1 Arctic alert

Chapter One ARCTIC ALERT Kiki put down the wrench and wiped her forehead. It was hot in the schoolyard, and the Ghanaian sun was beating down on her shoulders. She had almost fixed her friend's bike, but the gears still weren't moving smoothly. "Is it working now?" asked her friend. Abina.

第一章北极警戒琪琪放下扳手，擦了擦额头。 校园里很热，加纳的太阳照在她的肩膀上。 她几乎把朋友的自行车修好了，但齿轮还是动得不太顺。 “现在还能用吗？”她的朋友问。 Abina。

"It just needs a little oil," Kiki explained. She turned to her tools, laid out neatly on the upturned box beside her. Picking up the small can of oil, she angled the spout into the bike chain and squirted a few drops among the cogs. Then she turned the pedals and listened to the gentle clicking of the chain. "It should work better now," she said. "They're not squeaking at all," exclaimed Abina. "You are an engineering queen, Kiki." Kiki felt a rush of pride. Working on machinery was her favorite thing. She planned to be an engineer when she was older, fixing things and making people smile the way that Abina was smiling at her now. She waved as Abina cycled away down the dusty road toward her house. As she tucked her wrench and screwdriver into the

“只需要一点油，”琪琪解释说。 她转向她的工具，这些工具整整齐齐地放在她旁边的箱子上。 她拿起那一小罐油，把壶嘴对准自行车链条，在齿轮间滴了几滴。 然后她转动踏板，听着链条轻轻的咔嗒声。 她说：“现在应该更好了。” “它们一点也不叫，”阿比娜叫道。 “你是工程学女王，琪琪。” 琪琪感到一阵骄傲。 在机器上工作是她最喜欢的事情。 她打算长大后成为一名工程师，修理东西，让人们微笑，就像阿比娜现在对她微笑一样。 她挥了挥手，阿比娜骑着自行车沿着尘土飞扬的路朝她家走去。 她把扳手和螺丝刀塞进

special side pocket on her schoolbag, a glow of light caught her eye. She looked up. Shining on the pale blue schoolroom door was a symbol that Kiki knew well. With a cry of delight, she touched the matching badge on her school uniform. The compass sign of the Secret Explorers! The letters N, S, E, and W gleamed around its edges. It meant there was a mission! Kiki zipped her bag shut and ran up the steps toward the schoolroom door, reaching for the symbol with her hand. As her fingers touched the glowing compass, the door swung open. She walked through, screwing her eyes shut in the blinding white light. A blast of cool wind rippled through her hair. The light dimmed and the wind quietened. Kiki opened her eyes and grinned at the familiar surroundings of the

她的书包上有一个特别的侧口袋，一道亮光吸引了她的目光。 她抬起头来。淡蓝色的教室门上闪着一个琪琪熟悉的标志。 她高兴地叫了一声，摸了摸校服上与之相配的徽章。 秘密探险者的指南针标志！字母N、S、E和W在它的边缘闪闪发光。 这意味着有一个任务！琪琪拉上书包的拉链，跑上台阶向教室门口走去，伸手去拿那个标志。 当她的手指碰到发光的指南针时，门打开了。 她走了过去，在刺眼的白光下紧闭着双眼。 一阵凉风拂过她的头发。 光线暗了下来，风也静了下来。 琪琪睁开眼睛，对着熟悉的环境笑了

Exploration Station, with its black stone walls and computer monitors set around the room. In the center of the floor was a map of the world, and a shimmering image of the Milky Way was on the domed ceiling. Glass cases displayed the objects that the Secret Explorers had collected on their missions, including fossils, meteorites, and feathers.

探索站，有黑色的石墙，房间四周都是电脑显示器。 地板中央是一幅世界地图，圆顶的天花板上闪烁着银河系的图像。 玻璃柜里陈列着秘密探险者在任务中收集的物品，包括化石、陨石和羽毛。

Kiki ran her fingers over the computer keyboards on her way toward the comfy sofas at the end of the room. "Kiki—here!" she announced. "Tamiko—here!" A girl with a Stegosaurus clip in her hair came into the room. Tamiko was the Dinosaur Explorer. Next to arrive was a tall girl brushing mud from her hands. "Leah—here!" she said. Leah was the Biology Explorer, full of knowledge about plants and animals. "Ollie—here!" said a red-haired boy in a green T-shirt with a parrot on it. He was the Rainforest Explorer. Next was a boy with dark curly hair. "Gustavo—here!" he said with a cheerful wave. Gustavo was from Brazil, and he was the History Explorer of the group. "Cheng—here!" said a dark-haired boy

琪琪的手指在电脑键盘上滑过，走向房间尽头舒适的沙发。 “琪琪——在这儿！”她宣布。 “Tamiko-here !”一个头发上插着剑龙夹子的女孩走进了房间。 多美子是恐龙探险家。 接着来的是一个高个子女孩，她正在擦手上的泥巴。 “莉娅——在这儿！”她说。利亚是生物学探索者，对植物和动物了如指掌。 “奥利——在这里！”一个红头发的男孩说，他穿着一件绿色的t恤，上面有一只鹦鹉。 他是雨林探险家。 下一个是深色卷发的男孩。 “古斯塔沃——在这儿！”他愉快地挥手说。 古斯塔沃来自巴西，他是这个小组的历史探险家。 “成——在这儿！”一个黑发男孩说