8. The Hill

Chapter 8 The Hill Where was everybody? Marvin wondered if maybe they all got tired of waiting and went home. Or they could be waiting at the bottom of the hill. After all, why should they struggle to get to the top? "Hello!" he shouted. "I'm here!" There was no answer. He couldn't see the bottom of the hill. His eyes followed a dirt path that zigzagged through some rocks, then disappeared behind a large bush. He couldn't see anything beyond that. "Anyone down there?" he called. A van stopped on the other side of the barrier. Marvin turned around to see his mother. She got out of the van and stepped over the barrier. "Since Nick and Stuart weren't riding with you, I thought I'd better make sure you were all right." Marvin was glad to see her.

第八章小山丘大家都到哪里去了? 马文在想，也许他们都等腻了，都回家了。 或者他们可能在山脚下等着。 毕竟，他们为什么要为登上顶峰而奋斗呢? “你好!”他喊道。“我在这里!”没有人回答。 他看不见山脚下。 他的眼睛盯着一条土路，那条土路曲折地穿过一些岩石，然后消失在一大片灌木后面。 除此之外，他什么也看不见。 “下面有人吗?”他喊道。 一辆货车停在路障的另一边。 马文转过身去看他的妈妈。 她下了车，跨过了栅栏。 “既然尼克和斯图亚特没有和你一起骑马，我想我最好确保你没事。” 马文很高兴见到她。

"I dropped Jacob, Linzy, and your dad at the bottom of the hill," she said. "They wanted to see you come down." "Was anyone else there?" asked Marvin. "No." "You sure?" Marvin asked. "I didn't see anybody." "Do you know what time it is?" His mother checked her watch. "A couple of minutes after twelve." "What about Nate?" Marvin asked. "Did he come with Jacob?" "No." Marvin couldn't believe it. Although, now that he thought about it, Nate had never said he was coming. And none of Marvin's classmates had talked about Suicide Hill since that day at lunch. When was that? Wednesday? Three days ago. He shook his head and smiled. He had been so worried about what everybody else thought. But nobody else really cared. "So this is Suicide Hill," said his mother, peering over the edge.

“我把雅各布、琳兹和你爸爸扔在了山脚下，”她说。 “他们想看你下来。” “还有其他人在吗?”马文问。 “没有。”“你确定吗?”马文问道。 “我没看见任何人。”“你知道现在几点了吗?”他妈妈看了看表。 “十二点过两分钟。” “那内特呢?”马文问道。 “他和雅各一起来的吗?”“没有。” 马文简直不敢相信。 不过，现在回想起来，内特从来没说过他要来。 自从那天午饭后，马文的同学们再也没有谈论过自杀山。 那是什么时候?周三吗?三天前。 他摇了摇头，笑了。 他一直很担心别人的想法。 但没有人真正关心。 “原来这就是自杀山，”他妈妈说，从悬崖边往外看。

Marvin nodded. "It's steep, isn't it?" Marvin nodded again. "You sure this is something you want to do?" she asked. "You don't have to if you don't want to." "I know," said Marvin. He looked back down the hill. He wrapped his fingers around the handlebars. The bike felt sturdy. Not like his old baby bike. This bike was made for this hill. "I want to," he said. It felt good to make his own decision. Not for anyone else. For himself. He looked back down the hill and whispered, "Oh, I'm a very brave unicorn. Yes, I am." Then he stepped up on the pedal and swung his leg over the other side. He shifted the gears as he watched the front tire slowly roll over the edge. The trail was narrow and steep. He squeezed both brakes as he tried to stay in the middle of the dirt path. He went between a couple of jagged boulders, then around a large bush. His tires skidded from side to side.

马文点点头。“很陡，不是吗?”马文又点了点头。 “你确定你想这么做吗?”她问。 “如果你不想，你可以不去。” “我知道。”马文说。他回头看了看山下。 他把手指缠绕在车把上。 这辆自行车摸起来很结实。不像他的旧婴儿自行车。 这辆自行车是为这座山而造的。 “我想去，”他说。自己做决定感觉很好。 对任何人来说都不是。为自己。 他回头看了看山下，低声说:“哦，我是一只非常勇敢的独角兽。 是的，我是。”然后他踩上踏板，把腿甩到另一边。 他一边换档，一边看着前轮慢慢地滚过边缘。 这条小路又窄又陡。 他使劲踩刹车，试图停在泥路中间。 他穿过几块参差不齐的巨石，然后绕过一大片灌木。 他的轮胎左右打滑。

At last he came to a place where the trail was straight, so he eased off the brakes. That was a mistake. The next thing he knew, he was speeding toward a cliff. He gripped the brakes hard and turned sharply. The

最后，他来到了一个小路笔直的地方，于是他放松了刹车。 这是一个错误。他所知道的下一件事，就是他正在加速奔向悬崖。 他猛踩刹车，急转弯。 的

wheels skidded inches from the cliff. He had to jerk the bike back the other way to avoid a sharp-edged boulder —once again he was heading toward the cliff. Gripping the brakes with all his might, he leaned into the turn. The trail then widened and got easier. He caught his breath. He came to a point where he went uphill for a short distance and needed to pedal. He shifted to a lower gear. Then the trail turned back downhill. He went through a series of wide, smooth turns that were fast and fun.

车轮在离悬崖几英寸的地方打滑。 为了避开一块锋利的巨石，他不得不把自行车向后一甩——他又一次冲向悬崖。 他使出全身力气急刹车，身子倾入转弯。 然后小路变宽了，变得容易多了。 他屏住了呼吸。他来到一个上山的地方，有一小段距离，需要踩踏板。 他换到低一档。 然后这条小路又掉头下山了。 他经历了一系列又宽又顺的转弯，又快又有趣。

As Marvin made the last turn, he could see the bottom of the hill. The rest of the way was very steep, but straight. Then it opened up into a wide, flat area. He let go

当马文转到最后一个弯时，他可以看到山脚下了。 剩下的路很陡，但很直。 然后它变成了一片宽阔平坦的区域。 他放手了