Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 There was no time to think. "Get to the car!" Ojisan shouted. Mom picked up Harry and they all sprinted to the car and jumped in. Mom pulled Harry onto her lap in the front; Ben threw himself into the back. Ojisan had the engine running even before Ben had closed his door. The car screeched out of the driveway. Why was Ojisan panicking? Why was everyone running? They weren't very close to the ocean — it was at least a five-minute walk. Ben had never heard of a wave traveling so far inland.

第七章没有时间思考。 “快上车!”Ojisan喊道。 妈妈抱起哈里，他们都冲到车里跳了进去。 妈妈把哈利拉到前面的腿上;本一头扎进后座。 本还没关门，欧吉桑就把引擎发动起来了。 汽车尖声驶出车道。 奥吉桑为什么会恐慌?为什么每个人都在跑? 他们离海洋不是很近——至少要走五分钟。 本从未听说过海浪能向内陆移动这么远。

Probably Ojisan just didn't want to take any chances. The road had been split apart by the earthquake. Ojisan had to swerve around the cracks. Ben flew from side to side in the backseat until he managed to put on his seat belt. "What's happening?" Harry cried, hugging Nya so tight Ben worried the cat's head would pop off. "We're just moving away from the ocean," Mom said in her usual calm voice. There was a strange noise. It rose up suddenly, a roar louder even than the earthquake. This time it seemed as if jets were landing right behind them. Ben turned, and what he saw almost stopped his heart: A frothing wall of water, rushing up the street. And it wasn't just water. The wave carried parts of houses, a smashed car, an entire pine tree, slabs of wood and metal. It was devouring everything in

也许欧吉桑只是不想冒险。 道路被地震震裂了。 欧吉桑不得不在裂缝中转弯。 本在后座上飞来飞去，直到系上安全带。 “发生了什么?”哈利哭着把妮娅抱得太紧了，本担心猫的头会掉下来。 “我们正要离开海洋，”妈妈用她平常平静的声音说。 有一种奇怪的声音。 它突然升起，发出一声比地震还响亮的吼声。 这一次，似乎有喷气式飞机正降落在他们身后。 本转过身来，他看到的景象几乎让他的心都停止了跳动:一堵冒着泡沫的水墙，涌向街道。 而且不仅仅是水。海浪卷走了部分房屋、一辆被砸碎的汽车、一整棵松树、木板和金属板。 它正在吞噬一切

its path. Two men were running on the sidewalk. Ben gasped as the wave swallowed them whole. And now the wave was coming for them. Ojisan stomped on the gas pedal. The engine whined, and the car zoomed forward. Mom reached back and grabbed Ben's hand, squeezing it tight. Their eyes locked. At first Ben couldn't read the expression on Mom's face, because he'd never seen it before, not even in the days after Dad's accident. Mom was scared. And suddenly there was water all around them, foaming black water, rising up in angry waves. The car spun wildly as the waves rushed up around the tires. Time seemed to stop. The car tipped sharply in the rising water. Ben was held tight by his seat belt. Mom and Harry toppled onto Ojisan, and they all crashed together into his door.

它的路径。两个人在人行道上奔跑。 当巨浪把他们整个吞没时，本倒吸了一口气。 现在，巨浪向他们袭来。 欧吉桑猛踩油门。 发动机发出呜呜声，汽车疾驰向前。 妈妈伸手抓住本的手，紧紧地捏着。 他们的目光紧扣在一起。起初，本看不出妈妈脸上的表情，因为他以前从未见过，甚至在爸爸出事后的几天里也没见过。 妈妈吓坏了。突然，他们周围都是水，黑色的水冒着泡沫，像愤怒的波浪一样汹涌而上。 当波浪从轮胎周围涌上来时，汽车疯狂地旋转着。 时间似乎停止了。汽车在上涨的水里急剧倾斜。 本紧紧地系着安全带。 妈妈和哈利摔倒在欧吉桑身上，他们一起撞在了他的门上。

The door popped open. Ojisan fell out of the car. "Ojisan!" Ben screamed. And now Mom and Harry were about to fall out, too! The car door was swung wide open, and Mom and Harry teetered in the doorway. Mom clung to the steering wheel with one hand, and kept her other arm around Harry, who gripped Nya. Ben jumped forward to grab Mom, but his seat belt choked him back. "Mom!" Ben shouted. "Hold on!" "I'm trying!" Mom said. Ben struggled with his seat belt, and finally got it open. But before he could grab hold of Mom, the car tipped all the way to the side, almost all the way over. Mom, Harry, and Nya tumbled out. Ben watched in horror as the water swept them away. Ben tried to climb over the seats, to dive out after them.

门砰的一声开了。欧吉桑从车里掉了下来。 “Ojisan !”本尖叫。现在妈妈和哈利也要吵架了!车门大开着，妈妈和哈利摇摇晃晃地站在门口。 妈妈一只手抓着方向盘，另一只手搂着哈利，哈利则抓住妮雅。 本跳上前去抓住妈妈，但是他的安全带把他卡住了。 “妈妈!”本喊道。“等等!”“我在!”母亲说。 本挣扎着系安全带，终于把它解开了。 但他还没来得及抓住妈妈，车就翻到了一边，几乎翻了个底朝天。 妈妈、哈利和妮娅跌跌撞撞地走了出来。 本惊恐地看着水把他们卷走。 本试图爬过座位，跳下去追他们。

But the water was higher now, thrashing the car back and forth. The door slammed shut. Waves crashed over the roof of the car. Freezing water gushed in, surrounding Ben. In seconds, it was up to his chest. Ben tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. The water was at his chin now. And there was no way out.

但现在水涨得更高了，把汽车前后拍打着。 门砰地关上了。海浪拍打着车顶。 冰冷的水涌了进来，包围了本。 几秒钟后，水就到了他的胸口。 本想把门打开，但门不动。 现在水已经到了他的下巴。 没有出路。