Mr. Whitson taught sixth-grade science.
惠特森老师教授六年级的科学。
On the first day of class, he gave us a lecture about a creature called the cattywampus, an ill-adapted（不适应） nocturnal（夜的） animal that was wiped out （灭绝）during the Ice Age. He passed around a skull as he talked. We all took notes and later had a quiz.
第一天上课时，他给我们讲了一种叫卡蒂万波斯的动物，这种动物因为不适应夜间生活在冰河时代灭绝了。他边说边给我们传递观看一个头骨。我们都做了笔记，然后我们进行了一次小测验。
When he returned my paper, I was shocked. There was a big red X through each of my answers. I had failed. There had to be some mistake! I had written down exactly what Mr. Whitson said. Then I realized that everyone in the class had failed. What had happened?
当他把我的作业还给我时，我很震惊。我的每一个答案上都有一个大大的红叉。我没有及格。一定是弄错了！我明明把惠特森先生说的话完全记下来了。然后我注意到班上每个人都不及格。到底怎么回事？
Very simple, Mr. Whitson explained. He had made up all the stuff about the cattywampus. There had never been any such animal. The information in our notes was, therefore, incorrect. Did we expect credit（学分） for incorrect answers?
惠特森先生解释说：很简单。关于卡蒂万波斯的一切都是他编造的。从来没有这样的动物。因此，我们笔记中的信息是不正确的。不正确的答案又怎么会得到分数呢?
Needless to say, we were outraged. What kind of test was this? And what kind of teacher?
不用说，我们很愤怒。这是什么测试? 这是什么老师?
Mr. Whitson said he hoped we would learn something from this experience.
惠特森老师说他希望我们能从这次经历中学到一些东西。
Teachers and textbooks are not infallible（永远正确的）. In fact, no one is.
老师和教科书不是绝对正确的。事实上，没有人是绝对正确的。
He told us not to let our minds go to sleep, and to speak up if we ever thought he or the textbook was wrong.
他告诉我们不要让自己的大脑睡着了，如果我们认为他或课本错了，就大声说出来。
Every class was an adventure with Mr. Whitson. I can still remember some science periods almost from beginning to end.
惠特森老师的每节课都是一次冒险。我仍然还能几乎完全记起一些科学课的内容。
We carried our brand-new skepticism（怀疑的态度） into all our classes.
我们带着全新的怀疑的态度进入了课堂。
If I'm ever asked to propose a solution to the problems in our schools, it will be Mr. Whitson. I haven't made any great scientific discoveries, but Mr. Whitson's class gave me and my classmates something just as important: the courage to look people in the eye and tell them they are wrong. He also showed us that you can have fun doing it.
如果有人会让我对我们学校的问题提出解决方案，那这个人一定是惠特森老师。我没有任何伟大的科学发现，但惠特森老师的课给了我和同学们同样重要的东西：正视别人的眼睛，告诉他们他们错了的勇气。他还让我们知道上课也可以玩得很开心。
生词nocturnal /nɑːkˈtɜːrnl/ 夜的
infallible /ɪnˈfæləbl/ 绝对正确的
wipe out 灭绝的；精疲力尽的