10 A CHILLING SECRET

CHAPTER 10 A CHILLING SECRET Alexander squirmed in his seat the rest of the afternoon. Then he rode the elevator to the coldest floor of the old hospital: the sub-basement. He came to a door that said HEATING AND COOLING ROOM, with a sign tacked underneath: PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It swung open.

第十章一个令人毛骨悚然的秘密整个下午，亚历山大都在座位上局促不安。 然后，他乘电梯来到这家老医院最冷的一层：地下室。 他来到一扇门前，门上写着冷暖室，下面钉着一个牌子：校长办公室。 他深吸了一口气，敲了敲门。 门打开了。

"Uh— hello?" Alexander said. He could see his breath. "Ms. Vanderpants?" She wasn't there. But there was a note. Mr. Bopp. Please wait. I will return. -Principal Vanderpants Alexander looked around. Low-hanging pipes crisscrossed overhead, branching out from a huge machine in the corner. The machine was shaking, humming, and covered in frost. The air conditioner, thought Alexander. Then he blinked. Something purple and shiny like a sheet of wrapping paper was rattling around inside the machine.

“嗯,你好吗?”亚历山大说。 他可以看到自己的呼吸。”女士。 Vanderpants ?”她不在那儿。 但是有一张纸条。Bopp先生。 请稍等。我会回来的。 -范德帕斯·亚历山大校长环顾四周。 低垂的管道在头顶上纵横交错，从角落里的一台巨大机器上分岔而出。 机器抖动着，嗡嗡作响，还覆盖着一层霜。 空调，亚历山大想。 然后他眨了眨眼睛。机器里有个像包装纸一样发亮的紫色东西在嘎嘎作响。

Alexander squatted down and pulled open a grate. The purple shiny thing blew out and drifted down into his hands. Hmmm, thought Alexander. This looks like he gave it a sniff—a giant onion peel! His eyes watered. This is what was making everyone cry! I was right! Something else caught his eye: a small dial on the machine.

亚历山大蹲下来，拉开了一个栅格。 那紫色发亮的东西吹散了，飘到他手里。 嗯，亚历山大想。这个看起来像是他闻了闻——一个巨大的洋葱皮！他的眼睛湿润了。 这就是让每个人都哭的原因！我是对的！另一件东西引起了他的注意：机器上的一个小刻度盘。

The air conditioner wasn't broken after all! thought Alexander. Someone had set the dial to DOUBLE ANTARCTICA! He turned the dial to COZY. The enormous machine shuddered, and went silent. "Hello, Alexander." Alexander jumped and hit his head on a pipe. "Um, hello, Ms. Vanderpants," he said, jamming the onion peel into his pocket. She stared at Alexander. Her clothes were stained with blueberry splotches. Alexander cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, sorry about hitting you with that pie."

空调根本没有坏！认为亚历山大。 有人把刻度盘调到了双倍南极洲！他把拨盘调到安逸。 那台巨大的机器颤抖了一下，沉默了。 “你好,亚历山大。”亚历山大跳了起来，头撞在一根管子上。 “嗯，你好，范德培斯女士，”他说着，把洋葱皮塞进了口袋。 她盯着亚历山大。她的衣服上沾满了蓝莓的斑点。 亚历山大清了清喉咙。 “我很抱歉用派砸了你”

"Actually," said Ms. Vanderpants, "I should apologize to you for getting in your way." Alexander wondered if he had bonked his head too hard. "That's why I called you here," she continued. "I'm pleased to know you chose a healthy lunch over pie. And so I've made you Head Student Chef at the Chili Supper tomorrow." Alexander's eyes widened. "But I can't cook!" "Mr. Hoarsely will help," said Ms. Vanderpants. She began flipping through papers. "You may leave." Alexander headed out the door, hoping Ms. Vanderpants couldn't hear the crinkly onion peel in his pocket.

“事实上，”范德帕斯说，“我应该为妨碍了你而向你道歉。” 亚历山大怀疑自己是不是撞过头了。 “这就是我叫你来的原因，”她接着说。 “我很高兴知道你选择了健康的午餐而不是馅饼。 所以我任命你为明天辣椒晚餐的学生主厨。” 亚历山大睁大了眼睛。“但我不会做饭！”“先生。 嘶哑会有所帮助。 Vanderpants。她开始翻阅报纸。 “你可以走了。”亚历山大走出了门，希望夫人。 范德帕斯听不见口袋里洋葱剥落的声音。