Chapter 13

13 GOOD MORNING, EINSTEIN," SAYS GRAMPA AL, POURING FRANK some cornflakes. Frank plops down in the kitchen chair and yawns but still cracks a smile and answers, "Good morning, Einstein." "Cornflakes!" says Watson, already there and ready to go, as loud and awake as Frank is

“早上好，爱因斯坦。”爷爷说着，给弗兰克倒了一些玉米片。 弗兰克扑通一声坐在厨房的椅子上打了个呵欠，但仍然笑着回答说：“早上好，爱因斯坦。” “玉米片！”华生说，他已经准备好了，和弗兰克一样大声、清醒

not. He holds a single cornflake up to the light. "This is what I am going to invent next." Frank chews his mouthful of cereal. Sleepily. Slowly. "I think they've already been invented." "No, I mean something like cornflakes. Something that is such a good idea that it seems like it's always been around. Did you know they were invented by accident?" "No," says Frank. "But why do I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway?" "It's 1894," says Watson, ignoring Frank. "The Kellogg brothers are making some dough to squeeze through rollers and flatten out. But then they both have to leave the room for some reason. I'm not sure why. Maybe their mom is calling them. No... wait. They were grown-up guys by then. I guess it's not part of the story—" "Which is why you should probably leave it

不是。他拿着一片玉米片对着灯光。 “这就是我接下来要发明的东西。” 弗兰克嚼着满嘴的麦片。 懒散地。缓慢。“我认为它们已经被发明出来了。” “不，我是说玉米片之类的东西。 这是一个很好的想法，似乎一直都存在。 你知道它们是偶然发明的吗？”“不，”弗兰克说。 “可我怎么总觉得你要告诉我呢？”“现在是1894年，”沃森说，没有理睬弗兰克。 “凯洛格兄弟正在做一些面团，通过滚筒挤压并压平。 但之后他们都因为某种原因离开了房间。 我不知道为什么。也许是他们的妈妈在叫他们。 否。等待。那时他们都是成年人了。 我想这不是故事的一部分——”“这就是为什么你应该离开它

out," says Frank. "Right," says Watson. "Forget that part. So they have to leave the room. They come back. And guess what? The dough is all dried out. They don't want to waste it, though, so they run it through the rollers anyway." "OK, now this is getting really exciting," teases Frank. "But when they run the dry dough through the rollers, it breaks into flakes! They are delicious. Everyone loves them. And now they've been around for more than a hundred years." "Which just might happen with Watson's Universal-Strength Peanut Butter Bubble Gum," says Grampa Al. He checks his full- scale model of the first atomic clock on the kitchen wall. "Speaking of which—we'd better get you boys over to City Hall so you can get set up.

出去，”弗兰克说。“对，”沃森说。 “忘了那部分吧。所以他们必须离开房间。 他们回来了。你猜怎么着？ 生面团全干了。 但他们不想浪费，所以还是用滚轮把它轧了一遍。” “好吧，现在这真的很令人兴奋，”弗兰克开玩笑说。 “但是当他们把干面团通过滚筒时，它就碎成薄片了！”它们很好吃。 每个人都喜欢它们。现在它们已经存在了一百多年了。” “沃森的万能花生酱泡泡糖可能会发生这种情况，”艾尔爷爷说。 他检查了挂在厨房墙上的第一个原子钟的全尺寸模型。 “说到这里——我们最好把你们俩带到市政厅去，好让你们准备一下。

Big day today." The thought of today's Science Prize, and the Antimatter Motor Fly Bike—what it could mean for Grampa Al, what it could mean for science—wakes Frank up in an instant. But— Rrrrarrrrrr rings the Dimetrodon. Frank answers. "Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad." Bob and Mary Einstein, still in their orange parkas, appear on the Dimetrodon screen. "Hi, darling. We can't talk long. There is something happening down here with that orange zone you mentioned." "It's the ozone, honey," says Bob. "Right. The O zone. Seems like it's got a hole in it." "Yeah, there's a bad thing going on with CFCs..." Frank begins to explain patiently. "Yes, but anyway. We just wanted to call and wish you luck at your science fair today."

今天是个大日子。”一想到今天的科学奖，以及反物质马达飞行自行车——这对阿尔爷爷意味着什么，对科学意味着什么——弗兰克立刻醒了过来。 但如此完好——Rrrrarrrrrr戒指。 弗兰克的答案。“嗨,妈妈。嗨,爸爸。” 鲍勃和玛丽·爱因斯坦仍然穿着橙色的派克大衣，出现在《恐龙》的屏幕上。 “嗨,亲爱的。我们不能谈太久。 你提到的那个橙色区域正在发生一些事情。” “是臭氧，亲爱的，”鲍勃说。 “正确。O区。好像上面有个洞。” “是的，氯氟烃是一件不好的事情……” 弗兰克开始耐心地解释。 “是的，但是不管怎样。我们只是想打电话祝你今天在科学展上好运。”

"Aw, thanks, Mom. I'm hoping to win the big prize. Remember the trophy Grampa won when he was a kid?" "Did you do that model of a volcano with flour and seltzer like I did when I was your age?" asks Bob. "That's a classic." "Not exactly," says Frank. "It's baking soda and vinegar. And they do react in a pretty neat multistep reaction to form carbonic acid... NaHCO3 + HC2H3O2 NaC2H3O2 + H2CO3"... which decomposes into water and bubbles of carbon dioxide... H2CO3 H2O + CO2"... but actually, I finally figured out how

“哦，谢谢你，妈妈。我希望能赢得大奖。 还记得爷爷小时候赢得的奖杯吗？”“你是不是像我在你这么大的时候那样，用面粉和苏打水做了那个火山模型？”鲍勃问。 “这是经典之作。”“不完全是，”弗兰克说。 “这是小苏打和醋。 它们确实会通过一个相当简洁的多步骤反应生成碳酸…… NaHCO3 + HC2H3O2 NaC2H3O2 + H2CO3"… 分解成水和二氧化碳气泡… H2co3 h2o + co2 "…但实际上，我终于知道怎么做了

to power my old flying-bike invention. With a real Antimatter Motor I made with Watson and my robot pals." The picture link fuzzes for a split second. "What?" says Mary. "We didn't hear all of that. But it's wonderful that you are riding bikes with your friends." "We are heading home tomorrow," says Bob. "See you in a couple days!" "Love you, sweetie." "Love you guys. Bye." Frank turns to Grampa Al. "You let your own kid make a volcano model?" Grampa Al smiles and shrugs. "He loved it. And it made a very nice imitation-lava flow. Now come on. Pack up your Fly Bike and Peanut Butter Bubble Gum, and let's blow this pop stand." "Blow this pop stand" is another one of those mysterious Grampa Al sayings, where

给我发明的飞行自行车提供动力。 用我和华生还有我的机器人伙伴们做的一个真正的反物质马达。” 图片链接有一瞬间模糊了。 “什么？”玛丽说。“我们没有听到所有这些。 但是你和你的朋友一起骑自行车真是太棒了。” “我们明天要回家了，”鲍勃说。 “几天后见！”“爱你，亲爱的。” “我爱你们。再见。”弗兰克转向阿尔爷爷。 “你让自己的孩子做一个火山模型？”爷爷笑了笑，耸了耸肩。 “他很喜欢。它做了一个很好的模仿——熔岩流。 来吧。收拾好你的飞行自行车和花生酱泡泡糖，让我们炸掉这个汽水摊。” “吹这个汽水架”是另一句神秘的艾尔爷爷名言，在那里