Chapter 5

Chapter five The Junior Chef Cook-Off was being held at the Manhattan Cooking Institute, which is a fancy school where people go to learn to be chefs. Since the school is closed on Saturdays, they let the junior chefs take over the school's huge kitchen for the competition. When we arrived, we were greeted at the door by a large, round woman wearing a white jacket and a hairnet. Her name was written in red above her pocket. "Hello, Ms. Smelly," I said, trying so hard to read her name. "Young man," she answered. "My name is Fern Smiley."

第五章初级厨师烹饪大赛在曼哈顿烹饪学院举行，这是一所高级学校，人们去那里学习成为厨师。 由于学校周六不上课，他们让初级厨师接管学校的大厨房来参加比赛。 当我们到达时，在门口迎接我们的是一位身材高大、圆润的妇女，她穿着一件白色夹克，戴着发网。 她的名字用红色写在衣袋上方。 “你好，臭臭女士，”我说，努力读她的名字。 “年轻人，”她回答。 “我叫弗恩·斯迈利。”

"I'm really glad," I said, "because that's so much better than Smelly." Ashley quickly covered her mouth, trying to keep in a laugh. I snickered, too. My mom put a firm hand on my shoulder, as if to say, That will be quite enough out of you. "My niece, Judith Ann Zipzer, is part of the cook-off," she said to Ms. Smiley, who by the way, wasn't smiling. "I've brought my ingredients with me," Judith Ann said. Ms. Smiley looked down at the suitcase Judith Ann was carrying. "Very good," she said. "I'm glad to see you've followed our directions." "Where should I go?" Judith Ann asked. Her voice sounded shaky, like she was nervous. That surprised me. The night before, she had acted so confident, like she was the queen of all cooks.

“我真的很高兴，”我说，“因为这比臭臭好多了。” 艾希礼赶紧捂住嘴，竭力忍住不笑出声来。 我也窃笑起来。妈妈坚定地把一只手放在我的肩膀上，好像在说：你这样就够了。 “我的侄女朱迪思·安·齐泽尔（Judith Ann Zipzer）是烹饪大赛的一员，”她说。 斯迈利，顺便说一下，他没有笑。 “我把食材都带来了，”朱迪思·安说。 斯迈利低头看了看朱迪思·安提着的手提箱。 “很好，”她说。“我很高兴看到你听从了我们的指示。” “我该去哪儿？”朱迪思·安问。 她的声音听起来有些颤抖，好像很紧张。 这让我很吃惊。前一天晚上，她表现得那么自信，好像她是所有厨师中的女王。

"What are you waiting for, Junior Chef Zipzer?" Ms. Smiley snapped. "The competition is due to begin in five minutes. Our kitchens run like hands on a clock, perfectly on time. Proceed to kitchen station number seven. Ticktock, young lady." Judith Ann picked up her suitcase, dashed across the large room to kitchen station number seven, and quickly started unpacking her vegetables. We followed her. "Junior chefs," Ms. Smiley called out. "Please look on your cutting boards for a printed sheet of our safety rules. You must read it and sign your name, to show that you understand and will follow the rules."

“你还在等什么，初级厨师齐泽尔？”Ms。 笑脸。“比赛五分钟后就要开始了。 我们的厨房就像时钟上的指针，非常准时。 前往七号厨房。 时间到了，小姐。”朱迪思·安拿起她的手提箱，冲过大房间来到七号厨房，迅速打开她的蔬菜。 我们跟着她。“初级厨师。” 斯迈利喊道。“请在砧板上找一份印有我们安全规定的纸。 你必须读它，并签上你的名字，以表明你理解并将遵守规则。”

Judith Ann picked up the paper. She had a funny look on her face. "Henry," she said to me. "Remember, you're my assistant. You have to read me these rules." I picked up the sheet of paper. The words all floated around on the page, like fish swimming in the ocean. "I'm not that good at reading," I said to her. "You'll have to read this yourself." "I don't have time," Judith Ann snapped. "Can't you see I'm preparing my vegetables?" "I'll get Ashley to help," I said. "She's such a good reader, she could read this backward, standing on her head, with one eye closed." Ashley came over and read the rules while Judith Ann set up. "Fine," Judith Ann said. "I agree to everything. Who has a pen I can use?" I reached into my backpack to look for a pen, but all I found was my brown-paper-bag lunch. I pulled it out and handed it to Ashley.

朱迪思·安拿起报纸。 她脸上有一种奇怪的表情。 “亨利，”她对我说。“记住，你是我的助手。 你得把这些规则读给我听。” 我拿起那张纸。 这些字在纸上漂浮着，就像鱼儿在大海里游动一样。 “我不擅长阅读，”我对她说。 “你得自己读。” “我没时间，”朱迪思·安厉声说。 “你没看见我在准备菜吗？”“我去叫艾希礼来帮忙，"我说。 “她是一个很好的读者，她可以倒立着，闭着一只眼睛读这个。” 阿什莉过来读规则，朱迪斯·安准备。 “很好，”朱迪思·安说。“我什么都同意。 谁有笔可以让我用？”我把手伸进背包里想找一支笔，但我只找到了我的棕色纸袋午餐。 我把它拿出来递给阿什莉。

"Hold this and don't eat my lunch," I warned her. "I made it myself." "And that's why I'd never touch it," Ashley said with a laugh. I found the pen at the bottom of the backpack and handed it to Judith Ann, who signed the paper. "Okay," she said, "now we're ready to begin." "We?" I asked. "Yes, Henry. You're my assistant." I sighed, handed Ashley my backpack and lunch bag, and took my place next to Judith Ann. I looked around the room. Eight mini- kitchens were set up. Each one had a stove, an oven, a counter for chopping, and a tiny sink. Stations one through six were already occupied by serious-looking kid chefs. They all looked nervous, but none of them as nervous as Judith Ann.

“拿着这个，别吃我的午餐。”我警告她。 “我自己做的。”“所以我才从来不碰它，"艾希礼笑着说。 我在背包底下找到了那支笔，递给朱迪思·安，她在纸上签了名。 “好了，”她说，“现在我们可以开始了。” “我们?”我问。“是的,亨利。 你是我的助手。”我叹了口气，把我的背包和午餐袋递给阿什利，在朱迪思·安旁边坐下。 我环顾了一下房间。搭建了八个迷你厨房。 每个人都有一个炉子，一个烤箱，一个切菜的柜台和一个小水槽。 1到6号站已经被表情严肃的小厨师占据了。 他们看上去都很紧张，但没有一个人像朱迪思·安那样紧张。

"Hank," she said, her voice sounding very scared, "when the bell rings for the cook-off to start, we have to be a perfect team. You wash. I chop. The end." I looked out into the audience and saw Ashley giving me a thumbs-up. I gave her one back. "Stop clowning around," I heard a stern voice say. "Our chefs are required to have a serious attitude about this competition." I spun around to see Ms. Smiley squinting at me over the top of her glasses. "Oh," I said. "I'm not one of the chefs. I'm just a vegetable washer."

“汉克，”她说，她的声音听起来很害怕，“当烹饪比赛的铃声响起时，我们必须成为一个完美的团队。 你洗。我砍。最后。” 我向观众望去，看到阿什利对我竖起了大拇指。 我还给了她一个。“别胡闹了，”我听到一个严厉的声音说。 “我们的厨师必须对这场比赛持严肃的态度。” 我转过身来，看到斯迈利女士从眼镜上方眯起眼睛看着我。 “哦，”我说。“我不是厨师。 我只是个洗蔬菜的。”