At Jessica’s Reunion Party

Jessica's 20-year class reunion was held at a fancy hotel.杰西卡20年的同学聚会在一家豪华酒店举行。

When she arrived, she wasn't sure she was in the right place.当她到达时，她不确定自己是否在正确的地方。

At first she didn't recognize anyone.一开始她不认识任何人。

She felt a bit awkward and out of place.她觉得有点尴尬和不自在。

But it wasn't long before a strange man came up to her.但没过多久，一个陌生的男人走到她跟前。

"Don't you remember me?" he asked.“你不记得我了吗？”他问。

He was already losing his hair, and he was wearing thick glasses.他已经脱发了，戴着一副厚厚的眼镜。

Jessica’s 20-year class reunion was going to be at a hotel near where their school used to be, like many other buildings, the school had been torn down.杰西卡20年的同学聚会将在他们学校附近的一家酒店举行，和许多其他建筑物一样，学校也被拆毁了。

When he said who he was, she barely remembered him, especially since he had changed so much.当他说他是谁的时候，她几乎不记得他了，尤其是因为他改变了很多。

Then he told her that he had always had a crush on her.然后他告诉她他一直很喜欢她。

He said she looked beautiful and he immediately took a selfie of them, with his  arm tight around her waist.他说她看起来很漂亮，他立刻拍了一张照片，胳膊紧紧搂着她的腰。

This made her feel a bit strange.这让她觉得有点奇怪。

She smiled at him and pretended to be happy to see him.她对他微笑，假装很高兴见到他。

But in fact, she wasn't sure how to react, though he seemed nice.但事实上，她不知道该怎么反应，尽管他看起来很好。

Why didn't she remember him? He had changed a lot.她为什么不记得他？他改变了很多。

She finally excused herself and went to the ladies room.她终于请假去了女厕所。

She was beginning to regret having come to the reunion.她开始后悔来参加聚会了。

She had always been shy, and she still was.她一直很害羞，但现在仍然很害羞。

What kind of person is she? She is shy.她是什么样的人？她很害羞。

When she returned to the party, Sharon invited her to sit at her table.当她回到聚会上时，Sharon邀请她坐在桌旁。

Dinner was going to be served soon, and some of the classmates were going to give speeches.晚餐很快就要上了，一些同学要发表演讲。

Sharon asked Jessica to say a few words too, because people were curious.莎伦让杰西卡也说几句，因为大家都很好奇。

This was a surprise.这真是个惊喜。

Jessica had never been very popular and she didn't think anyone had noticed her.杰西卡从来都不受欢迎，她认为没有人注意到她。

She had always felt like an outsider, with only a couple of close friends.她一直觉得自己是个局外人，只有几个好朋友。

Still, she had been one of the best students, and people remembered her.不过，她一直是最好的学生之一，人们都记得她。

In this situation, "to say a few words" means ? to give a short speech在这种情况下，“说几句话”的意思是什么？作简短的演讲

As the evening wore on Jessica began to really enjoy herself.随着夜晚的过去，杰西卡开始真正地享受自己了。

She talked with her old friends and was amazed by how some others had changed.她和她的老朋友聊天，对其他人的变化感到惊讶。

For example, Tom used to be good-looking and athletic.例如，汤姆以前长得很好看，而且很健壮。

He was one of the most popular students and a star basketball player.他是最受欢迎的学生之一，也是一名明星篮球运动员。

His one problem was math.他唯一的问题是数学。

He had had a hard time in math, especially in geometry.他数学很难，尤其是几何。

This was because he wasn't a logical thinker.这是因为他不是一个逻辑思考者。

Expect for basketball, he didn't want to do anything unless it was easy.除了篮球，他什么都不想做，除非很容易。

If something wasn'teasy, he didn't want todoit,exceptfor basketball.如果有什么不好笑的，他不想说，除了篮球。

Tom was no longer good looking.汤姆不再好看了。

His nose, which had always been large,had grown even larger.他的鼻子一直都很大，而且越来越大了。

he had also gained a lot of weight.他体重也增加了很多。

His wife had left him, so for the first time ever, he was alone.他的妻子离开了他，所以他第一次独自一人。

He looked lonely and depressed, not at all like he used to be.他看上去很孤独，很沮丧，一点也不像以前那样。

Steve was a nobody in middle school.史蒂夫在中学是个无名小卒。

People hardly noticed him.人们几乎没注意到他。

He was small, quiet, and a bit ugly, with crooked teeth.他个子小，安静，有点丑，牙齿歪。

What he was good at was English.他擅长的是英语。

His English was even better than their teacher's.他的英语甚至比他们老师的还要好。

After graduating, he went to a low-ranked university and eventually dropped out.毕业后，他上了一所排名较低的大学，最后辍学了。

For a while he worked as a tour guide.他当过一段时间的导游。

Then, 10 years ago, he and some friends started a little company which is now a great success.10年前，他和一些朋友开了一家小公司，现在大获成功。

In fact, he had become a rich, generous man.事实上，他已经成为一个富有、慷慨的人。

He had a nice,warm smile and his success hadn't gone to his head.他笑得很和蔼，很热情，他的成功还没有使他冲昏头脑

It was a pleasure to be around him.很高兴能和他在一起。

Betty used to be the most beautiful girl in school.贝蒂曾经是学校里最漂亮的女孩。

She wasn't very smart, but she was a great singer.她不是很聪明，但她是个很棒的歌手。

She made a video of her singing, and it went viral.她录了一段自己唱歌的视频，然后就走红了。

She became famous overnight, but it only lasted for about two years.她一夜成名，但只持续了两年左右。

After that, her fans lost interest in her.之后，她的粉丝们对她失去了兴趣。

She tried to become an actress, but she failed.她想当演员，但失败了。

She had been too stiff and nervous in front of the camera.她在摄像机前僵硬而紧张。

Betty had a nice husband who seemed to adore her.贝蒂有一个很好的丈夫，似乎很崇拜她。

The one tragedy in her life happened about five years ago, when she lost her daughter to a rare form of cancer.她生命中的一个悲剧发生在大约五年前，当时她女儿死于一种罕见的癌症。

Because of that, her hair had begun to turn grey.因此，她的头发开始变白。

Jessica couldn't help but feel sorry for her.杰西卡忍不住为她感到难过。

Betty had had such high hopes and tremendous energy as a girl, but things didn't work out.贝蒂作为一个女孩有着很高的希望和巨大的精力，但于事无补。

And then there was John.然后是约翰。

John used to be the school bully.约翰以前是学校的霸王。

He had been big, strong and mean.他身材魁梧，强壮刻薄。

He hadn't been nice to anybody.他对任何人都不好。

It seemed that he was always angry and ready to hit someone.他似乎总是很生气，随时准备打别人。

After graduating, he joined the army and went overseas to fight in a war.毕业后，他参军出国打仗。

He saw many people die and he grew to hate fighting of any kind.他看到许多人死去，他开始讨厌任何形式的战斗。

Then one day he was nearly killed when the helicopter he was in was shot down.后来有一天，他乘坐的直升机被击落，差点丧命。

He survived the crash, but he lost a leg and was hospitalized for nearly a year.他幸免于难，但腿却僵硬，住院近一年。

What happened to the helicopter he was in? It was shot down.他乘坐的直升机怎么了？它被击落了。

Now he had completely changed.现在他完全变了。

He had gentle, kind eyes, and a beautiful smile.他有一双温柔善良的眼睛和一个美丽的微笑。

He was working for an organization that provides support for elderly people.他在一个为老年人提供支持的组织工作。

From jessica's point of view, John had turned out to be a wonderful surprise.从杰西卡的角度来看，约翰原来是个了不起的惊喜。

In the end, Jessica was glad she went to her reunion.最后，杰西卡很高兴去参加她的同学聚会。

It was interesting to see how people had changed through the years.看到这些年来人们的变化是很有趣的。

Still, she was happy to get home and appreciate everything that she had.尽管如此，她还是很乐意回家并且珍惜她所拥有的一切。