26 THE TORNADO

CHAPTER 26 THE TORNADO The weather forecasts warned of possible tornadoes that day. But despite their scientific equipment, experts still couldn't predict exactly when or where a tornado would strike. So most farmers carried on with their usual tasks, while keeping a watchful eye on the skies. Roz was out in the fields, loading hay bales onto the flatbed truck, as towering, puffy clouds rose up from the south. Raindrops lightly tapped against her body and she thought nothing of it. The wind began to blow, and still the robot continued with her work. It wasn't until the first flash of lightning that Roz finally called it quits. She climbed onto the back of the truck and it automatically rolled across the hayfield toward the driveway. The storm developed quickly. Dark clouds started swirling and bulging downward, lower and lower, like a giant, twisting finger pointing at the

第二十六章龙卷风天气预报警告说那天可能会有龙卷风。 但是，尽管有科学设备，专家们仍然无法准确预测龙卷风袭击的时间和地点。 因此，大多数农民继续他们的日常工作，同时密切关注天空。 罗兹在外面的田野里，把干草捆装上平板卡车，高耸的、蓬松的云从南方升起。 雨点轻轻地拍打着她的身体，她没有在意。 风开始刮了起来，机器人仍然继续她的工作。 直到第一道闪电，罗兹才决定放弃。 她爬上卡车的后面，它自动地穿过干草地，驶向车道。 风暴发展得很快。 乌云开始旋转，膨胀，越来越低，就像一个巨大的，扭曲的手指指向

countryside. A tornado was beginning to form. When the truck reached the driveway, Roz hollered, "Drive faster!" The engine revved, the tires kicked up gravel, and the robot held on tight. The funnel cloud continued stretching downward. It brushed the tree line, and leaves exploded into the air. Dust whirled around and around, rising higher with each spin. Then the tornado touched the ground. A siren sounded in the distance. But the tornado was growing noisier and angrier as it blew in from the fields, and the siren was quickly lost to the howling winds. The truck charged up the driveway and into the cluster of farm buildings. Roz looked ahead, at the house, and saw frightened faces in the windows. "Go to the storm shelter!" she hollered in her loudest voice. Then she leaped off the truck and ran to help the Shareefs. Leaves and sticks flew sideways, whipping against the robot's body, knocking her off balance. Behind her, the farm buildings rattled and groaned. The milking parlor was shaking violently. With a long, terrible screech, its entire roof peeled off and sailed away on the wind.

农村。龙卷风开始形成了。 当卡车开到车道上时，罗兹喊道：“开快点！”发动机开始旋转，轮胎踩起了砾石，机器人紧紧抓住。 漏斗云继续向下延伸。 它扫过林木线，树叶在空中爆炸。 灰尘一圈又一圈地旋转，每旋转一次就升得更高。 然后龙卷风袭击了地面。 远处响起了汽笛。 但龙卷风从田野里吹来，声音越来越大，越来越凶猛，警笛很快就消失在呼啸的狂风中。 卡车冲上车道，冲进了一群农场建筑。 罗兹望着前面的房子，看到窗户里惊恐的面孔。 “到避风处去！”她用最大声的声音喊道。 然后她跳下卡车，跑去帮助shareef一家。 树叶和树枝飞向一边，拍打着机器人的身体，使她失去平衡。 在她身后，农场的建筑嘎嘎作响，发出呻吟声。 挤奶室剧烈地摇晃着。 随着一声长长的、可怕的尖叫，它的整个屋顶脱落了，随风飘走了。

Four blurry shapes appeared in the backyard. Mr. Shareef shielded his face and hobbled alongside the house toward the storm shelter. He threw open the door and waved everyone down the stairs. Oscar went first, then Jaya, but Jad wasn't moving. "Come on, Jad!" yelled his father. The boy stood still, shaggy hair flying everywhere, and stared up at the towering, twisting tornado. He used to have nightmares about tornadoes. But this was no nightmare; it was real, and it was getting closer. The clouds swirled faster. The wind roared louder. The trees bent down to the ground. Jad suddenly felt strong arms around him, and Roz whisked him to safety. Mr. Shareef reached up from inside the shelter, desperately grasping for his son. And just when Roz thrust the boy into his father's arms, a blast of wind slammed the shelter door closed and swept our robot away. At first, Roz didn't realize she was in the tornado. She kept expecting to fall back to the ground. But the wind only lifted her higher and higher. She saw the treetops, the rooftops, the faraway fields! More of the

后院出现了四个模糊的人影。 谢里夫捂着脸，一瘸一拐地沿着房子向避风处走去。 他猛地打开门，挥手示意大家下楼。 奥斯卡先走，然后是贾亚，但贾德没有动。 “加油，杰德！”他的父亲喊道。 男孩一动不动地站着，乱蓬蓬的头发到处乱飞，他抬头盯着高耸的、扭曲的龙卷风。 他过去常做龙卷风的噩梦。 但这不是噩梦；这是真的，而且越来越近了。 云旋转得更快了。 风吼得更响了。树都倒在地上了。 杰德突然感到有两只有力的手臂抱住了他，罗兹赶紧把他带到安全的地方。 谢里夫先生从避难所里伸出手，拼命地抓住儿子。 就在罗兹把小男孩塞进他父亲怀里的时候，一阵大风把避难所的门关上了，把我们的机器人卷走了。 一开始，罗兹并没有意识到自己身处龙卷风之中。 她一直以为自己会摔回地上。 但风只会把她吹得越来越高。 她看到了树梢，屋顶，远处的田野！更多的

countryside came into view with each spin around the funnel cloud. Our robot's Survival Instincts were blaring in her head, urging her to protect herself, but what could she do? The tornado was in control. The winds whirled her up and around, up and around. Roz could almost imagine what it was like to fly, and she thought of Brightbill. It seemed her final moments would be spent in her son's airborne world. Roz wasn't the only thing swept away in the storm. Dust, gravel, leaves, branches, fence posts, and farm equipment were all swirling around with her. The robot was pelted by flying objects, big and small. She never even saw the shovel coming. The heavy tool wheeled around the tornado and—CLANG—it hit the back of her head. Everything suddenly went dark, while Roz was still up in the sky.

随着漏斗云的每一次旋转，乡村都映入眼帘。 我们的机器人的生存本能在她的脑海里咆哮，敦促她保护自己，但她能做什么呢？ 龙卷风得到了控制。 风把她吹上又吹，吹上又吹。 罗兹几乎可以想象飞行的感觉，她想起了布莱特比尔。 似乎她的最后时刻将在她儿子的空中世界里度过。 在这场风暴中被冲走的不仅仅是罗兹。 灰尘、沙砾、树叶、树枝、栅栏柱和农场设备都在她身边打转。 机器人被大大小小的飞行物击中。 她甚至都没看到铲子来了。 沉重的工具绕着龙卷风转了一圈，砰的一声击中了她的后脑勺。 当罗兹还在天上的时候，一切都突然变黑了。