1 Pond dipping

Chapter One POND DIPPING Connor dipped his net into the pond and scooped up a big clump of algae. Long green strands of the tiny plants trailed down. It looked like Connor had caught a watery monster. I guess I have, he thought. After all, too much algae would block out the light, and the other plants in the pond would die. Connor had spent the morning clearing

康纳把网伸进池塘，捞起了一大团水藻。 细长的绿色小植物拖了下来。 看起来康纳抓住了一个水怪。 我想是的，他想。 毕竟，太多的藻类会遮挡光线，池塘里的其他植物也会死亡。 康纳整个上午都在清理空地

up the water. The pond was at the end of his backyard, on the other side of the white picket fence. The leaves of the pecan trees gleamed in the warm Missouri sunshine. Connor dropped the algae onto the bank. He was about to scoop out another clump, when he noticed something wriggling inside the net. A tadpole! "Hey, there!" said Connor. "Are you going to grow into a bullfrog? Or maybe a leopard frog?" Gently, he lowered the net so the tadpole could escape. He watched it swim away, kicking its tiny back legs. It joined a large group of tadpoles beside some reeds.

往上水。池塘在他后院的尽头，在白色尖桩篱笆的另一边。 山核桃的叶子在密苏里州温暖的阳光下闪闪发光。 康纳把水藻扔到岸上。 他正要舀出另一团，这时他注意到网里有什么东西在蠕动。 蝌蚪!“嘿，你们好！”康纳说。 “你要长成一只牛蛙吗？” 或者是豹蛙？”他轻轻地放下网，让蝌蚪可以逃脱。 他看着它游走，踢着它的小后腿。 它加入了芦苇旁的一大群蝌蚪。

Hold on, Connor thought. They're hanging out in a shoal... Those probably aren't frog tadpoles—I think they're toads! Connor loved everything about the water. His mom thought he would be a marine biologist when he grew up and study the plants and animals in the sea. "We'll have to take a vacation to the coast one day," Mom had said at breakfast. "Wouldn't it be amazing to see the ocean?"

坚持住，康纳想。他们在浅滩里闲逛…… 那些可能不是青蛙的蝌蚪——我认为它们是蟾蜍！康纳喜欢水里的一切。 他妈妈认为他长大后会成为一名海洋生物学家，研究海洋中的动植物。 “总有一天我们要去海边度假，”妈妈在早餐时说。 “看到大海不是很神奇吗？”

Connor touched the compass badge on his chest. His mom didn't know that Connor had seen lots of oceans already... When he'd scooped out the last gloopy blob of algae, Connor propped his net against the wooden fence. It was hot now. The sunshine shimmered on the wheat fields that surrounded his house. Connor made his way indoors. He washed his hands at the kitchen sink, then went to the pantry to get himself a granola bar. There was a postcard tacked to the pantry door. It said, "I Love Missouri Science Fair!" Connor had won first prize in the competition for growing coral in a tank. As he reached for the door handle, he stopped in surprise. A glowing shape had appeared next to the postcard.

康纳摸了摸胸前的罗盘徽章。 他妈妈不知道康纳已经看过很多海洋了…… 当他舀出最后一团黏糊糊的海藻时，康纳把网靠在木栅栏上。 现在天气很热。阳光在他房子周围的麦田里闪烁。 康纳朝屋里走去。 他在厨房的水槽边洗手，然后去食品储藏室给自己买了一根格兰诺拉燕麦棒。 食品室的门上钉着一张明信片。 上面写着：“我爱密苏里科学博览会！”康纳在水箱中种植珊瑚的比赛中获得了一等奖。 当他伸手去拿门把手时，他惊讶地停了下来。 明信片旁边出现了一个发光的东西。

It was a circle with a needle in the center. Around the outside were the letters N, S, E, and W. A compass! A compass that matched the badge on Connor's T-shirt... Connor grinned. The Secret Explorers have a new mission! he thought. Excitement tingled through him as he stepped through the door. The shelves of food were gone, and instead there was a dazzling white light. Connor's heart thudded. Wind whipped against his face, as if he were traveling really fast... A moment later, the light faded. Connor was standing in a large, familiar room. Light from the rows of computer screens flickered on the black stone walls. Objects stood on

它是一个圆圈，中间有一根针。 外面是N、S、E和W四个字母。 指南针!一个与康纳t恤上的徽章相匹配的指南针…… 康纳咧嘴一笑。秘密探险者有了新的任务！他想。 当他跨进那扇门时，他感到一阵兴奋。 货架上的食物不见了，取而代之的是耀眼的白光。 康纳的心怦怦直跳。风抽打着他的脸，好像他正在飞快地旅行…… 过了一会儿，灯光暗了下来。 康纳站在一间熟悉的大房间里。 一排排电脑屏幕上的灯光在黑色的石墙上闪烁。 站立的物体