2. The World’s Greatest Hypnotist

Chapter 2 The World's Greatest Hypnotist "This is so exciting," Bradley and Brian's mother said. "Thank you boys for taking me!" "But, Mom," Bradley said, "you always told us hypnotists were all phonies." His mother pointed to a giant poster of Hypo in front of the high school. "Hypo isn't," she said. "He's world-famous!"

第二章世界上最伟大的催眠师“这太令人兴奋了，”布拉德利和布莱恩的母亲说。 “谢谢你们带我去！”“但是，妈妈，”布拉德利说，“你总是告诉我们催眠师都是骗子。” 他的母亲指着高中门前的一张巨大的海波海报。 “Hypo不是，”她说。“他是举世闻名的!”

"Come on," Brian said. "Let's get some good seats." The high school auditorium was crowded and noisy. Bradley and Brian were joined by their best friends, Nate and Lucy. Josh went to sit with Lucy's cousin Dink and Nate's sister, Ruth Rose. "Mrs. Pinto, I love your bracelet!" Lucy said. "Thank you, sweetie," Mrs. Pinto said. "Mr. Pinto gave it to me for Mother's Day." She wiggled her fingers. "And Josh gave me this pink nail polish!" "We bought her tickets to see Hypo!" Brian said. "I bought the tickets," Bradley said. "Brian is broke!" A few minutes later the lights in the auditorium dimmed. The crowd became quiet. A round man with a bald head stepped in front of the curtain. He raised his arms and smiled. "That's Mr. Creakey, the high school principal," Bradley's mother whispered. A lot of people clapped. Someone yelled, "Hi, Mr. C. Gonna get hypnotized?"

“来吧，”布莱恩说。“我们找个好座位吧。” 高中礼堂里又挤又吵。 布拉德利和布莱恩和他们最好的朋友，内特和露西一起。 乔希和露西的堂兄丁克以及内特的妹妹露丝·罗斯坐在一起。 “平托太太，我喜欢你的手镯！”露西说。 “谢谢你，亲爱的，”平托太太说。 “这是平托先生送给我的母亲节礼物。” 她扭动着手指。“乔希给了我这个粉红色的指甲油！”“我们给她买了看海波的票！”布莱恩说。 “我买了票，”布拉德利说。 “布莱恩破产了！”几分钟后，礼堂里的灯光暗了下来。 人群安静了下来。一个秃顶的圆滚滚的男人走到帘子前面。 他举起双臂，微笑着。 “那是克里奇先生，高中校长。”布拉德利的母亲低声说。 许多人鼓掌。有人喊道：“嗨，C先生。 要被催眠吗？”

A boy hurried onto the stage and handed Mr. Creakey a microphone. "Good evening, all!" Mr. Creakey bellowed into the mike. His voice made a loud screechy noise all over the auditorium. Mr. Creakey held the mike farther from his mouth. "Sorry about that," he said. "No, I won't be hypnotized tonight. But some of you will! Now, without further delay, it is my pleasure to introduce Hypo, the world's greatest hypnotist!" Mr. Creakey hurried off the stage just as the curtain behind him opened. The stage lights went out. The audience was staring at a completely black stage. "I can't see anything!" Nate whispered. "This is spooky!" Suddenly a spotlight flashed on, making a circle on the stage. Inside the circle stood Hypo, wearing a tuxedo and top hat and holding a wand. A black mustache covered his upper lip. He bowed, and the audience began clapping and cheering. Then the rest of the stage was lit. Hypo was standing between a sofa and a tall booth. The booth was painted bright red, with a

一个男孩匆匆走上舞台，递给克里奇先生一个麦克风。 “大家晚上好！”克里奇先生对着麦克风吼道。 他的声音在礼堂里发出刺耳的声音。 克里奇先生把麦克风拿得离他的嘴更远一些。 “很抱歉，”他说。 “不，我今晚不会被催眠。 但你们中的一些人会！现在，不要再拖延了，我很高兴向大家介绍海波，世界上最伟大的催眠师！”克里奇先生匆匆走下舞台，他身后的幕布拉开了。 舞台灯光熄灭了。 观众盯着一片漆黑的舞台。 “我什么也看不见！”内特低声说。 “这太可怕了！”突然一盏聚光灯亮了起来，在舞台上形成了一个圈。 海波站在圈子里，穿着燕尾服，戴着大礼帽，手里拿着一根魔杖。 黑色的小胡子遮住了他的上唇。 他鞠了一躬，观众开始鼓掌欢呼。 然后舞台的其余部分被点亮了。 海波站在一张沙发和一个高大的摊位之间。 摊位被漆成鲜红色，还有一个

gold curtain across its front. A water pitcher and glasses stood on a small table next to the booth. "Good evening, one and all!" said Hypo. His voice was deep and smooth. It flowed over the audience like melted chocolate. "I love being back in Green Lawn. I attended this high school," the hypnotist said. "Yes, I graduated seventeen years ago. I used to work in the Shangri-la Hotel on weekends. I'd stop at Ellie's Diner for ice cream on my way to work." "Mom, did you know that?" Bradley whispered. She nodded and smiled. Hypo stepped closer to the audience. He grinned. "Now, who would like to be hypnotized this evening?" he asked. Bradley could hear some laughter coming from the front row. Then a teenager stood up. His friends shoved him toward the stage. "Don't be shy!" Hypo said. "Hypo won't hurt you!" The kid stumbled up the stairs and stood next to Hypo on the stage. Everyone clapped and whistled.

前面是金色的帘子。 一个水罐和玻璃杯放在摊位旁边的一张小桌子上。 “大家晚上好！”海波说。 他的声音低沉而流畅。 它像融化的巧克力一样在观众中流淌。 “我喜欢回到绿草坪。 我上过这所高中，”催眠师说。 “是的，我十七年前就毕业了。 我以前周末在香格里拉酒店打工。 我会在上班的路上去艾莉餐厅吃冰淇淋。” “妈妈，你知道吗？”布拉德利低声说。 她点点头，微笑着。海波走近观众。 他咧嘴一笑。“现在，今晚谁愿意被催眠？”他问。 布拉德利听到前排传来笑声。 然后一个少年站了起来。他的朋友把他推到舞台上。 “别害羞！”海波说。 “海波不会伤害你的！”那孩子跌跌撞撞地走上楼梯，站在舞台上的海波旁边。 每个人都鼓掌和吹口哨。

"What is your name, young man?" Hypo asked the nervous boy. "Ch-Chad," the boy stuttered. "Hello, Chad," Hypo said. "Why do you want me to hypnotize you?"

“你叫什么名字，年轻人？”海波问紧张的男孩。 “查德，”男孩结结巴巴地说。 “你好，查德，”海波说。“你为什么要我给你催眠？”

Chad grinned. "My friends dared me," he said. "I didn't want to be a chicken." Hypo stared at Chad. Then he turned to the audience. "Shall I turn Chad into a chicken?" he

乍得咧嘴一笑。他说：“我的朋友们向我挑战。” “我不想当胆小鬼。” Hypo盯着Chad。然后他转向观众。 “我把查德变成一只鸡好吗？