佳佳的英语绘本

🏙️ Story Time

In the year 2150, there was a thriving metropolis called Verdant City — famous for its vertical forests, solar-powered buildings, and zero-carbon lifestyle.

But no one knew that beneath the city, deep in the subway tunnels, a secret experiment was underway. Dr. Yuki Tanaka had been working on "Urban Thermal Camouflage" — a system designed to make cities invisible to satellite surveillance.

When the system was accidentally activated at full power, the city's heat signature vanished. Planes flew overhead and never landed. Ships arrived at the harbor but couldn't find the port. The city existed, but it had become invisible.

"We have a choice," said Dr. Tanaka. "We can shut down the system and return to normal. But we can also... stay hidden. Become truly independent."

The mayor asked: "What would happen if we stayed hidden?"

"Unknown," Dr. Tanaka admitted. "We might become a true utopia. Or we might become a sealed bubble, slowly forgetting the rest of humanity."

The mayor considered for a long moment. Then he spoke: "A city that cannot be found cannot serve the world. We must be visible. We must be accountable."

Three days later, the system was shut down. Verdant City reappeared on every satellite map.

Dr. Tanaka later wrote: "The greatest danger of invisibility is not being unseen — it is being unable to be accountable."

📖 New Words

English	中文	英文释义	例句
metropolis	大都市	a large, important city	Shanghai is a bustling metropolis.
sustainable	可持续的	able to continue without harming the environment	Sustainable living protects our planet.
thermal	热量的	related to heat	Thermal cameras can see heat signatures.
camouflage	伪装	to hide something	The military uses camouflage to hide soldiers.
surveillance	监控	watching or monitoring people or places	Satellite surveillance tracks weather patterns.
accountable	负责的	having to explain your actions	Governments must be accountable to citizens.
utopia	乌托邦	a perfect, imaginary society	Some people dream of building a utopia.
vanish	消失	to disappear completely	The plane vanished into the clouds.
emergency	紧急情况	a sudden serious situation	They called an emergency meeting.
climatologist	气候学家	a scientist who studies climate	Dr. Tanaka is a renowned climatologist.

🌏 Translation

消失的城市

2150年，有一座繁荣的大都市叫做"翠城"——以垂直森林、太阳能建筑和零碳生活方式闻名于世。但没有人知道，在城市深处，地铁隧道里，一项秘密实验正在进行。

田中由纪博士一直致力于"城市热伪装"的研究——一种通过操控热信号使城市在卫星监控下隐形的系统。当系统在测试中意外地以全功率激活时，城市的热信号完全消失了。飞机从头顶飞过却从不降落。船只抵达港口却找不到港口。

"我们有一个选择，"田中博士说，"我们可以关闭系统，恢复正常。但我们也可以……保持隐形。变得真正独立。"

"如果我们保持隐形，会发生什么？"市长问。"未知，"田中博士承认，"我们可能成为一个真正的乌托邦。或者我们可能成为一个密封的气泡，慢慢遗忘人类世界的其他人。"

市长沉思了很长时间。然后他说："一座无法被找到的城市无法为世界服务。我们必须可见，必须负责。"

三天后，系统被关闭了。翠城重新出现在每张卫星地图上。

田中博士后来写道："隐形最大的危险不是被看不见——是无法负责。"

❓ Reading Comprehension

1. What was special about Verdant City?

A. It was the oldest city in the world B. It had vertical forests and zero-carbon living C. It was built underground

答案：B

2. What did Dr. Tanaka's "Urban Thermal Camouflage" system do?

A. Made the city cooler in summer B. Made the city invisible on satellite maps C. Made the city produce more energy

答案：B

3. What was the mayor's final decision?

A. To stay hidden and become independent B. To shut down the system and become visible again C. To build a bigger system

答案：B

4. What did Dr. Tanaka write in her journal about invisibility?

A. It's the best way to avoid problems B. The greatest danger is being unable to be accountable C. Cities should always be hidden

答案：B

5. "Accountability" means being responsible for your actions. Why is it important for cities — and people — to be accountable?

A. So they can hide from problems B. So they can serve and contribute to the world C. So they can become invisible

答案：B

💭 Think About It

1. Dr. Tanaka said a hidden city might become "a sealed bubble." What do you think this means? Is it better to be connected to the rest of the world, even if it means dealing with problems?

2. The mayor said "A city that cannot be found cannot serve the world." How does visibility relate to responsibility?

3. Do you think the mayor made the right choice? If you were the mayor, would you have stayed hidden or come back?

4. What do you think cities in the future will be like? Will they be more sustainable?

5. Why is it important for people to be accountable for their actions?

📝 Grammar Study

1. Passive Voice in Past Simple vs Past Continuous

"The system was accidentally activated." (一般过去时被动)

"The city had been existing normally until..." (过去完成进行时)

Practice: Active: They were testing the system when it happened. → The system ___ ___ (test) when it happened. Answer: was being tested

2. Modal Verbs: Must/Need to/Have to

"We must be visible. We must be accountable." "We need to shut down the system."

Use must/need to/have to to express necessity and obligation.

3. Third Conditional (第三条件句)

Structure: If + past perfect, would/could/might + have + past participle

"If we stayed hidden, we might become a utopia."

Use: To talk about hypothetical past situations and their possible results.

🏙️💨 佳佳的英语绘本 · 第8期：The City That Disappeared