Chapter 4

CHAPTE.R FOUR Ms Tansy gathered them all together around the reading tree– a giant tree that grew through the floor of the library. She seemed nervous to have Mr Longnose in the lesson with her and fiddled with her flowery, yellow-framed glasses. "Right. Today, everyone, we're going to practise your researching skills by looking up famous inventors. I want you to start by trying to find out about Count Lysander Thornberry." "I shall be fascinated to see what you find in books," Mr Longnose said. "I know the count personally. He is a first-rate scientist and an exceptional inventor. He was the first person to successfully combine magic and science to make

CHAPTE。唐茜女士把他们都聚集在阅读树周围——这是一棵穿过图书馆地板的大树。 有朗鼻大夫和她一起上课，她似乎有些紧张，摆弄着她那副黄色花框眼镜。 “正确。今天，各位，我们要通过查找著名的发明家来练习你们的研究技能。 我要你从设法找出拉山德·索恩伯里伯爵开始。” “我很想看看你们在书中发现了什么，”朗诺瑟先生说。 ”“伯爵本人我是认识的。 他是一流的科学家和杰出的发明家。 他是第一个成功地将魔法和科学结合在一起的人

a rain machine." A disapproving look crossed his face. "He might be vain with a ridiculously flamboyant dress sense but his work is undeniably brilliant." Zara put her hand up. "I thought the count was a recluse and avoided people." She loved science and often read science books and magazines for fun. "How do you know him, Mr Longnose?" "We studied geology together before he became famous," said Mr Longnose, with a sniff. "The count was lucky enough to continue with his scientific work, becoming the famous inventor everyone knows today, whereas I had to give up my research and get a paid job." Phoebe raised her hand. "Mr Longnose, if you studied geology, do you know much about volcanoes?" "Phoebe, that's really not relevant," said Ms Tansy, giving the inspector an anxious glance. "Today's lesson is about inventors not volcanoes." "No, no, it is quite all right, Ms Tansy," said Mr Longnose, his expression losing some of its usual severity. "Volcanoes are a particular

一个造雨机。”他脸上掠过不赞成的表情。 “他可能虚荣，穿着花哨得可笑，但他的作品无可否认是出色的。” 扎拉举起了手。“我还以为伯爵是个隐士，不跟人来往呢。” 她热爱科学，经常阅读科学书籍和杂志来取乐。 “你是怎么认识他的，长鼻子先生？”“在他成名之前，我们一起学过地质学，”朗鼻先生哼了一声说。 “伯爵很幸运地继续他的科学工作，成为今天大家都知道的著名发明家，而我不得不放弃我的研究，找一份有报酬的工作。” 菲比举起了手。“朗鼻大夫，如果你学过地质学，你对火山了解多吗？”“菲比，这真的无关紧要，”唐茜女士说，焦虑地看了探长一眼。 “今天的课程是关于发明家的，而不是火山。” “不，不，没关系，唐西小姐。”朗鼻先生说，他的表情不再像往常那样严肃了。 “火山是一个特例

interest of mine and I completed several research papers on them before I became a school inspector. Do you have a question about volcanoes?" he asked Phoebe. Phoebe nodded. "We heard that Mount Inferno's rumbling. How likely is it to erupt?" "Now that is a very interesting question," Mr Longnose said. He steepled his fingers beneath his chin. "Dormant volcanoes sometimes start to show signs of activity without erupting. The rumblings from Mount Inferno may be false alarms or they may signal that an eruption is imminent."

在我成为一名学校督学之前，我完成了几篇关于它们的研究论文。 你对火山有什么问题吗？”他问菲比。 菲比点了点头。“我们听到了地狱山的隆隆声。 它爆发的可能性有多大？”“这是一个非常有趣的问题，”朗诺瑟先生说。 他把手指夹在下巴下面。 “休眠火山有时在没有喷发的情况下开始显示活动迹象。 地狱火山发出的隆隆声可能是假警报，也可能是火山喷发即将来临的信号。”

"Will we be in danger here if it does erupt?" Tom from Topaz dorm asked. "No, although the effects will be felt elsewhere– most particularly on the coast. A serious eruption will cause all sorts of problems."

“如果火山爆发，我们会有危险吗？”Topaz宿舍的汤姆问。 “不会，尽管其他地方也会感受到影响——尤其是沿海地区。 一次严重的喷发会造成各种各样的问题。”

Mr Longnose looked strangely excited. "If it does happen, it will be a most interesting event to study. Most interesting indeed!" Phoebe watched his face curiously. He looked almost as if he wanted it to happen! "Now, any other questions?" he asked. "Why do you think it has become active again after all these years?" asked Zara. "Well, there are several possibilities." Mr Longnose launched into a long rambling speech about dormant volcanoes. Zara listened carefully but Phoebe soon gave up paying attention. Her thoughts returned to earlier. Despite Shimmer urging her not to change, she wondered if she should try not to exaggerate so much. It was much more fun to make dull events into exciting stories but she still felt bad she'd given Mr Longnose the wrong impression of the school, and she disliked the way Zara hadn't trusted her to put things right. She sighed. Maybe she should stick to the truth more. You know what, I'll try, she decided.

长鼻子先生显得异常兴奋。 “如果它真的发生了，这将是一个非常有趣的研究事件。 真是有趣极了！”菲比好奇地看着他的脸。 他看起来几乎像是希望这件事发生！“现在，还有其他问题吗？”他问。 “你认为为什么这么多年后它又活跃起来了？”扎拉问道。 “嗯，有几种可能性。” 朗鼻先生开始了一篇关于休眠火山的冗长而杂乱无章的演讲。 扎拉仔细地听着，但菲比很快就不再注意了。 她的思绪又回到了早些时候。 尽管希默劝她不要改变，但她想知道自己是否应该尽量不要太夸张。 把无聊的事情编成激动人心的故事要有趣得多，但她仍然觉得很抱歉，因为她让朗鼻大夫对学校有了错误的印象，而且她不喜欢扎拉不相信她能把事情做好。 她叹了口气。也许她应该更忠于真相。 “你知道吗，我试试，”她决定。

Phoebe's decision was quickly put to the test. As the day went on, more and more reports started coming in about the rumbling Mount Inferno. It appeared there had been several mini eruptions which were already causing problems. "I spoke to my aunt and she said there was such a high tide this afternoon a rainbow-fountain whale got beached on the roof of her house," Spike said at dinner. "And apparently the village next to ours has fallen down a huge crack that opened up in the road," countered Johan. "And Lauren said that her cousin's house was under—" Phoebe broke off. She'd been about to say underwater. But really all Lauren had told her was that her cousin's family were evacuating from their village because of the potential risk of flooding. She sighed as she decided not to add to the story. Being truthful was very boring. "Under what?" said Zara. "Nothing," muttered Phoebe, but as she saw everyone lose interest in her and start to look

菲比的决定很快就受到了考验。 随着时间的推移，越来越多的关于隆隆作响的地狱山的报告开始出现。 似乎已经有几次小规模的喷发已经造成了问题。 “我和我阿姨谈过了，她说今天下午潮水很高，一只彩虹喷泉鲸搁浅在她家的屋顶上，”斯派克在晚餐时说。 约翰反驳说：“很明显，我们旁边的村庄倒塌了，路上出现了一条巨大的裂缝。” “劳伦说她表姐的房子被——”菲比打断了。 她刚想说在水下。 但劳伦真正告诉她的是，她表姐一家正在从他们的村庄撤离，因为有可能发生洪水。 她叹了口气，决定不再讲下去了。 说实话是件很无聊的事。 “在什么下面？”“没什么，”菲比喃喃自语，但当她看到每个人都对她失去了兴趣，开始看她