9. How People Eat Pizza in Chicago

Chapter 9 How People Eat Pizza in Chicago Marvin invited Joe to spend the night. "Were you born in Chicago, Joe?" Marvin's mother asked him as they sat down for dinner. "Yes, Nancy," said Joe. "Where were you born?" For a moment, Marvin's mother didn't answer. Her name was Nancy, but Marvin's other friends always called her Mrs. Redpost. "Richmond, Virginia," she said. "Where were you born, Dennis?" asked Joe. "New Jersey," said Marvin's father. They had pizza and salad for dinner. Since he was a guest, Joe was served first. Joe used his knife and fork, and cut his pizza into little

第九章芝加哥人如何吃披萨马文邀请乔来过夜。 “你出生在芝加哥吗，乔?”他们坐下来吃晚饭时，马文的妈妈问他。 “是的，南希，”乔说。“你出生在哪里?”有一会儿，马文的妈妈没有回答。 她的名字叫南希，但马文的其他朋友总是叫她红post夫人。 “弗吉尼亚州里士满，”她说。 “你出生在哪里，丹尼斯?”乔问。 “新泽西，”马文的父亲说。 他们晚餐吃披萨和沙拉。 因为乔是客人，所以先招待他。 乔用刀叉把披萨切成小块

pieces. Marvin didn't want Joe to feel weird, so he cut his pizza into tiny pieces, too. Marvin had warned his parents that the other kids at school made fun of Joe for being different. So when Marvin's mother saw Joe and Marvin cutting their pizza, she did the same. Marvin's father started to pick up his piece of pizza with his hand. Mrs. Redpost cleared her throat, then said, "Use your fork and knife, dear." Then she cut Linzy's piece of pizza for her. Marvin was glad that Jacob was having dinner at Nate's house. Jacob might not think Joe was cool if he saw him eating pizza. There was no way Jacob would eat pizza with a knife and fork. Jacob sometimes ate two pieces at a time, one in each hand. "What do your parents do, Joe?" asked Marvin's father. "Um, just normal things, Dennis," said Joe. "No, I mean, what kind of work? Did you move here because of their jobs?" "Sort of," said Joe. "They have a lot of meetings in Washington, D.C. But they were told the schools were better here in Maryland. That's why I'm here."

碎片。马文不想让乔觉得奇怪，所以他也把披萨切成了小块。 马文曾警告过他的父母，学校里的其他孩子都取笑乔的与众不同。 所以当马文的妈妈看到乔和马文切披萨时，她也跟着切。 马文的父亲开始用手拿起他的披萨。 雷德波斯特太太清了清嗓子，然后说:“用你的刀叉吧，亲爱的。” 然后她给琳姿切了一块披萨。 马文很高兴雅各布在内特家吃晚饭。 如果雅各布看到乔吃披萨，他可能会觉得乔不酷。 雅各布不可能用刀叉吃披萨。 雅各布有时一次吃两块，两只手拿一块。 “乔，你父母是做什么的?”马文的爸爸问。 “嗯，都是些平常的事，丹尼斯，”乔说。 “不，我是说，什么样的工作?” 你是因为他们的工作才搬来这里的吗?”“差不多吧，”乔说。 “他们在华盛顿特区有很多会议 但他们被告知马里兰州的学校更好。 这就是我在这里的原因。”

"What kind of meetings?" asked Marvin's mother. "I'm not supposed to talk about it," said Joe. "It's topsecret." "Oh, I see," said Marvin's mother. Marvin saw his parents stare at Joe. He knew they were wondering if Joe was telling the truth. After they finished the pizza—which took a lot longer than usual—Marvin's mother asked what they wanted for dessert. "We've got cookies, ice cream, Jell-O …" Marvin knew what Joe wanted. "We'll have Jell-O," he said. Marvin's mother went to the refrigerator. "That's strange," she said. "It's all gone." "Joe ate it all," said Linzy. "Can you make more?" asked Marvin. "That's okay," said Joe. "You don't have to." "Joe really likes Jell-O," said Linzy. "He'd never had it before." "They don't have Jell-O in Chicago," said Marvin. "Oh, I see," said Mrs. Redpost. She stared at Joe for a moment. "Well, I can make some more, but it won't be ready until tomorrow."

“什么样的会议?”马文的妈妈问。 “我不应该谈论这件事，”乔说。 “这是topsecret。”“哦，我明白了，”马文的妈妈说。 马文看见他的父母盯着乔。 他知道他们在怀疑乔说的是不是真话。 他们吃完披萨——比平时花了很多时间——马文的妈妈问他们想吃什么甜点。 “我们有饼干、冰淇淋、果冻……”马文知道乔想要什么。 “我们要吃果冻，”他说。 马文的妈妈走到冰箱前。 “真奇怪，”她说。 “都没了。”“乔把它全吃了，”林兹说。 “你能再做一些吗?”马文问。 “没关系，”乔说。“你没必要这么做。” “乔真的很喜欢果冻，”林兹说。 “他以前从来没有过。” “芝加哥没有果冻，”马文说。 “哦，我明白了，”雷德波斯特太太说。 她盯着乔看了一会儿。 “嗯，我可以再做一些，但要到明天才能做好。”

"Can I help?" asked Joe. "I want to study how you make it." "Sure, Joe. I'll show you how." She began by boiling water. "Would you like some cookies for now?" she asked. "Yes, please," said Marvin. Linzy said she wanted four cookies. "How about you, Joe?" asked Marvin's mother. "No thank you, Nancy. I'll just have a cup of coffee."

“我能帮忙吗?”乔问。“我想研究你是怎么做的。” “当然,乔。我来告诉你怎么做。” 她先烧开水。 “你现在想吃点饼干吗?”她问。 “好的，谢谢。”马文说。 林兹说她想要四块饼干。 “你呢，乔?”马文的妈妈问。 “不，谢谢你，南希。我只想喝杯咖啡。”