4 Flamingo Lagoon

Chapter 4 FLAMINGO LAGOON Jack and Annie stepped off the pier. They walked up a sandy road into a small town. They passed a few small shops: Seaside Gifts, the Green Lizard, the Tortoise Tavern. "This isn't much of a town," said Jack. "It seems pretty empty." "Maybe the active volcano is keeping most tourists away," said Annie. "That's silly," said Jack. "The fisherman said it's completely safe here." "True," said Annie. "But bad news can scare people." "Stop," said Jack. He pointed at a sign marked WILDLIFE TRAIL. "There's the path that the fisherman told us to look for." He and Annie left the road. They walked down a pebble path shaded by tree branches.

第四章火烈鸟泻湖杰克和安妮走下码头。 他们沿着一条沙路走进一个小镇。 他们经过了几家小商店：海滨礼品、绿蜥蜴、乌龟酒馆。 “这不是一个很好的小镇，”杰克说。 “看起来很空。”安妮说：“也许是这座活火山把大多数游客拒之门外了。” “那太愚蠢了，”杰克说。 “渔夫说这里完全安全。” “没错，”安妮说。“但坏消息会吓到人们。” “停，”杰克说。他指着一个标有“野生动物小径”的标志。 “这就是渔夫告诉我们要找的那条路。” 他和安妮离开了大路。 他们沿着一条被树枝遮蔽的卵石小径走下去。

"Oh, wow! A pink iguana!" said Annie. They stopped to look at a huge lizard resting on a branch. The iguana had pale pink skin with dark stripes. "It looks like a tiny dinosaur," said Annie. "The Galápagos are the only place on Earth where pink iguanas live," said Jack. "They've been here about five million years." "I know," said Annie. "Come on, there's the boardwalk over the lagoon," said Jack. He and Annie headed over the raised wooden walkway. As they crossed the murky water, they saw even more wildlife. The dark pond was filled with ducks. Birds were cheeping and flitting everywhere. "Mockingbirds, finches," Jack said. "Herons and flamingos!" said Annie. Blue herons stood in the shallows. A pair of flamingos waded together with slow, graceful steps. They dipped their heads into the water.

“哦,哇!一只粉红色的鬣蜥！”安妮说。 他们停下来看一只躺在树枝上的大蜥蜴。 鬣蜥有浅粉色的皮肤和深色的条纹。 “它看起来像一只小恐龙，”安妮说。 “Galápagos是地球上唯一一个粉红鬣蜥生活的地方，”杰克说。 “它们已经在这里存在了大约500万年。” “我知道，”安妮说。“走吧，泻湖上有一条木板路。”杰克说。 他和安妮走到高高的木栈道上。 当他们穿过浑浊的水域时，他们看到了更多的野生动物。 黑暗的池塘里满是鸭子。 鸟儿叽叽喳喳地飞来飞去。 “反舌鸟，雀，”杰克说。 “苍鹭和火烈鸟！”安妮说。 蓝鹭站在浅滩上。 一对火烈鸟迈着缓慢而优美的步伐一起涉水而行。 他们把头伸进水里。

"They're like dancers taking a bow!" Annie said. She jumped up and down and clapped her hands. "Yay!" she shouted. "Annie, you need to calm down," said Jack. "If you want people to see you as an expert, you can't act like a kid." "Right, sorry," said Annie. Jack and Annie left the boardwalk. They followed a short trail through a dry, mossy forest. The air smelled of mint. Bright-yellow iguanas and long green lizards rested on tree trunks and branches. The whole island

“他们就像跳舞的人在鞠躬！”安妮说。 她跳上跳下，拍着手。 “耶！”她喊道。“安妮，你需要冷静下来，”杰克说。 “如果你想让别人把你当成专家，你就不能表现得像个孩子。” “好的，对不起，”安妮说。 杰克和安妮离开了木板路。 他们沿着一条小路穿过一片干燥、长满青苔的森林。 空气中有薄荷味。亮黄色的鬣蜥和长长的绿色蜥蜴栖息在树干和树枝上。 整个岛

seemed alive with amazing creatures. The forest soon opened into a clearing. A one-story wooden building was bathed in sunlight. It had a thatched roof and a yard with fencing. A sign said: GIANT TORTOISE CENTER. "That's it!" said Annie. "A turtle expert's dream!" "Right, but when we go inside, remember that experts act cool," said Jack. "Cool is boring," murmured Annie. "Yeah, but knowledge isn't," said Jack. "And we have tons of it." As they walked up to the entrance, two white pickup trucks rolled into a parking area near the center. "Oh, brother, it's the tourists from the Galápagos Cruises boat," Jack said. "What's wrong with that?" asked Annie. "I just hope they don't get in our way," Jack said. "Don't worry," said Annie. "We don't even know what we're supposed to do yet." Jack and Annie stepped into the lobby of the Giant Tortoise Center.

似乎充满了神奇的生物。 森林很快就开阔成一片空地。 一座一层的木制建筑沐浴在阳光下。 它有一个茅草屋顶和一个有栅栏的院子。 一个牌子上写着：巨龟中心。 “就是这样！”安妮说。“海龟专家的梦想！”“好吧，但是当我们进去的时候，记住专家们都很冷静。”杰克说。 “酷就是无聊，”安妮喃喃地说。 “是的，但知识不是，”杰克说。 “我们有很多。”当他们走到入口处时，两辆白色皮卡车开进了中心附近的一个停车场。 “哦，兄弟，是Galápagos游轮上的游客，”杰克说。 “那有什么不对吗？”安妮问。 “我只希望他们不要妨碍我们，”杰克说。 “别担心，”安妮说。 “我们甚至还不知道我们应该做什么。” 杰克和安妮走进巨龟中心的大厅。

The lobby was filled with wildlife displays and a map of the building and grounds. A tall young woman with a long black ponytail stood at a counter. She wore a green uniform and was quickly making notes as she talked to someone on the phone. "Yes, sir, I understand," she said. "Emergency action was taken earlier today. But now they must try again." What emergency action? Jack wondered. The woman glanced up and saw Jack and Annie. They both pointed to their name badges. The woman's eyes grew wide. "I have to call you right back," she said into the phone. Then she hung up. "Welcome, Jack and Annie!" she said. "I'm Carmen, the only guide at the center right now. No one told me important guests were coming today. Our director should have been here to greet you. But we have an emergency—" Before Carmen could finish, the tourist group from the boat banged through the front door.

大厅里到处都是野生动物展览，还有一幅建筑和场地的地图。 一位留着长长的黑色马尾辫的高个年轻女子站在柜台前。 她穿着绿色制服，一边和别人打电话，一边迅速地做着笔记。 “是的，先生，我明白，”她说。 “今天早些时候采取了紧急行动。 但现在他们必须再试一次。” 什么紧急行动？杰克想知道。 那女人抬起头来，看见了杰克和安妮。 他们都指着自己的胸牌。 女人睁大了眼睛。 “我得马上给你回电话，”她对着电话说。 然后她挂断了电话。“欢迎你们，杰克和安妮！”她说。 “我是卡门，现在是中心唯一的向导。 没人告诉我今天有重要的客人要来。 我们的主任应该来这里迎接你的。 但我们有紧急情况——”卡门还没说完，船上的旅游团就砰地一声从前门进来了。