儿童英语读物《神奇树屋》 第一册 Dinosaurs Before Dark 04
当安妮伸出手时，杰克倒吸了一口凉气。
天哪!安妮总是试图与动物们交朋友。不过这次也太过火了。
“不要太靠近它，安妮!”杰克大声喊道。
但是安妮摸了摸无齿翼龙的冠，摸了摸它的脖子。她正在同它交谈。
她究竟在说些什么?
杰克深深地吸了一口气。好吧，他得下去。这正是考察这个远古动物的好机会。
做好记录，像科学家那样。
杰克开始爬下绳梯。
当他到达地面时，那动物离他只有几英尺远。
它瞪着杰克，双眼亮晶晶的，机灵灵的。
“它很柔软，杰克。”安妮说，“摸上去就像亨利一样。”
杰克高声大笑说：“它不是狗，安妮。”
“摸摸它，杰克。”安妮说。
杰克没有动。
“别多虑了，杰克，摸一摸吧!”
杰克走上前来，他小心翼翼地伸出自己的胳膊。他顺着这动物的脖子从上到下抚摸了一遍。
太有趣了。薄薄的一层茸毛覆盖在无齿翼龙的皮肤上。
“柔软吧，嗯?”安妮说。
杰克把手伸进背包里，抽出一支铅笔和一个笔记本。他写道：
毛茸茸的皮肤
“你在干什么呢?”安妮问。
“做记录。”杰克说，“我们也许是世界上见过活生生的无齿翼龙的第一人。”
杰克又看了看无齿翼龙。这种动物头顶上长着一个骨质的冠。这个冠比杰克的胳膊还要长。
“不知道它聪明不聪明。”杰克说。
“非常聪明。”安妮说。
“可别作指望。”杰克说，“它的脑袋也许只有一颗豆子那么大。”
“不，它非常聪明。我能感觉得到。”安妮说，“我打算叫它亨利。”
杰克在笔记本上写着：
小脑仁?
杰克又看了看这只动物。“它也许是只突变了的异种。”他说。
这只动物翘起它的头。
安妮笑了起来。“它不是异种，杰克。”
“好吧，那它在这儿干些什么呢?这个地方是哪儿呢?”杰克说。
安妮紧紧地挨着无齿翼龙。
“你知道我们在什么地方吗，亨利?”安妮轻言细语地问。
这只动物眼睛一眨也不眨地盯着安妮。它的嘴巴忽而张开，忽而闭拢，像一把巨型剪刀。
“你想同我说话吧，亨利?”安妮问。
“算了吧，安妮。”杰克在笔记本上写着：
嘴巴像剪刀?
“我们是不是回到了很久很久以前，亨利?”安妮问，“这是很久很久以前的某个地方吗?”突然间她气喘起来。“杰克!”
杰克抬头一看。
安妮手正指着小山。山顶上站着一只巨大的恐龙!
4 Henry
Jack gasped as Annie held out her hand.
Oh,brother.She was always trying to make friends with animals. But this was going too far.
“Don’t get too close to him，Annie!” Jack shouted.
But Annie touched the Pteranodon’s crest. She stroked his neck. She was talking to him.
What in the world was she saying?
Jack took a deep breath.Okay. He would go down too. It would be good to examine the creature. Take notes. Like a scientist.
Jack started down the rope ladder.
When he got to the ground， Jack was only a few feet away from the creature.
The creature stared at Jack. His eyes were bright and alert.
“He’ s soft， Jack，” said Annie. “He feels like Henry.”
Jack snorted. “He’s no dog， Annie.”
“Feel him，Jack，” said Annie.
Jack didn’t move.
“Don’t think，Jack. Just do it.”
Jack stepped forward. He put out his arm. Very cautiously.He brushed his hand down the creature’s neck.
Interesting. A thim layer of fuzz covered the Pteranodon’s skin.
“Soft，huh?” said Annie.
Jack reached into his backpack and pulled out a pencil and a notebook.
He wrote:fuzzy skin
“What are you doing?” asked Annie.
“Taking notes，”said Jack.“We’re probably the first people in the whole world to ever see a real live Pteranodon.”
Jack looked at the Pteranodon again. The creature had a bony crest on top of his head. The crest was longer than Jack’s arm.
“I wonder how smart he is，” Jack said.
“Very smart，” said Annie.
“Don’t count on it，” said Jack.“His brain’s probably no bigger than a bean.”
“No， he’ s very smart. I can feel it，” said Annie.“I’m goint to call him Henry.”
Jack wrote in his notebook：
small brain?
Jack looked at the creature again. “Maybe he’s a mutant，” he said.
The creature tilted his head.
Annie laughed. “He’s no mutant, Jack.”
“Well, what’s he doing here then?Where is this place?” said Jack.
Annie leaned close to the Pteranodon.
“Do you know where we are，Henry?”she asked softly.
The creature fixed his eyes on Annie. His long jaws were opening and closing. Like a giant pair of scissors.
“Are you trying to talk to me, Henry?” asked Annie.
“Forget it， Annie.”Jack wrote in his notebook:mouth like scissors?
“Did we come to a time long ago, Henry?” asked Annie.“Is this a place from long ago?” Suddenly she gasped. “Jack!”
He looked up.
Annie was pointing toward the hill. On top stood a huge dinosaur!
