6 The Worst News

Chapter 6 THE WORST NEWS The group followed Jack and Annie into the fenced yard. "We'll visit the hatchery first," said Jack. He led everyone to a row of wooden trays covered with screens. Annie removed one of the screens. "OH, WOW!" she said. "Annie," said Jack. "Sorry," she whispered. She lowered her voice. "Everyone, please step closer and have a good look." The tourists moved forward. They murmured with excitement. The tray was filled with eggs the size of tennis balls. Tiny tortoises crawled among some of the eggs. Jack picked up an egg. "Park Service workers collect tortoise eggs in the wild," he said. "They bring them here to keep them safe."

第六章最坏的消息这群人跟着杰克和安妮走进围起来的院子。 “我们先去参观孵化场，”杰克说。 他把大家领到一排盖着屏风的木托盘前。 安妮移开了一块屏幕。 “哦，哇！”她说。“安妮，”杰克说。 “对不起，”她低声说。她放低了声音。 “各位，请走近一点，仔细看一看。” 游客们向前走去。 他们兴奋地喃喃自语。 托盘里装满了网球大小的鸡蛋。 小乌龟在一些卵中爬行。 杰克捡起一个鸡蛋。“公园管理局的工作人员在野外收集乌龟蛋，”他说。 “他们把他们带到这里来保护他们的安全。”

Annie lifted a tiny tortoise from the tray. She set it in the palm of her hand. "A newly hatched giant," she said. "Aww! I could die!" said the red-haired woman. "Me too," said Annie. "This tiny baby is only three inches long and weighs only a few ounces. But get this—it will grow to be a thousand times bigger! As an adult, it could easily weigh more than five hundred pounds!" The group gasped. "Some baby!" laughed an old man. "I know. It's a miracle, isn't it?" said Annie. The tiny tortoise stretched out its neck and turned its head.

安妮从托盘里拿起一只小乌龟。 她把它放在手心。 “一个刚孵出来的巨人，”她说。 “哇哇哇!我可能会死！”红发女人说。 “我也是，”安妮说。“这个小婴儿只有三英寸长，只有几盎司重。 但你要知道，它会长得比现在大一千倍！成年后，它的体重很容易超过500磅！”大家倒吸了一口气。 “真了不起！”一位老人笑着说。 “我知道。这是个奇迹，不是吗？”安妮说。 小乌龟伸出脖子，转过头来。

"It looks positively ancient," said the red-haired woman. "In a way, it is," said Jack. "Giant tortoises have lived on the Galápagos for two or three million years." "Good luck, sweetie!" Annie said softly to the tiny tortoise. "Have a nice life." And she carefully returned the hatchling to the tray. "So when that hatchling is older, it will be moved over here," said Jack. He led the group to an open pen. The tourists gasped with wonder. Hundreds of small tortoises were crawling around in grass and dirt. Some were munching green stalks. Others were climbing rocks or soaking in pools of water. The tourists whispered and smiled. "Do they have any brains?" the old man asked. "You mean are they smart?" said Annie. "Yes, they are," answered Jack. "Tortoises are super-smart. They have a different kind of brainpower than we have. But they know exactly how to live their lives."

“它看起来确实很古老，”红头发的女人说。 “在某种程度上，是的，”杰克说。 “巨型陆龟已经在Galápagos上生活了二三百万年。” “祝你好运，亲爱的！”安妮轻声对小乌龟说。 “祝你生活愉快。”她小心翼翼地把小海龟放回托盘里。 杰克说：“所以，等那只刚孵出来的幼崽长大了，它就会被搬到这里来。” 他把这群人领到一个敞开的围栏前。 游客们惊奇地倒吸了一口气。 数百只小乌龟在草地和泥土里爬来爬去。 有些人在嚼着绿色的秸秆。 其他人在攀岩或泡在水池里。 游客们窃窃私语，微笑着。 “它们有脑子吗？”老人问。 “你是说它们聪明吗？”安妮说。 “是的，他们是，”杰克回答。 “乌龟超级聪明。 他们的智力和我们不一样。 但他们知道如何过自己的生活。”

"And those lives are really long," said Annie. "Tortoises can live for more than one hundred fifty years." "Whoa!" said the old man with a laugh. "What's their secret?" "Another excellent question," said Annie. "Besides having a shell that protects them, their secret is living a quiet, peaceful life. They never hurry. They spend their days resting in the sunlight, eating plants, and soaking in puddles." "Sounds good to me!" the old man roared. "I heard tortoises are deaf," the red-haired woman said. "That's not exactly true," said Jack. "They don't hear well, but they can feel vibrations." "How do you know if one is male or female?" asked the woman in the sun hat. "When it's fully grown, you can tell by its belly," said Jack. "If the belly curves inward, it's a male. Now, Annie, why don't you tell our friends about releasing the tortoises into the wild?" "When the tortoises are about five years old, they are ready to live on their own," said Annie. "At that age, they're about the size of a melon."

“那些生命真的很长，”安妮说。 “乌龟可以活到150岁以上。” “哇！”老人笑着说。 “他们的秘密是什么？”“又一个好问题，”安妮说。 “除了有一层保护它们的外壳外，它们的秘密就是过着安静、平和的生活。 他们从不着急。它们整天在阳光下休息，吃植物，泡在水坑里。” “听起来不错！”老人吼道。 “我听说乌龟是聋子，”红发女人说。 “这并不完全正确，”杰克说。 “它们听不太清楚，但能感觉到振动。” “你怎么知道一个人是男的还是女的？”戴太阳帽的女人问。 “当它长大了，你可以从它的肚子上看出来，”杰克说。 “如果腹部向内弯曲，那就是雄性。 现在，安妮，你为什么不告诉我们的朋友把乌龟放回野外的事呢？”“当乌龟大约五岁的时候，它们就可以独立生活了，”安妮说。 “在那个年龄，它们只有甜瓜那么大。”

"What kind of melon?" the old man asked. "Hmm… maybe a honeydew?" said Annie. Suddenly the door to the center opened. Carmen stepped into the yard. "Jack, Annie!" she called. "May I have a quick word?" "Excuse us," Jack said to the group. He and Annie rushed over to Carmen. "The Park Service needs your help right away," Carmen said in a hushed voice. "What is it?" said Jack. "Special Forces will explain," said Carmen. "They're waiting outside the front door. You go. I'll take care of the visitors." Carmen hurried to the tortoise pen, and Jack and Annie slipped back into the building. As they headed to the lobby, Jack's heart was pounding. "Special Forces? This must be the emergency Carmen was talking about," he said. "I wonder what is going on!" "I don't know," said Annie. "But it can't be good." When they went out the front door of the center, Jack and Annie saw two strong-looking men standing near a white pickup truck. Their backs were toward

“什么瓜？”老人问。 “嗯……蜜露怎么样？”安妮说。 突然，通往中心的门开了。 卡门走进院子。 “杰克，安妮！”她喊道。 “我能说几句话吗？”“对不起，”杰克对大家说。 他和安妮冲向卡门。 “公园管理局马上需要你的帮助，”卡门压低声音说。 “怎么了？”杰克问。“特种部队会解释的，”卡门说。 “他们在大门外等着。 你走。我会照顾客人的。” 卡门急忙跑到乌龟圈，杰克和安妮溜回大楼。 当他们走向大厅时，杰克的心怦怦直跳。 “特种部队?这一定是卡门说的紧急情况，”他说。 “我不知道发生了什么事！”“我不知道，”安妮说。 “但这不可能是好事。”当他们走出中心的前门时，杰克和安妮看到两个看起来很强壮的男人站在一辆白色小货车旁边。 他们背对着前方

Jack and Annie. They were dressed in green military uniforms. "Point to your badge," Annie said to Jack. "Right," said Jack. Pointing to their World Turtle Expert badges, Jack and Annie headed over to the soldiers. "Excuse us, gentlemen," said Annie. Both soldiers turned around. When they saw the badges, they both saluted Jack and Annie. "Very glad you're here, Jack and Annie. I'm Captain Cruz," said one of the men. "Captain Pinto," said the other. "Ecuadorian Special Forces." "What's up, Captain?" Jack asked calmly.

杰克和安妮。他们穿着绿色军装。 “指着你的徽章，”安妮对杰克说。 “好的，”杰克说。杰克和安妮指着他们的世界海龟专家徽章，向士兵们走去。 “对不起，先生们，”安妮说。 两个士兵都转过身来。 当他们看到徽章时，他们都向杰克和安妮敬礼。 “很高兴你们来了，杰克和安妮。 我是克鲁兹上尉，”其中一名男子说。 “平托船长，”另一个说。 “厄瓜多尔特种部队。” “怎么了，船长？”杰克平静地问。