Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 But the loud boom and gush of smoke wasn't an eruption, not a real one. Dr. Morales explained this to them that night, when he stopped by the diner. Mom was behind the counter, and Jess and the twins were at a booth, munching on French fries and trying to focus on their homework. Mr.

但是那巨大的轰隆声和喷出的烟不是火山爆发，不是真正的火山爆发。 莫拉莱斯医生那天晚上路过餐厅时，向他们解释了这一点。 妈妈在柜台后面，杰西和双胞胎在一个摊位边吃薯条边专心做作业。 先生。

Rowan was working late, and Mrs. Rowan was still with the twins' grandmother. They were happy to see Dr. Morales walk through the door. He'd been working on the mountain all day, and was heading back to his lab in Seattle. "I had to come by for another piece of that coconut cake," he said. Mom and Jess and the twins joined him in a booth, and he explained that what they'd seen and

罗文工作到很晚，罗文太太还和双胞胎的祖母在一起。 他们很高兴见到了Dr。 莫拉莱斯走进门来。 他在山上工作了一整天，正要回到他在西雅图的实验室。 “我必须再来吃一块椰子蛋糕，”他说。 妈妈，杰西和双胞胎和他一起坐在一个摊位上，他解释了他们所看到的

heard from their classroom earlier was called a steam explosion. "And that's all it was, steam, mixed with a little bit of ash." In a true volcanic eruption, he went on, the smoke is steel gray or black. And it lasts for many hours or days. The smoke today had billowed up for just a few minutes, and then turned white and disappeared. The mountain had been peaceful ever since. "A steam eruption is like a volcano burp," he said. They all laughed. But Dr. Morales wasn't totally joking. "It's another warning sign. Nobody should doubt that St. Helens is wide-awake and getting ready to erupt." There were more steam explosions as the weeks passed. Some lasted for hours. St. Helens was

之前从他们教室听到的是蒸汽爆炸。 “那就是蒸汽，混合着一点灰烬。” 他接着说，在真正的火山喷发中，烟是钢灰色或黑色的。 它会持续数小时或数天。 今天的烟只翻腾了几分钟，然后就变白了，消失了。 从那以后，这座山一直很平静。 “蒸汽喷发就像火山打嗝，”他说。 他们都笑了。但莫拉莱斯博士并不完全是在开玩笑。 “这是另一个警告信号。 没有人会怀疑圣。 海伦斯完全清醒，准备喷发。” 几个星期过去了，又发生了更多的蒸汽爆炸。 有些持续了几个小时。圣。 海伦是

front-page news every day. Some nights Dr. Morales was actually on the TV news, giving updates along with other scientists who were closely studying the mountain. The twins went bonkers every time Dr. Morales's familiar face popped onto the screen. "There he is! There he is!" they'd shout. But for Jess it was better to see Dr. Morales in person, and her heart always leaped a little when he appeared at Clive's. He came in once or twice a week, on his way to or from the mountain. Mom would pile a plate high with his favorite fried chicken or homemade noodles. And between bites of food and sips of coffee, he'd tell them about his work on the mountain. To Jess and the boys, his stories were like scenes out of a thrilling action movie. A helicopter pilot would fly him up to the top of the volcano — the summit. Those steam explosions had blasted through hundreds of feet of rock and ice. There was now a huge crater on the summit. It was

每天的头版新闻。 有些晚上，莫拉莱斯博士实际上上了电视新闻，与其他密切研究这座山的科学家一起提供最新情况。 这对双胞胎每次都疯了。 莫拉莱斯熟悉的面孔突然出现在屏幕上。 “他在那儿!”他在那儿!” 但对杰茜来说，最好还是去看医生。 每当他出现在克莱夫家时，她的心总是怦怦直跳。 他每周来一两次，在往返山上的路上。 妈妈会把他最喜欢的炸鸡或自家做的面条堆得高高的。 在吃着吃着喝着咖啡的间隙，他会告诉他们他在山上的工作。 对杰西和孩子们来说，他的故事就像惊心动魄的动作电影中的场景。 一名直升机飞行员将带他飞到火山的顶端——山顶。 蒸汽爆炸炸穿了几百英尺厚的岩石和冰。 山顶上现在有一个巨大的火山口。 这是

thousands of feet wide and hundreds of feet deep. The helicopter would hover above the summit, and Dr. Morales would hop out. He'd scoop up ash from the crater and gather samples of the gas seeping out. "You actually go into the crater?" Eddie asked in astonishment. "I go to the edge," Dr. Morales said. "I can only stay for a few seconds because it's so hot. And I have to get away quickly because if a steam explosion happens while I'm there… well…" "You'd be toast," Sam said. "Sammy!" Mom scolded. But Dr. Morales laughed. "Actually, I'd be boiled," he said, picking up a floppy yellow noodle. "I'd end up looking something like this." Of course the twins loved that. Sam told the kids at school all about it on the blacktop the next day. Missy looked like she might vomit.

数千英尺宽，数百英尺深。 直升机会在山顶上空盘旋。 莫拉莱斯会跳出来。他会从火山口挖出灰烬，收集渗出气体的样本。 “你真的进了陨石坑?”埃迪惊讶地问。 “我走到边缘，”莫拉莱斯博士说。 “我只能待几秒钟，因为太热了。 我必须赶快离开，因为如果我在那里的时候发生了蒸汽爆炸……嗯……”“你就完了。”萨姆说。 “傻瓜!”妈妈责骂。但博士。 莫拉莱斯笑了。“事实上，我会被煮熟的，”他说着，拿起一根松软的黄色面条。 “我最终会变成这样。” 双胞胎当然很喜欢。 第二天，萨姆在柏油路上把这件事告诉了学校的孩子们。 米西看起来好像要吐了。

But as the weeks passed, Dr. Morales often seemed troubled when he came into the diner. He was still his warm and friendly self. But he looked weary. Studying an active volcano wasn't all helicopter rides and daredevil stunts. There were endless hours of sitting around and watching for changes. There were nights trying to sleep in a freezing tent, with 30-mile-per-hour winds ripping at the sides. And there was the frustration of not having any clear answers. Dr. Morales and the other scientists knew that something was happening inside the volcano. There were many warning signs. That big crater on the summit was growing. There were massive cracks and bulges on the north side of the mountain. But none of the scientists knew for sure what exactly these clues meant. Was the volcano about to erupt?

但几个星期过去了， 莫拉莱斯走进餐厅时总是显得很不安。 他还是那个热情友好的自己。 但他看上去很疲倦。研究活火山并不全是乘坐直升机和冒险特技。 我们有无数个小时坐在那里观察变化。 有几个晚上，我试图在冰冷的帐篷里睡觉，每小时30英里的大风撕裂着帐篷的两侧。 因为没有任何明确的答案而感到沮丧。 莫拉莱斯博士和其他科学家知道火山内部发生了一些事情。 有很多警告信号。 山顶上的大坑还在扩大。 山的北侧有巨大的裂缝和隆起。 但没有一个科学家确切知道这些线索到底意味着什么。 火山要喷发了吗?