3 Marmots and Red Deer

Chapter 3 MARMOTS AND RED DEER As the tour bus headed out of the capital city, the driver kept talking to the other volunteers. Jack and Annie leaned forward to hear. "What's he saying?" Annie asked Jack. Jack shook his head. "I can't hear. The bus engine is too loud." "I wonder why he said this is the perfect day," said Annie. "Yeah, and what miracle is supposed to happen?" said Jack. Annie shrugged. "I guess we'll find out sooner or later." Jack and Annie looked out the window as the minibus drove through heavy traffic, passing tall concrete buildings. At the edge of the city, they saw gas stations, factories, and tiny brightly colored houses.

土拨鼠和马鹿当旅游巴士驶出首都时，司机不停地和其他志愿者交谈。 杰克和安妮倾身倾听。 “他在说什么？”安妮问杰克。 杰克摇了摇头。“我听不见。 公共汽车的引擎太响了。” “我想知道他为什么说今天是完美的一天，”安妮说。 “是啊，会发生什么奇迹呢？”杰克说。 安妮耸耸肩。“我想我们迟早会知道的。” 杰克和安妮望着窗外，小巴穿过拥挤的车流，经过高大的混凝土建筑。 在城市的边缘，他们看到了加油站、工厂和色彩鲜艳的小房子。

But soon there were no more buildings, no power lines, no telephone poles. Just open country. "Let's use our binoculars," said Jack. "Good idea!" said Annie. She pulled their pairs of binoculars from the tote bag. She and Jack peered out the window at the rugged, open countryside. "Whoa, I think I see marmots," said Jack. "You do! They're so cute!" said Annie. "Yeah, they are," Jack murmured. The fuzzy gray marmots raised their heads. They sniffed the air as they watched the minibus rumble by. "And red deer!" said Annie. In the distance were deer with huge antlers. "They look just like elk," Jack said. "Very similar but a different species," said Annie. As Jack scanned the countryside, a line of horseback riders came into view. They were crossing a flat grassy field. "Nomads!" said Jack. "Look!"

但很快就没有了建筑物，没有电线，没有电线杆。 只是一个开放的国家。“我们用双筒望远镜吧。”杰克说。 “好主意！”安妮说。她从手提袋里拿出他们的双筒望远镜。 她和杰克凝视着窗外崎岖开阔的乡村。 “哇，我想我看到土拨鼠了，”杰克说。 “你!他们太可爱了！”安妮说。 “是的，他们是。”杰克喃喃地说。 毛茸茸的灰色土拨鼠抬起了头。 他们看着小巴隆隆驶过，嗅着空气。 “还有马鹿！”安妮说。 远处是长着巨大鹿角的鹿。 “它们看起来就像麋鹿，”杰克说。 “非常相似，但属于不同的物种，”安妮说。 当杰克环视乡间时，一排骑马的人映入眼帘。 他们正在穿过一片平坦的草地。 “游牧民！”杰克说。“看!”

The nomads all wore long tunics with colorful cloth belts. The women and girls wore scarves on their heads. Through his binoculars, Jack saw a baby in one of the riders' arms. He saw a huge golden eagle perched on another rider's wrist. "Oh, wow," said Annie. "Did you know that long ago, people trained golden eagles to hunt with them?" "Looks like they're still doing it today," said Jack.

游牧民都穿着长束腰外衣，系着彩色的布带。 妇女和女孩头上戴着围巾。 通过他的双筒望远镜，杰克看到一个婴儿在骑手的怀里。 他看到一只巨大的金鹰栖息在另一个骑手的手腕上。 “哦，哇，”安妮说。“你知道吗，很久以前，人们训练金雕来捕猎？”“看来他们今天还在这么做，”杰克说。

Trailing the riders were herds of sheep and goats. Then came horse-drawn carts loaded with furniture and rolled-up rugs. "Look! Camels!" said Annie. She pointed to camels with boxes and bundles tied to their backs. "Cool," said Jack. He opened their brochure. He found a page titled "Nomad Journeys." He and Annie read: For thousands of years, Mongolians lived as nomads. Nearly half the country still lives that way. Families travel from place to place to find fresh grass and water for their animals. They set up round huts called yurts, or gers, in each new location. "Wow," said Annie. "Can you imagine us with Mom and Dad, traveling on horseback with a bunch of animals? We'd have a great time." "Yeah, I'd like to see a giant golden eagle perched on Dad's arm," Jack said with a laugh. Soon the minibus left the main road and started bumping down a dirt path. Red dust blew into the air.

跟在骑手后面的是成群的绵羊和山羊。 然后是满载家具和卷起的地毯的马车。 “看!骆驼！”安妮说。 她指着背上捆着箱子和包裹的骆驼。 “酷，”杰克说。他打开他们的小册子。 他找到了一个名为“游牧之旅”的页面。 他和安妮读到：几千年来，蒙古人过着游牧生活。 几乎有一半的国家仍然以这种方式生活。 家庭从一个地方到另一个地方，为他们的动物寻找新鲜的草和水。 他们在每一个新的地点都搭起了被称为蒙古包或蒙古包的圆形小屋。 “哇，”安妮说。“你能想象我们和爸爸妈妈骑着马和一群动物一起旅行吗？” 我们会玩得很开心的。”“是啊，我想看到一只巨大的金鹰栖息在爸爸的胳膊上，”杰克笑着说。 不久，小巴离开了大路，开始沿着一条土路颠簸前行。 红色的尘土吹到空中。

The minibus passed scrubby, treeless fields until it arrived at a camp. The camp had a row of round white huts. Horses, goats, and sheep grazed nearby. Yaks and camels drank from water buckets. The driver faced his passengers. "We've arrived at the nomad camp near the reserve," he said. "Eco-Volunteers will stay in these yurts. The nature reserve is within walking distance. But first, take time to get settled with your host families. Tuya will tell you where to go." Tuya looked at her clipboard. "The Roths will stay in the first yurt with the Dorj family," she said. "The Johnsons will stay in the next one with the Ganbold family." The two couples pulled on their backpacks. They grabbed their tote bags and climbed down from the minibus. The driver looked at Jack and Annie. "Hurry, kids, go with your parents," he said. "No, Khan," said Tuya. "Jack and Annie are alone. But they are amazing. They—" "What? What are you talking about?" said Khan.

小巴经过了灌木丛丛生、树木稀少的田野，来到了一个营地。 营地里有一排圆形的白色小屋。 马、山羊和绵羊在附近吃草。 牦牛和骆驼从水桶里喝水。 司机面对着乘客。 “我们已经到了保护区附近的游牧民营地，”他说。 “生态志愿者将住在这些蒙古包里。 自然保护区在步行距离之内。 但首先，花点时间和寄宿家庭安定下来。 图雅会告诉你去哪儿的。” 图雅看了看她的写字板。 “罗斯一家将和多吉一家住在第一个蒙古包里，”她说。 “约翰逊一家将和甘博尔德一家住在下一个房间里。” 两对夫妇背起了背包。 他们抓起手提袋，从小巴上爬了下来。 司机看着杰克和安妮。 “快点，孩子们，跟父母一起去，”他说。 “不，可汗。”图雅说。“只有杰克和安妮。 但他们是惊人的。他们——”“什么? 你在说什么？”

"Don't worry. We've been Eco-Volunteers before," said Annie. "We've saved rhinos in Africa and a llama in Peru and a turtle in—" "Excuse me," Khan broke in. "Tuya, these children cannot stay here without an adult! They're too young. You know that. I must take them back to the city." "Please, Khan, not yet," said Tuya. "They can stay with me and my family." Khan glared at Jack and Annie.

“别担心。我们以前是生态志愿者，”安妮说。 “我们拯救了非洲的犀牛，秘鲁的美洲驼，还有一只乌龟——”“对不起，”可汗插嘴说。 “图雅，没有大人，这些孩子不能待在这里！”他们太年轻了。 你知道的。我必须带他们回城里去。” “求求你，大汗，现在还不行。”图雅说。 “他们可以和我和我的家人住在一起。” 可汗怒视着杰克和安妮。