1 A Black Hole

Kater CHEMIST THE BIRTHDAY BLASTOFF DR. KATE BIBERDORF WITH HILLARY HOMZIE MAKE YOUR OWN ROCKET! EXPERIMENT INSIDE!

卡特化学家生日发射博士。 凯特·比伯多夫和希拉里·homzie自制火箭！实验里面!

CHAPTER ONE A BLACK HOLE Observation (noun). In science, this means gaining knowledge about anything around you through your senses. For instance, you could observe the smell of cheese coming from the school cafeteria (and figure out that there's going to be pizza for lunch!). I HAD TO KNOW what was inside the mystery box. Outside the science lab a snowblower roared. The room filled with chatter. Everyone was whispering about the box sitting on a table in the middle of the room. "I'm going to peek," I whispered. Birdie Bhatt, my very best friend, jumped in front of me. "Don't even think about it, Kate." "But... but..." The box was wrapped in shiny tinfoil like a present. Only instead of a bow, there was a giant red question mark made of construction paper. "Ms. Daly is right there." Birdie pointed to our after-school science club advisor, who stood at the doorway, welcoming kids.

第一章黑洞观测（名词）。 在科学上，这意味着通过你的感官获得关于你周围任何事物的知识。 例如，你可以观察从学校自助餐厅传来的奶酪的味道（并计算出午餐将有披萨！）。 我必须知道那个神秘盒子里装的是什么。 科学实验室外面吹雪机轰鸣着。 房间里充满了闲聊。 大家都在窃窃私语，议论着放在屋子中间桌子上的盒子。 “我要偷看一下，”我低声说。 Birdie Bhatt，我最好的朋友，跳到我面前。 “想都别想，凯特。” “但是……但是……”盒子像礼物一样用闪亮的锡纸包着。 只不过不是蝴蝶结，而是一个用建筑用纸做的巨大的红色问号。 “戴利女士就在那儿。” 伯迪指着我们课后科学俱乐部的指导老师，他站在门口欢迎孩子们。

I bit my fingernails. "I hate waiting." "I know." Birdie smiled and her brown eyes crinkled. She knew me soooo well. "Here." Birdie dug into her flower-covered backpack and handed me a caramel apple granola bar. It was my favorite. "Here." I unzipped a front compartment in my backpack and yanked out a bag of trail mix with M&M's and sunflower seeds. "I love those," said Birdie in a hushed voice. "I know." Now it was my turn to smile. That's when Ms. Daly marched to the front of the class. She glanced up at the clock. Three fifteen exactly. She's a retired air force flight engineer and always starts on time. She says you can't keep fighter pilots waiting. Of course, we weren't pilots. We were students at Rosalind Franklin Elementary School. Which is named for Dr. Rosalind Franklin, one of the greatest chemists of all time. Science is extra extra special at our school, which is just fine by me. Ms. Daly clapped her hands. "Okay, folks. It's mystery box time!" A bunch of kids made happy shrieks, and I whooped. "We're going to work on your abilities to observe using your senses," continued Ms. Daly. "Give me some

我咬了指甲。“我讨厌等待。” “我知道。”伯蒂笑了，棕色的眼睛皱了起来。 她太了解我了。“在这里。” 伯迪从她那满是鲜花的背包里掏出一块焦糖苹果格兰诺拉燕麦棒递给我。 这是我的最爱。“在这里。” 我拉开背包前一节的拉链，拿出一袋巧克力豆和葵花籽的什干粉。 “我喜欢那些，”小鸟轻声说。 “我知道。”现在轮到我微笑了。 就在这时，戴利走到全班同学的前面。 她抬头看了一眼钟。 正好三点十五分。她是一名退休的空军飞行工程师，总是准时上班。 她说你不能让战斗机飞行员等着。 当然，我们不是飞行员。 我们是罗莎琳德·富兰克林小学的学生。 它是以罗莎琳德·富兰克林博士命名的，她是有史以来最伟大的化学家之一。 科学在我们学校特别特别，我觉得挺好的。 戴利女士拍了拍手。 “好的,人。现在是神秘盒子时间！”一群孩子高兴地尖叫起来，我也欢呼起来。 “我们将训练你用感官观察的能力，”她继续说。 戴利。“给我一些

words to describe this box." "It's got six sides," said Elijah Williams, who's one of my closest friends and also my next-door neighbor. "It's a cube," I said. "It's very pretty," added Birdie. "That might be true, but that's how you feel about it," admitted Ms. Daly. "Give me a pure observation." Birdie's blush spread to her ears. "It's silver," she murmured. "And shiny!" I exclaimed. "And all taped up so we can't see what's inside," groaned Steven McFee, a fourth grader wearing a basketball shirt. "Perfect!" Ms. Daly grabbed a yellow pad. On it, she had written facts in black ink. "In science, we stick to facts. For example, we know that the moon has had enough to eat when it's full." For a minute, nobody said anything. And then a few kids like me started grinning when we realized it was just her typical corny humor. "Facts are observations about the world," continued Ms. Daly. "Like that your heart pumps blood. The sun comes out during the day. And there are seven beakers sitting on my desk." "And today is Friday, November twenty-eighth, our weekly science club meeting," I called out. I think science is the best thing in the entire world. That's not an

用来描述这个盒子的词。” “它有六个方面，”伊利亚·威廉姆斯（Elijah Williams）说，他是我最亲密的朋友之一，也是我的邻居。 “这是一个立方体，”我说。“它很漂亮，”小鸟补充说。 “这可能是真的，但这就是你对它的感觉。” 戴利。“给我一个纯粹的观察。” 伯蒂的脸红传到了耳朵上。 “是银色的，”她喃喃地说。 “和闪亮的!”我叫道。穿着篮球衫的四年级学生史蒂文·麦克菲（Steven McFee）抱怨道：“而且都用胶带封住了，所以我们看不见里面是什么。” “完美!”戴利抓起一个黄色的便笺本。 在上面，她用黑墨水写了一些事实。 “在科学领域，我们坚持事实。 例如，我们知道月亮吃饱了就吃饱了。” 一时间，没有人说话。 当我们意识到这只是她典型的陈腐幽默时，像我这样的几个孩子开始咧嘴笑了起来。 “事实是对世界的观察。” 戴利。“这样你的心脏就会抽血。 太阳在白天出来。 我的桌子上有七个烧杯。” “今天是星期五，11月28日，我们每周一次的科学俱乐部会议，”我喊道。 我认为科学是世界上最好的东西。 这不是。

observation, it's a feeling. And it's a really good one! "That's a fact, Kate," said Ms. Daly. "So, in addition to shape, we can pay attention to texture and sound." She gently shook the box. "And smell." Tilting his chin, Memito Alvarez sniffed. "Hey! I smell something sweet." He rubbed his belly. "It's definitely candy." He popped out of his seat. "Is it candy?" "Sorry, but no." Ms. Daly shook her head and not one short gray hair moved. She continued on with her lesson. "Scientists know things exist without even seeing them. All based on observations and evidence." "Like dinosaurs?" piped up Elijah. "I saw a Tyrannosaurus fossil in a natural history museum, but no human being has ever seen a real T. rex." Memito roared like a dinosaur. Birdie and I jerked back in surprise, and then giggled. "There's something else scientists know based on evidence." In the back, a new girl with wavy pigtails raised her hand. I recognized her from the main office this morning, when she had come in with her dad to transfer to our school. "How about black holes?" she said. "You can't see them, but you know they exist." "Oh, that's perfect, Tala!" I exclaimed.

观察，是一种感觉。 这是一个非常好的故事！“这是事实，凯特。” 戴利。“所以，除了形状，我们还可以注意质地和声音。” 她轻轻地摇了摇盒子。“和气味”。 梅梅托·阿尔瓦雷斯歪着下巴，嗅了嗅。 “嘿!我闻到了甜甜的味道。” 他揉了揉肚子。“绝对是糖果。” 他突然从座位上站起来。 “是糖果吗？”“对不起，不行。” 戴利摇了摇头，一根灰白的短头发也不动。 她继续做她的功课。 “科学家们甚至没有看到它们就知道它们的存在。 所有这些都是基于观察和证据。” “像恐龙一样？”以利亚尖声问道。 “我在自然历史博物馆里看到过暴龙化石，但没有人见过真正的T。 雷克斯。”Memito像恐龙一样咆哮。 伯蒂和我吃惊地往后缩了缩，然后咯咯地笑起来。 “还有一些科学家根据证据知道的事情。” 在后面，一个新来的留着波浪辫的女孩举起了手。 今天早上她和她爸爸一起来转到我们学校时，我认出了她。 “黑洞怎么样？”她说。 “你看不见它们，但你知道它们的存在。” “哦，太好了，塔拉！”我叫道。

"How do you know my name?" She didn't sound angry, just surprised. "Kate is a psychic," joked Elijah, pressing his finger to his forehead. "That's how she knows all the answers. And names." "Ha ha." I kicked the back of his chair. "I just overheard someone say it. Tala Campo. Down in the office." "Kate's mom is the principal," explained Avery Cooper, which sounded like a brag. Ugh. Now it was my turn to blush. I really don't like it when people make a fuss about who my mom is. "It's no big deal." "Well, welcome, Tala," said Ms. Daly. "You seem to know a lot about astronomy. Anything else you want to share about black holes?" Tala blew on her thick bangs. "The gravitational field of a black hole pulls nearby stars. Scientists can see the effect on the stars but not the hole itself." "That's so cool!" I gushed, thinking about how in chemistry, scientists can't actually see super-small particles like electrons, but they know about them because of intricate experiments in the lab. Ms. Daly leaned over the mystery box. "Okay, are you ready to see what's inside?" "Oh yes!" My legs bounced. My thoughts bounced. I couldn't wait.

“你怎么知道我的名字？”她听起来并不生气，只是惊讶。 “凯特是个通灵者，”以利亚开玩笑说，把手指按在额头上。 “所以她知道所有的答案。 和名字。”“哈哈。”我踢了他的椅背。 “我只是无意中听到有人这么说。 塔拉草原。在楼下的办公室。” “凯特的妈妈是校长，”艾弗里·库珀解释道，听起来像是在吹牛。 啊。现在轮到我脸红了。 我真的不喜欢人们对我妈妈是谁大惊小怪。 “没什么大不了的。”“好吧，欢迎你，塔拉。” 戴利。“你似乎很懂天文学。 关于黑洞，你还有什么想分享的吗？”塔拉吹了吹她浓密的刘海。 “黑洞的引力场会吸引附近的恒星。 科学家们可以看到黑洞对恒星的影响，但看不到黑洞本身。” “太酷了！”我滔滔不绝地说，想到在化学中，科学家们实际上看不到像电子这样的超小粒子，但他们知道它们是因为实验室里复杂的实验。 戴利女士俯身看着那个神秘的盒子。 “好了，你准备好看看里面是什么了吗？”“哦,是的!”我的腿跳了起来。 我的思绪跳跃着。我等不及了。