4 SHOWSTOPPER

CHAPTER 4 SHOWSTOPPER Actually, it wasn't an ant monster popping out the doors. It was Alexander's teacher, Mr. Plunkett. He was wearing a full-body ant suit. "Happy Ant Day, students!" he said. "Head to the auditorium right away. We're having a surprise assembly!" He handed Alexander a red flyer.

事实上，从门里蹦出来的并不是一只蚂蚁怪兽。 是亚历山大的老师普伦基特先生。 他穿着全身的蚂蚁服。 “同学们，蚂蚁节快乐！”他说。 “马上去礼堂。 我们要开一个惊喜大会！”他递给亚历山大一张红色传单。

Grab a seat and guard your sweets for ANT DAY! WHERE? The auditorium WHEN? Right now!

找个座位坐好，为蚂蚁日保护好你的糖果吧！在哪里? 礼堂什么时候？现在!

"Oh— and, Alexander," said Mr. Plunkett, chuckling, "did something follow you out of the bathroom this morning?" "Huh?" said Alexander. "You've got toilet paper stuck to your shoe," said Nikki. Alexander looked down. Sure enough, a white strip of paper trailed behind his heel. He tore it off and tossed it in the trash. "Okay, sticky foot," said Rip. "Let's head to the auditorium and get this over with."

“哦——还有，亚历山大，”普伦基特先生咯咯地笑着说，“今天早上有什么东西跟着你走出浴室吗？”“嗯？”亚历山大说。 “你的鞋子上粘了卫生纸，”妮基说。 亚历山大低下头。果然，他的脚跟后面拖着一张白色纸条。 他把它撕了下来，扔进了垃圾桶。 “好吧，粘脚，”瑞普说。 “我们去礼堂把这事了结吧。”

Alexander followed his friends into Stermont Elementary, which used to be Stermont Hospital. "This building has an auditorium?" he asked. They came to a set of doors. OPERATING THEATER "Yeah," said Nikki. "This used to be the room where doctors could watch other doctors do surgery." "Ugh. We're going to need surgery on our brains after sitting through Plunkett's Ant Day assembly," said Rip. The three friends sat in the back of the crowded auditorium. A moment later, the lights went out. Rip tossed a piece of bubble gum into his mouth.

亚历山大跟着他的朋友们进入了斯特蒙特小学，这里曾经是斯特蒙特医院。 “这栋楼有礼堂吗？”他问。 他们来到一组门前。 “是的，”尼基说。 “这曾经是医生们可以观看其他医生做手术的房间。” “哎。看完普伦基特的蚂蚁日集会后，我们的大脑需要手术了。”里普说。 三个朋友坐在拥挤的礼堂的后面。 过了一会儿，灯灭了。 里普把一块泡泡糖扔进嘴里。

Mr. Plunkett came onto the stage in his ant suit. He was wheeling out something tall and flat, covered by a sheet. "Good morning, Stermont Elementary!" Mr. Plunkett said. "Every year, I have my students keep ant farms. And every year, I collect those ant farms. But where do I put all the ants?" The crowd was silent. Rip snapped his gum. Mr. Plunkett smiled. "I add them to THIS!"

普伦基特先生穿着他的蚂蚁服走上舞台。 他正推着一个又高又平的东西出来，上面盖着一张床单。 “早上好，斯特蒙特小学！”普伦基特说。 “每年，我都让我的学生们养蚂蚁农场。 每年我都会收集那些蚂蚁农场。 但是我把这些蚂蚁放在哪里呢？”人群沉默了。 里普咬了一口口香糖。普伦基特笑了。 “我把它们加到这上面！”

He yanked away the sheet, revealing a glass rectangle the size of a billboard. The glass was filled with sand. The sand was filled with tunnels. And the tunnels were filled with ants. Millions of them. "A giant ant farm?!" said Alexander. "That's no farm," said Nikki. "That's an ant city!" The crowd cheered. Until a voice shouted from offstage: "STOP!"

他拉开床单，露出一块广告牌大小的长方形玻璃。 玻璃杯里装满了沙子。 沙子里布满了隧道。 隧道里到处都是蚂蚁。 数以百万计。“一个巨大的蚂蚁农场？！”亚历山大说。 “那不是农场，”妮基说。 “那是一座蚂蚁城！”人群欢呼起来。 直到台下传来一个声音：“停下！”