Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE "Today we are going to be studying the thermal springs in the west of the island," Ms Rivers announced. "They are in a mountainous landscape that is home to the golden-spotted phoenix." There was the clatter of chair legs on the floor and Mr Longnose stood up. "Excuse me, Ms Rivers, but I am a trained geologist. I happen to have visited the thermal springs. Would you like me to share some of my knowledge with the class?" "Certainly," said Ms Rivers politely. "I'm sure they'll all be very interested in what you have to say."

“今天我们要研究岛西部的温泉，”里弗斯老师宣布。 “他们所在的山区是金斑凤凰的家园。” 地板上传来椅子腿的碰撞声，朗鼻先生站了起来。 “对不起，里弗斯女士，我是一名训练有素的地质学家。 我碰巧去过温泉。 你想让我和同学们分享一些我的知识吗？”“当然，”里弗斯女士礼貌地说。 “我相信他们都会对你要说的话很感兴趣的。”

"Oh, we will! We really will!" Phoebe burst out, hoping to make up for her earlier mistake by letting the inspector see how enthusiastic they all were about learning. "Ms Rivers, is it usual for pupils to be allowed to shout out in your class?" enquired Mr Longnose sharply. "No, of course not." Ms Rivers frowned. "Phoebe, please remember to put your hand up." Phoebe slid back into her seat. Flapdoodles! She hadn't made things better, if anything she'd made them worse! Mr Longnose launched into a long and boring description of how the hot springs were formed and then showed them how to greet the golden

“哦，我们会的！”我们真的会！”菲比脱口而出，希望弥补她先前的错误，让检查员看到他们对学习的热情。 “里弗斯老师，学生在你的课上可以大声喊叫吗？”朗鼻先生厉声问道。 “不，当然不是。”里弗斯女士皱起了眉头。 “菲比，请记得把手举起来。” 菲比滑回到座位上。 胡说!她不但没有使事情好转，反而使事情变得更糟了！长鼻先生开始对温泉的形成进行了冗长而乏味的描述，然后教他们如何迎接黄金

spotted phoenix. "It's polite to bow from the waist like so, while extending your right hand out at exactly this angle." Phoebe heard Spike and his friend Johan swallow snorts of laugher as Mr Longnose folded his thin frame in half while twisting his wrist to hold out his hand with the fingers making a circle. Mr Longnose looked up sharply. "How rude!" he said in a displeased voice. "I am surprised you allow behaviour like this, Ms Rivers." Picking up his clipboard, he made another note. Ms Rivers fixed the boys with a look that made them subside instantly. "Thank you, Mr Longnose, for all that information. It's been most enlightening." Although her words were polite, Phoebe could tell from the tightness around her mouth and eyes that she was not happy at all. When Geography ended, they went to get a snack in the dining hall before going to a library session with Ms Tansy, the librarian. Mr Longnose walked to the hall with them, asking questions of everyone as they went. Did they like the school? Did they feel safe? "I'm going to talk to him," Phoebe told Zara.

发现了凤凰城。“像这样从腰部鞠躬是礼貌的，同时右手以这个角度伸出来。” 菲比听到长鼻子先生把瘦弱的身体折成两半，同时扭着手腕伸出一只手指围成一个圈的手时，斯派克和他的朋友约翰忍不住笑了起来。 朗鼻大夫猛地抬起头来。 “太粗鲁了！”他不高兴地说。 “我很惊讶你允许这样的行为，里弗斯女士。” 他拿起剪贴板，又做了一个笔记。 里弗斯女士盯着两个男孩看了一眼，使他们立刻安静下来。 “谢谢你，长鼻子先生，告诉我这么多。 这很有启发性。” 虽然她的话很有礼貌，但菲比从她紧绷的嘴和眼睛可以看出她一点也不高兴。 地理课结束后，他们去餐厅吃了点零食，然后去图书馆和图书管理员唐茜女士一起上课。 Longnose先生和他们一起向大厅走去，边走边问每个人问题。 他们喜欢这所学校吗？他们感到安全吗？ “我要和他谈谈，”菲比告诉扎拉。

"No, Phoebs!" Zara grabbed her arm. Phoebe frowned. "Why not? I just want to make sure he knows students don't feel unsafe here and to tell him how utterly amazing the school is." "Please, don't," Zara begged. "You never think before you speak and you'll only make things worse." She sounded so genuinely worried that Phoebe was taken aback. She and Zara often teased each other– she would tell Zara she was too sensible and Zara would tell her she was too dramatic– but this time Zara didn't sound as if she was teasing. "Come on, let's get rainbow cakes," said Zara, pulling her into the dining hall. Phoebe followed her, feeling confused and hurt. Did Zara really think she would make things worse if she spoke to the inspector? "Where are the cakes today?" asked Aisha as they got to the counter. "Didn't you hear?" said Lauren, from Opal dorm. "The kitchen ran out of flour. The delivery didn't get through because Mount Inferno started rumbling overnight, and the main road to the

“不,Phoebs !”扎拉抓住她的胳膊。 菲比皱起了眉头。“为什么不呢?我只是想让他知道，学生们在这里不会感到不安全，并告诉他这所学校有多棒。” “求你了，别这样，”扎拉恳求道。 “你说话从来不考虑，只会把事情弄得更糟。” 她听起来真的很担心，菲比吃了一惊。 她和Zara经常互相取笑——她会说Zara太理智了，Zara会说她太戏剧化了——但这次Zara听起来不像是在取笑。 “来吧，我们去吃彩虹蛋糕，”扎拉说着，把她拉进了餐厅。 菲比跟着她，感到困惑和受伤。 扎拉真的认为如果她告诉检查员会让事情变得更糟吗？ “今天的蛋糕在哪里？”他们走到柜台时，艾莎问。 “你没听说吗？”欧泊宿舍的劳伦说。 “厨房里的面粉用完了。 快递没能到达，因为地狱山一夜之间开始隆隆作响，通往

north has been closed while scientists investigate whether it's going to erupt." "Really?" said Zara in surprise. As she loved science, she often read reports about the ancient volcano in the mountains behind the school. "But Mount Inferno has been dormant for over a hundred years." "I overheard Ms Rivers and Ms Nettles talking about it at lunchtime," said Spike, joining in the conversation. "No one knows why it's suddenly active again." "Luckily no one lives on its slopes," said Zara. "And school's far enough away to be out of the reach of the lava if it does erupt. The big danger will be to the villages nearby on the coast. Volcanic activity can affect the tides and Mount Inferno is covered by a glacier– a massive river of ice. If it does erupt, the glacier will melt which will cause dreadful flooding." "I hope it doesn't erupt!" said Lily anxiously. "Maybe it's just going to rumble for a bit," said Aisha. As everyone continued talking about the volcano, Zara shot Phoebe a puzzled look.

北火山已经关闭，科学家正在调查它是否会喷发。” “真的吗？”扎拉惊讶地说。 由于她热爱科学，她经常阅读有关学校后面山上的古火山的报道。 “但是地狱山已经沉睡了一百多年了。” “我在午餐时间无意中听到里弗斯女士和纳特尔斯女士在谈论这件事，”斯派克也加入了谈话。 “没人知道为什么它突然又活跃起来了。” “幸运的是没有人住在山坡上，”扎拉说。 “而且学校离得足够远，如果熔岩爆发的话，也不会到达。 最大的危险将是沿海附近的村庄。 火山活动会影响潮汐，而地狱火山被冰川覆盖，这是一条巨大的冰河。 如果它真的爆发，冰川将会融化，这将导致可怕的洪水。” “我希望它不要喷发！”莉莉焦急地说。 “也许它只会隆隆地响一会儿，”艾莎说。 当大家继续谈论火山时，扎拉不解地看了菲比一眼。

"You're being quiet." "Am I?" "Yes, normally if you heard news like this, you'd be waving your arms, telling us we're all going to die!" "Ha ha!" said Phoebe. "Very funny." But she didn't really feel like laughing for once. Zara's words from before were still stinging. While the others carried on talking about the volcano, she slipped away and went to the stables. Shimmer whickered when he saw her. "Phoebe!" "Hi, Shimmer," Phoebe muttered. He blinked. "Are you OK?" Phoebe shrugged. "You're obviously not. What's the matter?" he asked, nuzzling her hands. She sighed. "Do you think I'm a doughnut?" "What? No! Of course not!" Shimmer looked confused. "What are you talking about?" Phoebe put her arms round his neck and told him what had happened. "Zara said I'd make things worse if I spoke to the inspector. Would I have made it worse, Shimmer?"

“你太安静了。”“我?”“是的，通常如果你听到这样的消息，你会挥舞着手臂，告诉我们我们都要死了！”“哈哈！”菲比说。 “非常有趣”。但她一次也不想笑。 Zara之前说过的话还在刺痛我。 当其他人继续谈论火山时，她溜到马厩里去了。 微光看见她时发出了窃窃私语。 “菲比!”“嗨，闪儿。”菲比喃喃地说。 他眨了眨眼睛。“你还好吗？”菲比耸了耸肩。 “你显然不是。怎么了？”他问，用鼻子蹭着她的手。 她叹了口气。“你以为我是甜甜圈吗？”“什么? 不!当然不是！”微光看起来很困惑。 “你在说什么？”菲比搂着他的脖子，告诉他发生了什么事。 “扎拉说如果我跟检查员说，事情会变得更糟。 我会让事情变得更糟吗，希默？”