1 An exciting experiment

Chapter One AN EXCITING EXPERIMENT "Almost... done..." said Cheng, leaning over the model volcano he had made. He was gluing pieces of brown and gray paper to the sides so they would look like rock. Outside his kitchen window, the Beijing traffic honked and bicycle bells jangled. Cheng's little sister, Mei, was watching him. Cheng glued the last bit of paper in place.

第一章激动人心的实验“几乎…… 完成了……”程俯身看着他做的火山模型说。 他把一块块棕色和灰色的纸粘在两边，使它们看起来像石头。 在他家厨房的窗外，北京的车辆鸣笛，自行车铃声叮当作响。 程的妹妹梅一直看着他。 程把最后一张纸粘好。

"It's finished!" Mei said. He grinned. "Now for the fun part!" Cheng filled a plastic bottle with a mixture of baking soda, dish-washing liquid, and water. He lifted up the cardboard volcano and tucked the plastic bottle underneath, so that the open bottle top peeped out of the crater at the top. Then he took some vinegar and mixed it up with some red food coloring in a small cup. "You can do this part," he told Mei with a smile. "Be careful, though!" Mei poured the red liquid carefully into the volcano bottle, just the way Cheng showed her. Right away the contents of the bottle started fizzing and bubbling, filling the little kitchen with hissing sounds.

“完了!”梅说。 他咧嘴一笑。“现在进入有趣的部分！”程在一个塑料瓶里装满了小苏打、洗洁精和水的混合物。 他把纸板火山拿起来，把塑料瓶塞在下面，这样打开的瓶盖就能从顶部的火山口里露出来。 然后他拿了一些醋，把它和一些红色食用色素混合在一个小杯子里。 “你可以演这个角色，”他笑着对梅说。 “不过要小心！”梅小心翼翼地把红色液体倒入火山瓶中，就像程给她看的那样。 瓶子里的东西立刻开始嘶嘶冒泡，小厨房里充满了嘶嘶声。

And then… it erupted! Red liquid shot up and flooded down the sides of the cardboard volcano. Mei squealed with delight. "Lava is so cool!" she said. "I know!" said Cheng, laughing. "It's not real lava, of course. Real lava is molten rock, which comes out of a split in the Earth's crust." For a moment, Cheng imagined a real volcano: the roar of the explosion, the glowing lava, the rotten-egg stink of the

然后，火山爆发了！红色的液体喷涌而上，顺着纸板火山的侧面涌了下来。 梅高兴得尖叫起来。 “熔岩太酷了！”她说。 “我知道！”程笑着说。 “当然，这不是真正的熔岩。 真正的熔岩是熔融的岩石，它来自地壳的裂缝。” 有那么一会儿，程想象着一座真正的火山：喷发的轰鸣声，炽热的熔岩，臭鸡蛋的臭味

sulfur gases. Maybe one day I'll see a volcano up close, he thought. Mei skipped off to do her homework. Cheng began refilling the volcano. It took a few moments before he realized something was glowing nearby. A circle with a needle in the center, burning as bright as lava on the front door of the house. Cheng read the letters N, S, E and W shining around the edges of the circle, and whooped. It was the compass symbol of the Secret Explorers! He touched the glowing compass badge on his T-shirt, which matched the symbol on the door, and grinned to himself. The Secret Explorers symbol only appeared when there was a mission. And Cheng was so ready for a mission.

硫气体。也许有一天我会近距离看到火山，他想。 梅溜出去做作业去了。 程开始给火山重新注水。 过了一会儿，他才意识到附近有什么东西在发光。 一个中间有一根针的圆圈，在房子的前门上燃烧得像熔岩一样明亮。 程读着圆圈边缘闪闪发光的字母N、S、E和W，大声叫了起来。 这是秘密探险者的指南针标志！他摸了摸t恤上闪闪发光的指南针徽章，它与门上的标志相匹配，他暗自笑了。 秘密探险者的标志只在有任务的时候出现。 程已经为任务做好了充分准备。

He put his hand against the door and pushed. Right away, the door swung open. Cheng walked into a dazzling white light that made his eyes water. A strong wind rippled over his body, making his T-shirt flap against his skin. For a moment, Cheng felt as if he was flying through the air like a bird. The light faded away and the wind dropped. Cheng was back inside the Exploration Station! Glass cases stood around the room,

他把手放在门上推了出去。 门立刻开了。 程先生走进一片耀眼的白光中，不禁热泪盈眶。 一阵强风吹过他的身体，使他的t恤拍打着他的皮肤。 有那么一会儿，程觉得自己像只鸟一样在空中飞翔。 光线消失了，风也停了。 成回到了探索站！房间里到处都是玻璃柜，