2 UPHILL DRIVE

CHAPTER 2 UPHILL DRIVE The car began winding its way up into the Gloamy Mountains. The town of Stermont was laid out below like a bunch of dollhouses. Alexander could see the water tower, his crumbling old school, and the brand-new school where he'd be going this fall.

第二章上坡行驶汽车开始蜿蜒曲折地进入阴暗的山脉。 斯特蒙特镇就像一堆玩具屋一样在下面铺开。 亚历山大可以看到水塔，他摇摇欲坠的旧学校，以及他今年秋天要去的新学校。

CR-RR-RRUNCH! Alexander's dad turned onto a gravel road. Alexander had spent plenty of time in the woods behind his house. But these woods felt wilder. The trees were taller, the hills were steeper, and the shadows seemed darker. WHOOSH! Just up the road, something gray and fuzzy darted through the trees.

CR-RR-RRUNCH !亚历山大的爸爸拐上了一条砾石路。 亚历山大花了很多时间在他房子后面的树林里。 但这些树林感觉更狂野。 树更高了，山更陡了，阴影更暗了。 嗖!就在路上，一个灰色的、模糊的东西从树林里窜了出来。

"Holy molars!" Alexander's dad shouted. "Did you see that?!" Alexander gasped. He grabbed a book from his backpack—the official S.S.M.P. monster notebook. Alexander never left home without it. He flipped it open.

“神圣的臼齿!”亚历山大的爸爸喊道。 “你看到了吗？！”亚历山大气喘吁吁地说。 他从背包里拿了一本书——官方的S.S.M.P. 怪物的笔记本。亚历山大从来没有不带它出门。 他把它打开。

SKEETER-COPTER Two-headed mosquito with spinning blades. HABITAT Tents Backyard BBQS Swimming holes

长着旋转叶片的双头蚊子。 栖息地帐篷后院烧烤游泳池

PSHHHT! skeeter-oopters love the smell of bug spray. DIET HUMAN BLOOD! BEHAVIOR These bloodsucking bugs slice through tents to snack on snoozing campers. WARNING! If you must go camping, Zip yourself all the way up in your sleeping bag. LEAVE NO SKIN EXPOSED!

PSHHHT !斯基特直升机喜欢杀虫剂的味道。 吃人血！这些吸血的虫子穿过帐篷，以打盹的露营者为食。 警告!如果你一定要去露营，那就把你的睡袋拉上拉链。 不要让皮肤暴露！

"That vulture was huge!" said Alexander's dad. Alexander snapped the notebook shut. A plain old bird? he thought. That's not even close to a monster! They drove deeper into the forest. The gravel road became a dirt road. Then the dirt road became a narrow, weed-covered lane. They came to a stop at a crooked gate. CAMP GLOAMY Alexander's dad turned off the car. "Well, here we are," he said. They stepped out and looked around. The forest was silent. "Where is everybody?" said Alexander. CREAK! URGH! WHOOSH! A hairy beast-man leaped over the gate, landed with a grunt, and rushed toward Alexander.

“那只秃鹫太大了！”亚历山大的爸爸说。 亚历山大啪的一声合上了笔记本。 一只普通的老鸟？他想。 这根本就不是怪物！他们开车深入森林。 砾石路变成了土路。 然后那条土路变成了一条杂草丛生的狭窄小路。 他们在一扇歪歪扭扭的门前停了下来。 亚历山大的爸爸关掉了车。 “好了，我们到了，”他说。 他们走出来，环顾四周。 森林里一片寂静。“大家都到哪儿去了？”亚历山大问。 吱嘎吱嘎!呃! !嗖!一个多毛的兽人跳过大门，哼了一声，向亚历山大扑来。