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Welcome to Storyline Online, brought to you by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
欢迎来到《明星为你读绘本》，由SAG-AFTRA基金会为您呈现。
I’m Kyra Sedgwick, and today I’m gonna read Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly
我是凯拉·塞吉维克，今天我为大家朗读的是《维尔玛·格拉奇和超酷的蝴蝶》，
written by Alan Madison and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes.
作者是艾伦·麦迪逊，插画师是凯文·霍克斯。
Velma Gratch was the youngest of the three Gratch sisters.
维尔玛·格拉奇是格拉奇三姐妹中最小的一个。
Frieda, the oldest, had gone through first grade first, followed by Fiona.
最大的弗丽达已经上完了一年级，接着是菲奥娜。
Now it was Velma’s turn.
现在轮到维尔玛了。
The chorus teacher remembered Frieda best because she had a voice like an angel.
合唱团老师对弗丽达印象最深，因为她有天使般的嗓音。
The gym teacher remembered Fiona best because she ran like the devil.
体育老师对菲奥娜印象最深，因为她跑得像魔鬼一样快。
And the first-grade teacher, Mr. Plexipuss, fondly remembered both sisters because of Frieda’s miraculous math and Fiona’s spectacular spelling.
而一年级老师普莱克西普斯先生对两姐妹的印象都很好，因为弗丽达的数学天才和菲奥娜的出色拼写。
Everyone from the class guinea pig to the principal had magnificent memories of the older Gratch girls.
从班里的天竺鼠到校长，所有人都对格拉奇家的大姐二姐有着美好的回忆。
But they could hardly even recall Velma’s name.
但他们几乎连维尔玛的名字都想不起来。
This made Velma feel as if she did not belong in the first grade at all.
这让维尔玛觉得，她好像根本就不属于一年级。
She wanted to curl into a ball and roll right back into kindergarten.
她想要蜷缩成一团，直接滚回幼儿园。
“Of course you belong,” cooed Velma’s mother, trying to cheer her up.
“你当然属于这里，”维尔玛的妈妈轻声安慰道，试图让她振作起来，
“You’ve only just begun. Soon everybody will notice you.”
“你才刚刚入学。很快，每个人都会注意到你。”
Velma couldn’t wait.
维尔玛迫不及待了。
She needed to be noticed—now!
她需要被注意到——立刻！
In chorus she sang loudest so that the teacher could hear her best.
在合唱团中，她唱得最响亮，为了让老师最清楚地听到她。
In gym she ran slowest so that the teacher could see her best.
在体育馆里，她跑得最慢，为了让老师最清楚地看到她。
And in class she refused to read and muddled her math.
在课堂上，她拒绝阅读，还把数学算得一团糟。
Mr. Plexipuss lamented that she was the first Gratch sister ever sent to the principal’s office.
普莱克西普斯老师感叹道，她是第一个被送去校长办公室的格拉奇姐妹。
This brought a small smile to Velma’s lips.
这让维尔玛的嘴角浮现出一丝微笑。
“Littlest Gratch, why are you singing so loudly in chorus and running so slowly in gym?” inquired Principal Crossly.
“最小的格拉奇，你为什么在合唱团唱得那么大声，在体育课上跑得那么慢呢？”克罗斯利校长不耐烦地问道。
“Because,” answered Velma, “I want you to remember me just like you remember Frieda and Fiona.”
“因为，”维尔玛回答道，“我希望你们能记住我，就像记住弗丽达和菲奥娜那样。”
The principal’s owlish eyes opened wide.
校长的眼睛像猫头鹰一样睁得大大的。
“But my dear, those Gratches are remembered for good things.”
“但是亲爱的，那两个格拉奇女孩是因为好事才被记住的。”
Velma’s small smile pretzel-twisted into a full-blown frown.
维尔玛小小的微笑像椒盐卷一样，逐渐扭曲成了紧紧皱起的眉毛。
Science was Velma’s favorite subject.
科学是维尔玛最喜欢的学科。
She had learned many fabulous facts, like how a rainbow is born and why a volcano burps.
她学到了许多奇妙的知识，比如彩虹是如何形成的，还有火山为什么会喷发。
The latest lesson was about butterflies.
最新的一课是关于蝴蝶的。
Mr. Plexipuss explained that a butterfly starts as an egg.
普莱克西普斯老师解释道，蝴蝶最初是一粒卵。
The egg turns into a caterpillar.
卵变成了毛毛虫。
The caterpillar disappears into a chrysalis, which is a little sack, and does not come out until it has changed into a beautiful butterfly.
毛毛虫消失在一个小袋子般的蛹里，直到变成一只美丽的蝴蝶，才会破茧而出。
He called this changing metamorphosis.
他称这种变化为蜕变。
Velma didn’t want to forget this extra-long word, so she repeated it again and again as she walked home.
维尔玛不想忘记这个超长的单词，于是她在回家的路上一遍又一遍地重复这个词。
“Metamorphosis. Metamorphosis. Metamorphosis.”
“蜕变。蜕变。蜕变。”
“Frieda, when you were in first grade, did you study butterflies?”Velma asked her oldest sister.
“弗丽达，你上一年级的时候，学过蝴蝶吗？”维尔玛问大姐。
“No, we learned worms,” Frieda replied.
“没有，我们学了蠕虫。”弗丽达回答道。
“Fiona, when you were in first grade, did you study butterflies?” Velma asked her middle sister.
“菲奥娜，你上一年级的时候，学过蝴蝶吗？”维尔玛问她的二姐。
“No, we found out about frogs,” Fiona stated.
“没有，我们学了青蛙。”菲奥娜说道。
“Well,” said Velma proudly, “we are studying butterflies and...and...metal-more-for-this.”
“哈，”维尔玛自豪地说，“我们正在学蝴蝶。叫……叫……图变。”
“That’s way cool,” Frieda declared, and Fiona bobbled her head in “way cool” agreement.
“好酷啊。”弗丽达说道，菲奥娜也点头表示赞同，认为“确实很酷”。
Velma read everything in the library about butterflies.
维尔玛读了图书馆里所有关于蝴蝶的书。
She discovered that there are 20,000 different kinds—which was a lot.
她发现竟然有两万种不同的蝴蝶，真是太多了。
She adored the ones with colorful names: brown elfin, frosted flasher, sleepy orange.
她特别喜欢那些名字带有色彩的蝴蝶：棕色精灵蝶，白霜闪光蝶，橙色沉睡蝶。
And the ones with funny names: comma, question mark, American snout.
还有那些名字有趣的蝴蝶：弄蝶，问号蝶，美国长吻蝶。
Not to mention the ones with strange names: morpho, painted lady, gossamer-wing.
更别提那些名字古怪的：蓝闪蝶，彩妆女郎蝶，灰蝶。
But her favorite butterfly of all was the orange and black monarch.
但她最喜欢的是橙黑相间的帝王蝶。
When it got cold, all the monarchs would fly south to Mexico to stay warm.
天气变冷时，所有的帝王蝶都会飞往南方，到温暖的墨西哥过冬。
Velma thought this was an amazing coincidence, because last winter vacation she and her family had also flown south to Mexico to stay warm.
维尔玛觉得这真是奇妙的巧合，因为去年寒假，她和家人也飞往南方的墨西哥，去那里过冬。
In science, Mr. Plexipuss announced that they would take a class trip to the Butterfly Conservatory, a place where real butterflies were collected and cared for.
在科学课上，普莱克西普斯老师宣布，他们将进行一次班级旅行，前往蝴蝶保育馆，那里收集并养育着活生生的蝴蝶。
Because Velma didn’t want to forget this extra-long word, she repeated it again and again as she walked home.
因为维尔玛不想忘记这个超长的单词，于是她在回家的路上一遍又一遍地重复着这个词。
“Conservatory. Conservatory. Conservatory.”
“保育馆。保育馆。保育馆。”
“Frieda, did you take a class trip in first grade?” Velma asked her oldest sister.
“弗丽达，你上一年级的时候有过班级旅行吗？”维尔玛问大姐。
“Absolutely. We went to the museum,” Frieda replied.
“当然。我们去了博物馆。”弗丽达回答道。
“Fiona, did you take a class trip in first grade?” Velma asked her middle sister.
“菲奥娜，你上一年级的时候有过班级旅行吗？”维尔玛问二姐。
“Absolutely. We went to the aquarium,” Fiona stated.
“当然。我们去了水族馆。”菲奥娜说道。
“Well,” said Velma proudly, “we’re going to the can..can...can-serve-the-story.”
“嗯，”维尔玛自豪地说，“我们要去宝......宝......宝贝馆。”
“That’s way cool,” Frieda declared, and Fiona bobbled her head in “way cool” agreement.
“太酷了。”弗丽达说，菲奥娜也点着头赞同，表示“太酷了”。
The Butterfly Conservatory was surrounded by fancy flower beds and bedecked with banners of butterflies.
蝴蝶保育馆被精致的花坛环绕，装饰着蝴蝶图案的横幅。
Velma was so excited, her knobby knees wobbled, her spaghetti arms trembled, and her carroty curls shook.
维尔玛非常兴奋，她瘦骨嶙峋的膝盖在发抖，面条般的细胳膊在颤抖，胡萝卜色的卷发也在抖动。
A sharp-nosed woman holding a clipboard introduced herself.
一个尖鼻子的女人手里拿着一块夹板，做了自我介绍。
“I am your tour guide. Inside, a butterfly might land on you. But please don’t touch its wings. Does anyone know why?”
“我是你们的导游。在馆内，蝴蝶可能会落在你身上，但是请不要触碰它的翅膀。有人知道为什么吗？”
Velma’s hand shot up.
维尔玛迅速举手回答。
“Because they’re made of teeny tiny scales that could rub off like dust, and that is not good,” she explained.
“因为翅膀是由非常非常小的鳞片构成的，这些鳞片会像灰尘一样脱落，脱落了就不好了。”维尔玛解释道。
“Precisely,” said the guide. “What’s your name?”
“正是如此，”导游说，“你叫什么名字？”
“I’m Velma, the youngest of the three Gratch sisters.”
“我叫维尔玛，是格拉奇三姐妹中最小的那个。”
“Hmmm, I don’t think I know your sisters,” the guide commented as they entered the rain-forested room.
“嗯，我好像不认识你的姐姐们。”导游边说边和大家走进雨林温室。
It was a magical space slathered in tall trees and tangled vines.
那是一个神奇的空间，被高大的树木和缠绕的藤蔓所覆盖。
Water gurgled over rocks, and butterflies of every variety— giant swallowtails, short-tailed skippers, pygmy blues, and best of all, monarchs— flew up to forever.
水在石头上潺潺流过，各种各样的蝴蝶——巨大的凤蝶、短尾的弄蝶、侏儒蓝蝶，还有最美的帝王蝶——都永不停歇地飞舞着。
