Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 2:40 P.M. Harry was exhausted from the trip to the hospital. Mom helped him change out of his blood-spattered pajamas and tucked him into bed. A minute later he was asleep, with Nya curled up on his stomach. Ben was in the kitchen pouring some juice when Ojisan came in. "How about a walk?" he said quietly. "No thanks, Ojisan," Ben said with a tinge of guilt. "I'm kind of tired, too."

第四章下午2:40哈里在去医院的旅途中筋疲力尽。 妈妈帮他换掉血迹斑斑的睡衣，把他塞进床上。 一分钟后，他睡着了，妮雅蜷缩在他的肚子上。 本正在厨房倒果汁，欧吉桑进来了。 “去散散步怎么样?”他平静地说。 “不，谢谢，欧吉桑。”本带着一丝内疚说。 “我也有点累了。”

Every day they'd been here, Ojisan had invited Ben to go exploring. And every day, Ben had thought of an excuse. Ben didn't want to see the pine forest where Dad used to play hide-and-seek, or the marina where Dad learned to fish. He didn't want to hear any of Ojisan's stories about Dad. Ben slinked out of the kitchen, avoiding Ojisan's eyes. He'd just stepped into the bedroom when Harry suddenly sat up. Harry had a dreamy look on his face. Ben wondered if he was fully awake. "You know," he said softly, "I made it to the tippy top." "Top of what?" Ben asked, sitting down next to Harry. "The cherry tree," Harry answered. "Before I fell down, I made the wish, Ben. I made the wish!" His eyes were glowing.

他们在这里的每一天，欧吉桑都邀请本去探险。 每天，本都在想一个借口。 本不想去看爸爸以前玩捉迷藏的松林，也不想去看爸爸学钓鱼的码头。 他不想听欧吉桑关于爸爸的任何故事。 本避开欧吉桑的目光，溜出了厨房。 他刚走进卧室，哈利就突然坐了起来。 哈利脸上露出梦幻般的神情。 本怀疑自己是否完全清醒。 “你知道，”他轻声说，“我爬到了山顶。” “什么上面?”本问道，在哈利身边坐了下来。 “樱桃树。”哈利回答。 “在我摔倒之前，我许了个愿，本。 我许的愿!”他的眼睛闪闪发光。

Before Ben could say anything, Nya suddenly jumped up and yowled. She stood there with her fur standing straight up, then started pushing against Harry's arm with her nose. It looked as if she wanted to roll Harry off the bed. Was the old cat going totally bonkers? And then there was a strange sound, a very deep rumbling. The glass of water on the dresser jiggled. At first, Ben thought it was fighter jets passing overhead, like at home when a squadron returned to the base. But the rumbling got louder and louder, and the bed began to shake. "Ben!" Harry cried. "What is it?" Dread rose up in Ben. Ojisan shouted from somewhere across the house. "Ben! Harry! Dishin! Dishin!" Ben didn't need to understand Japanese to know what Ojisan was saying.

本还没来得及说话，妮雅突然跳起来嚎叫起来。 她站在那里，毛直竖着，然后开始用鼻子顶哈利的胳膊。 她似乎想把哈利从床上推下去。 那只老猫完全疯了吗? 然后有一种奇怪的声音，一种很深沉的隆隆声。 梳妆台上的那杯水在抖动。 起初，本以为是战斗机从头顶飞过，就像一个中队返回基地时在家里一样。 但是隆隆声越来越大，床开始摇晃。 “本!”哈利喊道。“什么事?”本心中升起了恐惧。 欧吉桑从房子另一头的某个地方喊道。 “本!哈利!Dishin !Dishin !”本不需要懂日语就能知道欧吉桑在说什么。

Earthquake! The shaking got stronger and stronger until Ben and Harry were bouncing up and down on the bed. Ben gripped Harry as hard as he could so they wouldn't fall off. It was as though they were rafting on a wild river. Thud! The dresser tipped over. Smash! The lamp hit the floor, its lightbulb exploding with a shattering pop. "EEEEE!" screeched Nya. But above all the other sounds was a thundering roar, like the earth itself was screaming with fury. The sound hammered into Ben's ears and pounded his brain. "Make it stop!" screamed Harry. But there was no stopping it. Ben didn't know that earthquakes could last so long. The ground in California shook all the time. But never for more

地震!震动越来越大，直到本和哈利在床上跳上跳下。 本使劲地抓住哈利，免得他们掉下来。 他们仿佛是在一条湍急的河流上漂流。 砰的一声!梳妆台翻了。 粉碎!灯掉在地上，灯泡炸开了，发出一声巨响。 “噫——”妮雅尖叫道。但在所有其他声音之上，是一声雷鸣般的咆哮，就像地球本身在愤怒地尖叫一样。 这声音敲打着本的耳朵，敲打着他的大脑。 “让它停下来!”哈利尖叫道。 但这是无法阻止的。 本不知道地震会持续这么长时间。 加州的地面一直在晃动。 但永远不会有更多

than a few seconds. And never like this! Ben suddenly remembered that more earthquakes happen in Japan than practically anywhere else on Earth, even California. In Science, they learned about the earthquake that destroyed Tokyo in the 1920s, and another one in the city of Kobe, in the 1990s. How could he have forgotten all that? They'd also learned how skyscrapers in Japan were built to survive strong earthquakes. The tall buildings here were made to sway, like blades of grass on a windy day. But the buildings around here looked old. Ojisan's house was made of wood and plaster. Like all the houses here, the roof was covered with red clay tiles. Could Ojisan's house survive an earthquake like this? The answer came with a BOOM that rose up above the other noises. "Ben, look!" Harry cried, pointing up.

而不是几秒钟。永远不要像这样!本突然想起，日本发生的地震比地球上任何地方都多，甚至比加州也多。 在《科学》杂志上，他们了解了20世纪20年代摧毁东京的地震，以及20世纪90年代发生在神户市的另一次地震。 他怎么会把这一切都忘了呢? 他们还了解了日本的摩天大楼是如何在强烈地震中幸存下来的。 这里的高楼大厦就像刮风天的草叶一样摇摆不定。 但是这里的建筑看起来很旧。 Ojisan的房子是用木头和石膏建造的。 像这里所有的房子一样，屋顶覆盖着红色的粘土瓦。 奥吉桑的房子能经受住这样的地震吗? 答案是一声巨响，盖过了其他的噪音。 “本,你看!”哈利指着上面叫道。

A huge crack had appeared in the ceiling. It got bigger and bigger. Any second, the ceiling would collapse. They had to get out of here!

天花板上出现了一条巨大的裂缝。 它变得越来越大。天花板随时都可能坍塌。 他们必须离开这里!