043 夜间追击

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" I can't believe you're going to be on TV, Ben," Gaby said on the way home from school

加比在放学回家的路上说：“本，我真不敢相信你要上电视了。”

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" You'll be famous!"

“你会出名的！”

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Ben frowned." I don't want to be famous

本皱起眉头。“我不想出名。

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I don't even want to be on Kids' Kitchen Showdown."

我甚至不想参加《儿童厨艺大赛》。”

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After Mr. Icky had picked Ben to be on the TV show, everyone was excited

自从伊奇先生选本参加电视节目后，大家都兴奋极了。

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Winnie had given Ben a big hug." You'll do great!"

温妮给了本一个大大的拥抱。“你一定会很棒的！”

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Other monsters patted him on the back and gave him the claws-up sign

其他小怪物们拍拍他的背，冲他竖起爪子点赞。

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Some monsters even looked a bit jealous

有些小怪物甚至看起来有点嫉妒。

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Gaby was still talking as she and Ben walked along

加比边走边继续说着话。

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" I didn't even know you liked cooking."

“我都不知道你喜欢做饭。”

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" I hate cooking," Ben said." Mr. Icky made a mistake

“我讨厌烹饪，”本说，“伊奇先生搞错了。

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I accidentally made something that tastes good

我只是不小心做出了好吃的东西。

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But that doesn't mean I know what I'm doing."

但这不代表我真的会做菜。”

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" You're being silly," Gaby said

“你别说傻话了，”加比说。

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" You obviously have talent and don't realize it."

“你明明有天赋，自己却没意识到。”

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" Well, I'm not going to win the competition," Ben went on

“反正我赢不了比赛的，”本接着说。

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" The judges are humans

“评委都是人类。

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They're going to choose a human cook — not a monster."

他们会选人类厨师——而不是怪物。”

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That evening Ben sat on his back stoop, trying to distract himself from the cooking show

那天晚上，本坐在后门廊上，想让自己不去想那个烹饪节目。

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He made himself think about possible birthday presents for Winnie

他强迫自己去想该给温妮送什么生日礼物。

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" What do witches like?" he asked himself

“女巫喜欢什么呢？”他自言自语道。

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He thought about Winnie's favorite things

他想起了温妮最喜欢的东西。

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She loved to fly. Maybe she'd like a new broom?

她热爱飞行。也许她会喜欢一把新扫帚？

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Ben pulled out his phone

本掏出了手机。

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He found a website that sold flying brooms

他找到了一个卖飞天扫帚的网站。

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One broom was shaped like a lightning bolt

有一把扫帚的形状像闪电。

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Ben watched a demonstration video

本观看了一段演示视频。

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The broom was so fast, it left a streak of fire across the sky

那把扫帚速度飞快，在天空中留下了一道火痕。

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" Wow!" Ben said." Winnie would love this broom. How much does it cost?"

“哇！”本说，“温妮一定会喜欢这把扫帚。多少钱呢？”

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He scrolled down the page and found the price

他向下滚动页面，找到了价格。

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" Six thousand dollars?" Ben gulped

“六千美元？”本倒吸了口凉气。

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There was no way he could afford that

他根本买不起。

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He looked at some other flying broom websites

他又浏览了其他几个飞天扫帚网站。

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The cheapest broom Ben saw was still too expensive

本看到的最便宜的扫帚，对他来说还是太贵了。

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It was five hundred dollars, and it looked like a piece of junk

要五百美元，而且看起来跟一堆破铜烂铁似的。

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Ben's shoulders slumped, and he put his phone away

本的肩膀耷拉下来，把手机收了起来。

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As Ben brooded, the hedge that ran down the side of his yard shook slightly

本正闷闷不乐时，沿着院子边的那道树篱轻微地抖了一下。

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Something was rustling on the ground

地上有什么东西在窸窸窣窣地响。

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Ben peered over

本凑过去仔细看。

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" Who's there?" he said. There was no answer

“是谁？”他问道。没有回应。

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For a moment the hedge was still

有那么一会儿，树篱一动不动。

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Then it moved again

然后又动了起来。

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" Something is in there," Ben thought

“里面有东西。”本想道。

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He floated over for a closer look

他飘过去想凑近点看。

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He moved some of the leaves out of the way and looked in at the branches

他拨开几片树叶，往枝杈里瞧。

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A pair of glowing eyes stared back at him

一双发亮的眼睛也正盯着他。

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A chill ran down Ben's spine." It's a... a kitten!"

本脊背一阵发凉。“是……是一只小猫咪！”

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Meow! The tiny black kitten leaped out of the hedge and straight toward Ben

喵！小黑猫从树篱里窜出来，径直朝本扑去。

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Ben jumped to the side

本跳到一边。

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The kitten landed on the grass

小猫落在草地上。

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It looked up at Ben and hissed

它抬头看着本，发出嘶嘶声。

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" Oh, boy," Ben said, glancing around

“噢，天哪。”本一边说，一边扫视四周。

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A lot of monsters and humans loved cats

很多怪物和人类都喜爱猫。

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But cats hated ghosts!

但猫讨厌幽灵！

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Ben ran toward his back door with the kitten chasing him all the way

本朝后门跑去，小猫一路紧追不舍。

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" Mom will be furious if this beast gets inside," Ben thought

“要是这头野兽跑进去，妈妈会气疯的。”本想。

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He shot across his backyard

他飞快地穿过自家后院。

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The kitten sprinted behind him, hissing and pouncing at his feet

小猫在他身后猛冲，嘶嘶叫着扑向他的脚。

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Ben floated through his fence and into a neighbor's backyard

本飘过栅栏，进入邻居家的后院。

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He stopped to catch his breath

他停下来喘口气。

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" Whew! I think I lost — "

“呼！我想我甩掉它了——”

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Hiss! Meow! The kitten was on top of the fence

嘶！喵！小猫就蹲在栅栏顶上。

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It leaped down and fell right through Ben

它跳下来，径直穿过了本的身体。

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" Ahh!" Ben dashed through the neighbor's yard and onto the street

“啊！”本冲过邻居的院子，跑到了街上。

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The kitten was still right behind him

小猫还是紧跟在他身后。

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Ben darted upward, flying over the trees

本向上冲去，飞过了树梢。

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Looking down, he saw the kitten

他低头一看，看到了那只小猫。

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It was still hissing at him, but at least it couldn't fly

它还在对他嘶嘶叫，但至少它不会飞。

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With a sigh of relief, Ben flew home

本松了一口气，飞回了家。

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On Wednesday morning Ben was one of the first students to arrive in the cooking classroom

星期三早上，本是第一批到达烹饪教室的学生之一。

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He saw Mr. Icky pulling pots from one of the cabinets

他看到Icky先生正从其中一个柜子里取出锅。

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" Um, Mr. Icky," Ben said." Can I talk to you for a second?"

“嗯，Icky先生，”本说，“能和你聊一会儿吗？”

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Mr. Icky turned around

Icky先生转过身来。

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" Ah, Ben, my master monster chef! What do you need?"

“啊，本，我的怪物大厨！有什么需要吗？”

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Ben put down his books

本放下手中的书本。

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" I don't think I should be on Kids' Kitchen Showdown."

“我觉得我不该参加《儿童厨艺大赛》。”

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" What?" Mr. Icky peered closely at Ben

“什么？” Icky先生凑近了仔细打量着本。

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" I'm not really good at cooking

“我其实不太会做饭。

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I make mistakes all the time

我老是出错。

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If my food turns out well, it's totally by accident."

如果我的菜做得好，那纯属意外。”

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" Nonsense," Mr. Icky said

“胡说，” Icky先生说。

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" You have a natural talent, Ben

“你有天赋的，本。

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And I've already given your name to Mr. Freaky."

而且我已经把你的名字报给Freaky先生了。”

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By now other students were entering the classroom

这时，其他学生也开始走进教室。

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" Good morning, everyone," the teacher called

“大家早上好，”老师喊道。

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" Let's get started."

“我们开始上课吧。”

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After Mr. Icky described the morning's assignment, Mog came over to Ben

Icky先生讲完早上的任务后，Mog走到本身边。

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" Hey, Ben," Mog said." I heard you talking to Mr. Icky

“嘿，本，” Mog说，“我听到你和Icky先生说的话了。

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I know how you can get out of doing the show."

我知道怎么可以不用参加这个节目。”

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" You do?" Ben was doubtful

“真的？” 本将信将疑。

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Mog was a good friend, but he didn't usually have smart ideas

Mog是个好朋友，但他通常没什么聪明的点子。

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Mog leaned in closer." Cook badly today!"

Mog凑近了些：“今天把菜做糟！”