Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 THE NEXT DAY MAY 22 1:30 P.M. Mom was tutoring one of her students after church, so it was just Dad and Dex waiting on the porch when Dr. Gage zoomed into the driveway. He hopped out of the SUV and came rushing over to Dad. They hugged each other like long-lost brothers. Zeke seemed happy to see Dr. Gage, too. Of course Dad insisted on a personal tour of Dr. Gage's SUV, which had been specially equipped for storm chasing. There were the extra-strong

第五章第二天5月22日下午1:30 做完礼拜后，妈妈在辅导一个学生，所以只有爸爸和德克斯在门廊上等着。 盖奇急速驶入车道。 他跳下越野车，向爸爸冲了过来。 他们像失散多年的兄弟一样拥抱在一起。 齐克似乎很高兴看到医生。 计。当然，爸爸坚持要他亲自去参观。 盖奇的越野车，专门为追逐风暴而装备的。 有特级烈性酒

metal plates bolted to the sides to protect from flying rocks and debris. There were oversized tires for driving at high speeds across flooded fields and rocky ditches. The cluster of antennas gave Dr. Gage instant access to the latest weather data. And that was just the outside. Inside were three different computer screens, all mounted to the dashboard. There was even a mini freezer in the back. "For keeping hailstones frozen," Dr. Gage explained, grinning like a kid showing off a new LEGO set. When they finished with the tour, Dr. Gage told them about their plan for the day. He and Dex would be chasing a big storm that was charging in from the west. "It's already a supercell." Dex knew that supercells were the most violent and dangerous thunderstorms, the storms that could unleash tornadoes.

用螺栓固定在两侧的金属板，以防止飞来的岩石和碎片。 为了高速行驶在被洪水淹没的田地和布满岩石的沟渠里，有超大的轮胎。 这组天线给了Dr。 Gage即时获取最新的天气数据。 这还只是外表。 车内有三个不同的电脑屏幕，都安装在仪表板上。 后面甚至还有一个迷你冰箱。 “为了保持冰雹的冰冻。” 盖奇解释道，咧嘴一笑，就像一个炫耀新乐高玩具的孩子。 当他们结束参观后。 盖奇告诉了他们当天的计划。 他和德克斯正在追赶一场从西边冲过来的大风暴。 “它已经是一个超级单体了。” 德克斯知道超级单体是最猛烈、最危险的雷暴，这种风暴可能引发龙卷风。

"We'll head over to Galena and see if we can catch it as it heads north."

“我们将前往加利纳，看看能否在它向北移动时赶上它。”

And Dr. Gage had a surprise for them. "Dex will be helping me with a research project." It turned out Dr. Gage had been working with a team of scientists. "We're trying to figure out if a tornado makes a sound just as it's beginning to form inside a storm." "The cry of a baby tornado," Dad said. Dr. Gage chuckled. "In a way. We believe some animals can sense when a tornado is coming, long before it touches down. Our theory is that they can detect sounds that we humans can't hear." "Fascinating," Dad said. "If there really are these sounds, and we can find a way to detect them, we could have much earlier warning before tornadoes touch down." "Tell us about the research," Dad said. Dr. Gage's face lit up. He hit a button on his key chain, which popped open the tailgate of his SUV. Inside was a large cardboard box filled with metal balls. Each was the size of an apple.

盖奇医生给他们准备了一个惊喜。 “德克斯会帮我做一个研究项目。” 原来盖奇博士一直在和一组科学家一起工作。 “我们试图弄清楚龙卷风在风暴中开始形成时是否会发出声音。” “龙卷风婴儿的哭声，”爸爸说。 盖奇医生笑了。“在某种程度上。 我们相信一些动物在龙卷风到来之前就能感觉到。 我们的理论是，它们可以探测到我们人类听不到的声音。” “真有意思，”爸爸说。“如果真的有这些声音，我们可以找到一种方法来探测它们，我们可以在龙卷风着陆之前更早地发出警告。” “给我们讲讲你的研究吧，”爸爸说。 盖奇医生的脸亮了起来。他按下钥匙链上的一个按钮，打开了SUV的后挡板。 里面是一个装满金属球的大纸板箱。 每个都有一个苹果那么大。

"I call these sound pods," said Dr. Gage, handing one to Dad and one to Dex. "Each has a little recording instrument inside." The metal ball was surprisingly light. "How do you get them up into the storm clouds?" Dad asked. "That's the fun part," Dr. Gage said. He reached behind the box and brought out what looked like a toy rifle. "It used to be a paintball gun," Dr. Gage said. "I tinkered with it, added a wider barrel. So now it's my official sound-pod launcher." He loaded one of the silver balls into the barrel and handed the rifle to Dad. "Give it a try," he said. Dad smiled excitedly as he aimed the rifle into the blue sky. He pulled the trigger. Phfffft! The ball hissed out of the gun, a silver blur. And then,

“我称这些为‘声音舱’。” 盖奇，递给爸爸一个，递给德克斯一个。 “每个里面都有一个小录音仪器。” 这个金属球出奇地轻。 “你怎么让他们飞到暴风云里去?”爸爸问。 “这是有趣的部分。” 计说。他把手伸到箱子后面，拿出一件像玩具步枪的东西。 “它曾经是一把彩弹枪。” 计说。“我对它进行了修改，增加了一个更宽的枪管。 所以现在它是我的官方声音发射器。” 他把一颗银弹装进枪管，把步枪递给爸爸。 “试试吧，”他说。爸爸兴奋地笑着，把步枪对准蓝天。 他扣动了扳机。Phfffft !球从枪里发出嘶嘶声，一道银色的模糊。 然后,