4 The Firefly Problem

CHAPTER FOUR THE FIREFLY PROBLEM I HOPED THAT the fireflies would get unstuck by school the next day. I knew I should really be thinking about the science fair. But the fireflies didn't get unstuck. "There's something I have to talk to you guys about," I told Rosie and Simon on the way to lunch. "It's important." We hustled through the cafeteria line, got our food fast, and sat at a table by ourselves. For lunch that day we had chicken nuggets, a banana, and a scoop of

第四章萤火虫的问题我希望第二天学校能把萤火虫弄出来。 我就知道我应该考虑科学展的事。 但是萤火虫并没有挣脱。 在去吃午饭的路上，我对罗西和西蒙说：“有件事我必须和你们谈谈。” “这很重要。”我们匆匆穿过自助餐厅的队伍，快速地拿到了我们的食物，然后独自坐在一张桌子旁。 那天的午餐我们吃了鸡块、一根香蕉和一勺

mashed potatoes. I like bananas because they're the same color on the outside and the inside. The outside is dark yellow and the inside is light yellow. No problem. I don't like fruits that are one color on the outside but a totally different color on the inside. Like watermelon is green on the outside, but red on the inside. Or apples are red on the outside, but white on the inside. It just doesn't seem very honest. You know what I mean? So I like bananas. I broke mine into eight bite-size

土豆泥。我喜欢香蕉，因为它们外面和里面的颜色是一样的。 外面是暗黄色，里面是淡黄色。 没有问题。我不喜欢外面是一种颜色，里面是完全不同颜色的水果。 就像西瓜外面是绿色的，里面是红色的。 或者苹果外面是红的，里面是白的。 这看起来不太诚实。 你懂我的意思吗？所以我喜欢香蕉。 我把我的分成八块

pieces. "Rosie," I said. "Can I ask you something?" "Here it comes," Simon said. "What?" I asked. "Here what comes?" "Simon and I could tell something was bugging

碎片。“罗西，”我说。“我能问你一件事吗？”“它来了，”西蒙说。 “什么?”我问。“什么来了？”“西蒙和我能感觉到有什么东西在骚扰我

you," Rosie said. "We just figured it was the science fair. I know you're worried about coming up with a project. We are too." I smiled. They knew me so well. Simon asked, "So what is it?"

你，”罗茜说。“我们只是认为这是科学博览会。 我知道你在担心如何想出一个项目。 我们也是。”我笑了笑。他们非常了解我。 西门说：“那是什么事？”

"It's not the science fair," I answered. "It's fireflies. I want Rosie to tell me everything she knows about them." "First of all, fireflies aren't flies at all," Rosie began. I knew she'd have good information. She's so good at science. That was one reason why we weren't, like, totally panicked about the fair on Friday. We had Rosie on our team. "They're beetles. When they flash their light, that's called bioluminescence." I asked, "What else?" "It's okay to catch fireflies, but you shouldn't keep them for more than a day. And you don't need to poke holes in the jar. Lots of people do that, but you don't have to. You just need to drop something wet in the jar. They like moist air. Their light can be yellow, green, or orange." I took a banana bite and asked, "Why do they flash their light?" "To attract a mate," Rosie answered. "That's what I thought." "Awesome," Simon said. "I've always wanted to learn about the romantic habits of fireflies." "Really?" I asked. "No."

“这不是科学展览，”我回答。 “这是萤火虫。我想让罗西告诉我她所知道的关于他们的一切。” “首先，萤火虫根本不是苍蝇，”罗茜开始说。 我知道她会有好的消息。 她很擅长科学。这就是为什么我们没有对周五的博览会感到恐慌的原因之一。 我们队里有罗茜。“他们甲虫。 当它们发出光时，这被称为生物发光。” 我问：“还有什么？”“抓萤火虫是可以的，但你不应该养它们超过一天。 你不需要在罐子上戳洞。 很多人都这么做，但你不必这么做。 你只需要在罐子里放点湿的东西。 它们喜欢潮湿的空气。它们的光可以是黄色、绿色或橙色。” 我咬了一口香蕉，问道：“他们为什么要闪光？”“为了吸引配偶，”罗茜回答。 “我也是这么想的。”“太棒了，”西蒙说。 “我一直想了解萤火虫的浪漫习性。” “真的吗?”我问。“没有。”