Detective Work

The next day Julia and Markos went to the gymnasium to watch Brody’s training, as usual. “ Wow, there are lots of gods here today, ” Julia said. Markos nodded. “ As the Games draw closer, the gods become quite focused on the competition. Only the most powerful gods have a real chance of winning, of course. But the others don’t want to make it easy for them! Julia looked at the field. She couldn’t help worrying about whether Brody would be good enough to compete against all these other athletes. Still, she could tell that he was doing his best to train hard. She watched Hermes hand Brody a discus and then gesture toward the course.

第二天，茱莉亚和马库斯像往常一样去体育馆观看布罗迪的训练。“哇，今天这里有很多神，”茱莉亚说。 马库斯点了点头。“随着奥运会的临近，众神变得非常专注比赛。 当然，只有最强大的神才有真正的机会获胜。但其他神也不想让他们轻松获胜！” 茱莉亚看着运动场。她不禁担心布罗迪是否足够优秀，优秀到足以与其他所有运动员竞争。 尽管如此，她还是能看出他正在尽自己最大努力去训练。她看到赫尔墨斯递给了布罗迪一个铁饼，然后向球场做了个手势。

As Julia followed the track of Brody’s toss, she noticed Ares creeping along the edge of the field. “ What’s Ares doing?” she said. Markos glanced at the god of war. “ Probably trying to sabotage another god’s champion. ” “ You mean like what Hera and Aphrodite tried to do to Brody?” Julia asked. “ Do the gods do that kind of thing a lot?” “ Of course, ” Markos replied. “ Ares has quite a rivalry with Apollo. He’s not eager to have his sister Athena beat him in the Games either. Oh, and I heard he recently quarreled with Hephaestus. ”

当茱莉亚追随着布罗迪的投掷轨迹时，她注意到阿瑞斯正沿着场地悄悄走动。 “阿瑞斯在做什么？”她说。 马库斯看了一眼战神。“可能是想阻碍另一个神的冠军。” “你的意思是就像赫拉和阿芙罗狄蒂试图对布罗迪做的那样？”茱莉亚问道。“众神经常做这种事吗？” “当然，”马库斯回答。“阿瑞斯与阿波罗有着相当激烈的竞争。他也不想让他的妹妹雅典娜在奥运会上击败他。哦，我听说他最近和赫斐斯塔斯吵架了。”

Julia shivered. “ The gods really can’t be trusted, can they?” she said. “ What if they keep trying to sabotage Brody?” “ They probably will. ” Markos shrugged. “ Then we should do something to help him. ” Julia stood up. She was tired of sitting around watching Brody run and jump and throw things. “ Let’s go spy on the other gods and their champions. Maybe we can figure out which ones are the biggest threat to Brody. ”

茱莉亚哆嗦了一下。她说：“真的不能相信神，是吗？”“如果他们一直试图阻碍布罗迪呢？” “他们可能会的。”马库斯耸了耸肩。 “那我们应该做点什么来帮助他。”茱莉亚站了起来。她厌倦了坐在那里看着布罗迪奔跑、跳跃、扔东西。 “我们去窥探其他神和他们的冠军吧。也许我们可以找出哪些对布罗迪的威胁最大。”

Markos looked surprised, but he stood up too. “ That’s a good idea. The gods usually can’t help bragging about their tricks and plans. If we listen carefully, we might be able to help Brody stay safe— and even win. ” “ Where are you two going?” Brody called out as Julia and Markos headed for an exit. Hermes looked over too. “ We’re, uh, going to the agora. ” Markos flushed. “ My mother asked me to get some extra eels for tonight’s dinner. ” Hermes smacked his lips. “ Eels, eh?” he said.

马库斯看起来很惊讶，但他也站了起来。“这是个好主意。众神通常会忍不住吹嘘他们的诡计和计划。 如果认真听，我们也许能够帮助保护布罗迪的安全，甚至帮他获胜。” “你们两个要去哪里？”当茱莉亚和马库斯走向出口时，布罗迪喊道。 赫尔墨斯也看了过来。 “我们，呃，去集市。”马库斯脸红了。“我妈妈让我今晚的晚餐多买一些鳗鱼。” 赫尔墨斯咂了咂嘴。“鳗鱼，嗯？”他说。

“ My favorite! Make sure you get plenty, boy. We’ll meet you at the agora when we’re finished here in case you need help carrying them. ” “ How many eels does Hermes expect you to get?” Julia whispered as she and Markos hurried out. “ It doesn’t matter, ” Markos said. “ I just made that up about my mother. Let’s go to the agora and see who’s there. ” A few minutes later, the two kids were wandering around the agora. As usual, it was crowded. A fabric merchant was placing a bolt of silk in front of his tent. Two farmers were arguing loudly over the price of a flock of honking geese.

“我的最爱！确保你买的足够多，孩子。当我们这里结束时，我们会在集市和你见面，以防你需要我们帮忙搬运。” “赫尔墨斯希望你买多少条鳗鱼？”茱莉亚和马库斯匆匆离开时，她低声说道。 “这不重要，”马库斯说。“我只是编造了我母亲的事。我们去集市看看谁在那里。” 几分钟后，两个孩子在集市上闲逛。和往常一样，这里很拥挤。 一个布商在帐篷前放了一条丝绸。两个农民正在为一群鸣叫的鹅的价格大声争吵。

Several small boys dodged through the crowd toward another stall. There were only a few gods in view, including Hera. “ Let’s go closer, ” Julia whispered, nodding at the queen of the gods. Julia and Markos moved toward Hera, who was talking to her champion, a muscular young man with a scar on his cheek. “ . . . and you’ll have to do much better at the long jump, ” the goddess was saying when Julia got close enough to hear. “ Because my husband has been bragging that his champion once leaped across the Elpeus River at its widest point. ”

几个小男孩躲过人群，朝另一个摊位走去。眼前只有几个神，包括赫拉。 “我们走近一点，”茱莉亚低声说，向众神之后点点头。 茱莉亚和马库斯走向赫拉，赫拉正在和她的冠军说话，这位肌肉发达的年轻人脸颊上有一道疤痕。 “……而且你必须在跳远上做得更好，”当茱莉亚走近时，这位女神说。 “因为我丈夫一直在吹嘘，他的冠军曾在埃尔佩乌斯河最宽处跃过。”