12 Sad, Sad News

Chapter 12 Sad, Sad News I couldn't sleep that night. All I could do was think about Mr. Granite. What if he was lying? What if he really came here to take over our planet and turn us into killer zombie robot slaves? Stuff like that happens all the time, you know. I wished I had been able to buy one of those laser beam pens at Staples.

第12章悲伤的消息那天晚上我无法入睡。 我唯一能做的就是想着格拉尼特先生。 如果他在撒谎呢？如果他真的是来接管我们的星球把我们变成杀人僵尸机器人奴隶呢？ 这种事经常发生，你知道的。 我真希望我能在史泰博买到那种激光笔。

Maybe Mr. Granite was just pretending to be nice so it would be easier for him to take over the world. Maybe I should tell Mr. Klutz. If I didn't say anything and Mr. Granite took over our planet, it would be all my fault. This was the hardest decision I ever had

也许格拉尼特先生只是假装友善好让他更容易掌控世界。 也许我应该告诉克鲁茨先生。 如果我什么都没说花岗岩先生接管了我们的星球，那就是我的错了。 这是我做过的最艰难的决定

to make. My brain hurt from thinking so much. I was afraid my head was gonna explode. "Did you finish your homework?" my mom asked me on Monday morning. "Homework?" I said. "Aliens from another planet could be attacking at this very second, and you're worried about homework?" Finally, I decided to tell Mr. Klutz what I knew. As soon as I got to school, I marched into his office. He had a machine on his desk. It looked like a little microwave oven. "Hey, check this out, A.J.!" said Mr. Klutz. "It's called the Ultimate Recycler. This gizmo can turn a can into a bottle, or a bottle into a can. So instead of throwing away a bottle, you just turn it into a can. And instead of throwing away a can, you just turn it into a bottle. This will be great for the

让。我想得太多，脑子都痛了。 我怕我的头要爆炸了。 星期一早上，妈妈问我：“你完成作业了吗？” “作业?”我说。“来自另一个星球的外星人可能正在攻击你，你还在担心家庭作业吗？”最后，我决定告诉克鲁茨先生我所知道的。 我一到学校就大步走进他的办公室。 他桌上有一台机器。 它看起来像个小微波炉。 “嘿，看看这个，A.J.!” “它被称为终极回收器。 这个小玩意儿可以把罐子变成瓶子，或者把瓶子变成罐子。 所以不要扔掉瓶子，而是把它变成一个罐子。 而不是扔掉一个罐子，你只是把它变成一个瓶子。 这将是伟大的

environment!" "Why not just take the can or bottle and rinse it out?" I asked. "Then you can use it again." "Hmmmm," said Mr. Klutz. "That's a good idea, A.J. No wonder you're in the gifted and talented program." He picked up the Ultimate Recycler and threw it into the recycling bin. "Mr. Klutz," I said, "I have proof that Mr. Granite is from another planet. I saw him building a spaceship in his garage." "Hmmmmm," Mr. Klutz said. "Well, I have some news for you, A.J. I looked through the Board of Education rule book very carefully, and there is nothing in there that says aliens from other planets can't teach third grade." "So Mr. Granite can stay on Earth if he wants to?"

环境!”“为什么不直接把罐子或瓶子冲洗干净呢？”我问。 “然后你可以再次使用它。” “嗯，”克鲁茨说。“好主意，A.J. 难怪你是天才班的一员。” 他拿起终极回收器，把它扔进了回收箱。 “克鲁茨先生，”我说，“我有证据证明格拉尼特先生来自另一个星球。 我看见他在他的车库里造一艘宇宙飞船。” “嗯，”克鲁茨说。"我有些消息要告诉你，a。j 我非常仔细地看了教育委员会的规则手册，里面没有一条说来自其他星球的外星人不能教三年级。” “那么格拉尼特先生想留在地球上就可以了？”

"That's right," said Mr. Klutz. "In fact, I'll call him in here right now to tell him the good news." Mr. Klutz called Mr. Granite on the intercom. A few minutes later, Mr. Granite came into the office. When he saw me, he looked mad. "It's okay," Mr. Klutz told Mr. Granite. "I know you're from another planet. But I think you're an excellent teacher, and I want you to stay at Ella Mentry School."

“没错，”克鲁茨说。 “事实上，我现在就把他叫来，告诉他这个好消息。” 克鲁茨先生通过对讲机给格拉尼特先生打了电话。 几分钟后，格拉尼特先生走进了办公室。 当他看到我时，他看起来很生气。 “没关系，”克鲁茨对格拉尼特说。 “我知道你来自另一个星球。 但我认为你是一位优秀的老师，我希望你留在艾拉门特里学校。”

Mr. Klutz and Mr. Granite hugged, which was weird. "You are very kind," Mr. Granite said. "But my work here is done. I am ready to return to my home planet of Etinarg. I blast off Friday." "But I thought you said you didn't have any rocket fuel," I said. "I don't need rocket fuel anymore," Mr. Granite told me. "I met with Mr. Docker over the weekend, and he figured out a way to power my spaceship with potatoes." Wow! I knew you could power a car with potatoes. And I knew you could power a computer with potatoes. But how are you going to get a spaceship off the ground with just potato power? "Is that possible?" I asked. "It is," Mr. Granite said. "We're going to microwave the potatoes."

克鲁茨先生和格拉尼特先生拥抱了，这很奇怪。 “你真好，”格拉尼特先生说。 “但我在这里的工作已经完成了。 我准备回到我的母星艾蒂纳尔。 我星期五发射升空。”“但我记得你说过你没有火箭燃料，”我说。 “我不再需要火箭燃料了，”格拉尼特告诉我。 “周末我和多克先生见了面，他想出了一个用土豆给我的飞船提供动力的方法。” 哇!我就知道土豆可以驱动汽车。 我知道你可以用土豆给电脑供电。 但是你怎么用土豆的能量让宇宙飞船离开地面呢？ “这可能吗？”我问。 “是的，”格拉尼特说。 “我们要用微波炉加热土豆。”