2 FALLING INTO STEP

CHAPTER 2 FALLING INTO STEP Why are you walking like a zombie?" Alexander knew that gruff-sounding voice without looking up. "Good morning, Rip," he said. "I'm trying to keep my ant farm from shaking. I don't want to mess up the tunnels!" "Yeesh," said Rip. "It's just a box of bugs. Who cares?" He gave his ant farm a toss in the air. Alexander kept his eyes on his ants.

第二章步履蹒跚你怎么走路像个僵尸？”亚历山大连头也不抬，就听出了那粗哑的声音。 “早上好，里普，”他说。 “我在努力让我的蚂蚁农场不摇晃。 我可不想把隧道弄乱！”“是啊，”瑞普说。 “这只是一箱虫子。谁在乎呢?”他把他的蚂蚁农场抛向空中。 亚历山大一直盯着他的蚂蚁。

"Oh, great," said Rip. "Here comes another zombie—and this one's wearing a hoodie!" Nikki shuffled into view, holding her ant farm at arm's length. "Go kiss a balloon goon, Rip!" she said.

“哦，太好了，”瑞普说。“又来了一个僵尸——这个穿着连帽衫！”妮基拖着脚步走了进来，把她的蚂蚁农场放在一臂远的地方。 “去亲一个气球打手吧，里普！”她说。

Alexander laughed. Rip and Nikki were his two best friends, and this was about as good as the two of them ever got along. Together, the three friends were the only members of the super Secret Monster Patrol— the S.S.M.P. They went to school by day and battled monsters by night. And morning. And late afternoon. Weekends, too. S.S.M.P. DON'T GET EATEN! "You guys can take baby steps to school if you want," said Rip. "But I'm not going to creep around like a sleepwalking zombie because of some weenie ants! That's just Oooh! Candy!"

亚历山大笑了。里普和尼基是他最好的两个朋友，这是他们俩相处得最好的时候了。 在一起，这三个朋友是超级秘密怪物巡逻队——S.S.M.P.的唯一成员 他们白天上学，晚上和怪物搏斗。 和早上。傍晚时分。 周末,太。S.S.M.P.别被吃掉！瑞普说：“如果你们愿意的话，可以慢慢地去上学。” “但我不会因为一些小蚂蚁就像梦游的僵尸一样爬来爬去！那只是哦！糖果!”

Alexander peeked over his ant farm. Pieces of candy lay scattered all over the sidewalk. Rip was on his knees, scooping up as much candy as he could. "Don't eat that!" said Alexander. "You don't know where—" "Too late!" said Rip. He popped a lemon sucker in his mouth. "Wow! Super sour!"

亚历山大瞥了一眼他的蚂蚁农场。 糖果散落在人行道上。 瑞普跪在地上，尽可能多地捡起糖果。 “别吃那个！”亚历山大说。 “太迟了！”瑞普说。 他把一个柠檬吸盘塞进嘴里。 “哇!超级酸!”

"Was there a parade?" said Nikki. "Sometimes people throw candy from parade floats... and look! There are strips of paper —like confetti— near the curb." Alexander thought for a moment. "I think Mile would have heard if there had been a parade," he said. "Especially a parade where something crashed into a pole!"

“有游行吗？”尼基说。 “有时人们会从游行花车上扔糖果…… 和看!路边有像五彩纸屑一样的纸条。” 亚历山大想了一会儿。 他说：“我想如果有游行的话，米尔会听到的。” “尤其是有东西撞到杆子上的游行！”

Alexander pointed up to a nearby lamppost. Rip gave his sucker a slurp. "Yow. It's totally wrecked." "This lamppost was fine yesterday," Alexander said. He took a step back to look at the damage. "That means— WHOA!" Alexander stumbled and fell backward. Into a huge hole.

亚历山大指着附近的一根灯柱。 里普吸了一口吸盘。 “哎唷。它完全被毁了。” “这个灯柱昨天还好好的，”亚历山大说。 他后退了一步，看了看损坏的地方。 “这意味着——哇！”亚历山大绊了一下，向后倒了下去。 掉进一个大洞里。