录音：http://bbs.ebigear.com/thread-293903-1-1.html

【Chapter 3】

　　 Piquette Tonnerre, the daughter of Lazarus, was in my class at school. She was older than I, but she had failed several grades, perhaps because her attendance had always been sporadic（零星的，偶然的） and her interest in schoolwork negligible（可忽视的，不被重视的）. Part of the reason she had missed a lot of school was that she had had tuberculosis（结核病） of the bone, and had once spent many months in hospital. I knew this because my father was the doctor who had looked after her. Her sickness was almost the only thing I knew about her, however. ①（Otherwise（apart from that除此之外）, she existed for me only as a vaguely embarrassing presence（每次见到她我都感觉不安）, with her hoarse voice and her clumsy limping walk and her grimy（肮脏的） cotton dresses that were always miles too long. I was neither friendly nor unfriendly towards her.） ②（She dwelt（live） and moved somewhere within my scope of vision, but I did not actually notice her very much until that peculiar summer when I was eleven.） 　 "I don't know what to do about that kid." my father said at dinner one evening. "Piquette Tonnerre, I mean. The damn bone's flared up （复发）gain. I've had her in hospital for quite a while now, and it's under control all right, but I hate like the dickens（见鬼/该死） to send her home again."
　　 "Couldn't you explain to her mother that she has to rest a lot?" my mother said.
　　 "The mother's not there" my father replied. "She took off a few years back. Can't say I blame her. Piquette cooks for them, and she says Lazarus would never do anything for himself as long as she's there. Anyway, I don't think she'd take much care of herself, once she got back. She's only thirteen, after all. Beth, I was thinking—What about taking her up to Diamond Lake with us this summer? A couple of months rest would give that bone a much better chance."
　　 My mother looked stunned（目瞪口呆）.

一、           生词：

【sporadic】：occurring irregularly 时有时无

Sporadic shower 偶阵雨

It is such a sporadic example. 这是个偶发的事例

Synonyms：irregular、infrequent、intermittent、occasional

【negligible】：too slight or unimportant to be worth any attention/not worth considering 客观上可以忽视的/不足以注意的

A negligible amount/error/effect微不足道的数字/错误/影响

◆Negligent：not giving proper attention to or care 主观上的不注意而…

He has been negligent in not locking the door, as he was told to.

He was negligent of his duties. 他玩忽职守

◆neg-： to deny

Negate否定、negative、neglectful不留心/不顾、negligence怠慢，不注意

Neglectful of one’s responsibility/family 不履行指责/不顾家

The accident was due to her negligence.

【Otherwise】：apart from that 除了

The rent is high, otherwise the house is fine. 租金贵，但房子还不错

【grimy】：dirty/messy/filthy  肮脏的，污浊的

（Dirt, esp. in a layer on a surface.） 指表面脏

【flare up】：recur, happen again

1.    My back trouble has flare up again. 我的背痛又发作了

2.    The fire flared up as I put more faggots in it. 加了柴火更旺了

【like the dickens】：use in sentences esp. in questions/the devil[口]见鬼/该死

Who/where/what the dickens is that?

We had the dickens of a job finding the place. 费了九牛二虎之力才找到了这个地方

二、Paraphrase：

1.   Otherwise, she existed for me only as …I was neither friendly nor unfriendly towards her.

P：Besides, as long as I am concerned, her presence would only make other people feel bleak, because her voice was bumpy, her walk was crippled and her dress was dirty and unsuitable. 用miles too long来形容her cotton dresses，这里使用夸张的手法，通过故意夸大或缩小事物的形象，用不符实际的方式来突出事物的特征或品格，可以使感情的表达鲜明而深刻。

2.   She dwelt and moved somewhere within my scope of vision… summer when I was eleven.

P：She inhabited and moved somewhere within my sight, but I did not really pay attention to that until that special summer when I was eleven. 言外之意是我虽然见过她，但是对她基本上没什么印象

三、参考翻译：

拉扎鲁的女儿皮格特.坦纳瑞在学校读书时与我同班。她年纪比我大几岁，但由于成绩不好留了几级，这也许怪她经常旷课而且学习劲头不大。她掉课次数多的部分原因是她患有骨节炎，有一次一连住了好几个月的医院。我之所以知道这一情况是因为我父亲正好是为她治过病的医生。不过，我对她的了解几乎只限于她的病情。①（除此之外，我就只知道她是一个让人一见就觉得不舒服的人：说话时声音沙哑，走起路来踉踉跄跄，身上穿着的棉布衣裙总是脏兮兮的，而且总是长大得极不合体。我对她的态度谈不上友好，也谈不上不友好。）②（她的住处和活动范围都在我的眼前，但直到我十一岁那年的夏季到来之前，我还从来没有太多地注意到她的存在。）

　　“我真不知道该怎样去帮助那孩子，”我父亲有一天吃晚饭的时候说，“我指的是皮格特?坦纳瑞。她的骨结核又恶化了，我在医院里给她治疗好长一段时间了，病情自然是控制住了，但我真他妈不愿打发她回到她那个家里去。”

　　“你难道就不会对她妈妈说说她应该好好保养吗?”我母亲问道。

“她妈妈不在了，”我父亲回答说。“几年前她就离家出走了。也不能怪她。皮格特为他们烧火做饭，她说只要她在家拉扎鲁便什么也不干。不管怎么说，只要她一回到家里，我看她就很难保养好自己的身体了。毕竟她才十三岁呀。贝丝，我在想——咱们全家去钻石湖避暑时把她也一道带去，你看怎么样?好好休养两个月会使她的骨病治愈的希望大大增加。” 我母亲满脸惊讶的神色。