3. Because I Said So

3 Because I Said So That night, my parents called me over to the kitchen table for a big meeting. My dad had a pen and one of those yellow legal pads* in front of him. "We need to make the invitation list for your birthday party, A.J.," said my mom. "Let's start with Grandma and

那天晚上，父母把我叫到厨房的桌子旁开一个重要会议。 我爸爸面前有一支笔和一个黄色的便签本。 “我们需要为你的生日聚会制作邀请名单，aj，”我妈妈说。 “让我们从奶奶和。

Grandpa..." "And Aunt Lucy and Uncle Jerry, of course," my dad said as he wrote their names on his yellow legal pad. I guess you have to invite your relatives to your party. I mean, if it wasn't for your grandparents, your parents wouldn't have been born. And if it wasn't for your parents, you wouldn't have been born. And if you're not born, you don't even get a birthday party. That's why it's called a birthday. "Which of the kids at school do you want to invite?" asked my mom. "Ryan, Michael, and Neil are my best friends," I said. "You can't just have boys at your birthday party, A.J.," my mom told me. "Why not?" I asked. "Because I said so," replied both of

爷爷……”“当然还有露西阿姨和杰瑞叔叔，”爸爸一边说一边在黄色便笺簿上写下他们的名字。 我想你得邀请你的亲戚来参加你的聚会。 我是说，如果不是你的祖父母，你的父母就不会出生。 如果不是你的父母，你就不会出生。 如果你没出生，你连生日派对都没有。 这就是为什么它被称为生日。 “你想邀请学校里的哪个孩子？”妈妈问。 “瑞安、迈克尔和尼尔是我最好的朋友，”我说。 “你的生日派对上不能只有男孩，aj，”我妈妈告诉我。 “为什么不?”我问。“因为我是这么说的。”两人都回答

my parents. Only parents can get away with saying "because I said so." I can't wait until I'm a parent so I can tell my kids "because I said so" and not give them any reason why. "Okay," I said. "I'll invite Alexia too. She's a girl, and she's cool." Dad wrote ALEXIA JUAREZ on his yellow legal pad. "What about Andrea Young?" asked my mom. Ugh! Gross. I didn't want to invite Smarty Pants, Little Miss Perfect, the Human Homework Machine to my birthday party. That try-hard, know-it-all Andrea would ruin all the fun. "A.J., we have to invite Andrea," said my mom.

我的父母。只有父母才会说“因为我这么说”。 我等不及要为人父母了，这样我就可以告诉我的孩子“因为我这么说了”，而不用给他们任何理由。 “好吧，”我说。“我也会邀请亚历克西娅。 她是个女孩，而且很酷。” 爸爸在他的黄色便笺簿上写下了亚历克西娅·华雷斯。 “那安德里亚·杨呢？”妈妈问。 啊!恶心。我不想邀请聪明小裤王，完美小小姐，人类作业机器来参加我的生日派对。 那个自以为是，无所不知的安德里亚会毁了所有的乐趣。 “aj，我们得邀请安德里亚，”我妈妈说。

"Why?" "Because she invited you to her birthday party last year," Mom replied. "So you have to invite her to yours. That's only fair." "No, it's not!" I shouted. "If she invited me to her funeral, would that mean I would have to invite her to my funeral?" "People don't invite each other to their own funerals," my dad told me. "See? That's exactly what I mean!" I said. "If Andrea's mother finds out we had a birthday party and didn't invite Andrea, she'd be very upset," my mom explained. "She and I play tennis together every week." I didn't see what tennis had to do with my birthday party. That didn't

“为什么?”“因为她去年邀请你参加她的生日聚会，”妈妈回答。 “所以你必须邀请她参加你的聚会。 这样才公平。”“不，不是的！”我叫道。 “如果她邀请我参加她的葬礼，是不是意味着我也要邀请她参加我的葬礼？”“人们不会邀请对方参加自己的葬礼，”父亲告诉我。 “看到了吗?我就是这个意思！”我说。 “如果安德里亚的妈妈发现我们办生日派对却没有邀请安德里亚，她会很不高兴的，”我妈妈解释说。 “她和我每周都一起打网球。” 我不明白网球和我的生日聚会有什么关系。 这并没有

make any sense. I looked at my dad with my best puppy-dog face. If I could get him on my side, it would be possible for me to win the argument. Divide and conquer. That's the first rule of winning an argument with your parents. And always put on your best puppy-dog face.

有意义吗？我看着我爸爸，露出我最可爱的小狗脸。 如果我能使他站在我这一边，我就有可能赢得这场争论。 分而治之。这是赢得与父母争吵的第一条规则。 永远摆出你最好的小狗脸。

"A.J., we have to invite Andrea," said my dad. Oh, well. So much for that idea. Dad wrote ANDREA YOUNG on his yellow legal pad. "If we invite Andrea," said my mom, "we have to invite Emily."

“aj，我们得邀请Andrea，”我爸说。 哦,好吧。这个想法到此为止。 爸爸在他的黄色便笺簿上写下了安德里亚·杨。 “如果我们邀请安德里亚，”妈妈说，“我们就得邀请艾米丽。”