Chapter 3

Joe had¹ curly² hair. But he didn't know how much hair he had. He couldn't count that high. In fact⁴, he couldn't count at all.

When all of the other children went to recess⁵, Mrs. Jewls told Joe to wait inside⁶. "Joe," she said⁷. "How much hair do you have?"

Joe shrugged⁸ his shoulders. "A lot," he answered.

"But how much, Joe?" asked Mrs. Jewls.

"Enough to cover⁹ my head," Joe answered.

"Joe, you are going¹⁰ to have to learn how to count," said Mrs. Jewls.

"But, Mrs. Jewls, I already¹¹ know how to count," said Joe. "Let me go to recess."
"First count to ten," said Mrs. Jewls.

Joe counted to ten: "six, eight, twelve, one, five, two, seven, eleven, three, ten."

"No, Joe, that is wrong," said Mrs. Jewls.

"No, it isn't," said Joe. "I counted until¹² I got¹³ to ten."

"But you were wrong," said Mrs. Jewls. "I'll prove¹⁴ it to you." She put five pencils on his desk. "How many pencils do we have here, Joe?"

Joe counted the pencils. "Four, six, one, nine, five. There are five pencils, Mrs. Jewls."

"That's wrong," said Mrs. Jewls.

"How many pencils are there?" Joe asked.

"Five," said Mrs. Jewls.

"That's what I said," said Joe. "May I go to recess now?"

"No," said Mrs. Jewls. "You got the right answer, but you counted the wrong way. You were just lucky¹⁵." She set¹⁶ eight potatoes on his desk. "How many potatoes, Joe?"

Joe counted the potatoes. "Seven, five, three, one, two, four, six, eight. There are eight potatoes, Mrs. Jewls."

"No, there are eight," said Mrs. Jewls.

"But that's what I said," said Joe. "May I go to recess now?"

"No, you got the right answer, but you counted the wrong way again." She put three books on his desk. "Count the books, Joe."

Joe counted the books. "A thousand, a million¹⁷, three. Three, Mrs. Jewls."
"Correct," said Mrs. Jewls.

"May I go to recess now?" Joe asked.

"No," said Mrs. Jewls.

"May I have a potato?" asked Joe.

"No. Listen to me. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten," said Mrs. Jewls. "Now you say it."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten," said Joe.

"Very good!" said Mrs. Jewls. She put six erasers on his desk. "Now count the erasers, Joe, just the way I showed you."

Joe counted the erasers. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. There are ten, Mrs. Jewls."

"No," said Mrs. Jewls.

"Didn't I count right?" asked Joe.

"Yes, you counted right, but you got the wrong answer," said Mrs. Jewls.

"This doesn't make any sense," said Joe. "When I count the wrong way I get the right answer, and when I count right I get the wrong answer."

Mrs. Jewls hit her head against¹⁸ the wall five times. "How many times did³ I hit my head against the wall?" she asked.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. You hit your head against the wall ten times," said Joe.

"No," said Mrs. Jewls.

"Four, six, one, nine, five. You hit your head five times," said Joe.

Mrs. Jewls shook¹⁹ her head no and said, "Yes, that is right."
The bell rang, and all the other children came²⁰ back from recess. The fresh²¹ air had made²² them very excited²³, and they were laughing and shouting.

"Oh, darn," said Joe. "Now I missed recess."

"Hey, Joe, where were you?" asked John. "You missed a great game of kickball."

"I kicked²⁴ a home run," said Todd.

"What was²⁵ wrong with you, Joe?" asked Joy²⁶.

"Nothing," said Joe. "Mrs. Jewls was just trying to teach me how to count."

Joy laughed. "You mean you don't know how to count!"

"Counting is easy," said Maurecia.

"Now, now," said Mrs. Jewls. "What's easy for you may not be easy for Joe, and what's easy for Joe may not be easy for you."

"Nothing's easy for Joe," said Maurecia. "He's stupid²⁷."

"I can beat²⁸ you up," said Joe.

"Try it," said Maurecia.

"That will be enough of that," said Mrs. Jewls. She wrote²⁹ Maurecia's name on the blackboard under the word DISCIPLINE³⁰.

Joe put his head on his desk between the eight potatoes and the six erasers.

"Don't feel bad, Joe," said Mrs. Jewls.

"I just don't get it," said Joe. "I'll never learn how to count."

"Sure you will, Joe," said Mrs. Jewls. "One day itwill just come to you.

You'll wake³¹ up one morning and suddenly³² be able³³ to count."
Joe asked, "If all I have to do is wake up, what am I going to school for?"

"School just speeds³⁴ things up," said Mrs. Jewls. "Without school it might³⁵ take another seventy years before you wake up and are able to count."

"By that time I may have no hair left on top of my head to count," said Joe.

"Exactly," said Mrs. Jewls. "That is why you go to school."

When Joe woke³⁶ up the next day, he knew how to count. He had fifty-five thousand and six hairs on his head. They were all curly.

1 had   

vbl.have的过去式和过去分词；conj.有

参考例句：

• I just had a good idea!我有个好主意！
• The boy had a small branch of a tree in his hand.这个男孩手上拿一条小树枝。

2 curly   

adj.卷曲的，卷缩的

参考例句：

• The little boy has curly hair.这小男孩长着一头卷发。
• She is tall and dark with curly hair.她高高的个子，黑皮肤，卷头发。

3 did   

v.动词do的过去式

参考例句：

• How many goals did you score in the last game?上一场比赛你们进了几个球？
• Why did you choose basketball in the first place?你为何首先选择篮球呢？

4 fact   

n.事实，实情，论据

参考例句：

• It is close to fact.这更接近于事实。
• I'm going there tomorrow,as a matter of fact.其实，我明天是准备去那里。

5 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

6 inside   

n.内部，内脏，内幕；adj.内部的，秘密的，户内的；prep.在...之内

参考例句：

• Two minutes later we were inside the taxi.两分钟以后我们已经坐在出租车里面了。
• He will be back inside two days.他将在两天内回来。

7 said   

v.动词say的过去式、过去分词

参考例句：

• He said to me that he could not come.他对我说他不能来。
• He said to his mother that he would do it by himself.他对他的母亲说他将自己独立做那件事。

8 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 cover   

n.盖子，覆盖物；v.覆盖…，扩及，掩饰

参考例句：

• Under cover of the dark,the dog was stolen.在黑夜的掩护下，狗被偷走了。
• The book needs a new cover.这书需要装个新封面。

10 going   

n.去，离去，地面(或道路)的状况，工作情况；(复数形式）goings: 行为；adj.进行中的，流行的，现存的

参考例句：

• We're going to listen to a report this afternoon. 今天下午我们要去听报告。
• He hates leaving the office and going on holiday.他不愿离开办公室去度假。

11 already   

adv.已经

参考例句：

• We have eaten already.我们已经吃过了。
• I've been there already,so I don't want to go again.我早已去过那里了，所以我不想再去了。

12 until   

prep.直到...为止；conj.直到...时才...

参考例句：

• He arrived home until midnight.他直到半夜才到家。
• She didn't sleep until midnight.她直到半夜才睡。

13 got   

v.(get的过去式)得到，猜到，明白

参考例句：

• I just got some bad news.我刚得到一些坏消息。
• I have got far too much work to do.我要做的事太多了。

14 prove   

v.证明，证实，表现出，结果是

参考例句：

• This will prove to the world that we are right.这将向全世界证明我们是对的。
• How can you prove that you are right?你如何能证明你是正确的呢？

15 lucky   

adj.幸运的，侥幸的，碰巧的，吉祥的

参考例句：

• Three is my lucky number.三是我的幸运数字。
• You are a lucky dog.你真是个幸运儿。

16 set   

n.组合，集合，设定；一套，一副，一局比赛；v.放置，设定；(太阳)落下去

参考例句：

• He set to with a will and soon finished it.他下定决心做这件事，很快就完成了。
• The bus set the children down just outside the school gate.公共汽车让孩子们正好在学校门口下车。

17 million   

num.百万，100万；n.无数，大众

参考例句：

• I've seen it a million times.我在书上看过无数遍了。
• What will you do if you had a million dollars?如果你有一百万美元，你会干什么？

18 against   

prep.与…对抗；对着

参考例句：

• You're against the traffic rules.你违反了交通规则。
• Are you for or against?你是赞成还是反对？

19 shook   

v.摇撼( shake的过去式 )；（使）颤抖；握手；动摇

参考例句：

• He grasped my hand and shook it warmly. 他热情地抓住我的手握了起来。
• She shook her head violently. 她拼命摇头。

20 came   

v.动词come的过去式

参考例句：

• I was surprised why he came here so early.他为什么那么早到这里，我很惊奇。
• The doctor came in time to save his life.医生及时来抢救他的生命。

21 fresh   

adj.新鲜的；无经验的；淡(水)的；精神饱满的；纯洁无瑕的；生动的；adv.最近地；n.涌流

参考例句：

• The air is quite fresh there.那儿的空气很清新。
• Have you got fresh news?你有最新的消息吗？

22 made   

v.make的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• They were not made in china.它们不是中国制造的。
• The monkey made a long arm for the peach.猴子伸臂去摘桃子。

23 excited   

adj.激动的；兴奋的

参考例句：

• He was so excited that he could not speak.他太兴奋，连话都说不出来了。
• The excited children forgot to take the presents to the party.孩子们兴奋得忘了把礼物带到聚会上了。

24 kicked   

v.踢( kick的过去式和过去分词 )；踢蹬，踢（腿）；（因干了蠢事、失去良机等）对（自己）生气；体育运动

参考例句：

• She kicked her attacker in the groin. 她朝袭击者的下身踢了一脚。
• She was punched and kicked by her attackers. 她遭到袭击者的拳打脚踢。

25 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

26 joy   

n.欢喜，乐事，高兴；vt.使快乐，令人高兴；vi.欢喜

参考例句：

• To my great joy,my lost watch was found.使我极为高兴的是我丢失的手表找到了。
• It is very difficult to describe my joy in words.我的快乐难以用语言来形容。

27 stupid   

adj.愚蠢的，笨拙的，麻木的，无趣味的；n.傻瓜

参考例句：

• The boy is too stupid.那个男孩太笨了。
• He must be really stupid.那他一定很傻。

28 beat   

n.打，敲打声，拍子；v.打，打败

参考例句：

• You can fight him,but can you beat him?你可以打他，但是你能击败他吗？
• The dry grass caught fire, but we beat it out.干草着火了，但我们将它扑灭了。

29 wrote   

v.（write的过去式）写

参考例句：

• She wrote the music and he wrote the book.她作曲子，他写歌词。
• He wrote back that he was too busy to join us.他回信说他太忙不能参加我们的活动。

30 discipline   

n.纪律，风纪，训练，训诫；教养，修养，学科

参考例句：

• She needs the discipline of having to write an essay every week.她需要进行每周写一篇文章的训练。
• Everyone should keep discipline and you are no exception.每个人都应该遵守纪律,你也毫无例外。

31 wake   

vt.叫醒，激发；vi.醒来，醒着；警觉，振奋；n.醒；守夜；尾迹，痕迹

参考例句：

• Please wake me up at six.请在六点钟叫醒我。
• Be quiet or you'll wake the whole house!安静点！别把全家人都吵醒了！

32 suddenly   

adv.突然，忽然

参考例句：

• The weather changed suddenly.天气陡变。
• He suddenly cried out at the top of his voice.他声嘶力竭地大叫。

33 able   

adj.能...的，有才能的，能干的，能够的

参考例句：

• How good and able he is!瞧他多能干啊！
• He is able to do this job well.他有能力做好这件工作。

34 speeds   

n.速度( speed的名词复数 )；快速；快门速度；感光度v.急行，加速( speed的第三人称单数 )；超速行驶；快速运送；加速，促进

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction. 催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cheetah can attain speeds of up to 97 kph. 猎豹的奔跑速度每小时可达97公里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 might   

aux./v.(may的过去式)可能；可以，允许

参考例句：

• It looks as if it might snow.看起来好像要下雪了。
• Might I ask a question?我能问个问题吗？

36 woke   

v.醒( wake的过去式 )；唤醒；唤起（记忆）；使再次感觉到

参考例句：

• She woke up with a terrible hangover. 她醒来时宿醉反应很厉害。
• I woke up covered in a rash. 我醒来时长了一身皮疹。