鯨之聲

“Leave him alone!” I yelled as I walked out of the orphanage gate and saw several of the Spring Park School bullies pushing the deaf kid around. I did not know the boy at all， but I knew that we were about the same age because of his size. He lived in the old white house across the street from the orphanage where I lived. I had seen him on his front porch several times doing absolutely nothing， except just sitting there making funny hand movements.

We didn’t get much to eat for Sunday supper except watermelon， and then we had to eat it outside behind the dining room so that we would not make a mess on the tables inside. About the only time that I would see him was through the high chain link fence that surrounded the orphanage when we ate our watermelon outside.

The deaf kid started making all kind of hand signals. “You are a stupid idiot，” said the bigger of the two bullies as he pushed the boy down on the ground. The other bully ran around behind the boy and kicked him as hard as he could in the back. The deaf boy’s body started shaking all over and he curled up in a ball trying to shield and hide his face. He looked like he was trying to cry or something， but he just couldn’t make any sounds.

I ran as fast as I could back through the orphanage gate and into the thick azalea bushes. I uncovered my homemade bow which I had constructed out of bamboo and string. I grabbed four arrows that were also made of bamboo with coca cola tops bent around the ends to make real sharp tips. Then I ran back out the gate with an arrow cocked in the bow and I just stood there quietly， breathing real hard， just daring either one of them to kick or touch the boy again.

“You’re a stupid freak just like him， you big eared creep，” said one of the boys as he grabbed his friend and backed off far enough so that the arrow would not hit them. “If you’re so brave， kick him again now.” I said， shaking like a leaf. The bigger of the two bullies ran up and kicked the deaf boy in the middle of his back as hard as he could and then ran out of arrow range again.

The boy jerked about and then made a sound that I will never forget for as long as I live. It was the sound like a whale makes when it has been harpooned and knows that it is about to die. I fired all four of my arrows at the two bullies as they ran away laughing about what they had done.

I pulled the boy up off the ground and helped him back to his house which was about two blocks down the street from the school. When we reached his home， his sister told me that her brother was deaf but he was not stupid like the two bullies said. He was very smart but could not say or hear anything. I told her that he did make a sound when the bully kicked him in the back. She told me that I must be mistaken， because all her brother’s vocal cords had been removed during an experimental surgery which had failed.

The boy made one of those hand signs at me as I was about to leave. I asked his sister， “If your brother is so smart then why is he doing things like that with his hands?” She told me that he was saying that he loved me with his hands. I didn’t say anything back to her at all because I didn’t believe her. People can’t talk with their hands and everybody knows that. People can only talk with their mouth.

Almost every Sunday for the next year or two I could see the boy through the chain link fence as we ate watermelon outside behind the dining room. He always made that same funny hand sign at me and I would just wave back at him， not knowing what else to do.

On my very last day in the orphanage， I was being chased by the police. They told me I was being sent off to the Florida Reform School for Boys， so I ran to get away from them. They chased me around the building several times and finally I made a dash for the chain link fence and tried to climb over in order to escape. I saw the deaf boy sitting there on his porch just looking at me as they pulled me down from the fence and handcuffed me. The boy， now about twelve， jumped up and ran across the street， placed his fingers through the chain link fence and just stood there looking at us.

They dragged me by my legs， screaming and yelling， for more than several hundred yards through the dirt and pine straw to the waiting police car. All I could hear the entire time was the high pitched sound of that whale being harpooned again. As we pulled away in the police car， I saw the deaf boy loosen his grip on the fence and slide very slowly to the ground and lower his head into the leaves and pine straw. That is when I realized that he probably really did love me and wanted to save me because he thought that I too was making the whale sound.

“別碰他！”我大聲喊道。當時我剛走出孤兒院的大門，正好看到春園小學的幾個壞家伙在推搡著那個聾孩子。我根本不認識這個孩子，但從他的身材我猜他的年紀和我差不多。他就住在我們孤兒院對街的一所白色老房子里。有好幾次我看到他坐在屋子門廊上無所事事，只是坐在那兒打著好玩的手勢。

除了西瓜，星期天晚上我們通常沒多少好吃的。我們只能在飯廳后面室外的地方吃，這樣就不會把里面的桌子弄得一團糟。在外面吃西瓜的時候，我大概就見過他一回，那是從孤兒院高高的鐵絲網望出去的時候。

這時，這個聾孩子開始比劃著各種手勢。“你這個傻子。”兩個小霸王里較大的那個一邊說，一邊把他推倒在地上。另一個小霸王跑到他背后，使勁踢他的背。男孩開始渾身發抖，把身子蜷成一團，想遮住、保護自己的臉。他好像想大喊，可到底沒能發出什么聲音來。

于是我飛快地跑回孤兒院，穿過大門，到那片茂盛的杜鵑花叢里翻出自己用竹子和線做的那把弓。我又抓起四支箭，箭也是竹子做的，再用可口可樂的罐頂折繞成鋒利的箭頭。然后我往回跑出了大門，弓上已掛了一支箭。我靜靜地站在那里，喘著粗氣，心想只要他們再敢踢一下、碰一下那個孩子，我就要給他們好看。

“你只不過是個跟他一樣的蠢蛋，你這個大耳朵怪物。”其中一個男孩一邊說，一邊拉起他的同伴遠遠地跑開，躲避我的箭。“要是你真夠膽量，就再踢他一腳試試看呀。”我說，氣得渾身像片葉子似地抖個不停。于是比較大的那個壞小子沖上來，朝那個男孩的后背正中狠狠地踢了一腳，然后又撒腿跑開，跑到箭射不到的地方去了。

那男孩倒在地上抽搐打滾，突然發出了一聲我此生永遠也忘不了的聲音——就像被魚叉刺中的鯨知道自己快要死去時所發出的那種聲音。那兩個壞小子為他們的所作所為大笑著跑開，我朝他們射出了我的四支箭。

我把那個男孩從地上拉起來，扶他回家——他家離學校的路只有大約兩個街區。到他家時，他姐姐告訴我說她弟弟雖然是聾的，但并不是那兩個小壞蛋說的是個傻子。相反他很聰明，只是不能說話，也聽不見。我便告訴她，在那兩個人踢他后背的時候，他的確叫了一聲。她說我一定是弄錯了，因為她弟弟的聲帶在一次失敗的試驗性手術中被完全切除了。

就在我要離開時，那男孩又對我做了個手勢。我問他姐姐：“你弟弟要是很聰明的話，他怎么老是比劃那些手勢呢？”她告訴我，她弟弟是在用手告訴我，說他愛我。我一時無言以對，因為我無法相信。人不可能用手說話，這誰都知道。人只能用嘴巴說話。

此后的一兩年里，幾乎每個星期天在飯廳后面的室外吃西瓜時，我都能透過孤兒院的那道鐵絲網看見那個男孩子。他總是對我比劃那些有趣的手勢，我也會朝他揮揮手，不知道除此以外我還能做些什么。

我在孤兒院里的最后那天，警察正在追捕我。他們說要把我送往佛羅里達少年管教學校，所以我就逃跑了。他們滿大樓里追趕了我好幾回，最后我朝那道鐵絲網猛沖過去，想爬過那道網逃跑。這時我看到那個聾孩子正坐在屋子的門廊上，他看著我被那些人從鐵絲網上拉了下去，戴上手銬。那時候已經十二歲的他一下子跳起來跑過街道，手指抓在網眼上，站在那里看著我們。

他們拉扯著我的腿，又喊又叫，拖著我穿過幾百碼的泥地和松樹草堆，直到把我拖進等候已久的警車里。我能聽到的，又是鯨魚被魚叉刺中時發出的那一聲尖銳的鳴叫。警車漸漸駛離，我看到那個聾孩子漸漸松開了抓在鐵絲網上的手，慢慢滑倒在地上，頭埋進了那些樹叢和草堆里。直到那時，我才意識到也許他真的愛我，也想救我，因為他認為我也發出了鯨的鳴叫聲。

初三模擬試題答案

1.A 2.B 3.A 4.C 5.C 6.C 7.A 8.C 9.B 10.B

11.C 12.B 13.C 14.A 15.A 16.B 17.C 18.B 19.A 20.C

21.C 22.A 23.A 24.B 25.B 26.C 27.B 28.C 29.D 30.A

31.D 32.D 33.A 34.D 35.B 36.C 37.D 38.D 39.C 40.A

41.B 42.C 43.D 44.B 45.A 46.D 47.A 48.B 49.C 50.A

51.B 52.B 53.B 54.C 55.B 56.D 57.D 58.C 59.B 60.C

61.C 62.B 63.D 64.C 65.A 66.C 67.C 68.D 69.B 70.A

71.F

72.Because it can help you to develop a healthy attitude.

73.There are five/5.

74.To give yourself praise for the good things you’ve done.

75.強健的體魄可以幫助你充滿自信。

76.ourselves 77.dictionary 78.allowed 79.easily 80.thousands of

81.What kind of movies do you like?

82.He is leaving for Beijing next week.

83.I will do the cleaning in a minute.

84.Would you like to keep a pet at home?

85.We don’t know where our teacher is.