38 THE POD

CHAPTER 38 THE POD As her long ocean journey continued, Roz passed the time by sharpening her skills of echolocation. With practice, she identified an underwater mountain range, and a sleeping whale, and a piece of driftwood, long before she saw them. But our robot wasn't the only creature using echolocation around there. First she heard wild whistling. Then she heard rapid clicking. The whistles and clicks grew louder and faster, and a pod of dolphins surged into view. The dolphins crowded Roz, studying her and prodding her and chattering to themselves. "Now, what do you think this is?" "It's got a hard shell." "And it swims funny."

随着漫长的海洋旅程的继续，罗兹通过磨练她的回声定位技能来消磨时间。 经过练习，早在她看到它们之前，她就辨认出了水下山脉、一条熟睡的鲸鱼和一块浮木。 但我们的机器人并不是唯一使用回声定位的生物。 首先，她听到了刺耳的口哨声。 然后她听到了急速的咔哒声。 哨声和咔哒声越来越响，越来越快，一群海豚涌进了视野。 海豚们围着罗兹，打量着她，戳着她，叽叽喳喳地说个不停。 “现在，你认为这是什么？”“它有一个硬壳。” “它游起来很有趣。”

"Is it some sort of sea turtle?" Roz said, "I am not a sea turtle. I am a robot. My name is Roz." "Did you hear that, everyone?" "This creature is a robot!" "A robot named Roz!" "Hey, Roz the robot, can you do this?" One of the dolphins suddenly pumped his tail and leaped up out of the water, and a moment later, he came splashing back down, into the waves. "Yes, I believe I can do that," said Roz. The robot suddenly kicked her legs and launched herself up out of the water. For the first time in weeks, she felt the light touch of air against her body. And then gravity pulled her down, back into the waves.

“是某种海龟吗？”罗兹说：“我不是海龟。 我是一个机器人。我叫罗兹。” “大家听到了吗？”“这个生物是个机器人！”“一个叫罗兹的机器人！”“嘿，机器人罗兹，你能做到吗？”其中一只海豚突然甩动尾巴，跃出水面，过了一会儿，它又溅起水花落回水中。 “是的，我相信我能做到，”罗兹说。 机器人突然踢了踢她的腿，把自己从水里跳了出来。 几个星期以来，她第一次感到空气轻拂着她的身体。 然后重力把她拉了下来，回到了海浪中。

The dolphins were impressed. They cheered and laughed and peppered Roz with questions. But the lively mood changed when she mentioned her mission. Then the dolphins started chattering again. "We've stayed clear of the poison tide." "But we know about the damage it's causing." "It must be stopped!" "What can we do to help?" Roz answered, "You can tell me where to find the Ancient Shark." "They say she lives deep in the northern ocean." "To get there you'll have to swim west." "Around a very long stretch of land." Roz asked, "Could I get there faster by traveling over the land, rather than around it?" "We don't know much about land." "You should speak with the seabirds!" "Yes, the seabirds will know the fastest way!" "Okay, everyone, let's find Roz some seabirds!" The pod of dolphins surged into action. But instead of swimming upward, as you might expect, they swam downward, into the depths. You see, the dolphins knew exactly how to attract seabirds. They rounded up a school of fish, circling them, forcing them into a tight cluster. All at once, the dolphins blew air from their blowholes, and a dense layer of bubbles carried the fish up to the surface, where they thrashed through the

海豚们对此印象深刻。 他们又欢呼又笑，向罗兹提出一连串的问题。 但当她提到自己的使命时，活泼的气氛就变了。 然后海豚又开始叽叽喳喳地叫起来。 “我们已经远离了毒潮。” “但我们知道它造成的损害。” “必须阻止它！”“我们能帮什么忙？”罗兹回答说：“你可以告诉我在哪里可以找到古鲨鱼。” “他们说她住在北部海洋深处。” “要到那儿，你得向西游。” “在一片很长的土地上。” 罗兹问：“如果我从陆地上走过去，而不是绕过去，我能更快地到达那里吗？”“我们对土地了解不多。” “你应该和海鸟说话！”“是的，海鸟知道最快的路！”“好了，各位，我们去给罗兹找些海鸟吧！”这群海豚开始行动起来。 但它们并没有像你想象的那样向上游，而是向深处游去。 你看，海豚知道如何吸引海鸟。 他们围捕了一群鱼，把它们围成一团。 突然，海豚从它们的气孔中吹出空气，一层稠密的气泡把鱼带到水面上，在那里它们在水中挣扎

waves, and soon flocks of hungry seabirds were flying toward the scene.

海浪，很快，成群的饥饿的海鸟飞向现场。