Speedier Than A Meteor

Speedier Than a Meteor, written by Stephen Cosgrove, illustrated by Kevin McCarthy. Focus question, how does Shaq change after he talks with Skimmy?

《比流星还快》 作者：斯蒂芬·科斯格罗夫 绘者：凯文·麦卡锡 思考问题：沙克和斯基米交谈后，发生了什么改变？

I live in Seattle, Washington. I know what you're thinking. You're just like my cousin who came up here from Los Angeles thinking

我住在华盛顿州的西雅图 我知道你在想什么 你就和我从洛杉矶来这里的表亲想得一模一样

I love my name, and at the same time, I hate my name. My mom and dad are big basketball fans, and when I was born, they thought the real Shaq was better than the smell of a new car. About the only things Shaq and I have in common are that we are both black, have the same name, and love basketball. There are a few things that we don't share. He's old, and I am in my nines. He is very tall, and I am very short, even for being in my nines. He is the best basketball player in the world, and I am the worst basketball player in the

我喜欢我的名字，可同时我又讨厌我的名字 我的爸爸妈妈都是超级篮球迷，我出生的时候，他们觉得真正的沙克比新车的味道还要棒 我和那个沙克仅有的共同点，就是我们都是黑人、同名，而且都热爱篮球 我们还有好多地方并不一样 他年纪很大，而我才九岁 他个子特别高，我却特别矮，哪怕在九岁孩子里我都算矮的 他是全世界最棒的篮球运动员，而我是全……最糟糕的篮球运动员

We usually start playing basketball in late September. Every Saturday, without fail, the Central District's Boys and Girls Club sponsors league play for all age groups. My age group, 9 to 11, is the biggest. As usual, my dad was excited about basketball season. After getting home from the cleaners where he works, and all through dinner, all he talks about is basketball. Most of all, he talks about me playing basketball. I'm his very own personal Shaquille O 'Neal.

我们通常九月下旬开始打篮球 每个周六，中区男孩女孩俱乐部都会办各年龄组联赛，从没间断过 我所在的9-11岁组，人数是最多的 和往常一样，爸爸对篮球赛季兴奋不已 他在洗衣店上班，下班回家后，整顿晚饭聊的全都是篮球 他聊得最多的，就是我打篮球的事 我就是他专属的沙奎尔·奥尼尔

But my dad never figured out that I wasn't very big. At eight years old, I was barely tall enough to look over the kitchen counter. A basketball was almost bigger than I was. But I tried really hard because, like I said, I like basketball. It just didn't start out liking me. My dad would drive me to the Boys and Girls Club at 8 o 'clock every Saturday morning on his way to work. He would stop in at the donut shop and get coffee, hot chocolate, and some glazed donuts. As he slurped his coffee and munched a donut, he would talk about how much fun I was going to have.

可爸爸一直没发现我长得并不高大 八岁的时候，我才刚够高从厨房台面上望过去 一个篮球差不多都比我大了 可我已经非常努力了，就像我说的，我喜欢篮球 只是篮球一开始并不喜欢我 每个周六早上爸爸上班，都会八点开车送我去男孩女孩俱乐部 他会顺路停在甜甜圈店，买咖啡、热巧克力还有几个糖霜甜甜圈 他一边吸溜咖啡啃甜甜圈，一边跟我说我会玩得特别开心

Then, he'd drop me off and I would stand around until they unlocked the doors at 9 o 'clock. Then, I would go inside and stand around until they started choosing teams. Then, I would stand around while they chose everybody else. Then, I would stand around being the only one left. Then, somebody would have to pick me. But, Coach, he's too little. Ah, but with Shaquille O 'Neal on your team, you can't help but win. Then, everyone would laugh, the team would pick me, and everyone would make fun of me because of my name and my size. Then, I would sit around while all the other kids played basketball.

然后他放下我就走，我就一直站着，等到九点俱乐部开门 然后我走进里面，又站着等他们开始选队伍 然后我还是站着，看着他们选走了所有人 然后我依旧站着，成了唯一一个没被选的孩子 最后，总有人不得不选我 可是教练，他太小了 啊，队伍里有沙奎尔·奥尼尔，你不可能不赢呀 然后所有人都笑了，队伍虽然选了我，大家却都因为我的名字和个子取笑我 然后我就一直坐着，看其他所有孩子打篮球