Casey Happleton usually sat at the desk next to Marvin. She was absent today.
凯西·哈普尔顿通常坐在马文旁边的课桌。她今天没来。
Marvin was disappointed to see her desk empty. She was a funny girl, and he knew she would have liked “hole day.”
看到她的桌子空着，马文有点失落。她是个有趣的女孩，他知道她会喜欢「破洞日」的。
“I must say,” said Mrs. North, “you are all so well dressed today. I’ve never seen a better-looking group of third graders.”
「我得说，」诺斯太太说，「你们今天都穿得真好。我从没见过比这更好看的一群三年级学生。」
Everybody laughed.
大家都笑了。
“How’d you get a hole in your shirt?” Kenny asked.
「你衬衫上的洞是怎么来的？」肯尼问。
“I was working in my garden,” said Mrs. North. “My shirt got snagged on a thorn from a rosebush.”
「我在花园里干活，」诺斯太太说，「我的衬衫被玫瑰丛的刺勾破了。」
Marvin nodded. He should have guessed.
马文点点头。他本该猜到的。
“We should dress this way all the time,” said Judy Jasper. “That way, nobody would feel bad if their parents were too poor to buy them new clothes.”
「我们应该一直这样穿，」朱迪·贾斯珀说，「那样的话，如果谁的爸妈太穷买不起新衣服，他也不会觉得难过。」
“That’s a good idea,” said Mrs. North.
「这是个好主意，」诺斯太太说。
Marvin thought so, too.
马文也这么觉得。
“And the holes keep you cool on a hot day,” Stuart pointed out.
「而且洞在天热的时候能让你凉快，」斯图尔特指出。
“You’re right,” said Mrs. North.
「你说得对，」诺斯太太说。
Marvin agreed. Holes made perfect sense. He wondered why nobody had thought of it before.
马文同意。有洞完全说得通。他奇怪以前怎么没人想到过。
A child’s voice came over the P.A. system. “Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.”
校园广播里传来一个孩子的声音。「请起立，进行效忠宣誓。」
Every day, a different kid got to lead the school in the pledge.
每天，都有一个不同的孩子带领全校做效忠宣誓。
“That’s Casey!” said Judy Jasper.
「那是凯西！」朱迪·贾斯珀说。
Marvin recognized Casey’s voice as she recited the pledge. She sounded very serious.
凯西背诵誓词时，马文听出了她的声音。她听起来非常严肃。
He put his hand over his heart and said it along with her.
他把手放在胸前，跟她一起念。
When Casey came back to class, she told Mrs. North that Mr. McCabe wanted to see her. Mr. McCabe was the principal.
凯西回到教室后，告诉诺斯太太麦凯布先生要找她。麦凯布先生是校长。
“Did he say why?” Mrs. North asked.
「他说为什么了吗？」诺斯太太问。
Casey shook her head.
凯西摇摇头。
Casey wore a shirt that was way too big for her. Marvin guessed it was her father’s. Not only did it have holes in it, but it also had paint spilled on it.
凯西穿着一件对她来说太大的衬衫。马文猜是她爸爸的。上面不仅有洞，还溅了油漆。
Mrs. North told the class she would be gone for only a minute. She said she expected everyone to behave and to use their time wisely.
诺斯太太告诉全班，她只出去一分钟。她说希望大家都守规矩，好好利用时间。
After she left, Nick said, “I bet you Mrs. North got in trouble for wearing torn clothes!”
她走后，尼克说：「我敢打赌诺斯太太因为穿破衣服挨批了！」
“No, Mr. McCabe is also wearing torn clothes,” said Casey. “I saw his elbow.”
「不，麦凯布先生也穿着破衣服，」凯西说，「我看见他的胳膊肘了。」
“What did it look like?” asked Judy.
「看起来什么样？」朱迪问。
“Pink and bumpy,” said Casey.
「粉红色的，还坑坑洼洼，」凯西说。
Casey had a ponytail that stuck out of the side of her head instead of the back. She sat down next to Marvin. The ponytail was on Marvin’s side. Sometimes, when Casey laughed really hard, her ponytail went around in circles.
凯西扎着马尾辫，辫子从脑袋侧面翘出来，而不是从后面。她在马文旁边坐下。辫子垂在马文这一侧。有时候凯西笑得很厉害时，她的辫子会转圈。
Mrs. North was gone for a lot longer than a minute. When she returned, she had a very strange expression on her face. She looked lost. She opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything.
诺斯太太出去的时间远不止一分钟。她回来时，脸上的表情很奇怪。她看起来茫然而不知所措。她张开嘴，却什么也没说。
“Are you all right?” asked Kenny.
「您没事吧？」肯尼问。
Mrs. North looked at Kenny, but still didn’t say anything. Finally, she spoke. She said, “We are …” then stopped.
诺斯太太看着肯尼，仍然什么都没说。最后，她开口了。她说：「我们……」然后停住了。
She started again. “There will …”
她又开始。「将会……」
That was as far as she got.
就说到这儿。
She tried again. “I expect …”
她又试了一次。「我希望……」
Her mouth shut tight. She tapped her desk with her fist.
她的嘴紧紧闭上。她用拳头敲着讲台。
At last she managed to say a complete sentence. “We are going to have a visitor today.”
最后她终于说出一句完整的话。「我们今天会有一位访客。」
Marvin couldn’t wait to hear who it was. From the way Mrs. North was acting, he thought it must be somebody weird.
马文等不及想知道是谁。从诺斯太太的表现看，他觉得那一定是个怪人。
“Who is it?” asked Warren.
「是谁？」沃伦问。
“Is it somebody I’ve heard of?” asked Nick.
「是我听说过的人吗？」尼克问。
“Oh, I hope so, Nick,” said Mrs. North. Then she took a deep breath and said, “The president will be coming here.”
「哦，我希望是，尼克，」诺斯太太说。然后她深吸一口气说：「总统要来这里。」
Everybody gasped.
大家都倒抽一口气。
Marvin was a little confused. He wasn’t sure which president Mrs. North meant. Did she mean the president of the United States? Or did she mean the president of something else, like the president of a shoe company?
马文有点困惑。他不能确定诺斯太太说的是哪个总统。她说的是美国总统吗？还是别的什么机构的总统，比如一家鞋业公司的总裁？
Marvin’s school was in Maryland. It was less than twenty miles from Washington, D.C. His father worked in Washington, D.C. So it was possible that Mrs. North meant the president of the United States. But why would the president of the United States come to his school?
马文的学校在马里兰州。离华盛顿特区不到二十英里。他爸爸在华盛顿特区工作。所以诺斯太太说的有可能是美国总统。但美国总统为什么会来他的学校？
He raised his hand.
他举起手。
Patsy Gatsby raised her hand, too.
帕齐·盖茨比也举起了手。
“Yes, Patsy,” said Mrs. North.
「帕齐，」诺斯太太说。
“The president of what?” Patsy asked.
「什么总统？」帕齐问。
Mrs. North stared at her as if she thought Patsy was an alien from another planet. “The president of the United States,” she said.
诺斯太太瞪着她，好像觉得帕齐是从另一个星球来的外星人。「美国总统，」她说。
“Duh!” said Travis.
「废话！」特拉维斯说。
Patsy blushed.
帕齐脸红了。
“Sometimes I wonder about you, Patsy,” said Mrs. North.
「有时候我真搞不懂你，帕齐，」诺斯太太说。
“What’d you think? The president of Mexico?” asked Clarence.
「你以为是什么？墨西哥总统？」克拉伦斯问。
Marvin turned red, too, but nobody noticed. He lowered his hand.
马文也脸红了，但没人注意到。他把手放了下来。
“Yes, Marvin, did you have a question?” asked Mrs. North.
「马文，你有问题吗？」诺斯太太问。
He shook his head. “No, I was just stretching.”
他摇摇头。「没事，我只是在伸懒腰。」
Mrs. North explained that even Mr. McCabe hadn’t known the president was coming until ten minutes ago. It had been kept secret for security reasons.
诺斯太太解释说，连麦凯布先生也是十分钟前才知道总统要来。为了安全起见，这件事一直保密。
“Now, I know I don’t have to tell you how to behave when the president gets here,” she said.
「好了，我知道不用告诉你们总统来的时候该怎么表现，」她说。
Then she told everybody how to behave.
然后她告诉了每个人该怎么表现。
“Be respectful. Be attentive. If you get a chance to speak to him, remember to speak loud and clear. You should call him ‘Mr. President.’ ‘Yes, Mr. President.’ ‘Thank you, Mr. President.’ Remember to—”
「要有礼貌。要专心。如果有机会跟他说话，记得说话要大声、清楚。你们应该叫他『总统先生』。『是的，总统先生。』『谢谢您，总统先生。』记得——」
Mrs. North suddenly stopped talking. “Oh, my gosh!” she exclaimed. “I have to change my clothes!”
诺斯太太突然不说了。「我的天！」她叫起来，「我得去换衣服！」