1 The Truth about Page Twenty-Three

1 The Truth about Page Twenty-Three My name is A.J. and I know what you're thinking. You're thinking about clams. Because that's what I'm thinking about. The other day my mom said I looked like I was happy as a clam. What?! How does she know that clams are happy? I bet there are a lot of sad clams out there. I know that if I was a clam, I'd be sad. Who wants to sit around in the mud all

第二十三页的真相我叫A.J. 我知道你在想什么 你在想蛤蜊。 因为这就是我在想的。 有一天，我妈妈说我看起来很开心。 什么? !她怎么知道蛤蜊是快乐的？ 我打赌外面有很多悲伤的蛤。 我知道如果我是一只蛤蜊，我会很难过。 谁想坐在泥里

day waiting for some walrus to eat you? The point is, it was June 1, and you know what that means. It means the next day would be June 2! June 1 also means that school is almost over for the year. And that means third grade is almost over. YAY!* Boy, third grade sure took a long time! I feel like I've been in third grade for fourteen years. I had just put my backpack in my cubby when our teacher, Mr. Cooper, came flying into the room. And I do mean flying. Mr. Cooper thinks he's a superhero, and he wears a cape. That's weird. As usual, he tripped over somebody's umbrella, fell down, and almost took out a row of desks. "I'm fine!" Mr. Cooper said as he brushed the dirt off his pants. Then, like every day, we pledged the allegiance and did Word of the Day. "Okay," said Mr. Cooper, "turn to

一天等着海象吃掉你吗？ 重点是，那天是6月1日，你知道那意味着什么。 这意味着第二天就是6月2日了！6月1日也意味着这一年的学校几乎结束了。 这意味着三年级就要结束了。 耶!*天啊，三年级花了好长时间！我觉得我已经上了14年的三年级了。 我刚把书包放进小柜子里，我们的老师库珀先生就飞奔进了教室。 我指的是飞行。库珀先生以为自己是超级英雄，还披着斗篷。 这是奇怪的。像往常一样，他被别人的伞绊了一下，摔倒了，差点打翻一排桌子。 “我没事!”库珀先生一边说一边掸掉裤子上的灰尘。 然后，像每天一样，我们宣誓效忠，并做每日一词。 “好吧，”库珀先生说，“开始吧

page twenty-three in your math books." Ugh. I hate math. Why do we need math when we have calculators? I didn't bother getting out my math book or turning to page twenty-three. Why should I? Every time Mr. Cooper tells us to turn to page twenty-three in our math books, there's some interruption. It's always an announcement over the loudspeaker telling us to go to the all-porpoise room or the playground for a surprise assembly. Mr. Cooper has been trying to teach us page twenty-three all year. I'm sure it's some really hard math problem. So I just sat there while everybody else got out their math books. "A.J.," said Mr. Cooper, "why aren't you taking out your math book?" "What's the point?" I replied. "There's gonna be an announcement. You'll see." I looked at the loudspeaker on the wall. There was no announcement.

数学课本的第二十三页。” 啊。我讨厌数学。既然有了计算器，为什么还需要数学？ 我懒得拿出数学书，也懒得翻到第23页。 我为什么要这么做？每次库珀老师叫我们翻到数学课本的第23页时，就会有一些打断。 喇叭里总是放着通告，叫我们去海豚室或操场搞个意外集会。 库珀先生一整年都想教我们第二十三页。 我肯定这是一道非常难的数学题。 所以我就坐在那里，而其他人都拿出了他们的数学书。 “a.j.，”库珀先生说，“你为什么不拿出你的数学书？”“有什么意义？”我回答说。 “会有公告的。 你会看到。”我看着墙上的扩音器。 没有任何声明。

Andrea Young, this annoying girl with curly brown hair, got out her math book and turned to page twenty-three. Ryan, who will eat anything, got out his math book and turned to page twenty-three. Michael, who never ties his shoes, got out his math book and turned to page

安德里亚·杨，这个令人讨厌的棕色卷发女孩，拿出她的数学书，翻到第二十三页。 赖安什么都吃，他拿出他的数学书，翻到第二十三页。 从不系鞋带的迈克尔拿出他的数学书翻到下一页

twenty-three. I waited. And waited. And waited. No announcement! I was starting to get nervous. Neil, who we call the nude kid even though he wears clothes, got out his math book and turned to page twenty-three. Crybaby Emily got out her math book and turned to page twenty-three. Alexia, this girl who rides a skateboard all the time, got out her math book and turned to page twenty-three. Everybody was taking out their math books and turning to page twenty-three. Everybody except me. "A.J.," said Mr. Cooper, "there isn't going to be an announcement this morning. I checked with the office. Please take out your math book and turn to page twenty-three." "No!" I said. Mr. Cooper put his hands on his hips. When a grown-up puts their hands on

23。我等待着。等着。 等着。没有公告!我开始紧张了。 尼尔，我们管他叫裸体小子，尽管他穿着衣服，他拿出数学书翻到23页。 爱哭的艾米丽拿出她的数学书，翻到第二十三页。 亚历克西娅，这个一直玩滑板的女孩，拿出她的数学书，翻到第二十三页。 每个人都拿出数学书，翻到第23页。 除了我。“a.j.，”库珀先生说，“今天上午不会有公告。 我问过办公室了。 请拿出你的数学书，翻到第二十三页。” “不!”我说。库珀先生双手叉腰。 当一个大人把手放在