Chapter 14

14 THE FIX IT! TRUCK SPEEDS THROUGH THE SLOW-MORNING-TRAFFIC streets of Midville, taking corners tight, drifting wide on the turns, and roaring full-throttle down straightaways. Watson wraps his arms around his Universal-Strength Peanut Butter Bubble Gum

14 .修理它！卡车在米德维尔早晨车流缓慢的街道上疾驰而过，急转弯，大转弯，直道上全速行驶。 华生抱着他的万能花生酱泡泡糖

boxes. He wonders out loud, "Should that light on the dashboard be blinking red?" Grampa Al gives his gauges a quick glance as he leans into the next turn. "Oh yeah," he says. "This engine likes to run hot. It's a regulation NASCAR 850 horsepower V-8. We are talking—" Squeeeeeeeeaaallll! whine the truck tires on the turn. "—around two thousand degrees Fahrenheit. Just like I used to run in my stockcar- racing days."

盒子。他大声问道：“仪表盘上的灯应该是红灯闪烁吗？”阿尔爷爷瞥了一眼仪表，倾身进入下一个转弯。 “哦，是的，”他说。“这台发动机喜欢热运转。 这是标准的纳斯卡850马力v8引擎。 我们在说——“呜——呜——呜！”卡车轮胎在转弯时发出呜呜声。 ——大约两千华氏度。 就像我过去参加赛车比赛时那样。”

"You never told me you used to race stock cars," says Frank, surprised once again by something he doesn't know about his Grampa Al. Grampa Al smiles. "You never asked." He passes two cars on the Oak Street straightaway, downshifts into an S-turn, and passes two more cars coming out high. "But hey, are you sure you don't want to look for Klink and Klank now? You don't have to do this Science Prize for me." "I'm sure," says Frank, grabbing the door handle as Grampa Al brakes hard and fishtails ninety degrees right on Main Street. "I am going to win this prize. Then we can look for Klink and Klank. If you can get us there on time." Grampa Al checks his navy dive watch and gives Frank a nod. "Roger that. And while you guys are in there kicking butt, I will get started looking for Klink and Klank."

“你从来没告诉过我你以前开过赛车，”弗兰克说，他又一次对他爷爷所不知道的事情感到惊讶。 爷爷笑了。“你从来没问过。” 他在橡树街（Oak Street）直道超过了两辆车，然后降档进入s型转弯，又超过了另外两辆高速驶出的车。 “可是，嘿，你确定现在不想去找克林克和克兰克吗？” 你不需要为我做这个科学奖。” “我敢肯定，”弗兰克说，抓住门把手，这时艾尔爷爷急刹车，鱼尾在主街上转了九十度。 “我要赢得这个奖。 然后我们就可以去找Klink和Klank。 如果你能让我们准时到达的话。” 爷爷看了看他的海军潜水表，向弗兰克点了点头。 “罗杰。当你们在里面踢屁股的时候，我要开始找三连克和三连克了。”

Grampa Al floors it past the Midville Cemetery, blows by the courthouse plaza, and weaves around a gold minivan, a blue station wagon, and a poky red pickup truck. Still going full speed, he yanks up the emergency brake and pulls the steering wheel hard left. The truck locks all four wheels and skids sideways to a full stop, perfectly curbside, right in front of City Hall. Tires smoking just a little bit. "Hit the beach, guys!" Frank and Watson pile out of the truck. Watson lugs his boxes of gum and poster- board display. Frank grabs his ultralight Antimatter Motor Fly Bike. Together they race up the wide stadium steps of the white- marbled and many-columned City Hall building into a swarm of kids carrying working-eye models, prime-number charts, fruitfly genetics displays, blown-up earthworm dissections, a poster of photon and positron

艾尔爷爷走过米德维尔公墓，经过法院广场，绕着一辆金色的小型货车、一辆蓝色的旅行车和一辆红色的小货车走。 他仍然全速行驶，猛拉紧急刹车，使劲向左拉方向盘。 卡车锁住了四个轮子，侧身滑行，完全停在了路边，就在市政厅前。 轮胎有点冒烟。 “去海滩吧，伙计们！”弗兰克和沃森从卡车里挤了出来。 华生拖着一盒盒的口香糖和展示板。 弗兰克抓起他的超轻型反物质飞行摩托车。 他们一起跑上白色大理石和多柱的市政厅大楼宽阔的体育场台阶，进入一群拿着工作眼模型、素数图表、果蝇遗传学展示、放大的蚯蚓解剖、光子和正电子海报的孩子们中间

emissions from a black hole, solar panels, optical illusions, and, yes, baking-soda volcanoes. The herd of one hundred kid scientists pours into the high-ceilinged cavern of the main hall under the enormous banner of the sponsor, GrabCo. Each scientist checks in with GrabCo officials, receives a GRABCO SCIENCE PRIZE CONTESTANT badge, and is directed to a numbered spot in the maze of tables filling the patterned marble floor. The packed main hall hums like some kind of gargantuan beehive filled with a swarm of kid-size buzzing bees setting up, comparing projects, talking science. In spot 338B, Watson arranges the finishing touch, the final piece of his Universal-Strength Peanut Butter Bubble Gum, on a very attractive pyramid display. In spot 403A, Frank Einstein adjusts his Antimatter Motor Fly Bike diagram.

黑洞的排放物，太阳能电池板，视错觉，还有，没错，小苏打火山。 在赞助商GrabCo的巨大横幅下，100名儿童科学家涌入主厅的高天花板洞穴。 每位科学家都要向GrabCo的官员报到，获得GrabCo科学奖参赛选手的徽章，然后被引导到铺满大理石地板的迷宫般的桌子上的一个编号的位置。 拥挤的大厅像一个巨大的蜂巢一样嗡嗡作响，里面挤满了一群孩子大小的嗡嗡作响的蜜蜂，他们在一起，比较项目，谈论科学。 在338B点，华生在一个非常吸引人的金字塔式展示上布置了最后一笔，他的万能花生酱泡泡糖的最后一块。 在403A点，弗兰克·爱因斯坦调整了他的反物质马达飞自行车图。

And that's when the lights suddenly go out. A surprised hush quiets the roaring buzz. A squeal of feedback echoes around the hall. A single spotlight pops on a raised stage, illuminating two men in bow-tied tuxedoes. A voice booms, "LADY AND GENTLEMAN SCIENTISTS. WELCOME TO THE FIFTIETH ANNUAL GRABCO SCIENCE PRIZE. I AM ADAMS JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF GRABCO, AND WE HAVE A SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT. PROBABLY THE BIGGEST SURPRISE WE HAVE EVER HAD IN OUR FIFTY YEARS OF AWARDING THE GRABCO SCIENCE PRIZE. MR. MAYOR?"

就在这时，灯突然熄灭了。 一阵意外的安静平息了咆哮的嗡嗡声。 一声尖锐的反馈声在大厅里回荡。 一盏聚光灯射向升高的舞台，照亮了两个穿着领结燕尾服的男人。 一个声音响起：“科学家们。 欢迎来到第五十届格拉科科学奖。 我是亚当斯·约翰逊，grabco公司的总裁，我们有一个惊喜宣布。 这可能是我们颁发格拉科科学奖50年来最大的惊喜。 市长先生?”