20 Day at the Museum

Chapter 20 DAY AT THE MUSEUM The twins walked through the metal detector, looking all around for anything suspicious. The security guard peered into Coke's backpack for a moment, looked at Coke, rolled her eyes, and waved him through. She had seen people try to bring drugs, alcohol, explosives, and even live animals into the museum. Now this kid had a can of Silly String, a roll of duct tape, and little bars of soap. Nothing surprised her anymore. There was no other line, no tickets to be picked up, no admission. The Museum of American History, like all the Smithsonian museums, is free. Coke and Pep rushed inside. Pep checked the clock on her cell phone. It was 1:46. In fourteen minutes something was going to happen. The question was … what?

第二十章在博物馆的一天双胞胎穿过金属探测器，四处寻找可疑的东西。 保安往可乐的背包里看了一会儿，看了看可乐，翻了个白眼，挥手示意他过去。 她曾看到有人试图把毒品、酒精、炸药甚至活的动物带进博物馆。 现在这个孩子有一罐傻线，一卷管道胶带和一小块肥皂。 再也没有什么让她感到惊讶了。 没有其他的队伍，没有票要拿，没有入场。 美国历史博物馆和其他史密森尼博物馆一样是免费的。 可口可乐和佩普冲了进去。 佩普查看了她手机上的时钟。 现在是1点46分。再过十四分钟，就要发生什么事了。 问题是……什么？

"I hope Mya and Bones show up," Coke said. "They'll be here," Pep assured him. "They promised to have our backs." "Look!" Coke shouted, pointing straight ahead. On the opposite side of the museum, nearly filling the wall, was a sculpture made of hundreds of shiny silver panels arranged in the shape of a waving flag. Below it were these words: THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem "This way," Coke said, marching toward it. The entrance to the Star-Spangled Banner room was below the silver sculpture, on the right. The twins went through the doorway, not knowing what might be around the corner. When we think of the Star-Spangled Banner, we think of the song ("Oh say, can you see…"). But the Star-Spangled Banner is a banner. It's the flag of the United States. Coke and Pep walked hesitantly into a darkened hallway with paintings on the wall and plaques

“我希望米亚和骨头会出现，”科克说。 “他们会来的，”佩普向他保证。 “他们承诺会支持我们。” “看!”可口可乐指着前方喊道。 在博物馆的对面，有一件雕塑，几乎占满了整面墙，由数百块闪亮的银质嵌板组成，摆成一面飘扬的旗帜的形状。 下面写着：星条旗——国歌的灵感之源。“这边走，”可口可乐一边说，一边朝它走去。 星条旗大厅的入口在银质雕塑的下方，在右边。 双胞胎穿过门口，不知道拐角处会有什么。 当我们想到《星条旗永不落》（Star-Spangled Banner）时，我们会想到那首歌（“哦，喂，你能看到吗……”）。 但星条旗是一面旗帜。 这是美国的国旗。 可口可乐和佩普犹豫地走进一条黑暗的走廊，墙上挂着画和牌匾

describing how Francis Scott Key, on a boat a few miles from Baltimore harbor, watched ("by the dawn's early light") the British bombarding Baltimore's Fort McHenry on September 13, 1814. The attack lasted twenty-five hours, and explosions illuminated ("the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air") a huge American flag, which inspired Key to write the lyrics to his famous song. The twins turned the corner, into an even darker room. Aside from a dim line of guide lights on the floor, the only thing they could see in the room was the flag. The real one. The Star-Spangled Banner that had inspired Francis Scott Key. It was kept in near darkness, to prevent it from fading. "Wow," Coke whispered. "This is the real deal." It was the largest flag either of them had ever seen—thirty by thirty-four feet—and eight more feet of the right side was missing because souvenir hunters had cut off pieces over the years. One of the fifteen stars had been snipped out too. Now the flag was under glass, laid out on a tilted floor, with the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the wall

描述了1814年9月13日，弗朗西斯·斯科特·基（Francis Scott Key）在距离巴尔的摩港几英里的船上（“借着黎明的晨光”）观看英军轰炸巴尔的摩的麦克亨利堡的情景。 袭击持续了25个小时，爆炸照亮了一面巨大的美国国旗（“火箭发出红光，炸弹在空中爆炸”），这激发了基为他那首著名歌曲写歌词的灵感。 双胞胎转过拐角，走进一间更黑的房间。 除了地板上一排昏暗的导灯外，他们在房间里唯一能看到的就是那面国旗。 真正的那个。《星条旗永不落》启发了弗朗西斯·斯科特·基。 为了防止它褪色，它被保存在接近黑暗的地方。 “哇，”可口可乐低声说。“这是货真价实的。” 这是他们俩见过的最大的一面国旗——长30英尺，宽34英尺——而且右边还有8英尺的部分不见了，因为多年来纪念品猎人把它切掉了。 十五颗星星中的一颗也被剪掉了。 现在，国旗被玻璃罩住，放在倾斜的地板上，墙上写着《星条旗永不落》的歌词

behind it in white, glowing letters. "Do you think somebody is supposed to meet us in here?" Pep asked. "I can't see anybody." "I can barely see my hand in front of my face," Coke replied. "Let's get out of here," Pep said. "It's scary." But Coke did see one other thing in the dark room—a piece of paper on the floor in front of the display case. He stooped down to pick it up. The twins rushed out the opposite side of the dark room so they could read it… "Greensboro lunch counter!" Pep shouted. They dashed out of the Star-Spangled Banner exhibit and looked to the right. Down the hall was a sculpture of George Washington wrapped in a cloth and holding one hand up in the air. They looked down the hall to the left to see…

在它后面是白色发光的字母。 “你觉得应该有人来这里接我们吗？”Pep问道。 “我谁也看不见。”“我几乎看不到我的手在我面前，”可口可乐回答说。 “我们离开这里吧，”佩普说。 “这是可怕的。”但在黑暗的房间里，科克确实看到了另一样东西——展示柜前地板上的一张纸。 他弯下腰把它捡起来。 双胞胎从黑暗的房间的另一边冲出来，这样他们就能看到上面写着：“格林斯博罗午餐柜台！”Pep喊道。 他们冲出星条旗展，向右看了看。 大厅那头有一座乔治·华盛顿的雕塑，他裹着一块布，一只手举在空中。 他们朝大厅左边看了看……

A lunch counter! "This way!" Coke said, and they ran over there. It was a pretty ordinary-looking lunch counter, with two pink and two green stools. But history was made at that lunch counter. It was at a Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina. Back in 1960, only white people were allowed to eat in the store. But on February 1 of that year, four black college students sat down and asked to be served. When they were told to leave, they refused. They came back the next day too, with more students from the university. Word got around, and soon black students in fifty-four cities were holding "sit-ins" at segregated

午餐柜台！“这样!”科克说，他们就跑过去了。 这是一个非常普通的午餐柜台，有两个粉红色和两个绿色的凳子。 但历史是在那个午餐柜台创造的。 那是在北卡罗来纳州格林斯博罗的一家伍尔沃斯商店。 早在1960年，只有白人被允许在商店里吃东西。 但在那一年的2月1日，四名黑人大学生坐下来要求得到服务。 当他们被要求离开时，他们拒绝了。 第二天他们又回来了，带着更多的大学学生。 消息传开了，很快，54个城市的黑人学生在隔离学校举行了“静坐”

lunch counters all over the country. That drew media attention, and within six months Woolworth's and other stores had opened their lunch counters to anyone who wanted to eat there. It would be another four years until the Civil Rights Act was passed, ending segregation in public accommodations and employment. The twins looked all over for a clue telling them what they were supposed to do or who they were supposed to see at the lunch counter. A few tourists with cameras were milling around, but they seemed harmless. Nothing really captured the twins' attention until Coke spotted another note. This one was taped to the bottom of the glass in front of the lunch counter. He peeled it off and read it. WBUAOHYY "John Bull!" Pep yelled. "The train!" They ran over to a little booth nearby with a short gray-haired lady sitting behind it. A sign next to the booth said ASK ME. "Where's John Bull?" Pep asked breathlessly.

遍布全国的午餐柜台。 这引起了媒体的注意，不到六个月，伍尔沃斯和其他商店就向任何想在那里吃饭的人开放了午餐柜台。 又过了四年，民权法案才得以通过，结束了公共设施和就业方面的种族隔离。 这对双胞胎四处寻找线索，告诉他们应该做什么，或者他们应该在午餐柜台见到谁。 一些带着相机的游客在附近闲逛，但他们似乎没有伤害。 没有什么能真正引起这对双胞胎的注意，直到可口可乐发现了另一张纸条。 这张是贴在午餐柜台前的玻璃杯底部的。 他把它剥下来读了起来。 “约翰牛！”Pep喊道。 “火车!”他们跑到附近的一个小货摊前，货摊后面坐着一位头发灰白的矮个子女士。 电话亭旁边的牌子上写着“问我”。 “约翰·公牛在哪儿？”佩普气喘吁吁地问。