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I've got some questions about the Noah's Ark story, though. For starters, I wanna know why Noah let venomous creatures like snakes and scorpions on board. Because, if it was ME, I would've used the opportunity to leave a few of those guys BEHIND. And then I would've used the extra space for more of the GOOD animals, like puppies and hedgehogs and those pygmy hippopotamuses.

不过关于诺亚方舟的故事，我有几个问题想问。 首先我就想不明白，诺亚为啥要把蛇、蝎子这种有毒的动物带上船。 要是换作我的话，我肯定趁机把这些家伙都留在岸上。 多出来的空间我就能放更多可爱的好动物，比如小狗、刺猬还有倭河马呀。

Luckily, Noah didn't have to make room on board for whales and fish, because they would've taken up a TON of space. and they probably didn't even know the flood was happening to begin with. But it doesn't make a lot of sense that Noah let BIRDS on the ark, since they could've just FLOWN. And I bet he regretted that decision right away.

好在诺亚不用给鲸鱼和鱼腾地方，它们占的地方可太大了。 而且说到底，它们说不定根本都不知道发洪水了呢。 可诺亚带鸟儿上船就说不通啊，鸟儿本来就能飞嘛。 我敢打赌他立马就后悔这个决定了。

You only hear about the animals that SURVIVED the flood. But sometimes I wonder if there were some cool animals that DIDN'T make it on to the boat. The way the story goes, after it rained for forty days and forty nights, it took 150 days for the floodwater to go back down. That means Noah was stuck on the boat with a bunch of animals, plus his wife and three sons. And whenever I feel sorry for myself living in Gramma's basement with my family, I think about Noah and it makes me feel a little better.

你只会听到那些熬过洪水的动物的故事。 可我有时候会想，会不会有好多有意思的动物没能上船呢。 故事里说，连下了四十天四十夜的雨之后，洪水花了一百五十天才退干净。 也就是说诺亚和他老婆、三个儿子，被困在船上和一堆动物待了好久。 每次我跟家人住在奶奶地下室，觉得自己很惨的时候，想想诺亚，我就好受多了。

Mom keeps saying she's glad we're all together right now, because she feels like time has slowed down. I've noticed that, too, but for ME it's not a GOOD thing.

妈妈一直说，她很高兴现在我们一家人都在一起，因为她觉得时间都慢下来了。 我也发现这点了，不过对我来说这可不是什么好事。

Something that's making this summer feel really long is that I can't go to my friend Rowley's house. And that's because he's off on some big European holiday with his family. When Rowley first told me about his family's plans, I tried to see if his parents might let me tag along. But I guess Mr and Mrs Jefferson aren't as sharp as I thought they were, because they never picked up on any of my hints. I'LL BET YOUR TRIP WOULD BE MORE FUN IF YOU HAD A FRIEND ALONG! YEP... WONDER WHO MIGHT LIKE TO COME? HMM... So now Rowley's probably off having the time of his life while I'm doing five-hundred-piece puzzles in my grandmother's basement.

这个夏天感觉特别漫长，就是因为我没法去朋友罗利家玩。 因为他跟全家人去欧洲度过大长假了。 罗利刚跟我说他家的计划时，我还暗示过，想让他爸妈带我一起去。 不过杰斐逊夫妇好像没我想的那么机灵，压根没get到我的暗示。 我都说了， 有朋友一起去旅行肯定更有意思呀！ 是哦... 不知道谁想一起去呢？ 嗯... 所以现在罗利估计正玩得开心，我却在奶奶家地下室拼五百片的拼图。

I think Mom feels bad we can't afford to do something special this summer, so she's been trying to make up for it. She says we can go anywhere we want if we just use our imaginations. But, to be honest, that's not really doing it for me any more. I think Mom's finally had enough, too, because last night she called a "family meeting" after dinner to brainstorm ideas for holidays that we can afford. But the problem is, everyone's got their OWN idea of a good time.

我觉得妈妈因为我们这个夏天没钱出去玩，心里不好受，所以一直想办法弥补。 她说只要我们发挥想象力，想去哪儿都能去。 不过说实话，这招对我已经不管用了。 我觉得妈妈估计也忍够了，所以昨天晚饭后她开了个“家庭会议”，一起想我们负担得起的度假点子。 可问题是，每个人对好玩假期的想法都不一样。