8 Guesstimating

Chapter 8 Guesstimating The next day at school, we learned more about weighing things. We learned about Greater Than and Less Than. We learned that a little pumpkin's weight is greater than a quarter. We even learned that a medium pumpkin weighs less than Ms. Diz. The more I thought about weighing stuff, the more I wished I'd taken a guess about the giant pumpkin's weight. It didn't seem fair that a fuzzy, mewing, purring animal with bad-luck germs was ruining my chance at winning. All day long I thought about that giant pumpkin. All day long I thought about that black cat. Heading home on the school bus, I finally came up with the perfect plan.

第二天在学校，我们学了更多关于称量东西的知识。 我们学了大于和小于。 我们知道一个小南瓜的重量大于四分之一。 我们甚至了解到，一个中等大小的南瓜比Ms。 。那个开荒者看起来蛮不错嘛我越想称东西的重量，就越希望自己能猜出这个大南瓜的重量。 一只毛茸茸的、喵喵叫的、打呼噜的动物身上带着不吉利的细菌，毁掉了我获胜的机会，这似乎不公平。 我整天都在想那个大南瓜。 我整天都在想那只黑猫。 在坐校车回家的路上，我终于想出了一个完美的计划。

I could guess that pumpkin's weight AND keep away from the black cat and her bad luck. All I had to do was send someone else into the bookstore to write down my guess! That way, I wouldn't have to go anywhere near that cat. I knew just the guy to help me out. I ran into the house. Dad was doing work stuff in the kitchen. "How was school, Roscoe?" he asked. He kissed me on top of my head. I plopped my backpack onto the kitchen table. "We learned all about how to guesstimate weight today." "Estimate," Dad said. "Cool. How much do you figure I weigh?" I thought for a minute. "Greater than a mouse. But less than a monster truck." "Not bad," Dad said. "I could get a chance for extra practice if you took me back to the bookstore," I said. Dad raised his eyebrow. "Not the giant pumpkin again?" "I didn't get to guess last time," I said. "Cause of the bad-luck kitty."

我可以猜出南瓜的重量，并远离黑猫和她的坏运气。 我所要做的就是让另一个人进书店记下我的猜测!这样我就不用靠近那只猫了。 我正好认识一个能帮我的人。 我跑进了房子。爸爸在厨房做工作。 “学校怎么样，罗斯科?”他问。 他吻了我的头顶。 我把背包扑通一声扔在厨房的桌子上。 “我们今天学了所有关于如何估计体重的知识。” “估计一下，”爸爸说。“酷。 你觉得我有多重?”我想了一会儿。 “比老鼠还大。但总比怪物卡车强。” “还不错，”爸爸说。“如果你带我回书店，我可以得到一个额外练习的机会，”我说。 爸爸扬起眉毛。“不会又是那个大南瓜吧?”“上次我没猜出来，”我说。 “因为那只倒霉的小猫。”

Dad checked his watch. "Hazel and your mom are at Mommy and Me Music, so you and I have to pick up Max after his softball practice. I suppose we could stop at the bookstore on the way." "You're the best dad in the whole entire metropolitan area," I said. They say that on TV a lot. "Why, thank you," said Dad. "Dad, do you believe in superstitions?" I asked. "Well, I've been known to knock on wood when I'm wishing for good luck. But I know it doesn't really bring me luck." "Do you have lucky underwear?" "No. That's your Uncle Ed's department."

爸爸看了看表。“黑兹尔和你妈妈在‘妈妈和我音乐’，所以你和我必须在马克斯垒球训练结束后去接他。 我想我们可以在路上去书店。” “你是整个市区最好的爸爸，”我说。 电视上经常这么说。 “哦，谢谢你，”爸爸说。 “爸爸，你相信迷信吗?”我问。 “嗯，大家都知道我在祈求好运的时候会敲木头。 但我知道这并不能给我带来好运。” “你们有幸运内裤吗?”“没有。 那是你埃德叔叔的部门。”

"Do you think black cats make you eat green beetles?" Dad scratched his head. "I'm not sure I'm following you, Roscoe." "It's like this, Dad," I said. "Would you mind writing down my pumpkin guess while I wait outside the bookstore?" Dad got an oh-I-get-it face. "Roscoe, your mom told me all about the black cat. If you want to go back to the store, you're going to have to go inside, kitty or no kitty. Black cats do not cause bad luck." "Not unless they cross your path," I said. "Roscoe," said Dad firmly, "that's just not true. And the only way you're going to believe it is if you go into that bookstore and see for yourself." I hate it when parents give you hard choices. I like my choices nice and easy. "Okay," I finally said. "I guess I can do that. Probably she won't even be there." Just to be on the safe side, though, I knocked on a wooden chair extra hard.

“你认为黑猫会让你吃绿甲虫吗?”爸爸挠了挠头。 “我不太明白你的意思，罗斯科。” “是这样的，爸爸，”我说。 “我在书店外面等着，你能帮我记下我对南瓜的猜测吗?”爸爸一脸“我懂了”的表情。 “罗斯科，你妈妈跟我说了黑猫的事。 如果你想回店里，你就得进去，不管有没有猫。 黑猫不会带来坏运气。” “除非他们遇到你，”我说。 “罗斯科，”爸爸坚定地说，“那不是真的。 只有你走进书店，亲眼看看，你才会相信这一点。” 我讨厌父母让你做艰难的选择。 我喜欢我的选择简单明了。 “好吧，”我最后说。“我想我能做到。 也许她根本就不在那儿。” 不过，为了安全起见，我还是格外用力地敲了一把木椅。