The School Lunch That Almost Killed Me 豌豆汤的秘密

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I， Katelyn Annabel Brown， love pea soup.

I first tried it by accident. I thought I had gotten in the hamburger line， but when the lunch lady plopped1) a bowl of lumpy， green goo2) on my tray， I knew I'd taken a wrong turn. Franklin Elementary has a strict \"get in the right lunch line or live with the results\" policy， so I panicked.

Ralph was standing behind me. He's the nicest， smartest kid in class. He's also the only kid in the history of our school who openly loves pea soup.

\"What's wrong?\" he asked.

I just stared at my bowl of \"soup\".

Ralph shrugged， smiled at the lunch lady， and headed toward the tables.

In shock， I followed him. What else could I do? Not eat? Ms. Pitts， the lunch monitor， would never have allowed that. She roams the cafeteria like a shark， reminding kids to eat their food—or else. I heard she once made a second grader miss recess3) because he hadn't finished his Brussels sprouts.

My fellow students wagged4) their heads at me as I walked by. One boy even plugged his nose. I plopped down next to my best friend， Liz.

Liz looked at my tray， her eyes twice their usual size. \"Do you know what's on your plate?\" She glanced around nervously. \"Quick—throw it away before Ms. Pitts sees you!\"

But it was too late.

\"Well， look at this!\" Ms. Pitts' voice made my stomach do somersaults5). \"Decided to give the pea soup a try， huh， Kate?\" She leaned in closer. \"Go on， then. Taste it. I want to see how you like it!\"

I swallowed hard and looked at Liz. She was no help， covering her face and turning red.

Ms. Pitts stood still， waiting. \"Come on. It probably won't kill you!\"

I knew there was no getting out of it. I grabbed my spoon and scooped up a mouthful of the slimy， green goo. My hand was shaking as I brought it toward my lips.

Behind Ms. Pitts， Ralph was happily shoveling spoonful after spoonful of the sludge6) into his mouth.

As the spoon crossed under my nose， I was surprised that it didn't smell that bad; in fact， it smelled ... good! I closed my eyes and downed the spoonful in one giant gulp.

Everyone stared at me to see what I would do. I had to remind myself to look disgusted by the mush7) rolling around on my tongue because ... well ... I didn't hate it. I LOVED IT!

Since that day， Ralph has become my lunch buddy on pea soup days. We've even added a couple of other brave souls to our table of \"people who love the green stuff\". Liz is not one of them. She tells anyone who will listen， \"Kate has to eat the pea soup! It's doctor's orders!\" I know better. So does Ralph. I even think Ms. Pitts knows my little secret. But what can I say? Sometimes you like stuff that's good for you. You just can't help it.我要向你透露一个小秘密。我，凯特琳恩·安娜贝尔·布朗，喜欢豌豆汤。

我第一次品尝豌豆汤是个意外。当时我以为自己排的是领汉堡的队，但是当盛午饭的阿姨扑通一下把一碗疙里疙瘩、又绿又黏糊的东西盛到我的餐盘里时，我才知道自己之前排队转错方向了。富兰克林小学一直有一个“排对午餐队，否则给啥就吃啥”的严格规定，所以我感到惊慌失措。

拉尔夫当时站在我后面。他是班上最友好、最聪明的孩子。他也是我们学校历史上唯一一个公开喜欢豌豆汤的小孩儿。

“怎么了？”他问我。

我就只是盯着我那碗“汤”。

拉尔夫耸耸肩，冲着盛午饭的阿姨微微一笑，便朝餐桌走去。

处于震惊状态中的我跟着他走开。我还能怎么办呢？不吃？午餐监督员皮茨小姐是绝对不会允许这种事发生的。她通常就像条鲨鱼似的在餐厅里走来走去，提醒孩子们吃掉自己的食物，否则的话……我听说有一次她不让一个二年级的学生下课休息，因为他没把球芽甘蓝吃干净。

我从同学身边走过时，他们都朝我摇头。一个男孩儿甚至把鼻子堵上了。我一屁股坐在我最好的朋友莉兹旁边。

莉兹看了看我的餐盘，她的眼睛瞪得比平时大了一倍。“你知道你盘子里的是什么吗？”她紧张地环视四周。“快——在皮茨小姐看到你之前赶紧扔了它！”

但是来不及了。

“哦，看看这个！”皮茨小姐说这话的声音让我的胃里面如翻江倒海一般。“决定尝尝豌豆汤哈，凯特？”她探身凑得更近了。“那就继续。尝尝看。我想看看你有多喜欢它！”

我使劲咽了一口唾沫，看着莉兹。她也帮不上忙，手捂着脸，脸都红了。

皮茨小姐站着不动，一直在那儿等着。“来吧，它应该要不了你的命！”

我知道自己逃不掉了。我抓起勺子，舀起一口又绿又黏糊的汤。当我把它送向嘴边的时候，我的手都抖了。

在皮茨小姐身后，拉尔夫正兴高采烈地把那烂泥似的东西一勺又一勺地往嘴里送。

当勺子经过我的鼻子时，我惊讶地发现，它并没有那么难闻；实际上，它闻着……香香的！我闭上眼睛，一口吞下了一大勺。

每个人都盯着我，想要看看我会怎么做。我不得不提醒自己要表现得很讨厌这些在舌头上翻滚的糊状物，因为……好吧……我不讨厌它。我爱上它了！

从那天起，拉夫尔就成了我在豌豆汤日的午餐小伙伴。甚至还有其他几个勇敢的小孩儿也加入到我们这个“爱吃绿东西之人”的餐桌。莉兹并不在其中。她这样告诉每一个愿意听她说的人：“凯特必须得吃豌豆汤！那是医生的命令！”我心里更清楚是怎么回事，拉尔夫也是。我甚至觉得皮茨小姐也知道我的小秘密。但是我能说什么呢？有时候，你喜欢吃对身体有益的东西。你就是忍不住想吃。1.plop [pl#594;p] vt. 把(液体等)扑通一下扔进；vi. 沉重地(或放松地)坐下或躺下

2.goo [ɡu#720;] n. (泥、糨糊等)黏稠物质

3.recess [r#618;#712;ses] n. 课间休息

4.wag [w#230;ɡ] vt. (常指因不高兴而)摇(头)

5.somersault [#712;s#652;m#601;s#596;#720;lt] n. 筋斗

6.sludge [sl#652;d#658;] n. 烂泥状物

7.mush [m#652;#643;] n. 糊状物