Chapter 27

Nancy had big hands and big feet. He didn't like his name. He thought it was a girl's name.

None of the other children in Mrs. Jewls's class thought that Nancy's name was odd¹. They didn't think of it as a girl's name or as a boy's name. Nancy was just the name of the quiet kid with the big hands and feet who sat over there in the corner next to John.

Nancy was very quiet and shy. He was ashamed² of his name. He had only one friend, a girl who went to class on the twenty-third story of Wayside School.

They were friends for a good reason. He didn't knowher name, and she didn't know his.
108They just called each other "Hey, you," or just plain "You."
Nancy was afraid to ask his friend what her name was because then he might have to tell her his name. He never could figure out why she never asked. But he was happy just to leave well enough alone.

One morning, Nancy and his friend were late. When they got to the twenty-third story, his friend's teacher was waiting outside.

"Hurry up. You're late, Mac," said the teacher.

Nancy's friend turned red. She didn't move.

"Come on, Mac, shake a leg. Get the lead out," said the teacher.

"Your name is Mac!" said Nancy.

Mac was very pretty. She had red hair and freckles³. She covered her face and ran into the room.

"My name is Nancy!" Nancy called after her.

Mac stepped back outside. "I was ashamed to tell you my name," she said.

"Me, too," said Nancy. "Nancy's a girl's name."

"Oh, I think it's cute," said Mac.

"I like the name Mac," said Nancy.

"Mac is a boy's name," said Mac.

"My mother has a rich aunt named Nancy," said Nancy. "That's why she gave me the name."

"My mother once had a dog named Mac," said Mac.

"Hey, do you want to trade?" Nancy asked.

"Can we?" asked Mac.

"I don't see why not," said Nancy.

"Okay," said Mac.

They both spun⁴ around one hundred times in opposite directions until they were so dizzy⁵ that they fell over.
109When they stood up, Mac was Nancy and Nancy was Mac.
They said good-bye. Then Mac raced up to Mrs. Jewls's room. He was no longer shy.

"Hi, everybody. My name's Mac," he announced. "I traded names." He held out his big hand.

Todd jumped up and shook it. "Hi, Mac," he said. "Glad to meet you."

"How you doin', Mac," said Ron.

"Howdy, Mac," said Terrence.

"Nice to see you, Mac," said Bebe.

"You traded names?" asked Jason. Jason didn't like his name, either.

"That's right, Jason, old boy," said Mac.

"Is that allowed?" asked Jason.

"Why not!" said Mac.

"Hey, anybody want to trade?" Jason called.

"I'll trade with you," said Terrence. He didn't like his name, either.

"Wait. I'll trade with you, Terrence," said Maurecia. Maurecia didn't like her name.

"No. He's trading with me," said Jason.

"I'll trade with you, Maurecia," said Dameon.

"No, thanks," said Maurecia.

"I'll trade with you, Dameon," said Mrs. Jewls.

"No, I want to be Mrs. Jewls," said Stephen.

It turned out that nobody in Mrs. Jewls's class liked his name. The children all spun around in different directions until they got so dizzy that they fell over. And when they stood up again, nobody knew who anybody was.
110"What are we going to do, Mrs. Jewls?" asked Leslie, who was really Eric Bacon⁶.
"My name is not Mrs. Jewls. It's Maurecia," answered Terrence, who was really Jason.

"It is not. I'm Maurecia," said Deedee, who was really Joe.

"You're both wrong," said Maurecia. "I'm Mrs. Jewls."

This went on for an hour. At last they figured out who the real Rondi was. She was missing⁷ her two front teeth. After they figured out Rondi, they were able to get Allison pretty easily. And then from there they got D.J., Dameon, and Mrs. Jewls. She was the oldest one.

Eventually they figured out who everybody really was. They had some difficulty⁸ deciding which Eric was which, and actually they are still not absolutely sure.

Everybody just decided⁹ to keep his own name. The children didn't like them, but it made things much easier.

Mac and Nancy kept their new names. But when they were together they still called each other "Hey, you," or just plain "You."

1 odd   

adj.奇特的；临时的；奇数的；n.[pl.]机会

参考例句：

• She looks a bit odd.I wonder what has happened to her.她的神色有些异样，不知出了什么事。
• He's an odd character and no mistake!他的确是个怪人！

2 ashamed   

adj.感到惭愧，感到害臊，因为羞耻或勉强作某事

参考例句：

• He is ashamed to show his face at the club.他不好意思在俱乐部露脸。
• You ought to be ashamed of your foolish behaviour.你应当为自己的愚蠢行为而感到羞耻。

3 freckles   

n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She had a wonderful clear skin with an attractive sprinkling of freckles. 她光滑的皮肤上有几处可爱的小雀斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When she lies in the sun, her face gets covered in freckles. 她躺在阳光下时，脸上布满了斑点。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

5 dizzy   

adj.晕眩的，眼花缭乱的；vt.使晕眩

参考例句：

• I feel a dizzy spell.我感到一阵头晕。
• Lean on me if you feel dizzy.如果你觉得头晕，就靠在我身上好了。

6 bacon   

n.咸肉，熏肉

参考例句：

• He is frying the bacon.他在煎咸肉。
• This bacon is too salty for me.这块熏咸猪肉我觉得太咸了。

7 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

8 difficulty   

n.困难，费劲；难事，难题；麻烦，困境

参考例句：

• If there is any difficulty,please let us know promptly.倘有困难，请迅速通知我们。
• A little difficulty like this is nothing to us.这点困难算不了什么。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。