Chapter 10

Chapter ten "Is this the TV station?" I asked my mom the next morning as we turned into a revolving door in a big glass building. "This is the address they gave me," my mom said. My mom, dad, and Papa Pete were there, along with Frankie and Ashley, and of course, Judith Ann. All of us walked into the huge lobby with big couches and hundreds of TV screens all over the walls. The guard took us to the elevators. "What floor?" my dad asked. "Thirty-five," the guard answered, pushing the button. "That's where it all happens."

第十章“这是电视台吗？”第二天早上，当我们拐进一座大玻璃大楼的旋转门时，我问妈妈。 “这是他们给我的地址，”我妈妈说。 我的妈妈、爸爸和皮特爸爸也在那里，还有弗兰基和阿什利，当然还有朱迪思·安。 我们所有人都走进了巨大的大厅，大厅里有大沙发，墙上挂满了数百个电视屏幕。 警卫把我们带到电梯。 “几楼？”爸爸问。 “三十五岁，”卫兵按下按钮回答。 “这就是一切发生的地方。”

And boy was he right. When the doors opened, we stepped out and immediately found ourselves smack in the middle of the Country Cooking for the City set. "Wow," said Papa Pete. "It looks so much bigger on TV." "Dude," Frankie whispered to me. "This is awesome." "Hank, look!" Ashley said. "There's the kitchen where the chefs work. And there are the cameras. Aren't you nervous?" I wasn't nervous. I was proud to be there. I was proud that my friends and family would be

男孩，他是对的。门开了，我们走了出去，立刻发现自己正处在为城市布景准备的乡村烹饪的中间。 “哇，”皮特爸爸说。“在电视上看起来要大得多。” “老兄，”弗兰基低声对我说。 “这太棒了。”“汉克,看!”阿什利说。 “这是厨师工作的厨房。 还有摄像头。 你不紧张吗？”我不紧张。 我很自豪能在那里。我为我的朋友和家人感到骄傲

there to see me win. "This could be the best day of my life," I told Frankie. "It ranks right up there with that time Dad and I won the three-legged race at the Root Beer Bust at school. Remember that, Dad?" "I remember I ripped my pants and had to spend fourteen dollars to get them fixed," he answered. "Oh my gosh," Ashley said, grabbing my arm. "OH MY GOSH. Look who's coming to get us." Walking across the studio to us was Chuck Hall, the host of Country Cooking for the City. He was tall, with a huge head of blond hair, and teeth as white as marshmallows. When she saw him, Judith Ann actually let out a shriek. She stepped forward and stuck out her hand.

在那里看我赢。“这可能是我一生中最美好的一天，”我告诉弗兰基。 “这和我和爸爸在学校的沙士半身像比赛中赢得三条腿比赛一样重要。 记得吗，爸爸？”“我记得我的裤子破了，花了14美元才修好，”他回答说。 “哦，我的天哪，”艾希礼说，抓住我的胳膊。 “哦，我的天哪。看看谁来接我们了。” 穿过演播室向我们走来的是查克·霍尔，《城市乡村烹饪》节目的主持人。 他个子很高，一头金发，牙齿白得像棉花糖。 当朱迪思·安看到他时，她发出了一声尖叫。 她走上前去，伸出手来。

"What an honor to meet you," she said to Chuck. "I've never missed one of your shows." Chuck smiled. I could tell he was expecting the rest of us to chime in, too. To be honest, I had never seen one of his shows, but I knew better than to say that out loud. "So," Chuck said to Judith Ann, "I assume you're one of my finalists. Who's the other one?" "He's your guy," Frankie told Chuck, pointing to me. "Hank Zipzer." "Nice to meet you, Mr. Zipper," Chuck said with a marshmallow grin.

“见到你真是荣幸，”她对查克说。 “我从来没有错过你的任何一场演出。” 查克笑了。我看得出来，他希望我们其他人也加入进来。 说实话，我从来没有看过他的演出，但我知道最好不要大声说出来。 “那么，”查克对朱迪思·安说，“我想你是我的最终入围者之一。 另一个是谁？”“他就是你要找的人，”弗兰基指着我对查克说。 “汉克Zipzer。”“很高兴见到你，拉链先生，”查克带着棉花糖般的笑容说。

"It's Zipzer," I said. "And by the way, do you know what has a hundred and thirty-seven teeth and no cavities? A zipper!" Everyone laughed but Chuck. "If you don't mind, son, I'll do the jokes," he said. "Now follow me, and we'll get you kids set up." My family and friends got to sit in the audience seats. Judith Ann and I were led over to the kitchen counter, which was in front of the cameras. Ms. Smiley was there, setting up the kitchen tools on the counter. "I have your blender, young man," she said.

“是齐泽尔，”我说。“顺便问一下，你知道什么东西有一百三十七颗牙齿却没有蛀牙吗？” 一个拉链!”除了恰克，大家都笑了。 “如果你不介意的话，儿子，我来开玩笑吧，”他说。 “现在跟我来，我帮你们准备好。” 我的家人和朋友坐在观众席上。 朱迪思·安和我被带到厨房柜台前，就在镜头前。 斯迈利女士在那里，把厨房用具放在柜台上。 “我有你的搅拌机，年轻人，”她说。

"Thank you, Ms. S.," I said. I would have called her Ms. Smiley, but I was afraid that Smelly would come out of my mouth by accident. "And Judith Ann," she went on, "I have your mixing bowls and skillet. Both of you may begin placing your food supplies on the counter." I reached into my paper bag and took out the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the cookies, the milk, and the banana. Way down at the bottom I was surprised to see a pickle and half of a pastrami sandwich in a plastic bag. I knew Papa Pete had snuck that in, in case I got hungry. That's what I love about Papa Pete. "Are we going to be on TV?" I asked Chuck's assistant, who was walking by with a clipboard. "The winner of this match is," she said, without looking up. "Cool. What does the loser get?" "A hearty handshake," she said with a laugh. I didn't think that was funny at all.

“谢谢你，S女士，”我说。 我会称她为“女士”。 Smiley，但我担心臭臭会不小心从我嘴里说出来。 “还有朱迪思·安，”她接着说，“我有你的搅拌碗和煎锅。 你们俩可以开始把食物放在柜台上了。” 我把手伸进纸袋，拿出花生酱和果冻三明治、饼干、牛奶和香蕉。 在底部，我惊讶地看到一个塑料袋里装着一个泡菜和半个熏牛肉三明治。 我知道是皮特爸爸偷偷带进来的，以防我饿了。 这就是我喜欢皮特爸爸的地方。 “我们会上电视吗？”我问恰克的助理，她正拿着一个剪贴板走过来。 “这场比赛的赢家是，”她头也不抬地说。 “酷。输的人会得到什么？”“热烈的握手，”她笑着说。 我一点也不觉得好笑。