Chapter 5

Chapter five, The next Thursday, report cards came out. My grandpa, Papa Pete, was picking me up at school that day. I came running out the front door, waving the sealed brown envelope in my hands. "What you got there?" Papa Pete asked, giving me one of his great big bear hugs. "My report card," I answered. "Let's hurry home so I can show it to Dad." "Sounds like you're expecting some good grades," Papa Pete said. "Getting a dog really has motivated you. I'm proud of you, Hankie." Usually Papa Pete and I stop at my mom's deli, the Crunchy Pickle, for an after-school snack. But that day, I wanted to get right home.

第五章，下个星期四，成绩单出来了。 那天，我的爷爷皮特爸爸来学校接我。 我跑出前门，手里挥舞着密封的棕色信封。 “你拿的是什么？”皮特爸爸问，给了我一个大大的熊抱。 “我的成绩单，”我回答。 “我们快点回家吧，我好拿给爸爸看。” “听起来你在期待取得好成绩，”皮特爸爸说。 “养狗真的激励了你。 我为你感到骄傲，汉克。” 通常皮特爸爸和我都会在我妈妈开的“脆泡菜”熟食店停下来，吃点放学后的零食。 但那天，我想马上回家。

The minute I set foot in our apartment, I handed the envelope to my dad. "How did I do?" I asked him before he had even finished opening it. "Are the words 'much improved' going to come flying out of your mouth?" He put his glasses on and looked over my report card for what seemed to be forever. "In a few subjects, there was slight improvement," he said at last. "In science, there was a lot of improvement." I started jumping up and down. "Cool! When can we go look at puppies?" I was so happy I was practically shouting. "However...," he went on. I hate that word, however. Nothing good ever comes after it. "However, Hank, in some important subjects, such as reading and math, your grades have actually slipped." Papa Pete put his hand on my dad's shoulder. "You know, Stan," he said, smiling that

一踏进我们的公寓，我就把信封交给了爸爸。 “我做得怎么样？”他还没打开，我就问了。 “你会脱口而出‘大大提高了’这样的字眼吗？”他戴上眼镜，看了看我的成绩单，似乎看了很久。 “在一些科目上，有轻微的改善，”他最后说。 “在科学方面，有了很大的进步。” 我开始上蹿下跳。 “酷!我们什么时候能去看小狗？”我高兴得几乎要大叫了。 “然而……他接着说。然而，我讨厌这个词。 这之后没有什么好东西。 “但是，汉克，在一些重要的科目上，比如阅读和数学，你的成绩实际上下滑了。” 皮特爸爸把手放在爸爸的肩膀上。 “你知道的，斯坦。”他笑着说

great smile of his. "I spent my life running the Crunchy Pickle. My sandwiches made a lot of people happy. And the truth is, I had a hard time with math, too. You learn to figure out what you're good at. Then you go full-steam in that direction." "So what are you suggesting, Pete?" my dad said. "That I just let Hank be lazy and get any grade he wants?" "He's not lazy," Papa Pete said. "Let him prove it to you by showing he can take care of a dog." "Yeah!" I exclaimed. "Dad, I promise you. I will be the best dog-taker-care-of person in the whole entire solar system." My dad just sat there, scratching his head.

他的笑容很灿烂。“我一生都在经营脆皮泡菜。 我的三明治让很多人很开心。 事实上，我的数学也很困难。 你要学会发现自己擅长什么。 然后你就朝着那个方向全速前进。” “那你的建议是什么，皮特？”爸爸说。 “我就让汉克偷懒，想拿多少分就拿多少分？”“他不懒，”皮特爸爸说。 “让他证明给你看，他会照顾一只狗。” “是啊!”我叫道。“爸爸，我向你保证。 我将成为整个太阳系里照顾狗最好的人。” 我爸爸就坐在那里，挠头。

"I have to discuss this with your mother," he said. "Great, I can hear her in the kitchen," I said. "Let's go ask her." "You stay here, Hank. This is an adult decision." "Then you can't leave out Papa Pete," I said, knowing he would take my side. "He's an adult."

“我得和你妈妈商量一下，”他说。 “太好了，我能听到她在厨房里。”我说。 “我们去问问她吧。”“你呆在这儿，汉克。 这是成年人的决定。” “那你就不能不提皮特爸爸了，”我说，知道他会站在我这边。 “他是个成年人。”

"Have been for quite some time now," Papa Pete said. Papa Pete winked at me as he followed my dad into the kitchen. As for me, all I could do was put my ear against the kitchen door and try to hear what they were saying. I couldn't hear a word.

“已经有一段时间了，”皮特爸爸说。 皮特爸爸跟着爸爸走进厨房，向我眨了眨眼睛。 至于我，我所能做的就是把耳朵贴在厨房门上，想听听他们在说什么。 我一个字也听不见。