011 过山车的惊喜

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" Look, Dad!" Lila said, waving a flyer

“爸爸，你看！”莉拉一边说，一边挥舞着一张传单。

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" The amusement park is having a roller coaster design contest

“游乐园正在举办过山车设计比赛。

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First prize is two tickets for the first ride on the new coaster!"

一等奖是两张新过山车首次乘坐的票！”

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Dad leaned back and pretended he was riding a roller coaster

爸爸向后一靠，假装自己正坐在过山车上。

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" I love when I'm pushed back in the seat."

“我喜欢被推回座位的那种感觉。”

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" It only feels like you're being pushed back

“那只是感觉像被推回去。

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The seat is really pushing you forward."

其实是座位在推着你向前。”

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Dad laughed." You sure know your stuff!"

爸爸笑了。“你知道得还真不少！”

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Lila started drawing ideas

莉拉开始画她的构想。

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First she drew a lift hill

她先画了一个提升坡。

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She knew that roller coasters didn't have motors

她知道过山车没有马达。

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The cars gained speed as gravity pulled them down from the top of the lift hill

当重力把车厢从提升坡顶往下拉时，车厢会加速。

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This momentum would carry the cars through the rest of the roller coaster

这股动量会带着车厢驶过山车剩下的部分。

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" My hill looks too short," Lila thought

“我的坡看起来太矮了，”莉拉心想。

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" The cars won't have enough momentum to go through loops or over hills."

“车厢会没有足够的动量穿过回环，或是翻过坡道。”

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She made the hill a bit taller

她把坡加高了一点。

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If she made it too tall, the cars would gain too much speed

如果她弄得太高，车厢又会跑得太快。

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Then the ride would be uncomfortable or dangerous

那坐起来就会不舒服，甚至有危险。

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After the lift hill, Lila added loops, hills, and curves

在提升坡之后，莉拉添加了回环、坡道和弯道。

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" Yes!" Lila declared

“太好了！”莉拉宣布道。

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She was almost ready to build a model!

她快要可以搭建模型了！

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As Dad drove to the park, Lila practiced explaining her model

爸爸开车去公园时，莉拉练习着讲解她的模型。

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" Gravity pulls you down at the top of the loop, but the momentum keeps pushing you forward."

“重力在环顶把你往下拉，但动量一直推着你向前。”

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" That gives you the weightless feeling?" Dad asked

“这就给人一种失重的感觉？”爸爸问。

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" Exactly."

“没错。”

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Dad parked

爸爸停好了车。

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As Lila started to get out of the car, the box slipped from her hands

莉拉正要下车时，盒子从她手中滑落。

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Lila gasped as her model crashed onto the pavement

莉拉倒吸一口气，模型摔在了人行道上。

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" It's ruined! What am I going to do? Judging starts soon!"

“全毁了！我该怎么办？评审马上就开始了！”

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Dad helped her pick up the pieces

爸爸帮她捡起碎片。

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" It's not too bad. You'll think of something."

“还好，没那么糟。你会想到办法的。”

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In the waiting room, Lila examined the other contestants' designs

在等候室里，莉拉仔细看了看其他参赛者的设计。

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Some wouldn't work, but others were good

有的根本行不通，不过有的还不错。

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She stared at the pieces of her model in the box

她盯着盒子里自己模型的碎片。

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" Hey!" she thought suddenly

“嘿！”她突然想道。

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" Maybe I can put the pieces together as I explain my model!"

“也许我可以一边解释模型，一边把碎片拼起来！”

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Soon it was Lila's turn. In the judging room, Lila put the lift hill on the table

很快轮到莉拉了。在评审室里，莉拉把提升坡放到桌上。

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" A cable pulls the cars to the top."

“缆绳把车厢拉到顶端。”

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Next she put the loop on the table

接着，她把回环放到桌上。

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" From the lift hill, the cars should have enough speed to go through this loop."

“从提升坡下来，车厢速度应该足够穿过这个回环。”

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" Why isn't the loop round?" judge number one asked

“为什么回环不是圆的？”第一位评委问道。

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" A round loop makes the cars go the same speed all around

“圆形回环会让车厢全程以相同的速度运行。

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This teardrop shape slows the speed on the sides of the loop to make the ride more comfortable."

这种泪滴形状会降低回环两侧的速度，让乘坐更加舒适。”

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The judges nodded

评委们点了点头。

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Lila's plan was working!

莉拉的计划奏效了！

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But as she took the last piece from the box, her heart sank

但当她从盒子里拿出最后一块时，她的心一沉。

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Part of the track was twisted upside down!

轨道的一部分被拧得上下颠倒了！

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" Interesting," judge number two said

“有意思，”第二位评委说。

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" This isn't how I designed it," Lila admitted

“这不是我设计的样子，”莉拉承认道。

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" I dropped the model in the parking lot."

“我在停车场把模型摔了。”

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" Do you think it would work on a real coaster?" judge number one asked

“你觉得在真实的过山车上，这样能行得通吗？”第一位评委问道。

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" Hmm. I think the momentum coming out of the loop would carry the cars through the twist."

“嗯，我认为出回环后的动量会带着车厢通过这段扭转。”

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Lila sat nervously in the waiting room

莉拉紧张地坐在等候室里。

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" I couldn't answer the twist question."

“我没能回答那个扭转的问题。”

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" I'm sure you did well," Dad assured her

“我相信你表现得很好，”爸爸安慰她道。

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Finally the judges called everyone back in

最后，评委们把所有人都叫了回去。

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" The winner is Lila King!" judge number one announced

“获胜者是莉拉·金！”第一位评委宣布。

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" For her good model and her great knowledge of roller coaster physics!"

“因为她出色的模型和丰富的过山车物理知识！”

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Judge number two shook Lila's hand and handed her the tickets

第二位评委和莉拉握了手，并把票递给她。

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" My company has a summer camp for future engineers," he said

“我的公司有一个面向未来工程师的夏令营，”他说。

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" You should think about attending."

“你应该考虑参加。”

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Lila grinned." I'll definitely look into it — after I ride the new coaster!"

莉拉咧嘴笑道：“我一定会去了解一下——等我坐完那趟新的过山车之后！”