Chapter 5

ChAPTER FIVE Kate spent the rest of the day with Dad, who was steadily winning event after Champion-Shrimp event. He was first in the Chimney Shimmy, a race to the topmost point of Miss Custard with a hundred-year old barrel of mayonnaise strapped to his back; came first, second and third in Anchor Polishing; and was even lifted onto the shoulders of fellow competitors for completing the

第五章 这天剩下的时间，凯特都和爸爸待在一起，爸爸在“虾王争霸赛”的各个项目里一路稳赢。 他在“烟囱攀爬赛”里拿了第一名，这个项目要背上有百年历史的蛋黄酱桶，爬到卡仕达小姐号的最高处； 在“船锚抛光赛”里包揽了第一名、第二名和第三名； 甚至被其他参赛选手抬到了肩膀上，因为他完成了

Flying Flemish Five-strand- an infamous sailor's knot tied while the rope is airborne and thus requiring both juggling skills and sparklingly clear eyesight- in record time. By afternoon he was covered in rosettes and telling anyone who would listen all about his "swish and swipe" technique. "I use it to take in the laundry, you see." he would explain to admirers, and was so absorbed in describing every detail of the action that Kate was finding it very easy to avoid talking about shrimps and the work she wasn't doing. It wasn't her fault shrimps were so boring, and she still had a few days to

“飞绳佛兰芒五结”——这是个名声在外的水手结，要在绳子悬空的时候系成，既要会玩杂耍，又得眼神特别好——他还打破了纪录。 到了下午，他身上别满了玫瑰形奖章，逮着谁就跟谁讲他那“唰一下擦过去”的抛光技巧。 “你知道吧，我平时收衣服就用这招。” 他总跟崇拜他的人这么解释，而且光顾着讲动作的每个细节，凯特轻轻松松就能避开聊虾的事，也不用提她没做完的作业。 虾这么无聊又不是她的错，再说她还有好几天时间能

write something for Catherine Rodríguez - she just needed to make sure Bertie was okay first. At last, it was dinner time. She told Dad that Rupert had been sick again and she needed to stay with him. The pair waited in her cabin until they were sure the corridors were empty. "I wonder if Bertie's right about the silver wibbler after all, mused Kate on the way. "If there's someone else out there- a grown-up botanist too- who thinks it's real, surely he can't be completely wrong." "I don't know..." puffed Rupert, who had insisted on carrying the book himself. "Sometimes people need stories to make life that little bit more sparkly."

给凯瑟琳·罗德里格斯写点东西——她只是得先确认伯蒂没事才行。 终于到晚饭时间了。 她跟爸爸说鲁珀特又不舒服了，她得陪着他。 两个人在她的船舱里等着，直到确定走廊里没人了才出来。 “我现在都有点觉得伯蒂说的银晃晃是真的了，”凯特路上若有所思地说。 “要是还有其他人——还是个成年的植物学家——也觉得它存在，那伯蒂肯定不会全是错的呀。” “不好说哦……”鲁珀特喘着气说，他非要自己抱着那本书。 “有时候人们需要点小故事，让生活多那么点亮晶晶的盼头呀。”

The Bird Brigade Dormitory was very long and narrow, with hammocks lining the walls, blankets folded and Bird Brigading equipment organised to the centimetre. Bertie was the only one there and was looking very much more cheerful than he had been earlier. "Have you got it?" he asked eagerly. Kate handed the book over. Bertie's eyes widened as he turned the wrinkled pages. "Flaming flamingos!" he whispered. "It's C. A. Bloom's diary!" "You've heard of them?" asked Kate. "Heard of him?" said Bertie, still awestruck. "No one else has ever got as

飞鸟队宿舍又长又窄，墙边上挂满了吊床，毯子叠得整整齐齐，飞鸟队的装备都摆得一丝不苟，差一厘米都不行。 伯蒂是宿舍里唯一的人，看上去比之前开心多了。 “你们拿到了吗？”他着急地问。 凯特把书递了过去。 伯蒂翻着皱巴巴的书页，眼睛一下子瞪得圆圆的。 “我的火烈鸟大神啊！” 他小声惊叹。 这是C.A.布卢姆的日记！ “你听说过他们？”凯特问。 “听说过他？”伯蒂说，还是一副惊呆了的样子。 从来没有人能像他那样，离银晃晃那么

close to the silver wibbler as he did! He's legendary!" "So he caught it?" asked Kate. "Well," said Bertie, lowering his voice to a nicely dramatic whisper- Kate had never seen him so animated, "he was famously revealed to have faked his discovery of the wibbler." "So he lied?" said Rupert. "Pretended he caught it?" "Not exactly," said Bertie, who was thoroughly enjoying himself. "This is where it gets interesting. I don't think it was a hoax. NOT. AT. All."

像他那样，靠近那只银颤鸟！ 他可是个传奇人物！ “那他抓到过银晃晃？”凯特问。 “这个嘛，”伯蒂说，特意压低了声音，说得跟演话剧似的—— 凯特从没见他这么兴奋过，“大家都知道，最后发现他说发现银晃晃的事是假的。” “所以他撒谎了？”鲁珀特说。 “假装自己抓到了？” “也不全是，”伯蒂说，他正讲得津津有味呢。 “有意思的地方来了。 我觉得那不是骗局。 根。 本。 不是。”