n buys a dime bag

n buys a dime¹ bag On Tuesday after school, Nate wandered into Central Park to check out the dealers² in Sheep Meadow. He?d gone a full twenty-four hours without getting high, and instead of feeling healthy and energized⁴, he was bored out of his drug-free mind. His classes at school seemed twice as long, and even Jeremy Scott Tompkinson?s lame-ass fart jokes barely made him crack a smile. The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky, casting an eerie⁵ golden glow on the frozen brown grass in the meadow. Two heavyset guys dressed in black sweatshirts with the wordStaff printed on the back were passing a football back and forth⁶, and a tiny old woman wearing a red Chanel suit and a fox fur stole was walking her freshly groomed⁷ bichon frise. As usual, the dealers were all sitting on benches around the perimeter⁸ of the meadow, listening to WFAN on their Discmans or reading theDaily News . Nate spotted⁹ a familiar redheaded guy dressed in a light gray Puma¹⁰ tracksuit with matching gray-and-white Puma sneakers, gray wraparound shades, and a fuzzy black Kangol hat. ?Hey Mitchell!? Nate called delightedly. Damn, it was good to see him. Mitchell raised his hand in greeting as Nate walked over. ?I thought you were in Amsterdam, man.? Mitchell shook his head slowly. ?Not yet.? ?I?ve been looking for you. I was almost going to buy from one of those other dirtbags. You?re carrying, right?? Nate asked. Mitchell nodded and stood up. They began walking down the pathway together, just two friends taking a stroll in the park. Nate pulled a folded-up hundred-dollar bill from his coat pocket and held it in his fist, ready to slip it into Mitchell?s palm as soon as he passed over the goods. ?I got a new shipment in from Peru,? Mitchell said, pulling a plastic baggie of pot out of his pocket and handing it discreetly¹¹ to Nate. If you happened to be in the park watching them, you might have thought they were just sharing a snack or something. That is, if you were completely na?ve. ?Thanks, man.? Nate handed over the hundred and tucked the plastic baggie into his coat pocket, breathing out a deep, relieved breath. Too bad he didn?t have any rolling papers with him or he would have rolled up a big fatty right then and there. ?So,? he said, figuring it was only polite to make some casual conversation with Mitchell before taking off. ?You still moving to Amsterdam or what?? Mitchell stopped walking and unzipped his Puma jacket. ?Nah. I?m stuck here for a while.? He pulled up his gray thermal¹² shirt to reveal his bare, freckled¹³ chest. There were wires taped to it. Nate had seenLaw & Order enough times to know what those wires meant. The bleak¹⁴ scenery seemed to close in on him, and he stumbled backwards¹⁵. Had he blacked out or something? Was this all a bad dream? Mitchell let his shirt drop and zipped his jacket up again. He took a step toward Nate, as if he was worried Nate would try to make a break for it. ?Sorry, kid. They got me. I?m working for the man now.? He jerked his head at the benches behind them. ?Those ?dirtbags? on the bench are all cops, okay, so don?t try to run. You and I are going to wait here until I give the sign, and then one of them is going to walk you down to the precinct on Amsterdam.Amsterdam ?pretty ironic¹⁶, huh?? Nate could tell Mitchell was trying to get him to smile so the dealer³ wouldn?t have to feel so bad for busting¹⁷ him. ?Okay,? Nate said woodenly. How had this happened? He?d never been double-crossed before, and it was a pretty crappy feeling. He dropped the baggie of pot on the ground and kicked it away from him. ?Shit,? he swore under his breath. Mitchell picked up the baggie and put his hand on Nate?s shoulder. He raised his free hand in the air and waved to the cops on the benches. Two guys stood up and hurried over. They didn?t even look like cops. One of them was wearing black Club Monaco jeans and the other was wearing a stupid red pom-pom hat. They flashed their badges at Nate. ?We?re not going to cuff¹⁸ you,? Club Monaco explained. ?You?re a minor¹⁹, right?? Nate nodded sullenly²⁰, avoiding the cop?s gaze. He didn?t turn eighteen until April. ?When we get to the precinct you can call your parents.? I?m sure they?ll be thrilled,Nate thought bitterly. Across the meadow the two guys playing football and the old lady and her fluffy²¹ white dog were all huddled²² together, watching Nate getting busted²³ like it was the first episode of some hot new reality show. ?You?ll be out in a couple hours,? the red pom-pom cop said, writing something in a notebook. Nate noticed the cop was wearing gold hoop²⁴ earrings²⁵ and he realized she was a woman, despite her broad shoulders and thick-fingered hands. ?They?ll fine you and probably give you mandatory²⁶ rehab.? Mitchell kept his hand on Nate?s shoulder as if to offer moral support. ?You?re lucky,? he added. Nate kept his head down, hoping no one he knew would see him. He didn?t feel very lucky.

1 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

2 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

3 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

4 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

5 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 groomed   

v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
• Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

9 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

10 puma   

美洲豹

参考例句：

• The police and the volunteers combed the forest for the lost puma from the zoo.警察和志愿者们在森林里到处寻找动物园迷失的美洲狮。
• A businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.一位商人去钓鱼，看见那只美洲狮在树上。

11 discreetly   

ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地

参考例句：

• He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇，一个很会讲排场的法国女人。
• Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么，有意避开了。

12 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

13 freckled   

adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Her freckled skin glowed with health again. 她长有雀斑的皮肤又泛出了健康的红光。 来自辞典例句

14 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

15 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

16 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

17 busting   

打破，打碎( bust的现在分词 )； 突击搜查（或搜捕）； （使）降级，降低军阶

参考例句：

• Jim and his wife were busting up again yesterday. 吉姆和他的妻子昨天又吵架了。
• He figured she was busting his chops, but it was all true. 他以为她在捉弄他，其实完全是真的。

18 cuff   

n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口

参考例句：

• She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
• Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？

19 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

20 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

21 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

22 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

23 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

24 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

25 earrings   

n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子

参考例句：

• a pair of earrings 一对耳环
• These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。