15

So now we've got a giant pile of rotting timber in the middle of our town park, and this autumn the pre-schoolers had to play their soccer games AROUND it. But their soccer season got cut short when a bunch of animals moved into the woodpile, and everyone agreed it was too dangerous for kids to keep playing near it.

所以现在我们镇公园中央堆了一大块烂木头，今年秋天，幼儿园小朋友都得绕着这块地方踢足球。 后来一群动物搬进了木堆，足球赛季提前结束了，大家都觉得小孩再在附近玩太危险了。

So I guess Slacksville has the last laugh, at least for now. The reason I'm bringing this stuff up is because today was our first away game, and of course it was in Slacksville. I got a queasy feeling when we drove past the sign, because I haven't been there in YEARS.

所以我觉得，至少现在笑到最后的是斯莱克斯维尔。 我讲这件事，是因为今天是我们第一场客场比赛，地点正好就是斯莱克斯维尔。 我们开车路过路牌时我心里发慌，我已经好多年没去过那儿了。

Our game was at Slacksville High, and their gym was WAY better than ours. The court looked brand new, and I didn't see a single piece of gum on the floor. The gym was packed before we got there, and people started booing during warm-ups.

我们的比赛在斯莱克斯维尔高中，他们的体育馆比我们的好太多了。 球场看着崭新崭新的，我在地板上连一块口香糖印都没找到。 我们到之前体育馆就坐满了，热身的时候他们就开始喝倒彩了。

Only a few of our parents showed up to cheer us on. I had to get a ride to the game with Edward Mealy, because Mom said she needed to go with Dad to Manny's pre-school play. But I kind of wonder if Mom bailed on me because she knew what was in store for our team in Slacksville. I was pretty anxious for the game to get started so I could take my spot at the end of the bench. But there were already people sitting in that spot, and there wasn't any room for ME.

我们这边只有几个家长来加油。 我只能搭爱德华·米利的车去赛场，因为妈妈说她要陪爸爸去看曼尼的幼儿园演出。 不过我有点怀疑，妈妈是不是早就知道我们队去斯莱克斯维尔没好果子吃，才故意不来的。 我盼着比赛快点开始，好坐回替补席末端我的位置。 可那个位置已经被人占了，根本没我的地方。

There was an empty space a few rows up in the stands, so, when the game started, that's where I went. But I was afraid people were gonna notice that I wasn't from Slacksville and give me a hard time. So, whenever the crowd booed my team, I did, too. It was actually pretty easy to do, because we got off to another terrible start. Slacksville started the game by hitting a deep three-pointer, and then they stole the ball and hit ANOTHER one. And before long they were ahead by twenty points. I thought that once they built up a lead they'd start to take it easy on us. But I guess everyone in Slacksville is still sore over the garbage dump, because they never let up.

看台上往上几排有个空位置，比赛开始后我就去那儿坐了。 可我怕别人发现我不是斯莱克斯维尔人，找我麻烦。 所以观众嘘我们队的时候，我也跟着嘘。 这事其实不难，因为我们又开了个糟糕的头。 比赛一开始，斯莱克斯维尔就投进了一记超远三分，接着他们断球又进了一个。 没过多久他们就领先了二十分。 我本来以为他们建立领先优势后就会对我们手下留情。 可我猜斯莱克斯维尔所有人还为垃圾场的事记仇，他们一点都不肯松劲。

They started running a full-court press, which meant we couldn't even get the ball past half-court. In fact, we couldn't even get the ball in play because those Slacksville kids were all OVER us. Coach Patel was yelling at our team from the sidelines. But his voice was drowned out by the Slacksville crowd.

他们开始全场紧逼，我们连球都过不了半场。 其实我们根本没法开球，那些斯莱克斯维尔的孩子把我们盯得死死的。 帕特尔教练在边线冲我们大喊。 可他的声音完全被斯莱克斯维尔的观众盖住了。