Ch7-The Great Bird

CHAPTER SEVEN The Great Bird. Leonardo shook the reins. The white horse clopped out of the courtyard and into the street. "So where are we going?" Annie asked. "To a steep hill just outside the city walls," said Leonardo. "One day you will tell people that you were with me on this historic Monday. You saw

第七章大鸟。 列奥纳多抖了抖缰绳。那匹白马噔噔地跑出院子，来到街上。 “那我们要去哪儿？”安妮问。 “到城墙外的一座陡峭的山上去，”列奥纳多说。 “总有一天，你会告诉人们，在这个历史性的星期一，你和我在一起。 你看到

the mad genius, Leonardo da Vinci, and his Great Bird!" "Cool, but can you tell us exactly what you're planning to do?" said Jack. "For twenty-five years, I have sketched birds and bats," said Leonardo. "I have studied all their movements, their gliding, their flapping, their landing, and their rising into the air. I have asked myself over and over, Why can a person not fly as birds do? So, years ago I began building my Great Bird." "Your Great Bird?" asked Annie. "Ha-ha!" laughed Leonardo. "Wait and see! Wait and see!"

疯狂的天才列奥纳多·达·芬奇和他的大鸟！”“很好，但是你能告诉我们你到底打算做什么吗？”杰克说。 “25年来，我一直在画鸟类和蝙蝠的素描，”列奥纳多说。 “我研究了它们所有的动作，滑翔、拍打、降落和升入空中。 我一遍又一遍地问自己，为什么人不能像鸟一样飞翔？ 所以，几年前我开始建造我的大鸟。” “你的大鸟？”安妮问。 “哈哈！”莱昂纳多笑着说。 “等着瞧吧！等着瞧吧！”

The horse pulled the cart through the city gates, heading into the countryside. The chilly air was warmed by bright sunlight. Leonardo tugged on the reins and his horse turned off the main road and started up a narrow, rocky path. The cart bumped past pale green olive trees and yellow fields of wildflowers. Soon it came to the bottom of a steep hill. Leonardo pulled the reins and his horse halted. "There! Can you see it?" he said. "My Great Bird." He pointed to a strange-looking structure on the top of the hill. "What is it?" asked Jack. "The wings are like those of a bat, only much, much larger—large enough for a man!" said

那匹马拉着马车穿过城门，向农村驶去。 寒冷的空气被明亮的阳光温暖了。 列奥纳多拉着缰绳，马离开大路，走上一条狭窄的岩石小道。 马车颠簸着经过淡绿色的橄榄树和黄色的野花地。 不久，它来到了一座陡峭的山脚下。 莱昂纳多拉了拉缰绳，马停了下来。 “有!你看见了吗？”他说。 “我的大鸟。”他指了指山顶上的一座奇形怪状的建筑。 “这是什么？”杰克问。“它的翅膀很像蝙蝠的翅膀，只是大得多，大得足以容纳一个人！

Leonardo. "About a month ago on a moonlit night, my apprentices and I brought it to the top of this hill. I did not have the confidence to try it then, but now I do." Jack was confused. He knew people didn't fly airplanes until the beginning of the 1900s. "Um— maybe you should work on this one a little longer," he said. "I mean, maybe—" "No, no, today is the day! I feel it!" said Leonardo. "Stay here and watch." Leonardo leapt down from the cart and took long strides up the steep slope. "Quick, look up Great Bird in the Leonardo book," Annie said to Jack.

莱昂纳多。“大约一个月前的一个月夜，我和我的徒弟们把它带到了山顶。 我当时没有信心去尝试，但现在我有了。” 杰克很困惑。他知道直到20世纪初人们才会开飞机。 “嗯——也许你应该在这个问题上多花点时间，”他说。 “我是说，也许——”“不，不，就是今天！我感觉到了！”列奥纳多说。 “呆在这儿看着。”列奥纳多从车上跳下来，大步走上陡峭的斜坡。 “快，在列奥纳多的书里查一下‘大鸟’，”安妮对杰克说。

Jack pulled out their research book and looked up Great Bird in the index. "It's here!" he said. He found the right page and read aloud: Leonardo da Vinci spent years making a flying machine that he called the Great Bird. But not until the invention of lightweight motors, nearly 400 years after Leonardo's time, would human flight be possible. It is not known whether Leonardo ever tried to fly the Great Bird. If he did, he surely crashed. "Oh, no!" said Annie. "His machine won't work! If Leonardo tries to fly off that hilltop, he'll crash. We have to stop him before he hurts himself!"

杰克拿出他们的研究书，在索引中查找“大鸟”。 “在这儿！”他说。他找到正确的一页，大声朗读：列奥纳多·达·芬奇花了数年时间制造了一种飞行器，他称之为“大鸟”。 但是，直到在列奥纳多时代近400年后，轻型发动机的发明才使人类飞行成为可能。 我们不知道列奥纳多是否曾经尝试过飞“大鸟”。 如果他这样做了，他肯定会崩溃。 “哦，不！”安妮说。“他的机器坏了！”如果列奥纳多想从山顶飞下去，他会坠毁的。 我们必须在他伤害自己之前阻止他！”

Annie jumped out of the cart. Jack put the book away. He left his bag in the cart and ran after her. They started up the steep hill. "Leonardo, stop!" shouted Annie. But Leonardo kept climbing. "Human flight isn't possible yet!" Jack cried. "Don't try it, Leonardo!" yelled Annie. Jack and Annie were only halfway up the hill when Leonardo reached the top. He began strapping himself into a harness on the Great Bird. Large handles were attached to the harness. On each side were huge cloth wings stretched over a wooden frame. "Don't!" shouted Jack.

安妮跳下车。 杰克把书收起来。他把包留在购物车里，就去追她。 他们开始爬上陡峭的小山。 “莱昂纳多，停下！”安妮喊道。 但列奥纳多一直在攀爬。 “人类飞行还不可能！”杰克喊道。 “别试，莱昂纳多！”安妮喊道。 杰克和安妮刚爬到半山腰，李奥纳多就爬到了山顶。 他开始把自己绑在大鸟身上的挽具上。 大把手系在挽具上。 两边都是巨大的布翅膀，伸展在一个木制框架上。 “不要！”杰克喊道。