There were only 15 minutes until lunch. But everyone in Mrs. Stretch's math class was waiting excitedly for the start of Around the World.
离午饭只有15分钟了。但斯特雷奇夫人数学课上的每个人都在兴奋地等待《环游世界》的开始。
Around the World was Eddie's favorite classroom game. He loved racing against a classmate to solve a math problem. Eddie won and lost. But his friend Michael never lost. He was the champion of Around the World. Every week he would go around the classroom winning against everyone.
《环游世界》是埃迪最喜欢的课堂游戏。他喜欢和同学赛跑解决数学问题。埃迪赢过，输过，但他的朋友迈克尔从未输过。他是《环游世界》的冠军。每周，他都会在教室里四处走动，与所有人一决高下。
"Are we all ready?" Mrs. Stretch asked. Everyone nodded.
“我们都准备好了吗？”斯特雷奇太太问。大家都点了点头。
"Then let's begin," said Mrs. Stretch. "Talia, you start."
“那我们开始吧，”斯特雷奇太太说。“塔里亚，你开始吧。”
Talia was new to the class. This would be her first time playing. She jumped up and went over to Eddie's desk. Eddie stood up, too.
塔里亚是新来的。这将是她第一次玩。她跳起来，走到埃迪的桌子前。埃迪也站了起来。
"Twelve times two," said Mrs. Stretch.
“十二乘二，”斯特雷奇太太说。
"Twenty-four!" Talia called out, a second before Eddie could.
“二十四！”塔里亚叫道，比埃迪早了一秒。
Eddie sat down, disappointed but still happy to know the right answer.
埃迪坐了下来，很失望，但仍然很高兴知道正确的答案。
Talia moved on to challenge the next classmate. She seemed unstoppable. Finally, Talia got to Michael.
塔里亚继续挑战下一个同学。她似乎势不可挡。最后，塔里亚找到了迈克尔。
"Eight times twelve," Mrs. Stretch said.
“八乘十二，”斯特雷奇太太说。
"Ninety-six!" shouted Talia first.
“九十六！”塔里亚先喊道。
The class sat shocked, then everyone cheered for Talia, today's champion.
全班震惊地坐着，然后大家为今天的冠军塔里亚欢呼。
"Nice job, Talia," said Mrs. Stretch. "It's time for lunch, everyone. Now line up, please."
“干得好，塔里亚，”斯特雷奇太太说，“大家该吃午饭了。现在请排队。”
Eddie stood to go to lunch. He noticed Michael had his head down on his desk, his face buried in his arms. Eddie walked to Michael and put his hand on his shoulder.
埃迪站起来去吃午饭。他注意到迈克尔低着头坐在桌子上，脸埋在手臂里。埃迪走到迈克尔跟前，把手放在他的肩膀上。
"It's OK to lose," Eddie said. "I lose Around the World all the time. You' re still great at multiplication."
“输也没关系，”埃迪说，“《环游世界》我总是输，你仍然擅长乘法。”
"That's not why I'm upset," Michael said into his arms. "No one likes me. They cheered when I lost."
“这不是我难过的原因，”迈克尔埋着头说，“没人喜欢我。我输了，他们都欢呼起来。”
"You think they cheered against you?" Eddie asked.
“你觉得他们是在为你加油吗？”埃迪问。
" Why else? " Michael said.
“还有其他原因？”迈克尔说。
"I think they cheered because they were too surprised," Eddie said. "You're the champ. Talia had to do her best to beat you. So, people were excited about it."
“我认为他们欢呼是因为他们太惊讶了，”埃迪说，“你是冠军。塔里亚必须尽最大努力打败你。所以，人们对此很兴奋。”
"She is really good at math," Michael agreed.
“她真的很擅长数学，”迈克尔表示赞同。
"And so are you," said Eddie. "You help us all work harder. Because of you, we probably have the best math class in the whole school."
“你也是，”埃迪说，“你帮助我们所有人更努力地学习。因为你，我们可能有全校最好的数学课。”
"Thanks," Michael said. He smiled at Eddie, "Do you want to sit together at lunch?"
“谢谢，”迈克尔说，他笑着对埃迪说：“你想一起吃午饭吗？”
"Sure," said Eddie. "You can quiz me on math problems and help me get better."
“当然，”埃迪说，“你可以在数学问题上测验我，帮助我进步。”
Michael stood up. "Challenge accepted!"
迈克尔站了起来。“接受挑战！”
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