5 Time for Tortoises

Chapter 5 TIME FOR TORTOISES Jack wanted to ask Carmen about the emergency. But the tourists immediately started asking questions. "Excuse me, do we have to pay?" "Do you have a bathroom here?" "We brought boxed lunches—where can we eat at lunchtime?" "I'll answer all your questions in a minute," Carmen assured them. "But first, I need to speak to our special guests." She turned back to Jack and Annie. "As I was saying, our director isn't here because of a crisis. I want to show you around the center. But I need to make some calls first." "Carmen, don't worry about us," Annie said firmly. "How can we help you?" "Goodness, you're so kind. Could you"—Carmen looked at the noisy tourists—"could you give them

第五章给乌龟的时间杰克想问卡门关于紧急情况的事。 但游客们立即开始发问。 “对不起，我们要付钱吗？”“你们这儿有浴室吗？”“我们带了盒饭——我们午饭去哪儿吃呢？”“我马上回答你们所有的问题。”卡门向他们保证。 “但首先，我需要和我们的特别客人谈谈。” 她转身面对杰克和安妮。 “就像我说的，我们的主任不是因为危机才来的。 我想带你参观一下中心。 但我得先打几个电话。” “卡门，别为我们担心，”安妮坚定地说。 “我们能帮你什么忙？”“天哪，你真好。 你能”——卡门看着喧闹的游客——“你能给他们吗

information about the center and the tortoises, please?" "Of course," said Annie. "We can handle that." "No problem," said Jack. "Oh, thank you!" said Carmen. She pointed to the map on the wall. "That shows you the layout of our center. Perhaps you can lead them around while I deal with this crisis." "Could you tell us about the crisis?" Jack asked, trying to sound like an expert. "Yes," said Carmen. "The Park Service called about more endangered turtles and—"

请告诉我有关中心和乌龟的情况。”“当然，”安妮说。 “我们可以处理这个问题。”“没问题，”杰克说。 “哦，谢谢！”卡门说。 她指着墙上的地图。 “这是我们中心的布局。 也许你可以在我处理这个危机的时候带领他们。” “你能给我们讲讲这场危机吗？”杰克问，试图让自己听起来像个专家。 “是的，”卡门说。“公园管理局打电话说有更多濒危海龟——”

"Miss! Miss!" a man interrupted Carmen. "Can you just tell all of us how to find the tortoises?" "No, I can't tell you—I need to show you," said Carmen, sounding upset. "Sorry." She seemed flustered. "Jack, Annie, could you please—" "Go ahead, Carmen. We got this," said Annie. "Make your calls," said Jack. "Oh, you're lifesavers! Thank you!" said Carmen. And she slipped into a back room. "I'll look at the map," Jack said to Annie. "You get their attention." He hurried over to the map on the wall. "Greetings, friends!" Annie called out. No one seemed to hear her. Noise from the chattering tourists filled the lobby. "GREETINGS, FRIENDS!" Jack shouted. He pointed at his badge for all to see. The tourists looked startled. A couple of them loudly shushed the others. "SHHH! SHHH!" "Thank you," said Annie. "And welcome to the Giant Tortoise Center. I'm Annie—and that's my brother, Jack." She pointed at Jack, studying the map. "We are your World Turtle Experts today." People spoke softly to each other:

“小姐!小姐！”一个男人打断了卡门。 “你能告诉我们怎么找到乌龟吗？”“不，我不能告诉你——我需要给你看，”卡门说，听起来很不安。 “对不起。”她似乎有些慌张。 “杰克，安妮，你们能不能——”“说吧，卡门。 我们能行的，”安妮说。“打你的电话，”杰克说。 “哦，你们是救星！”谢谢你！”卡门说。 然后她溜进了后面的房间。 “我来看看地图，”杰克对安妮说。 “你能引起他们的注意。” 他匆匆走向墙上的地图。 “你好,朋友!”安妮喊道。 似乎没有人听见她的话。 大厅里充满了游客闲聊的声音。 “你好,朋友!”杰克喊道。 他指着自己的徽章让大家看。 游客们看起来很吃惊。 他们中的两个大声地让其他人安静下来。 “嘘!嘘!”“谢谢你，”安妮说。 “欢迎来到巨龟中心。 我叫安妮，那是我弟弟杰克。” 她指着杰克，研究着地图。 “今天我们是你们的世界海龟专家。” 人们轻声交谈：

"World Turtle Experts?" "That's a big deal." "I'm so impressed." Jack returned to Annie's side. "First, there are some rules to follow," he said to the group. "Rule number one: Please do not talk or laugh loudly. Our tortoise friends prefer peaceful surroundings." "Rule two: Please do not touch any tortoises," said Annie. "And rule three: Please don't take photos of them. This is their home and we are their guests." Everyone nodded meekly. "Thank you for your cooperation," said Jack. "Okay! Now follow us." Jack and Annie led the tourists out of the lobby and down a hall. They stopped in front of a closed door. "Let's pause for a moment," Jack said. "We're about to enter an area with many giant tortoises." The group murmured with excitement. "But none of these tortoises are really giant… yet," said Annie. "You are about to meet many tiny turtle babies and little turtle kids." "Hatchlings," said Jack. "The name for a baby turtle is hatchling."

“世界海龟专家？”“这是一件大事。” “我很感动。”杰克回到安妮身边。 “首先，有一些规则要遵守，”他对大家说。 “规则一：请不要大声说话或大笑。 我们的乌龟朋友喜欢安静的环境。” “规则二：请不要碰乌龟，”安妮说。 规则三：请不要给他们拍照。 这是他们的家，我们是他们的客人。” 每个人都温顺地点点头。“谢谢你的合作，”杰克说。 “好吧!现在跟我们来吧。”杰克和安妮领着游客们走出大厅，来到一个大厅。 他们在一扇关着的门前停了下来。 “让我们暂停一下，”杰克说。 “我们即将进入一个有许多巨龟的地区。” 这群人兴奋地低声议论。 “但是这些乌龟都不是真正的巨人……还没有，”安妮说。 “你即将见到许多小海龟宝宝和小海龟孩子。” “小海龟。”杰克说。“小海龟的名字叫hatchling。”

"Hold on there," said a large bald man. "You say tortoises one moment and turtles the next. Which are they?" "Excellent question," said Jack. "Yes, we World Turtle Experts get that question a lot," said Annie. "All tortoises are turtles," said Jack. "But not all turtles are tortoises. The giant tortoises of the Galápagos are the largest members of the turtle family."

“等一下，”一个高大的秃顶男人说。 “你一会儿说乌龟，一会儿又说乌龟。 是哪一种？”“问得好，”杰克说。 “是的，我们世界海龟专家经常被问到这个问题，”安妮说。 “所有的乌龟都是乌龟，”杰克说。 “但并不是所有的乌龟都是陆龟。 Galápagos的巨型龟是龟科中最大的成员。”

"Think of them as the kings and queens of the turtle world!" said Annie. "Oh! I love giant tortoises!" said a woman in a sun hat. "Me too!" said Annie. "And the Galápagos Islands need them," said Jack. "Tortoises are vital to the ecosystem here and—" "Can you explain that?" interrupted the large man. "Sure. An ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment," Jack explained. No one said anything. They all looked confused. Annie stepped in. "Jack means that everything on this island is connected. Tortoises, trees, other plants, insects—all work together. If you destroy one of them, you harm the others. Understand?" The tourists nodded with serious looks. "A few hundred years ago, pirates and whale hunters visited these islands," said Jack. "They killed hundreds of thousands of giant tortoises for food." "Oh, no! I hate that," said a woman with curly red hair.

“把它们想象成乌龟世界的国王和王后吧！”安妮说。 “哦!我爱巨龟！”一个戴太阳帽的女人说。 “我也是！”安妮说。“Galápagos群岛需要他们，”杰克说。 “乌龟对这里的生态系统至关重要，而且——”“你能解释一下吗？”大个子打断了他的话。 “当然。生态系统是一个生物群落，由生物和它们的物理环境相互作用组成。”杰克解释道。 没有人说什么。他们看起来都很困惑。 安妮走了进来。“杰克的意思是这个岛上的一切都是相连的。 乌龟、树木、其他植物、昆虫——都在一起工作。 如果你摧毁了其中一个，就会伤害到其他的。 明白了吗?”游客们严肃地点点头。 “几百年前，海盗和捕鲸者来过这些岛屿，”杰克说。 “他们杀死了成千上万只巨龟作为食物。” “哦,不!我讨厌那样，”一个红卷发的女人说。