Chapter 4

Chapter four, "A treasure map?" breathed Sienna. "For real?" "Yes! Look!" Lyra pointed to the top right-hand corner. "That's a picture of the school with Sparkle Lake and here–" she pointed to the bottom left-hand corner– "is a tower." "And the bit in that corner," added Evie, "looks like a maze. That mark right at the very edge could be part of an X!" Sienna gasped. "X marks the spot! Oh, wow! It really could be a treasure map!" "What does the writing say, Lyra?" asked Evie eagerly. Lyra screwed up her eyes. The letters were really faint and the handwriting was hard to read. There were four lines. "It's just a list of random things." She read them out. "The Northernmost Door, The Phoenix's Claw, The Salamander's Stare, The Dragon's Lair."

第四章，“藏宝图？”西耶娜轻声说。 “真的吗?”“是啊!看!”莱拉指着右上角。 “那是一张学校和闪闪湖的照片，这里——”她指着左下角——“是一座塔。” “那个角落里的那个地方，”艾薇补充说，“看起来像个迷宫。 最边缘的那个标记可能是X的一部分！”黄土深吸一口气。 “X标记了地点！”哦,哇!它真的可能是一张藏宝图！”“上面是怎么写的，莱拉？”伊薇急切地问。 莱拉眯起眼睛。字迹很模糊，很难辨认。 有四条线。“这只是一串随机的东西。” 她把信念了出来。“最北之门，凤凰之爪，蝾螈之眼，龙穴”

"What does it all mean?" breathed Sienna. "I've no idea, but I'm sure if we can work them out, we'll find the treasure– whatever it is!" Lyra's eyes were wide with excitement. "Wait." Evie took the paper from Lyra and examined it carefully. "I think this is just one part of a treasure map. Look, these two outside edges are very old and curled but these two edges are much sharper, almost as

“这是什么意思？”西耶娜轻声说。 “我不知道，但我敢肯定，如果我们能解开它们，我们就会找到宝藏——不管它是什么！”莱拉兴奋得睁大了眼睛。 “等等。”伊薇从莱拉手中接过那张纸，仔细地检查着。 “我认为这只是藏宝图的一部分。 看，这两个外缘很旧，而且卷曲但这两个边缘更锋利，几乎

though they were cut by scissors. The picture of the school isn't a complete picture; it's been cut in half. The tower and maze too. I think this is just a quarter of the map." "So where's the rest?" said Sienna. "Maybe there's more in the hole," said Ivy. Lyra lay down on her tummy again and felt around, but there wasn't anything else under the floorboards. "No, nothing there," she said. But as she sat up she caught sight of the underside of the piece of paper in Evie's hands. "There's more writing on the other side!" she exclaimed. Evie turned the map over. "This writing is newer; it's not so faded. Listen! "Go to the woods for what you seek, Find Daybreak, move stone, follow river deep. Where spiders live and a cave answers your call, The piece lies behind a glittering wall." "It's a riddle," said Ivy. "It's not just a riddle," said Lyra, taking the piece of the map from her. "It's a clue! A clue that will lead us to another part." "But why would someone cut a map up and hide the bits separately?" wondered Evie. "I have no idea," said Lyra. Her eyes shone with determination. "But this is a mystery we are going to solve." Just then, there was the sound of a distant gong ringing. "It's dinner time!" said Sienna. "We'd better get a move on. We don't want to miss it." "Definitely not!" agreed Lyra. After dinner a famous archaeologist called Dr Briar was going to be giving a talk to the students. Lyra couldn't wait. They hurried back down the staircase and out from behind the tapestry. Lyra had just pressed the button to close the secret entrance when the four boys from Topaz dorm came clattering down the stairs. "What have you been doing?" said Sam, who was tall and thin with wavy blond hair. He looked down his nose at Lyra. "Have you been having a dust bath?" said Archie with a grin. "Or cuddling spiders? You've all got cobwebs in your hair," said Reuben.

虽然它们是被剪刀剪的。 学校的情况并不是全貌；它被切成了两半。 还有塔和迷宫。我认为这只是地图的四分之一。” “那剩下的呢？”西耶娜说。 “也许洞里还有更多，”艾薇说。 莱拉又趴了下来，摸索着四周，但地板下面什么也没有。 “没有，什么也没有，”她说。 但是当她坐起来的时候，她看到了伊维手里那张纸的背面。 “另一面还有更多的字！”她惊呼道。 伊薇把地图翻过来。“这篇文章比较新；它没有那么褪色。 听!“到树林里去寻找你想要的东西，寻找黎明，移动石头，沿着河的深处走。 那里住着蜘蛛，有一个洞穴回应着你的呼唤，那块金子就在闪闪发光的墙后面。” “这是个谜语，”艾薇说。 “这不仅仅是个谜语。”莱拉说着，从她手里接过那张地图。 “这是一条线索！”这条线索会把我们带到另一个地方。” “但是为什么会有人把地图剪成碎片，然后把它们分开藏起来呢？” “我不知道。”莱拉说。 她的眼睛里闪烁着决心的光芒。 “但这是我们要解决的一个谜。” 就在这时，远处传来一阵锣声。 “晚饭时间到了！”西耶娜说。 “我们最好赶快行动。 我们不想错过它。” “绝对不行！”莱拉同意道。 晚饭后，一位名叫布瑞尔博士的著名考古学家将给学生们作报告。 莱拉等不及了。他们匆匆走下楼梯，从挂毯后面走了出来。 莱拉刚按下秘密入口的按钮，托帕石宿舍的四个男生就咔嗒咔嗒地走下楼梯。 “你都干了些什么？”萨姆说，他又高又瘦，一头金色的卷发。 他瞧不起莱拉。 “你洗了个灰尘澡吗？"阿尔奇笑着说。 “或者抱着蜘蛛？”“你们头发上都结了蜘蛛网。”鲁本说。

Lyra shrugged. "We've just been messing around," she said vaguely. "How about you?" asked Sienna, quickly changing the subject. "What have you been up to?" "We've been practising crossnet all afternoon," said Archie as they set off to the refectory together. "We're definitely going to win the inter-dorm tournament tomorrow." Crossnet was a game played on unicorns. Each player had a stick with a net on and they had to pass a ball from player to player, scoring points by throwing the ball through the goal at the end of the pitch. It was fast and furious and lots of fun! "Boys are the best," chanted Nawaz. "In your dreams!" Sienna said scornfully. "We'll beat you hands down tomorrow." "I don't think so—" said Reuben. "What's that?" Sam interrupted, pointing to the piece of the map that Lyra was holding.

莱拉耸耸肩。“我们只是在闹着玩。”她含糊地说。 “你呢？”西耶娜问道，很快地转移了话题。 “你最近在忙什么？”“我们整个下午都在练习交叉网，"他们一起向食堂走去时，阿尔奇说。 “我们明天一定会赢得宿舍间的比赛。” Crossnet是一款独角兽游戏。 每个球员都有一根带网的棍子，他们必须在球员之间传递球，通过把球扔进球场尽头的球门来得分。 它是快速和激烈的和很多乐趣！“男孩是最好的，”纳瓦兹高呼。 “做梦吧！”西耶娜轻蔑地说。 “明天我们会轻而易举地打败你。” “我不这么认为——”鲁本说。 “那是什么?”萨姆指着莱拉拿着的那张地图打断了他。

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Just a bit of paper I picked up." "It looks really old," said Sam, stepping closer. "Yeah, well, I'm into history and old stuff," said Lyra, stuffing it into her pocket. "You should show it to my aunt; she might be able to tell you more about it," said Sam. "Your aunt?" "Don't you know? My aunt is Dr Angelica Briar, the archaeologist who's giving the talk after dinner." "Your aunt is Dr Briar?!" Lyra exclaimed. "Yes." Sam was almost bursting with smugness. "I've helped her on

“没什么，”她很快地说。 “只是我捡到的一张纸。” “它看起来真的很旧，”萨姆说着，走近了一些。 “是啊，嗯，我喜欢历史和古老的东西。”莱拉说着，把它塞进了口袋。 “你应该把它拿给我姨妈看看；她也许能告诉你更多，”萨姆说。 “你姑姑?”“你不知道吗？” 我的姨妈是安杰丽卡·布瑞尔博士，就是晚饭后要做演讲的考古学家。” “你姨妈是布瑞尔医生？！”莱拉喊道。 “是的。”萨姆几乎要得意忘形了。 “我帮她上了车

digs before and I'll be assisting with her talk tonight." Lyra felt a flash of jealousy. "Oh." They soon reached the refectory, a long room with windows overlooking the lake. It was lit by hundreds of tiny white lights that sparkled prettily against the dark sky. "Enjoy the talk," Sam said to Lyra. "If you're very lucky, my aunt might even give you her autograph." He grinned in an annoyingly superior way and walked off. Lyra scowled after him and then spotted an elegant woman with neat shoulder-length dark hair, who was sitting at the top table with the teachers. Her hair was held back with a diamanté clip and she had rings on all her fingers. She was talking to Ms Nettles, the headteacher. Dr Briar! Lyra thought with a lurch of excitement as she recognised her from magazine articles she had read. "Hey, do you think Sam's right? Shall we show Dr Briar the piece of the map after the talk?" she whispered, nudging the others. "Good plan," said Ivy. Sienna and Evie nodded. Lyra crossed her fingers. Would Dr Briar be able to decipher the words on the map? She really hoped so! Dinner was delicious– veggie burgers with sweet potato fries and salad followed by gooey chocolate brownies and ice cream. When it was over, the top table was cleared and Sam helped Dr Briar lay out ancient artefacts. Lyra felt a pang of envy as she watched. "Why are they wearing funny gloves?" asked Ivy, peering over Lyra's shoulder. "Because the oils in your hand can damage anything old," Lyra explained. "I hope this talk isn't going to be boring," muttered Sienna. "It won't be!" said Lyra. She was right. When Dr Briar began her talk, it quickly became clear that she had a wonderful way of bringing history alive, telling the students fascinating stories of how people had once lived and how they had used the objects. To Lyra's surprise Sam chimed in at times and seemed just as enthusiastic as his aunt. He seemed to be genuinely into history and archaeology. He brought round some of the ancient pots, tools and jewellery for everyone to examine.

今晚我将协助她的演讲。” 莱拉感到一阵嫉妒。 “哦。”他们很快就到了餐厅，那是一间长长的房间，有几扇窗户可以俯瞰湖面。 数以百计的白色小灯在黑暗的天空中闪烁着美丽的光芒。 “好好谈谈。”萨姆对莱拉说。 “如果你非常幸运，我姑姑甚至会给你她的签名。” 他高高在上地咧嘴一笑，令人恼火，然后走开了。 莱拉在他身后皱起了眉头，然后发现了一个优雅的女人，一头整齐的黑发，和老师们一起坐在主桌旁。 她的头发用一个镶钻的发夹扎在脑后，手指上都戴着戒指。 她正在和校长纳特尔斯女士谈话。 布瑞尔·罗博士!莱拉从她读过的杂志文章中认出了她，心里一阵兴奋。 “嘿，你认为山姆是对的吗？” 谈话结束后，我们给布瑞尔博士看那张地图好吗？”她小声说，用胳膊肘推了推其他人。 “好计划，”艾薇说。西耶娜和伊维点了点头。 莱拉交叉着手指。布瑞尔博士能破译地图上的文字吗？ 她真的希望如此！晚餐很美味——蔬菜汉堡配红薯薯条和沙拉，接着是粘稠的巧克力布朗尼和冰淇淋。 宴会结束后，桌上的桌子被清理干净，山姆帮助布瑞尔博士摆放古代文物。 莱拉看着这一切，心里一阵嫉妒。 “他们为什么戴着奇怪的手套？”艾薇越过莱拉的肩膀问。 “因为你手上的油会损坏任何旧的东西，”莱拉解释说。 “我希望这次谈话不会无聊。”西耶娜喃喃地说。 “不会的！”莱拉说。她是对的。 当布瑞尔博士开始她的演讲时，很快就清楚了，她有一种奇妙的方式使历史生动起来，向学生们讲述人们曾经如何生活以及他们如何使用这些物品的迷人故事。 令莱拉吃惊的是，萨姆有时也会插嘴，似乎和他姨妈一样热情。 他似乎真的很喜欢历史和考古学。 他带来了一些古代的罐子、工具和珠宝给大家看。