11.3 Disaster

MT英语（ID:mtkouyu）
专辑：【英文原版童话故事】
文本整理：Doris

"Come on, Jack!" Annie called. She was almost to the river.

“来吧,杰克!”安妮叫。她快到河边了。

"Just a minute!" he shouted. He wanted to study the giraffes and zebras.

“等一下!”他喊道。他想研究长颈鹿和斑马。

He pulled out the Africa book and found a picture of giraffes. He read:

他拿出那本非洲的书，发现了一张长颈鹿的照片。他读:

The giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. Its legs alone can be six feet tall, and its hooves can be as big as dinner plates. The giraffe has a very powerful kick, which makes it dangerous to attack. For this reason, lions tend to avoid giraffes.

长颈鹿是世界上最高的动物。它的腿可以有六英尺高，它的蹄子可以有餐盘那么大。长颈鹿的踢腿非常有力，这使得它攻击起来很危险。因此，狮子往往会避开长颈鹿。

Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

杰克拿出他的笔记本写道:

Notes on Africa:

非洲笔记:

Lions avoid giraffes. He turned the page and read more:

狮子避免长颈鹿。他翻了一页，又读了一些:

Zebras live in family groups. As no two zebras have exactly the same pattern of stripes, every baby zebra must learn its own mother's pattern.

斑马以家族为单位生活。因为没有任何两种斑马的条纹图案完全相同，所以每只斑马宝宝都必须学习自己母亲的条纹图案。

Jack studied the zebras, trying to see their different patterns. But in the hazy afternoon light, all the stripes made him dizzy.

杰克仔细观察斑马，试图找出它们不同的斑纹。但在下午朦胧的光线中，所有的条纹都让他头晕。

He blinked to clear his head, then read more; Zebras are the first to cross the river because they eat the coarsest grass. After they've thinned down the top layer, the wildebeests arrive and eat the next layer. They prepare the grass for the gazelles, who come last.

他眨眨眼，清醒一下头脑，然后继续读下去。斑马是第一个过河的，因为它们吃最粗糙的草。斑马将顶层的草吃得稀薄以后，羚羊就会吃下一层的草。他们为最后来的瞪羚准备草。

Wow, thought Jack. Each animal depends on the one that goes before.

哇,杰克想。每一种动物都依赖于前一种动物。

He wrote:

他写道:

Animals all connected.

动物都是相互关联的。

Jack heard Annie shouting from the river bank.

杰克听到安妮在河边喊叫。

"Jump, beasts! Jump! You can do. Don't be afraid!

“跳,野兽!跳!你可以做到的，不要害怕!

Come on!"He looked up. Annie herself was jumping as she called to the wildebeests.

来吧!”他抬起头来。安妮自己也在跳，她叫羚羊。

Jack sighed. I'd better stop her, before there's trouble, he thought.

杰克叹了口气。我最好拦住她，免得惹麻烦，他想。

He put away the Africa book and his notebook.

他把非洲的书和笔记本收了起来。

Then he jogged toward the river. His pack was heavy and lumpy, bumping against his back. He'd forgotten to take out the jar of peanut butter and the loaf of bread.

然后他小跑着向河边走去。他的背包又粗又笨，撞在他的背上。他忘了把装花生酱的罐子和面包拿出来。

Jack decided to leave them at the tree house. He turned to go back.

杰克决定把它们留在树屋。他转身往回走。

But just then, Annie's shouting stopped. Jack looked at the river.

但就在这时，安妮的叫喊停止了。杰克看着那条河。

She had vanished. "Annie?" he called. No answer.

她已经消失了。“安妮?”他叫道。没有人回答。

Where was she?

她在哪里呢？

"Annie!" Jack shouted.

“安妮!”杰克喊道。

She had completely disappeared. "Oh, man," said Jack.

她完全消失了。“哦，天哪，”杰克说。

Their trip had barely begun, and already disaster had struck!

他们的旅程才刚刚开始，灾难就已经降临了!

He forgot about the stuff in his pack. He just ran as fast as he could.

他忘了他包里的东西。他只是尽可能快地跑。

He wove his way between the grazing zebras and giraffes as he raced to the river.

他一边在吃草的斑马和长颈鹿之间迂回前进，一边向河边跑去。

"Help!" called Annie.

“救命!”安妮。