Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 We took the elevator down to the basement. Just before the door closed, Mrs. Fink, who lives across the hall from my family, stuck her foot in. It was wearing a bunny slipper with floppy ears. That's Mrs. Fink for you. "Hold the elevator, kids," she said. "I'm going down to the laundry room." "Hi, Mrs. Fink," we all said as she got in. I noticed that her giant pink robe was on the top of her laundry basket. She wears it every day. I had no idea she had any other clothes. But there she was, in a giant green robe with little purple dogs on it. "I like your robe," I said as I pressed B for basement. "The little dogs on it remind me of our puppy, Cheerio." "Except Cheerio's not purple," Ashley commented.

第八章我们乘电梯下到地下室。 就在门关上之前，住在我家对面的芬克太太把一只脚伸了进去。 它穿着一只耷拉着耳朵的兔子拖鞋。 芬克太太找你。“扶住电梯，孩子们，”她说。 “我要下楼去洗衣房。” “你好，芬克夫人，”她进来时我们都说。 我注意到她的巨大的粉红色长袍在她的洗衣篮的顶部。 她每天都戴着。我不知道她还有别的衣服。 但她就在那里，穿着一件巨大的绿色长袍，上面有紫色的小狗。 “我喜欢你的睡袍，”我边说边按下B键去地下室。 “上面的小狗让我想起了我们的小狗，Cheerio。” “不过麦圈不是紫色的。”艾希礼评论道。

"He would be if he rolled in grape juice," Frankie said. We all laughed, except for Heather. She may be tall and have a great hook shot, but she's not big on a sense of humor. When the elevator doors opened in the basement, we headed to the laundry room. Mrs. Fink stopped at the washing machine, and we went to the door that led to the courtyard outside. Without a word, Heather passed me the basketball. I wasn't ready, and the ball whizzed right by me.

弗兰基说：“如果他在葡萄汁里打滚，他就会死。” 我们都笑了，除了希瑟。 她也许很高，勾手投篮很好，但她缺乏幽默感。 地下室的电梯门打开了，我们朝洗衣房走去。 芬克太太在洗衣机前停了下来，我们走到通往外面院子的门口。 希瑟一言不发地把篮球递给了我。 我还没准备好，球就从我身边呼啸而过。

"First rule, Hank," Frankie said. "You have to stay alert. You never know when the ball is coming your way." I chased the ball down and started to dribble it back to Heather. It bounced on my foot and took a sharp left turn to nowhere. "Second rule, Hank," Frankie said. "Never dribble the ball. Secret Weapons don't dribble." "Then what do they do?" I asked. "What you do best," Heather said. "Pass." I shook my head. I didn't understand what they were talking about. "Here's our plan," Heather said, pulling us all into a close circle. "Hank, you stay down by the basket and we'll get the ball to you." "But everyone on the other team will see me just waiting by the basket." "Trust me," Frankie said. "Everyone on the court is watching the ball. That's where their attention is." "As soon as you get the ball in your hands," Heather said, "you pass it to me. You've got to be quick—quick as a whip."

“第一原则，汉克，”弗兰基说。 “你必须保持警惕。你永远不知道什么时候球会朝你这边来。” 我追着球下去，开始运球给希瑟。 它在我的脚上弹了一下，然后向左急转弯，不知去向。 “第二条规则，汉克，”弗兰基说。 “永远不要运球。秘密武器不会运球。” “那他们怎么办呢？”我问。 “做你最擅长的事，”希瑟说。 “通过”。我摇了摇头。我不明白他们在说什么。 “这是我们的计划，”希瑟说，把我们拉到一个紧密的圈子里。 “汉克，你站在篮下，我们把球传给你。” “但是对方球队的每个人都会看到我就在篮下等着。” “相信我，”弗兰基说。“球场上的每个人都在看球。 这就是他们的注意力所在。” “你一拿到球，”希瑟说，“就传给我。 你必须要快——像鞭子一样快。”

"I can do that," I said. "Then what?" "Then I shoot," Heather said. "Before the other team even knows what happened, we've scored." "Let's try it out," Ashley suggested. "Secret Weapon, take your position!" I walked over to the wire basket that my dad had made for our practice. I just stood there, watching the others dribble and pass around the courtyard. My eyes never left the ball as it moved from Heather to Ashley to Frankie. Suddenly, Frankie passed the ball to

“我能做到，”我说。“然后呢?”“那我就开枪，”希瑟说。 “在对方还没反应过来之前，我们就进球了。” “我们试试吧，"艾希礼建议说。 “秘密武器，就位！”我走到我爸爸为我们练习做的铁丝篮前。 我只是站在那里，看着其他人在院子里运球和传球。 当球从希瑟转到阿什利再到弗兰基时，我的眼睛从未离开过球。 突然，弗兰基把球传给了

me with the speed of a rocket. My first thought was to duck, but I didn't. I put my arms out and caught that ball in midair. It was barely in my hands when I pivoted and passed the ball directly to Heather. She caught it, just as we'd planned, and made the basket. Wow! We all high-fived about ten times in a row.

我以火箭的速度。 我的第一个念头是躲起来，但我没有。 我伸出双臂，在半空中接住了那个球。 球刚到我手里，我就转身把球直接传给了希瑟。 正如我们计划的那样，她接住了球，把球放进了篮子里。 哇!我们都连续击掌十次左右。

"Let's do it again," I said. "My grandpa always says practice makes perfect." I took my position by the basket and waited for the ball to come to me. This time, Ashley passed it. Just as I was about to catch it, Mrs. Fink stuck her head around the laundry-room door. "Have fun, kids," she shouted. "When you're done, come up for a slice of my homemade marble cake." Here's a basketball tip. It may never come up for you, but it sure did for me. You can't catch a pass if you're listening to Mrs. Fink. You're welcome. "We've got to keep at it," Frankie said. "Pay attention, Zip. Keep your mind in the game." "And don't take your eye off the ball," Ashley said. We ran through the drill over and over until it was starting to get dark. By the time we quit, we had it down perfectly. I had become, really and truly, the Secret Weapon.

“我们再来一次吧，”我说。 “我爷爷总是说熟能生巧。” 我在篮下站定，等着球传给我。 这一次，艾希礼通过了。 就在我要抓住它的时候，芬克太太从洗衣房的门探出头来。 “玩得开心，孩子们，”她喊道。 “吃完后，过来吃一块我自制的大理石蛋糕。” 这里有一个篮球小贴士。你可能永远不会想到，但我肯定想到了。 如果你在听芬克太太的话，你是抓不到通行证的。 不客气。“我们必须坚持下去，”弗兰基说。 “注意了，次波。把注意力放在比赛上。” “别把你的眼睛从球上移开，"艾希礼说。 我们一遍又一遍地操练，直到天色开始变黑。 到我们退出的时候，我们已经把它搞定了。 我已经真正地成为了秘密武器。