Chapter 44 Minerva writes poems

　　Minerva is only a little bit¹ older than me but already² she has two kids³ and a husband⁴ who left. Her mother raised⁵ her kids alone⁶ and it looks like her daughters will go that way too. Minerva cries because her luck⁷ is unlucky⁸. Every night and every day. And prays⁹. But when the kids are asleep¹⁰ after she's fed them their pancake¹¹ dinner, she writes poems¹² on little pieces of paper that she folds¹³ over and over and holds in her hands a long time, little pieces of paper that smell like a dime¹⁴.

　　She lets me read her poems. I let her read mine. She is always sad like a house on fire——always something wrong. She has many troubles¹⁵, but the big one is her husband who left and keeps leaving.

　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　密涅瓦只比我大一点点，可她已经有两个孩子和一个出走的丈夫。她妈妈肚子抚养孩子们，看来她的女儿也要走她的老路了。因为她运气这样糟，密涅瓦哭呀哭。每个夜晚每个白天。并且祈祷。不过，在喂完孩子们煎饼晚餐后，他们就睡着了，她会在小纸片上写诗。那纸片他折了又折，捏在手里很长时间了，闻起来像一角硬币的小纸片。

　　她让我读她的诗，我让她读我的。她总是悲伤得像一所着了火的房子——总是有什么出了问题。他麻烦太多了，最大的麻烦就是丈夫会出走，而且不停地出走。

1 bit   

n.一点儿，少量；钻头；马嚼子；辅币，位，比特(二进位制信息单位)；v.控制

参考例句：

• I'm just going out for a bit.我正打算出去一会儿。
• When did you change the bit?什么时候换的钻头？

2 already   

adv.已经

参考例句：

• We have eaten already.我们已经吃过了。
• I've been there already,so I don't want to go again.我早已去过那里了，所以我不想再去了。

3 kids   

n.小孩( kid的名词复数 )；年轻人；小山羊；小山羊皮

参考例句：

• My funny drawings amused the kids. 我的滑稽图画把孩子们逗乐了。
• The neighbours' kids are the bane of my life . 街坊邻居的孩子让我生活得很不安宁。

4 husband   

n.丈夫

参考例句：

• My husband just lost his job.我老公刚刚失业了。
• I visited my daughter and her husband.我去看望我的女儿和女婿。

5 raised   

adj.凸起的，浮雕的，发酵的

参考例句：

• She raised the gun and fired. 她举枪射击。
• the sound of raised voices 提高嗓门的说话声

6 alone   

adj.单独的，孤独的；adv.单独地，独自地；仅仅

参考例句：

• He often makes a round trip to the hospital alone.他经常一个人往返医院。
• It is dangerous for a girl to go out alone at night.一个女孩夜里单独外出是危险的。

7 luck   

n.运气，幸运，吉祥之物；v.侥幸成功

参考例句：

• I'll try my luck.我要碰碰运气。
• Good luck! We'll keep our fingers crossed for you.祝你好运！ 我们将为你祈祷。

8 unlucky   

adj.不吉利的，不祥的，不幸的

参考例句：

• He is always unlucky in love.他在恋爱方面总是运气不佳。
• Friday is believed to be an unlucky day.星期五被认为是不吉祥的日子。

9 prays   

v.祈祷，祷告( pray的第三人称单数 )；请求，恳求

参考例句：

• He that prays harm for his neighbor begs a curse upon himself. 想害人的人，往往害自己。 来自互联网
• He doesn't know what to say, so he prays. 担心他们在犯错。 来自互联网

10 asleep   

adj.睡熟了的，麻木的；adv.熟睡地

参考例句：

• The baby seems to be asleep.那婴孩好像是睡着了。
• My right foot is asleep.我的右脚麻木了。

11 pancake   

n.薄烤饼，薄煎饼；烙饼

参考例句：

• Well,have you ever made a pancake?嗯，你有没有自己做过烤饼吃？
• Do you like to eat pancake?你想吃煎饼吗？

12 poems   

诗，韵文( poem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We will now hear the students read their poems, beginning with Tom. 现在我们来听听学生们朗诵他们的诗作，从汤姆开始吧。
• The poems have been translated into more than ten languages. 这些诗已被译成十几种文字。

13 folds   

v.折叠，对折交叠( fold的第三人称单数 )；包围；包起；笼罩

参考例句：

• I can't smooth these folds away; they keep coming back. 我无法消除这些折痕，它们总是折了回来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is a well designed easel which folds up quickly and neatly. 这个画架设计得很好，可以迅速而整齐地折叠起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 troubles   

n.麻烦( trouble的名词复数 )；困难；困境；动乱v.费神，费心( trouble的第三人称单数 )；使烦恼，使忧虑

参考例句：

• She gave us a boring recital of all her troubles. 她乏味地向我们详述了她所有的麻烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I really felt for him in all these troubles. 我非常同情他这些烦恼。 来自《简明英汉词典》