6. Still Only Thursday

Chapter 6 Still Only Thursday Marvin sat on a stool in the kitchen. He stared at the wall. He'd been sitting that way ever since he got home from school. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Should he look his fear in the eye and ride down Suicide Hill? Or was that stupid, like taking drugs? Officer Watson had said that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is say no to your friends. He knew his friends wouldn't think he was being brave. They'd think he was scared. And they'd be right. He was scared of Suicide Hill. But maybe he was smart to be scared. His father had told Linzy she had to stand up to her fears. But Suicide Hill was different than thunder and lightning. He could get hurt going down Suicide Hill. Thunder and lightning couldn't hurt Linzy. No, that wasn't true either, he realized. Maybe thunder

第六章还只是星期四马文坐在厨房的凳子上。 他盯着墙。自从放学回家后，他就一直那样坐着。 他不知道自己该做什么。 他应该正视自己的恐惧，从自杀山骑下去吗? 还是说那很蠢，就像吸毒一样? 沃森警官曾说过，有时候你能做的最勇敢的事情就是对你的朋友说不。 他知道他的朋友们不会认为他很勇敢。 他们会以为他害怕了。 他们是对的。他害怕自杀山。 但也许他害怕是明智的。 他的父亲告诉林兹，她必须勇敢地面对自己的恐惧。 但自杀山不同于电闪雷鸣。 他下自杀山时可能会受伤。 打雷和闪电伤不了林兹。 不，那也不是真的，他意识到。 也许雷

couldn't hurt her, but if she got struck by lightning, it could kill her. Maybe Linzy was right. Maybe lightning could come through the computer. Going down Suicide Hill wasn't as bad as being struck by lightning. He didn't think he'd be killed going down Suicide Hill. Maybe just break an arm and a leg. Other kids have ridden down Suicide Hill, he reminded himself. They didn't get hurt. So? Other kids have taken drugs, too. Just because other kids do something, that doesn't mean you should, too. If your friends jump off the Empire State Building, that doesn't mean you should, too. But Nick and Stuart weren't even jumping off the Empire State Building. They just expected him to jump. Maybe his friends had forgotten all about Suicide Hill. Nobody mentioned it once today at school. All anyone talked about was Officer Watson and the lie detector. He never felt more confused in his life. He wished he could practice riding his bike. He needed to see how the brakes and gears worked. He remembered the man at the bike shop telling him never to use just the front brake. He was supposed to use

伤不了她，但如果她被闪电击中，可能会丧命。 也许林兹是对的。也许闪电可以穿过电脑。 走下自杀山还不如被闪电击中那么糟糕。 他没想到自己会在自杀山上被杀。 也许只是摔断一只胳膊和一条腿。 他提醒自己，其他孩子也从自杀山骑下来过。 他们没有受伤。所以呢?其他孩子也吸毒。 其他孩子做了一些事情，并不意味着你也应该这样做。 如果你的朋友从帝国大厦跳下去，那并不意味着你也应该这么做。 但尼克和斯图尔特甚至都没有从帝国大厦跳下去。 他们只是希望他跳下去。 也许他的朋友们已经把自杀山忘得一干二净了。 今天在学校没人提过。 所有人谈论的都是沃森警官和测谎仪。 他一生中从未感到如此困惑过。 他希望他能练习骑自行车。 他需要看看刹车和齿轮是如何工作的。 他记得自行车店的那个人告诉他永远不要只用前刹车。 他应该使用

the back brake, or both brakes together. If he tried to stop using just the front brake, the bike might flip over on his head. The front door opened. "Hey, Mar," said Jacob. "Hiya, Marvin," said Nate. Nate was Jacob's best friend. They threw their backpacks on the counter and attacked the refrigerator. "I hear you're going to ride down Suicide Hill," said Nate. "Uh, maybe," said Marvin. "You better not wimp out," said Nate. "Some of the guys at school said you were a baby, but I stuck up for you. Now my reputation is on the line." Marvin didn't say anything. He couldn't believe middle school kids had been talking about him, a puny third grader. "Can I ask you a question?" he asked his brother. "Sure," said Jacob, his mouth full of cookies and pickles. "How do you know which is front and which is back?" "What?" asked Jacob.

后刹车，或者两个一起刹车。 如果他试图停止使用前刹车，自行车可能会翻倒在他的头上。 前门开了。“嘿，妈妈，”雅各布说。 “你好，马文。”内特说。 内特是雅各布最好的朋友。 他们把背包扔到柜台上，袭击了冰箱。 “我听说你要骑马去自杀山，”内特说。 “嗯，也许吧。”马文说。“你最好别退缩，”内特说。 “学校里有些人说你是个孩子，但我为你说话。 现在我的名誉岌岌可危。” 马文什么也没说。 他不敢相信中学生们一直在谈论他，一个弱小的三年级学生。 “我能问你一个问题吗?”他问他哥哥。 “当然，”雅各布说，嘴里塞满了饼干和泡菜。 “你怎么知道哪个是前面哪个是后面?”“什么?”雅各问。

"Well, I haven't really ridden my bike a whole lot. How do you know which brake is for the front tire, and which one is for the back tire?" Jacob thought a moment as he swallowed a mouthful of food. "Right is back, left is front," he said. "No, wait. Right is front, left is back. No, I think I was right the first time. Left is front—" "Left is back, right is front," said Nate. "No, right is back, left is front," said Jacob. "You sure?" asked Nate. "I think so," said Jacob. It always took Marvin a moment to figure out his left from his right. He knew he wouldn't have time if he was speeding down Suicide Hill. "I really don't think about it when I'm on my bike," said Nate. "It just comes natural." "You don't want to brake just with your front brake," said Jacob. "Your bike could flip over." Marvin nodded. He'd heard that before. "Suicide Hill is so steep, you should probably use both brakes all the time," said Nate. jmkfho. "What about gears?" Marvin asked.

“嗯，我并没有经常骑自行车。 你怎么知道哪个刹车是前胎的，哪个是后胎的?”雅各布一边吞下一口食物，一边想了一会儿。 “右边是后面，左边是前面，”他说。 “不,等等。右边是前面，左边是后面。 不，我觉得我第一次是对的。 左边是前面——”“左边是后面，右边是前面，”内特说。 “不，右边是后面，左边是前面，”雅各布说。 “你确定?”内特问。“我想是的，”雅各布说。 马文总是要花点时间才能分辨出自己的左右。 他知道，如果他在自杀山超速行驶，他就没有时间了。 “当我骑自行车的时候，我真的不会去想它，”内特说。 “这很自然。”“你不想只用前刹车，”雅各布说。 “你的自行车可能会翻车。” 马文点点头。这句话他以前听过。 “自杀山太陡了，你可能应该一直使用两个刹车，”内特说。 “那齿轮呢?”马文问道。

"What about them?" asked Nate. "Do I need to shift gears? Which gear should I use?" "High gear," said Jacob. "Low gear," said Nate, at almost the same time. "Low gear going up, high gear going down," said Jacob. "I thought it was high gear going up, and low gear going down," said Nate. "No, low up, high down," said Jacob. "I don't really think about it when I'm on my bike," said Nate. "It just comes natural." Marvin didn't think it would come natural to him. "You won't need to worry about gears going down the hill," said Jacob. "You'll coast almost the whole way. But remember to lean into the turns." Marvin didn't know what that meant. "You have to lean your bike way over on the sharp turns," Nate explained. "Have you ever watched a motorcycle race? They lean way over the whole time." Marvin had never seen a motorcycle race. He didn't want to do any fancy riding. He just wanted to get down the hill alive. "I'm just going to try to keep my bike

“他们怎么了?”内特问。 “我需要换挡吗?” 我应该用什么装备?”“高速，”雅各布说。 “低速，”内特几乎同时说。 “低速档上升，高速档下降，”雅各布说。 内特说:“我认为它是高速上升，低速下降。” “不，往下走，往下走。”雅各布说。 “当我骑自行车的时候，我真的不会去想它，”内特说。 “这很自然。”马文认为这对他来说不太自然。 “你不用担心下山的齿轮，”雅各布说。 “你几乎要一路滑行。 但要记住，转弯时身体要倾斜。” 马文不知道那是什么意思。 “你必须在急转弯时把自行车倾斜，”内特解释说。 “你看过摩托车比赛吗?” 他们整个过程都在倾斜。” 马文从未看过摩托车比赛。 他不想做什么花哨的骑术。 他只是想活着下山。 “我只是想保住我的自行车

straight up," he said. "You can't do that," said Jacob. "You have to lean into the turns. Otherwise you'll slide off the path and you'll go over the cliff." "It comes natural," Nate assured him. Jacob and Nate went on up to Jacob's room. Marvin stayed where he was, staring at the wall. Well, it's only Thursday, he told himself.

直截了当，”他说。“你不能这么做，”雅各布说。 “你必须适应转弯。 否则你会滑出小路，掉下悬崖。” “这很自然，”内特向他保证。 雅各布和内特去了雅各布的房间。 马文呆在原地，盯着墙。 唉，今天才星期四，他对自己说。