06 Grasshopper Attack?

Chapter 6. Grasshopper Attack? Inside the lamp -lit hut, it was dry and cozy. Jack sat back on his bench. He didn't dare look at Jeb. It's time for our writing lesson now, Miss Neely said. I'm going to give you each a slate and a pen. She handed out the slates. They looked like small blackboards set in wooden frames. Next, she gave everyone a slate pen. Each pen was a thin piece of chalk.

第六章 蝗虫来袭？ 点着灯的小屋里又干燥又暖和。 杰克靠坐在长椅上，不敢看杰布。 “现在该上写字课了。”尼利老师说。 我会给你们每人发一块石板和一支笔。 她把石板块发下去，它们看起来就像嵌在木框里的小黑板。 接着她给每个人发了一支石笔，每支笔都是细细的一截粉笔。

Miss Neely opened the McGuffey Reader. While you were eating your noon meal, I copied a poem from the book, she said. Now I want you to copy it. Miss Neely held her own slateboard up for them all to see. Tis a lesson you should heed, try, try again. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Jack quickly started copying the words. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jeb writing very slowly. It took the older boy a long time just to write the letter T. Jack slowed down too. He didn't want Jeb to think he was showing off.

尼利老师翻开《麦加菲读本》。 “你们吃午饭的时候，我从书里抄了一首诗。”她说。 现在我要你们把它抄下来。 尼利老师举起自己的石板给大家看。 这是你该记牢的道理：努力，再努力一次。 如果一开始没成功，那就努力，再努力一次。 杰克很快就开始抄这些字。 他用眼角余光瞥见杰布写得特别慢。 这个年纪大一点的男孩光是写字母T都花了好长时间。 杰克也放慢了速度，他不想让杰布觉得自己在炫耀。

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Suddenly, loud thumping sounds came from overhead. It sounded as if someone were throwing stones against the roof. Oh no! Grasshopper attack! Screamed Kate. She covered her head. Grasshopper attack! Cried Will. He covered his head too. Be calm everyone! Said Miss Neely. What's a grasshopper attack? What are they talking about? Jack wondered. Even Jeb seemed worried. As Miss Neely started toward the door, he said, don't open it, they'll come in. Has everyone gone crazy? Jack thought. How can grasshoppers hurt anyone? Miss Neely opened the door and looked out. A moment later she stuck her head back in and closed the door. It's all right, she said. It's only hailstones.

突然，头顶传来咚咚的巨响。 听起来就像有人在往屋顶扔石头。 哦不好！ 蝗虫来袭啦！ 凯特尖叫道。 她抱着自己的头。 蝗虫来袭啦！ 威尔大喊道。 他也抱着自己的头。 大家冷静！ 尼利老师说。 蝗虫来袭是什么？ 他们在说什么呀？ 杰克心里纳闷。 就连杰布看起来都很担心。 尼利老师刚要走向门口，他就说：“别开门，它们会进来的。” 大家都疯了吗？ 杰克心想。 蝗虫怎么会伤到人呢？ 尼利老师打开门往外看。 过了一小会儿她把头缩回来，关上了门。 “没事的。”她说。 只是冰雹而已。

What's that? said Annie. Hail stones are small pieces of frozen rain. Sometimes they fall to earth during a thunderstorm. said Miss Neely. Why did Will and Kate yell grasshopper attack? Jack asked. Because last spring grasshoppers did attack us. said Miss Neely. Yes, millions and millions of them came out of the sky. said Will. It looked like a huge shiny cloud. They covered every inch of ground. said Kate. They ate everything. They ate all our crops. said Will. Our turnips and fruit trees and watermelons. They even ate our clothes and bed sheets. said Kate. Yuck! said Annie. Oh man! said Jack. He'd never heard of a grasshopper attack before.

“那是什么？”安妮问。 冰雹是冻住的小颗雨滴。 有时候雷暴天气的时候它们会落到地上。 尼利老师说。 为什么威尔和凯特要喊蝗虫来袭呀？ 杰克问。 因为去年春天蝗虫真的袭击过我们。 尼利老师说。 对呀，密密麻麻几百万只蝗虫从天而降。 威尔说。 看起来就像一大片闪闪发光的乌云。 它们把地面每一寸都盖住了。 凯特说。 它们什么都吃。 把我们所有的庄稼都吃光了。 威尔说。 我们的萝卜、果树还有西瓜都被吃了。 它们连我们的衣服和床单都吃。 凯特说。 “好恶心！”安妮说。 “我的天！”杰克说。 他以前从来没听说过蝗虫来袭这种事。

It was very scary, said Kate. But remember how we replanted and everyone helped everyone else, said Miss Neely. Kate and Will nodded. We must try to hold on to the good memories, Miss Neely said gently, and let go of the bad ones. Yes, ma 'am, said Kate. Everyone was quiet for a moment, then the sound of the hailstones died away. Let's go back to our lesson now, said Miss Neely. They all returned to their writing. Even working as slowly as he could, Jack finished first. He showed his copy of the poem to Miss Neely.

“当时可吓人了。”凯特说。 “但还记得我们后来重新播种，大家都互相帮忙的事对不对？”尼利老师说。 凯特和威尔点了点头。 “我们要尽量留住美好的回忆，”尼利老师温柔地说，“把那些 不好的回忆都忘掉。 “好的，老师。”凯特说。 大家安静了一会儿，然后冰雹的声音渐渐消失了。 “我们现在回去上课吧。”尼利老师说。 大家都回去继续写字。 就算杰克已经尽量放慢速度了，他还是第一个写完的。 他把自己抄好的诗拿给尼利老师看。