9 The Turtle King

Chapter 9 THE TURTLE KING "Over here, team!" Jack shouted. He rose to his feet as Annie and the soldiers raced around the rocks. "I found the last tortoise," he said. "It was hiding under a ledge." "Excellent! Good work!" said Cruz. "Pinto and I can carry it to the chopper. But we have to hurry! We're running out of time!" "Okay. But go easy," said Jack. "I'm guessing it's at least one hundred fifty years old. The shell is softer than you'd think. It's made of honeycomb structures. Very strong, but not rigid." "Understood," said Pinto. He and Cruz gripped the big, round shell. Then, very carefully, they lifted the giant tortoise off the ground.

第九章龟王“大家到这边来！”杰克喊道。 他站了起来，安妮和士兵们围着岩石跑。 “我找到了最后一只乌龟，”他说。 “它躲在窗台下面。” “太好了!做得好！”克鲁兹说。 “平托和我可以把它搬到直升机上。 但是我们得快点了！我们快没时间了！”“好吧。 不过别着急，”杰克说。“我猜它至少有150年的历史了。 壳比你想象的要软。 它是由蜂窝结构构成的。 很结实，但不僵硬。” “明白了，”平托说。他和克鲁兹紧紧抓住那个又大又圆的贝壳。 然后，他们小心翼翼地把大乌龟从地上抱起来。

"Ah!" said Jack. "He's a male. His belly curves inward." "So he's a king," Annie murmured to Jack. "I know," said Jack. "A great king." "Let's grab some grass for his crate," said Annie. "Go slow and low," Jack instructed the soldiers. "We'll gather some natural bedding. Meet you at the chopper." Annie and Jack pulled handfuls of tall grass from the scrubby ground. They hurried through the smoke to the helicopter, opened a side door, and climbed into the cargo area. Jack and Annie spread the grass on the bottom of a crate. "A bed fit for a king!" said Annie. "Yep. He deserves the best," said Jack. The soldiers carried the giant tortoise to the cargo section. They lifted the creature and carefully placed him in the crate. Then they strapped him inside to keep him safe for the flight. Pinto made a call from the helicopter phone. Cruz wrote notes on a clipboard. While the soldiers were busy, Jack and Annie looked at the tortoise.

“啊！”杰克说。“他是一个男人。 他的肚子向内弯曲。”“这么说他是国王了。”安妮低声对杰克说。 “我知道，”杰克说。“一个伟大的国王。” “我们给他的板条箱拿些草吧，”安妮说。 “慢一点，低一点，”杰克指示士兵们。 “我们会收集一些天然的被褥。 直升机那儿见。”安妮和杰克从灌木丛生的地上拔了一把又一把的高草。 他们匆匆穿过烟雾来到直升机前，打开侧门，爬进货舱。 杰克和安妮把草铺在板条箱的底部。 “一张适合国王的床！”安妮说。 “是的。他应该得到最好的，”杰克说。 士兵们把那只巨龟抬到货舱。 他们把这只动物抬起来，小心翼翼地放在板条箱里。 然后他们把他绑在里面，以确保他在飞行中安全。 平托用直升机电话打了个电话。 克鲁兹在剪贴板上写笔记。 当士兵们忙着的时候，杰克和安妮看着乌龟。

The turtle king peered back at them. His head bobbed up and down. "That movement means he's relaxed," said Annie. "I know," said Jack. "He trusts us." The tortoise lowered his head, resting it on the soft grass in his crate. He closed his eyes. "I know what he's thinking," said Jack. "Really? You do?" said Annie. "He's thinking, I'll take a little nap until this part is over," said Jack. "Then I'll be in a safe place. I'll sit in the sun. And they'll give me something good to eat." Annie laughed. "You know him pretty well," she said. "Hurry!" shouted Cruz. "Climb inside! The lava's almost here!" The soldier closed the door to the cargo section. Jack and Annie scrambled into their seats and put their helmets on. "Okay! All set!" said Pinto, hanging up the phone. "We have permission to fly him to the Tortoise Center." The rotor blades started to spin.

龟王回望着他们。 他的头上下摆动。 “那个动作说明他很放松，”安妮说。 “我知道，”杰克说。“他信任我们。” 乌龟低下头，在板条箱里柔软的草地上休息。 他闭上了眼睛。“我知道他在想什么，”杰克说。 “真的吗?真的吗？”安妮说。 “他在想，我要小睡一会儿，直到这部分结束。”杰克说。 “那我就在一个安全的地方了。 我要坐在阳光下。他们会给我好吃的。” 安妮笑了。“你很了解他，”她说。 “快点！”克鲁兹喊道。“内爬!岩浆快来了！”士兵关上了货舱的门。 杰克和安妮爬到座位上，戴上了头盔。 “好吧!一切都准备好了！”平托说着挂了电话。 “我们获准把他送到乌龟中心。” 旋翼叶片开始旋转。

With a loud roaring and chopping sound, the helicopter lifted off Blue Hill. It carried them all away from the river of molten lava. The helicopter flew over the broad slope of the volcano. It flew over rugged flatlands with patches of green. It flew along the coastline and over the lagoon. Finally the helicopter hovered above the grounds of the Giant Tortoise Center. Jack saw the tourists below. They were sitting in the grass, eating boxed lunches. As the helicopter started to land, they held on to their hats and scurried out of the way, leaving their lunches behind. The chopper blades finally slowed to a stop. The soldiers, Jack, and Annie jumped out. Carmen rushed forward to greet them. "We saved the last one!" Annie said. "He's in the back!" Carmen burst into tears. She hugged Annie and Jack. "Thank you!" she said, wiping her eyes. "Thank you so much." Pinto opened the cargo section.

随着一声响亮的呼啸和劈啪声，直升机从蓝山起飞了。 它把它们都从熔岩河上带走了。 直升飞机飞过火山的宽阔斜坡。 它飞过长满绿树的崎岖平地。 它沿着海岸线，飞过泻湖。 最后，直升机在巨龟中心上空盘旋。 杰克看到下面的游客。 他们坐在草地上，吃着盒饭。 当直升机开始降落时，他们抓着帽子，匆匆闪开，把午餐落在了后面。 直升机的叶片终于慢下来了。 士兵们、杰克和安妮跳了出来。 卡门冲上前迎接他们。 “我们救了最后一只！”安妮说。 “他在后面！”卡门哭了起来。 她拥抱了安妮和杰克。 “谢谢你！”她擦着眼睛说。 “非常感谢。”平托打开了货舱。

By now, the tourists were clamoring around the helicopter. They craned their necks to see the giant tortoise inside. "No photos of him," Annie reminded them. "And please keep your voices down," said Jack. The soldiers lifted the heavy creature out of the crate. They lowered him to the ground. Everyone clapped. Jack held up his hand and tapped his finger on his lips. The tourists quickly stopped making noise. The tortoise stretched out his neck. He slowly moved his head from side to side. Again, his mouth formed the shape of a crooked smile.

这时，游客们已经在直升机周围吵吵嚷嚷了。 他们伸长脖子去看里面的大乌龟。 “没有他的照片，”安妮提醒他们。 “请小声点。”杰克说。 士兵们把那只笨重的动物从板条箱里抬了出来。 他们把他放到地上。 每个人都鼓掌。杰克举起手，用手指在嘴唇上轻敲。 游客们很快停止了吵闹。 乌龟伸出了脖子。 他慢慢地左右晃动着头。 他的嘴又弯成一个微笑的样子。

Some tourists laughed quietly. The red-haired woman started to cry. Her daughter wept, too. "Carmen told us what you were doing!" the red- haired woman said to Jack and Annie. "We've all been so worried!" "Great job, great job," the large man said in a soft voice. "You guys rock," said the teenage girl, sniffling. "How did you land the chopper on a volcano?" the old man asked Cruz. "How much lava was there?" asked the woman in the sun hat.

一些游客悄悄地笑了。 红头发的女人哭了起来。 她的女儿也哭了。“卡门告诉我们你们在做什么！”红发女人对杰克和安妮说。 “我们都很担心！”“干得好，干得好，”大个子轻声说。 “你们太棒了，”十几岁的女孩抽着鼻子说。 “你是怎么把直升机降落在火山上的？”老人问克鲁兹。 “那里有多少熔岩？”戴太阳帽的女人问。