Chapter 8

8 FRANK EINSTEIN PULLS A PHILLIPS-HEAD SCREWDRIVER OUT OF HIS lab-coat pocket and quickly rewires the repair-shop doorbell button. Frank pushes the doorbell to check his connection. The newly connected rubber fish on a plaque on the wall of Frank's laboratory whips

弗兰克·爱因斯坦从他的实验服口袋里掏出一把十字螺丝刀，迅速地给修理厂的门铃按钮接上了电线。 弗兰克按了按门铃，查看电话是否接通。 弗兰克实验室鞭子墙上的一块牌匾上新连接的橡皮鱼

its head out sideways and starts singing, "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!" Watson listens to the tune coming from the lab. He nods. "Nice." Frank flips the shop sign over from OPEN to RING BUZZER. He locks the front door to keep out any more unwanted visitors. "Now let's get to work," says Frank. "We've got a prize to win." He and Watson head out of the shop and back into the yard. "Klink, Klank into the lab!"

它斜着头开始唱歌，“我们是冠军！”沃森听着从实验室传来的曲调。 他点了点头。“好了。”弗兰克把商店的招牌从“开门”翻到“响蜂鸣器”。 他锁上前门，不让不速之客进来。 “现在我们开始工作吧，”弗兰克说。 “我们要赢得奖品。” 他和华生走出商店，回到院子里。 “克林克，克林克进实验室！”

Klink pops to life and rolls quickly toward Frank and Watson. Klank throws off his dryer-drum disguise and hustles across the backyard, dragging a mess of copper wire tangled around his left arm and a green garden hose wrapped around his right leg. In the lab, Frank stands in front of his Wall of Science, which is plastered with hundreds of his plans, ideas, sketches, notes, inventions, doodles, and pictures of his favorite scientists. Klink, Klank, and Watson face Frank and the Wall. Frank starts pacing back and forth, the way he does when he's really thinking. "OK, here's what we've got. All of science. Every bit of what the world is and how it works. From the tiniest bit of matter to the giantest outer space of maybe a gazillion universes. But first—I need the coolest invention to win the Midville Science Prize. Klink and Klank, we are going

克林克突然活了过来，迅速向弗兰克和华生滚去。 克兰克扔掉了干衣鼓的伪装，匆匆穿过后院，左臂上缠着一团乱七八糟的铜线，右腿上缠着一根绿色的园艺软管。 在实验室里，弗兰克站在他的科学墙前，墙上贴满了他的数百个计划、想法、草图、笔记、发明、涂鸦和他最喜欢的科学家的照片。 Klink， Klank和Watson面对Frank和Wall。 弗兰克开始来回踱步，就像他认真思考时那样。 “好吧，这是我们得到的。 所有的科学。这个世界是什么以及它是如何运作的。 从最微小的物质到可能无数个宇宙中最大的外层空间。 但首先，我需要最酷的发明来赢得米德维尔科学奖。 Klink和Klank，我们走

to need every bit of your robot intelligence." "Yes," says Klink. "I am sure you will." "Oh boy. Oh boy," says Klank. "Are we going to make a baking-soda volcano?" "No," says Frank. "Collect cow farts?" Frank paces. "Could be a good idea... but not right now." Klank whirs and hums for a minute. "Build a Shrinky-Pig 2000?" "Please do not start with the Poopypants again," Klink beeps. "We are going to need something crazy," says Frank. "Something new. Something amazing." Watson drops his backpack onto the workbench. "We can use my project." "Thanks for the offer, Watson, but—"

需要你所有的机器人智能。” “是的，”Klink说。“我相信你会的。” “哦男孩。哦，天哪，”克兰克说。 “我们要做一个小苏打火山吗？”“不，”弗兰克说。 “收集牛屁？”弗兰克步。 “可能是个好主意……但不是现在。” Klank嗡嗡作响了一分钟。 “造一只缩水猪2000?”“请不要再提便便裤了，”link嘟囔着。 “我们需要一些疯狂的东西，”弗兰克说。 “新东西。一件美妙的事。” 华生把背包掉在工作台上。 “我们可以用我的项目。”“谢谢你的好意，华生，可是——”

Watson pulls out a plastic tub filled with a tan-colored goo. "It's new. And it is amazing. It will do for peanut butter what the Kellogg brothers did for corn." "Yes!" beeps Klank. "What Goodyear did for rubber." "Yes, yes!" boops Klank. "What Walter Diemer did for gum!" "Yes... Wait a minute. Who?" bleeps Klank. Klink searches his database in a nanosecond. "Philadelphia accountant. Inventor of bubble gum. 1928. He maximized the elasticity of the gum for better formation of bubbles." Watson breaks off a big chunk of the tan goo and holds it up to the light. "Yes. We will win the prize, wow the world, and save Grampa Al's place from Edison and his ape! It's the universe's strongest, most delicious, so

沃森拿出一个塑料桶，里面装满了棕褐色的粘稠物。 “这是新的。这是惊人的。 它对花生酱的作用就像凯洛格兄弟对玉米的作用一样。” “是的！”克兰克嘟嘟地说。“就像固特异为橡胶做的那样。” “是的，是的！”克兰克大叫。“沃尔特·迪默为口香糖做了什么！”“是的… 等一下。克兰克嘀咕道。 Klink在一纳秒内搜索了他的数据库。 “费城会计。泡泡糖的发明者。 1928. 他最大限度地提高了口香糖的弹性，以更好地形成气泡。” 沃森掰下一大块棕褐色的粘稠物，把它举到灯光下。 “是的。我们会赢得大奖，惊艳世界，从爱迪生和他的猿猴手中拯救阿尔爷爷的位置！这是全宇宙最浓烈，最美味的，所以

amazing... Watson's Universal-Strength Peanut Butter Bubble Gum!" "Thanks for the very generous offer," says Frank. "But—" Klank shakes the garden hose off his leg. "Most delicious? So amazing? Yes, I want Watson's Universal-Strength Peanut Butter Bubble Gum!" Klank snatches the goo out of Watson's hand. Frank calls, "Klank, don't—" But before anyone can stop him, Klank pushes the wad of gum into his input port. "Mmmmmmmm," says Klank. Klank's hard-drive brain whirs hard. "Urrrrrrrk," says Klank. Klank's head starts to heat up. His eyes roll funny. "Quaaaaaaaaa," moans Klank. Klank's brain fan spins furiously. Switches

神奇的……华生万能花生酱泡泡糖！”“谢谢你这么慷慨的提议，”弗兰克说。 “可是——”克兰克把浇花软管从腿上抖下来。 “最好吃吗?那么神奇? 是的，我想要沃森的万能花生酱泡泡糖！”克兰克从华生的手里抢过粘稠的东西。 弗兰克喊道：“克兰克，不要——”但在任何人阻止他之前，克兰克把那团口香糖塞进了他的输入口。 “嗯，嗯，”克兰克说。Klank的硬盘驱动器的大脑嗡嗡作响。 “呃……呃……”克兰克说。克兰克的头开始发热。 他的眼睛滑稽地转动着。“呱……呱……”克兰克呻吟道。 克兰克的脑扇疯狂地旋转着。 开关