的时间让它们在展览的当天晚上孵出来。怎么可能有人能做到？
Here I've got a live-action erupting volcano that I've worked pretty stinking hard on, and all anybody cares about is Juli's chicks pecking out of their shells.
而这边，我花了吃奶的劲才做出来一个火山喷发模拟，但是所有人都只关心朱莉的小鸡从壳里钻出来。
Juli的科学成果转化成了六只小母鸡。
她就开始了养鸡生涯，给它们取名字，对着它们唱歌，鞋底沾满鸡屎仍然乐此不疲。
过了几个月，小鸡们开始下蛋了。
家里鸡蛋多的吃不完，邻居大妈们都来买。
热心的Juli送了一盒鸡蛋给Bryce一家。
然而，这盒鸡蛋却引发了Bryce全家大讨论。
爸爸担心其中有受精鸡蛋……
妈妈则担心鸡蛋不干净，有沙门细菌，因为Juli家的院子是出了名的脏乱差。
想让Bryce把鸡蛋还回去，但又觉得这样的理由好尴尬。
一家人最终决定，扔掉。
没多久，Juli又来送鸡蛋了，懦弱的Bryce还是没勇气当面拒绝……
I was off the hook for all of about eight days. Then there she was again, at seven in the morning, bouncing up and down on our porch with eggs in her hands. “Hi, Bryce! Here you go.”
那之后我过了八天的安静日子。然后她又出现了，早上七点，在我们家门口又蹦又跳，手里捧着鸡蛋。“嗨，布莱斯！给你的。”
I tried to look her square in the eye and tell her, No thanks, but she was so darned happy, and I wasn't really awake enough to tackle the tiger.
我想直视着她的眼睛告诉她，谢谢不用了，但她是这么开心，而我还没完全清醒过来对付一只老虎。
She wound up pushing another carton into my hands, and I wound up ditching them in the kitchen trash before my father sat down to breakfast.
最后，她把又一盒鸡蛋塞进我手里，而我在爸爸吃早饭前把它们扔进了厨房垃圾筒。
蒙在鼓里的Juli就这么一直给Bryce送鸡蛋，虽然赚不到钱，但能见到他漂亮的眼睛啊……
The very best, shiniest eggs went straight to the Loskis, and in return I got a few moments alone with the world's most dazzling eyes.
最好、最光洁的鸡蛋总是给罗斯基家，作为回报，我可以和那双世界上最闪亮的眼睛单独相处几分钟。
It was a bargain.
太值了。
一个送，一个扔，就这样持续了两年多……（心疼鸡蛋）
This went on for two years. Two years! And it got to a point where it was just part of my morning routine. I'd be on the lookout for Juli so I could whip the door open before she had the chance to knock or ring the bell, and then I'd bury the eggs in the trash before my dad showed up.
这持续了两年。两年！到最后这甚至变成了我早上的惯例。我会留意朱莉什么时候来，在她按响门铃之前拉开门拦截她，然后在爸爸出现前把鸡蛋埋进垃圾里。
终于，八年级的某一天，也是在梧桐树被砍了之后，Bryce在扔鸡蛋时，被Juli发现了。
“Why did you throw them out?” she asked, but her voice didn't sound like Juli Baker's voice. It was quiet. And shaky.
“你为什么把它们扔了？”她问，但那声音听起来不像是朱莉的声音，很安静，却在颤抖。
So I told her we were afraid of salmonella poisoning because her yard was a mess and that we were just trying to spare her feelings. I told it to her like we were right and she was wrong, but I felt like a jerk. A complete cluck-faced jerk.
于是我告诉他我们害怕沙门氏菌中毒，因为她家院子很脏，我们只是不想伤害她的感情。我说得好像我们是对的，她是错的，但我觉得自己就是个混蛋。一个十足的混蛋。
Then she tells me that a couple of neighbors have been buying eggs off her. Buying them. And while I'm coming to grips with this incredible bit of news, she whips out her mental calculator. “Do you realize I've lost over a hundred dollars giving these eggs to you?” Then she races across the street in a flood of tears.
然后她告诉我有几个邻居在买她的鸡蛋。买鸡蛋！正当我努力消化这难以置信的消息时，她的脑子已经开始飞速运算。“你知不知道给你这些鸡蛋我浪费了一百多美元？”然后她哭着跑过了街。
Bryce心乱如麻，开始自省……
I'd been sneaking around throwing out eggs for over two years, avoiding her, avoiding my father — what did that make me?
我偷偷地扔了两年的鸡蛋，瞒着她，瞒着爸爸——这让我成了什么人了？
Why hadn't I just stood up and said, No thanks, don't want 'em, don't need 'em, don't like 'em…. Give them to the snake, why don't you? Something!
为什么我没有站出来说，不了谢谢，不想要它们，不需要它们，不喜欢它们——把它们喂蛇吧？之类的！
Was I really afraid of hurting her feelings?
我是真的害怕伤她的感情吗？
Or was I afraid of her?
还是害怕她？
鸡蛋事件后，Juli彻底不理Bryce了。
Bryce内疚自责了几天，然后发现Juli竟然开始整顿自家院子了，清理杂草，修理栅栏……
I look out the window and there's Juli, spitting out nails and slamming them in place. No kidding. She's got nails lined up between her lips like steel cigarettes, and she's swinging that hammer full-arc, way above her head, driving nails into pickets like they're going into butter.
我从窗户外望去，朱莉就在那儿，吐出钉子用力把它们钉上去。没开玩笑，她把钉子衔在嘴唇中间像叼着钢香烟，她把榔头甩得虎虎生风，高高越过头顶，把钉子敲进尖桩里。
For a split second there, I saw my head as the recipient of her hammer, cracking open like Humpty Dumpty. I shuddered and dropped the curtain.
有那么一瞬间，我仿佛看见了自己的头是她榔头下的受害者，像童谣里的矮胖子一样被敲裂。我一阵战栗，放下窗帘。
更加震惊的是，他那寡言少语的外公竟然在一旁帮忙，还和Juli有说有笑……
Bryce的外公是个精神导师一样的存在，他非常欣赏Juli。
而自己外孙的品行他也都看在眼里。他对Bryce说：
“One's character is set at an early age, son. The choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life.”
“一个人的品行是从小养成的，孩子。现在的选择会影响你的一生。”
“Just think about what I've said, and the next time you're faced with a choice, do the right thing. It hurts everyone less in the long run.”
“想想我说的话，下一次面对一个选择的时候，做正确的事。这样所有人都不会那么痛苦。”
Bryce从外公那了解到Juli的家境。
她家其实很穷，现在的房子是租的，没钱修理院子，家里大部分积蓄都花在供养一个智障的叔叔上了。
外公说了一句最经典的话：
Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss. But every once in a while you find someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare.
我们当中有些人平庸，有些人金玉其外，有些人光鲜亮丽。但有时你会遇到一些人，由内而外地散发着彩虹般的光芒。一旦遇见过，你会觉得其他一切都不过是浮云。
他想起Juli当时静坐梧桐树的事件上过报，于是翻出了那张报纸。
读着Juli被采访时说的话，深受震动……
They were, I don't know, deep. Sitting in that tree was seriously philosophical to her.
那些话，很深刻。坐在那棵树上对朱莉来说有很大的哲学意义。
And the odd thing is, it all made sense to me. She talked about what it felt like to be up in that tree, and how it, like, transcended dimensional space. “To be held above the earth and brushed by the wind,” she said, “it's like your heart has been kissed by beauty.” Who in junior high do you know that would put together a sentence like that? None of my friends, that's for sure.
而奇怪的是，我居然都看懂了。她讲了在树上是怎样一种感觉，仿佛超越了空间的维度。“被托上天空，被风抚摸，”她说，“就像你的心被美丽的事物亲吻了一样。”你听过哪个初中生能说出这样的话？我的朋友中绝对没有。
There was other stuff, too, like how something can be so much more than the parts it took to make it, and why people need things around them that lift them above their lives and make them feel the miracle of living.
她还说了好多东西，什么整体可以远远大于组成它的部分之和，还有人们需要某些东西能让他们从琐事中升华，让他们感受到生命的奇迹。
他开始慢慢理解Juli了，也许这就是外公所说的散发着彩虹光芒的人吧……
事情发生了微妙的变化。
Bryce开始注意Juli了，上课时，眼睛总忍不住往她的方向看。
I found myself looking at her in class. The teacher'd be talking and all eyes would be up front … except mine. They kept wandering over to Juli. It was weird. One minute I'd be listening to the teacher, and the next I'd be completely tuned out, looking at Juli.
我发现自己在上课时老去看她。老师讲课时所有的眼睛都看着前方……除了我的。它们不停地徘徊到朱莉身上。好奇怪。前一分钟我还在听老师讲课，但下一分钟我就完完全全地分心，盯着朱莉看。
他的死党发现了笑话他，他百口莫辩，糊里糊涂把鸡蛋事件、Juli家有个智障叔叔之类的事情全说了。
那哥们儿听了哈哈笑，说难怪Juli会这样了，原来家里有个弱智亲戚。
一瞬间，Bryce怒不可遏。但为了自己的“清誉”，却没有反驳。
My heart started pounding and my hands clenched up. And for the first time since I'd learned to dive away from trouble, I wanted to deck somebody.
我的心狂跳，拳头攥了起来。自从我学会不主动惹麻烦以来，头一次想把别人臭揍一顿。
But we were in the library. And besides, it flashed through my mind that if I decked him for what he'd said, he'd turn around and tell everyone that I was hot for Juli Baker, and I was not hot for Juli Baker!
但是我们在图书馆里。而且我脑海里突然闪过一个念头，如果我真的揍了他，他会立刻告诉所有人我迷上了朱莉·贝克。我才没有迷上朱莉·贝克！
So I made myself laugh and say, “Oh, right,” and then came up with an excuse to put some distance between him and me.
于是我让自己大笑着说，“哦，好吧。”然后迅速找了个借口，能离他多远就离他多远。
谁知这段对话却被Juli听到了……
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. What right did Bryce have to make fun of my uncle? How dare he!
我越想越气。布莱斯有什么资格嘲笑我叔叔？他怎么敢！
I felt fire burn in my cheeks and a cold, hard knot tighten in my heart. And in a flash I knew—I was through with Bryce Loski. He could keep his brilliant blue eyes. He could keep his two-faced smile and… and my kiss. That's right! He
could keep that, too. I was never, ever going to talk to him again!
我感觉到脸颊在燃烧，一个冰冷的、坚硬的结系在了我心里。一瞬间我知道了——我和布莱斯结束了。他留着他闪亮的蓝眼睛吧。留着他两面派的笑容吧，和……和我的吻。没错！留着它吧！我永远，永远都不会再和他讲话！
再见面时，Juli开宗明义，表示不想理他。
He said hi to me and I lost it. I spun on him, snapping, “Don't you speak to me! I overheard you and Garrett in the library, and I don't want to talk to
you now or ever!”
他跟我打招呼，我没忍住，转身对着他厉声道：“别跟我说话！我听见你和加勒特在图书馆说的话了。我永远都不想再理你了！”
Bryce拼命解释自己的难处，说因为当时在公共场合，不能打架。
“So instead you laughed.”
“所以你就跟着笑了。”
He shrugged and looked miserable and sheepish. “Yeah.”
他耸了耸肩，看起来绝望又困窘。“是啊。”
I left him. If he was making it up, he was quite an actor. If he was telling the truth, then Chet was right —he was a coward. Either way, I didn't want to be anywhere near him.
我扭头就走。如果这些都是他编造的，那他可真能演。如果他说的是实话，那么查特说对了——他是个懦夫。不管是哪种情况，我都想离他远远的。
气消后，Juli和Bryce讲和，从此与他拉开距离，只保留最基本的礼貌。
被Juli“抛弃”了的Bryce却慢慢“觉醒”了。
他开始重新审视自己和身边的朋友、家人。
看着Juli一家人对人生的态度，他意识到爸爸的势利与卑劣。
I thought about how my dad had always looked down on the Bakers. How he'd put down their house and their yard and their cars and what they did for a living. How he'd called them trash and made fun of Mr. Baker's paintings.
我想着爸爸总是瞧不起贝克一家，常常贬低他们的房子，院子和车子，还有他们生活的方式。他骂他们垃圾还嘲笑贝克先生的画。
And now I was seeing that there was something really cool about that family. All of them. They were just…real.
而现在我明白了这个家庭其实挺酷的。他们一家子。他们都活得……很真实。
Juli在他眼中也越来越美……
And every time I saw her, she seemed more beautiful. She just seemed to glow. I’m not talking like a hundred-watt bulb; she just had this warmth to her. Maybe it came from climbing that tree. Maybe it came from singing to chickens. Maybe it came from whacking at two-by-fours and dreaming about perpetual motion. I don’t know. All I know is that compared to her, everybody else seemed so… ordinary.
我每次看见她，都觉得她更美了。她整个人都像在发光，不是说像一百瓦的电灯泡，而是她身上自带的一种温暖气息。也许是源于爬树，也许源于给小鸡唱歌，也许源于和2x4英尺的木板较劲，还有做着关于永动机的梦。我也不知道。我只知道，和她相比，所有其他人似乎都太……平庸。
他不再藏着掖着了。终于能直面自己的感情，他感到焕然一新，无比快活。
I'd never felt like this before. Ever. And just admitting it to myself instead of hiding from it made me feel strong. Happy.
以前从来没有过这种感觉，从来没有。光是对自己承认这种感觉，而不再躲避，就已经让我觉得内心强大，快乐。
I had flipped. Completely.
我心动了。彻底的。
甚至和“歧视”Juli的死党绝交。
在一次筹款宴会上，他看着Juli和一个男同学说笑，竟然吃！醋！了！
冲动之下，少年终于勇敢了一把……
I pull her away from the table, but there's no place to go. And I've got her hand in mine, and I just can't think. So I stop right there in the middle of the room and look at her. At that face. I want to touch her cheek and see what it feels like. I want to touch her hair, it looks so incredibly soft.
我把她从桌边拉走，但又无处可去。而且牵着她的手，我完全无法思考。所以我就停在了房间中央，看着她。看着她的脸。我想要触碰她的面颊，想知道是什么感觉。我想抚摸她的头发，它们看起来无比柔软。
“Bryce,” she whispers. “What's wrong?”
“布莱斯，”她低声道，“怎么了？”
I can barely breathe as I ask her, “Do you like him?”
问她话时我几乎无法呼吸：“你喜欢他吗？”
“Do I… you mean Jon?”
“什么……你说乔恩？”
“Yes!”
“是的！”
“Well, sure. He's nice and — ”
“嗯，当然。他人很好而且——”
“No, do you like him?” My heart was pounding through my chest as I took her other hand and waited.
“不，你喜欢他吗？”心在胸膛里猛烈地跳动，我拉起她另一只手等待着。
“Well, no. I mean, not like that….”
“呃，不喜欢。我是说，不是那种……”
No! She said no! I didn't care where I was, I didn't care who saw. I wanted, just had to kiss her. I leaned in, closed my eyes, and then …
不喜欢！她说不喜欢！我才不在乎我在哪儿，不在乎有谁看见了。我想要，必须要吻她。我凑过去，闭上眼睛，然后……
She broke away from me.
她挣脱了我。
Suddenly, the room was dead quiet.
突然间，整个屋子一片死寂。
Juli心慌意乱跑回家，把前因后果和妈妈说了一遍。
然而机智的妈妈早已看穿了一切……
“People do change, you know. Maybe he's had some revelations lately, too. And frankly, any boy who tries to kiss a girl in front of a room full of other kids does not sound like a coward to me.” She stroked my hair and whispered, “Maybe there's more to Bryce Loski than you know.”
“人是会改变的。也许他最近也有了一些启示呢。而且老实说，在我看来，敢在一屋子同学面前亲一个女孩的男孩，不像是一个懦夫。”她抚摸着我的头发，轻声说，“也许你了解的布莱斯·罗斯基并不是他的全部。”
最后，Bryce要怎样赢回Juli的心呢？
我们胆小懦弱的男主真的长大了，不但三观发生了剧变，撩妹技能也瞬间满点……
他祭出了杀手锏——种树。
Juli一眼就认出，那是一棵梧桐树……
I've been sitting here for hours now, just staring out the window at the tree. It may be little now, but it'll grow, day by day. And a hundred years from now it'll reach clear over the rooftops. It'll be miles in the air! Already I can tell—it's going to be an amazing, magnificent tree.
我已经在这坐了几个小时，就盯着窗外那棵树看。它现在还很小，但它会长大，一天又一天。一百年以后，它的绿荫会盖过屋顶，在空中高耸几英里！我现在就知道——它会长成一棵神奇、壮丽的树。
And I can't help wondering, a hundred years from now will a kid climb it the way I climbed the one up on Collier Street? Will she see the things I did? Will she feel the way I did?
我忍不住想，一百年后，会不会也有一个孩子爬上这棵树，就像我爬上克里尔街那棵树一样？她会看见我所看见的一切吗？她会有和我一样的感受吗？
Will it change her life the way it changed mine?
她的生命会像我的一样因此而改变吗?
最后，Juli做了一个决定，她要重新认识Bryce。
So maybe I should go over there and thank him for the tree. Maybe we could sit on the porch and talk. It just occurred to me that in all the years we've known each other, we've never done that.
也许我该走过去谢谢他的树。也许我们可以坐在门廊上聊聊天。我突然意识到，认识这么多年，我们还从没这样聊过天。
Never really talked.
从来没真正地交谈过。
Maybe it's time to meet him in the proper light.
也许，是时候好好认识他了。
故事到此为止。
如果你被感动了，那一定不只因为这是个美好的初恋故事，更是因为故事中关于成长的烦恼和喜悦，和其中简单却深刻的道理。
所以，快去看小说吧，不要辜负双语君诚意满满的安利哦！
（编辑：左卓）
中国日报网双语新闻
（ID:chinadaily_mobile）
为您的英语保鲜
联系客服
