4 Girls Named Caramel

CHAPTER 4 Girls Named Caramel Every day, we have a carpool after school: me, Penny, Willa, and Penny's friend Zoey. On Mondays, Mr. G usually picks us up. That's Willa's dad. The "G" stands for "Getter." My parents call Willa "Willa Go-Getter." But this week the carpool schedule was all mixed up. Since my mom was the field-trip chaperone, she came back with us on the bus. Her car was in the parking lot at school and she told Mr. G she would drive us all home.

第四章 名叫焦糖的女孩 每天放学后，我们都有拼车小分队：我、彭妮、薇拉，还有彭妮的朋友佐伊。 周一通常是G先生来接我们。 他是薇拉的爸爸。 “G”是“Getter（行动派）”的缩写。 我爸妈都叫薇拉“行动派薇拉”。 但这周的拼车安排全乱套了。 因为我妈妈是实地考察的随行监护人，所以她和我们一起坐大巴回来的。 她的车停在学校的停车场，她告诉G先生她会开车送我们所有人回家。

That meant Penny and I would get dropped off last. When other parents are driving, Penny and I get dropped off first, because our house is closest. Mom's car has three rows of seats: the front seat, the back seat, and the way back. Everyone likes to sit in the way back because you get to face the other way. You can wave at people in other cars and sometimes they wave back. That day it was Willa's and my turn to have the way back, so Penny and Zoey had to sit in the regular back seat. We got into the car and buckled up. Mom turned the radio on because she likes to have music when she's driving. Mom, Penny, and Zoey started singing along to a song called "Uh-oh." There's a part of the song where you're supposed to snap. Mom never snaps when she's driving because she has to keep

这意味着我和彭妮会是最后被送到家的。 如果是其他家长开车的话，我和彭妮会最先被送到，因为我们家离得最近。 妈妈的车有三排座位：前排、后排，还有最后排。 大家都喜欢坐最后排，因为你可以面朝后面的方向。 你可以朝其他车里的人挥手，有时候他们也会朝你挥手回应。 那天轮到我和薇拉坐最后排，所以彭妮和佐伊只能坐普通的后排座位。 我们上车系好了安全带。 妈妈打开了收音机，因为她开车的时候喜欢听音乐。 妈妈、彭妮和佐伊开始跟着一首叫《哎呀》的歌一起唱。 这首歌里有一段应该打响指的部分。 妈妈开车的时候从不打响指，因为她得一直把

her hands on the wheel. Penny doesn't know how to snap so she claps instead. "I know what my new name is going to be," Willa said as we pulled out of the parking lot. I put my finger to my lips, like the school librarian does when we're getting too noisy. "Shh," I told her. "It's okay," Willa said. "Penny and Zoey aren't listening, and your mom's up front so

手放在方向盘上。 彭妮不会打响指，所以她就用拍手代替。 “我知道我的新名字要叫什么了。”我们驶出停车场的时候，薇拉开口说道。 我把手指放到嘴唇上，就像我们太吵的时候学校图书馆管理员做的那样。 “嘘。”我对她说。 “没关系的。”薇拉说。 “彭妮和佐伊没在听，你妈妈在前面，所以

she can't hear." "You should still whisper, just in case," I said. "I'm going to be Caramel," Willa said. Even though she was whispering I could tell she was excited. "Caramel Getter," Willa said. "Cara for short. Doesn't it sound great?" It did sound great. It sounded better than great. It was just about the best name in the whole world. Why didn't I think of the name Caramel first? I love caramel. I mean, I really LOVE it. It's one of my favorite kinds of candy. They sell caramel at Batts Confections, and sometimes Mom puts a couple of

她听不到的。” “你还是小声点好，万一被听见了呢。”我说。 “我要叫焦糖。”薇拉说。 虽然她是在小声说话 但我能听出来她特别兴奋。 “焦糖·盖特。”薇拉说。 简称卡拉。 听起来是不是很棒？ 听起来确实很棒。 不止是棒，是好得不得了。 这简直是全世界最好听的名字了。 我怎么就没先想到焦糖这个名字呢？ 我超爱焦糖的。 真的，我特别特别爱焦糖。 它是我最喜欢的糖果种类之一。 巴茨糖果店就卖焦糖，有时候妈妈会在我的午餐盒里放几块

pieces in my lunchbox. I have a special way of eating them. I suck on them instead of chewing them, because then they last longer. When we go out for ice cream, Penny always asks for chocolate sauce on top, but I pick caramel. There's even a caramel flavor kind of Stella's Fudge. I'd forgotten all about caramel, but it really was the perfect name for me: Caramel Batts. Cara Batts. Or even Carrie Batts. It was such a great name that it had two nicknames! "It sounds really cool," I said. "I think I'll make that my name too." "You can't be Caramel if I'm already Caramel," Willa said. "Why not? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." "I don't know what you mean," Willa said. "I mean we could be Caramel B and

焦糖。 我吃焦糖有个特别的方法。 我会含着吃，不嚼碎，因为这样能吃更久。 我们出去吃冰淇淋的时候，彭妮总喜欢在上面浇巧克力酱，但我会选焦糖酱。 甚至斯特拉软糖都有焦糖口味的。 我之前完全把焦糖这回事忘了，但它对我来说真的是个完美的名字：焦糖·巴茨。 卡拉·巴茨。 甚至可以叫嘉莉·巴茨。 这个名字太棒了，居然还有两个昵称！ “听起来真的很酷。”我说。 “我觉得我也要叫这个名字。” “我已经叫焦糖了，你不能再叫了。”薇拉说。 “为什么不行？ 模仿是最真诚的赞美呀。” “我不懂你说的是什么意思。”薇拉说。 “我的意思是我们可以叫焦糖B和