9. Rules for Duels

9 Rules for Duels Fighting is wrong. You should never fight. My parents tell me that all the time. My teachers tell me that, too. But what was I supposed to do? Everybody knows what "Three o'clock, in the playground" means. Pee Air was challenging me to a fight. It would look really bad if I backed down. For the rest of the day, I couldn't pay attention to what Mr. Granite was trying to

决斗规则是错误的。 你不应该打架。我父母总是这样告诉我。 我的老师也这么告诉我。 但我该怎么做？ 大家都知道“三点，在操场”是什么意思。 Pee Air向我发起挑战。 如果我让步的话，情况会很糟糕。 在那天剩下的时间里，我无法注意格拉尼特先生在做什么

teach us. All I could think about was the big fight after school. I've never been in a fight before. I didn't really know what to do. "A.J., you're gonna be great," Ryan kept telling me. "Just keep your dukes up. That French pastry is going down." "You are The Man, A.J.," said Michael. Finally, after a million hundred minutes, the clock on our classroom wall said it was three o'clock. BRING! BRING! BRING! Everybody grabbed their backpacks and rushed out to the playground. I mean everybody, even the fifth graders. I guess word got around that there was going to be a big fight after school. When I got out to the playground, Pee Air was waiting for me. All the kids gathered in a big circle around us. Right behind me were my two best friends, Ryan and

教我们。我满脑子想的都是放学后那场大吵。 我从来没打过架。 我真的不知道该怎么办。 “aj，你会很棒的，”瑞恩一直对我说。 “你要振作起来。那个法国糕点要完蛋了。” “你就是那个人，aj，”迈克尔说。 终于，过了一百多分钟，我们教室墙上的钟显示已经三点了。 把!把!把!每个人都抓起书包冲向操场。 我是说所有人，包括五年级的学生。 我猜是有消息说放学后要大吵一架。 当我走到操场时，Pee Air已经在等我了。 所有的孩子都围着我们围成一圈。 在我后面的是我最好的两个朋友，瑞恩和

Michael. I looked at Pee Air. Pee Air looked at me. Then, suddenly, the crowd parted to let somebody through. It was Andrea. "Please don't fight, boys!" she said. "Violence never solved any problems." What did violins have to do with anything? "Back off, Andrea," I yelled to her. "This is between me and Pee Air." "I think you mean Pee Air and me," said Andrea. "You should use correct grammar, Arlo." "Quiet!" I shouted at her. "Can you possibly be more boring?"

迈克尔。我看了看Pee Air。 皮·艾尔看着我。然后，人群突然分开，让一个人通过。 是安德里亚打来的。“请不要打架，孩子们！”她说。 “暴力解决不了任何问题。” 小提琴跟这事有什么关系？ “退后，安德里亚，”我对她喊道。 “这是我和Pee Air之间的事” “我想你是说Pee Air和我，”Andrea说。 “你应该使用正确的语法，阿乐。” “安静!”我对她大喊大叫。 “你还能再无聊一点吗？”

Andrea had distracted me. I had to focus my attention. I looked at Pee Air. Pee Air looked at me. "A.J.," Pee Air said. "I challenge you... to a duel." "Oooooooooo!" everybody ooooooooed. WHAT?!

安德里亚分散了我的注意力。我必须集中注意力。 我看了看Pee Air。皮·艾尔看着我。 “aj，”Pee Air说。“我向你挑战…… 决斗。”“呜——呜——呜！”每个人都呜——呜。 什么? !

I thought we were going to fight. Is duel a French word that means "fight"? I didn't know what he was talking about. Michael and Ryan came over to me. "I saw a duel in a movie once," Michael whispered. "You're supposed to throw a glove on the ground in front of Pee Air." What?! Why would anybody throw a glove on the ground? I didn't even have a glove. It wasn't even that cold outside. Who wears gloves to school when it's not cold out? "Forget the glove," whispered Ryan. "Just keep your dukes up." I turned back to face Pee Air again. "Do you wish to apologize to me, A.J.?" Pee Air asked. "What for?" I said. "You have offended my honor." "Oooooooooo!" everybody ooooooooed.

我还以为我们要吵架呢。 决斗是法语单词，意思是“战斗”吗？ 我不知道他在说什么。 迈克尔和瑞恩过来找我。 “我曾经在一部电影里看到过决斗，”迈克尔低声说。 “你应该把手套扔在Pee Air前面的地上。” 什么? !为什么会有人把手套扔在地上？ 我甚至连手套都没有。 外面甚至没有那么冷。 天不冷的时候谁会戴手套去上学？ “忘了手套吧，”瑞恩小声说。 “别灰心。” 我又转过身来面对着Pee Air。 “你想向我道歉吗，a。j。”皮·艾尔问。 “什么?”我说。“你冒犯了我的名誉。” “呜——呜——呜！”每个人都呜——呜。

"I did not!" I said. "Yes." "No!" "Oui!" "Wee wee!" Pee Air and I went back and forth like that for a while. Finally, Michael leaned over to me. "Next," he whispered, "you're supposed to say, 'Choose your weapon.'" "Weapon?" I asked. "I don't have any weapons. Nobody said anything about fighting with weapons." "That's the rules, A.J.," said Michael. "Duels have rules." "Choose your weapon, Pee Air," I said. "Oooooooooo!" Pee Air looked me in the eye. "I choose... thumbs." "Oooooooooo!"

“我没有！”我说。“是的。” “不!”“是的!”“喂!”我和Pee Air就这样来来回回聊了一会儿。 最后，迈克尔向我俯下身来。 “接下来，”他低声说，“你应该说，‘选择你的武器。“武器?”我问。 “我没有任何武器。 没人说过要用武器打仗。” “这是规则，a.j.，”迈克尔说。 “决斗是有规则的。”“选择你的武器，Pee Air，”我说。 “Oooooooooo !”皮·艾尔看着我的眼睛。 “我选择…笨手笨脚的。”“Oooooooooo !”