1 BOOK CLUB

CHAPTER 1 BOOK CLUB Alexander had just gobbled up an entire bowl of Stanley Flakes when his dad shuffled into the kitchen. "Morning, AI," said his dad, with a big yawn. "You're up early." "I have to go to a meeting before school," said Alexander.

亚历山大刚狼吞虎咽地吃完一整碗斯坦利片，他爸爸就拖着脚走进厨房。 “早上好，AI，”他爸爸说，打了一个大大的哈欠。 “你起得真早。”“上学前我得去开会，”亚历山大说。

"I'm glad you're involved in activities outside of class!" his dad said. "Is it the chess team? Or a writing group? Or a book club?" Alexander grabbed his backpack. "It's, uh, sort of like a book club. Just me, Rip, and Nikki. "Neat!" said his dad. "Have fun!" Alexander dashed out the door and into the woods behind his house. He did have a club meeting, but this club only cared about one book: an old notebook full of information about monsters.

“我很高兴你参加课外活动！”他爸爸说。 “是象棋队吗？”还是一个写作小组？ 或者读书会？”亚历山大抓起他的背包。 “这有点像读书俱乐部。 只有我，里普和妮基。“太棒了！”他爸爸说。 “玩得开心!”亚历山大冲出房门，冲进房子后面的树林里。 他确实参加了一个俱乐部会议，但这个俱乐部只关心一本书：一本写满了关于怪物的信息的旧笔记本。

The club was called the Super Secret Monster Patrol, a group of monster- fighting grade schoolers. Alexander had become leader of the S.S.M.P. shortly after moving to Stermont. Alexander soon arrived at a broken-down caboose the club's headquarters. The other two members, Rip and Nikki, were waiting inside. They were his two best friends, and they were both monsters.

这个俱乐部被称为超级秘密怪物巡逻队，是一群与怪物搏斗的小学生。 亚历山大已成为社会党领袖 搬到斯特蒙特后不久 亚历山大很快来到了俱乐部总部的一辆破旧的车尾。 另外两个成员，里普和尼基，在里面等着。 他们是他最好的两个朋友，他们都是怪物。

"Hey, Salamander!" said Rip. Salamander was Alexander's nickname. "How are you feeling, Rip?" Alexander asked. "Fine," said Rip. "I haven't turned into a monster lately, if that's what you're asking." "He's his ugly old self!" added Nikki. "Ugly?!" said Rip. "You're just jealous because jampires aren't as awesome as Rip-monsters." "Ha!" said Nikki. "Jampires can see in the dark! What can you do, besides smash stuff?"

“嘿，火蜥蜴！”瑞普说。 火蜥蜴是亚历山大的昵称。 “你感觉怎么样，里普？”亚历山大问。 “很好，”瑞普说。“我最近没有变成怪物，如果你是想问这个的话。” “他就是那个丑陋的老样子！”妮基补充道。 “丑？！”“你只是嫉妒jampire没有Rip-monsters那么厉害” “哈！”妮基说。“Jampires在黑暗中也能看见东西！”除了砸东西，你还能做什么？”

"Don't argue, guys!" said Alexander. "You're both good monsters." "Well, I was a monster," said Rip. "It hasn't happened again since I ate those cupcakes." "So you think it's just cupcakes that make you transform?" asked Nikki. "I'm not sure," said Rip. "Maybe it's anything sweet." "Let's do a test," said Alexander. He pulled out a granola bar. "Here, nibble one chocolate chip off the corner." Rip swallowed the chip. Nothing happened. But then "Your ears are blue!" said Nikki. Rip looked at his reflection. A few seconds later, his ears faded back to normal.

“别吵了，伙计们！”亚历山大说。 “你们俩都是好怪物。” “嗯，我是个怪物，”瑞普说。 “自从我吃了那些纸杯蛋糕后，就再也没发生过这种事了。” “所以你认为只有纸杯蛋糕能让你变形？”尼基问。 “我不确定，”瑞普说。“也许是甜的东西。” “我们做个测试吧，”亚历山大说。 他拿出一根格兰诺拉燕麦棒。 “来，啃一块墙角上的巧克力片。” 瑞普吞下了芯片。什么也没有发生。 但是接着“你的耳朵是蓝色的！”妮基说。 瑞普看着自己的倒影。 几秒钟后，他的耳朵又恢复了正常。