10 Manifest Destiny

Chapter 10 Manifest Destiny Well, now it looked as if the two people who could help the McDonald twins were both dead. Mya, the woman in red who saved their lives up on the cliff, had been shot in the neck with a poisoned dart. And now Bones, blown to pieces. For a moment, Coke thought about becoming Ace Fist the action hero and running back into the garage to save Bones. But the building had been obliterated. Nothing was left. There was no way anybody could have survived the blast. And it would be risky to try. Whoever set off that explosion was, in all probability, trying to kill him and his sister. The smart thing to do would be to get out of there as quickly as possible. "Do you think it's our fault that Mya and

第十章昭昭天命啊，现在看来，能帮助麦克唐纳兄弟的两个人似乎都死了。 米娅，那个在悬崖上救了他们一命的红衣女人，被一支有毒的飞镖射中了脖子。 现在是骨头，被炸成碎片。 有那么一刻，可口可乐想成为王牌拳王，跑回车库去救骨头。 但这座建筑已经被夷为平地。 什么也没留下。没有人能在爆炸中幸存。 尝试是有风险的。 引爆炸弹的人，很可能是想杀了他和他妹妹。 明智的做法是尽快离开那里。 “你认为这是我们的错吗？

Bones are dead?" Pep asked as they ran home. "Maybe we're bad luck." "Of course it's not our fault," Coke told her. "It's their fault. They're the ones who put us in danger. The people who have been trying to kill us just got them instead. No wonder Dr. Warsaw decided that it's up to kids to save the world. Grown-ups have no idea what to do." On the inside, though, both twins felt a twinge of guilt. Mya and Bones had been trying to help them, and now they were gone. Coke and Pep were on their own. There was a chill in the air as they got closer to home. Coke wished he hadn't so gallantly ripped his T-shirt in half when they were trapped in the burning school. He felt cold now. "Do you think Mom and Dad know what happened at school?" Pep asked her brother. "Are you kidding?" he replied. "Aliens could land on our front lawn, and Mom and Dad wouldn't notice. I bet all the parents were called. Mom and Dad probably didn't pick up

骨头都死了？”他们跑回家时，佩普问道。 “也许我们运气不好。”“这当然不是我们的错，”科克告诉她。 “这是他们的错。是他们把我们置于危险之中。 那些一直想杀我们的人反而得到了他们。 难怪华沙医生决定由孩子们来拯救世界。 大人们不知道该怎么做。” 然而，在内心深处，这对双胞胎都感到一阵内疚。 米娅和骨头一直想帮助他们，现在他们走了。 可口可乐和佩普只能靠自己了。 当他们离家越来越近时，空气中有一股寒意。 当他们被困在燃烧的学校里时，科克真希望自己没有那么勇敢地把自己的t恤撕成两半。 他现在感到冷了。“你觉得爸爸妈妈知道学校里发生的事吗？”佩普问她的哥哥。 “你在开玩笑吗？”他回答。 “外星人可以降落在我们家门前的草坪上，而爸爸妈妈不会注意到。 我敢说所有家长都打过电话了。 爸妈可能没接电话

the phone or check their email." In fact, Dr. McDonald had checked his email. An emergency message had gone out to parents telling them the school had burned down after everyone had left for summer vacation. Dr. McDonald assumed it was another one of those internet hoaxes he received all the time. He deleted it from his in-box with a laugh. When the twins finally got home, their parents barely noticed them. They were in the middle of a heated discussion on the front lawn. "I can't believe this, Bridge!" Dr. McDonald complained. "The garbagemen took my garbage can!" "That's what they're supposed to do, Ben," Mrs. McDonald informed him. "No, they took my good garbage can," he added. "The small one in my office." "Well, why did you put your good garbage can out with the trash?" Mrs. McDonald asked logically. "I wanted them to take the garbage in the can,

打电话或查看他们的电子邮件。” 事实上，麦克唐纳博士查看了他的电子邮件。 学校给家长们发了一条紧急信息，告诉他们学校在大家都去放暑假后被烧毁了。 麦克唐纳博士认为这是他经常收到的网络骗局中的一个。 他笑着把邮件从收件箱里删除了。 当这对双胞胎终于回到家时，他们的父母几乎没有注意到他们。 他们正在前面的草坪上热烈地讨论着。 “我真不敢相信，布里奇！”博士。 麦当劳抱怨道。“垃圾工拿走了我的垃圾桶！”“这是他们应该做的，本，”麦克唐纳太太告诉他。 “没有，他们拿走了我的好垃圾桶，”他补充说。 “我办公室里的那个小的。” “那么，你为什么把你的好垃圾桶和垃圾放在一起？”麦克唐纳太太逻辑地问道。 “我想让他们把垃圾倒进垃圾桶，

not the can itself," he explained. "The can wasn't garbage. The stuff in the can was garbage. It was obvious!" "You shouldn't have put your good garbage can out on the lawn, Ben," she said. "It's your own fault." "Well, they shouldn't have taken it away!" The twins looked from one parent to the other as if they were watching a Ping-Pong tournament. "How are the garbagemen supposed to know what is or isn't garbage?" Mrs. McDonald continued. "They're not mind readers." "What do I have to do, spell it out for them?" "Apparently so," she replied. "Why don't you make a sign that says not garbage and put it on the can you don't want to throw away?" "I'm not making a sign for the garbagemen!" he said, exasperated. "You know, last year I was trying to throw away an old beat-up garbage can, but they wouldn't take it. They didn't think it was garbage. And now they took my good

不是罐子本身，”他解释说。 “这个罐子不是垃圾。罐子里的东西都是垃圾。 这是显而易见的！”“本，你不应该把你的好垃圾桶扔在草坪上，”她说。 “这是你自己的错。”“嗯，他们不应该把它拿走！”这对双胞胎从父母一方看向另一方，好像在看乒乓球比赛。 “垃圾工怎么知道什么是垃圾，什么不是垃圾？”麦克唐纳太太继续说。 “他们不会读心术。” “我该怎么做，给他们讲清楚吗？”“显然是这样，”她回答。 “你为什么不做一个写着不是垃圾的牌子，贴在你不想扔掉的罐子上呢？”“我不是在给垃圾工做标识！”他生气地说。 “你知道，去年我想扔掉一个破旧的垃圾桶，但他们不收。 他们不认为这是垃圾。 现在他们拿走了我的好东西

garbage can that I didn't want to throw away. I'm telling you, Bridge, you can't win with these people!" Coke and Pep silently prayed that they would never become grown-ups. Their parents turned and faced them, finally realizing there were more important things in life than garbage cans. "It's about time you kids got home," Dr. McDonald said, pulling his children to him in a bear hug. "What happened to your shirt?" Mrs. McDonald asked Coke. "It ripped," Coke replied. It was, technically, the truth. "I had to throw it away." "Is that any way to treat your clothes? Shirts don't grow on trees, you know," his mother said. "They cost money. You need to take better care of your possessions. Ben, should there be consequences to this?" Dr. McDonald didn't like to hear his children being scolded. He always believed you get better

一个我不想扔掉的垃圾桶。 我告诉你，布里奇，你赢不了这些人的！”可口可乐和佩普默默地祈祷他们永远不会长大。 他们的父母转过身来，终于意识到生活中有比垃圾桶更重要的东西。 “你们这些孩子是时候回家了。” 麦克唐纳一边说，一边把孩子们紧紧地搂在怀里。 “你的衬衫怎么了？”麦克唐纳太太问科克。 “它破了，”可口可乐回答。 严格来说，这是事实。 “我不得不把它扔掉。”“你就是这样对待你的衣服的吗？” 衬衫不是从树上长出来的，你知道，”他妈妈说。 “他们要花钱。你需要更好地照顾你的财产。 本，这样做有什么后果吗？”博士。 麦克唐纳不喜欢听到孩子们挨骂。 他一直相信你会好起来的

results by rewarding good behavior than you do by punishing bad behavior. "Anything exciting happen at school today?" he asked to change the subject. "Nope, other than the fact that it burned down," Coke said. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Dr. McDonald chortled. "I got that email too. You kids crack me up. Bridge, I'm so glad we decided to have children after all." Pep and her mom went inside to prepare dinner, while Dr. McDonald brought Coke around to the side of the RV, which was parked in the driveway. "We're heading out first thing in the morning," he told Coke. "And I have a job for you. I need you to clean the toilet." "Why do I have to clean the toilet?" Coke complained. "Why can't Pep do it?" "Because you're a guy," Dr. McDonald said, "and we guys are disgusting, filthy creatures, right? Besides, which would you rather do: clean

奖励好的行为比惩罚坏的行为更有效。 “今天学校有什么激动人心的事吗？”他问道，想换个话题。 “没有，除了它被烧毁的事实，”可口可乐说。 “哈哈哈哈哈!”麦克唐纳博士哈哈大笑。 “我也收到了那封邮件。你们这些孩子让我笑死了。 布里奇，我很高兴我们终于决定要孩子了。” 佩普和她妈妈进屋准备晚饭。 麦克唐纳把可乐带到停在车道上的房车旁边。 “我们一早就出发了，”他告诉可口可乐。 “我有一份工作给你。 我需要你去打扫厕所。” “为什么我要打扫厕所？”可口可乐抱怨。 “为什么佩普不能这么做？”“因为你是个男人。” 麦克唐纳说，“而我们这些家伙是恶心、肮脏的生物，对吧？ 再说，你更愿意做什么：打扫