Ch3-Big Thinkers

CHAPTER THREE Big Thinkers "Ha-ha," Jack laughed, as if Annie were crazy. "Don't pay attention to her. We're leaving now." "Who are you to defy our teacher?" a boy shouted. "How dare a girl insult him!" another yelled. He shook his fist at Annie.

“哈哈，”杰克笑了，好像安妮疯了似的。 “别理她。 我们现在要走了。”“你是谁，竟敢违抗我们的老师？”一个男孩喊道。 “一个女孩怎么敢侮辱他！”另一个人喊道。 他对安妮挥动拳头。

"She wasn't insulting anyone," said Jack. "But don't worry, we're going." He took Annie's arm and started to pull her along. "Stay!" the teacher commanded. Jack and Annie froze. "Tell me more," the man said. "It is rare that I am surprised—and you have surprised me. What do you mean, the earth is not the center of the universe?" "Well," said Annie, "the earth is a planet, and all the planets in our solar system travel around the sun." The teacher smiled. "Is that what you believe?" he said. "It's not just what I believe. It's what I know," said Annie. "A trip around the sun takes a year." The students laughed. "You are speaking nonsense," one said. "And wasting our precious time with Aristotle!" Aristotle? thought Jack. He knew that name. His mind raced, trying to remember who Aristotle was. "I'm just telling you the facts," said Annie. "While the earth is circling the sun, it rotates.

“她没有侮辱任何人，”杰克说。 “不过别担心，我们会去的。” 他抓住安妮的胳膊，开始拉着她往前走。 “别动！”老师命令道。 杰克和安妮僵住了。“再告诉我一些，”那人说。 “我很少感到惊讶，而你却使我感到惊讶。 你说地球不是宇宙的中心是什么意思？”“嗯，”安妮说，“地球是一颗行星，我们太阳系的所有行星都围绕太阳运行。” 老师笑了。“你相信这个吗？”他说。 “这不仅仅是我所相信的。 这就是我所知道的，”安妮说。 “绕太阳一圈需要一年时间。” 学生们笑了。“你在胡说八道，”一个人说。 “浪费我们和亚里士多德在一起的宝贵时间！”亚里士多德? 杰克想。他知道这个名字。 他的脑子飞快地运转，试图回忆亚里士多德是谁。 “我只是告诉你事实，”安妮说。 “当地球绕着太阳转的时候，它在自转。

Rotate means it spins around. One rotation of the earth is one day." The boys snickered, but Aristotle was quiet. "What a novel idea," he said softly. Then he turned to the boys. "Our class is over for the day. I would like to speak to these two visitors alone." The boys grumbled, but they tucked their tablets under their arms and headed out into the bright square. Aristotle stared at Jack and Annie. "Who are you? Where are you from?" he asked. "I'm Annie. This is Jack, my brother. And, um, we're from Frog Creek." "Frog Creek…?" said Aristotle. "It's west of Greece," Jack said. "And who are you?" asked Annie. "My name is Aristotle. I have come from Athens, Greece, to teach philosophy and science in Macedonia." Jack gasped. Now he remembered! Aristotle was a great philosopher and scientist in ancient Greece! On a past mission, they had delivered his writings to the ruler of Baghdad.

旋转意味着它在旋转。 地球自转一周是一天。” 孩子们窃笑起来，但亚里士多德却很安静。 “多新颖的主意啊，”他轻声说。 然后他转向男孩们。 “我们今天的课结束了。 我想单独和这两位客人谈谈。” 孩子们嘟囔着，但他们把写字板夹在腋下，向明亮的广场走去。 亚里士多德盯着杰克和安妮。 “你是谁？”你是哪里人？”他问。 “我是安妮。这是杰克，我的弟弟。 嗯，我们来自青蛙溪。” “青蛙溪？”亚里斯多德说。 “在希腊的西边，”杰克说。 “你是谁？”安妮问。 “我叫亚里士多德。我从希腊雅典来，在马其顿教哲学和科学。” 杰克气喘吁吁地说。现在他想起来了！亚里士多德是古希腊伟大的哲学家和科学家！在过去的一次任务中，他们把他的作品交给了巴格达的统治者。

"We've heard of you," said Annie. "You're a big thinker. We saved your writings once, but a camel ate them." She laughed. "It wasn't funny at the time. But—" "Annie," said Jack. He shook his head. It would be impossible to explain their trip to Baghdad. That trip had happened more than a thousand years after this time in history. "My sister has a big imagination," he said. "So it would seem," said Aristotle. "Her ideas about the universe are completely wrong, of course, but I am astonished that she has a theory." "Why?" asked Annie. "I did not think that girls had the ability to think about such things," said Aristotle. Annie looked at Jack. "He's kidding, right?" she said. Jack laughed nervously. "Well, no," he said. "That's what people thought a long time ago." Scowling, Annie started to say something, but Aristotle smiled at her. "You must be a very special kind of girl. Come. Let us walk and talk, and you can show me what big thinkers you both are."

“我们听说过你，”安妮说。 “你是个大思想家。我们有一次保存了你的手稿，但被骆驼吃了。” 她笑了。“这在当时并不好笑。 可是——”“安妮，”杰克说。 他摇了摇头。要解释他们的巴格达之行是不可能的。 那次旅行发生在距今一千多年后的历史上。 “我妹妹有丰富的想象力，”他说。 “看来是这样，”亚里士多德说。 “当然，她对宇宙的看法是完全错误的，但我很惊讶她有一个理论。” “为什么?”安妮问。“我不认为女孩有能力思考这些事情，”亚里士多德说。 安妮看着杰克。“他在开玩笑吧？”她说。 杰克紧张地笑了。“嗯，不，”他说。 “很久以前人们就是这么想的。” 安妮皱着眉头，想说点什么，但亚里士多德对她笑了笑。 “你一定是个很特别的女孩。 来了。让我们边走边聊，你们可以向我展示你们俩是多么伟大的思想家。”

Jack and Annie fell into step with the philosopher as he started across the square. "Besides contemplating the universe, what else do you think about?" Aristotle asked Annie. "Um… I think a lot about animals," she said. "Wonderful. Animals always reveal to us something natural and beautiful," said Aristotle. "So you study them?" "I do study them," Annie said. "But more than that, I fall in love with them. I think that's the way I really learn." "Ah, very good," said Aristotle. "To truly educate your mind, you must also educate your heart. And where does your heart lead you, Jack? Do you prefer a life of sports? Military training?" Jack shook his head. "I'm not super-great at sports," he said, "or military training. But I'm good at doing research. I take notes on everything." Jack found it surprisingly easy to talk with the philosopher. "I love learning about the rain forests and the deep sea and the moon. I love learning about everything, really." "Me too!" said Annie.

当哲学家开始穿过广场时，杰克和安妮与他步调一致。 “除了思考宇宙，你还在想什么？”亚里士多德问安妮。 “嗯……我想了很多关于动物的事情，”她说。 “好了。动物总是向我们展示一些自然和美丽的东西，”亚里士多德说。 “所以你研究它们？”“我确实研究它们，”安妮说。 “但更重要的是，我爱上了他们。 我认为这才是我真正学习的方式。” “啊，很好，”亚里士多德说。 “要真正教育你的思想，你也必须教育你的心。” 你的心会带你去哪里，杰克？ 你喜欢运动的生活吗？ 军事训练吗?”杰克摇了摇头。 “我不擅长体育，”他说，“也不擅长军事训练。 但我擅长做研究。 我什么都记笔记。” 杰克发现和那位哲学家交谈出奇地容易。 “我喜欢了解雨林、深海和月亮。 我喜欢学习一切，真的。” “我也是！”安妮说。

"Indeed?" said Aristotle. "You both are remarkable!" Jack shrugged. "Not really. I guess we just kind of know ourselves." "So it would seem," Aristotle said. "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." "The more Jack and I learn about the world, the more we learn about ourselves," said Annie. "We're always trying new stuff." "Yeah, even if we make fools of ourselves sometimes," said Jack. "Especially me." Aristotle chuckled. "I think we should all dare to make fools of ourselves again and again," he said. "Anyone who fears looking like a fool must say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing." "So it would seem," said Annie. "May I ask: why have you come to Macedonia?" said Aristotle. "Does your visit have a purpose?" "It does," said Jack with a laugh. He was enjoying talking to Aristotle so much that he'd forgotten their mission. "Actually, we're looking for Alexander the Great." "Do you know him?" asked Annie.

“真的吗？”亚里士多德说。“你们两个都很了不起！”杰克耸耸肩。 “不是真的。我想我们只是有点了解自己。” “看来是这样，”亚里士多德说。 “认识自己是一切智慧的开端。” “杰克和我对这个世界了解得越多，我们对自己的了解也就越多，”安妮说。 “我们总是在尝试新东西。” “是的，即使我们有时会出丑。”杰克说。 “尤其是我。”亚里士多德咯咯地笑了。 “我认为我们都应该敢于一次又一次地愚弄自己，”他说。 “害怕看起来像傻瓜的人一定什么也不说，什么也不做，什么也不是。” “看来是这样，”安妮说。 “我可以问一下，你为什么到马其顿来？”亚里士多德说。 “你的来访有什么目的吗？”“是的，”杰克笑着说。 他太喜欢和亚里士多德聊天了，以至于忘记了他们的使命。 “实际上，我们在找亚历山大大帝。” “你认识他吗？”安妮问。