2 It’s Annoying!

CHAPTER TWO IT'S ANNOYING! WE DIDN'T TALK much as we drove. Dad concentrated on getting us to that searchlight. Mom helped by watching the light and telling him when to turn. I was busy looking out the window. Sometimes when I look out the car window, I'm so busy that I forget to blink. And I have to say in my brain, "Blink, Molly, blink." We got to the searchlight. It wasn't a cool traveling circus.

第二章，真烦人！我们开车时没怎么说话。 爸爸集中精力把我们带到探照灯那里。 妈妈帮着看着灯，告诉他什么时候转弯。 我正忙着看窗外。 有时，当我向车窗外看时，我忙得连眼睛都忘了眨一下。 我必须在脑子里说，“眨眼，莫莉，眨眼。” 我们找到了探照灯。 这不是一个很酷的巡回马戏团。

It was a boring car dealership. Dad parked, turned to me, and asked, "How many signs did we pass?" "Thanks for asking," I said and smiled at him. "We passed thirty-three signs." "Thirty-three?" Mom asked. "That's an odd number. Do you want to drive around for a minute so you can finish on an even number?" "No," I said and shook my head. "I want to see the light now." The searchlight was strapped to the back of a big truck. There was a large red metal box on the ground next to the truck. A bunch of thick rubber cables ran from the red box to the searchlight. We walked closer.

那是一家无聊的汽车经销店。 爸爸把车停好，转身问我：“我们经过了几个路标？”“谢谢你的关心，”我对他微笑着说。 “我们经过了33个路标。” “三十三?”母亲问。 “这是个奇怪的数字。你要不要开一会儿车，这样你就能算出一个偶数？”“不，”我说着摇了摇头。 “我现在想看到光明。” 探照灯被绑在一辆大卡车的后面。 卡车旁边的地上有一个红色的大金属盒子。 一束粗橡胶电缆从红盒子连接到探照灯。 我们走近了。

The metal box hummed and vibrated. "What's the big red box for?" I asked. "I think it's a generator," Dad said. "It runs on gasoline. That searchlight needs a lot of power. If it was just plugged into an outlet, it would probably knock out the electricity in the whole town." "Like during that big storm last year?" "Exactly," Mom answered. We stopped about ten feet from the searchlight. The circular motion was calming and rhythmic. I could feel my head rotate on my neck slightly as I watched it turn and turn. "Why is it here?" I asked. "At a car dealership?" Dad said quietly, "You're about to find out."

金属盒子嗡嗡作响，震动着。 “那个大红盒子是干什么用的？”我问。 “我想是发电机，”爸爸说。 “它靠汽油驱动。那个探照灯需要很大的能量。 如果把它插到插座上，可能会使整个城镇的电力中断。” “就像去年那场大风暴一样？”“没错，”妈妈回答。 我们在离探照灯大约十英尺的地方停了下来。 圆周运动平静而有节奏。 我可以感觉到我的头在我的脖子上微微旋转，我看着它转啊转。 “它为什么在这里？”我问。 “在汽车经销店？”爸爸平静地说：“你马上就知道了。”

Because I was mesmerized by that rotating light, I hadn't noticed that a woman had walked up to us. "I'm Hannah," the woman said. She had a name tag on her shirt. "We've got a big sale going on this week. Great cars. Zero percent financing. Are you interested in upgrading to a new model?" "No, I'm not," Dad answered politely. Mom said, "Our daughter saw the searchlight and was curious about it." Hannah leaned down to look at me. "And what is your name?" she asked. "Molly Dyson." "Well, Molly Dyson," Hannah said and smiled, "what do you think of our big light in the sky?" "I think it's annoying," I said. "I'm awake because

因为我被那旋转的光迷住了，我没有注意到一个女人向我们走来。 “我叫汉娜，”女人说。 她的衬衫上有一个名牌。 这个人说：“这星期我们有一场大减价。 伟大的汽车。零利率融资。 你有兴趣升级到新型号吗？”“不，我不是。”爸爸礼貌地回答。 妈妈说：“我们的女儿看到了探照灯，很好奇。” 汉娜俯下身看着我。 “你叫什么名字？”她问。 “莫莉戴森。”“好吧，莫莉·戴森，”汉娜笑着说，“你觉得我们在天空中的大灯怎么样？”“我觉得这很烦人，”我说。 “我醒着是因为

I had to find out what it was. And it's Tuesday. It's a school night. My friends Rosie, Simon, and I have to come up with a project tomorrow for the science fair —and make it work by Friday night. So I should really be sleeping." Hannah seemed a little surprised at my answer. She said, "I'm sorry about that, Molly." "May I ask you a question?" I said.

我得弄清楚那是什么。 今天是星期二。今天晚上要上学。 我的朋友罗西、西蒙和我必须在明天为科学博览会想出一个项目，并在周五晚上之前完成。 所以我真的应该睡觉了。” 汉娜对我的回答似乎有点惊讶。 她说：“我很抱歉，莫莉。” “我可以问你一个问题吗？”我说。

"Of course." "Did you know that you can spell your name backward and forward?" "I did know that," Hannah answered. "Can I ask you another question?" "Sure." "When are you going to turn the light off?" "We're open late this week because of the sale, Molly. We close at ten o'clock," Hannah said. "We'll

“当然。”“你知道你的名字可以前后拼写吗？”“我确实知道，”汉娜回答。 “我能再问你一个问题吗？”“当然。” “你打算什么时候关灯？”“莫利，因为打折，我们这周要营业到很晚。 我们10点关门，”汉娜说。 “我们将