Chapter 20

Ron had curly¹ hair and little feet. "I want to play kick-ball," he said.

"You can't play," said Terrence.

"Get out of here," said Deedee.

"Scram," said Jason.

"I want to play kickball," said Ron.

"Well, you're not playing," said Terrence. "Beat it!"

Ron stomped² across the playground to the hopscotch³ area. Jenny was playing hopscotch with Louis. Jenny was on nine. Louis was still on four, but it was his turn.
79"I want to play kickball," Ron said.
"So, go play kickball," said Louis.

"Terrence won't let me play," said Ron.

Louis walked with Ron to the kickball field.

"Hey, what about our hopscotch game?" Jenny asked.

"You won," said Louis.

"I just beat Louis in hopscotch!" Jenny announced. Leslie, Rondi, and Allison flocked⁴ around her.

"Hey, Louis," Dameon shouted. "Do you want to play kickball?"

"All right," said Louis. "Ron and I will both play."

"No," said Terrence. "Ron isn't playing."

"Anyone who wants to play can play," said Louis.

"No, he can't," said Terrence. "It's my ball."

"It isn't your ball," said Louis.

"You gave it to me," said Terrence.

"I gave it to you to share," said Louis. "If you can't share it, you can't have it."

"Oh, all right," said Terrence. "But I get to pitch."

"Ron and I will stand everybody!" Louis announced.

"All right!" said Jason. "We'll kill them!"

"We'll murder them!" said Deedee.

"We'll smash⁵ them!" said Myron.

"We'll see," said Louis.

Ron pitched, and Louis played the other eight positions. Twenty minutes later, they finally got three outs. The score was twenty-one to nothing.

Ron was up first.

"Infield in!" shouted Dameon. Everybody stood within ten feet of home plate.
80"All right, Ron," Louis shouted, "kick it over their heads!"
Ron kicked the ball only three-and-a-half feet. Todd picked it up and threw him out.

Louis was up. Everybody ran back to the edge of the outfield. Still, Louis kicked the ball over their heads for a home run.

Everybody ran all the way back in again for Ron's up. He kicked the ball only two feet. Deedee tagged him out.

Louis kicked another home run.

Ron then kicked the ball a foot and tripped over it on his way to first base. Three outs.

Ron and Louis held the other team to only five runs the next inning. That was because the bell rang. Lunch was finally over.

Louis and Ron lost twenty-six to two. Ron had had a wonderful time.

The next day Ron said, "I want to play kickball."

"You can't play," said Terrence.

"Get out of here," said Jason.

"Scram," said Deedee.

"I want to play kickball," Ron told Louis.

Louis walked with him to the kickball field. "Ron and I will stand all of you."

Everybody liked the teams.

Ron pitched while Louis played the other eight positions. They lost fifty-seven to two.

After the game Louis took Ron aside. "Listen. Ron," he said, "why do you always want to play kickball? You can't kick. You can't field. You can't even run to first base. You just get smashed⁶ every game."
81"Hey, now wait a second," said Ron. "Don't go blaming it all on me. You're half the team, too, you know." And with that, he punched Louis in the stomach.
And he punched a heck of a lot harder than he kicked.

1 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。

2 stomped   

v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She stomped angrily out of the office. 她怒气冲冲，重步走出办公室。
• She slammed the door and stomped (off) out of the house. 她砰的一声关上了门，暮暮地走出了屋了。 来自辞典例句

3 hopscotch   

n.小孩独脚跳踢石子的游戏，“跳房子”游戏

参考例句：

• The children squared off the sidewalk to play hopscotch.孩子们在人行道上划出方格，做“跳房子”的游戏。
• At hopscotch,the best hoppers are the children.在跳房子的游戏中，孩子是最优秀的单足跳者。

4 flocked   

v.群集，成群结队而行( flock的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Crowds flocked after the popular singer as he left the theater. 这位红歌星走出剧场时，成群的人尾随着他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crowd flocked into the church. 人群涌入教堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 smash   

v.粉碎，打碎；n.轰动的演出，巨大的成功

参考例句：

• We heard the smash of plates breaking in the kitchen.我们听到厨房里盘子破碎的声音。
• The gifted author wrote one smash after another.这个天才作家创作了一篇又一篇轰动一时的作品。

6 smashed   

adj.喝醉酒的v.打碎，捣烂( smash的过去式和过去分词 )；捣毁；重击；撞毁（车辆）

参考例句：

• Several windows had been smashed. 几扇窗户劈里啪啦打碎了。
• In time-honoured tradition, a bottle of champagne was smashed on the ship. 依照由来已久的传统，对着船摔了一瓶香槟。 来自《简明英汉词典》