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初中英语听力:《暮光之城》系列有声读物在线听(二)

来源:上海中考网        2013-09-09 18:01:24

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  • 初中英语听力:《暮光之城》系列有声读物在线听,附听力内容:

    注:每部分听力巡回播放三遍

    以下为听力内容:

      my advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan,

      sporty, blond — a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps — all the

      things that go with living in the valley of the sun.

      Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red

      hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft

      somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye

      coordination to play sports without humiliating myself — and harming both

      myself and anyone else who stood too close.

      When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag

      of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself

      up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I

      brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but

      already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty — it was

      very clear, almost translucent-looking — but it all depended on color. I

      had no color here.

      Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I

      was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And

      if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what

      were my chances here?

      I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't

      relate well to people, period. Even my mother, who I was closer to than

      anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on exactly

      the same page. Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things

      through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs.

      Maybe there was a glitch in my brain. But the cause didn't matter. All

      that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning.

      I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The

      constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade

      into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later

      added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight,

      when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle.

      Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could

      feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky

      here; it was like a cage.

      Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at

      school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to

      avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife

      and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of

      the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark

      paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing

      was changed. My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an

      attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace

      in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures.

      First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of

      the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful

      nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last

      year's. Those were embarrassing to look at — I would have to see what I

      could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was

      living here.

      It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had

      never gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable.

      I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house

      anymore. I donned my jacket — which had the feel of a biohazard suit —

      and headed out into the rain.

      It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as

      I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the

      door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was

      unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't

      pause and admire my truck again as I wanted; I was in a hurry to get out

      of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under

      

      my hood.

      Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had

      obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled

      faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint. The engine started quickly,

      to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume.

      Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio

      worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.

      Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before.

      The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not

      obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the

      Forks High School, made me stop. It looked like a collection of matching

      houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and

      shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the

      institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences,

      the metal detectors?

      I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the

      door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it

      was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of

      circling around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwillingly out of

      the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark

      hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door.

      Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was

      small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked

      commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock

      ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there

      wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long

      counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored

      flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one

      of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was

      wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.

      The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"

      "I'm Isabella Swan," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness

      light her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of

      the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.

      "Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of

      documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I

      have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought

      several sheets to the counter to show roe.

      She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each

      on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to

      bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like

      Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as

      convincingly as I could.

      When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive.

      I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to

      see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home

      I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included

      in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new

      Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny

      Volvo, and it stood out. Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a

      spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me.

      I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I

      wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I

      stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and

      sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. No one

      was going to bite me. I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.

      I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk,

      crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed

      with relief.

      Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large

      

      black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner. I felt my

      breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the

      door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats

      through the door.

      The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside

      the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them.

      They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale,

      with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't be a standout here.

      I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a

      nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my

      name — not an encouraging response — and of course I flushed tomato red.

      But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing

      me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in

      the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading

      list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare,

      Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything. That was comforting… and

      boring. I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if

      she would think that was cheating. I went through different arguments

      with her in my head while the teacher droned on.

      When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin

      problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk

      to me.

      "You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful,

      chess club type.

      "Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look

      at me.

      "Where's your next class?" he asked.

      I had to check in my bag. "Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building

      six."

      There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.

      "I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…" Definitely

      over-helpful. "I'm Eric," he added.

      I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."

      We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I

      could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to

      eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.

      "So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.

      "Very."

      "It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

      "Three or four times a year."

      "Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.

      "Sunny," I told him.

      "You don't look very tan."

      "My mother is part albino."

      He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds

      and a sense of humor didn't mix. A few months of this and I'd forget how

      to use sarcasm.

      We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym.

      Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.

      "Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have

      

      some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.

      I smiled at him vaguely and went inside.

      The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry

      teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the

      subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the

      class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own

      boots on the way to my seat.

      After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each

      class. There was always someone braver than the others who would

      introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I

      tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. At least I never

      needed the map.

      One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me

      to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my

      five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of

      the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I

      smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't

      try to keep up.

      We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she

      introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them.

      They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from

      English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.

      It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with

      seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

      They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where

      I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't

      talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of

      untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most

      of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of

      meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these

      things that caught, and held, my attention.

      They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big — muscled

      like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. Another was taller,

      leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. The last was lanky, less

      bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the

      others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here

      rather than students.

      The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a

      beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated

      swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on

      her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden,

      gently waving to the middle of her back. The short girl was pixielike,

      thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black,

      cropped short and pointing in every direction.

      And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale,

      the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than

      me, the albino. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair

      tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes — purplish, bruiselike

      shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost

      done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their

      features, were straight, perfect, angular.

      But all this is not why I couldn't look away.

      I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all

      devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to

      see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or

      painted by an old master as the face of an angel.

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