2. A Very Normal Third Grader

Chapter 2 A Very Normal Third Grader Nick's birthday party was on Saturday. On Monday, a new kid came to Marvin's school. Mrs. North introduced him to the class. "Everybody, this is Joe Normal." Joe Normal stood at the front of the room, next to Mrs. North. He wore baggy pants, untied sneakers, a Mickey Mouse T-shirt, and a Dallas Cowboys cap. He looked just like a normal third grader. "Where are you from, Joe?" asked Mrs. North. "Uh … Earth," said Joe. "Just like you." Mrs. North laughed. "Good answer," she said. "But really, what city?" "City?" asked Joe.

尼克的生日聚会是在星期六。 星期一，一个新来的孩子来到马文的学校。 诺斯夫人把他介绍给全班同学。 “大家好，我是Joe Normal。” 乔·诺曼站在房间的前面，紧挨着诺斯夫人。 他穿着宽松的裤子，没有系鞋带的运动鞋，一件米老鼠的t恤，戴着一顶达拉斯牛仔队的帽子。 他看起来就像一个普通的三年级学生。 “你从哪里来，乔?”诺斯太太问。 “呃……地球，”乔说。“就像你一样。” 诺斯太太笑了。“回答得好，”她说。 “但说真的，哪个城市?”“城市?”乔问。

Marvin could tell Joe was nervous. He knew he'd be nervous, too, if he had to move someplace and go to a new school. "Uh, Chicago," Joe said. "Located on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, it's the largest city in Illinois." "What a show-off!" whispered Casey Happleton, the girl who sat next to Marvin. "Chicago is a beautiful city," said Mrs. North. "I'm surprised you're a Cowboys fan, Joe. I would have guessed you'd like the Bears." Joe bit his lip and shrugged. Marvin was surprised Mrs. North knew so much about football. "Well, it's nice to have you with us," said Mrs. North. "I think you'll like it here." "Thank you," said Joe. "You seem like a good teacher. I want to learn as much as I can." Nick groaned loudly. Mrs. North gave Nick the Look. Then she turned back to Joe and said, "I like your attitude, Joe. Why don't I put you next to Nick? Maybe some of your good attitude will rub off on him."

马文看得出乔很紧张。 他知道，如果他不得不搬到某个地方，去一所新学校，他也会紧张的。 “嗯，芝加哥，”乔说。它位于密歇根湖的西南岸，是伊利诺伊州最大的城市。 “真爱炫耀!”坐在马文旁边的女孩凯西·哈普尔顿低声说。 “芝加哥是个美丽的城市，”诺斯太太说。 “我很惊讶你是牛仔队的球迷，乔。 我还以为你会喜欢熊队呢。” 乔咬着嘴唇，耸了耸肩。 马文很惊讶诺斯太太对足球了解这么多。 “嗯，很高兴你能和我们在一起，”诺斯太太说。 “我想你会喜欢这里的。” “谢谢你，”乔说。“你看起来是个好老师。 我想尽可能多地学习。” 尼克大声呻吟着。诺斯太太瞪了尼克一眼。 然后她转身对乔说:“我喜欢你的态度，乔。 我把你安排在尼克旁边吧? 也许你的好态度会影响到他。”

Nick groaned again. Nick sat several desks away from Marvin. He turned toward Marvin and whispered something to him, but Marvin couldn't get what he said. It might have been "What a jerk!" or "What a nerd!" He knew it was "What a something!" Joe sat down next to Nick. "We've been studying mammals," Mrs. North told Joe. "Who can name a kind of mammal?" Marvin raised his hand, but Mrs. North called on Casey. "Bears," said Casey. That was what Marvin was going to say. He lowered his hand. Mrs. North continued to call on other children. "Lions," said Clarence. "Rabbits," said Heather. "Humans," said Stuart. Mrs. North liked that answer. "Very good, Stuart. People are mammals, too. How about you, Joe?" "Uh, sure, I'm a mammal," said Joe. Mrs. North smiled. "No, I mean, can you name another

尼克又呻吟了一声。尼克坐在离马文几张桌子远的地方。 他转向马文，低声对他说了些什么，但马文听不懂他在说什么。 它可能是“真是个混蛋!”或“真是个书呆子!”他知道那是“多么了不起!”乔在尼克旁边坐下。 “我们一直在研究哺乳动物，”诺斯夫人告诉乔。 “谁能说出一种哺乳动物?”马文举起了手，但诺斯夫人叫凯西。 “熊，”凯西说。这正是马文要说的。 他把手放低。诺斯太太继续拜访其他孩子。 “狮子，”克拉伦斯说。“兔子，”希瑟说。 “人类，”斯图亚特说。诺斯太太喜欢这个回答。 “很好，斯图亚特。人也是哺乳动物。 你呢，乔?”“嗯，当然，我是哺乳动物，”乔说。 诺斯太太笑了。“不，我的意思是，你能说出另一个吗?

kind of mammal?" "Oh," said Joe. "Um … Oh, I know! What's that one? It's big and fat and has a really long nose …" "You mean an elephant?" said Nick, beside him. "That's it!" exclaimed Joe. "I couldn't remember what they were called. Thanks." "Duh," said Nick. "That's not nice, Nick," said Mrs. North. "I'm sure there are times you've forgotten a word." jmkfho. "I've never forgotten elephant," said Nick.

一种哺乳动物?”“哦，”乔说。 “嗯……哦，我知道了!”那是什么? 它又大又胖，还有一个很长的鼻子……”“你是说大象吗?”尼克在他旁边说。 “就是这样!”乔叫道。 “我不记得它们叫什么了。 谢谢。”“废话，”尼克说。 “这可不好，尼克，”诺斯太太说。 “我敢肯定，有时候你会忘记一个单词。” “我从来没有忘记大象，”尼克说。

"Well, uh, there aren't a lot of elephants in Chicago," Joe explained. "Like there are here?" said Nick. Marvin felt bad for Joe. He knew what it was like to forget a word. Once he couldn't think of the word parade. Mrs. North reminded the class that there would be a test on Wednesday. She asked if anybody had any questions. Joe raised his hand. Mrs. North smiled at him. "Yes, Joe?" "How much does the human brain weigh?" Mrs. North thought a long time, then said, "That won't be on the test."

“嗯，嗯，芝加哥没有很多大象，”乔解释说。 “就像这里有吗?”尼克说。 马文为乔感到难过。他知道忘记一个单词是什么感觉。 有一次他连游行这个词都想不起来。 诺斯夫人提醒全班同学星期三要考试。 她问有没有人有什么问题。 乔举起了手。诺斯太太朝他笑了笑。 “是的,乔?”“人类的大脑有多重?”诺斯夫人想了很久，然后说:“这不会出现在考试中。”