Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 At exactly four o'clock that afternoon, we met in the basement of our apartment building. Our clubhouse is really a storeroom next to the laundry room. People keep furniture and boxes there that they don't want in their apartments. There's also a comfortable old flowered couch we love to sit on. The only thing is, if you flop down on it too hard, you could disappear in all the dust that flies out of its cushions. I put a tin of chocolate-chip cookies and a jar of pickles down on the cardboard box we use for a table. "No one eats cookies and pickles together," Frankie said, making a face.

第五章那天下午四点整，我们在公寓大楼的地下室见面。 我们的会所实际上是洗衣间旁边的一个储藏室。 人们把不想放在公寓里的家具和盒子放在那里。 还有一个舒适的老式花沙发，我们喜欢坐在上面。 唯一的问题是，如果你太用力地摔倒在地上，你可能会消失在从垫子上飞出来的灰尘中。 我把一罐巧克力饼干和一罐泡菜放在我们用来当桌子的纸板箱上。 “没有人会同时吃饼干和泡菜，”弗兰基说，做了个鬼脸。

"You don't eat them together," I explained. "First, you take a mouthful of cookie. You swallow it, then go in for the pickle. Sweet, sour, sweet, sour. Trust me, your tongue is going to stand up and dance." Frankie and Ashley tried my cookie-pickle combo, but it wasn't a big hit. "Ewww," they both said at once. "Okay then, let's get down to business," I said. "Mr. Rock said that for the tryouts, we have to say what we liked about Journey to Jupiter. I actually have a couple of things I did like." "That's a good start," Frankie said. "Like what?"

“你不能把它们一起吃，”我解释说。 “首先，你吃一口饼干。 你把它吞下去，然后开始腌黄瓜。 甜，酸，甜，酸。相信我，你的舌头会站起来跳舞的。” 弗兰基和阿什莉尝了我的泡菜饼干套餐，但不太受欢迎。 “呃，”他们同时说。 “好吧，那我们谈正事吧，”我说。 洛克说，为了选拔，我们必须说出我们喜欢《木星之旅》的哪些方面。 事实上，我有几件我喜欢的事情。” “这是一个好的开始，”弗兰基说。 “像什么?”

"Yes, tell us, Mr. Zipzer," Ashley said, imitating a teacher's voice. I stood up and held the book in my hands like I was giving an oral report. "First of all, I like the color of the cover," I began. "I think books with purple covers have the best stories. And I like the smell of the paper. I also like that there are illustrations. Most of all, I like that when you put this book down on top of a bunch of papers, it stops them from blowing away in the wind." "But, Hank," Ashley said in a supportive voice. "You have to tell what the story is about."

“是的，告诉我们，齐泽尔先生，"艾希礼模仿老师的声音说。 我站起来，手里拿着书，就像在做口头报告一样。 “首先，我喜欢封面的颜色，”我开始说。 “我认为紫色封面的书故事最好。 我喜欢纸的味道。 我也喜欢里面的插图。 最重要的是，当你把这本书放在一堆纸上时，我喜欢它，它可以防止它们被风吹走。” “可是，汉克，”艾希礼用支持的声音说。 “你必须讲述这个故事的内容。”

"That's a problem, because I haven't read the book," I said, flopping down onto the couch. That created a dust storm right there in the storage room. We all sneezed at once. "We can help you with that, Zip," Frankie said. "Just start reading it aloud, and we'll help you with the words you don't know." "Good idea," I said. "We'll be done with the book about two years from next Christmas." "That's a good point," Ashley said. "We are up against a time crunch here. So maybe we should just tell you all about the book." "Yeah," Frankie said. "Knowing the story will make it much easier for you to read it on your own." Ashley began.

“这是个问题，因为我还没读过这本书，”我说着，扑通一声坐在沙发上。 就在储藏室里引发了一场沙尘暴。 我们都同时打了个喷嚏。“我们可以帮你，次波，”弗兰基说。 “只要开始大声朗读，我们会帮助你学习不认识的单词。” “好主意，”我说。“从明年圣诞节开始，我们将在两年内完成这本书。” “说得好，"艾希礼说。 “我们面临着时间紧迫的问题。 所以也许我们应该告诉你关于这本书的一切。” “是的，”弗兰基说。“了解这个故事会让你更容易自己阅读它。” 希礼的开始。

"The book starts when Sarah and James arrive at the first space colony on Jupiter," she said. "Before they can settle in, they come faceto- face with a horrible creature they've never seen before." "It's huge and angry," Frankie went on, "and chases them into the center of a superstorm. All of a sudden, it grabs them and holds them close to its sticky chest." "Wow, that sounds so scary," I said. "Yeah," Ashley agreed. "But the funny part is that the creature is sucking on a baby bottle filled with purple slime. And when the creature burps, it splatters the slime all over Sarah's helmet." "Which means that she can't see the glowing space pirate riding toward her on a giant spoon," Frankie added. The story was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. I nearly jumped out of my skin. "There's a space pirate at the door," I said, with a shiver.

“这本书从莎拉和詹姆斯到达木星上的第一个太空殖民地开始，”她说。 “在他们安顿下来之前，他们遇到了一个他们从未见过的可怕的生物。” “它巨大而愤怒，”弗兰基接着说，“追逐着他们进入超级风暴的中心。 突然，它抓住他们，把他们紧紧地抱在自己黏糊糊的胸口。” “哇，听起来好可怕，”我说。 “是啊，"艾希礼同意了。但有趣的是，这只生物正在吮吸一个装满紫色粘液的奶瓶。 当这个生物打嗝时，它会把黏液溅得到处都是莎拉的头盔。” 弗兰基补充说：“这意味着她看不到那个骑在大勺子上向她走来的发光的太空海盗。” 故事被一阵响亮的敲门声打断了。 我差点吓得魂飞魄散。 “门口有个太空海盗，”我说，打了个寒颤。

It wasn't a space pirate. It was Ashley's grandma, and by the way, she wasn't riding a spoon. "Ashley, I've been looking all over for you," she said. "The dumplings are ready to be stuffed." Then she turned to Frankie. "And your mother said for me to tell you your brother is waiting to play ball." "Looks like we have to go," Ashley said. "But what about the rest of the story?" I asked. "Zip, we're so sorry," Frankie said. "Ask someone in your family to help you read the rest of the book. Ask your dad."

它不是太空海盗。那是艾希礼的奶奶，顺便说一句，她骑的不是勺子。 “艾希礼，我一直在到处找你，"她说。 “饺子可以包馅了。” 然后她转向弗兰基。 “你妈妈让我告诉你，你哥哥在等着打球。” “看来我们得走了，"艾希礼说。 “但是故事的其余部分呢？”我问。 “Zip，我们很抱歉，”Frankie说。 “让你的家人帮你看完书的其余部分。 问问你爸爸吧。”