5 A TON OF BRICKS

CHAPTER 5 A TON OF BRICKS Alexander stood inside, catching his breath. The school was perfectly quiet, and all the lights were off. Daylight came in through the door behind Alexander, casting long shadows down the hallway. "Hello?" he called out. "Hello?" said his echo. Alexander clutched the straps on his backpack and started down the dim hallway. He passed several classrooms, all empty. "Anyone there?" Alexander tripped over something brown with white stitches. A flat football... he thought.

第五章一吨砖亚历山大站在里面，喘着气。 学校里非常安静，所有的灯都关了。 日光从亚历山大身后的门进来，在走廊上投下长长的影子。 “喂？”他喊道。“喂？”他的回音说。 亚历山大抓住背包上的背带，开始沿着昏暗的走廊走去。 他经过几间教室，都是空的。 “有人在吗?”亚历山大被一个棕色的东西绊倒了，上面有白色的针脚。 一个扁平的足球……他想。

CRASH-BLASH KER-SMASH! A brick wall collapsed in front of him. A cloud of dust filled the passage, covering Alexander like a powdered donut. Alexander looked through the broken wall and saw a giant yellow claw— a wrecking crane! He had to get out of there. He climbed over the smashed bricks, which was tricky with just one shoe. Then he spotted something rectangular in the rubble, wrapped in a dusty scarf.

CRASH-BLASH KER-SMASH !一堵砖墙在他面前倒塌了。 一团灰尘填满了通道，像裹了粉的甜甜圈一样盖住了亚历山大。 亚历山大透过破碎的墙看到了一个巨大的黄色爪子——一个破坏起重机！他必须离开那里。 他爬过了被砸碎的砖块，这对他来说很困难。 然后，他在废墟中发现了一个长方形的东西，包在一条满是灰尘的围巾里。

Alexander unwrapped the object. It was an old notebook. Initials What could S.S.M.P. stand for? Skull on the cover Neat! SUBJECT DOOM! First page ripped out Probably nothing important Last few pages still blank Unfinished? He flipped to a page in the middle.

亚历山大打开包裹。 那是一本旧笔记本。什么是S.S.M.P. 代表什么?封面上的骷髅很好！主题厄运!第一页被撕掉了可能没什么重要的东西最后几页还是空白未完成？ 他翻到中间一页。

PLAYING MANTIS A huge green bug monster. About as tall as a giraffe (minus the neck). HABITAT All playgrounds-at schools, public parka, etc.

一个巨大的绿色虫子怪物。 大约和长颈鹿一样高（除去脖子）。 所有操场——学校、公园等。

SNIFF! Rainy days make the playing mantis sad. DIET Regular-size bugs. (They spit out the shells.) BEHAVIOR These giant bugs love playground equipment, but they play too rough. If you notice a dent in the slide or see a swing with one chain shorter than the other, then there's likely a mantis nearby. WARNING! The only way to avoid a playing mantis is to sit quietly against the wall during recess.

嗅嗅!雨天使玩耍的螳螂伤心。 节食：正常大小的虫子。（他们把贝壳吐了出来。）这些大虫子喜欢游乐场的设备，但它们玩得太粗暴了。 如果你注意到滑梯上有凹痕，或者看到秋千的一条链子比另一条短，那么附近可能有一只螳螂。 警告!避免螳螂玩耍的唯一方法就是在课间休息时安静地靠墙坐着。

Alexander shivered. He thumbed through the book and saw page after page of monster drawings. "HEY!" a voice shouted from down the hall. Alexander stuffed the notebook into his backpack. A woman was storming toward Alexander. She wore a gray shirt, gray pants, gray shoes, and gray glasses. Her hair was in a long braid, coiled on top of her head like a snake. "Why are you playing in a construction site?!" she demanded. "I wasn't playing! This is my school. I'm a

亚历山大颤抖。他翻了翻书，看到一页又一页的怪物图画。 “嘿！”一个声音从大厅那头传来。 亚历山大把笔记本塞进背包。 一个女人怒气冲冲地向亚历山大走来。 她穿着灰色的衬衫，灰色的裤子，灰色的鞋子，戴着灰色的眼镜。 她的头发编成一条长长的辫子，像蛇一样盘绕在头顶上。 “你为什么在建筑工地玩？！”她质问道。 “我不是在玩！”这是我的学校。 我是一个