Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Phoebe wasn't taking any chances with George. "I'm not letting you out of my sight," she announced after they'd finished breakfast. "I'm your guardian angel." "I didn't know angels wore spectacles," he said, tugging on one of Phoebe's curls. "The smart ones do," Phoebe said, grabbing George's arm. She offered him a lemon drop from the little silver tin she'd been carrying around since London. George made a face. He hated those old-lady candies.

第四章菲比对乔治不抱任何侥幸心理。 “我不会让你离开我的视线的。”他们吃完早餐后，她宣布。 “我是你的守护天使。” “我不知道天使也戴眼镜，”他一边说，一边拉着菲比的一头卷发。 “聪明的会。”菲比说着，抓住乔治的胳膊。 她从伦敦以来一直随身携带的小银罐里拿出柠檬汁递给他。 乔治做了个鬼脸。他讨厌那些老太太的糖果。

George wanted to go find Marco and Enzo and hear more about Italy. He wanted to ride the elevators up and down. Hardly any other ship in the world had elevators! Better yet, he wanted to find Mr. Andrews, the ship's designer. When Mr. Andrews had stopped by their table at dinner the first night, George thought he was just another boring millionaire coming over to kiss Aunt Daisy's hand. But Mr. Andrews was different. "You built the Titanic?" said George. Mr. Andrews smiled. "Not by myself. It took thousands of men to build her. But I did design her, that's true." He invited George and Phoebe to come with him to the first class writing room. He unrolled the ship's blueprints across a long, polished table. It was like looking at the skeleton of a giant beast. "She's the biggest moving object ever built," Mr. Andrews explained. "Fourteen stories tall. Forty-five thousand tons of steel. And longer than four city blocks."

乔治想去找马可和恩佐，多听听意大利的情况。 他想乘电梯上上下下。 世界上几乎没有别的船有电梯!更好的是，他想找到这艘船的设计师安德鲁斯。 第一天晚上，当安德鲁斯先生在他们的餐桌旁停下来吃饭时，乔治以为他只是一个来亲吻黛西姨妈手的无聊的百万富翁。 但安德鲁斯与众不同。 “你建造了泰坦尼克号?”乔治说。 安德鲁斯先生笑了。“不是我一个人。 成千上万的人建造了她。 但她确实是我设计的，这是真的。” 他邀请乔治和菲比和他一起去头等舱的写作室。 他在一张光滑的长桌上展开了飞船的蓝图。 就像在看一只巨兽的骨架。 “她是有史以来建造的最大的移动物体，”安德鲁斯解释说。 “十四层楼高。四万五千吨钢。 而且比四个街区还长。”

"Our aunt says nothing bad can happen to this ship," Phoebe said. "People say it's unsinkable." "No ship is safer," Mr. Andrews said. "That is certainly true." "What if the Titanic was hit by a meteor?" said Phoebe, whose latest obsession was outer space. She was determined to see a shooting star before they docked in New York. Mr. Andrews didn't laugh or roll his eyes like Mr. Landers did when Phoebe asked her questions. "I hadn't planned on any meteors hitting the ship," Mr. Andrews said thoughtfully. "But I'd like to think she could take almost anything and still float." Phoebe seemed satisfied. "Are there any secret passages?" said George.

“我们的姑妈说这艘船不会出什么坏事。”菲比说。 “人们说它永不沉没。” “没有比这更安全的船了，”安德鲁斯说。 “这当然是真的。”“如果泰坦尼克号被流星撞了怎么办?”菲比说，她最近的痴迷是外太空。 她决心在他们在纽约靠岸之前看到一颗流星。 安德鲁斯先生没有像兰德斯先生那样，在菲比问她问题时大笑或翻白眼。 安德鲁斯若有所思地说:“我没料到会有流星撞上飞船。” “但我认为她几乎可以承受任何东西，而且还能浮在水面上。” 菲比似乎很满意。“有秘密通道吗?”乔治问。

Mr. Andrews studied his blueprints, and then pointed to the boiler rooms. "There are escape ladders," he said. "They run up the starboard side of the ship, up two decks, through the stokers' quarters, and into their dining hall. I hear the crew likes using them instead of the stairs." George could have stayed there all night. He asked a million questions and Mr. Andrews answered every single one. "I was like you when I was a boy," Mr. Andrews said just before Aunt Daisy came to haul

安德鲁斯仔细研究了他的蓝图，然后指着锅炉房。 “这里有逃生梯，”他说。 他们跑到船的右舷，上了两层甲板，穿过司炉的房间，进入他们的饭厅。 我听说机组人员喜欢走楼梯而不走楼梯。” 乔治本可以整晚都待在那里。 他问了很多问题，安德鲁斯先生回答了每一个。 “我小时候就像你一样，”安德鲁斯先生在黛西姨妈来拉东西之前说

George off to bed. "One day I predict you'll build a ship of your own." George knew that would never happen. He could barely get through a day at school. But he liked that Mr. Andrews said it. And he sure wanted to find those secret ladders. But Phoebe had different ideas. First she dragged George to the first class library so she could check out a book on Halley's comet. Then she took him on a walk on the boat deck. He felt like a dog. "Strange," Phoebe said, looking at the lifeboats that hung just off the deck. "There are only sixteen boats. That's not nearly enough for everyone." "The ship's unsinkable," George said. "So do we really need lifeboats at all?" Phoebe stared at the boats and shrugged. "I guess you're right," she said. And then she announced that it was time to see how many ladies were wearing hats with blue feathers. George groaned. This would be the most boring day of his life. But at least nobody was yelling at him.

乔治上床睡觉了。“我预测总有一天你会造一艘自己的船。” 乔治知道这是不可能的。 他在学校几乎熬不过一天。 但他喜欢安德鲁斯先生说的那句话。 他肯定想找到那些秘密梯子。 但菲比有不同的想法。 她先是把乔治拖到一流图书馆借阅一本关于哈雷彗星的书。 然后她带他在甲板上散步。 他觉得自己像条狗。“真奇怪，”菲比看着挂在甲板上的救生艇说。 “只有十六艘船。 这对每个人来说都远远不够。” “这艘船不会沉没，”乔治说。 “所以我们真的需要救生艇吗?”菲比盯着小船，耸了耸肩。 “我想你是对的，”她说。 然后她宣布是时候看看有多少女士戴着带蓝色羽毛的帽子了。 乔治呻吟着。这将是他一生中最无聊的一天。 但至少没有人对他大喊大叫。