13 Things Are Getting Heavy

CHAPTER THIRTEEN THINGS ARE GETTING HEAVY Mass (noun). This is a measurement of the quantity of matter, and it is not affected by your location. So your mass is the same on Earth and on Mars. Weight, on the other hand, measures how gravity acts upon the matter. So on Mars, you weigh much less than you do here on Earth! "OKAY, EXPLAIN THIS TO ME ONE MORE TIME," said Mom. We stood in the dining room, me on one side of the table, Mom and Dad on the other. The only time we use the dining room is for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or when my grandparents visit from Texas. Or when we have serious family discussions, like right now. "Because it seems to me, Kate," said Dad, "that you're overbooked." "There is a two-letter word that's very helpful," said Mom. "No. Trust me. It will help you out in life if you learn how to say it when you're young." "You guys don't get it," I said. "I can go to Liam's party and the chemistry club rocket launch." "How?" asked Dad. "Are you going to ride a rocket ship at the speed of light to go back and forth?" "Dad, first of all, people can't go the speed of light. If we tried, our mass would become infinite. So it's not

第十三章物质越来越重（名词）。 这是对物质数量的测量，它不受你所在位置的影响。 所以地球和火星上的质量是一样的。 另一方面，重量衡量的是重力对物质的作用。 所以在火星上，你的体重比在地球上要轻得多！“好吧，再给我解释一遍。”妈妈说。 我们站在餐厅里，我在桌子的一边，爸爸妈妈在另一边。 我们只有在感恩节、圣诞节或者我祖父母从德州来的时候才会用餐厅。 或者在我们严肃的家庭讨论的时候，比如现在。 “因为在我看来，凯特，”爸爸说，“你超额预定了。” “有一个两个字母的单词非常有用，”妈妈说。 “没有。相信我。如果你在年轻的时候学会说这句话，它会对你的生活有所帮助。” “你们不明白，”我说。 “我可以去利亚姆的派对和化学俱乐部的火箭发射” “怎么做？”爸爸问。“你打算乘坐以光速飞行的火箭飞船来来回回吗？”“爸爸，首先，人不可能达到光速。 如果我们尝试，质量会变得无限大。 所以它不是

possible, scientifically speaking." "Okay, here's a plan that might work," said Mom. "You could clone yourself, Kate. As in make an exact copy." "Well, sure. Maybe if I were a sheep." Scientists have successfully cloned sheep but not humans. I shook my head. That's when Liam burst into the dining room. "Wait, Kate's turning into a sheep?" "Ha ha, no," I said. Then just because I couldn't help it, I went baaaa, baaaa. Liam baaaaa-ed back. "Okay, that's it," said Mom. "I think I'm done." "Terri, no," said Dad. "Give Kate a chance to actually explain her plan." "So I'm going to be here at eleven," I said. "To welcome all the kids as the parents drop everyone off. Then I'll take the wagon to school. Set my rocket into the air," I said, "and then pick up the cake on my way back and—" "You'll have Birdie with you," said Mom, "so you'll have company?" "Well, um." I gazed at the floor. "Maybe. I'm not sure. We, uh, things have been weird between us lately."

从科学角度讲，这是可能的。” “好吧，我有个计划可能会奏效，”妈妈说。 “你可以克隆你自己，凯特。 做一份完全一样的拷贝。” “嗯,当然。也许如果我是一只羊。” 科学家们已经成功地克隆了绵羊，但还没有克隆人。 我摇了摇头。利亚姆就在那时冲进了餐厅。 “等等，凯特要变成羊了？”“哈哈，不，”我说。 然后因为我控制不了自己，我发出了咩咩的声音。 利亚姆回来了。“好了，就这样，”妈妈说。 “我想我完了。”“特丽，不，”爸爸说。 “给凯特一个机会解释她的计划。” “所以我11点到这里，”我说。 “在家长送孩子们下车的时候欢迎所有的孩子。 然后我把马车开到学校去。 “把我的火箭发射到空中，”我说，“然后在回来的路上把蛋糕带走，然后——”“你会带着小鸟一起去，”妈妈说，“所以你会有同伴吗？”“嗯,嗯。” 我盯着地板。“也许。 我不确定。我们，呃，最近我们之间的关系有点奇怪。”

"Have you spoken to her about it?" asked Dad. "Sort of." I shrugged. "At school. But—" "You need to have a real conversation with her," said Mom. "That's a good idea," I said. "Once we actually talk, it will be better. The two of us can leave together from school, get the cake, and be back home to sing 'Happy Birthday.'" "Yay! My ice cream cake!" cried Liam. "And we can set off the double balloon rockets," I continued. "Yay, double balloon rockets!" interrupted Liam again. "Then Birdie and I will race back to be a part of the hot-chocolate-and-s'mores celebration at Brewster's," I finished. "Well, I'm not so sure," said Mom. "It's a lot of going back and forth." "I checked the weather forecast." I pointed to the family computer on the little desk by the kitchen. "It's supposed to be in the high forties. And no snow. Sun." "Let her," begged Liam, clasping his hands. "Let her. Let her. Let her. She's already made awesome decorations. And fun stuff to do. Please! She wants to set off rockets. And she'll be back for the ice cream cake and the 'Happy Birthday' song and all the important parts."

“你跟她说过这件事吗？”爸爸问。 “的”。我耸了耸肩。在学校”。 但是——”“你需要和她好好谈谈，”妈妈说。 “好主意，”我说。 “一旦我们真正交谈，情况就会好起来。 我们两个可以一起离开学校，买蛋糕，然后回家唱生日歌。”“耶!我的冰淇淋蛋糕！”利亚姆叫道。 “我们还可以发射双气球火箭，”我继续说。 “耶，双气球火箭！”利亚姆又打断了他的话。 “然后我和伯迪会赶回布鲁斯特，参加热巧克力和巧克力夹心饼干的庆祝活动，”我说完。 “嗯，我不太确定，”妈妈说。 “这是一个反复的过程。” “我查了天气预报。” 我指着厨房旁小桌子上的家用电脑。 “应该是四十多华氏度。 而且没有雪。太阳。”“让她去吧，”利亚姆乞求道，双手紧握。 “让她。让她。让她。 她已经做了很棒的装饰品。 还有有趣的事情要做。拜托!她想发射火箭。 她会回来吃冰淇淋蛋糕，唱《生日快乐歌》，还有所有重要的环节。”

At that moment, my love for Liam swelled. I mean, I always love my little brother, but right now it felt extra big. "Well, I guess so," said Mom. "I'll second that," said Dad. "So that means yes," I said. "Because you know how much I want to be here for Liam. I mean, you know that, right? But Liam's party, honestly, wouldn't be as amazing if it weren't for Tala. She's new and really cool. And doesn't really have a lot of friends yet. She and I planned both of these events together. And I just have to go to the chemistry club rocket launch so she's not alone." "You don't need to convince us anymore," said Dad. "We already said yes." "Just as long as you're back here on time to show everyone how to do the double balloon rockets and you pick up my cake," said Liam. "Let's call to confirm the pickup time of the cake," said Mom. "It should be twelve thirty." "Sounds good," I said. Borrowing Dad's cell, I called Mr. Arvanites. "Hello," he said curtly. "Who's this?" I explained that I was Kate Crawford, and I was calling to confirm the time of the cake pickup. "The store's not open regular hours in the winter," he said. "So remember, I'm expecting you right at

那一刻，我对利亚姆的爱油然而生。 我是说，我一直很爱我的弟弟，但现在感觉特别重要。 “嗯，我想是的，”妈妈说。 “我同意，”爸爸说。 “那就是说，我同意了。”我说。 “因为你知道我有多想陪在利亚姆身边。 我是说，你知道的，对吧？ 但老实说，利亚姆的派对，如果没有塔拉也不会这么精彩。 她是新来的，很酷。 而且还没有很多朋友。 这两次活动都是我和她一起策划的。 我得去参加化学俱乐部的火箭发射，这样她就不会孤单了。” “你不需要再说服我们了，”爸爸说。 “我们已经答应了。”利亚姆说：“只要你准时回来向大家展示如何做双气球火箭，然后帮我拿蛋糕就行了。” “我们打电话确认一下取蛋糕的时间吧，”妈妈说。 “应该是十二点半了。” “听起来不错，”我说。借爸爸的手机，我打电话给阿凡尼特先生。 “你好，”他简短地说。“这是谁?”我解释说我是凯特·克劳福德，我打电话来是想确认取蛋糕的时间。 “这家店在冬天不正常营业，”他说。 “记住，我正等着你。

twelve thirty p.m." "Don't worry," I said. "I won't be late." Actually, we won't be late, I thought. Since I'm sure once I talk to Birdie, she'll be with me. With my new plan in place, everything would work out. It had to. I also knew how much Tala wanted me to make the rocket launch. I couldn't wait to tell her the good news. A few minutes later, I raced upstairs to my bedroom to call Tala. "So I can come," I said. "I worked it out." "Phew," she said. "Because it wouldn't be the same without you. We planned it together," she said. "I'm so happy you'll be there." "Me too," I said. "I definitely wouldn't want to miss it for anything."

“别担心，”我说。 “我不会迟到的。”事实上，我们不会迟到的，我想。 因为我确定只要我和波蒂谈过，她就会和我在一起。 有了我的新计划，一切都会解决的。 它必须这样做。我也知道塔拉有多想让我发射火箭。 我迫不及待地要告诉她这个好消息。 几分钟后，我跑到楼上的卧室打电话给塔拉。 “所以我可以去。”我说。“我算出来了。” “呸，”她说。“因为没有你，一切都不一样了。 我们一起计划的，”她说。 “我很高兴你能来。” “我也是，”我说。“我绝对不想错过任何事情。”