9 Halftime

Chapter 9 Halftime We all trudged into the locker room like zombies. We were tired. Sore. Dirty. Depressed. It looked more like a hospital than a locker room. Wyatt Hyatt was lying on the floor picking his nose. "I think I'm gonna die," I announced as I plopped down on a bench. "Can we go home now?" asked Neil the nude kid. Coach Hyatt blew her whistle. "Okay," she barked. "Listen up! All you ragamuffins gather around and take a knee." "Take a knee?" I asked. "Why should I take a knee?" "Where do I get a knee to take?" asked Ryan. "And where should I take it?"

我们都像僵尸一样艰难地走进更衣室。 我们都累了。疼。脏了。 抑郁。它看起来更像医院而不是更衣室。 怀亚特·海厄特躺在地板上挖鼻子。 “我想我要死了，”我一屁股坐在长凳上说。 “我们现在可以回家了吗？”裸体小孩尼尔问。 海亚特教练吹响了哨子。 “好吧，”她叫道。“听好了!你们这些衣衫褴褛的人都围过来跪下。” “跪下？”我问。“我为什么要跪下？”“我上哪儿去拿膝盖？”瑞恩问。 “我应该把它带到哪里去呢？”

"What if somebody is using their knee and can't loan it to me?" asked Michael. "I can't take my own knee," said Neil. "I need it. Whose knee should I take?" "Just kneel down, boys," said Coach Hyatt.

“如果有人在用膝盖，却不能借给我怎么办？”迈克尔问。 “我不能用自己的膝盖，”尼尔说。 “我需要它。我该抱谁的膝盖？”“孩子们，跪下吧，”凯悦教练说。

"Oh." "We're only behind by seventy-seven points," the coach told us. "There's still a lot of football to be played. Plenty of time to

“哦。”“我们只落后77分，”教练告诉我们。 “还有很多足球要踢。 有足够的时间

catch up." Everybody groaned "Can't we just forfeit the game, Coach?" I asked. "Forfeit?" Coach Hyatt barked. "When I was your age and my team was behind by seventy-seven points, do you know what I would do?" "What?" we all asked. "I'd build a log cabin with my bare hands." "Why would you do that?" asked Ryan. But Coach Hyatt wasn't listening. She picked up a clipboard and paced back and forth across the locker room. I could tell she was going to give us a pep talk. Coaches always pace back and forth and give you a pep talk when your team is losing. It's the first rule of being a coach. "I want to ask you ragamuffins a

迎头赶上。”每个人都抱怨道：“教练，我们就不能放弃比赛吗？”我问。 “放弃?”凯悦教练吼道。 “我在你这个年纪的时候，我们队落后77分，你知道我会怎么做吗？”“什么？”我们都问。 “我可以徒手盖个小木屋。” “你为什么要这么做？”瑞恩问。 但海亚特教练不听。 她拿起一个剪贴板，在更衣室里来回踱步。 我看得出来她要给我们打气。 当你的球队输球时，教练总是来回踱步，给你打气。 这是当教练的第一条规则。 “我想问你们几个邋遢鬼

question," Coach Hyatt said. "What's a ten-letter word that means 'first president'?" "Washington!" we all shouted. "Right!" The coach wrote something on her clipboard. "What does that have to do with football?" I asked. "Nothing," the coach replied. "I'm working on a crossword puzzle." She started pacing back and forth again. "How many states are there?" she asked. "Fifty!" we all shouted. "Right! And how many cents are in two quarters?" asked Coach Hyatt. "Fifty!" we all shouted. "Right! And what's half of a hundred?" asked Coach Hyatt. "Fifty!" we all shouted. "What does that have to do with

这个问题，”凯悦教练说。 “‘第一任总统’的十个字母的单词是什么？”“华盛顿！”我们都喊道。 “没错!”教练在她的写字板上写了些东西。 “这和足球有什么关系？”我问。 “没什么，”教练回答。 “我在做一个填字游戏。” 她又开始来回踱步。 “有多少个州？”她问。 “五十！”我们都喊道。“正确!两个25美分等于多少？”凯悦教练问。 “五十！”我们都喊道。“正确!半个一百是多少？”凯悦教练问。 “五十！”我们都喊道。“这和……有什么关系？

football?" I asked. "Nothing," she said. "Fifty is my favorite number. The point is, this game is half over. That's fifty percent. So we've got fifty percent left. The Sharks had their half. Now it's time for our half." "But we're getting killed out there, Coach!" Michael said. "Don't worry," Coach Hyatt told us. "I have a plan." A plan? What plan could she possibly have? We were behind by seventy-seven points! "It's time to bring out our secret weapon," Coach Hyatt said. She went over to the locker room door. She put her hand on the doorknob. And you'll never believe in a million hundred years who walked into the door at that moment.

足球吗?”我问。“没什么，”她说。 “50是我最喜欢的数字。 重点是，这场比赛已经结束了一半。 那是百分之五十。所以我们还剩下50% 鲨鱼队得到了他们的一半。 现在该轮到我们那一半了。” “但是我们在外面会被杀的，教练！”迈克尔说。 “别担心，”凯悦教练告诉我们。 “我有个计划。”一个计划吗?她会有什么计划呢？ 我们落后77分！“是时候拿出我们的秘密武器了，”凯悦教练说。 她走到更衣室门口。 她把手放在门把手上。 你永远也不会相信那一刻走进来的是谁。