Ch2-Quarantine

CHAPTER TWO Quarantine "Cold…face," Annie said, her teeth chattering. "Y-yeah, yeah," said Jack. His breath billowed white into the sharp air. "I feel like a fat b-brown bear," said Annie. Jack laughed. He and Annie were covered with fur from head to toe. They wore fur pants, fur mittens, knee-high fur boots, and long fur jackets with fur hoods. "Welcome to Alaska," said Jack. He pulled up his hood and tied it tightly under his chin. Annie

“冷……脸，”安妮说，她的牙齿在打战。 “是的，是的，”杰克说。 他呼出的气在尖锐的空气中翻滚着。 “我觉得自己像只胖胖的棕熊，”安妮说。 杰克笑了。他和安妮从头到脚都被毛覆盖着。 他们穿着皮草裤、皮草手套、及膝皮靴和带皮草兜帽的长皮草夹克。 “欢迎来到阿拉斯加，”杰克说。 他拉起兜帽，把它紧紧地系在下巴下面。 安妮

did the same. Then they looked out the window together. The tree house had landed in one of a few trees at the edge of a snowy field. Beyond the field was a coastal town. The winter sun was setting over an ice-covered sea. "I wonder why we're needed to save lives here," said Jack. "Do you think something scary is about to happen?" said Annie. "Scary?" said Jack. "Like an earthquake or a volcano?" said Annie. "I don't know," Jack said. He picked up their guide to the Alaskan Territory. He pulled off one of his fur mittens, opened the book, and read: About 12,000 years ago, people and their dogs crossed a land bridge over the Bering Sea from Russia into Alaska. When they reached Alaska, they became the first humans and dogs to live in North America.

我也这样做了。然后他们一起向窗外望去。 树屋坐落在一片雪原边缘的几棵树上。 田野那边是一座沿海城镇。 冬日的太阳正落在冰雪覆盖的海面上。 “我想知道为什么这里需要我们来拯救生命，”杰克说。 “你觉得会发生什么可怕的事情吗？”安妮说。 “可怕？”杰克说。“比如地震还是火山？”安妮说。 “我不知道，”杰克说。 他拿起他们的阿拉斯加领土指南。 他摘下一只皮草连指手套，打开书，读到：大约12000年前，人们和他们的狗穿过白令海上的大陆桥，从俄罗斯进入阿拉斯加。 当他们到达阿拉斯加时，他们成为了第一批居住在北美的人类和狗。

"Cool," said Annie. "I like the dog part." Jack kept reading: Until Russian explorers came to Alaska a few hundred years ago, only native Alaskan people lived there. For thousands of years, the native people survived by making use of the few resources of the rugged, icebound land. "Wow, they must be tough people," said Annie. "No kidding," said Jack. He read more: In the late 1800s, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia, and it became a territory of the U.S. "That's why this guide is called the Territory of Alaska," said Jack. "It's from 1925—that's before Alaska became a state." "Got it," said Annie. "Okay. Let's go find some lives to save." "Wait," said Jack. "Where's our magic?"

“酷，”安妮说。“我喜欢狗的部分。” 杰克继续读着：几百年前俄罗斯探险家来到阿拉斯加之前，只有阿拉斯加本地人住在那里。 几千年来，当地人依靠这片崎岖、冰封的土地上稀少的资源生存下来。 “哇，他们一定是坚强的人，”安妮说。 “别开玩笑了，”杰克说。在19世纪后期，美国从俄罗斯手中购买了阿拉斯加，成为美国的领土 “这就是为什么这本指南被称为阿拉斯加的领土，”杰克说。 “那是1925年的事，那时候阿拉斯加还没有成为美国的一个州。” “明白了，”安妮说。“好吧。 让我们去拯救一些生命吧。” “等等，”杰克说。“我们的魔法呢？”

"Check your pockets," said Annie. Annie pulled off her mittens, and they both reached into the big side pockets of their parkas. "Got it!" said Jack as he pulled out the tiny gold box. "Me too!" said Annie. She held up the tiny stone box. "Gold dust, stardust," said Annie. "One to save lives, one to make everyone forget that we saved lives." "Yep," said Jack. "Let's not lose them." They tucked the boxes back into their pockets and put their mittens on. As Annie started down the tree house ladder, Jack crammed the Alaska guide into another one of his pockets. Then he clumsily followed Annie down the rope ladder in his bulky clothes. As they started across the snow-covered field, their boots squeaked in the snow. Jack's throat hurt from breathing the dry, cold air. In the fading winter light, they crossed a bridge and walked along a frozen creek until they came

“检查你的口袋，”安妮说。 安妮脱下连指手套，两人都把手伸进大衣侧面的大口袋里。 “拿到了！”杰克一边说一边掏出那个小小的金盒子。 “我也是！”安妮说。她举起那个小石盒子。 “金粉，星尘，”安妮说。 “一个是拯救生命，一个是让所有人忘记我们拯救过生命。” “是的，”杰克说。“我们不要失去他们。” 他们把盒子塞回口袋，戴上连指手套。 当安妮从树屋的梯子上下来时，杰克把阿拉斯加指南塞进了另一个口袋里。 然后他穿着笨重的衣服笨拙地跟着安妮下了绳梯。 当他们开始穿过白雪覆盖的田野时，他们的靴子在雪地里吱吱作响。 杰克的喉咙因呼吸干燥、寒冷的空气而疼痛。 在渐暗的冬光中，他们穿过一座桥，沿着结冰的小溪走，直到来到这里

to a boardwalk that ran along the icebound seashore. A sign said FRONT STREET. The town was empty. There were no old cars or wagons, only piles of ice and snow. As Jack and Annie tramped through the snow, they passed stores and saloons and restaurants with crooked signs and broken windows. They all looked abandoned. There were only a few shops that looked as if they were closed but still might

通往冰封的海滨的木板路。 一个牌子上写着“前街”。镇上空无一人。 没有旧汽车或马车，只有成堆的冰和雪。 当杰克和安妮在雪地里跋涉时，他们经过了一些商店、酒吧和餐馆，那里的招牌歪歪扭扭，窗户破得粉碎。 他们看起来都被遗弃了。 只有几家商店看起来好像已经关门了，但仍有可能关门

be in business: Nome Pharmacy, Nome Laundry, and Nome Bakery. "I guess we're in Nome," said Annie. "Good guess," said Jack. He took off one of his mittens, pulled out their Alaska guide, and found Nome. He read: Around 1900, gold was discovered in Nome, a remote Alaskan town on the Bering Sea. More than 30,000 gold seekers rushed to the boom town. But within ten years, Nome's gold rush was over, and the town fell on hard times. "Hard times? No kidding," said Annie. "Nome looks more like a ghost town than a boom town." "Let's keep going," said Jack. He pulled his mitten back on and put their guide in his pocket. As he and Annie kept walking down the snowcovered boardwalk, they passed the Dream Movie Theater and the Golden Gate Hotel. Both had signs that said: TEMPORARILY CLOSED.

经营：诺姆药房，诺姆洗衣店，诺姆面包店。 “我想我们是在诺姆，”安妮说。 “猜得好，”杰克说。他摘下一只连指手套，拿出他们的阿拉斯加向导，找到了诺姆。 他读到：1900年左右，在白令海边的一个偏远的阿拉斯加小镇诺姆发现了黄金。 3万多淘金者涌入这个新兴城市。 但不到十年，诺姆的淘金热就结束了，小镇陷入了困境。 “困难时期?别开玩笑了，”安妮说。 “诺姆看起来更像一个鬼城，而不是一个繁荣的城市。” “我们继续走吧，”杰克说。 他把连指手套戴上，把指南放进口袋里。 当他和安妮继续沿着被雪覆盖的木板路走下去时，他们经过了梦想电影院和金门酒店。 两家店的招牌上都写着：暂时关闭。