Chapter 1

Brain Trouble

大脑的麻烦

1 "Do you think there are real brains in there?" Violet whispered to her best friend, Pablo. Pablo shivered. "Gross! Did you turn into a zombie or something?" "Maybe I did…." Violet raised her hands overhead and pretended to take a bite out of Pablo's shoulder. They laughed as they waited in line with the rest of their class.

“你认为里面有真正的大脑吗？”维奥莱特悄悄对她最好的朋友巴勃罗说。 巴勃罗颤抖。“恶心!你变成僵尸了还是怎么的？”“也许是吧....” 维奥莱特举起双手，假装要咬巴勃罗的肩膀。 他们和班上其他同学一起排队时笑了起来。

It was brain awareness week at Newburg Elementary, and local college students had organized a brain fair. No one knew exactly what it was—but they heard there would be tons of games and activities. "I wonder if traveling to space messes with your brain," said Pablo, scratching his cheek. "Since there's no gravity and all." "Maybe when you're an astronaut, I'll do some experiments and find out!" Violet replied, tapping the tips of her fingers together.

这是纽堡小学的大脑意识周，当地的大学生组织了一个大脑博览会。 没有人确切地知道它是什么，但他们听说会有大量的游戏和活动。 “我想知道去太空旅行是否会扰乱你的大脑，”巴勃罗搔着脸颊说。 “因为没有重力什么的。” “也许当你成为一名宇航员时，我会做一些实验来找出答案！”维奥莱特回答道，用指尖轻敲着。

"No way!" Pablo laughed, covering his head with his hands. Pablo and Violet had been best friends since first grade. They played on the same soccer team after school. And they both loved to order pickle pizza at the Newburg Diner. But what really made them best friends was how much they both loved science. Pablo was going to become an astronaut. Violet was going to run a lab of her own and study different kinds of diseases. "Okay, students," said Mr. Eng from the front of the line. "It's almost time to go inside." "Yay!" everyone cheered loudly. Mr. Eng removed a pencil from his ear and put it in front of his lips. "Shhhhhh! We are still in the hallway and need to use our indoor voices." The class settled down. But there was a buzz of excitement in the air. Violet was the tallest and tried to peek through the window of the gym door. "All I see are a bunch of fourth and fifth graders who look like they're having fun." She crossed her arms and sighed. "When's it going to be our turn?"

“不可能!”巴勃罗笑了，双手捂着头。 巴勃罗和维奥莱特从一年级起就是最好的朋友。 放学后他们在同一个足球队踢球。 他们都喜欢在纽堡餐厅点泡菜披萨。 但真正让他们成为好朋友的是他们对科学的热爱。 巴勃罗要成为一名宇航员。 维奥莱特打算经营一个自己的实验室，研究不同种类的疾病。 “好了，同学们，”伍启芳站在队伍前面说。 “差不多该进去了。” “耶！”每个人都大声欢呼。 伍启芳从耳朵上取下一支铅笔，放在唇前。 “Shhhhhh !我们还在走廊里，需要用室内的声音。” 全班都安静下来了。但空气中传来一阵兴奋的嗡嗡声。 维奥莱特是最高的，她试图从健身房的窗户往外偷看。 “我看到的都是一群看起来很开心的四、五年级学生。” 她双臂交叉，叹了口气。 “什么时候轮到我们？”

The gym doors opened, and out walked Principal Jenkins. "Good morning, students!" she said. "Good morning, Principal Jenkins!" replied the class. "I hope everyone is ready to learn all about the brain!" She waved the class into the gym with a warm smile. "Come on, Pablo!" Violet grabbed his hand. The gym was packed with different stations. At one, kids were making jiggly brain molds out of Jell-O. On the other side of the gym, a fifth grader was making a toy car move using cables attached

体育馆的门开了，詹金斯校长走了出来。 “早上好，同学们！” “早上好，詹金斯校长！” “我希望每个人都准备好了解大脑的一切！”她带着温暖的微笑挥手示意全班同学进入体育馆。 “加油，巴勃罗！”维奥莱特抓住他的手。 体育馆里挤满了不同的车站。 在一场比赛中，孩子们正在用果冻制作摇摇晃晃的大脑模型。 在体育馆的另一边，一个五年级的学生正在用电线让一个玩具车移动

to his arms. There was also a group of kids watching a cockroach leg dance to the beat of music playing on a cell phone. And at another station, a student wore a cap with a bunch of wires sticking out of it. It looked like they were recording signals from his brain!

抱在怀里。还有一群孩子在看一只蟑螂随着手机播放的音乐跳腿舞。 在另一个车站，一个学生戴着一顶帽子，帽子上插着一堆电线。 他们好像在记录他大脑发出的信号！