7 Now’s the Time

7 Now's THE TIME Jack took a deep breath. Now he fully understood their mission: they must get Doctor Benjamin Franklin to sign the Constitution of the United States. Morgan had written: In Old Philadelphia, A paper must be signed. Help Doctor Ben Make up his mind. Jack looked at Annie to see if she understood. She nodded. "What is everyone arguing about?" Annie asked Ben. "Some want a strong central government,"

现在是杰克深吸一口气的时候了。 现在他完全明白了他们的使命：他们必须让本杰明·富兰克林博士签署美国宪法。 摩根写道：在旧费城，必须签署一份文件。 帮助本医生下定决心。 杰克看着安妮，看她是否明白。 她点了点头。“大家在争论什么？”安妮问本。 “有些人想要一个强大的中央政府，”

said Ben, "and others do not. Some are not even sure democracy can work. Can we trust our citizens to rule themselves? Do we need a king? Will the small states have the same power as the big states? My greatest concern, though, is slavery. We must end it! But I fear that will not happen now." "Oh, that's terrible," said Annie. "Indeed, it is. On the other hand, there is a great need for a central government," said Ben. "We have no way to collect taxes. We have no way to select leaders." Ben took a deep breath. "I have almost lost hope, my friends. I fear we will never be one nation." "Really?" said Jack. "Never?" Ben shook his head. "I just do not see how we can come to a fair agreement." He sighed, then yawned. He closed his eyes. In the next moment, his head fell to the side, and he started to snore. "Oh, man, this is serious," Jack whispered to Annie. "If he doesn't sign the

本说，“而其他人没有。 有些人甚至不确定民主是否可行。 我们能相信我们的公民能自治吗？ 我们需要国王吗？小州会和大州拥有同样的权力吗？ 不过，我最担心的是奴隶制。 我们必须结束它！但恐怕现在不会了。” “哦，那太可怕了，”安妮说。 “的确是这样。另一方面，我们非常需要一个中央政府。” “我们没有办法收税。 我们没有办法选择领导人。” 本深吸了一口气。“朋友们，我几乎失去了希望。 我担心我们永远不会成为一个国家。” “真的吗？”“从来没有?”本摇了摇头。 “我看不出我们如何能达成一个公平的协议。” 他叹了口气，然后打了个哈欠。他闭上了眼睛。 不一会儿，他的头歪向一边，开始打起鼾来。 “哦，伙计，这很严重。”杰克低声对安妮说。 “如果他不签……

Constitution, I'll bet others won't, either. And without the Constitution, our country will never come together." "Let's look at Morgan's note," said Annie. Jack reached into his backpack and pulled out their rhyme. He read the last two stanzas: Listen to his thoughts. If his fears start to grow And he loses all hope, There's a place he must go. 'Tis a land filled with things You see every day. But these everyday wonders Will show him the way. "There's a place he must go," repeated Annie. "Read the last part again." Jack reread the last four lines: 'Tis a land filled with things

宪法，我敢打赌其他人也不会。 没有宪法，我们的国家就永远不会团结起来。” “让我们看看摩根的纸条，”安妮说。 杰克把手伸进背包，拿出他们的押韵诗。 他读了最后两节：听听他的想法。 如果他的恐惧开始增长他失去了所有的希望，他必须去一个地方。 这片土地上到处都是你每天都能看到的东西。 但这些日常的奇迹将为他指明道路。 “他必须去一个地方。”安妮重复道。 “把最后一部分再读一遍。” 杰克重读了最后四行：“这是一片充满各种东西的土地

You see every day. But these everyday wonders Will show him the way. "I get it," said Annie. "Morgan's telling us to take Ben to Frog Creek. To our time." "What?" said Jack. "No!" "Yes!" said Annie. "She says go to a land with things we see every day. That's not America in 1787. That's America in our time." "But we've never taken anyone home with us," said Jack. "Never!" "I know. This will be so cool," said Annie. "We just have to get him up to the tree house." She and Jack looked up. "Impossible," Jack said. "He can't climb the rope ladder." "We have to try," said Annie. She tapped Ben's shoulder. "Excuse me?" she said. "Doctor…?" Ben stirred from his nap. "Yes?" he said.

你每天都看到。但这些日常的奇迹将为他指明道路。 “我明白了，”安妮说。“摩根让我们带本去青蛙溪。 敬我们的时代。”“什么？”杰克说。 “不!”“是的!”安妮说。“她说去一个有我们每天看到的东西的地方。 这不是1787年的美国。 这就是我们这个时代的美国。” “但是我们从来没有带任何人回家过。”杰克说。 “从来没有!”“我知道。这太酷了，”安妮说。 “我们只需要把他抬到树屋上去。” 她和杰克抬起头来。“不可能，”杰克说。 “他爬不上绳梯。” “我们必须试试，”安妮说。 她拍了拍本的肩膀。 “你说什么？”她说。“医生……?”本从午睡中醒来。 “什么事？”他说。

"Sorry, I must have dozed off." "That's okay," said Annie. "Jack and I have a secret to tell you. A really big secret." "Yes?" Ben sat up in his chair. He yawned and shook his head. "Tell me. What is it? I like secrets very much." "There's a tree house in this tree," said Annie. "In this very tree?" said Ben. "Yes," said Annie. "But the big news is that it's magic. It can take you to the past— or to the future." "Goodness. Yes, of course it can," said Ben. He winked at them. "I play games like this with my grandchildren." "Um…this isn't a game," said Jack. "It's real." "Real, indeed," said Ben, nodding. His eyes twinkled. "No, seriously. It's real," said Annie, standing. "You can see a little of the tree

“对不起，我一定是睡着了。” “没关系，”安妮说。 “杰克和我有个秘密要告诉你。 一个非常大的秘密。”“是吗?”本从椅子上坐了起来。 他打了个哈欠，摇了摇头。 “告诉我。这是什么？我非常喜欢秘密。” “这棵树上有一个树屋，”安妮说。 “就在这棵树上吗？”本说。 “是的，”安妮说。“但最重要的是，它很神奇。 它可以带你回到过去，也可以带你去未来。” “善良。是的，当然可以，”本说。 他朝他们眨了眨眼睛。“我和我的孙子们一起玩这样的游戏。” “嗯……这不是游戏，”杰克说。 “这是真实的。”“真的，真的。”本点点头说。 他的眼睛闪闪发光。“不,我是认真的。 这是真的，”安妮站起来说。 “你可以看到树的一小部分

house through the branches. Look up." Ben leaned forward in his chair and looked up. "Oh…yes!" he said. "Goodness, I had no idea. Did Louis build that?" "Um…no," said Jack. Annie pulled the rope ladder out from its hiding place. "So, this is what we have to do," she said. "To get to the tree house, we have to climb this ladder." "Oh, my, do you know how old I am, child?" asked Ben. "You said you were eighty-one," said Annie. "But no one is too old for a little bit of magic." "No, indeed!" said Ben, smiling. "I'm definitely not too old for magic. Let's give it a try!" He stood up and grabbed the rope ladder. "Go slowly, and we'll hold it steady," said Jack.

房子穿过树枝。 查。”本在椅子上向前倾，抬起头来。 “哦……是的！”“天哪，我不知道。 是路易斯造的吗？”“嗯……没有，”杰克说。 安妮把绳梯从藏身处拉了出来。 “所以，这就是我们必须做的，”她说。 “要到树屋去，我们得爬这个梯子。” “哦，天哪，孩子，你知道我多大了吗？”本问。 “你说你81岁了，”安妮说。 “但是，再老的人也能施展一点魔法。” “不，真的！”本笑着说。 “我还没老到不能用魔法。 让我们试一试！”他站起来抓住绳梯。 “慢慢走，我们会稳住它的。”杰克说。