Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 If you've never been in a traffic jam in New York City, let me tell you this: It's really loud. Everybody honks their horn at the same time, hoping that the car in front of them will move. But it never does, because it has no place to go, either. We spent fifteen minutes listening to everyone honking at the cement mixer. Papa Pete doesn't believe in honking, but he does believe in shouting. He stuck half his body out the window, trying to explain our situation. "Hey, buddy," he called out to the driver. "I've got hungry teachers waiting. You've got to get a move on." "I'm trying, Pops," the driver said. "Just got to back this buggy up a few more inches so I

如果你从来没有在纽约遇到过交通堵塞，让我告诉你：那里真的很吵。 每个人同时按喇叭，希望前面的车能开动。 但它永远不会，因为它也无处可去。 我们花了15分钟听每个人按水泥搅拌机的喇叭声。 皮特爸爸不喜欢按喇叭，但他喜欢大喊大叫。 他把半个身子伸出窗外，试图解释我们的处境。 “嘿，伙计，”他对司机喊道。 “老师们都饿着肚子等着我。 你必须行动起来。” “我正在努力，老爷子，”司机说。 “我得把车再往后倒几英寸，这样我就。

can make the turn. Oh, and say hi to the teachers for me. My wife is a teacher." By the time we got to PS 87, it was seventeen minutes after four o'clock. I knew that from reading the digital clock on the dashboard in Papa Pete's van. I still can't read a regular clock very well. If you ask me, the little hand isn't so little, and the big hand isn't so big. In other words, they both look the same to me. The Teacher Appreciation Dinner was in the multipurpose room. It's a really good thing it's on the first floor so we didn't have to go up any steps. We were all carrying a lot of stuff. My job was to carry the bowl of potato salad. Ashley had the coleslaw, and Frankie got the easy job of taking the ketchup and mustard bowls. Papa Pete carried the meat platter and Carlos took the cheese platter. "You lead the way, Hankie," Papa Pete said. "We're right behind you."

能转弯。对了，代我向老师问好。 我妻子是一名教师。”当我们到达ps87时，已经是四点十七分了。 我是通过看皮特爸爸货车仪表盘上的数字时钟知道的。 我还是看不懂普通的钟。 如果你问我，我觉得小手并不小，大手也并不大。 换句话说，它们在我看来都是一样的。 教师答谢晚宴在多功能厅举行。 幸好它在一楼，这样我们就不用爬楼梯了。 我们都带了很多东西。 我的工作是端一碗土豆沙拉。 艾希礼端着凉拌卷心菜，弗兰基轻松地端着番茄酱和芥末碗。 皮特爸爸端着肉拼盘，卡洛斯端着奶酪拼盘。 “你带路吧，汉基，”皮特爸爸说。 “我们就在你后面。”

We passed Principal Love's office, the nurse's office, and the bulletin board with the kindergarten class's self-portraits. They all looked like they had arms growing out of their ears. I wanted to laugh, but I stopped myself because I didn't want to take any chances on dropping the potato salad. When we got to the end of the hall, I saw that the doors to the multipurpose room were open. There were lots of teachers inside, sitting on both sides of a long table. They were drinking fruit punch. At one end of the table

我们经过了洛夫校长的办公室，护士的办公室，还有贴着幼儿园小朋友自画像的布告栏。 他们看起来都像耳朵里长出了胳膊。 我想笑，但我忍住了，因为我不想冒掉土豆沙拉的风险。 当我们走到大厅尽头时，我看到多功能厅的门是开着的。 里面有很多老师，坐在一张长桌的两边。 他们在喝果子酒。 在桌子的一端

there were plates all stacked up, looking empty and lonely. As usual, Principal Love was talking, probably giving one of his long, long speeches. I noticed a few of the teachers were yawning, which is what I always do when he talks. "Dinner has arrived," Papa Pete shouted out. "We're here to tickle your taste buds." "Well, bring it in, folks," Principal Love said. "As I always say, put good food and an empty plate together and you get a plateful of good food." No one ever understands what Principal Love says or why he says it, but the teachers were too hungry to care. When they saw us

盘子都堆在一起，看起来空荡荡的，很寂寞。 像往常一样，洛夫校长在讲话，可能是在做他的一篇长篇大论。 我注意到有几个老师在打哈欠，他说话的时候我总是打哈欠。 “晚饭来了，”皮特爸爸喊道。 “我们是来刺激你的味蕾的。” “好吧，把它拿进来，伙计们，”洛夫校长说。 “就像我常说的，把美味的食物和空盘子放在一起，你就会得到满满一盘美味的食物。” 没人明白拉夫校长说了什么，也没人明白他为什么这么说，但老师们太饥渴了，根本不在乎。 当他们看到我们

coming in with all the platters, they burst into applause. It felt great to make them so happy. I looked around the room and saw Ms. Flowers applauding the loudest. She gave me that big Ms. Flowers smile that makes you feel so good. Then she waved. "Hi, Hank," she called out. "Hi, Frankie and Ashley." "Hi, Ms. Flowers," I called back. I should have stopped right there, but I didn't. I took my hand off the bowl of potato salad and waved back at her. Hank, WHAT were you thinking? The bowl of potato salad slipped out of my arms. I tried to catch it in midair to keep it from falling. But that didn't work. In fact, just the opposite happened. My hands hit it like a volleyball, and it sailed even higher into the

他们端着盘子进来，爆发出热烈的掌声。 让他们这么开心的感觉真好。 我环视了一下房间，看到了史密斯女士。 花的掌声最响。 她给了我弗劳尔斯女士的微笑，让你感觉很好。 然后她挥了挥手。“嗨，汉克，”她喊道。 “嗨，弗兰基和艾希礼。”“嗨,女士。 “花。”我回答。我应该就此打住，但我没有。 我把手从那碗土豆沙拉上拿开，朝她挥了挥手。 汉克，你在想什么？ 那碗土豆沙拉从我怀里滑了出来。 我试图在半空中接住它，以免它掉下来。 但这行不通。事实上，情况正好相反。 我的手像打排球一样打它，它飞得更高了

air. We learned in our science unit that whatever goes up, must come down. And I'm here to say, that goes double for potato salad!

空气中。我们在科学课上学到，凡是上升的东西，一定会下降。 我要说的是，土豆沙拉更是如此！