Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 The Gomez family minivan zoomed down the interstate toward the airport. Michael's and Dr. Gomez's backpacks, stuffed full for a trip of unknown length, were crammed between the liftgate and the back seat where Michael, Justin, and Sadie sat. "I was hoping I would get to come with you on your next trip," lamented Sadie. Michael had brought only Justin with him on his dad's Dead Sea dig the previous summer, where they had found Merle and Pearl. Michael had promised Sadie she could come the next time.

戈麦斯家的小货车沿着州际公路向机场驶去。 迈克尔和戈麦斯医生的背包塞满了东西，塞在升降门和迈克尔、贾斯汀和赛迪坐的后座之间，准备进行一段未知的旅程。 “我希望下次能和你一起去旅行，”赛迪哀叹道。 去年夏天，迈克尔在他父亲的死海挖掘时，只带了贾斯汀一个人，他们在那里发现了莫尔和珀尔。 迈克尔答应过赛迪下次她会来的。

"Who knew that our next trip would be in the middle of the school year?" Michael replied. "Maybe if we're still gone during Christmas break, you and Justin can join us then?" "Christmas break?!" Mrs. Gomez called out from the driver's seat. "I certainly hope you won't be gone that long." She turned to Dr. Gomez, sitting in the passenger seat. "Do you think it could be that long?" "I really hope not." He shrugged. One of the benefits of having a dad who was a professor was that Michael could be excused from his classes at Walnut Creek Elementary school for learning trips. Of course, he would still need to keep up with his homework from the road. "We'll help however we can from here," Justin said. "Yeah! We can track you online and do research," Sadie added. "There's an eight-hour time difference, but we can video chat before school in the morning— which will be your afternoon. It'll take some getting used to."

“谁知道我们的下一次旅行是在学年中期呢？”迈克尔回答说。 “如果圣诞假期我们还不在的话，你和贾斯廷可以加入我们吗？”“圣诞假期? !”戈麦斯太太从驾驶座上喊道。 “我当然希望你不要离开那么久。” 她转向坐在副驾驶座位上的戈麦斯医生。 “你觉得会有那么长吗？”“我真希望不会。” 他耸了耸肩。有一个教授父亲的好处之一是，迈克尔可以不去核桃溪小学上课去学习。 当然，他仍然需要在路上完成作业。 “我们会尽我们所能提供帮助，”贾斯汀说。 “是啊!我们可以在网上跟踪你并做研究。” “虽然有8个小时的时差，但我们可以在早上上学前视频聊天——这就是你的下午。 这需要一些时间来适应。”

If you've ever wondered how it's possible that at the exact moment you are going to bed at night, another kid on the other side of the planet is just waking up in the morning, it's because the world is round. The earth takes 24 hours to spin around once— that means there are also 24 time zones. Israel happens to be 8 times zones ahead of Tennessee, so when Justin and Sadie were waking up at 7 a.m. in Tennessee, it would be the middle of the afternoon (3 p.m.) in Israel for Michael. And when Michael woke up at 7 a.m. in Israel, it would be 11 p.m. the night before in Tennessee. It can be confusing at first, and one thing's for sure— at some point, somebody's gonna accidentally wake someone else up. Mrs. Gomez pulled the minivan to the curb in the departures lane, and Michael and Dr. Gomez climbed out. Justin and Sadie helped with the backpacks as Jane remained buckled into her car seat.

如果你曾经想过，为什么在你晚上睡觉的那一刻，地球另一边的另一个孩子早上刚刚醒来，这是因为地球是圆的。 地球自转一周需要24小时，这意味着也有24个时区。 以色列正好比田纳西州早8个时区，所以当贾斯汀和赛迪早上7点起床的时候。 在田纳西州，这将是迈克尔在以色列的下午三点。 当迈克尔早上7点醒来时。 在以色列，则是晚上11点。 前一天晚上在田纳西州 一开始可能会让人困惑，但有一件事是肯定的——在某些时候，有人会不小心吵醒另一个人。 戈麦斯太太把小货车停在了出境车道的路边。 戈麦斯爬了出来。贾斯汀和赛迪帮着拿书包，简仍然坐在她的汽车座椅上。

"We'll be praying for you," Mrs. Gomez said, hugging her son. "And if you're feeling scared or worried about Merle and Pearl, you can also pray and ask God for help." "Thanks, Mom. I will," Michael said as Justin helped him put on his backpack. After a few more hugs and high fives, Dr. Gomez and Michael headed into the terminal.

“我们会为你祈祷的，”戈麦斯太太拥抱着儿子说。 “如果你感到害怕或担心莫尔和珀尔，你也可以祈祷并向上帝寻求帮助。” “谢谢,妈妈。迈克尔说，贾斯汀帮他背上背包。 在又几个拥抱和击掌之后。 戈麦斯和迈克尔走进了航站楼。