7 Cheng’s big idea

Chapter Seven CHENG'S BIG IDEA Through the thick, ashy clouds, Cheng caught a glimpse of something. But the next moment, the clouds hid it from sight again. Cheng groaned. "If only we could see better!" There was another roar from the volcano and a blast of ash. But then the clouds parted once more. This time Cheng could see that it was definitely Halani! She was sitting down

透过厚厚的灰蒙蒙的云层，程瞥见了什么东西。 但下一刻，云又把它遮住了。 程呻吟着。“要是我们能看得更清楚就好了！”火山又发出了一声轰鸣声，喷出了一股火山灰。 但乌云又散开了。 这一次，程可以看出那绝对是哈拉尼！她正坐着

on the gray, rocky side of the volcano. Cheng wondered why. Then he realized that she was holding onto her ankle. "It looks like she's hurt," said Leah, with a frown of dismay. Cheng nodded. No wonder Halani hadn't left the volcano when it erupted. Beside her, more difficult to see through the smoke, was Keemo. The puppy looked as if he was on guard, standing close to Halani with his ears pricked. Cheng guessed he could hear the helicopter. He looked at the stretcher in the back.

在火山灰色的岩石一侧。 程想知道为什么。然后他意识到她抓住了自己的脚踝。 “看来她受伤了，”利亚说，沮丧地皱起了眉头。 程点了点头。难怪火山爆发时哈拉尼没有离开。 在她旁边，在烟雾中更难以看清的是基莫。 这只小狗看起来像是在戒备，耳朵扎着，站在哈拉尼旁边。 程猜想他能听到直升机的声音。 他看了看后面的担架。

Then he looked at the door, with its external winch. Cheng knew what he had to do. "I'm going down there," he said. "I don't think we can land next to them," said Leah anxiously. "The visibility's too poor." "I know," Cheng said. He set the controls to automatic, unbuckled himself from the pilot's seat and stood up. "You'll have to winch me down. Take over the controls, Leah. I'm going to rescue Halani and Keemo." Leah's eyes were wide. "Are you sure?" Cheng nodded. He was sure. Leah settled down in the pilot's seat, flicking switches and keeping the helicopter steady. Following the Beagle's helpful beeping and flashing lights, Cheng unbuckled the stretcher from the back of the helicopter. Then he pushed the door open.

然后他看了看那扇门，门外面有绞盘。 程知道他必须做什么。 “我要下去，”他说。 “我想我们不能在他们旁边降落，”利亚焦急地说。 “能见度太低了。” “我知道，”程说。他把控制装置调到自动模式，从驾驶员座位上解开安全带，站了起来。 “你得用绞车把我吊下去。 你来控制，莉亚。 我要去救哈拉尼和基莫。” 利亚睁大了眼睛。“你确定吗？”程点了点头。 他很确定。利亚在飞行员座位上坐下来，拨动开关，保持直升机稳定。 随着“小猎犬”号的蜂鸣声和闪烁的灯光，程解开了直升机后面的担架。 然后他推开了门。

The cabin instantly filled with ash, making his chest tighten. Keeping his hands as steady as he could,

船舱里立刻充满了灰烬，他的胸口一阵发紧。 他尽量保持双手稳定，

Cheng attached the stretcher ropes to the winch mechanism. He tried not to look down. When he was confident that all the ropes were attached, he looked across at Leah. "Pass me a radio," he said, "so we can stay in touch. Can you see how to operate the winch?" "The Beagle is showing me," said Leah. She pointed at the glowing screen in front of her. "Thanks, Beagle," said Cheng. BEEP, BRRRP BEEP, said the Beagle. "I'll hover, OK?" said Leah. She looked at him and smiled. "You've got this, Cheng." Cheng nodded. He took a deep breath as he harnessed himself to the stretcher. Then he gave Leah the signal to lower him down. The stretcher swung and twisted in the

程把担架的绳子绑在绞车上。 他尽量不往下看。 当他确信所有的绳子都系好后，他看了看利亚。 “递给我一台收音机，”他说，“这样我们就能保持联系。” 你知道怎么操作绞车吗？”“小猎犬在告诉我，”利亚说。 她指着面前发光的屏幕。 “谢谢你，小猎犬，”程说。 BEEP, BRRRP BEEP，小猎犬说。 “我来盘旋，好吗？”利亚说。 她看着他，笑了。 “你能行的，程。”程点了点头。 他深深吸了一口气，把自己套到担架上。 然后他给利亚一个手势，叫他下去。 担架在房间里晃来晃去

smoky air beneath the helicopter's belly. Cheng clung on, keeping his eyes trained on the ground as it grew closer. It was scary, but amazing. He could see the glowing crater and the sides of the volcano as it fell away toward the ocean. Every now and then, the clouds gave him a glimpse of the water. There was another large spout

直升机腹部下方烟雾缭绕。 程坚持着，眼睛一直盯着地面，随着它越来越近。 这很可怕，但也很神奇。 他可以看到火山口和火山的侧面，火山口正在向海洋倾斜。 云彩不时地使他瞥见水面。 还有一个大水柱