Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO Ariana hurried on but Matilda stood, transfixed, as Ms Bramble pressed the point of the knife to the tree and made a small, deep cut in its trunk. A pale liquid oozed out. Ms Willow stepped forward, soaking it up with a wad of cotton. She asked Ms Bramble to hold the cotton against the tree. From her small black medicine bag, she brought out a syringe and a bottle filled with a green liquid. Shaking the bottle, she unscrewed the top and drew the liquid up into the syringe. The liquid was greener than fresh peas and very sparkly. Matilda caught the scent of something

第二章阿利安娜匆匆赶路，而玛蒂尔达却呆呆地站在那里，看着布兰布尔女士用刀尖在树干上划了一个又小又深的口子。 一种苍白的液体渗出来。威洛女士走上前去，用一团棉花把它吸干。 她让布兰布尔女士把棉花靠在树上。 她从黑色的小药袋里拿出一个注射器和一个装满绿色液体的瓶子。 她摇晃着瓶子，拧开瓶盖，把液体吸进注射器。 这种液体比新鲜的豌豆还要绿，而且闪闪发光。 玛蒂尔达闻到了什么气味

sweet and minty. Ms Willow asked Ms Bramble to remove the wad of cotton from the tree trunk and then she inserted the syringe into the cut. Slowly and carefully, Ms Willow began to inject the sparkly green liquid into the tree. Matilda couldn't contain her curiosity for a second longer. "What are you doing?" Ms Bramble swung round. Matilda braced herself, expecting a long lecture followed by a

甜的和薄荷味的。威洛女士让布兰布尔女士从树干上取下棉花团，然后将注射器插入伤口。 慢慢地，小心翼翼地，柳树女士开始把闪闪发光的绿色液体注入树上。 玛蒂尔达再也忍不住好奇了。 “你在干什么？”布兰布尔女士转过身来。 玛蒂尔达打起精神，期待着一场冗长的演讲，然后是一场

detention. But Ms Willow broke in before Ms Bramble could speak. "It's good to see a future guardian of Unicorn Island taking an interest in its wildlife," Ms Willow said with a warm smile. "This quiverleaf tree is dying. I'm hoping that my special herbal remedy will heal it. The medicine has to be infused into the tree. It's a tricky operation. I'm showing Ms Bramble how to do it so that if there's a next time, she can do it herself." "Is that what's in the syringe? The infusion?" asked Matilda. "Yes, it is. Once I've finished injecting it then I'll bandage the tree trunk to stop the medicine from leaking back out with the tree's sap. The bandage also protects the tree by preventing germs from entering the cut." "That's very interesting," said Ariana, who'd now come back for Matilda. She gave Matilda's arm a tug. "But we really have to go."

拘留。但在布兰布尔女士开口之前，威洛女士打断了她的话。 “很高兴看到独角兽岛未来的守护者对这里的野生动物感兴趣，”威洛女士带着温暖的微笑说。 “这棵箭叶树快死了。 我希望我特制的草药能治好它。 这种药必须灌进树里。 这是个棘手的手术。我在教布兰布尔女士怎么做，这样如果下次有机会，她就可以自己做了。” “那是注射器里的东西吗？” “输液？”玛蒂尔达问。 “是的，它是。注射完毕后，我会包扎树干，防止药物随着树液漏出来。 绷带还可以防止细菌进入切口，从而保护树木。” “这很有趣。”阿利安娜说，她现在回来找玛蒂尔达了。 她拉了拉玛蒂尔达的胳膊。 “但我们真的得走了。”

"Of course! Off you run," Ms Willows smiled as she flapped her hands, cheerfully shooing them away. Matilda and Ariana ran all the way to the hall, arriving just as Ms Nettles walked on to the stage. The rest of the school were already in their seats, whispering together. The hall was one of Matilda's favourite places in the school. It had a domed glass roof that was filled with colourful swirls. In the centre of the room was a magical map– a three dimensional model of the island that could transport people anywhere they wanted to go. It was protected by a glimmering force field. At the far end, the grand stage overlooked the room. "There you are! We thought you were going to miss it," said Rosa, squeezing up next to Violet to make space for them. Freya was at the far end of the group, her blonde head bent over as she scribbled in her notebook. She loved to invent things and was working on a new idea.

“当然!走开，”威洛斯女士笑着拍着手，高兴地把它们赶走。 玛蒂尔达和阿利安娜一路跑到大厅，就在荨麻女士走上舞台的时候到达。 其他同学已经坐在座位上，窃窃私语。 大厅是玛蒂尔达在学校里最喜欢的地方之一。 它有一个圆顶玻璃屋顶，上面满是五颜六色的漩涡。 在房间的中央有一张神奇的地图——一个可以把人们送到任何他们想去的地方的岛屿的三维模型。 它被一个闪闪发光的力场保护着。 在远处的尽头，大舞台俯瞰着房间。 “你在这儿！”我们还以为你会错过呢。”罗莎说着挤到维奥莱特旁边，给他们腾地方。 弗雷娅站在队伍的另一头，金发碧眼的她低着头在笔记本上乱写乱画。 她喜欢发明东西，并且正在研究一个新想法。

She hadn't told the rest of Diamond dorm what it was going to be yet, but she seemed to be spending more and more time lost in her own thoughts. "Listen carefully, everyone," said Ms Nettles. "This is your first camping trip and there are a lot of things that you need to know. You'll be going to Dingleberry Dell– a wooded area at the base of the mountains. It's a short

她还没有告诉戴蒙德宿舍的其他人会是什么样子，但她似乎花了越来越多的时间沉浸在自己的思绪中。 “大家听好了，”荨麻女士说。 “这是你的第一次露营旅行，有很多事情你需要知道。 你将去丁格尔贝里山谷——山脚下的一个树木繁茂的地区。 是短的

ride from the school grounds." Matilda concentrated very hard for a whole minute before her mind started to wander. It was extremely difficult to pay attention when there were so many things she wanted to draw. Almost without realising it, Matilda's fingers reached for her favourite pencil, which she had skewered in her thick red hair. While Ms Nettles talked about tents, ground mats and sleeping bags, Matilda began to draw the hall in her sketchbook. Her pencil flew across the paper, capturing the grandness of the room and how the domed glass roof filled the space with a soft rainbow light. By her side, Ariana was making notes, nodding to herself and underlining the important points. Finally Ms Nettles finished. "I wish we could go camping right now. I don't think I can wait until tomorrow," said Rosa as they all left the hall. "Me neither," Violet agreed. "I hope we're

从学校操场出发。” 玛蒂尔达全神贯注地集中了整整一分钟，然后开始走神。 当她想画这么多东西的时候，要集中注意力是极其困难的。 玛蒂尔达几乎没有意识到，伸手去拿她最喜欢的铅笔，她把它插在她浓密的红头发上。 当奈特尔斯女士谈到帐篷、地垫和睡袋时，玛蒂尔达开始在速写本上画大厅。 她的铅笔在纸上飞舞，捕捉到房间的宏伟，以及圆顶玻璃屋顶如何用柔和的彩虹光填充空间。 阿利安娜在她身边做着笔记，对自己点头，在重要的地方划下横线。 最后，荨麻老师讲完了。 “我希望我们现在就能去露营。 我想我不能等到明天了，”罗莎说，这时他们都离开了大厅。 “我也是。”维奥莱特同意了。 “我希望我们