The Lessons Begin:
课程开始了（二）
"Not always, but quite often," said Mike, smiling as he pulled up a chair to sit down next to me.
“并不总是，但经常是这样的。”迈克说着拉了一张椅子坐在我身边。
"I asked him if he would teach us to make money," Mike said.
“我问过他愿不愿意教我们挣钱。”迈克说。
"Oh, and what did he say to that?" I asked with cautious curiosity.
“哦，那他怎么说？”我急切地问。
"Well, he had a funny look on his face at first, and then he said he would make us an offer."
“嗯，开始时他脸上有一种取笑的表情，然后他说会给我们一个建议。”
"Oh," I said, rocking my chair back against the wall; I sat there perched on two rear legs of the chair.
“噢！”我说着，用两个椅子后腿撑着，把椅子靠着墙翘起来。
Mike did the same thing.
迈克也学着我这么做。
"Do you know what the offer is?" I asked.
“会是什么建议呢？”我又问。
"No, but we'll soon find out."
“不知道，但很快就会清楚了。”迈克说。
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，迈克的爸爸推开那扇摇摇晃晃的门走进了门廊，迈克和我跳了起来，不是出于尊敬而是因为吓了一跳。
"Ready boys?" Mike's dad asked as he pulled up a chair to sit down with us.
“准备好了吗，孩子们？”迈克的爸爸问道，随手拖了把椅子坐到我们旁边。
We nodded our heads as we pulled our chairs away from the wall to sit in front of him.
我们点着头，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.
他也是个大块头的男人，大约有6英尺高，200磅重。我爸的个子要更高些，但和他差不多重。我爸比迈克的爸爸大5岁，他们看上去很像同一类人，但气质有些不同，也许他们的力气都那么大，我在想。
"Mike says you want to learn to make money? Is that correct, Robert?"
“迈克说你们想学赚钱，对吗，罗伯特？”