86
Rn
Radon
氡
(222)

Monster in the Basement
地下室的怪物

“Mommy, there’s a monster in the basement.”
“妈咪，地下室有只怪物。”

“No there isn’t, dear. That’s just silly.”
“没有哦，宝贝儿。那太傻了。”

“It’s not! My teacher says that half the houses in the county are built over the Reading Prong.”
“是真的！我们老师说了，美国有一半房子下面是中元古代岩层。”

“The Reading what?”
“中……啥？”

“Prong. It’s a geological formation of igneous and metamorphic rocks, composed primarily of granites and gneisses, underlying parts of Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.”
“中元古代。这种岩层有火成岩和变质岩两种成因，具体主要包括花岗岩和片麻岩，康涅狄格州、纽约州、宾夕法尼亚州和新泽西州的地下都是这种岩层。”

“Well! Sending you to a private school certainly seems to have paid off.”
“哦哦！看来把你送到私立学校看起来这钱花得值。”

“Mommy!”
“妈咪！”

“All right, sweetie. I’m listening. So there are lots of nice rocks under our house. That doesn’t mean there’s a monster in the basement.”
“好吧，宝贝，我听着呢。所以咱们房子下面有很多石头，不过那并不能说明地下室里有个怪物啊。”

“Yes it does. Naturally occurring uranium in the rocks decays into radon gas, which seeps through tiny cracks in the rocks and soil and into the basement, where it gets trapped. It’s radioactive. You breathe it and breathe it and breathe it … and then, years later, you come down with lung cancer!”
“有。岩石中里的天然铀会分解成氡气，然后会通过岩石和土壤中的细小裂缝出来，进入空气里，并在地下室那里聚集。它具有放射性。你吸它，吸它，吸它……然后，很多年后，你就会得肺癌！”

“My little alarmist.”
“真是让人怕怕呢。”

“It’s true, Mommy, it’s true! My teacher said so.”
“是真的，妈咪。是真的！我们老师就是这么说的。”

“All right, honey-pie, I’ll tell you what. First thing tomorrow, I’ll buy the test kit, and if there’s a problem, we’ll have it fixed. Now go to sleep.”
“好的，小家伙，我和你说。明天我就去买个测试表，如果有问题我们就解决它。现在去睡觉吧。”

“I can’t, Mommy.”
“我睡不着，妈咪。”

“Why not?”
“又怎么了？”

“There’s a monster in the attic, too. It has gnarly, tangly hair, and long, twisty nails, and scary eyes, and it’s chained to the wall, and it smells funny. And … and … and … it eats rats!”
“阁楼里也有个怪物。它的头发乱糟糟缠在一块、指甲长长的都卷起来了，还有双吓人的眼睛，它被锁在墙上，身上有股怪味。而且……而且……而且……它还吃老鼠！”

“Oh, you funny little bunny. That’s just your Aunt Heloise.”
“哦，没事的小家伙。那是你的海洛薇兹阿姨。”