Chapter 9

Chapter nine There are only two words that could describe the mood in our apartment that night: Dark gray cloud. Okay, that's three words, but you get the idea. The dark gray cloud, also known as Judith Ann Zipzer, was in a major bad mood. From the way she was acting, you would have thought she had lost the cooking competition. "Cheer up, Judy," I said to her as she sat at the kitchen table polishing her vegetables. "You're one of the two finalists." "First of all, Henry," she snapped, "it's not Judy, it's Judith Ann. We've gone over that before. And second of all, my victory means

只有两个词可以形容那晚我们公寓里的心情：乌云密布。 好吧，这是三个词，但你懂的。 这朵深灰色的云，也被称为朱迪思·安·齐泽尔，心情非常糟糕。 从她的表现来看，你会以为她在烹饪比赛中输了。 “振作起来，朱迪，”我对她说，这时她正坐在厨房的桌子旁擦着她的蔬菜。 “你是两名决赛选手之一。” “首先，亨利，”她厉声说，“不是朱迪，是朱迪思·安。 我们之前已经讲过了。 其次，我的胜利意味着

nothing when the other finalist is you—and your peanut butter mess." Ouch. That girl had one sharp tongue. I was never so glad to hear the doorbell ring. I raced out of the kitchen with my ears still burning. It was my grandfather, Papa Pete, at the door. He was wearing the red running suit he always wears on the weekends. Comfort first is his motto. Papa Pete's face was so happy that the mood in the house changed immediately. "Hey, Hankie," he shouted as he came in the door. "Give your grandpa a big hug." Papa Pete is so tall that when he hugs you, he lifts you right off your feet.

当另一个入围者是你和你的花生酱时，什么都没有。” 哎哟。那个女孩说话尖酸刻薄。 听到门铃响，我从来没有这么高兴过。 我冲出厨房，耳朵还在发烫。 站在门口的是我的祖父，皮特爸爸。 他穿着红色的运动服，他总是在周末穿。 舒适第一是他的座右铭。 皮特爸爸的脸是那么高兴，房子里的气氛立刻变了。 “嘿，汉基，”他进门时喊道。 “给你爷爷一个大大的拥抱。” 皮特爸爸太高了，当他拥抱你的时候，他会把你从脚上抱起来。

"I hear you're a champion cook," he said. "Just like me." Papa Pete ran the Crunchy Pickle, which is a deli on Broadway, a block away from our apartment. My mom runs it now. She's into health food and is trying to make luncheon meats good for you. Her specialty is soylami— which is a combination of gray soy stuff and other non-salami type things. It's got everything in it but taste. Papa Pete still works at the sandwich counter at lunchtime and slips real salami into the sandwiches. You always know when someone's eating a Papa Pete sandwich because they're smiling while they're chewing. "Papa Pete, you won't believe what I did," I told him. "My winning dish came to me in a flash." "Your mother told me," he said with a grin. "Lunch in a glass. I love the sound of that." "And if it wins, I could become really famous. First, I'll demonstrate it on TV. And then, every restaurant in New York will have it on the menu. We could even put a sign in front

“我听说你是厨师冠军，”他说。 “就像我一样。”皮特爸爸在百老汇开了一家叫“脆泡菜”的熟食店，离我们的公寓只有一个街区。 现在是我妈妈经营的。她对健康食品很感兴趣，正试图让午餐肉对你有好处。 她的特色菜是大豆——是灰色大豆材料和其他非香肠类材料的组合。 除了味道什么都有。 皮特爸爸仍然在午餐时间在三明治柜台工作，把真正的意大利腊肠塞进三明治里。 你总能看出来有人在吃皮特爸爸三明治因为他们边嚼边笑。 “皮特爸爸，你不会相信我做了什么，”我告诉他。 “我的获奖菜一眨眼就来了。” “你妈妈告诉我的，”他笑着说。 “午餐装在杯子里。我喜欢这个声音。” “如果它赢了，我就会非常出名。 首先，我将在电视上演示它。 然后，纽约的每家餐馆都会把它列在菜单上。 我们甚至可以在前面放个牌子

of the Crunchy Pickle that says 'Home of Hank Zipzer's Famous Lunch in a Glass.' We'll have lines around the block. We'll have to hire our own security guard." "Slow down there, Hankie," Papa Pete said. "You haven't won yet." "Don't tell Judith Ann," I whispered in his ear, "but I really hope I do!" "It'll be our secret," he whispered back. We hooked our pinkie fingers together then pulled them apart. It was our code for keeping a secret. Holding up a brown paper bag he had brought, Papa Pete said a loud voice, "Attention, Zipzer family. I brought dinner.

上面写着“汉克·齐泽尔著名的玻璃午餐之家”。整个街区都会排起长队。 我们得自己雇保安了。” “慢点，汉克，”皮特爸爸说。 “你还没赢呢。”“别告诉朱迪思·安，”我在他耳边低语，“但我真的希望我能告诉他！”“这是我们之间的秘密。”他小声回答。 我们把小指钩在一起，然后把它们分开。 这是我们保守秘密的暗号。 皮特爸爸举起他带来的一个棕色纸袋，大声说：“齐泽尔一家，请注意。 我带了晚餐。

Pickles, potato salad, and sandwiches. Half pastrami, half soylami." "And guess which ones are going to be left over," I said. "I like soylami," Emily said, coming into the room wearing her iguana around her neck like a scarf. "That's because all five of your taste buds are asleep on your tongue," I said. "For your information, the human tongue has between two thousand and eight thousand taste buds," Emily said. "And all of mine are wide awake, thank you very much." "Really? Because I thought I heard them snoring."

泡菜、土豆沙拉和三明治。 一半熏牛肉，一半豆豉。” “猜猜哪些会被剩下。”我说。 “我喜欢豆浆，”艾米丽说着走进房间，她的鬣蜥像围巾一样绕在脖子上。 “那是因为你的五个味蕾都在舌头上睡着了，”我说。 “告诉你，人类的舌头有两千到八千个味蕾，”艾米丽说。 “我所有的人都很清醒，非常感谢你。” “真的吗?因为我觉得我听到他们在打鼾。”

Papa Pete let out one of his great big laughs, the kind that make his whole body shake. "Don't encourage him, Pete," my father said, looking up from his crossword puzzle. "Reward Hank when his grades improve, not for his wisecracks." Papa Pete and my mom took the sandwiches and pickles out of the bag. "Come have dinner with us," my mom called to Judith Ann. "We have a delicious deli sandwich waiting for you." The kitchen door swung open, and Judith Ann stuck her head out. "Congratulations to you!" Papa Pete said to her, reaching out to shake her hand. "I heard you wowed the judges, too. I love a good meatball myself. My secret is lots of garlic. What's yours?" "No meat," she told him. "Oh," Papa Pete said. "I never would have thought of that. Meatless, huh? So I bet you'll pick one of these soylami sandwiches, right?"

皮特爸爸大笑起来，笑得他全身都在颤抖。 “别鼓励他，皮特，”父亲说，从填字游戏中抬起头来。 “当汉克成绩提高时奖励他，而不是他的俏皮话” 皮特爸爸和我妈妈把三明治和泡菜从袋子里拿出来。 “来和我们一起吃晚饭吧，”我妈妈对朱迪思·安喊道。 “我们为你准备了美味的熟食三明治。” 厨房的门开了，朱迪思·安探出头来。 “恭喜你！”皮特爸爸对她说，伸出手和她握手。 “我听说你也让评委们赞叹不已。 我自己也喜欢肉丸。 我的秘诀就是放很多大蒜。 你的是什么?”“没有肉，”她告诉他。 “哦，”皮特爸爸说。“我从来没有想到过这一点。 无肉,嗯?所以我打赌你会选一个豆浆三明治，对吧？”