8 Run for Your Lives!

8 RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! It was still hot and muggy in the Frog Creek woods. Jack and Annie were wearing their own clothes again. Ben's clothes hadn't changed. He had on the same outfit he'd worn in Old Philadelphia—from his white ruffled collar to his buckle shoes. "What…what happened?" he asked Jack and Annie. He looked a bit dazed. "Where are we? What are you wearing?" "These are the clothes we wear in our time, in 2019," said Annie. "The tree house brought you to our time and our hometown —Frog Creek, Pennsylvania." "I—I don't understand," said Ben. He

快逃命吧！青蛙溪的树林里仍然闷热。 杰克和安妮又穿上了自己的衣服。 本的衣服没有换。 他穿着他在老费城时穿的那套衣服——从白色的褶边领子到带扣的鞋子。 “怎么……发生了什么事？”他问杰克和安妮。 他看起来有点茫然。“我们在哪儿？” 你穿的是什么？”“这些是我们这个时代，2019年穿的衣服，”安妮说。 “树屋把你带到了我们的时代和我们的家乡——宾夕法尼亚州的青蛙溪。” “我——我不明白，”本说。 他

seemed to have difficulty breathing. "Try to relax," Annie said softly. "I promise you're safe." Ben closed his eyes. His breathing slowly returned to normal. "All right, I feel better now," he said. Ben reached out the window and plucked a leaf from a branch of the oak tree. "Well, this is real," he said. "But it is all very strange. I wonder what science would have to say about this." "I think we have to forget about science for now," said Jack. "Think of your journey to the future as a—" "A big mystery," said Annie. "A big mystery," Ben whispered. "Yes. There are many things science cannot explain. Time itself is a mystery." "Exactly," said Jack. "Time is a mystery." Ben shook his head. He looked troubled. Then he clapped his hands. "So be it! Time is a mystery!" He grinned. "Show me my future

似乎呼吸困难。 “试着放松，”安妮轻声说。 “我保证你很安全。”本闭上了眼睛。 他的呼吸慢慢恢复正常。 “好了，我现在感觉好多了，”他说。 本伸出窗户，从橡树的树枝上摘下一片叶子。 “嗯，这是真的，”他说。 “但这一切都很奇怪。 我想知道科学对此会怎么说。” “我认为我们现在必须忘掉科学，”杰克说。 “把你的未来之旅想象成一个——”“一个很大的谜，”安妮说。 “一个大谜团，”本低声说。 “是的。有许多事情科学无法解释。 时间本身就是一个谜。” “没错，”杰克说。“时间是个谜。” 本摇了摇头。他看上去很烦恼。 然后他拍了拍手。 “那就这样吧！时间是个谜！”他咧嘴一笑。 “让我看看我的未来

country!" "Okay!" said Jack, relieved. "We'll go first and hold the ladder for you again." Jack and Annie hurried down the rope ladder. Annie carried Ben's walking stick under her arm. Then she and Jack held the ladder steady for Ben. Ben climbed down slowly. When he reached the ground, he looked around with amazement. "Ready to take a walk?" said Annie. "Yes, yes!" said Ben. "Lead the way!" Annie handed Ben his walking stick. Then they all started through the woods. As they walked, Ben smiled at the trees and birds. "Maple, oak, beech, robin, wren, woodpecker," he said. "No different from the ones at home…" Jack stopped at the edge of the woods. "Okay. Some things outside the woods will be different," he said to Ben. "I just want to warn you."

国家!”“好吧！”杰克松了一口气。 “我们先去，再帮你扶梯子。” 杰克和安妮匆忙走下绳梯。 安妮腋下夹着本的手杖。 然后，她和杰克扶稳梯子给本。 本慢慢地爬了下来。当他到达地面时，他惊奇地环顾四周。 “准备好去散步了吗？”安妮说。 “是的，是的！”本说。“带路吧！”安妮把他的手杖递给本。 然后他们开始穿过树林。 他们走着，本对着树和鸟微笑。 “枫树、橡树、山毛榉、知更鸟、鹪鹩、啄木鸟，”他说。 “和家里的没什么不同……”杰克在树林边停了下来。 “好吧。树林外的一些东西会不一样，”他对本说。 “我只是想警告你。”

"Don't be afraid," said Annie. "Oh, my dear, I have been all over the world," Ben said. "I have lived in France and England. I have spent time with kings and queens. I even helped fight a revolution. I fear nothing." "Great. Let's go," said Jack. He and Annie led Ben out of the woods. "What is that?" said Ben, startled. He pointed his walking stick at the road. "Your roadway—it is smooth and black!" "It's paved with asphalt," said Jack. Ben stooped to feel the road. "Oh, my…so flat and clean!" he said. "Yeah, I guess," said Jack. He'd never thought much about a smoothly paved road. But at this moment, it did seem special, compared to the dirty, bumpy cobblestone streets in Ben's city. A green station wagon came around the corner. The driver honked her horn.

“别害怕，”安妮说。 “哦，亲爱的，我已经走遍了世界，”本说。 “我在法国和英国都住过。 我曾与国王和王后相处过。 我甚至还参与了一场革命。 我什么都不怕。”“好了。我们走吧，”杰克说。 他和安妮把本带出了树林。 “那是什么？”本吃惊地说。 他用手杖指着路。 “你的路——又光滑又黑！”“这是用沥青铺的，”杰克说。 本弯下腰去摸摸路。 “哦，天哪……这么平，这么干净！” “是的，我想，”杰克说。 他从来没有想过平坦的道路。 但此时此刻，与本所在城市肮脏、颠簸的鹅卵石街道相比，它确实显得很特别。 一辆绿色的旅行车从拐角处开了过来。 司机按响了喇叭。

"Ahhh!" Ben said, jumping back. He stared after the car as it drove down the road. "What—what was that?" "A car," said Annie. "Cars are like carts and buggies," Jack said quickly, "except they have engines instead of horses. They move much faster." "They won't hurt you," said Annie, "if you don't step into the street in front of them."

“啊!”本说着，跳了回去。 汽车在路上行驶时，他紧盯着它。 “那是什么？”“一辆汽车，”安妮说。 “汽车就像大车和四轮马车，”杰克很快地说，“只不过它们用的是发动机而不是马。 它们移动得更快。”“它们不会伤害你的，”安妮说，“如果你不在它们前面走到街上的话。”

Ben pulled out his handkerchief. "Oh my goodness. All right…," he murmured, wiping his face. "That was truly amazing." "It's pretty ordinary to us," said Annie. "Really?" said Ben. "Then let us proceed." They started up the sidewalk. Jack was relieved that Frog Creek was an old- fashioned-looking town. Most houses were not that different from the ones in Ben's time. But Ben pointed to a sprinkler spraying a lawn. "What is that?" he said. "It waters the grass," said Jack. "Ah," said Ben. He pointed at the power lines alongside the road. "I don't understand —why are your clotheslines so high?" Annie laughed. "Those aren't clotheslines! They're power lines and telephone lines," she said. "The power lines carry electricity into all the buildings," said Jack. "And—"

本掏出手帕。 “哦，我的天哪。好吧……”他擦着脸喃喃地说。 “这真是太神奇了。”“这对我们来说很平常，”安妮说。 “真的吗？”本说。“那么我们继续吧。” 他们开始走上人行道。 杰克松了一口气，因为青蛙溪是个看起来很老式的小镇。 大多数房子与本那个时代的房子并没有太大的不同。 但本指了指正在喷洒草坪的洒水器。 “那是什么？”他说。“它给草浇水，”杰克说。 “啊，”本说。他指着路边的电线。 “我不明白——为什么你的晾衣绳这么高？”安妮笑了。 “那些不是晾衣绳！”它们是电线和电话线。” “电线把电输送到所有的建筑物里，”杰克说。 “,”