03 One-Room Schoolhouse

Chapter 3 One Room Schoolhouse Let's check it out, said Annie. She and Jack walked up the little hill. At the top, they saw that the rusty pipe was rising out of a wooden roof. They walked around to the other side of the hill. Beneath the wooden roof was a door. The door seemed to open into the hill itself. What is this? said Annie. Let's find out, said Jack.

第三章 只有一间教室的校舍 我们去看看吧。安妮说。 她和杰克爬上了那座小山坡。 到了山顶，他们看见一根生锈的管子从木屋顶伸出来。 他们绕到了山的另一边。 木屋顶下面有一扇门。 这扇门好像是直接通往山里面的。 这是什么呀？安妮问。 我们去一探究竟吧。杰克说。

He studied their research book until he found a black and white photograph. The photograph showed the same hill with the door.

他翻着他们的研究手册，直到找到一张黑白照片。 照片上就是那座带有门的小山。

Jack read aloud. Since the prairie did not have many trees, wood was hard to find. So pioneers often made their houses out of sod bricks, which were blocks of earth cut out of the prairie. Sometimes a sod house was dug out of the side of a hill. It was called a dugout. Jack pulled out his notebook. He wrote, sod bricks equal blocks of earth. Dugout equals sod house carved out of hillside. Then Jack read more to Annie. Tornadoes or twisters are common on the prairie, so many dugouts had storm cellars. A storm cellar was like a rough basement below the ground. During a twister, a storm cellar is the safest place to be.

杰克大声念了出来。 因为大草原上树木不多，木材很难找。 所以拓荒者们常用草泥砖盖房子， 草泥砖就是从大草原上切割下来的土块。 有时候人们会在山坡上挖出一座草泥房子， 这种房子叫做地窖屋。 杰克掏出他的笔记本。 他写道：草泥砖=土块。 地窖屋=在山坡上挖出的草泥房子。 接着杰克继续给安妮念内容。 龙卷风，也叫旋风，在大草原上很常见， 所以很多地窖屋都配有防风地窖。 防风地窖就像是建在地下的简易地下室。 刮龙卷风的时候，防风地窖是最安全的地方。

Wow, maybe we'll see a twister said Annie. I hope not said Jack Then he read on a pioneer family built this dugout for a home when they moved The dugout became a schoolhouse the schoolhouse had only one room. It also had a storm cellar beneath it Jack quickly wrote some dugouts have storm cellars Hey, this is the place said Annie Jack looked up from his writing What place he asked?

哇，说不定我们能见到龙卷风呢！安妮说。我可不想见。杰克说。 接着他继续念：当初有一户拓荒家庭搬来的时候，挖了这座地窖屋当家住。 后来这座地窖屋改成了校舍，整个校舍只有一间教室，下面还有一个防风地窖。 杰克飞快地记下：有些地窖屋配有防风地窖。 嘿，就是这个地方！安妮说。 杰克停下写字的动作抬起头。 什么地方？他问道。

Where's the best place to find our special writing? Something to learn? asked Annie. Jack smiled. A school, he said. Annie ran to the wooden door and knocked loudly. A moment later the door creaked open. A girl peeked out. Her hair was in a tight bun, as if she were a grown up, but she didn't look more than 16 or 17 years old. Hi, I'm Annie, said Annie. This is my brother, Jack. The girl opened the door wider. Hello, Jack and Annie, she said. I'm your teacher, Miss Neely. You're the teacher? said Jack. Miss Neely seemed way too young to be a teacher. Yes, she said, smiling. Come in, you're late.

我们要找的特殊文字最可能出现在什么地方呀？ 能学到新知识的地方？ 安妮问道。 杰克笑了。 学校呀。他说。 安妮跑到木门前，用力敲门。 过了一会儿，门吱呀一声开了。 一个女孩探出头来。 她的头发紧紧挽成一个发髻，打扮得像个大人，但看起来顶多 十六七岁的样子。 嗨，我是安妮。安妮说。 这是我的哥哥杰克。 女孩把门开大了一点。 你们好呀，杰克，安妮。她说。 我是你们的老师，尼利小姐。 你是老师？杰克惊讶地问。 尼利小姐看起来太年轻了，根本不像个老师。 对呀。她笑着说。 快进来吧，你们迟到了。