I look at spiders and butter-flies . I watch caterpillars and moths . Sometimes I think I'm the only one who notices these things . But if it hadn't been for a crowded cafeteria , I wouldn't Have ever noticed Valeri . After all , I wasn't looking for new friends .

我观察蜘蛛和蝴蝶，还研究毛毛虫和飞蛾。有时，我想我是唯一注意这些事物的人了。要不是一家拥挤的自助餐厅，我将永远不会注意到瓦莱丽。毕竟，我一直都没有找新朋友。



Valeri was a new student . She walked to class with her boooks huddled against her chest and her head down . He talked only when the teacher asked her a question . After a month at our school , she hadn't made any friend . At recess , she sat on a bench and read . If you asked who she was , you'd get a response like this , "She's in my PE class , I can't remenber her name ."

瓦莱丽是新来的学生。她总是将书抱在胸前，低着头走进教室。只有在老师提问她时，她才肯说话。她来我们学校一个月了，还没交到一个朋友。课间，她就坐在长椅上看书。如果你想知道她是谁，那你多半会得到这样的答复：“我和她在一起上体育课，但我不记得她叫什么。”  



One day at lunch , I had nowhere to sit . Most tables were full , my friends scattered among them . But Valeri sat alone , book in hand , I walked over to her .

一天，吃午餐时，餐桌差不多都坐满了，我没地方坐了，我的朋友们都分散开了。但瓦莱丽拿着书一个人坐在那儿。于是，我朝她走了过去。



"May I sit here ?"I asked .

“我可以坐在这儿吗？”我问。



"Sure ,"she said .

“当然可以。”她说。



The cafeteria was noisy , but silence hung between us . Valeri didn't seem to mind , but it drove me crazy . I searched my mind for things to say .

餐厅里喧闹不已，而我们一直都沉默着。瓦莱丽好像并不在意，但我憋得受不了了。我绞尽脑汁，想找点话说。



"So,"I said , "is that a good book?"Valeri gave a small nod and went back to reading . "What's it about?"I asked , after several more agonizing seconds of silence . She looked at me , her eyes sparkling .

“呃，那本书很好看吧？”瓦莱丽轻轻的点了点头，又继续看书。“都写了些什么呢？”我问道。一阵令人恼火的沉默之后，她终于看着我，眼中闪出异样的光芒。



"Well , it's called Eragon , and it's about a dragon!This boy , Eragon , finds this dragon egg when he goes hunging one day . He thinks it's a rock !The egg hatches and Eragon hides the dragon from his cousin and uncle until it gets too big ."

“唔，它叫《龙骑士》，讲的是关于一条龙的故事！一天，一个名叫鄂尔根的男孩打猎时，发现了一枚龙蛋。他以为那是一块石头，但那枚龙蛋孵化出龙来，鄂尔根怕他的叔叔和堂兄发现，便把那条龙藏了起来，直到它长大。”



As I rushed out of the cafeteria , I called to Valeri , "See you later ."

“听来真不错。”我说。我还想再问个问题，可上课铃响了。



"Yeah,"she said,"see you later."She sounded doubtful .

我一边往餐厅外冲，一边对她大叫：“再见。”



A couple days later , I spotted Valeri looking for a place to sit at lunch .

“好的，”她说，“再见。”她的声音若有若无。



"Valeri , ouer here."I pointed to an empty chair .

“瓦莱丽，来这里。”我指着一个空座位说。



She sat down and pulled out her book . Everyone was talking about next week's talent show . "So ,what are you doing for the show? "My friend Erin asked my friend Kelly .

她坐了下来，拿出书。当时，大家都在谈论下个星期的才艺展示会。“你打算表演什么？”我的朋友埃林和凯利交谈着。



"Oh,I don't know , probably nothing,"Kelly sighed ."What are you doing?"She pointed to Valeri.

“噢，我不知道，也许会放弃，”凯利叹着气，“你呢？”她问瓦莱丽。



"Oh."Valeri put her book down ."I don't know . Maybe nothing."

“噢，”瓦莱丽放下书，“我不知道，也许什么也不演。”



The week flew by . Before I knew it . I was sitting in the auditorium , listening to a group of girls sing the latest pop songs at the talent show . I was bored out of my life , and I wanted it to end so I could read Eragon . I'd checked it out at the library , Then a shy girl walked on stage . I recongized her immediately . Valeri clutched a violin in one hand and a bow in the other .

不知不觉中，周末就到了，我坐在会堂里，听一群女孩子唱当下最流行的歌曲，感觉却枯燥极了，真希望演唱快点结束，那样我就可以看《龙骑士》了，我在图书馆找到了这本书。这时，一个腼腆的女孩走上了舞台，我立刻认出了她------瓦莱丽。她一手抓着小提琴，一手拿着琴弓。



She stared to play . The notes formed a soft , weet tune . Then it turned fast , then faster . The music stopped altogether before the soft tune retumed . Valeri ended the song with one hard , fast , loud note . The auditorium fell completely silent until we realized the music was finished . Still in a halftrance , we burst into applause . Valeri took a swift bow and walked off stage .

她开始拉提琴了。一个个音符变成了柔和,优美的旋律，韵律逐渐加快，她越拉越急，音乐声戛然而止。乐曲在瓦莱丽拉出一串强硬，急速，洪亮的音符后归于沉寂。会堂里出奇的安静，过了一会儿，我们才意识到她已经演奏完了。仍陶醉于美妙中的我们对她报以雷鸣般的掌声。瓦莱丽快速地鞠了一躬，走下了舞台。



I smiled to myself . Valeri wasn't just a "quiet girl" .She knew about wonderful books and could play the violin like nothing I'd ever heard . Like a caterpillar or butterfly , she was beautiful and amazing when you looked closely .

我暗自微笑，原来瓦莱丽不仅仅是一个“安静的女孩”，她博览奇妙的好书，能拉出我闻所未闻的小提琴曲。她就像那毛毛虫或蝴蝶，当你靠近她，仔细的观察，你会发现，她有着惊人的美。