24. Another Story About Potatoes 另一个关于土豆的故事

Joe was next in line. He had forgotten his lunch.

"And what would you like, Joe?" asked Miss Mush.

"What do you have?" Joe asked.

"Potato salad," said Miss Mush.

"Anything else?" asked Joe.

"No, just potato salad," said Miss Mush.

Mrs. Jewls had made Miss Mush throw away the rest of the Mushroom Surprise, and she made Miss Mush promise never to make it again.

"Okay, I'll have potato salad," said Joe.

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Miss Mush smiled. She scooped¹ a large glop of potato salad out of the vat² and plopped it on Joe's paper plate.

Sharie was next in line. She had also forgotten her lunch.

"And what would you like, Sharie?" asked Miss Mush.

"What do you have?" asked Sharie.

"Potato salad."

"What else is there?" asked Sharie.

"Nothing," said Miss Mush.

"Okay," said Sharie. "I'll have that."

"Potato salad?" asked Miss Mush.

"No, nothing," said Sharie.

Joe was the only one who ordered the potato salad. Everyone else ordered nothing.

He slid his paper plate over to the cash register and paid for his lunch. Then he went to the ketchup³ and mustard table.

He looked at the grayish-white mound⁴ on his plate. He thought it needed more color. He squirted squiggly lines of yellow mustard all over it. Then he added several dollops of red ketchup.

"That's very pretty, Joe," said Bebe. "I didn't know you were such a good artist."

"Thanks," said Joe. He looked for a place to sit.

"Hey, Joe! Over here!" called John.

Joe sat next to him. "Hi, pal," he said.

"Hi, good buddy," replied John.

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They were best friends.

John had brought his lunch. He looked at Joe's potato salad covered with yellow squiggles and red polka dots. "That's very colorful," he said.

"Thanks," said Joe.

They both stared at it.

"I wonder what it tastes like," said John.

"Who knows?" said Joe.

"There's plenty more potato salad!" called Miss Mush. "Who wants seconds?"

Nobody wanted seconds of potato salad. Several kids went back for seconds of nothing, but soon Miss Mush ran out of nothing.

Finally Joe picked up his plastic fork and stuck it into the glop.

"What does it feel like?" asked John.

"Lumpy and gooey," said Joe. He dragged his fork over the mound, swirling⁵ the mustard and ketchup together. "Kind of spongy, too." The colors mixed with the potato salad. It turned a pale orange.

"It looks like a face," said John.

Joe laughed. He shaped it so it would look even more like a face. He piled up some potato salad in the center, giving it a nose.

John had a plastic spoon. He dug out two holes for the eyes, then made eyebrows⁶.

"That's good," said Joe. He gave it a big smiling mouth.

John made long, pointy ears.

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They both laughed at their creation.

"I wonder what it tastes like," said John.

"Who knows?" said Joe.

They stared at it.

"It kind of looks familiar," said John. "Like somebody I know."

"Who?" asked Joe.

"I'm not sure," said John.

Joe noticed it, too. "It does look familiar," he agreed.

"I've seen that face somewhere before," said John.

"Me too," said Joe.

The smile on the potato salad abruptly⁷ turned into a frown.

"Wow, did you see that?" asked Joe.

John's eyes filled with terror! "I-I just figured out who it looks like," he whispered.

"Who?" asked Joe.

"Mrs. Gorf."

The potato salad laughed.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" said Mrs. Gorf. "Now I'll get you! You think you're so cute, don't you! Well, you won't get away from me this time!"

She wiggled her ears, first her right one, then her left.

"Quick, Joe!" said John. "Eat her!"

The two boys dug their plastic utensils⁸ into the potato salad and shoveled⁹ it into their mouths as fast as they could.

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Joe swallowed the final mouthful. "Whew!" said John. "That was close." Joe rubbed his belly¹⁰ and sighed. They both stared at the empty plate. "You know, Joe," said John, "that didn't taste too bad."

"It was pretty good," Joe agreed. They went back for seconds.

1 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

3 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？

4 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

5 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

6 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

7 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

8 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

9 shoveled   

vt.铲，铲出（shovel的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The hungry man greedily shoveled the food into his mouth. 那个饥饿的人贪婪地、大口大口地吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They shoveled a path through the snow. 他们在雪中铲出一条小路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。