The Lessons Begin:
課程開始了（二）
"Not always, but quite often," said Mike, smiling as he pulled up a chair to sit down next to me.
“並不總是，但經常是這樣的。”邁克說着拉了一張椅子坐在我身邊。
"I asked him if he would teach us to make money," Mike said.
“我問過他願不願意教我們掙錢。”邁克說。
"Oh, and what did he say to that?" I asked with cautious curiosity.
“哦，那他怎麼說？”我急切地問。
"Well, he had a funny look on his face at first, and then he said he would make us an offer."
“嗯，開始時他臉上有一種取笑的表情，然後他說會給我們一個建議。”
"Oh," I said, rocking my chair back against the wall; I sat there perched on two rear legs of the chair.
“噢！”我說着，用兩個椅子後腿撐着，把椅子靠着牆翹起來。
Mike did the same thing.
邁克也學着我這麼做。
"Do you know what the offer is?" I asked.
“會是什麼建議呢？”我又問。
"No, but we'll soon find out."
“不知道，但很快就會清楚了。”邁克說。
Suddenly, Mike's dad burst through the rickety screen door and onto the porch. Mike and I jumped to our feet, not out of respect but because we were startled.
突然，邁克的爸爸推開那扇搖搖晃晃的門走進了門廊，邁克和我跳了起來，不是出於尊敬而是因爲嚇了一跳。
"Ready boys?" Mike's dad asked as he pulled up a chair to sit down with us.
“準備好了嗎，孩子們？”邁克的爸爸問道，隨手拖了把椅子坐到我們旁邊。
We nodded our heads as we pulled our chairs away from the wall to sit in front of him.
我們點着頭，把椅子移到他面前坐下。
He was a big man, about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. My dad was taller, about the same weight, and five years older than Mike's dad. They sort of looked alike, though not of the same ethnic makeup. Maybe their energy was similar.
他也是個大塊頭的男人，大約有6英尺高，200磅重。我爸的個子要更高些，但和他差不多重。我爸比邁克的爸爸大5歲，他們看上去很像同一類人，但氣質有些不同，也許他們的力氣都那麼大，我在想。
"Mike says you want to learn to make money? Is that correct, Robert?"
“邁克說你們想學賺錢，對嗎，羅伯特？”