9 Never Argue with a Grown-up

Chapter 9 NEVER ARGUE WITH A GROWN-UP Long after their parents went to sleep, Coke and Pep were still sitting on a bench outside the RV, whispering in the dark. "We can't go to Washington," Coke said. "Mrs. Higgins or Archie Clone or those bowler dudes will be waiting for us. They may even be working together. We're playing right into their hands. It's a suicide mission." "What do you think would happen if we didn't show up in Washington on July third?" Pep wondered. "What if we just turned around now and went home? Do you think they'd follow us?" "I don't know," Coke said. "They seem pretty determined. But who knows? Maybe they'd just cross us off their list of Genius Files kids and move

父母入睡很久以后，寇克和佩普还坐在房车外的长椅上，在黑暗中窃窃私语。 “我们不能去华盛顿，”科克说。 “希金斯太太、阿奇·克隆或者那些打保龄球的家伙会等着我们的。 他们甚至可能在一起工作。 我们正正中他们的下怀。 这是一项自杀式任务。”“如果我们7月3日不在华盛顿露面，你认为会发生什么？”Pep疑惑。 “如果我们现在就掉头回家呢？” 你认为他们会跟着我们吗？”“我不知道，”可口可乐说。 “他们似乎很坚决。 但谁知道呢？也许他们会把我们从天才档案的孩子名单上划掉然后搬走

on to the next name." "They have lots of other kids to worry about," Pep said hopefully. "Dr. Warsaw told us there were hundreds of kids in The Genius Files program." "The odds are sure to be better for us if we went home than if we continued on to Washington," said Coke. "And if they did come after us in California, at least we'd have home field advantage." "But how are we going to talk Mom and Dad into letting us go home?" Pep asked. "Every time we tell them that people are trying to kill us, they think we're just joking." "Leave it to me," Coke replied. "I can talk Dad into anything." It was after midnight when the twins finally went to bed. In the morning, Mrs. McDonald made some eggs on the little stove in the RV and toasted some English muffins. It was a rare treat. Usually, breakfast on the road was cold cereal. After they cleaned up the dishes, Coke and Pep pulled their father off to the side, near the volleyball

看下一个名字。”“他们有很多其他的孩子要担心，”佩普满怀希望地说。 “华沙医生告诉我们，有数百名孩子参加了天才档案项目。” 他说：“对我们来说，如果我们回家，获胜的几率肯定比继续前往华盛顿要大。” “如果他们真的在加州追我们，至少我们有主场优势。” “可是我们怎么才能说服爸爸妈妈让我们回家呢？”Pep问道。 “每次我们告诉他们有人想杀我们，他们都认为我们只是在开玩笑。” “交给我吧，”科克回答。 “我能说服爸爸做任何事。” 午夜过后，双胞胎终于上床睡觉了。 早上，麦当劳太太在房车里的小炉子上做了一些鸡蛋，烤了一些英式松饼。 这是难得的款待。通常，路上的早餐是冷麦片。 他们洗完盘子后，可乐和佩普把他们的父亲拉到旁边的排球旁边

court. "Dad," Coke said very seriously, "we need to talk to you about something." "Is everything okay?" Dr. McDonald asked, concerned. "Everything's fine," Coke said quietly. "But… we want to turn back. We want to go home." "What?!" Dr. McDonald asked, surprised. "Why? This is a great vacation. Aren't you kids having fun?" "Sure we are, Dad," Pep said. "It's just that…" "We're homesick," Coke said. Coke had decided to play the homesick card. Parents are suckers for homesickness. It means your kids like being home so much that nowhere else compares. It means you must be a terrific parent to have raised wonderful kids who like being in your house. It means you have created a lovely atmosphere for your children. It pulls at the heartstrings. Home is where the heart is. Home sweet home. A kid can't miss playing the homesick card.

法院。“爸爸，”可口可乐非常严肃地说，“我们需要和你谈谈。” “一切都好吗？”麦克唐纳医生关切地问。 “一切都很好，”可口可乐平静地说。 “但是……我们想回头。 我们想回家。”“什么? !”博士。 麦克唐纳惊讶地问。 “为什么?这是一个很棒的假期。 你们这些孩子玩得不开心吗？”“当然，爸爸，”佩普说。 “只是……”“我们想家了，”科克说。 可口可乐决定打出想家这张牌。 父母最容易思乡了。 这意味着你的孩子非常喜欢呆在家里，这是其他地方无法比拟的。 这意味着你一定是一个出色的父母，养育了喜欢在你家里的优秀孩子。 这意味着你为你的孩子创造了一个可爱的氛围。 它牵动着心弦。 心在哪里，家就在哪里。 甜蜜的家。一个孩子不能错过想家这张牌。

"I miss my friends," Pep added, with her best puppy-dog face. "And I have a ton of summer reading to do," Coke said. "I'm worried that I won't be able to finish it before school starts up again." "We just want to go home," Pep said. The McDonald twins were not lying. They were homesick. They did miss their friends. They had summer reading assignments. It might not have been the whole truth, but telling their parents the whole truth hadn't worked. So it was time to try a different strategy. Pep's watery eyes were not filled with fake tears. Dr. McDonald put an arm around each of his children. "Kids," he said, "do you know how far we've traveled on this trip? More than two thousand miles. That's a long way. Right now we're only about five hundred miles from Washington. We've come so far."

“我想念我的朋友们，”佩普接着说，脸上露出她最可爱的小狗脸。 科克说：“我还有一大堆暑期读物要读。” “我担心我不能在开学前完成它。” “我们只想回家，”佩普说。 麦克唐纳兄弟没有撒谎。 他们想家了。他们确实想念他们的朋友。 他们有暑期阅读作业。 这可能不是全部真相，但告诉他们的父母全部真相并没有奏效。 所以是时候尝试不同的策略了。 佩普的水汪汪的眼睛里并没有装出眼泪。 麦克唐纳医生搂着他的每个孩子。 “孩子们，”他说，“你们知道我们这次旅行走了多远吗？ 两千多英里。 那是很长的一段路。现在我们离华盛顿只有500英里。 我们已经走了这么远。”

"We know, Dad," Coke said. "But—" "Don't you want to see the nation's capital?" Dr. McDonald continued. "The Lincoln Memorial? The Washington Monument? The White House? The Smithsonian? Believe me, you're going to remember the things that happened on this trip for the rest of your lives." "I'll say," Coke agreed. "But Dad—," Pep said before her father cut her off. "Tell me, what do you think would have happened if Thomas Edison had tried just a few filaments for his lightbulb and said, 'Ah, forget it. It's not worth the effort. Candles give off enough light'?" "We'd still be using candles today," Pep guessed. "That's right!" her father said. Dr. McDonald was using the time-honored

“我们知道，爸爸，”科克说。 “可是——”“你不想去看看国家的首都吗？”博士。 麦当劳仍在继续。“林肯纪念堂？” 华盛顿纪念碑？白宫？ 史密森尼?相信我，这次旅行中发生的事情会让你们终生难忘。” “我会说，”可口可乐同意了。“可是爸爸——”佩普在她父亲打断她之前说。 “告诉我，如果托马斯·爱迪生在他的灯泡上只尝试了几根灯丝，然后说，‘啊，算了吧。 不值得这么做。 蜡烛能发出足够的光吗？”“我们今天还会用蜡烛，”佩普猜想。 “没错！”她父亲说。 麦克唐纳医生用的是历史悠久的

"what if" strategy. Kids are suckers for the "what if" strategy. The parent makes outlandish comparisons with the current situation, and the kids don't realize the two situations are totally different. It works every time. "What if," Dr. McDonald asked, "Lewis and Clark had stopped in the middle of Iowa and said, 'Okay, we get the idea. We've seen enough amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesties'? And what if Neil Armstrong had stopped halfway to the moon and decided that one small half step for man was good enough? And what if Magellan had turned back when he was halfway around the world?" "He would have survived, Dad," Coke said. "Magellan died before he could circle the globe. He was murdered in the Philippines." "You know what I mean," Dr. McDonald said. "The point is that you don't start a job and quit in the middle. That's just not right. And it's not the American way. If you start something, you should finish it." Coke had a pained look on his face. This wasn't

“如果”策略。孩子们是“如果”策略的傻瓜。 父母把这两种情况与现状进行了奇怪的比较，而孩子们没有意识到这两种情况是完全不同的。 每次都很有效。“万一呢？” 麦克唐纳问道：“刘易斯和克拉克在爱荷华州中部停下来说，‘好吧，我们明白了。 我们已经看够了琥珀色的谷波和紫色的山峰了？ 如果尼尔·阿姆斯特朗（Neil Armstrong）在离月球一半的地方停下来，并认为人类迈出的一小步就足够好了呢？ 如果麦哲伦在绕了半个地球的时候回头了呢？”“他本来可以活下来的，爸爸，”科克说。 麦哲伦还没环游世界就去世了。 他在菲律宾被谋杀了。” “你知道我的意思。” 麦克唐纳说。“关键是，你不能开始一份工作，然后中途辞职。 这是不对的。这不是美国的方式。 如果你开始做一件事，你就应该完成它。” 科克脸上露出痛苦的表情。 这不是