Chapter 4

Chapter four I couldn't believe that my father had said no. "But, Dad," I wailed. "It's a professional hockey game. And the season is almost over." "I'm sorry, Hank," he said. "Your cousin has come all the way from Chicago, and she is our guest. Tomorrow's the cook-off, and we are going to support her." Frankie left for his apartment, and the rest of us stood around watching Judith Ann take the meatballs out of the pot. "Would you like to taste one, Henry?" she asked me. "They're actually not bad," Ashley said through her full mouth. "A little squishy, but I

我不敢相信父亲竟然拒绝了我。 “可是，爸爸，”我哭着说。“这是一场职业冰球比赛。 这个季节快结束了。” “对不起，汉克，”他说。 “你的表妹从芝加哥远道而来，她是我们的客人。 明天是厨艺大赛，我们会支持她的。” 弗兰基回公寓去了，我们剩下的人站在一旁看着朱迪思·安把肉丸从锅里拿出来。 “你想尝尝吗，亨利？”她问我。 “其实还不错，"艾希礼嘴里塞满东西说。 “有点软，但我。

could get used to it." "No offense, Judith Ann," I said. "But I like meatballs that don't squish. You know, ones that leave little chunks of meat between your teeth for later." "After eating my meatballs, the only thing that will stay in your mouth is the delicious taste," Judith Ann said. "Little chunks left behind aren't part of the fine-food experience." I had heard enough from Judith Ann about fine food. My face turned red, and my mouth went out of control. "Listen," I said, "I know fifty ways to make a great peanut butter sandwich. So don't talk to me about fine food. My taste buds are as good as yours. Maybe even better."

你会习惯的。”“无意冒犯，朱迪思·安，”我说。 “但我喜欢不压扁的肉丸。 你知道的，就是那些在你牙齿之间留下小块肉的狗。” “吃了我的肉丸后，唯一留在嘴里的就是美味，”朱迪思·安（Judith Ann）说。 “留下的小块不是美食体验的一部分。” 朱迪思·安关于美食的事我已经听够了。 我的脸变红了，我的嘴失去了控制。 “听着，”我说，“我知道50种制作美味花生酱三明治的方法。 所以别跟我说什么美食。 我的味蕾和你的一样好。 也许更好。”

"Peanut butter should never be let out of its jar," Judith Ann said. "It's a snack for threeyear- olds." My mom could tell that I was mad. "Okay, everyone," she said in her most cheery voice. "I think we should call it a night. We have to get up early tomorrow to get to the cook-off on time." "The cook-off sounds like fun. Can I go, too?" Ashley asked. "Of course," my mom said. "We'd love to have you, if it's okay with your parents." As if the night hadn't been bad enough, it got worse when my mom sprang some

“花生酱永远不应该从罐子里放出来，”朱迪思·安说。 “这是给三岁小孩吃的零食。” 我妈妈看得出来我很生气。 “好了，各位。”她用最欢快的声音说。 “我想今晚就到此为止吧。 明天我们必须早起，才能准时赶到烹饪比赛现场。” “烹饪大赛听起来很有趣。 我也能去吗？”阿什利问道。 “当然，”我妈妈说。“如果你父母同意的话，我们希望你能来。” 好像那一晚还不够糟糕似的，当我妈妈给了我一些的时候，情况变得更糟了

surprising news on me: Judith Ann needed somewhere to sleep, and my mom had offered her my bed without even asking me. "But, Mom," I whined. "That's my bed. The mattress is shaped like my body. It looks forward to me every night." "I've set up your sleeping bag on the floor in Emily's room," my mom said. "It will be just like camping out." "Yeah, camping out next to a creature who doesn't like me and is going to hiss at me all night long. And I don't mean the iguana."

让我吃惊的消息：朱迪思·安需要找个地方睡觉，我妈妈甚至没有问过我就把我的床让给了她。 “但是，妈妈，”我抱怨道。“那是我的床。 床垫的形状像我的身体。 它每晚都期待着我。” “我已经把你的睡袋放在艾米丽房间的地板上了，”我妈妈说。 “就像露营一样。” “是啊，露营在一个不喜欢我的生物旁边，它会整晚对我嘶嘶叫。 我说的不是鬣蜥。”

"Hank, it's only two nights," my mom said. "It will be fine." At that very moment, the kitchen door burst open, and Emily stuck her head in. "Mom!" she screamed. "You've got to come quickly. Katherine is spitting up a lettuce ball. It's all green and slimy." Okay, let me ask you a question. If you had to spend your Friday night cooking meatless meatballs, then sleep on the hard, cold floor of your know-it-all sister's room with a barfing iguana spitting lettuce balls at your face, how would you feel? Yup, that's the way I felt, too.

“汉克，这只是两个晚上，”我妈妈说。 “会没事的。”就在这时，厨房的门突然开了，艾米丽把头伸了进去。 “妈妈！”她尖叫道。“你得快点来。 凯瑟琳在吐莴苣球。 全是绿色的，黏糊糊的。” 好吧，我问你个问题。 如果你不得不在周五晚上做无肉肉丸，然后睡在你无所不知的姐姐房间坚硬冰冷的地板上，一只呕吐的鬣蜥朝你脸上吐生菜球，你会有什么感觉？ 是啊，我也是这么想的。