Chapter 2

2 Pablo and Violet couldn't wait to explore the Science Space. Along the wall was a shelf holding plastic bins filled with safety goggles, magnifying glasses, magnets, scales for weighing, and wooden boards with nuts and bolts for building. There were even two red drones! "Oh, man! When are we going to get to fly those?" asked Pablo. "I can't wait to learn how to program them! I bet they can do all kinds of cool tricks," said Violet.

2巴勃罗和维奥莱特迫不及待地想探索科学空间。 沿着墙壁有一个架子，上面放着塑料箱，里面装满了护目镜、放大镜、磁铁、称重用的秤，还有用来建造的带螺母和螺栓的木板。 甚至还有两架红色无人机！“哦,男人!我们什么时候才能开这些飞机？”巴勃罗问。 “我迫不及待地想学习如何给它们编程！”我敢打赌他们会做各种各样很酷的把戏。”维奥莱特说。

They sat down at one of the tables in the Science Space. Deepak joined them. Mr. Eng passed around a handout.

他们在科学空间的一张桌子旁坐下。 迪帕克也加入了他们。伍启芳分发了一份材料。

Food Chain Fun A food chain is how energy from food is passed from one living thing to another in an ecosystem. Producers make their own food from nonliving things. Plants use light, water, and air to make food. Consumers eat other living things (plants, animals, or both). Decomposers, like bacteria, fungus, or worms, recycle dead plants and animals into nutrients. Larger decomposers, like vultures, eat dead animals and are called scavengers.

食物链是指在生态系统中，食物中的能量如何从一种生物传递到另一种生物。 生产者用无生命的东西制造自己的食物。 植物利用光、水和空气来制造食物。 消费者吃其他生物（植物、动物或两者都吃）。 分解者，如细菌、真菌或蠕虫，将死去的植物和动物转化为营养物质。 较大的分解者，如秃鹫，吃死动物，被称为食腐动物。

"Think about the town of Newburg," said Mr. Eng. "You have ten minutes to make a list of living things that are producers, consumers, and decomposers in our local ecosystem." Violet turned to Deepak. "We'll help you since you're new to town," she said. But Pablo didn't want to help Deepak. Then something got his attention. Sitting in the window of the Science Space was a shiny new telescope. Pablo had a small handheld telescope at home. But this one came with a fancy tripod! Pablo decided to sneak over and take a peek. He was about to peep through the lens when a crumpled ball of paper rolled up next to him. He looked around. The rest of the class was busy working on the assignment. He picked up the crinkled paper ball and opened it.

“想想纽堡镇，”伍启贤说。 “你有十分钟的时间列出我们当地生态系统中生产者、消费者和分解者的生物清单。” 维奥莱特转向迪帕克。“既然你是新来的，我们会帮助你的，”她说。 但巴勃罗不想帮迪帕克。 然后有件事引起了他的注意。 科学空间的窗口放着一架崭新的望远镜。 巴勃罗家里有一台小型手持望远镜。 但这款相机有一个漂亮的三脚架！巴勃罗决定溜过去偷看一眼。 他正要透过镜头往外看，这时一个皱巴巴的纸团在他身边卷了起来。 他环顾四周。班上其他同学都忙着做作业。 他拿起皱巴巴的纸球，把它打开。

M PRODUCERS, CONSUMERS, DECOMPOSERS, OH MY! ALL ARE NECESSARY FOR AN ECOSYSTEM TO SURVIVE. MOST ANIMALS ARE LIVING THINGS, BEWARE! IF DISAPPEARED, WE WOULDN'T HAVE FRESH AIR. AND WITHOUT NATURE'S GARBAGE WOULD BE EVERYWHERE! SOLVE THIS RIDDLE TO ENTER THE MAKER MAZE. The Maker Maze? Pablo had gone through a corn maze at Newburg Farm. And a mirror maze at the Newburg Fair. But he had never heard of the Maker Maze. "Hey, you guys! Look at this," said Pablo. He tossed the paper onto the table. Violet read it aloud. She bit her lip. "Let's solve the riddle!"

生产者、消费者、分解者，天哪！所有这些都是生态系统生存所必需的。 大多数动物都是生物，小心！如果消失了，我们就没有新鲜空气了。 没有大自然的垃圾就会到处都是！解开这个谜题，进入创客迷宫。 创客迷宫？巴勃罗穿过了纽堡农场的玉米迷宫。 还有纽堡集市上的镜子迷宫。 但他从未听说过创客迷宫。 “嘿，伙计们！看看这个，”巴勃罗说。 他把报纸扔到桌子上。 维奥莱特大声读了起来。她咬着嘴唇。 “我们来解开这个谜吧！”

"Wait," said Deepak. He pulled on his ear. He seemed a little unsure. "What's the matter?" Pablo asked. "You aren't scared, are you?" "No!" Deepak frowned. "Come on, guys," said Violet. "I bet Mr. Eng is secretly passing these around. Maybe if we solve it first, we get a prize or something!" The three kids stared at the wrinkly piece of paper. "Living things, beware," Violet read. She bit her lip again. "The first one must be consumers. They eat living things." "Yeah," said Pablo. "And the handout says decomposers eat dead stuff. So they're probably the ones who get rid of nature's garbage." "We have lots of plants at home. My dad says they keep the air clean. I guess that means we have fresh air thanks to producers?" asked Deepak. Before Pablo or Violet could answer, their chairs and table started to shake. Everything in the

“等等，”迪帕克说。他拉了拉耳朵。 他似乎有点不确定。 “怎么啦？”巴勃罗问道。 “你不会害怕吧？”“不!”迪帕克皱起了眉头。 “来吧，伙计们。”维奥莱特说。 “我敢打赌，伍启芳正在偷偷地传递这些东西。 也许如果我们先解决它，我们会得到奖品什么的！”三个孩子盯着那张皱巴巴的纸。 “生物，当心，”维奥莱特念道。 她又咬了咬嘴唇。“首先必须是消费者。 它们吃生物。”“是的，”巴勃罗说。 讲义上说分解者吃死东西。 所以他们可能是清理大自然垃圾的人。” “我们家里有很多植物。 我爸爸说它们能保持空气清洁。 我想这意味着多亏了生产者，我们才有了新鲜空气？” 巴勃罗和维奥莱特还没来得及回答，他们的椅子和桌子就开始摇晃起来。 所有的东西