Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 "Let's start with long division!" Pearl said cheerfully. "You sound way too happy when you say that," Michael grumbled. "What can I say?" Pearl grinned. "Math makes me happy!" "Ugh!" Michael groaned as he plopped down next to Pearl at the desk. The two began studying. Pearl turned out to be a good teacher, and Michael made some progress, but then he noticed his soccer ball sitting in the corner of the room. "Where are you going?" Pearl asked as Michael stood up from his chair and walked toward the ball. "You can ask me questions while I practice my footwork." Michael began juggling his soccer ball. Pearl frowned. "I don't think you'll be able to concentrate on your math while you're doing that."

第九章“让我们从长除法开始！”珠儿高兴地说。 “你说这话的时候听起来太高兴了。”迈克尔抱怨道。 “我能说什么呢？”珍珠咧嘴一笑。 “数学让我快乐！”“哎!”迈克尔呻吟着，扑通一声坐在书桌旁的珠儿身边。 两人开始学习。珀尔原来是个好老师，迈克尔也取得了一些进步，但后来他注意到他的足球放在房间的角落里。 “你要去哪儿？”当迈克尔从椅子上站起来走向舞会时，珠儿问道。 “你可以在我练习步法的时候问我问题。” 迈克尔开始摆弄他的足球。 珍珠皱起了眉头。“我认为你在做这些事情的时候无法集中精力学习数学。”

"What?" Michael asked, distracted. Merle, helping out, grabbed the ball as it left Michael's foot and pointed him back toward the desk. "Ugh!" Michael repeated and plopped back down next to Pearl. "All right. Maybe we should work a little on fractions?" she asked. "Or maybe I can just eat a pound of raw brussels sprouts?" Michael said sarcastically. "Ooh! That sounds delicious, but let's do fractions first," Pearl said. Again, the two were making good progress, but before long, Michael was flat on his back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Can you ask me questions while I lie here?" he asked.

“什么?”迈克尔心烦意乱地问。 莫尔帮忙，在球离开迈克尔的脚时抓住它，把他指向桌子。 “哎!”迈克尔重复了一遍，又扑通一声坐在珠儿旁边。 “好吧。也许我们应该多学一点分数？”她问。 “或者我可以只吃一磅生抱子甘蓝？”迈克尔讽刺地说。 “哦!这听起来很美味，但让我们先做分数，”珀尔说。 两人又一次取得了很大的进步，但没过多久，迈克尔就平躺在床上，眼睛盯着天花板。 “我躺在这里，你能问我问题吗？”他问道。

"You can do this!" Pearl said, frustrated. "You just need to put more effort into it." KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! Merle and Pearl scrambled to hide, but then they heard a familiar voice call through the door, "Can we come in?" "Come on in!" Michael replied, and Justin and Sadie entered the room. "I see you're studying hard!" Sadie said, noting the math book open on the desk. "He could be studying harder," Pearl muttered. "Well, we're done studying, and we wanted to celebrate by going roller-skating!" Justin said. "Roller-skating?" Merle asked. "It's where you put wheels on your feet and roll around," Michael explained. "Why would you want to do that?" asked Merle.

“你能做到的！”珠儿沮丧地说。 “你只需要付出更多的努力。” 敲门!敲门!敲门!莫尔和珀尔赶紧躲起来，但这时他们听到一个熟悉的声音从门缝里传来：“我们能进来吗？”“进来吧！”迈克尔回答，贾斯汀和赛迪走进了房间。 “我看你在努力学习！”赛迪说，注意到书桌上那本打开的数学书。 “他可以更努力地学习，”珠儿喃喃地说。 “嗯，我们已经完成了学习，我们想去滑旱冰来庆祝一下！”贾斯汀说。 “滑旱冰?”默尔问道。 迈克尔解释说：“你可以在脚上装上轮子，然后在上面打滚。” “你为什么要这么做？”莫尔问。

"Because it's fun!" Sadie said. "Well then, count me in!" Merle said. "It'll be nice to get out of the house." "Great! Wanna come, Michael?" Justin asked. "Michael, you still have to—" Pearl began to say, but Michael cut her off. "I don't have any money to get in," he said. "I can loan you the five bucks," Justin offered graciously.

“因为它很有趣！”赛迪说。 “那好吧，算我一个！”默尔说。 “能走出屋子真好。” “太好了!想一起去吗，迈克尔？”贾斯汀问。 “迈克尔，你还是得——”珠儿刚要开口，但迈克尔打断了她的话。 “我没有钱进去，”他说。 “我可以借你五块钱，”贾斯汀慷慨地说。

Michael thought of the $10 bill waiting for him on the refrigerator. "Cool. Thanks, Justin. I can pay you back once I get a B on the test." "I don't know if you are quite ready for the test," Pearl said. But Michael was already on his feet and heading for the door. "Hold on!" Pearl said. "Merle, do you remember the Thessalonians?"

迈克尔想起了冰箱上那张等着他的0美元钞票。 “酷。谢谢你,贾斯汀。我考试得了B就还你钱。” “我不知道你是否做好了考试的准备，”珀尔说。 但迈克尔已经站了起来，朝门口走去。 “等等!”珍珠说。“梅尔，你还记得《帖撒罗尼迦书》吗？”