6 SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Survival of the Fittest "Mom," said Ivy, "can you tie this knot?" Ivy's mom was working in her office. Click, click, click, her fingers jumped along her keyboard. "Mmm," she said. "Mom?" Ivy said. "What?" "Can you tie this knot?" "Yes," said Ivy's mom. Quickly, she leaned over and pulled on the string wrapped around Ivy's wrists. She tied the ends in a knot.

适者生存“妈妈，”艾薇说，“你能打这个结吗？”艾薇的妈妈在办公室工作。 咔哒，咔哒，咔哒，她的手指在键盘上跳来跳去。 “嗯，”她说。“妈妈?”艾薇说。 “什么?”“你能打这个结吗？”“是的，”艾薇的妈妈说。 她迅速俯下身，拉了拉缠绕在艾薇手腕上的绳子。 她把发梢打了个结。

"Thanks," said Ivy. She and Bean turned to leave. "Bye." "Mmm," said Ivy's mom, her fingers beginning to jump again. They walked down the hall to the front door. Walking with their hands tied in front of them was weird. It made their stomachs stick out. "Wait," called Ivy's mom. She poked her

“谢谢，”艾薇说。她和比恩转身离开。 “再见。”“嗯，”艾薇的妈妈说，她的手指又开始跳了起来。 他们穿过大厅来到前门。 双手被绑在前面走路很奇怪。 这让他们的肚子凸出来了。 “等等，”艾薇的妈妈叫道。她戳了她一下

head out of her office. "Can I ask why you've tied your hands together?" "It's a global warming idea," said Ivy. "Oh," said Ivy's mom. "What do you mean?" "Well, you know how lots of animals are in trouble from global warming?" said Ivy. Her mom nodded. "They'd have a better chance if humans weren't so powerful." "If humans weren't as strong and smart and

走出她的办公室。“我能问一下你为什么把你的手绑在一起吗？”“这是一个全球变暖的想法，”艾薇说。 “哦，”艾薇的妈妈说。“你是什么意思？”“嗯，你知道有多少动物因为全球变暖而陷入困境吗？”艾薇说。 妈妈点点头。“如果人类不是如此强大，它们会有更好的机会。” “如果人类没有这么强壮，这么聪明

stuff," added Bean. "So we tied up our hands, to make it more fair," said Ivy. "We thought about hitting ourselves on the head, so that we'd be dumber," said Bean. "But then we thought that would hurt," Ivy said. "So we picked hands instead." "If we can't move our hands, we'll be weaker," said Bean. "And then the animals can take over." "They could take over the world from the people," said Ivy.

比恩补充道。艾薇说：“所以我们束手束脚，让它更公平。” “我们想过打自己的头，这样我们就会变得更笨，”比恩说。 艾薇说：“但后来我们觉得这会很痛苦。” “所以我们只好举手了。” “如果我们的手动不了，我们就会变得更弱。”比恩说。 “然后动物就可以接管了。” “他们可以从人类手中接管世界，”艾薇说。

"It's a very interesting idea," said Ivy's mom. She smiled. "Where are you going now?" "We're going to go outside and let the animals see that we're weak," said Ivy. "We may be eaten," said Bean, "but we don't mind." "It's for science," said Ivy. "That's definitely a good cause," said Ivy's mom. She didn't seem very worried, so Ivy said, "If we do get eaten, bring our skeletons to the science fair." "Will do," said Ivy's mom and went back inside her office. They stood in Ivy's front yard, trying to show the animals that they were weak.

“这是一个非常有趣的想法，”艾薇的妈妈说。 她笑了。“你现在要去哪儿？”艾薇说：“我们要到外面去，让动物们看到我们很虚弱。” “我们可能会被吃掉，”比恩说，“但我们不介意。” “这是为了科学，”艾薇说。 “这绝对是一件好事，”艾薇的妈妈说。 她似乎不太担心，所以艾薇说：“如果我们真的被吃掉了，把我们的骨架带到科学展览会上。” “好的。”艾薇的妈妈说着回到了办公室。 他们站在艾薇家的前院，试图向动物们展示他们的软弱。

"Come and get us!" called Bean. But the animals must have been napping, because it was Katy from down the block who answered. She stepped out of a camellia bush and stared at them. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Global warming," said Bean. "We're fighting it," said Ivy. "We're giving the animals a chance to—" Katy interrupted. "You want to play Bad Orphanage?" Katy had changed a lot. When she was little,

“快来抓我们！”比恩喊道。 但动物们一定是在打盹，因为是街区那头的凯蒂接的电话。 她从山茶花丛中走出来，盯着他们看。 “你在干什么？”她问。 “全球变暖，”比恩说。 “我们正在与之抗争，”艾薇说。 “我们是在给动物们一个机会——”凯蒂插嘴说。 “你想玩坏孤儿院吗？”凯蒂变了很多。 当她小的时候，