The Fizzy Wizard
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
It was the week after Easter, and Mike McCarthy had a chocolate egg in his lunch.
是复活节后一周,迈克·麦卡锡在午餐中吃到一粒巧克力蛋.
From several feet down the cafeteria table, his classmate River eyed it longingly.
从几英尺高的餐厅桌下,他的同学 河眼长相.
“Your mom packs candy in your lunch?”
"你妈妈在你的午餐里包装糖果? “
River asked.
河问.
“My dad, actually,” Mike said.
“实际上,我爸爸,”迈克说。
“Sometimes, after holidays and stuff.
“有时,在节假日之后。
You know.”
你知道吗? “
River shook his head.
河摇起头来.
“I don’t know,” he sighed.
“我不知道,”他叹息道。
River was one of those poor, deprived kids whose parents never let them have sugar.
River是那些穷困的孩子之一 他们的父母从来不让他们吃糖。
Mike peeled away the pink foil from his egg.
迈克从蛋上剥去粉色的花果
He didn’t want to torment River, but even under the cafeteria lights the chocolate gleamed warmly.
他不想折磨River,
“I’ll give you a quarter for that egg,” River said.
River说,
“Cheapskate,” said Derek.
德里克说,“Cheapskate”。
He was Mike’s best friend.
他是迈克最好的朋友。
“Done,” said Mike.
迈克说,“提出”。
River dug in his pockets, but in the end he could only bring up seventeen cents.
河从口袋里挖出 但最后他只能提17分钱
“I’ll pay you the rest tomorrow,” River promised.
" 我明天会付给你剩下的钱, " 里弗答应的。
Derek’s eyes gleamed with sudden interest.
德里克的眼睛突然闪烁,
“Hold on,” he said, producing a dollar bill.
他说,“等等,”制作了一美元账单。
“I’ll pay you one dollar right here and now.”
「我现在就在这里给你一美元。 “
Mike knew Derek didn’t really want the chocolate egg because he knew Derek was a chocolate snob.
Mike知道Derek并不真正想要巧克力蛋,
Derek would probably say the chocolate egg tasted like wax.
德里克可能会说巧克力蛋味道像蜡.
But behind the dollar bill, Derek eyed Mike slyly, and Mike understood what his friend was doing: he was trying to drive up the price.
但是在美元帐单后面 德里克眼 迈克狡猾地,而迈克也明白他的朋友在做什么:他试图把价格推高.
It was working.
工作顺利
River looked desperate now.
River看起来很绝望
“I’ll pay you a dollar tomorrow,” he promised.
“我明天会给你一美元,”他答应的。
“Nah,” Mike said, handing him the egg.
“Nah,”迈克说,把鸡蛋交给他。
“We’re good.”
“我们很好。 “
At recess, Derek reached over and shook Mike’s hand.
休庭时,德里克伸手与迈克握手.
“Well played,” he said.
他说,“打得好”。
“The old ‘first one is free’ tactic, am I right?”
" 旧的`第一是自由'战术,我说得对吗? “
“Not really,” Mike said, “unless you consider seventeen cents free.”
Mike说,“除非你认为17分钱是免费的。 “
“Pretty much,” Derek said.
德里克说,“非常漂亮”。
“Besides, now he’s hooked and you’ve got him exactly where you want him.
“此外,他现在上钩了,你把他带到你想要的地方。
Think how much money you could make if you doubled your asking price.”
想想如果你把价钱翻了一番 能赚多少钱? “
Mike shook his head.
迈克摇头了
Almost without thinking, he said, “I can’t price out my customer base.”
他几乎不计其数地说,“我不能为我的客户群体定价。 “
Mike’s feet stopped so suddenly that he nearly tripped over them.
迈克的脚突然停了下来,
Thunderstruck, his mouth fell open.
雷克 他的嘴开着
Customer base?
客户基地?
What customer base?
什么客户基础?
What customers?
什么顾客?
What product?
什么产品?
In that moment, Mike knew the answer to all three.
在那一刻,迈克知道三个人的答案.
Thanks to Derek, he knew at long last what his business would be, and he knew that this time his business would succeed.
多亏了德里克,他终于知道他的生意会是什么,他知道这次他的生意会成功.
“Derek,” Mike said, “you’re a genius.”
“德雷克,”迈克说,“你是一个天才。 “
When Mike got home, he pulled down the bag of foil-covered eggs from the kitchen cupboard.
迈克回家后,从厨房橱柜取出包被打倒了被打倒的被打倒了的鸡蛋.
His mom walked in.
他妈妈走进来了
“Not before dinner,” she said.
她说,“在晚餐之前不行”。
“Oh, I know,” Mike said.
“我知道,”迈克说。
“I was just curious how many of these eggs come in a bag.
“我只是好奇这些鸡蛋有多少放入袋子。
It doesn’t say on the back.”
背面没有写。 “
“About forty.”
“大约四十个。”
“ And how much was the bag?”
“...... 那包多少钱? “
“ About four dollars.”
“...... 大约四块钱。 “
Mike put away the bag and ran upstairs to visit his banker.
迈克把包收好后跑上楼去拜访他的银行家.
“Hey, sis,” he said, hanging in Aster’s doorway.
" 嘿,姐姐, " 他说,挂在Aster的门道上。
“I’m ready for that loan.”
我已准备好贷款。 “
Answer: 10 cents Math Minute If a bag of chocolate eggs costs $4 and contains 40 eggs, how much does each egg in the bag cost?
答复:10分钱 数学分钟 如果一袋巧克力蛋要花4美元,装有40个鸡蛋,包里每个鸡蛋要花多少钱?
Originally, Mike had planned to take out a loan from Aster for twenty-five dollars.
起初,迈克计划从Aster那里取出一笔25美元的贷款.
That amount had seemed like just enough to get a business up and running, but that was before he knew what he’ d be selling.
这笔钱似乎只够做生意,
As it turned out, twenty-five dollars was far more than he needed because the thing Mike ended up selling was so cheap.
结果发现,25美元远超他需要,因为迈克最后卖出的东西太便宜了.
Instead, Mike took out a loan for ten dollars.
相反,迈克拿出了一笔10美元的贷款.
He bought two bags of Easter candy—marshmallow chicks and more chocolate eggs— marked down for quick sale.
他购买了两袋复活节糖果 -- -- marshmallow小鸡和更多的巧克力蛋 -- -- 以快速出售。
His customer base started with River and his sugar-deprived friends.
他的客户基础从里弗和他的糖类匮乏的朋友开始.
Kids might not carry wallets, but everybody seemed to have loose change in their pockets.
孩子们可能不带钱包, 但似乎每个人都有松散的口袋变化。
If they didn’t, nobody seemed to mind loaning a friend a dime.
似乎没人会介意借给朋友一分钱。
Nobody seemed to mind that Easter had come and gone, either.
没人会介意复活节已经来去去
Word spread through the third-grade class like wildfire: Mike’s got candy!
语言传播到三年级 如野火: 迈克有糖果!
Dirt-cheap candy!
烂糖!
The chicks were gone in two days, the eggs in three.
雏鸟两天后就不见了 蛋三天后就不见了
That afternoon, Mike rolled up the second empty bag, stuffed it in his backpack, and whistled on the walk home.
当天下午, 迈克卷起第二个空包,塞入他的背包,并吹口哨到步行回家.
“You’re in a good mood,” said Aster.
Aster说:“你心情很好,
Mike smiled and kept on whistling.
迈克微笑并保持口哨。
“Candy business working out?”
“合作? “
“I’ve got the money to pay back the loan you gave me”—Mike paused—“and the interest.”
“我有钱还你给我的贷款”——迈克暂停了——还有利息。 “
He was trying to sound casual, but his brain was shouting: This is working, this is working, this is actually working!
他试图听起来很随意, 但他的大脑在喊: 这是工作,这是工作,这是实际工作!
Aster fist-bumped him.
阿斯特拳击他。
“You’re on a roll,” she said.
她说, " 你是一个卷子, " 。
“Gonna keep going?”
“继续前进? “
“You know,” Mike said, “I think I might.”
“你知道,”迈克说,“我想我可以。 “
Now that the Easter candy was sold, Mike changed things up.
现在复活节糖果被卖了,迈克改变了事情。
He wanted hard candy, which wouldn’t dry out or grow stale like marshmallows or melt like chocolate.
他想要硬糖,
If the candies were wrapped, they wouldn’t stick together in the Midwest humidity, either.
若糖果被包裹,
He shopped for the best deal and found a big bag of Fizzy Wizzys (128 candies!)
他为了最好的交易而购物,并发现了一袋"发作"(128个糖果!)的大袋"发作.
for four dollars.
四块钱。
Mike stood in the store aisle with a pocket calculator, punching numbers.
迈克站在商店的过道上,拿着口袋计算器,打出数字来.
At that price and quantity, each piece of candy cost him just over three cents.
以这个价格和数量,每块糖果花费他三分多一点钱.
Lost in thought, he stared so hard at the store ceiling that passing shoppers looked up, too, wondering what was up there.
在思索中迷茫了,他如此地凝视着商店的天花板, 路过的店主也抬头, 想知道上面是什么。
“Say I sell these for ten cents apiece,” he muttered feverishly.
他发烧地说,
“I’ d be clearing almost seven cents per candy.
" 我每块糖果要清出近七分钱。
That’s”—he punched more numbers—“almost nine dollars profit.
“几乎有九美元利润。
And that’s net, not gross!”
这是网络,
The numbers were mind-boggling, almost unbelievable.
这些数字令人难以置信。
Mike double-checked his math, but the numbers spoke the truth.
迈克双重检查了他的数学,但数字说出了事实.
Aster spread the word, and soon the second graders were buying from Mike, too.
Aster传播了这个词,很快二年级学生也从Mike那里购买.
Then it was the fourth and fifth graders and even a teacher or two.
之后是四年级和五年级的学生,甚至还有一两个老师.
His business was going gangbusters, ramping up as third grade was winding down.
他的生意是搞黑帮 三年级时暴涨
On a bad day, Mike was selling twenty Fizzy Wizzys; on a good day, he was selling double that.
在一个糟糕的一天,迈克正在卖出20个"Fizzzy Wizzzy";在美好的一天,他正在卖出两倍的这个.
He was clearing twelve dollars a week, and business showed no signs of slowing down.
他一周清12美元 生意没有减速的迹象
The best part, though, was that customers loved his product.
最好的部分是 顾客喜欢他的产品
It made them happy— he made them happy.
这让他们高兴,他让他们高兴。
They’ d even given him a nickname: the Fizzy Wizard.
他们甚至给他取了个绰号,
It was only one year since his business adventures had begun, one year since he’ d been a clueless second grader who didn’t even know the difference between net profit and gross.
他的创业历程只有一年,
Mike looked back now and shook his head in wonder: Imagine not knowing that!
迈克现在回头看,摇头惊奇: 想象一下不知道这一点!
When school let out on the last day, four hundred shouting kids exploded through the front doors like a short, crazed army.
当学校在最后一天放假时,四百个喊叫的孩子像一支短而疯狂的军队一样从前门爆炸.
So when Ruben Aguilar-Green approached Mike and Derek, he seemed to float toward them through a sea of small, noisy heads.
当Ruben Aguilar-Green接近Mike和Derek时, 他似乎朝他们漂去, 穿过一个小而吵闹的海。
“Hey, kid,” Ruben said.
"嘿,孩子,"鲁本说。
“ Are you the one they call the Fizzy Wizard?”
“...... 你是那个叫"发作巫师"的人吗? “
Mike nodded, pleased that his fame had spread so far.
迈克点头,很高兴他的名声传播至今.
Ruben was the coolest kid in school, and Mike—even Derek—had worshipped him for as long as they could remember.
Ruben是学校里最酷的孩子,
“Show me what you got,” Ruben said, and Mike did.
Ruben说,“给我看看你得到了什么,”迈克做了。
Ruben picked two and handed Mike a quarter.
鲁本选了两个,给了迈克四分之一.
“You’re performing a public service,” he said.
他说, " 你在从事公共服务。 "
“Keep the change.”
“保留这一变动。 “
Mike and Derek watched in awed silence as the older boy unwrapped the watermelon Fizzy Wizzy.
迈克和德里克默默地看着那个年长的男孩 解开西瓜的发型
He tucked the candy in his mouth, the wrapper in his pocket, winked, and ambled away.
他把糖果塞入嘴里 口袋里装了包裹 眨了眼 然后闪了
Derek’s tongue worked first.
Derek的舌头首先起作用。
“He’s a national treasure!”
「他是国宝!
Derek called after him.
德里克打电话给他。
Ruben kept walking, but over his shoulder, he gave them a big thumbs-up.
鲁本一直走,但肩上,他给了他们一个大拇指上.