02 The Reef

Chapter 2 The Leaf A breeze blew through the window. Seagulls cried. Waves lapped the shore. Annie picked up the riddle scroll. She unrolled it. Together she and Jack read the riddle. Rough and grey as a rock, and plain as plain can be. But hidden deep inside, there's great beauty in me. What am I?

第二章 叶子 微风从窗外吹过。海鸥在鸣叫。海浪轻拍着海岸。 安妮拿起谜题卷轴，把它展开，和杰克一起读起了谜题。 我像岩石一样粗糙灰扑扑，普通得不能再普通。 但我的深处藏着绝美的风景。我是什么呀？

Let's go find the answer," said Annie. She and Jack looked out the window. The treehouse wasn't in a tree. It was in the ground. Why is the ground pink? said Jack. I don't know, said Annie, but I'm going out there. I'm going to do a little research first, said Jack. Annie climbed out of the treehouse. Jack picked up the ocean book and flipped through it. He found a picture of a pink island surrounded by water. He read, This is a coral reef. Corals are tiny sea animals. After they die, their skeletons remain. Over time, the reef builds up from stacks of coral skeletons.

“我们去找答案吧。”安妮说。 她和杰克看向窗外。 树屋没有待在树上。 它落在了地面上。 “为什么地面是粉色的呀？”杰克问。 “我不知道呀，”安妮说，“不过我要出去看看。” “我要先做点小调查。”杰克说。 安妮爬出了树屋。 杰克拿起海洋科普书，翻了起来。 他找到了一张被水环绕的粉色小岛的图片。 他读道： 这是珊瑚礁。 珊瑚是非常小的海洋动物。 它们死后，骨骼会留存下来。 时间久了，层层堆叠的珊瑚骨骼就形成了珊瑚礁。

Oh man, tiny skeletons, said Jack. He pulled out his notebook and wrote, millions of coral skeletons. Jack, Jack, come look at this, cried Annie. What is it? I don't know, but you'll love it, she said. Jack threw his notebook and the ocean book into his pack. He climbed out the window. Is it the answer to the riddle? He called. I don't think so. It doesn't look very plain. What is it? Said Annie. She was standing at the edge of the water. Beside her was a strange looking machine. Jack hurried over the bumpy coral to get a better look.

“哇哦，小小的骨架哎。”杰克说。 他掏出笔记本，写下：数百万个珊瑚骨架。 “杰克，杰克，快过来看看这个！”安妮大喊。 “是什么呀？” “我不知道，但你肯定会喜欢的。”她说。 杰克把笔记本和海洋科普书塞进了背包里。 他爬出了窗户。 “是谜题的答案吗？” 他喊道。 “我觉得不是。” “它看起来一点都不普通呀。” “那是什么呀？” 安妮说。 她正站在水边。 她旁边有个看起来怪怪的机器。 杰克踩着坑坑洼洼的珊瑚礁赶紧跑过去，想看得清楚点。

The machine was half in the reef and half in the clear blue water. It looked like a huge white bubble with a big window. Is it a special kind of boat? asked Annie. Jack found a picture of the machine in the ocean book. He read, Scientists who study the ocean are called oceanographers. Sometimes they travel in small diving vessels called submersibles or mini -subs to study the ocean floor. It's a mini -sub, said Jack. He pulled out his notebook. Let's get inside it, said Annie. No, said Jack. Actually, he did want to see what the sub looked like inside, but he shook his head. We can't, it's not ours. Just a teeny peek, said Annie. It might be a little too big for Jack.

这个机器一半卡在珊瑚礁里，一半浸在清澈的蓝色海水里。 它看起来像个巨大的白色泡泡，上面有一扇大窗户。 “它是一种特别的船吗？”安妮问。 杰克在海洋科普书里找到了这个机器的图片。 他读道： 研究海洋的科学家叫做海洋学家。 有时候他们会乘坐叫做潜水器的小型潜水船出行 也叫迷你潜水艇，去研究海底。 “这是迷你潜水艇。”杰克说。 他掏出了自己的笔记本。 “我们进去看看吧。”安妮说。 “不行。”杰克说。 其实他确实想看看潜水艇里面是什么样的， 但他还是摇了摇头。 “我们不能进去，这不是我们的东西。” “就看一小眼嘛。”安妮说。 这个诱惑对杰克来说实在有点太大了。

help us figure out the riddle." Jack sighed. Okay, but you have to be careful. Don't touch anything. He said. Don't worry, said Annie, and take off your shoes so they won't get wet, said Jack. He and Annie slipped off their shoes and socks and threw them toward the tree house. Then they stepped carefully over the sharp coral. Annie turned the handle on the hatch of the mini -sub. It opened. She and Jack climbed inside. The hatch slammed shut. The mini -sub was tiny. Two seats faced the big window. In front of the seats was a computer built into a control panel. Annie sat down.

说不定能帮我们解开谜题呀。”杰克叹了口气。 “好吧，但你必须小心点。什么都不许碰。”他说。 “别担心。”安妮说。“还有把你的鞋子脱了，免得弄湿了。”杰克说。 他和安妮脱掉鞋子和袜子，把它们扔向树屋的方向。 然后他们小心翼翼地踩过锋利的珊瑚礁。 安妮拧了拧迷你潜水艇舱门的把手，舱门开了。 她和杰克爬了进去。 舱门“砰”的一声关上了。 迷你潜水艇里面很小，两个座位正对着那扇大窗户。 座位前面是一块控制面板，上面嵌着一台电脑。 安妮坐了下来。

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