2 The search heats up

Chapter Two THE SEARCH HEATS UP. A dashboard rose up from the Beagle's floor. Panels popped open to reveal screens and switches. The change was complete and the Beagle bobbed peacefully on the water. "Look at all these controls!" Connor said excitedly. "What do you think they do?" Roshni grinned. "Let's find out." Every time the Beagle changed to a new

第二章搜寻活动升温。 一个仪表盘从小猎犬号的地板上升起。 面板突然打开，露出屏幕和开关。 改变完成了，小猎犬号平静地在水面上浮动。 “看看这些控制装置！”康纳兴奋地说。 “你认为他们是做什么的？”Roshni咧嘴一笑。 “我们来看看。”每次小猎犬换一个新的

vehicle, it took on new special features. Figuring out what everything did was half the fun. Connor pointed out a round screen with glowing green lights. "This must be the sonar," he said. "It uses sound waves to measure distances underwater." "I think this is for navigation," said Roshni, who was peering into a display. "There's us, look, and there's the seabed under us. It's like a satnav."

车辆，它采取了新的特殊功能。 弄清楚所有东西的作用是乐趣的一半。 康纳指着一个圆形的屏幕，上面闪着绿光。 “这一定是声纳，”他说。 “它利用声波来测量水下距离。” “我认为这是为了导航，”Roshni说，他盯着显示器。 “看，这是我们，这是我们下面的海床。 就像卫星导航一样。”

In the cupboards under the dashboard were energy bars, water bottles, and two wet suits with masks and oxygen tanks. "We can go on a dive!" Connor said. "Wait until you see the coral up close. It's amazing. So many colors. And the fish come right up to you!" "We'd better find the whales first," Roshni replied. "For sure," Connor agreed. They were here to help, he reminded himself. They didn't yet know what sort of help the whales needed, but the Exploration Station had sent them here for a reason. Roshni turned her seat to face the sonar screen. "Why don't you drive and I'll work the instruments?" "Cool!" Connor gripped the joystick with one

仪表板下面的橱柜里放着能量棒、水瓶和两件带面罩和氧气罐的潜水衣。 “我们可以去潜水！”Connor说。 “等着看珊瑚吧。 令人惊奇的。这么多颜色。 鱼就会向你游过来！”“我们最好先找到鲸鱼，”罗什尼回答。 “当然，”康纳同意道。 他们是来帮忙的，他提醒自己。 他们还不知道鲸鱼需要什么样的帮助，但探险站派他们来这里是有原因的。 罗什尼把座位转过来，面对着声纳屏幕。 “为什么你不开车，我来操作仪表呢？”“酷!”康纳用一只手抓着操纵杆

hand and the depth control with the other. He slowly brought the Beagle down below the surface. Lapping water rose around the glass bubble. Down in the green depths, everything was much quieter. Waves danced above them like a silver sheet. Light slanted down in faint rays. Soon, the only sound was the thrumming of the engines.

用另一只手和深度控制。 他慢慢地把小猎犬号带到水面以下。 拍打着的水在玻璃泡周围升起。 在绿色的深处，一切都安静多了。 海浪在他们头顶上跳来跳去，像一张银屏。 光线在微弱的光线中倾斜下来。 很快，唯一的声音就是引擎的轰鸣声。

"See anything?" Connor asked. Roshni peered into the murk. "Not yet," she said. Connor took them deeper. Roshni frowned at the sonar screen. "Still nothing." "That's weird," Connor said. "I can't see any creatures at all down here. Not even a shrimp!" The cabin suddenly became much darker. Something was blotting out all the light. "Look!" Roshni pointed up. "Is that the whale pod?" High above them passed a huge shadow. "Could be," Connor said. "Let's take a look." But as they drew close, Connor soon saw it wasn't the whales at all.

“看见什么?”康纳问道。 Roshni凝视着黑暗。 “还没有，”她说。康纳把他们带到了更深的地方。 Roshni对着声纳屏幕皱起了眉头。 “还没有。”“这很奇怪，”康纳说。 “我在下面根本看不到任何生物。 连一只虾也没有！”小木屋突然变得更黑了。 有什么东西遮住了所有的光。 “看!”罗什尼向上指了指。 “那是鲸群吗？”一个巨大的影子从他们头顶飞过。 “有可能，”康纳说。“让我们看看。” 但当他们靠近时，康纳很快发现根本不是鲸鱼。

Hanging over them was an enormous cloud of bright red algae. It made the sea look like tomato soup. The algae covered the water for what looked like miles in every direction. They surfaced in the middle of the stuff. Red liquid slid down the windows. "It's like the surface of Mars," Roshni whispered in amazement. "And about as much good for life," Connor said. "That's a red tide. Also known as an algal bloom."

在他们头顶上是一片巨大的鲜红色海藻云。 它使大海看起来像西红柿汤。 水藻从各个方向覆盖着水面，看起来有好几英里长。 它们出现在这堆东西中间。 红色的液体从窗户滑了下来。 “就像火星表面一样，”罗什尼惊讶地低声说。 “而且对生活也有好处，”康纳说。 “那是赤潮。也被称为藻华。”