Arthur and the Perfect Brother 第

When the Brain got out of his family's car, Arthur and his parents were waiting in the driveway.
"You're late," said Arthur.
The Brain looked at his watch. "Only by thirty-four seconds."
"Oh, well, it seemed longer."
"Good-bye, Alan," said his mother. "Be good."
The Brain nodded.

Arthur 一家终于等来了 the Brain 。Arthur望眼欲穿，34秒都觉得很漫长。the Brain 也是个严谨的孩子，还真的看了看手表️。

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"Thanks again for having him," she said to Mrs. Read. "Well, we're off to the Ice Creamers' convention. We'll be back late tomorrow afternoon."
"She's nominated for best new flavor," said the Brain's father. "Cucumber Crunch."
"It sounds very healthy," said Mr. Read.

be nominated：被提名
flavor：口味，滋味
Cucumber Crunch：黄瓜脆片

the Brain 的爸爸妈妈忙着出发去参加冰激凌大会。妈妈做的冰激凌被提名为最佳新口味：黄瓜脆片。

crunch形容吃起来嘎吱嘎吱的声音。估计这种冰淇淋是在上面加了脆脆的黄瓜片🥒。

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As the Brain's parents drove off, Arthur turned to him. "Come on! Let's put your stuff in my room."
The Brain nodded. "If you'll excuse us," he said to Arthur's parents.
"Um, yes, of course," said Mr. Read.
"Thank you," said the Brain. He followed Arthur into the house.

the Brain 可太有礼貌啦！Arthur喊他进屋，他还不忘征得叔叔阿姨的同意。

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"I've set up all my action figures," said Arthur as soon as they reached his room. "Take your pick."
"In a minute, Arthur." The Brain carefully unfolded his clothes from his bag.
"What are you doing?"
"Just being careful. I don't want anything to get wrinkled. There. That's better."

action figure：人偶玩具
wrinkle ：皱纹，褶皱

亚瑟摆出他的玩具人偶，迫不及待要一起玩。the Brain 小心地从包里拿出衣服，他可不想把衣服弄皱。（这孩子是处女座吗？）

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The Brain picked up Rat Villain as Pal poked his head in the doorway.
"Look out!" cried Rat Villain. "Beware the giant mad dog!"
Pal barked. Then he jumped on them.
"Down, Pal," said Arthur.

villain ：反派人物
Arthur 家的小狗Pal 进来了，the Brain 拿起布偶坏蛋老鼠，跟小狗玩了起来。

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"How's everything going?" said Mrs. Read. She looked into the room. "We'll be eating in a few minutes. My, my, Alan, don't your clothes look neat?"
Arthur frowned, looking at his dirty laundry that was thrown here and there. "He's just trying to make a good impression."
The Brain smiled. Mrs. Read smiled back. "It's working," she said.

里德太太（Arthur 妈妈）来喊孩子们吃饭，感叹the Brain 干干净净的衣服。Arthur看看自己到处乱扔的脏衣服，不服气地说：“他只是想给人留个好印象罢了。” 妈妈心领神会，“是啊，确实起作用了。” （这里两个孩子形成了鲜明对比，一个整洁干净，一个邋里邋遢。）

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At dinner, Arthur couldn't eat fast enough. He shoved a forkful of food into his mouth with one hand and kept a grip on his glass with the other. The Brain, however, cut everything up with his knife and chewed each bite carefully.
"Careful chewing leads to better digestion," he explained.

shove ：乱塞
grip：紧握
cut up ：切碎
digestion：消化

晚饭时，亚瑟吃得不够快。他一手叉起食物塞进嘴里，一手抓着杯子。同时，the Brain 用餐刀把食物切成小块，一口一口小心地咀嚼着。
“仔细咀嚼可以更好地消化，”他解释说。
（两个孩子餐桌礼仪的对比，Arthur 完败。）

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"I'm done!" Arthur shouted. "Let's go play." He pushed his chair back and jumped up.
But the Brain wasn't finished yet. Several minutes passed before he wiped his mouth with his napkin and turned to Arthur's father. "Dinner was delicious, Mr. Read. May I leave the table?"
Mr. Read shared a glance with Mrs. Read. "Of course, Alan," he said.
The Brain rose slowly and pushed his chair back. Once he was out, though, he tucked the chair back in. Then he cleared his plate and loaded it in the dishwasher.

Arthur吃饱了，他把椅子拉开，跳离了餐桌。
The Brain 几分钟后也吃饱了。他用餐巾纸擦了擦嘴，转头对Arthur爸爸说：“饭菜太好吃了，我现在可以离开吗？” 得到同意后，他慢慢地站起来，把椅子拉开，出来后再把椅子推回原位。然后清理干净自己的盘子，把盘子放到洗碗机里。
（这里又是对比。The Brain餐桌礼仪太好了。）

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"So what do you want to play now?" asked Arthur in the living room.
"Actually," said the Brain, "I was thinking we should do our homework first.
"Why? This is still Saturday. It's not due till Monday."
"But if we do it now," the Brain went on, "we can read ahead to next week's lessons tomorrow."
Arthur nearly fell over in shock. "Next week's lessons?"
"That sounds very sensible, Alan," said Mrs. Read from the kitchen.
"Oh, all right," said Arthur. Doing homework didn't sound like much fun, but Arthur wanted to be a good host.
So he followed the Brain upstairs in silence.

吃完饭该玩了吧？但是the Brain 要先做作业，这样就有时间预习一下下周的课程。Arthur 无奈，只好跟着小伙伴上楼写作业。