Chapter 1

I SURVIVED THE GREAT MOLASSES FLOOD, 1919

我在1919年的糖蜜大洪水中幸存了下来

CHAPTER 1 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1919 AROUND 12:30 P.M. THE NORTH END, BOSTON Twelve-year-old Carmen Grasso was drowning. She was caught in one of the deadliest disasters in the history of Boston. A gigantic wave had crashed in to the streets — a swirling, raging monster moving faster than a train. It turned

第一章1919年1月15日星期三下午12:30左右 波士顿北端，12岁的卡门·格拉索快要淹死了。 她遭遇了波士顿历史上最致命的灾难之一。 一个巨大的海浪冲进了街道——一个旋转的、愤怒的怪物，移动速度比火车还快。 结果

buildings to rubble. It smashed wagons and motorcars and tossed trucks into the harbor. Twenty-one people would soon be dead. Many more would be fighting for their lives. This killer wave wasn't made of water. It didn't come from the sea. The monstrous wave was made of a thick brown syrup: molasses. For years, millions of gallons of sticky molasses had been stored in a building-sized metal tank. The hideous tank loomed over Carmen's neighborhood, blotting out the sun. And in one ear-splitting moment, the molasses tank had exploded apart. Carmen and her best friend, Tony, had watched in horror as the tank began to shake, as its rounded steel sides bulged in and out. The tank seemed to have come alive, as if it was boiling with fury, ready to destroy. And then suddenly, thousands of the steel bolts that held the tank together let go. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

建筑物变成废墟。它砸坏了货车和汽车，把卡车扔进了港口。 21个人很快就会死去。 更多的人将为他们的生命而战。 这个致命的巨浪不是由水构成的。 它不是来自大海。 这巨大的波浪是由一种粘稠的棕色糖浆构成的。 多年来，数百万加仑的粘性糖蜜被储存在一个建筑物大小的金属罐中。 丑陋的坦克笼罩着卡门的街区，遮住了阳光。 在一个震耳欲聋的时刻，糖蜜罐爆炸了。 卡门和她最好的朋友托尼惊恐地看着水箱开始摇晃，圆滚滚的钢制侧面鼓进鼓出。 坦克似乎活了起来，好像它沸腾着愤怒，准备毁灭。 突然间，成千上万个连接油箱的钢栓松开了。 砰!砰!砰!砰!砰!

They blasted through the air like bullets fired from a machine gun. Seconds later, the metal tank blew apart completely. Jagged chunks of metal whirled through the air like knife-winged birds. The molasses hovered in the air like a black, roiling cloud. And then, with a thundering crash, it hit the ground. Instantly, the streets became raging rivers filled with wreckage — chunks of wood and metal and glass, overturned motorcars and wagons. Horses whinnied in fear. Screams of terror rang out. "Run!" "Get out of the way!" "Help me!" Carmen ran for her life, Tony right behind her. But the wave was moving too fast. Within seconds, the swirl of thick syrup had caught them. The molasses wrapped itself around Carmen's legs, like millions of powerful snakes dripping with slime. It rose up to her waist, to her chest.

它们像机关枪射出的子弹一样在空中炸开。 几秒钟后，金属罐完全炸开了。 参差不齐的金属块在空中旋转，就像长着尖刀翅膀的鸟儿。 糖蜜在空中盘旋，像一团黑色的、翻滚的云。 然后，随着一声巨响，它撞到了地面。 顷刻间，街道变成了汹涌的河流，到处都是残骸——大块的木头、金属和玻璃，翻倒的汽车和货车。 马因害怕而嘶鸣。恐怖的尖叫声响起。 “快跑!”“别挡道！”“帮帮我!”卡门逃命，托尼跟在她后面。 但是海浪移动得太快了。 几秒钟之内，浓糖浆的漩涡就把他们困住了。 糖蜜缠绕在卡门的腿上，就像数百万条强大的蛇滴着粘液。 它一直长到她的腰和胸部。

She had to do something! And then she saw it: a broken wagon, floating toward them. She and Tony both managed to climb on … until a huge hunk of metal from the tank rammed into the wagon. Carmen tried to hold on as the wagon nearly flipped. But she slipped off and sank into the swirling flood of ooze. "Carmen!" Tony screamed. It was the last sound Carmen heard as the molasses rose up over her head and swallowed her whole.

她必须做点什么！就在这时，她看见了：一辆破马车向他们漂来。 她和托尼都设法爬了上去，直到一大块金属从坦克上撞到了马车上。 马车差点翻了，卡门试着抓住。 但她滑了下来，沉入了漩涡般的淤泥中。 “卡门!”托尼尖叫。这是卡门最后听到的声音，糖蜜从她的头顶升起，把她整个吞没了。