07 Spirit Lights

Chapter 7 Spirit Lights Jack, you can get up now, said Annie. Jack opened his eyes. Annie was standing over him. She still had her mask on. We're on safe ground, she said. Jack felt as if he'd been dreaming. He looked around. They had reached the tundra at the edge of the frozen sea. The cubs were romping in the distance, but their mother was sitting nearby gazing at Jack and Annie.

第七章 精灵之光 “杰克，你现在可以起来啦。”安妮说。 杰克睁开眼睛。安妮正站在他身边，脸上还戴着面具。 “我们到安全的地方啦。”她说。 杰克觉得自己刚才好像做了个梦，他四下看了看。 他们已经来到了冰封海洋边缘的冻原上。 熊宝宝们在远处嬉闹，熊妈妈却坐在附近，注视着杰克和安妮。

She waited to make sure we were safe, said Annie. Jack stared at the polar bear in awe. The words of the seal hunter came back to him. Always thank the animal spirits. We should thank the polar bear spirit now, he said. Of course, said Annie. Jack scrambled to his feet. Still wearing his bear mask, he stood before the polar bear and pressed his hands together. We thank you. He said bowing. Yes, we thank you forever, said Annie, also bowing. We thank you beyond the moon and the stars, said Jack. And beyond the deepest sea, Annie added.

“她留下来是要确认我们安全了才走。”安妮说。 杰克满心敬畏地盯着这只北极熊。 他突然想起了捕海豹猎人说过的话。 永远要感谢动物精灵。 “我们现在应该感谢北极熊精灵。”他说。 “当然啦。”安妮说。 杰克连忙爬着站起身。 他还戴着熊面具，站在北极熊面前，双手合在一块儿。 “谢谢你。” 他一边鞠躬一边说。 “对呀，我们永远都感谢你。”安妮也鞠着躬说。 “我们对你的感谢比月亮和星星还要远。”杰克说。 “还要越过最深的大海。”安妮补充道。

Then she threw out her arms and twirled around. Jack did the same. They both danced around in the snow honoring the bear. Finally they stopped and bowed one last time. When they looked up, the polar bear rose up on her hind legs. She was twice as tall as Jack. She lowered her huge head as if she were bowing back to them. At that moment the sky exploded. The night became a giant swirl of red, green, and purple lights. It looked like a genie coming out of a magic lamp. The sight took Jack's breath away. He stared in wonder as the dazzling lights lit the tundra. Is it the polar bear spirit? Annie asked in a hushed voice. As far as Jack could see, the sky and snow sh -

接着她张开胳膊转起圈来，杰克也跟着转。 他俩在雪地里跳来跳去，向北极熊表达敬意。 最后他们停下来，最后鞠了一次躬。 等他们抬起头，北极熊用后腿站了起来。 她有两个杰克那么高。 她低下大大的脑袋，好像在给他们回礼鞠躬似的。 就在这时，天空好像炸开了一样。 夜空变成了巨大的漩涡，流动着红色、绿色和紫色的光。 看起来就像神灯里钻出来的精灵。 这景象让杰克惊得都忘了呼吸。 耀眼的光芒照亮了冻原，他惊奇地瞪大了眼睛看着。 “是北极熊精灵吗？”安妮压低声音问。 杰克放眼望去，天空和白雪都闪——

Even the bear's fur shimmered in the strange light. No, it's not a spirit, said Jack. There's got to be a scientific reason. I'll find out. Shaking, he reached into his backpack and pulled out the Arctic book. He took off his bear mask and put on his glasses. By the greenish glow, Jack found a picture of the skylights. The picture didn't come close to the real thing. He read aloud, One of the most amazing sights in the Arctic is the Northern Lights. The swirl of light is caused by electrically charged particles from the sun, striking atoms and molecules in the Earth's atmosphere.

就连北极熊的毛在这奇异的光里也闪闪发亮。 “不，不是精灵。”杰克说。 “肯定有科学上的解释。” “我来查查看。” 他打着哆嗦，把手伸进背包，拿出了那本讲北极的书。 他摘下熊面具，戴上眼镜。 借着泛绿的光，杰克找到了一张极光的图片。 图片和眼前的实景比起来差远了。 他大声念道： “北极最令人惊叹的景观之一就是北极光。” “这些光的漩涡是来自太阳的带电粒子造成的，” “它们撞击了地球大气层里的原子和分子。”

See, there is a scientific reason," said Jack. It's not the spirits. Then suddenly all the dancing lights were gone, as if someone had blown out a candle. The magic had ended.

“你看，是有科学依据的吧。”杰克说。 “不是什么精灵哦。” 突然间，所有跳动的光都消失了，就像有人吹灭了蜡烛一样。 魔法结束了。