41_Let the Games Begin!

Brody puffed out his chest as the crowd cheered. This was it. He was about to compete in the Olympic Games with all the best athletes in ancient Greece! The athletes gathered in front of the gods. Brody glanced at Heracles, who stood beside him. Heracles looked calm and ready. A minor god named Agon stepped forward. “ Let the Olympic Games officially begin! ” he called. “ We shall start as usual with—” “ Hold on, Agon! ” Zeus suddenly interrupted him. “ I’ve decided that there will be a change in the order of events today. We shall begin with the chariot race. ”

人群欢呼时，布罗迪鼓起胸膛。 就这样，他即将与古希腊所有最好的运动员一起参加奥运会！ 运动员们聚集在众神面前，布罗迪瞥了一眼站在他身边的赫拉克勒斯. 赫拉克勒斯看起来平静而胸有成竹。 一位名叫阿贡的小神挺身而出。“让奥运会正式开始吧！”他喊道。“我们将像往常一样开始——” “稍等一下，阿贡！”宙斯突然打断了他的话。 “我决定今天的活动顺序会有所改变。我们将从战车比赛开始。”

“ What?” Ares frowned. “ Why?” “ Why not?” Zeus answered with a shrug. “ If your athletes are prepared, they will easily adjust to the change. ” Brody felt a sudden pang of worry. “ Did you know about this?” he whispered to Heracles. “ No, ” Heracles said. “ But I’m not surprised by it. Zeus knows all the other gods want to sabotage me. " " He’s probably trying to foil their pranks by changing the order of events. ”

“什么？”阿瑞斯皱了皱眉。“为什么？” “为什么不呢？”宙斯耸耸肩回答。“如果你的运动员做好了准备，他们会很容易适应变化。” 布罗迪突然感到一阵担忧。“你知道这件事吗？”他对赫拉克勒斯耳语。 “不，”赫拉克勒斯说。“但我对此并不感到惊讶。宙斯知道所有其他的神都想破坏我。" "他可能是想通过改变事件的顺序来愚弄他们的恶作剧。”

“ eah, ” Brody replied. “ I just wish we were following the right order. ” “ These Games will probably be unlike any other contest you’ve known, Brody, ” Heracles went on. “ We can expect a lot of mischief and interference from the gods today. ” “ Isn’t that called cheating?” asked Brody. Heracles shook his head. “ No. It’s just part of the Games. ” Brody shot a look at Ares. The war god had reacted pretty strongly to Zeus’ announcement. Did that mean he had something planned?

“是的，”布罗迪回答。“我只是希望我们遵循正确的顺序。” “布罗迪，这些比赛可能与你所知道的任何其他比赛都不同，”赫拉克勒斯继续说道。 “我们今天可以期待神灵的大量恶作剧和干涉。” “这不叫作弊吗？”布罗迪问。 赫拉克勒斯摇了摇头。“不，这只是奥运会的一部分。” 布罗迪看了阿瑞斯一眼。战神对宙斯的宣布反应相当强烈，这是否意味着他有计划？

By now everyone was hurrying through the exit. Brody followed the crowd to the hippodrome, where servants were holding teams of horses. “ Over here, Brody, ” Hermes called. Brody hurried toward the god and climbed into his chariot. The horses pulling the chariot snorted and pawed at the ground. Iphicles was helping Heracles, because Zeus seemed too busy bragging again to pay much attention to his champion. But as soon as Heracles was in his chariot, Iphicles left his brother and hurried over to Brody.

这时，每个人都匆匆忙忙地穿过出口。布罗迪跟着人群来到了赛马场，仆人在那里牵着一队队的马。 “这边，布罗迪，”赫耳墨斯喊道。 布罗迪急忙走向上帝，爬上他的战车。拉着战车的马哼着鼻子，用马蹄抓着地面。 伊菲克勒斯在帮助赫拉克勒斯，因为宙斯似乎忙着再次吹嘘，无暇顾及他的冠军。 但赫拉克勒斯一坐上战车，伊菲克勒斯就离开了他的哥哥，匆匆赶往布罗迪。

Hermes was fussing with the horses’ bridles and didn’t seem to notice when Iphicles approached. “ Don’t pull on the reins too much, ” Iphicles told Brody quietly. “ Try to fall in behind one of the faster teams and just let your horses chase the other chariot. “ “ That way you’ll only have to steer at the end of the race, when you’re trying to get to the front. ” “ Thanks, ” Brody said with a nod. He remembered hearing that Iphicles was good with horses, so he trusted Iphicles’ advice. Hermes led the team of horses to the starting line.

赫耳墨斯正摆弄着马的缰绳，似乎没有注意到伊菲克勒斯的到来。 “不要太用力拉缰绳。“伊菲克勒斯小声的告诉布罗迪。 “试着落后于速度更快的车队，让你的马追逐另一辆战车。“ ”这样，你只需要在比赛快要结束时驱使战车超到前面。” “谢谢，”布罗迪点头说。他记得听说伊菲克勒斯擅长骑马，所以他相信伊菲克勒的建议。 赫尔墨斯带领马队到达起跑线。

“ Champions, get ready! ” Agon yelled. A trumpet blared, and then all the horses sprang forward at once. Brody’s team was so eager that they almost pulled the reins out of his hands. Poseidon’s champion was in the lead, followed by Heracles’ team. Remembering Iphicles’ tip, Brody pulled on one rein to steer his horses over behind those two teams. Then he loosened his grip again. Brody’s horses surged forward, chasing Heracles’ chariot. All Brody had to do was stand there. “ This is easy, ” he thought. He just needed to come in second or third place. That would keep Heracles safe, and probably satisfy Hermes.

“选手们，准备好！”阿贡喊道。 一声喇叭响了，然后所有的马立刻跳了出来。布罗迪的马队非常急切，几乎把缰绳从他的手中拉了下来。 波塞冬队的选手领先，赫拉克勒斯队紧随其后。 想起伊菲克勒斯的提示，布罗迪拉上一根缰绳，把马拉到那两支队伍后面。然后他又松开了手。 布罗迪的马向前冲去，追赶赫拉克勒斯的战车，布罗迪所要做的就是站在那里。 “这很容易，”他想。他只需要获得第二或第三名 这将确保赫拉克勒斯的安全，并可能使赫耳墨斯满意。