Ch2-Lucky Ducks

TWO Lucky Ducks The air in Mexico City was hot, humid, and smoggy. Jack heard screeching car tires, honking horns, and roaring truck motors. He looked at his clothes. He was wearing his own shorts and Tshirt. "Our clothes didn't change," he said.

两只幸运的鸭子墨西哥城的空气炎热潮湿，烟雾弥漫。 杰克听到刺耳的汽车轮胎声、喇叭声和卡车发动机的轰鸣。 他看了看自己的衣服。他穿着自己的短裤和t恤。 “我们的衣服没变，”他说。

"That's because kids wore shorts and T-shirts in the 1970s. Remember the photos of Mom and Dad?" said Annie. "Right," said Jack. He and Annie looked out the window. The tree house had landed in a row of tall, leafy trees lining a busy street. Beyond the branches was a jagged skyline with towers and tall buildings. Below the branches, traffic moved noisily up an avenue.

“那是因为在20世纪70年代，孩子们穿短裤和t恤。 还记得爸爸妈妈的照片吗？”安妮说。 “好的，”杰克说。他和安妮看着窗外。 树屋坐落在一条繁忙街道两旁的一排高大、枝繁叶茂的树木中间。 树枝后面是参差不齐的天际线，高楼林立。 在树枝下面，车流嘈杂地沿着一条大道行驶。

"It looks like we landed in the middle of the city," said Jack. He opened their World Cup program to the first page and read: Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world. Its citizens are overjoyed that their city has been chosen to host the 1970 World Cup games. Held every four years,

“看起来我们是在市中心着陆的。”杰克说。 他打开世界杯节目单的第一页，读到：墨西哥城是世界上最大的城市之一。 它的市民欣喜若狂，因为他们的城市被选为1970年世界杯的主办城市。 每四年举办一次，

the games are played for several weeks. This year, sixteen countries will compete in the matches to determine the final winner. "And we've got tickets to see the final winner!" Jack said, grinning. "I wonder which two teams will be playing!" He thumbed through the booklet and saw page after page of black-and-white photos of the teams competing in the World Cup games. "Mexico, Belgium, Sweden, Israel, Italy, England…" "Romania… West Germany… Brazil…," Annie said, looking over his shoulder. "There he is!" said Jack. "Arantes Nascimento —Pelé!" "Well, we know Brazil made it to the final game, or we wouldn't be here," said Annie. "But I wonder who they're playing." "We'll soon find out." Jack closed the program. As he put it into his backpack, he saw his notebook and pencil, the bottle of magic mist— and some coins and bills inside. "Look, Mexican money—pesos. We have five- and ten-peso coins, and bills worth fifty pesos."

比赛持续几个星期。 今年，16个国家将参加比赛，以决定最终的获胜者。 “我们有票去看最后的获胜者！”杰克笑着说。 “我想知道哪两支球队会参加比赛！”他翻了翻小册子，看到了一页又一页参加世界杯比赛的球队的黑白照片。 “墨西哥、比利时、瑞典、以色列、意大利、英国……”“罗马尼亚……西德……巴西……”安妮回过头说。 “他在那儿！”杰克说。“阿兰特斯·纳西门托——佩尔佩尔！”“嗯，我们知道巴西进入了决赛，否则我们不会在这里，”安妮说。 “但我想知道他们和谁比赛。” “我们很快就会知道的。”杰克关闭了程序。 当他把它放进背包时，他看到了他的笔记本和铅笔，那瓶魔雾——还有里面的一些硬币和钞票。 “看，墨西哥货币比索。 我们有五比索和十比索的硬币，还有五十比索的钞票。”

"Sounds like a lot," said Annie. "We can buy Mexican food when we get hungry. Tacos. Enchiladas. Burritos. I love Mexican food!" "Who doesn't?" Jack said. "Who doesn't love everything we're about to do?" He pulled on his backpack and led the way down the rope ladder. When Jack and Annie reached the ground, they saw a large white building with an American flag. Engraved on the front wall of the building were the words EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES. A uniformed guard stood under a green awning at the entrance. "Perfect. We landed in front of the U.S. Embassy," said Jack. "Why is that perfect?" asked Annie. "A country's embassy is supposed to help its citizens when they visit another country," said Jack. "Oh, that is perfect," said Annie. "Come on." Jack and Annie headed toward the entrance. Before they got to the door, the guard stepped out from under the awning. "Sorry, kids," he said. "The embassy is closed on Sundays." The man looked very formal in his

“听起来很多，”安妮说。 “我们饿的时候可以买墨西哥菜。 炸玉米饼。馅饼。墨西哥玉米煎饼。 我喜欢墨西哥菜！”“谁不?”杰克说。 “谁不喜欢我们即将做的一切呢？”他背上背包，带头走下绳梯。 当杰克和安妮到达地面时，他们看到了一座挂着美国国旗的白色大楼。 大楼前墙上刻着“美国大使馆”几个字。 一个穿制服的警卫站在入口处的绿色遮阳篷下。 “完美。我们降落在美国前面 杰克说。“为什么这是完美的？”安妮问。 “一个国家的大使馆应该在其公民访问另一个国家时提供帮助，”杰克说。 “哦，那太好了，”安妮说。 “来吧。”杰克和安妮朝入口走去。 他们还没走到门口，警卫就从遮阳篷下走了出来。 “对不起，孩子们，”他说。“大使馆星期天不办公。” 那人穿着他的衣服，看上去很正式

blue uniform jacket and white hat and gloves, but he sounded friendly. He spoke with a Southern accent. "Oh, we were just looking for information," said Jack. "We're Americans." "Groovy. Where y'all from?" the guard asked. "We're Jack and Annie from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania," said Annie. "I'm Benny from Valdosta, Georgia," said the guard. "Pleased to meet you." "Hi, Benny," said Jack. "We're going to the World Cup game that's being played today. And—" "Lucky ducks!" Benny broke in. "It's going to be the game of a lifetime!" "Game of a lifetime?" Jack said. "Today's the final match—best two teams in the world. Italy's playing Brazil!" said Benny. "Brazil? That's Pelé's team, right?" said Jack. "Sure is," said Benny. "Pelé the Great." Jack grinned at Annie. "This is so cool!" he said. "No kidding!" said Annie. "Y'all seem to really love soccer," said Benny.

蓝色制服外套，白色帽子和手套，但他听起来很友好。 他说话带有南方口音。 “哦，我们只是在找信息，”杰克说。 “我们是美国人。”“Groovy。 你们是从哪里来的？”卫兵问道。 “我们是杰克和安妮，来自宾夕法尼亚州的青蛙溪，”安妮说。 “我是本尼，来自乔治亚州瓦尔多斯塔。”卫兵说。 “很高兴见到你。”“嗨，本尼，”杰克说。 “我们要去看今天举行的世界杯比赛。 还有——”“幸运的鸭子！”本尼闯进来。 “这将是一场一生难忘的比赛！”“一生一次的比赛？”杰克说。 “今天是最后一场比赛，世界上最好的两支球队。 意大利和巴西比赛！”本尼说。 “巴西?那是佩尔佩尔队，对吗？”杰克说。 “当然是，”本尼说。“pelpeleve大帝。” 杰克朝安妮咧嘴一笑。“太酷了！”他说。 “别开玩笑了！”安妮说。“你们似乎都很喜欢足球，”本尼说。