Chapter 13

Several kids laughed.

"No, that's a brassiere," said Mrs. Drazil.

There was more laughter.

Stephen was shocked. "She said 'brassiere'!" he whispered. "Right in class!"

"I know, I heard her!" said Jason.

But Deedee still didn't trust her, even if she did say "brassiere" right out loud.

There was a television show that Deedee liked to watch. It was about real criminals. At the end of the show, they always asked the viewers to call the police if they knew where any of the criminals were.

Deedee wondered if she had seen Mrs. Drazil on that show.

"Does anybody have any questions they'd like to ask me?" asked Mrs. Drazil.

Ron raised his hand.

Mrs. Drazil pointed¹ to him.

"How old are you?" asked Ron.

Dana gasped². "You're not supposed to ask someone that!" she said.

"Especially someone as old as Mrs. Drazil!" said Mac.

Mrs. Drazil smiled. "I don't mind," she said. "I'm sixty-six years old. You can ask me anything you want."

"Anything?" asked Joy.

"I'm a teacher," said Mrs. Drazil. "That's what I'm here for."

Paul raised his hand. "How much do you weigh?" he asked.

"One hundred and twenty-four pounds," said Mrs. Drazil.

"How much money do you make?" asked Eric Bacon.

"I'm a substitute³ teacher," explained Mrs. Drazil. "So I only make money on days that I teach. Then I make fifty-one dollars and eighteen cents a day."

"What a rip-off!" said Jenny. "You should make at least two hundred!"

"That would be nice," said Mrs. Drazil. "But I'm a teacher because I love to teach. I love to see young children learn."

Joy raised her hand. "How many men have you kissed in your whole life?"

Mrs. Drazil thought a moment as she appeared to be counting on her fingers. "Thirty-one," she said.

Everyone gasped. Deedee raised her hand. Mrs. Drazil smiled at her. "Yes, the girl in the pretty flowered T-shirt."
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"Have you ever been in jail⁴?" asked Deedee.

"No," said Mrs. Drazil.

"Are the police after you?"

"No," said Mrs. Drazil.

Deedee still didn't trust her.

"Okay," said Mrs. Drazil. "Before we get started I want to say one more thing. I enjoy teaching⁵ so much that sometimes I get a little carried away. I talk too much. So if I start to get boring, will somebody please raise your hand and tell me."

"For real?" asked Todd. "You want us to tell you to stop talking?"

"And we won't get in trouble?" asked Bebe.

"No, of course not," said Mrs. Drazil. "You'll be helping⁶ me and the rest of your class. You're not going to learn anything if you're bored."

"Cool!" said Terrence.

"Oh, I suppose when I first started teaching, I used to be a little more strict," said Mrs. Drazil. "I even worried about things like whether my students had clean fingernails or if their shirts were tucked⁷ in." She laughed, "But times have changed. I've changed. Besides, the kids were a lot worse back then. At least some of them."

For just a second her sweet face turned sour as she looked at her notebook on her desk.

Then she smiled again. "I believe teaching requires mutual⁸ cooperation. I will cooperate⁹ with you, and you need to cooperate with me. If we work together, we will have a very enjoyable learning¹⁰ experience."

Her face turned sour again. "But if you cross me, you will be very, very sorry." She ran her fingers over her blue notebook. "Oh, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday I will get you! You can run, but you can't hide."

She smiled. "Okay, let's get started."

1 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

2 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 substitute   

n.代理，代理人，代用品，代替物；vt.代替；vi.替代，取代

参考例句：

• Can you substitute for the singer who is ill?你能替一下那位得了病的歌手吗？
• Yogurt is a perfectly acceptable substitute for cream in cooking.酸奶是烹饪用的特别受欢迎的奶油替代品。

4 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

5 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 tucked   

塞进( tuck的过去式和过去分词 )； 翻折； 盖住； 卷起

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears. 她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。

8 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

9 cooperate   

vi.合作，协作，相配合

参考例句：

• We hope we can cooperate even more closely in the future.希望我们今后能更加密切地合作。
• I hope you can cooperate on this matter.我希望你在这件事上能给予合作。

10 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。