4 The Ice Age

CHAPTER FOUR The Ice Age Dry Ice (noun). It's carbon dioxide in the solid form. And it's super cool. Literally. As in —78° C, which is —109° F! And when it heats up, it doesn't melt like regular water ice. Instead, it converts directly into a gas without ever being a liquid! Some say the gas looks like a spooky but hopefully friendly ghost. ELIJAH BENT OVER, STARING AT HIS BOTTLE. "Hey, guys. C'mon. I'm sure it will start to explode like a volcano. Just give it a sec." "More like eternity." Jeremy stood with his arms crossed, glaring. The reddish-orange mixture bubbled, but only a little bit. Hardly any vapor escaped. Memito blew out an exasperated sigh. "It's never going to work, guys. We're going to lose." He slumped back in his chair. "We need a miracle." "I bet there's a simple solution," said Elijah in an upbeat voice. But I knew he was feeling down. I watched him tug on his afro. He only did that when he was really upset. I felt awful for him. "Check the water," I whispered from across the room.

第四章冰河时代干冰（名词）。 它是固态的二氧化碳。 而且超级酷。字面上。 在-78°C，也就是-109°F！当它被加热时，它不像普通的水冰那样融化。 相反，它会直接转化为气体，而不会变成液体！有人说，这种气体看起来像一个幽灵，但希望是友好的幽灵。 以利亚弯下腰，盯着他的瓶子。 “嘿,伙计们。来吧。我敢肯定它会像火山一样爆发。 再等一会儿。”“更像是永恒。” 杰里米交叉着双臂站在那里，怒目而视。 红橙色的混合物冒泡了，但只有一点点。 几乎没有蒸汽逸出。梅托气恼地叹了口气。 “伙计们，这是行不通的。 我们要输了。”他瘫倒在椅子上。 “我们需要一个奇迹。”“我敢打赌有一个简单的解决办法，”以利亚乐观地说。 但我知道他情绪低落。 我看着他拉扯他的爆炸头。 他只有在非常难过的时候才会这么做。 我为他感到难过。“检查一下水，”我在房间另一头小声说。

He kept on staring at the water with hopeful eyes, like it would start to fizz as fast as opening a soda can. But that only happens because the pressure is released, and then carbon dioxide bubbles out. "It's not a ghost. It's like a wimpy version of Alka-Seltzer," said Memito. Elijah leaned his hands against the table. "We just need to give it more time." "Psst, Elijah," I said, creeping toward him. "Check the water." His brows drew together. "The water?" "What are you doing, Kate?" asked Phoenix, frantically waving the index card for our next challenge. "We need to get started on Moon Rocks." I held up my hand. "Hold up." Cupping my mouth, I whispered to Elijah. "You need warmer water." "Oh, thanks, Kate!" His lips pulled into a wide smile. "So I just need to add warm water. Will do!" "We're supposed to use warm water?" gasped Julia, whose table was right in front of Elijah's. "Um, yeah," I admitted a little reluctantly. Julia frowned at her group's attempt at a Ghost. "We put in ice water." She hoisted up her water bottle. "And it's not doing anything."

他继续用充满希望的眼睛盯着水，好像它会像打开汽水罐一样开始嘶嘶作响。 但这只是因为压力被释放，然后二氧化碳就会冒出来。 “这不是鬼。它就像一个弱版的阿尔卡萨尔茨，”梅托说。 以利亚双手靠在桌子上。 “我们只需要给它更多的时间。” “嘘，以利亚。”我说，向他爬过去。 “检查一下水。”他皱起了眉头。 “水?”“你在干什么，凯特？”菲尼克斯问，疯狂地挥舞着索引卡，准备迎接我们的下一个挑战。 “我们需要开始研究月球岩石。” 我举起手。“套牢”。 我抿起嘴，低声对以利亚说。 “你需要温暖的水。”“哦，谢谢你，凯特！”他的嘴唇露出了灿烂的笑容。 “所以我只需要加些温水。 会做!”“我们应该用温水吗？”茱莉亚喘着气说，她的桌子就在以利亚的正前方。 “嗯，是的，”我有点不情愿地承认。 茱莉亚皱起眉头，看着她们这群人在扮鬼。 “我们倒入冰水。”她举起她的水瓶。 “但它什么也没做。”

"There's no mist," said Avery. "Nothing's happening." "Just a few tiny bubbles," murmured Skyler. "Guess we're all doomed to get bad grades," said Memito in a gloomy voice. "Except for Kate the Chemist, Phoenix, and Birdie," said Jeremy. "Everyone calm down." Ms. Daly made a stopping motion. "In science, if you don't like how it's going, it's fine to start again. Get new bottles and I'll take yours." Elijah and Julia eagerly handed theirs back to Ms. Daly, then they hustled over to the materials table to grab new bottles. I strolled triumphantly back to my teammates. Only, instead of smiling, Phoenix glared at me. "You helped Jeremy's group," she accused with a baffled expression. "And Julia's, too." "Well, that second part was by accident. But Elijah's my friend," I said, resenting that I even needed to explain this. Birdie shot me an understanding look. Elijah was her friend too. But since Elijah was my next-door neighbor, I've known him even longer than Birdie. He and I started hanging out when we were still in diapers. Our moms would take us to the playground

“没有雾。”艾弗里说。 “什么都没有发生。”“只有几个小泡泡，”斯凯勒喃喃地说。 “我想我们都注定要考坏成绩。”梅托阴郁地说。 “除了药剂师凯特、菲尼克斯和小鸟。”杰里米说。 “大家都冷静。”戴利女士做了一个停止动作。 “在科学领域，如果你不喜欢它的发展方式，可以重新开始。 去买新瓶子，我把你的瓶子拿走。” 以利亚和茱莉亚急切地把他们的书还给了她。 然后，他们冲到材料台去拿新瓶子。 我得意洋洋地走回队友身边。 只是，菲尼克斯没有笑，而是怒视着我。 “你帮助了杰里米的小组，”她带着困惑的表情指责道。 “还有茱莉亚的。”“嗯，第二部分是偶然的。 但以利亚是我的朋友，”我说，很不高兴我还需要解释这一点。 伯迪体谅地看了我一眼。 以利亚也是她的朋友。 但因为以利亚是我的邻居，我认识他的时间比伯蒂还长。 我和他还在尿布里的时候就开始玩了。 我们的妈妈会带我们去操场

together. I met Birdie a few years later in first grade, and we've bonded like hydrogen and oxygen in water ever since. "Well, we'd better get started on Moon Rocks," Phoenix said. "We need to keep our lead." "Don't worry, we've got it under control," I said. "It's all going to work out. Uh, not really. That was the worst prediction I've ever made. Because what happened next was the opposite of working out. It was a science disaster of epic proportions.

在一起。几年后，我在一年级的时候遇到了伯迪，从那以后我们就像水里的氢和氧一样亲密无间。 “好了，我们最好从月球岩开始吧。”菲尼克斯说。 “我们需要保持领先地位。” “别担心，我们已经控制住了，”我说。 “一切都会解决的。 呃，不太好。那是我做过的最糟糕的预测。 因为接下来发生的事情和锻炼完全相反。 这是一场史无前例的科学灾难。