Chapter 11

Dana had four beautiful eyes. She wore glasses. But her eyes were so beautiful that the glasses only made her prettier. With two eyes she was pretty. With four eyes she was beautiful. With six eyes she would have been even more beautiful. And if she had a hundred eyes, all over her face and her arms and her feet, why, she would have been the most beautiful creature in the world.

But poor Dana wasn't covered from head to foot with beautiful eyes. She was covered with mosquito bites.

Mrs. Jewls picked up her yardstick¹ and said, "Now it's time for arithmetic."
44"Oh, no, Mrs. Jewls," said Dana. "I can't do arithmetic. I itch² all over. I can't concentrate."
"But we have all kinds of arithmetic," said Mrs. Jewls, "addition without carrying, addition with carrying, and carrying without addition."

"I don't care," cried Dana.

"We have that, too," said Mrs. Jewls, "addition without caring. Now, stop carrying on."

Dana whined³, "I can't, Mrs. Jewls. I itch too much."

"And I'm too thirsty," said D.J.

"I'm too tired," said Ron.

"I'm too hungry," said Terrence.

"I'm too stupid," said Todd.

Mrs. Jewls hit her desk with her yardstick. Everyone stopped talking.

Mrs. Jewls said, "We are going to have arithmetic now, and I don't want to hear another thing about it."

"But, Mrs. Jewls, I really do itch. I can't do arithmetic," Dana whined.

"No," said Mrs. Jewls. "Arithmetic is the best known cure for an itch. How many mosquito bites do you have?"

"I don't know," said Dana, "over a hundred. First I try scratching one, but then another one starts to itch. So I scratch that one, and that one stops, and another one starts. So I scratch that one, and the itch moves down to another one. Then it goes back to the first one. The itch just never stays in the same place. I just can't scratch them all."

"What you need is a good, strong dose⁴ of arithmetic," said Mrs. Jewls.

"I'd rather have calamine lotion," said Dana.
45"Remember, Dana," said Mrs. Jewls, "mosquito bites itch, not numbers."
"So what?" said Dana.

Mrs. Jewls continued. "We'll just have to turn your mosquito bites into numbers."

"I'm a mess," Dana moaned⁵.

Mrs. Jewls began to turn the mosquito bites into numbers. "How much is three mosquito bites plus three mosquito bites?" she asked.

Rondi raised her hand. "Six mosquito bites," she answered.

"How much is six mosquito bites minus two mosquito bites?" asked Mrs. Jewls.

"Four mosquito bites," said D.J.

"How much is five mosquito bites times two?" asked Mrs. Jewls.

"Ten mosquito bites," said Bebe.

"Very good," said Mrs. Jewls.

"I still itch," Dana complained.

"I've got one more question," said Mrs. Jewls. "How much is forty-nine mosquito bites plus seventy-five mosquito bites?"

Nobody raised a hand.

"Think, class," said Mrs. Jewls. "This is for Dana."

Nobody knew the answer. Dana's itch began to get worse and worse.

At last, Dana began counting her own mosquito bites. She counted seventy-five on one side and forty-nine on the other. Then she added them together for a total of one hundred and twenty-four mosquito bites.

"One hundred and twenty-four mosquito bites," Dana called.
46"Very good," said Mrs. Jewls.
Dana had one hundred and twenty-four mosquito bites. And none of them itched⁶ anymore.

"I'm still thirsty," said D.J. "Can arithmetic do anything for that?"

"I'm still tired," said Ron.

"I'm still hungry," said Terrence.

"I'm still stupid," said Todd.

"I'm glad we turned my mosquito bites into numbers instead of letters," said Dana. "I could never spellmosquito."

1 yardstick   

n.计算标准，尺度；评价标准

参考例句：

• This is a yardstick for measuring whether a person is really progressive.这是衡量一个人是否真正进步的标准。
• She was a yardstick against which I could measure my achievements.她是一个我可以用来衡量我的成就的准绳。

2 itch   

n.痒，渴望，疥癣；vi.发痒，渴望

参考例句：

• Shylock has an itch for money.夏洛克渴望发财。
• He had an itch on his back.他背部发痒。

3 whined   

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

4 dose   

n.(药的)剂量，一服；v.给(药)；(给…)服药

参考例句：

• In the accident,the workers received a heavy dose of radiation.在那次事故中，工人受到大剂量的辐射。
• He gave me a dose of medicine for my cold.他给我开了一剂治感冒的药。

5 moaned   

v.呻吟，悲叹( moan的过去式和过去分词 )；抱怨；发出萧萧声

参考例句：

• Facer moaned out a sound and then closed his eyes. 费塞呻吟了一声，然后就闭上了眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sick child moaned a little, and then fell asleep. 那个生病的孩子呻吟了一会儿就睡着了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 itched   

v.发痒( itch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Seeing the children playing ping-pong, he itched to have a go. 他看到孩子们打乒乓，不觉技痒。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He could hardly sIt'still and itched to have a go. 他再也坐不住了，心里跃跃欲试。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》