10 Zoom the Supersonic Tortoise

Zoom the Supersonic TORTOISE IN THE BEGINNING there was an egg. From that egg came a tortoise. Deep in the mists of time, in a forgotten land, long before history began, the tortoise took its first SLOW steps. One day the apes leaped down from the trees, and humankind was born. The tortoise

一开始有一个蛋。 从那个蛋里出了一只乌龟。 在时间的迷雾深处，在一片被遗忘的土地上，远在历史开始之前，乌龟缓慢地迈出了第一步。 有一天，猿类从树上跳下来，人类诞生了。 乌龟

became a friend to people, a pet. The pet was passed from generation to generation to generation, until one day it found its way into the hands of a boy named Brian. The tortoise was, in short, old. Impossibly old. So old that it wore spectacles, used an ear trumpet to hear and its wrinkles had wrinkles! Brian, on the other hand, was not old- he was a child. But he was one of those children who was more like a mini grown-up. He was a shy, serious, studious little fellow. Brian's hair was neatly parted, he sported gold- rimmed spectacles and always dressed in a blazer, trousers and a tie Whatever the weather. He always handed in his homework early, and carried a briefcase at all times, even on a day out to the seaside. Brian would

成了人的朋友，宠物。 这只宠物代代相传，直到有一天，它落入了一个名叫布莱恩的男孩的手中。 简而言之，乌龟老了。 不可能老了。老得戴着眼镜，用助听器听声音，脸上的皱纹也长出了皱纹！另一方面，布莱恩并不老——他还是个孩子。 但他是那种更像迷你大人的孩子。 他是一个害羞、认真、好学的小家伙。 布莱恩的头发整齐地分着，戴着一副金框眼镜，不管什么天气，他总是穿着西装外套、裤子和领带。 他总是很早就交作业，而且一直带着公文包，即使是去海边的那一天。 布莱恩会

put his candyfloss in it so he could enjoy eating it in less windy conditions. So his father and mother (Brian and Briana) thought that a tortoise would be the perfect pet for their son. It was quiet. Like Brian. It walked slowly, and never ran. Like Brian. And it never came out of its shell. Like Brian. The tortoise was bought as a twelfth birthday present for the boy. Tortoises are widely regarded as one of the world's best pets. So how did this one end up being thought of as one of the world's worst? By doing something no tortoise had ever done before! Let's return to our story to find out what that might be!

把他的棉花糖放在里面，这样他就可以在少风的条件下享用了。 所以他的父亲和母亲（布莱恩和布里安娜）认为乌龟会是他们儿子的完美宠物。 很安静。像布莱恩。它走得很慢，从不跑。 像布莱恩。它从来没有从壳里出来过。 像布莱恩。这只乌龟是给这个男孩买的十二岁生日礼物。 乌龟被广泛认为是世界上最好的宠物之一。 那么，这个是如何被认为是世界上最糟糕的一个呢？ 通过做一些乌龟从来没有做过的事情！让我们回到我们的故事，看看这可能是什么！

The gift of the pet was greeted with the solemnity Brian's parents had come to expect from their youngest child. "It is a tortoise," remarked Brian after slowly and methodically opening the box. Not just any tortoise but the oldest, wrinkliest tortoise you ever did see. Its half-moon spectacles were perched on its nose, and its ear trumpet held aloft.

布莱恩的父母对这只宠物的礼物表示了严肃的欢迎，就像他们最小的孩子所期望的那样。 “这是一只乌龟，”布莱恩慢慢地、有条不紊地打开盒子后说。 不是普通的乌龟，而是你见过的最老、最皱的乌龟。 它的鼻子上戴着半月形的眼镜，耳朵上的喇叭高高举起。

"YIP!" went the tortoise, poking its big, pink tongue out of its tiny, wizened head as it inspected its new surroundings. "A tortoise is a reptile, of the order of TESTUDINES, which is from the Latin word for tortoise," observed Brian. The boy always spoke with great authority. It was as if he'd swallowed an encyclopaedia. "That is correct, Brian," replied Father proudly. "We assumed you would prefer a tortoise to a computer-game console," added Mother. She knew her son well. "You assumed Correctly, Mother," replied Brian, examining his new pet. "I have no time for computer- game consoles. For me, a tortoise is infinitely more thrilling." The tortoise smiled at this. At last, it had an owner who appreciated it! With great care, Brian picked up the tortoise by its shell. As soon as he did, his pet retreated inside. "SNORT!" it snorted at him. "Oh, he seems to have gone all shy!" remarked Brian with a snort. "I, myself, am snorting because my

“呸！”乌龟叫了一声，把粉红色的大舌头从干瘪的小脑袋里伸出来，打量着周围的新环境。 “乌龟是一种爬行动物，属于龟目，来自拉丁语，意思是乌龟，”布莱恩说。 这个男孩说话总是很有权威。 他好像吞下了一本百科全书。 “没错，布莱恩，”父亲骄傲地回答。 “我们以为你更喜欢乌龟而不是电脑游戏机，”妈妈补充说。 她很了解她的儿子。“你猜对了，妈妈，”布莱恩一边检查他的新宠物，一边回答。 “我没有时间玩电脑游戏机。 对我来说，乌龟更令人兴奋。” 乌龟笑了。 最后，它有了一个欣赏它的主人！布赖恩小心翼翼地抓住乌龟的壳把它捡了起来。 他一进门，他的宠物就躲进了屋里。 “哼！”它冲他哼了一声。 “哦，他似乎变得很害羞！”布莱恩哼了一声说。 “我自己打鼾，因为我的