Chapter 15 Cathy Queen of Cats 1

　　She says, I am the great great grand¹ cousin of the queen of France. She lives upstairs, over there, next door to Joe the baby-grabber. Keep away from him, she says. He is full of danger. Benny and Blanca own the corner store. They're okay except don't lean² on the candy counter³. Two girls raggedy as rats live across the street. You don't want to know them. Edna is the lady who owns the building next to you. She used to own a building big as a whale, but her brother sold it. Their mother said no, no, don't ever sell it. I won't. And then she closed her eyes and he sold it. Alicia is stuck-up ever since she went to college. She used to like me but now she doesn't.

　　Cathy who is queen of cats has cats and cats and cats. Baby cats, big cats, skinny cats, sick cats. Cats asleep like little donuts⁴. Cats on top of the refrigerator. Cats taking a walk on the dinner table. Her house is like cat heaven.

　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　她说，我是法兰西皇后的远远远房表亲。她住在楼上，那边，那个“捉小孩的人”乔的隔壁。离他远点，她告诉我说，他很危险。街角那家小店是宾尼和布兰卡的。他们还蛮好，可只是靠在糖果柜台上时才对你好。两个像老鼠一样邋遢的女孩住在街对面。你不会想去认识她们的。埃德娜是你家隔壁房子的主人。她过去有幢大得像鲸鱼的房子，可她弟弟把它卖了。他们的妈妈说，别，别呀，千万别卖。我不会的。可后来她一闭眼，他就卖了它。阿莉西娅自从上了大学就傲气起来了。她过去挺喜欢我，可现在不了。

　　猫皇后凯茜养了好多好多好多猫。猫宝宝、大个猫、瘦猫、病猫。睡姿像个面包圈的猫。爬到冰箱顶上的猫。在餐桌上散步的猫。她的房子就像个猫天堂。

1 grand   

adj.豪华的，宏伟的，壮丽的，主要的，重大的；n.(美俚)一千美元

参考例句：

• The pianist played several pieces of music on a grand piano.钢琴家在一架大钢琴上弹了几首乐曲。
• Come on,I'll give you the grand tour of the backyard.跟我来，我带你去后院来一次盛大的旅游。

2 lean   

n.瘦肉，倾斜，弯曲；adj.瘦的，贫乏的，歉收的；v.倚靠，倾斜，依赖

参考例句：

• The seats have no back against which to lean.这些座位都没有靠背可倚。
• Please don't lean your chair back,you'll break it.请不要坐在椅子上往后仰，你会把椅子弄坏的。

3 counter   

n.柜台；计数器；adj.相反的；adv.与…相反地；vt.反对，反击；vi.反对，反击

参考例句：

• This counter is closed now.这个柜台现在已停止营业。
• Set the counter to zero and you'll know where the recording starts.把计数器拨到零，你就会知道录音从哪儿开始。

4 donuts   

n. 炸面圈

参考例句：

• As McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and other fast-food chains moved upmarket, Starbucks looked less distinctive. 随着麦当劳，Dunkin'Donuts以及其它快餐联锁店朝着上流市场发展，星巴克失去了自己的特色。
• You can walk to the bakery to buy donuts! 你可以步行去面包店买油炸圈饼！