7 Disaster

Chapter 7 DISASTER "Oh, no!" said Annie. "Oh, yes!" said Jack. "I messed everything up. I ruined everything. It's like the time I dropped the pilgrims' turkey at the first Thanksgiving." "Don't think about the pilgrims' turkey now," said Annie. "Those horses might die," said Jack. "And when everyone figures out I caused it, Khan will lose his job. Tuya will be blamed, too. This will be the worst day of their lives instead of the best! It's a disaster! I ruined every—" "Jack! Stop talking!" said Annie. "We have to think." "I can't think. I feel too bad," said Jack. "Okay. You go ahead and feel bad. I'll think," said Annie. "Give me Morgan's message."

“哦，不！”安妮说。 “哦，是的！”杰克说。“我把一切都搞砸了。 我毁了一切。就像我在第一次感恩节时把朝圣者的火鸡掉在地上一样。” “现在别想朝圣者的火鸡了，”安妮说。 “那些马可能会死的，”杰克说。 “当所有人都发现是我造成的，汗就会丢掉工作。 图雅也会受到指责。这将是他们一生中最糟糕的一天，而不是最美好的一天！这是一场灾难！我把每一个——”“杰克！别说了！”安妮说。 “我们必须思考。”“我不能思考。 我感觉太糟糕了，”杰克说。 “好吧。你继续，感觉很糟糕。 我想想，”安妮说。“把摩根的留言给我。”

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper. He handed it to Annie. She looked at Morgan's rhyme for a long time. "I think I know what to do," she said. "Listen…" The wind on the plain Spins wheels along. "Spins wheels," she said to Jack. "Get it?" "What wheels?" said Jack. "Bicycle wheels!" said Annie. "Spins bicycle wheels!" "What?" said Jack. "The mountain bikes at the reserve!" said Annie. "Tuya said they were for Eco-Volunteers to ride. And guess what? We're Eco-Volunteers!" "Oh, yeah…," said Jack. Bike riding was one thing he could do really well. "Let's go!" said Annie. "We'll find the horses before they get too far away." "Then what?" said Jack. "What's the rest of the rhyme?" "One step at a time. Let's hurry!" said Annie. She stuffed the rhyme into one of her field vest pockets. "Run!"

杰克把手伸进口袋，掏出了那张纸。 他把它递给安妮。她盯着摩根的押韵诗看了很长时间。 “我想我知道该怎么做，”她说。 “听……”平原上的风旋转着轮子。 “旋转轮子，”她对杰克说。 “明白了吗?”“什么轮子？”杰克说。 “自行车轮子！”安妮说。 “旋转自行车轮子！”“什么？”杰克说。 “保护区的山地自行车！”安妮说。 图雅说它们是给生态志愿者骑的。 你猜怎么着？我们Eco-Volunteers !”“哦，是的……”杰克说。 骑自行车是他非常擅长的一件事。 “我们走吧！”安妮说。“我们会在马跑得太远之前找到它们的。” “然后呢？”杰克说。“剩下的押韵是什么？”“一步一步来。 我们快点吧！”安妮说。她把这首押韵诗塞进了她的一个战地背心口袋里。 “快跑!”

"Okay. Run!" said Jack. Annie and Jack took off running away from the nomad camp. They ran down the sandy path that led to the nature reserve. A round white moon glowed above the distant hills. The night was washed with silver moonlight. The air felt alive with cricket chirps and whispery wind sounds. Jack and Annie hurried to the bike stand near the field station. They grabbed the two smallest mountain bikes.

“好吧。快跑！”杰克说。安妮和杰克从游牧营地逃跑了。 他们沿着通往自然保护区的沙路奔跑。 一轮圆圆的白月亮在远山上闪烁。 夜晚沐浴在银色的月光下。 空气中充满了蟋蟀的啁啾声和风声。 杰克和安妮急忙跑到野外站附近的自行车站。 他们抢了两辆最小的山地车。

"Whoa!" said Annie. "These bikes are serious. Lots heavier than our bikes at home." "Yep, and the tires are bigger and tougher. Can you handle it?" said Jack. "No problem," said Annie. "But, can we see okay in the dark?" Jack looked beyond the corral to the huge open plain of the nature reserve. "Yep. A full moon helps," said Jack. "But now we need to check the rhyme and make a plan." Annie pulled out their rhyme again. "The wind on the plain spins wheels along," she read. She looked at Jack. "So maybe we just ride where the wind blows us." "We could try it. Then what?" said Jack. Annie read more of the rhyme: Call out to the night, "Spin air into song!" Use your own words. Just do your best. Sing of wild things. Let the wind do the rest.

“哇！”安妮说。“这些自行车是认真的。 比我们家里的自行车重多了。” “是的，而且轮胎更大更结实。 你能行吗？”杰克说。 “没问题，”安妮说。“但是，我们在黑暗中能看得清楚吗？”杰克越过畜栏，望向自然保护区广阔的平原。 “是的。满月会有帮助，”杰克说。 “但现在我们需要检查押韵并制定计划。” 安妮又抽出了他们的押韵诗。 “平原上的风旋转着车轮，”她读到。 她看着杰克。“所以也许我们只是随波逐流。” “我们可以试试。然后呢？”杰克说。 安妮读了更多的押韵：对黑夜呼唤，“把空气化作歌曲！”用你自己的话。 尽你所能。歌颂狂野的事物。 剩下的就让风来做吧。

"Okay. That's our plan!" said Annie. She put the rhyme back into her pocket. "Wait, wait… what's our plan?" said Jack. "Spin air into song—make up the words—the wind does the rest!" said Annie. "That's a plan?" said Jack. "That's not a plan." "It's the only one we've got," said Annie. "Trust the rhyme!" She started riding toward the open prairie. Jack gripped his handlebars. He started pumping the bike pedals. Jack soon caught up with Annie. The wheels of their bikes were spinning together as they bumped over rough ground. Jack felt confident on the mountain bike. He knew how to shift his weight. He knew when to bend his legs and elbows. He knew when to lean back, lean forward, and shift gears. After Jack and Annie passed the corral, the wind picked up. A strong gust seemed to shove their bikes forward. They started zooming over the vast nature reserve.

“好吧。这就是我们的计划！”安妮说。 她把押韵诗放回口袋里。 “等等，等等……我们的计划是什么？” 安妮说：“把空气变成歌曲——把歌词编起来——剩下的就交给风了。” “这是个计划？”杰克说。 “这不是一个计划。”“这是我们唯一的一个，”安妮说。 “相信这押韵！”她开始骑马向开阔的草原走去。 杰克紧紧抓住车把。 他开始猛踩自行车踏板。 杰克很快就追上了安妮。 当他们在崎岖不平的地面上颠簸时，自行车的轮子一起旋转着。 杰克骑山地车时很自信。 他知道如何转移重心。 他知道什么时候该弯曲双腿和肘部。 他知道什么时候该向后倾，什么时候该向前倾，什么时候该换挡。 杰克和安妮经过畜栏后，风起了。 一阵强风似乎把他们的自行车向前推了推。 他们开始在广阔的自然保护区上空飞驰。

The mountain bikes swished through dry grass. The thick rubber tires bounced easily over ruts and small rocks. Jack loved the feeling of the strong wind at his back. "Look for the horses!" cried Annie. "I'm looking!" said Jack. Jack peered into the distance ahead. As the wind pushed their bikes farther and farther across the plain, he saw three dark shapes at the base of a hill. "I think I see them!" Jack shouted. "Me too!" called Annie. "Near the hill!" "Yes!" cried Jack. The missing Takhi were grazing peacefully in the silver moonlight. "Stop! Stop for a minute!" Jack shouted. "Now's the time to make a real plan." Jack pulled on his brake levers. But his bike wouldn't stop. The wheels kept spinning. The wind kept sweeping his bike forward.

山地车嗖嗖地穿过干草地。 厚厚的橡胶轮胎很容易在车辙和小岩石上颠簸。 杰克喜欢强风吹在背上的感觉。 “找马！”安妮叫道。 “我在找！”杰克说。杰克凝视着前方。 风把他们的自行车吹得越来越远，在平原上，他看到山脚下有三个黑影。 “我想我看见他们了！”杰克喊道。 “我也是！”安妮叫道。“在小山附近！”“是的！”杰克叫道。 失踪的塔基人在银色的月光下平静地吃草。 “停!等一下！”杰克喊道。 “现在是时候制定一个真正的计划了。” 杰克拉了拉刹车杆。 但是他的自行车停不下来。 轮子不停地转动。风不停地把他的自行车向前刮着。