365个英语简短小故事-296. Schoolboys Get Five-Finger

Travis and Paul were best friends and in the ninth grade. They didn’t like anything about school except the girls and the baseball. They were both on the junior high baseball team. Both wanted to be major league baseball players when they grew up.

On Thursday, baseball practice lasted for two hours after school. After practice, Travis and Paul were hungry and thirsty. Between them, they had $2.05. There was a small grocery store three blocks from the school.

“What can we buy for only $2?” asked Travis.

“We could split¹ a soda² and a candy bar,” replied Paul.

“That’s going to be hard to do, since I like orange soda and you like root beer,” said Travis. “And I hate peanuts in candy bars and you love them,” said Paul.

As they approached the store, they were still thinking about their problem. One solution, of course, was for one of them to pick the soda and the other to pick the candy bar. The problem with that solution would be that one of them would still be thirsty and the other would still be hungry.

“Wait a minute,” said Paul. “I’ve got an idea.” They stopped, and Paul told Travis his idea.

Mr. Cobb was the store owner. He had no use for kids. They were little people with little money. His eyes narrowed as he saw the boys approaching the store.

After they entered the store, Travis walked over to the big cooler that was filled with ice and sodas³. Paul walked over to the candy bar section.

“Mr. Cobb, you don’t have any orange soda,” Travis said.

“Yes, I do. Just dig a little. You’ll find one.”

Travis dug for a minute.

“I still can’t find one.”

“Are you blind? I’ll be right there.”

Mr. Cobb started digging through the ice. Paul immediately put two candy bars into his trousers’ baggy⁴ pockets. He patted the pockets down a little bit.

“Look! Orange soda! What did I tell you?”

“Thank you, sir,” Travis said.

As Travis was paying for the orange soda and the root beer, Mr. Cobb looked at Paul.

“You’re not buying anything?”

“No, sir. We just wanted some sodas.”

“Then why were you looking at the candy bars?”

“Just to see if you got any new brands, sir.” Mr. Cobb’s narrow eyes got narrower as they moved slowly from Paul’s eyes to his shirt, to his pants, and to his shoes.

“If I ever catch you stealing from me, I’ll chop off your hands, you hear me?” For emphasis, Mr. Cobb reached down beneath the countertop and pulled out a butcher knife, sharp and shiny.

Both boys were startled⁵. They ran out of the store.

“Come back here. You forgot your change!” Mr. Cobb yelled⁶ at them.

 

1 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

2 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

3 sodas   

n.苏打( soda的名词复数 )；碱；苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• There are plenty of sodas in the refrigerator. 冰箱里有很多碳酸饮料。 来自辞典例句
• Two whisky and sodas, please. 请来两杯威士忌苏打。 来自辞典例句

4 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。

5 startled   

adj.受惊吓的v.使惊跳，使大吃一惊( startle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of 2000 was startled near the end of the concert. 2000名观众在音乐会将近结束时大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Startled by the sudden whistle of the train, the horse broke away. 火车突然鸣笛，那匹马受惊脱逃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》