Ch5-The Race

CHAPTER FIVE The Race As they followed Alexander, Jack wished he hadn't shown off. What if the prince challenged him to mount a moving chariot? Or hunt a lion? As he followed Alexander out of the room, Annie hurried along with him. Prince Alexander strode ahead through the courtyard. He led Jack and Annie to a covered

他们跟在亚历山大后面，杰克真希望自己没有炫耀。 如果王子挑战他骑上一辆移动的战车呢？ 或者猎捕狮子？当他跟着亚历山大走出房间时，安妮也匆匆跟在他后面。 亚历山大王子大步走在前面，穿过院子。 他把杰克和安妮带到一个隐蔽的地方

porch behind the house. "So, what would you like us to do for you?" asked Annie, smiling. Alexander gazed down at her. "Well, I would like a girl to do nothing for me," he said. "You should be with the other females, cooking and spinning." The smile left Annie's face. "Fine," she said. "I'll go back in and hang out with Aristotle." She started back through the door. "I'll go, too," said Jack, eager to get away from the arrogant prince. "Halt!" barked Alexander. He looked at Annie. "I will endure you awhile longer. You boast that your brother likes to write things down? Well, now he has something very important to write about: me! Do you have something to write with?" he asked Jack. "Sure." Jack pulled out his notebook and pencil. "When you return to your own country, your writing could bring me lasting fame there," said Alexander. "You bet," said Jack. Writing was easy, he thought. Mounting a moving chariot wasn't.

屋后的门廊。“那么，你想让我们为你做些什么呢？”安妮微笑着问。 亚历山大低头看着她。 “嗯，我想要一个女孩什么都不为我做，”他说。 “你应该和其他女人在一起，做饭和纺纱。” 安妮脸上的笑容消失了。 “很好，”她说。“我要回去和亚里士多德一起玩” 她从门里走了回去。 “我也要去，”杰克说，急于离开傲慢的王子。 “站住！”亚历山大吼道。他看着安妮。 “我再容忍你一会儿。 你夸口说你哥哥喜欢把事情写下来？ 现在他有很重要的东西要写了：我！你有写字的东西吗？”他问杰克。 “当然。”杰克拿出他的笔记本和铅笔。 “当你回到自己的国家时，你的作品可以给我带来持久的名声，”亚历山大说。 “当然，”杰克说。写作很容易，他想。 骑上一辆移动的战车却不是。

"We will walk and talk," the prince ordered. "Come." Jack and Annie followed Alexander off the porch, stepping into the hot sunlight. The prince led them through a garden overlooking the hillside. On a plateau near the bottom of the slope was a long barn with a riding ring. "You said Hercules is a favorite hero of yours," the prince said. "Did you know he is my greatgreat-grandfather?" "Who? Hercules?" asked Annie. "Yes. And since he is a son of Zeus, I am a living Greek god myself," said Alexander. Whoa, thought Jack. He rolled his eyes. "You mock me?" Alexander asked. "No, no, I just got some dust in my eyes," said Jack. He rubbed his eyes. "A living Greek god," said Annie. "Write that down, Jack." "Of course," said Jack. But he wrote: This guy's a raving nut.

“我们可以边走边说。”王子命令道。 “来了。”杰克和安妮跟着亚历山大走出门廊，走进炽热的阳光下。 王子领着他们穿过一个俯瞰山坡的花园。 在靠近斜坡底部的高原上，有一个长长的谷仓，上面有一个骑圈。 “你说过赫拉克勒斯是你最喜欢的英雄，”王子说。 “你知道他是我的曾曾祖父吗？”“谁? 大力神？”安妮问。“是的。 既然他是宙斯的儿子，我自己就是一个活着的希腊神。”亚历山大说。 哇，杰克想。他翻了个白眼。 “你嘲笑我？”亚历山大问。 “不，不，我只是眼睛里进了灰尘，”杰克说。 他揉了揉眼睛。“一位活着的希腊神，”安妮说。 “记下来，杰克。”“当然，”杰克说。 但他写道：这家伙是个疯狂的疯子。

Annie read Jack's notes and snickered. Alexander turned and looked at her. Annie tried to change her snicker into a snort. "Sorry, got some dust up my nose," she said, scratching her nose. The prince kept walking and talking. "This means, of course, that when I go to war, I will never lose a battle. Soon I will be master of the universe." "Cool," said Jack. But he wrote: This guy should be locked up. Annie glanced at Jack's notes and stifled a laugh. Alexander looked at her again. "Dust in my throat," she said. She coughed. Alexander kept walking. "You said you went to the Olympics in Greece?" he said. "Well, so have I." "Were you competing?" said Jack. "Of course not. I never compete with other athletes," the prince said wearily. "I would win every time. I am the greatest living athlete in the world."

安妮看了杰克的笔记，窃笑起来。 亚历山大转过身来看着她。 安妮试图把她的窃笑变成哼鼻子。 “对不起，我鼻子上沾了灰尘，”她搔着鼻子说。 王子边走边说。 “当然，这意味着，当我参加战争时，我永远不会输掉一场战斗。 很快我就会成为宇宙的主宰。” “酷，”杰克说。但他写道：这家伙应该被关起来。 安妮瞥了一眼杰克的笔记，强忍住笑。 亚历山大又看了她一眼。 “我喉咙里有灰尘，”她说。 她咳嗽。亚历山大继续往前走。 “你说你去过希腊奥运会？”他说。 “嗯，我也是。”“你们在比赛吗？”杰克问。 “当然不是。我从不与其他运动员竞争，”王子疲惫地说。 “我每次都会赢。我是世界上最伟大的健在运动员。”

"Amazing," said Jack. But he wrote: What a show-off! He could never have friends. Jack looked up. "More?" he said. "First I would like to see all you have written so far," said the prince. "You would?" said Jack, gulping. "Yes." "Uh—but I'm not finished," said Jack. "I don't like to show my writing until I've gotten all my notes together." He closed his notebook and started to put it in his bag. "I want to read it now," said the prince, snatching the notebook. He opened it and looked at Jack's notes." 'A raving nut'? What is that?" "Um… in our land, a 'raving nut' is a very rare and valuable kind of nut," said Jack. "Right, by comparing you to a raving nut, Jack's saying you are very valuable," added Annie. Alexander looked at Annie suspiciously, then back at the notebook." 'This guy should be locked up,'" he read.

“太神奇了，”杰克说。但他写道：多么炫耀啊！他永远不会有朋友。 杰克抬起头来。“还有吗？”他说。 “我想先看看你写的东西。”王子说。 “你会吗？”杰克说着，咽了口气。 “是的。”“嗯——可我还没说完呢，”杰克说。 “我不喜欢在整理好所有笔记之前展示我写的东西。” 他合上笔记本，开始把它放进包里。 “我现在就想读。”公爵说着，抢过笔记本。 他打开信，看了看杰克的笔记。 “一个胡言乱语的疯子”？那是什么？”“嗯……在我们的土地上，‘疯狂坚果’是一种非常稀有和珍贵的坚果，”杰克说。 “是的，杰克把你比作一个胡言乱语的疯子，是在说你很有价值，”安妮补充说。 亚历山大怀疑地看着安妮，然后又看了看笔记本。 ‘这家伙应该被关起来，’”他念道。

"For protection!" said Annie. "Someone as great as you should be locked up for your own safety. You're a living Greek god, for goodness' sake!" Alexander read more: "'What a show-off!'" He looked puzzled. "Show-off?" he asked. "That means you can't help showing the world how great you are," said Jack. "Ah, that is true," said Alexander. The prince then read Jack's last note: "'He could never have friends.'" For a second, the prince looked hurt. "That—uh—I mean it must be really hard for you to find people who are as great as you to hang out with…," Jack said lamely. "Hmm," said Alexander. He closed the notebook and handed it back to Jack. "Perhaps we should compare athletic skills now," he said. "Your skills with mine?" said Jack. "Don't you want to tell us more about yourself?" Annie asked the prince. "No, I want to learn more about Jack," said Alexander. "Let us race one another," he said to Jack. He pointed down the hill. "To the stable fence and back."

“为了保护！”安妮说。 “像你这样伟大的人，为了你自己的安全，应该被关起来。 看在上帝的份上，你是一个活生生的希腊神！”亚历山大读了更多：“多么炫耀！’”他看起来很困惑。 “炫耀？”他问。“这意味着你忍不住要向世界展示你有多伟大，”杰克说。 “啊，这倒是真的。”亚历山大说。 王子读了杰克最后的留言：“他永远不会有朋友。’”有那么一瞬间，王子看起来很受伤。 “那——嗯——我的意思是，你一定很难找到和你一样优秀的人一起出去玩……”杰克跛着脚说。 “嗯，”亚历山大说。他合上笔记本，把它还给了杰克。 “也许我们现在应该比较一下运动技能，”他说。 “你的技能和我的一样吗？”杰克说。 “你不想告诉我们更多关于你自己的情况吗？”安妮问王子。 “不，我想更多地了解杰克，”亚历山大说。 “让我们比赛吧，”他对杰克说。 他指着山下。“到马厩的栅栏再回来。”