Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 It felt like I stood there for at least two weeks, with a big spotlight shining right on me. In the background, I could hear Ms. Adolf saying, "Henry, we're waiting, and we don't have all day. Answer the question." I looked over at Frankie and Ashley in the front row, hoping they could send me brain waves filled with details of Chapter Six. But there was nothing they could do. My whole body had turned ice cold, which is what happens to me when I'm really scared. Think, Hank. Think of something. Anything.

感觉我在那里站了至少两个星期，一盏大聚光灯正照在我身上。 在背景中，我能听到她的声音。 阿道夫说：“亨利，我们在等，我们没有一整天的时间。 回答我的问题。”我看了看前排的弗兰基和阿什莉，希望他们能给我发送充满第六章细节的脑电波。 但是他们什么也做不了。 我整个身体都变冷了，当我真的很害怕的时候就会这样。 认为,汉克。想想办法。 任何东西。

I figured I had several choices. I could bolt out of the room and run all the way to Peru and ride llamas for the rest of my life. I could admit in front of everyone that I hadn't even finished the first chapter of Journey to Jupiter. Ouch. Or I could go for it. And since I'm a go-for-it kind of guy, I went for it. I knew nothing about Chapter Six, or Seven, or Eight for that matter, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. "What I love about Chapter Six," I began, "is that it is in between Chapter Five and Chapter Seven." Everyone in the audience laughed, especially Paula Hart. "Oh, Hank," she said. "Everything you say is so original." That gave me the confidence to go on. I could feel my body warming up and my tongue starting to move. "I thought the most exciting part was when James and Sarah entered the Cave of Doom

我想我有几个选择。 我可以冲出房间，一路跑到秘鲁，骑骆驼度过余生。 我可以在所有人面前承认，我甚至还没有读完《木星之旅》的第一章。 哎哟。或者我也可以试试。 因为我是一个积极进取的人，所以我就去了。 我对第六章、第七章、第八章一无所知，但我不会让这些阻止我。 “我喜欢第六章的地方，”我开始说，“是它在第五章和第七章之间。” 所有观众都笑了，尤其是宝拉·哈特。 “哦，汉克，”她说。“你说的每一句话都很有创意。” 这给了我继续前进的信心。 我能感觉到我的身体暖和起来，我的舌头开始动起来。 “我认为最激动人心的部分是詹姆斯和莎拉进入末日洞穴的时候

and saw that the ground looked alive," I began. "And it was because thousands of space insects covered every inch of the cave floor. They had poisonous stingers, and if one of them bit you, you would grow hair out of your eyes." I looked over at Paula, and she didn't say a word, so I went on. "When a whole colony of the space insects crawled up James's leg, Sarah went into battle, swatting them off with her thick glove. They tried to eat their way into her space suit until she attacked them with the laser beam that shot out of the top of her helmet." Paula got a big smile on her face, and I thought I was home free. My imagination had personality, and it had saved me again. Then I heard McKelty's voice. "What book did you read?" he hollered. "There aren't any space insects in Journey to Jupiter." "No, there aren't," answered Paula, "but there sure should have been. What Hank just

我看到大地生机勃勃，”我开始说。 这是因为成千上万的太空昆虫覆盖了洞穴的每一寸地面。 他们有有毒的毒刺，如果其中一个咬了你，你的眼睛就会长出头发。” 我看了看宝拉，她一句话也没说，于是我继续说下去。 当一大群太空昆虫爬上詹姆斯的腿时，莎拉投入战斗，用她的厚手套把它们赶走。 他们试图吃进她的宇航服，直到她用从头盔顶部射出的激光束攻击他们。” 宝拉脸上露出了灿烂的笑容，我想我终于可以回家了。 我的想象力很有个性，它又一次拯救了我。 然后我听到了麦凯尔蒂的声音。 “你读了什么书？”他喊道。 “《木星之旅》里没有任何太空昆虫。” “不，没有，”宝拉回答，“但肯定应该有。 汉克刚刚

described was much more exciting than my Chapter Six." "It was?" I said. My ears couldn't believe what they were hearing. "Should I go on?" Before I knew it, Ms. Adolf was standing next to me, wedged in between Paula and me. She was so close, I could smell her grayness. "On behalf of PS 87," she said, "I would like to apologize for Mr. Zipzer's disrespectful behavior. Clearly, he made up this silly story.

比我的第六章精彩多了。” “这是?”我说。我的耳朵简直不敢相信他们所听到的。 “我应该继续说下去吗？”我还没反应过来，mrs。 阿道夫站在我旁边，挤在宝拉和我之间。 她离我那么近，我都能闻到她的白发。 她说：“我谨代表PS 87，为齐泽尔先生的无礼行为道歉。 很明显，这个愚蠢的故事是他编的。

He has no business filling the room with such nonsense." "With all respect, Ms. Adolf, I have to disagree with you," Paula said. "True, Hank didn't tell the story I wrote, but he told his own story. I admire his creativity. Creativity is a gift, don't you think, Mr. Rock?" "It certainly is," Mr. Rock answered. "As a music teacher, it's what I look for most in my students. You can't make any kind of art without letting your imagination loose." Ms. Adolf's gray face turned beet red, like she was a balloon about to pop. "All this talk about creativity and imagination," she grumbled. "This is school, not playtime." Then she turned and stared at me like she could see right through me. "Young man, you did not do what you were asked to do," she said. "You did not take your assignment seriously. Imagination is not always enough."

他不该在房间里说这种废话。” “恕我直言，阿道夫女士，我不得不不同意你的观点，”宝拉说。 的确，汉克没有讲我写的故事，但他讲了他自己的故事。 我钦佩他的创造力。创造力是一种天赋，你不觉得吗，洛克先生？”“当然是，”洛克回答。 “作为一名音乐老师，这是我在学生身上最看重的。 如果不释放你的想象力，你就无法创造任何艺术。” 阿道夫灰色的脸变红了，就像一个快要爆掉的气球。 “所有这些都是关于创造力和想象力的，”她抱怨道。 “这是学校，不是游戏时间。” 然后她转过身来盯着我，好像她能看穿我似的。 “年轻人，你没有按照要求去做，”她说。 “你没有认真对待你的任务。 光有想象力是不够的。”

"Actually," Paula said, "imagination is everything when you are a writer. I see a future writer in Hank. That boy tells an exciting story, don't you think, kids?" Everyone nodded. "I really liked those space bugs," said Luke Whitman from the back of the room. "And I liked that Sarah saved James," Heather Payne said. "It's cool when a girl gets to save a boy." "I can't wait to hear what happens next," Ryan Shimozato said. "Yeah, Hank, tell us more," Katie Sperling shouted out. "Hank, do you know what happens next?" Paula asked me. "No, but I can make it up," I answered. "That's what writers do," she said. "The world is waiting to hear your stories, Hank Zipzer. Never forget that." All the kids in the library started to clap. Frankie and Ashley led a cheer that said, "Go, Hank Zipzer! Go, Hank Zipzer!" Mr. Rock gave

“事实上，”保拉说，“当你是一个作家时，想象力就是一切。 我在汉克身上看到了未来的作家。 那个男孩讲了一个激动人心的故事，你们不觉得吗，孩子们？”每个人都点了点头。 “我真的很喜欢那些太空虫，”卢克·惠特曼在房间后面说。 “我喜欢莎拉救了詹姆斯，”希瑟·佩恩说。 “一个女孩能救一个男孩真是太酷了。” “我迫不及待地想知道接下来会发生什么，”Ryan Shimozato说。 “是啊，汉克，再给我们讲讲。”凯蒂·斯珀林喊道。 “汉克，你知道接下来会发生什么吗？”宝拉问我。 “没有，但我可以补上，”我回答。 “这就是作家的工作，”她说。 “全世界都在等着听你的故事，汉克·齐泽尔。 永远不要忘记这一点。”图书馆里所有的孩子都开始鼓掌。 弗兰基和艾希礼带头欢呼道：“加油，汉克·齐泽尔！加油，汉克·齐泽尔！”洛克先生给了