Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 They headed out through the downtown, the oldest part of Joplin. "I love this street," Dr. Gage said, admiring the brick and stone buildings that had been watching over Main Street for more than a hundred years. "That used to be my great-grandfather's diner," Dex said as they passed a squat brick building that was now a gift shop. "How long has your family been in Joplin?" Dr. Gage asked. "Since 1925," Dex said. "My great-grandfather came here when he was sixteen."

他们穿过乔普林最古老的闹市区。 “我喜欢这条街，”盖奇博士说，一边欣赏着一百多年来一直守护着主街的砖石建筑。 “那曾经是我曾祖父的餐馆，”德克斯说，他们经过一座矮矮的砖砌建筑，现在是一家礼品店。 “你们家在乔普林多久了?”博士。 计问。“从1925年开始，”德克斯说。 “我的曾祖父十六岁时来到这里。”

Dr. Gage raised his eyebrows. "You're Joplin royalty," Dr. Gage said. Dex had to laugh as he imagined a king eating Mom's Saturday night chili, or a princess lounging on the couch covered with Zeke's fur. Dex loved his house. But it wasn't exactly a castle. "I bet Joplin is a great place to grow up," Dr. Gage said. "It is." Dex nodded, surprised how much he meant it. Sure, there were more exciting places. Mike Sturm was always bragging about his family trips to New York City, where the buildings scraped against the clouds, or Las Vegas, where wild parties lasted all night. In Joplin, the tallest rooftops were mostly the church steeples, and the best parties were backyard barbecues. Dex knew that one day he'd travel the world. But he also knew he'd always be happy to come home to Joplin.

盖奇博士扬起了眉毛。 “你是乔普林的贵族。” 计说。德克斯忍不住笑了，因为他想象着一个国王在吃妈妈做的周六晚上的辣椒，或者一个公主懒洋洋地躺在沙发上，身上披着齐克的皮毛。 德克斯爱他的房子。但它并不是一座城堡。 “我敢打赌乔普林是个适合长大的好地方。” 计说。“这是。”德克斯点了点头，惊讶于他的真心话。 当然，还有更多令人兴奋的地方。 迈克·斯特姆(Mike Sturm)总是吹嘘他全家去纽约旅行的经历，那里的建筑物在云层中刮擦而过，或者去拉斯维加斯，那里的狂欢派对持续了一整夜。 在乔普林，最高的屋顶大多是教堂的尖塔，最好的聚会是后院烧烤。 德克斯知道有一天他会环游世界。 但他也知道，回到乔普林的家，他会一直很开心。

The land flattened out as they drove toward Kansas, and soon there was nothing but bright green cornfields. Dex scanned the sky, which was clear blue except for some hazy clouds. It was hard to imagine that a violent storm was somewhere nearby. They came upon a beat-up pickup truck on the side of the road, at the edge of a field. A young man and woman were standing there, video cameras aimed up at a patch of gray clouds. Dex guessed they were storm chasers, too. Dr. Gage smiled wide as he pulled up next to them and rolled down his window. "Jimmy! Sara! How are you?" he called out. "Norm!" the two chorused. "Hey, Jimmy, how's the leg?" Dr. Gage asked. "Thirty stitches, Norm. But healing up nice." "Sara, keep your buddy out of trouble today, will you? I want you guys to be careful."

当他们驶向堪萨斯州的时候，土地变得平坦了，很快就只剩下一片翠绿的玉米地了。 德克斯扫视了一下天空，除了一些朦胧的云外，天空是湛蓝的。 很难想象附近会有一场猛烈的风暴。 他们在一块田地边上的路边发现了一辆破旧的小货车。 一男一女站在那里，摄像机对准一片灰色的云层。 德克斯猜他们也是风暴追逐者。 盖奇医生微笑着把车停在他们旁边，摇下车窗。 “吉米!莎拉!你好吗?”他喊道。 “诺姆!”两人齐声说。“嘿，吉米，你的腿怎么样了?”博士。 计问。“30针，诺姆。 但愈合得很好。”“萨拉，今天别让你的朋友惹麻烦，好吗?” 我希望你们小心点。”

"We promise, Norm," said Sara, her brown eyes shining out through round glasses. "Who's your assistant?" "This is Dex James. His dad and I went to college together." Dex was relieved Dr. Gage didn't reveal how they'd met yesterday — with Dex almost getting squashed by Dr. Gage's SUV. "Dex," Jimmy said. "You know you're chasing with one of the best guys in the world." Dex smiled. "We're heading northwest," Dr. Gage said. "What about you?" "We'll probably see you later," Sara said. "You going to get some pods into the sky?" "We're about to," Dr. Gage said. "You both take care. And, seriously, be careful!" After they'd driven away, Dr. Gage told Dex how Jimmy got his thirty stitches. "Last month, he and Sara were chasing in Mississippi, and they got too close to an EF-5

“我们保证，诺姆。”萨拉说，棕色的眼睛透过圆眼镜闪闪发光。 “谁是你的助手?”“我是德克斯·詹姆斯。 他爸爸和我是大学同学。” 德克斯松了一口气，盖奇医生没有透露他们昨天是怎么见面的——德克斯差点被盖奇医生压扁。 计的SUV。“德克斯，”吉米说。 “你知道你在追的是世界上最好的男人之一。” 敏捷笑了。“我们正在向西北方向前进。” 计说。“你呢?”“我们可能一会儿再见到你，”萨拉说。 “你打算把一些豆荚送上天空吗?”“我们就要这么做了。” 计说。“你们俩保重。 说正经的，小心点!”在他们开车离开后。 盖奇告诉德克斯吉米是怎么缝三十针的。 “上个月，他和萨拉在密西西比追逐，他们离一架EF-5太近了

tornado." Dex knew that EF-5 tornadoes are the strongest tornadoes, according to a system called the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which scientists use to rate the strength of tornadoes. An EF-1 is the weakest — a breeze funnel or little rope tornado that can knock over a chicken coop but not much else. The EF-5s are the killers, the violent twisters that wipe out whole towns. "The wind shifted," Dr. Gage explained, "and the tornado they were chasing started chasing them. Their car got thrown, and Jimmy sliced open his leg. Luckily the tornado changed direction again and missed them. But they could have been killed." Dr. Gage shook his head like a worried father. "I'm hoping they learned their lesson," he added. "Do you really think we're going to see tornadoes today?" Dex asked, suddenly wondering if that's what he really wanted.

龙卷风。”德克斯知道EF-5龙卷风是最强的龙卷风，这是科学家用来评估龙卷风强度的“增强藤田等级”(Enhanced Fujita Scale)系统的结果。 EF-1是最弱的——一个风漏斗或小绳龙卷风，可以击倒一个鸡笼，但仅此而已。 ef -5是杀手，能摧毁整个城镇的猛烈龙卷风。 “风向改变了，”盖奇博士解释说，“他们追逐的龙卷风开始追逐他们。 他们的车被甩了，吉米割开了自己的腿。 幸运的是，龙卷风又改变了方向，躲过了他们。 但他们可能会被杀死。” 盖奇医生像个忧心忡忡的父亲一样摇了摇头。 “我希望他们能吸取教训，”他补充说。 “你真的认为我们今天会看到龙卷风吗?”德克斯问，突然怀疑这是不是他真正想要的。

"We can never be sure, not even with our radar and satellites and computers. All we can do is warn that a tornado might strike, and usually we're wrong." That sure was true in Joplin. The tornado sirens went off practically every week, always false alarms. They were like watchdogs that growled at every squirrel. Most people in Joplin ignored the sirens. "Can't you a see a tornado on the radar?" Dex asked. "No," Dr. Gage said. "You can see clues — high wind speeds, a storm that has what we call rotation, or spinning clouds. But tornadoes form deep inside the clouds, hidden from satellites and radar. We don't know a tornado is coming until someone actually sees it with their own eyes." Dex glanced out the window, half expecting a black funnel to explode out of the sky. Dr. Gage went on. "But the most dangerous tornadoes are the ones you can't see. They hide

“即使有雷达、卫星和电脑，我们也永远无法确定。 我们所能做的就是警告龙卷风可能来袭，但通常我们都错了。” 在乔普林确实如此。 龙卷风警报几乎每周都会响，总是假警报。 它们就像看门狗，对着每一只松鼠咆哮。 乔普林的大多数人都无视警笛。 “你在雷达上看不到龙卷风吗?”敏捷问道。 “不，”盖奇博士说。“你可以看到一些线索——高风速，风暴有我们所说的旋转，或旋转的云。 但龙卷风形成于云层深处，卫星和雷达无法探测到。 我们不知道龙卷风来了，直到有人亲眼看到它。” 德克斯朝窗外瞥了一眼，半以为会有一个黑色的烟囱从天上炸开。 盖奇医生接着说。“但最危险的龙卷风是那些你看不到的龙卷风。 他们隐藏