棒球初体验

Christine+Venzon

那些你不喜歡的，或许并不是因为自己真的讨厌，而是没有试着去了解。

"Hi， Shelly！ Hi， Keith！" Adrian greeted the Salazars as he climbed into their minivan.

"Ready to take in1） some baseball？" Mr. Salazar asked from the driver&apos；s seat.

"I sure am，" Adrian replied. To himself he added： I&apos；d rather have dinner with brain-sucking aliens.

Adrian liked the Salazars， but he was allergic to sports. Even seeing games on TV made him queasy2）.

"You have a quick mind， Adrian，" his dad liked to say， when Adrian showed him his designs for a merry-go-round3） and a probe4） that could detect the center of chocolate-covered candies.

Other kids snickered5） at his inventions， but Keith and Shelly thought they were cool. Although the Salazars had moved next door just a month before， Adrian hoped they might become friends.

Keith and Shelly were big baseball fans. Their older brother Rey was a star on his high school team. So when they invited Adrian to one of Rey&apos；s games， he said yes. But now the queasiness was hitting him—hard.

Shelly showed Adrian a picture from the newspaper. "That&apos；s Rey，" she said proudly， "smashing a tater6） in his last game."

"He smashed a potato？" Adrian blurted.

Keith and Shelly laughed. "Tater，" explained Mr. Salazar， "is baseball slang for a home run."

"Dad！" Shelly sighed. "Adrian knows that. He&apos；s joking."

"Uh—yeah." Adrian laughed， a little too loudly. That was close.

The players were still warming up when they arrived at the stadium. Keith pointed to the field. "There&apos；s Rey. He&apos；s catching fungoes7）."

Adrian&apos；s eyes searched the wide， grassy playing field. Did Keith mean "catching fungi8）"？ Adrian didn&apos；t see any mushrooms—just a coach batting a baseball to some players. Wait， Adrian thought ... maybe fungoes were balls！ A promising theory， but how could he test it without showing that he was a hopeless baseball failure？ Adrian chose his words carefully. "Catching fungoes ... is really important."

"I&apos；ll say，" agreed Shelly. "Catching a ball and throwing it on the run is really hard. That&apos；s why they practice. Right， Dad？"

"That&apos；s right." Mr. Salazar nodded. Yes！ Adrian cheered silently.

"Rey missed a ground ball9） like that once，" Mr. Salazar continued. "Coach made him ride the pine for a few games."

Adrian groaned inwardly10）. "Ride the pine"？ Didn&apos；t baseball fans ever speak normally？ He tried to play it cool11）. "So， what did Rey think about riding the pine？"

"He hated it！" Keith exclaimed. "He&apos；s too good to be on the bench."

Adrian knew all about sitting on the bench. One time he got a splinter12） sliding down to the far end， hoping to stay out of his gym teacher&apos；s sight. H&apos；m ... a wooden bench. Sometimes wood came from pine trees. Aha！

He tested his conclusion. "Maybe Coach figured that riding the pine would make Rey practice harder and play better."

"Good point，" Keith agreed. "Hey， you really understand coaching！"

Adrian shrugged modestly. As the innings13） passed slowly， Adrian&apos；s confidence grew.

"Check out that shoestring catch14）！" Keith shouted as a player dove for a ball.

Shoestring？ Adrian recalled how the player&apos；s glove nearly touched his shoes. "Yep， right off the top of his laces."

"Whoa！ That&apos；s a moon shot15）！" Shelly exclaimed as a batter sent a ball sailing high into the stands.

"Yeah， that ball&apos；s headed straight for the stars！" Adrian agreed.

Then Rey came to the plate16）. He slugged17） the ball down the center of the field and sprinted18） to second base.

"Woo-hoo！" Shelly cheered. "Ducks on the pond！"

Adrian paused， feeling uncertain. "Nothing&apos；s more exciting than ducks on the pond，" he said slowly.

"Especially when Rey is one of the ducks！" Shelly added.

Rey was a duck？

"And one good hit will bring them both home，" Keith chimed in19）.

Adrian scanned the field again. There was another runner on third base. If the next batter got a hit， they could both score. Suddenly Adrian felt a surge of excitement. He jumped up on the bleachers20）， pumped his fist and crowed21）， "Let&apos；s bring those ducks flying home！"

Adrian was sorry when the game ended. "That was the best finish22） I&apos；ve ever seen！" he said. Rey&apos；s team had won 4 to 2.

"I&apos；m glad，" Mr. Salazar replied， smiling. "Now I don&apos；t know about you kids， but I feel like a hamburger." Keith and Shelly nodded. "What about you， Adrian？" Keith asked.

"Uh ..." Adrian stammered. A hamburger？ What could that possibly mean？ And why were they still talking in baseball code？

"A hamburger， a hot dog， anything you want，" Mr. Salazar said. "We always stop at Mac&apos；s Diner after Rey&apos；s games."

"Oh！" Adrian sighed in relief. "A hamburger sounds great to me！"

“嗨，謝莉！嗨，基斯！”阿德里安一边和萨拉萨尔一家打招呼，一边爬上他们家的小货车。

“准备好去看棒球比赛了吗？”坐在驾驶座上的萨拉萨尔先生问。

“当然啦。”阿德里安答道，心里却默默又说了一句：我宁愿和吸食人类大脑的外星人吃饭，也不愿意去看棒球。

阿德里安喜欢萨拉萨尔一家人，但是他讨厌运动，就连在电视上看比赛都让他觉得恶心。

当他向爸爸展示自己给旋转木马以及能探测裹着巧克力的糖果内部的探测器所做的一些设计时，他爸爸喜欢这么说：“你脑子转得很快，阿德里安。”

其他孩子嘲笑他的那些发明，但是基斯和谢莉却觉得这些发明很酷。虽然萨拉萨尔一家一个月前才搬到隔壁，但阿德里安希望他们能成为朋友。

基斯和谢莉都是超级棒球迷。他们的哥哥雷伊是高中校队的明星。所以当他们邀请阿德里安去看雷伊的一场比赛时，他答应了。但是现在他感到了一阵强烈的恶心。

谢莉给阿德里安看了看报纸上的一张照片。“这是雷伊，”她骄傲地说，“在上一场比赛中打出了一个tater。”

“他砸烂了一个土豆？”阿德里安脱口而出。

基斯和谢莉哈哈大笑起来。“Tater，”萨拉萨尔先生解释说，“是棒球俚语，意思是本垒打。”

“爸爸！”谢莉叹了口气，“阿德里安知道的，他是在开玩笑。”

“嗯——没错。”阿德里安笑道，笑得有点大声了。好险啊。

当他们到达体育馆时，运动员们还在热身。基斯指了指球场。“雷伊在那里，他在catch fungoes呢。”

阿德里安扫视那宽广的绿茵场，基斯的意思是“采蘑菇（catch fungi）”吗？阿德里安并没有看到一颗蘑菇啊，只有一个教练将一颗棒球击向几个球手呀。等一等，阿德里安思索着……或许fungoes的意思是球！这个推测好像说得过去，但作为一个无可救药、对棒球一窍不通的菜鸟，他怎样才能在不暴露自己的情况下验证这个猜想呢？阿德里安言辞谨慎地说：“Catch fungoes……真的很重要。”

“是的，”谢莉表示赞同，“接住球并且在奔跑的过程中投球真的很难。这就是他们要训练的原因。对吧，爸爸？”

“没错。”萨拉萨尔先生点点头。耶！阿德里安在心里欢呼。

“有一次雷伊错失了一个像那样的地滚球，”萨拉萨尔先生继续说，“结果教练让他好几场都ride the pine。”

阿德里安暗自叫苦抱怨。“骑松树”？棒球迷们就不能正常说话吗？他尽量装得沉着冷静。“那么，雷伊对这件事怎么看呢？”

“他恨透了！”基斯叫道，“让他做替补真是屈才了。”

阿德里安很清楚“坐板凳”的意思。有一次，他希望躲到体育老师的视线之外，就往板凳的远端出溜，结果被木刺扎到了。 嗯……一个木板凳。有時候木材来自松树。啊哈！

他验证了自己的结论。“或许教练认为做替补会让雷伊更努力地训练，这样就能打得更好。”

“说得好，”基斯赞同道，“嘿，你很懂训练嘛！”

阿德里安谦虚地耸耸肩。随着比赛一局一局地慢慢进行，阿德里安越来越有信心。

“注意那个shoestring catch！”当一个球员鱼跃救球时基斯喊道。

鞋带？阿德里安回想着那名球员的手套如何差点碰到鞋的情景。“没错，就在他鞋带的上方。”

“哇！好一个全垒打，又高又远！”当一个击球手把球高高地击到看台时谢莉喊道。

“是啊，这个球直冲云霄！”阿德里安附和道。

接着，雷伊走到了本垒板。他将球猛击到球场中心，然后冲到了二垒。

“哇哦！”谢莉大声欢呼，“Ducks on the pond （跑垒手入垒）！”

阿德里安停顿了一下，有些迟疑。“没有什么比这更兴奋的了。”他慢慢地说。

“尤其是在雷伊是其中一员的时候！”谢莉补充说。

雷伊是一只鸭子？

“漂亮的一击会让他们都得分。”基斯插嘴道。

阿德里安又一次扫视运动场。在三垒上还有一个跑垒手，如果下一个击球员击到球，他们就都能得分。突然间，阿德里安感到一阵激动袭来。他跳到座位上，挥舞着拳头，大声欢呼：“让那些跑垒手都跑到垒位上去吧！”

比赛结束的时候，阿德里安感到意犹未尽。“这是我见过的最好的比赛结果！”他说。雷伊的球队以4：2取胜。

“我很高兴，”萨拉萨尔先生笑着回答，“现在我不知道你们这些小家伙怎么想，不过我想要一个hamburger。”基斯和谢莉点点头。“你呢，阿德里安？”基斯问道。

“呃……”阿德里安结结巴巴地说。一个汉堡？这又会是什么意思？为什么他们还在用棒球术语说话？

“汉堡，热狗，你想吃什么都行，”萨拉萨尔先生说，“我们总是在雷伊比赛之后去马克餐厅吃东西。”

“哦！”阿德里安如释重负，“我觉得汉堡听起来不错！”

1. take in： 去观看；去参观

2. queasy [?kwi?zi] adj. 要呕吐的，恶心的

3. merry-go-round： 旋转木马

4. probe [pr??b] n. 探测器

5. snicker [?sn?k?（r）] vi. 暗笑，窃笑

6. tater [?te?t?（r）] n. 马铃薯

7. fungo [?f??ɡ??] n. 棒球

8. fungus [ ?f??ɡ?s] n. （fungi是其复数形式）真菌；真菌类植物

9. ground ball： （棒球的）地滚球，地面球

10. inwardly [??nw?dli] adv. 在内心，暗自地

11. play it cool： 故意装作无所谓，故作洒脱

12. splinter [?spl?nt?（r）] n. （木头、玻璃等的）尖细条，尖碎片

13. inning [??n??] n. （棒球中的）局，回合

14. shoestring catch： 在奔跑中接住将要落地之球。shoestring [??u?str??] n. 鞋带

15. moon shot： 又高又远的全垒打

16. plate [ple?t] n. （棒球运动中的）本垒板

17. slug [sl?ɡ] vt. 猛击（棒球）

18. sprint [spr?nt] vi. 短距离快速奔跑，冲刺

19. chime in： 插话，插嘴

20. bleachers [?bli?t??z] n. [复] （运动场的）露天座位，廉价座位

21. crow [kr??] vt. 欢叫

22. finish [?f?n??] n. （比赛的）结果；（某事的）最后阶段（或部分）