Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 "Michael!!!" Whenever Michael heard his name yelled, he knew he was in trouble. And he heard his name yelled a lot. According to his little sister, Jane, Michael was the most used word in the English language. But this time Michael didn't mind hearing it. Being in trouble was nothing compared to being lost in a cave.

第三章“迈克尔！！”每当迈克尔听到有人喊他的名字时，他就知道自己有麻烦了。 他听到很多人喊他的名字。 据他的妹妹简说，迈克尔是英语中使用最多的单词。 但这次迈克尔并不介意听到这些。 与在山洞里迷路相比，遇到麻烦算不了什么。

"Dad!" Michael ran to hug his father. "I am so happy to see you!" "What were you doing?! What were you thinking!?! Why were you—?" Michael's dad stammered. "You can't just wander into a strange cave by yourself!" "We were exploring!" Michael said pathetically. "Besides, Justin was with me..." "It's also a strange cave for Justin!" his dad yelled. "I know, I know. I'm sorry," Michael said. "I'm sorry too, Dr. Gomez," said Justin. "If I lost you two on our next-to-last day here, I would be in big trouble with your mothers. Both of you are grounded until we ship out in the morning. Go to your tent!" Michael's dad ordered.

“爸爸!”迈克尔跑过去拥抱他的父亲。 “见到你我太高兴了！”“你在干什么？”你在想什么？你为什么——”迈克尔的爸爸结结巴巴地说。 “你不能一个人游荡到一个陌生的洞穴里！”“我们在探险！”迈克尔可怜巴巴地说。 “再说，贾斯廷和我在一起……” “对贾斯汀来说，这个洞穴也很奇怪！” “我知道，我知道。“对不起，”迈克尔说。 “我也很抱歉，戈麦斯医生，”贾斯汀说。 “如果我在这里的倒数第二天失去你们两个，我就会和你们的母亲有大麻烦了。 你们俩都被禁足了，直到我们明早出发。 回你的帐篷去吧！”迈克尔的爸爸命令道。

Usually when kids are grounded, they are sent to their rooms (in a house), so this may require further explanation. You see, Michael's dad was a college professor studying people who had lived in the Middle East thousands of years ago. He was working in an area close to where many of the stories from the Bible took place— from Joshua leading the Israelites into the Promised Land to David hiding from King Saul; from Elijah going up into heaven in a chariot of fire to John baptizing Jesus. Dr. Gomez thought coming along on the trip would be a good learning experience for his son. Michael, who was always up for an adventure, liked the idea, but he wasn't crazy about spending an entire summer away from his best friend, so he convinced his dad to invite Justin, too. For two months Michael and Justin shared a tent in the desert beside the Dead Sea in Israel. If you're wondering why it's named the Dead Sea, the answer is very simple: the water is so salty, fish can't survive in it. Have you ever tasted ocean water? The Dead Sea is ten times saltier! Not only that, but the Dead Sea is smack-dab in the middle of a desert, so the land around it is hot, dry, and dusty. Very few plants or animals can survive in the harsh environment. But the land is still beautiful and, most importantly, fun for a couple of 10-year-olds. When they weren't busy helping

通常，当孩子们被禁足时，他们会被送回自己的房间（在一个房子里），所以这可能需要进一步的解释。 你知道，迈克尔的爸爸是一名大学教授，研究几千年前生活在中东的人。 他工作的地方离圣经中许多故事发生的地方很近——从约书亚带领以色列人进入应许之地到大卫躲避扫罗王；从以利亚乘着火车升天到约翰给耶稣施洗。 戈麦斯医生认为参加这次旅行对他的儿子来说是一次很好的学习经历。 迈克尔总是喜欢冒险，他喜欢这个主意，但他不喜欢整个夏天都离开他最好的朋友，所以他说服他爸爸也邀请贾斯汀。 两个月来，迈克尔和贾斯汀在以色列死海边的沙漠里同住一个帐篷。 如果你想知道为什么它被命名为死海，答案很简单：水太咸了，鱼不能在里面生存。 你尝过海水吗？ 死海比它咸十倍！不仅如此，死海正好位于沙漠中心，所以它周围的土地又热又干，而且尘土飞扬。 很少有植物或动物能在恶劣的环境中生存。 但这片土地仍然很美丽，最重要的是，对于一对10岁的孩子来说，这很有趣。 当他们不忙着帮忙的时候

to lug broken pieces of old pottery around, they spent their time capturing scorpions in pickle jars, rolling down sand dunes, and, of course, exploring. "Michael, I've told you before to never go into a cave without an experienced guide." Dr. Gomez leaned down and got eye to eye with his son. "I love that you love to explore, but it's important that you listen to me. It's for your own good, because I want what's best for you. Understand?" "I understand," Michael said as they returned to camp.

为了拖着旧陶器的碎片四处走动，他们花时间捕捉泡菜罐里的蝎子，滚下沙丘，当然，还有探索。 “迈克尔，我以前告诉过你，没有经验丰富的向导，永远不要进入洞穴。” 戈麦斯医生俯下身来，和儿子对视了一下。 “我喜欢你喜欢探索，但重要的是你要听我的。 这是为你好，因为我希望你过得好。 明白了吗?”“我明白，”他们回到营地时迈克尔说。