作者：美国漫威公司
出版社：华东理工大学出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
漫威超级英雄双语故事. Ant-Man 蚁人：僵尸之乱试读：
The Story of Ant-Man
Life has never been easy for Scott Lang, an electronics expert who was forced into a career of crime to help his family. Scott always regretted breaking the law and only wanted to do what was right.
One day the famous scientist Dr. Hank Pym reached out to Scott and provided a way for him to put an end to his life of crime. Using gear invented by Dr. Pym, Scott became the astonishing Ant-Man, a hero capable of shrinking to the size of an ant, with the power of a hundred men.
Dr. Pym's technology revolves around the use of “Pym Particles”—an unusual set of subatomic particles capable of reducing the mass of any object. Scott, using the Pym Particles, has the ability to shrink not only himself, but also anyone or anything else. Using the Pym Particles, he can even sometimes enlarge things.
In addition, Scott can use other technology to communicate with ants and even summon them when they might be helpful. Since he's an electronics expert, Scott is continually modifying and expanding Dr. Pym's equipment, making it his own.
A dedicated hero, Scott Lang has put his past far behind him. Now he fights crime and protects the innocent as the astonishing Ant-Man!扫一扫，收听本节英语音频
Chapter 1
It was a beautiful day in New York City, and Central Park was filled with the regular crowds. There were tourists strolling around, taking pictures. There were joggers steadily exercising their way down the sidewalks. There were picnickers, kids on school field trips, and artists painting landscapes. There were even a few celebrities, keeping their collars up and sunglasses on, hoping not to get noticed.
And yet almost none of the hundreds of people walking around the park even thought about the fact that there was a whole other world beneath their feet—the world of insects!
Millions of insects made the dirt under Central Park their home, and on a nice warm day like that one, the bugs were even busier than the humans were!
There was, however, one person who was paying very close attention to the insects, and he didn't like what he saw.
“That's strange,” said Scott Lang, the Astonishing Ant-Man, as he crouched to examine the tracks made by some ants that had recently passed through. “These aren't the traffic patterns I'd expect,” he mumbled to himself.
Of course, it was easier for Ant-Man to notice what the insects were up to because of his amazing power. He did have the ability to shrink to the size of an ant!
Right then he was no bigger than a bug, and he was standing in the tunnel entrance of an anthill.
“I need to find out what's happening,” Scott said to himself as he followed the ant tracks deeper down the tunnel. To better understand ants, Ant-Man had been studying their behavior up close for years. He'd come to that particular anthill several times. And he could tell that something just wasn't right.
When he reached one of the anthill's main chambers, he was surprised to find most members of the ant colony lined up in a perfect row, standing at attention like little soldiers.
“What are you doing, guys?” Ant-Man asked out loud. Usually there was as much commotion in one of these chambers as in a New York subway station during rush hour, so it was eerie to see all the ants standing completely still. “Are you sick or something?”
Of course, the ants didn't understand English, but Ant-Man did have the ability to communicate with them. Ant-Man's equipment could release pheromone scents. Ants, which had a much stronger sense of smell than humans did, used those kinds of odors to send messages to one another.
But even when Ant-Man released pheromones, the ants still didn't respond; they just stood there in a trance. They weren't asleep, but it wasn't like they were fully awake, either!
“I have to get to the bottom of this,” said Ant-Man as he used a syringe to get a sample of an ant's hemolymph, the clear fluid ants had instead of blood.
Ant-Man stuck the sample in his handheld device, which clicked and beeped before flashing a report across its screen.
“A virus?” said Ant-Man, reading from the device. “I've never seen this kind before, but according to these readings, I suspect it could be passed to humans!”
“This could be extremely serious,” said Ant-Man, “like the time that space virus quickly ripped through a S.H.I.E.L.D. moon base. All one hundred and twenty agents were infected within hours!”
The space station incident had been different, because the station was contained, so the virus couldn't spread to Earth. Ant-Man didn't even want to think about what could happen if some unknown virus started to infect people across New York. It could quickly become an epidemic that could get millions sick. . .or worse!
Ant-Man knew immediately that he had to take his information to the best Super Hero team in the world. “I have to find the Avengers,” said Ant-Man. “I might be able to research a cure for this by myself, but if the virus starts to spread, it will take a whole team to manage containment. The Avengers will know what to do!”
Ant-Man rushed from the anthill. . .but as soon as he was gone, the ants he had been examining started to move.
Reaching the surface, Ant-Man sized himself up to his normal human height and rushed off to find Iron Man and the other Avengers.
As he left, he passed a couple picnicking on a blanket in the grass.
“Boy, the ants really are out today,” said the man.
“Yeah, they're everywhere,” agreed the woman. “Ouch! I think one just bit me. . .”扫一扫，收听本节英语音频
Chapter 2
It was easy for Ant-Man to find the Avengers. All he had to do was follow the sound of explosions and look for plumes of smoke. The heroes were clearly in the middle of a big battle.
“That way, Euclid!” Ant-Man shouted to the giant flying ant he was riding.
Not only did Ant-Man have the ability to shrink himself to the size of an ant; he also had the power to enlarge ants to human scale. Whenever he needed to get across the city quickly, he used a pheromone scent to summon Euclid, his favorite ant friend, and hitch a ride.
“The Avengers are fighting the Maggia,” Ant-Man said as Euclid landed on the wall of a building that looked down on the block where the entire Avengers team was engaged in combat with the criminals.
The Maggia, a criminal organization under the control of the evil Count Nefaria, had been caught red-handed breaking into a S.H.I.E.L.D. warehouse that held experimental weapons, but it looked like the fight was almost over. The Hulk was holding down four Maggia soldiers, Thor had knocked out several others, and an energy cage built by Falcon held most of the rest.
“Face it, Count,” shouted Captain America to Nefaria, “this little heist attempt has failed!”
“The Maggia never give up!” yelled back Nefaria as he used a laser rifle to blow a hole through the warehouse wall and dash inside.
“Oh, no!” shouted Iron Man, who knew what kind of weapons were stored in that warehouse. “Grab him before he can get the—”
BOOM! It was too late! A giant robot, piloted by Count Nefaria, burst through the warehouse wall, firing a barrage of missiles at the Avengers!
“Thanks to this S.H.I.E.L.D. robotic mecharmor, nothing can stop me now!” Count Nefaria Shouted.
Seeing all this, Ant-Man knew he needed to help. “Get me down there, Euclid,” he said, and Euclid took off toward the battle scene. As Nefaria's missiles blasted Hawkeye and Cap, Hulk leapt to his feet. “HULK SMASH!” he shouted as he charged like a steam train at the giant robot.
“I don't think so!” shouted Nefaria, using the robot's claws to bat Hulk away. Hulk went sailing through the air!
Hawkeye shot explosive arrows, and Thor aimed bolts of lightning at the robot, but it still kept coming, knocking back Cap and Black Widow!
“How do we stop it?” Hawkeye shouted to Iron Man.
“I'm not sure,” Iron Man replied. “It's based on my own designs, and I'm a pretty great designer! Maybe it doesn't have any weaknesses.”
At that moment, Nefaria reached out with the robot's arms and plucked Falcon out of the sky, then slammed him to the ground!
The robot raised its giant foot, about to CRUSH HIM!
“Say good-bye to falcon!” Nefaria said.
“No, say hello to Ant-Man!” Ant-Man replied as he grew larger from out of nowhere. He was right behind the count, inside the robot's cockpit!
“What? Who?” asked a confused Nefaria as Ant-Man's fist knocked him back into the robot's controls.
Falcon and the other Avengers peered through the robot's cockpit window, shocked to see Ant-Man inside. They had no idea that Ant-Man, shrunk down to a tiny size, had been able to slip into the robot's armor through an exhaust vent. Climbing along the robot's cables, he'd made his way into the cockpit, where he grew to normal size and attacked!
After knocking Count Nefaria out, Ant-Man shut the robot down and opened the cockpit. Then he threw the villain to the ground at the Avengers' feet.
“Thanks,” said Falcon as Ant-Man climbed down from the robot.
“Good work, soldier,” Cap said, patting Ant-Man on the back.
“So they do have a weakness,” observed Iron Man as he examined the unpowered robot's exhaust vent. “I'll have to work on the design more.”
“If your design was any better, I don't know if we would have survived,” Black Widow told Iron Man.
Hawkeye walked up to Ant-Man. “Thanks for the assist and everything, bug-boy, but what are you doing here?”
“Right! I can't believe I forgot. I have vital information!” Ant-Man said urgently, taking out a high-tech device.扫一扫，收听本节英语音频
Chapter 3
“You're showing us ant blood?” asked Hawkeye, confused.
“I'm showing you an image of the virus,” replied Ant-Man, pointing to the scan on his handheld device.
“What did this . . .virus do to the ants?” asked Captain America.
“They weren't acting like themselves,” replied Ant-Man. “They weren't moving around.”
“Maybe they're just lazy ants,” Hawkeye said, shrugging.
“No, it was like they were in a trance,” replied Ant-Man. It didn't seem like the Avengers understood how dangerous the virus could be. “In tropical areas, there's a fungal infection that ants can get. This fungus turns them into zombie ants. My worry is that this virus might act like that fungus.”
Hawkeye snorted. “Zombie ants?”
“It's real,” protested Ant-Man. “Look it up.”
“Can this virus spread to humans?” asked Falcon.
“It looks like it,” Ant-Man responded.
Hawkeye sneered. “But you don't know for sure?”
Ant-Man shrugged. “No.”
“This is all very interesting, but I'm going to have to cut it short,” interrupted Iron Man. “I just got a call from Jarvis. A.I.M. is attacking in Battery Park. We have to get down there. . . Avengers, assemble!” he shouted.
The Avengers dashed off, leaving Ant-Man alone. Ant-Man knew that if A.I.M., an organization of evil geniuses, was up to no good, then the Avengers had to respond. But he'd thought they would help him with the virus problem, and they didn't even seem to believe him.
“It's like they weren't even listening,” complained Ant-Man out loud.
“I'll listen.”
Ant-Man turned to see a man in tattered clothes standing nearby. It took a second for Ant-Man to realize it was Dr. Bruce Banner, the world-renowned scientist. Behind him, several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were arriving to clean up the aftermath of the fight.
“Bruce, it's you. I thought you'd still be the. . . other guy,” said Scott, referring to the Incredible Hulk, whom Banner transformed into when he grew angry.
“Sometimes he calms down quickly after a battle, and then . . . I come back,” explained Banner. “But tell me about this insect virus you discovered.”
“I thought it was important, but the other Avengers didn't seem to think it was . . . so maybe it isn't,” said Scott.
“Always trust your instincts, Scott,” said Banner. “Even if others don't believe in you, you should believe in yourself. Especially if those instincts could save lives.”
Scott nodded, understanding. He knew Banner was right. Working by himself, Scott sometimes felt unimportant, but Banner's words gave him a spark of confidence.
“So, what kind of virus is it?” asked Banner.
“Here, see for yourself,” said Scott, handing Banner his device.
“Hmmm. . .You got samples?” asked Banner as he studied the data.
“Sure,” said Scott. “Why?”
“There are a few more tests we should do,” Banner replied. “Come back to my lab.”
Banner's private lab was on board a S.H.I.E.L.D. floating fortress called the Helicarrier. Scott had never been on the giant airship and was excited to be there, but that excitement turned to concern as Banner showed him the new test results.
Banner wasn't an expert on disease, but he knew a lot about blood reactions because of his work in gamma radiation.
“It's just as you suspected. This virus can be caught by humans very easily. A bug bite is all it would take.” said Banner.
“That means any human bit by the ants in central park might start acting like a zombie.” Scott said.
“Great, that's the last thing we need,” said Banner, “a bunch of living undead making their way around Manhattan, like a B-grade horror movie. . . I need to let the others know how serious this is.”
Banner called the communicator in Iron Man's helmet. Every Avenger had one of these “comm units” in or near one of their ears so they could easily coordinate with one another, even from different locations during battle.
“Little busy, Bruce,” Iron Man responded over the sound of laser fire.
“I'm here with Ant-Man,” Banner responded. “That virus of his? It's a big deal.”
“Even if it is, we can't deal with it right now. We're under heavy fire!” Iron Man shouted. “These A.I.M. guys are acting strangely—more viciously than usual! And they just keep coming!”
“Iron Man, this disease could become a massive outbreak unless—” But Banner wasn't able to finish his thought, because he was interrupted by the sound of an explosion.
“Gonna have to call you back,” said Iron Man as he cut communications.
Banner leveled a significant look at Scott.
“Well, for now, we're on our own,” he said.扫一扫，收听本节英语音频
Chapter 4
“I've been with the Avengers for a while now,” Banner shouted to Ant-Man over the rush of the wind. “In that time I've done a lot of strange things. I've fought alien creatures from space. I've visited other planets and helped defend a city of people who live under the ocean. . . And yet I can honestly say this is one of the strangest things I've ever done.”
Banner was saying this while clutching tightly to Euclid's back. When Ant-Man and Banner realized that the other Avengers weren't able to help, they decided to head back to Central Park to reexamine the infected ants, hoping there would be a way to develop a cure. All the S.H.I.E.L.D. shuttles were currently in use, so Ant-Man suggested they fly on the back of his ant friend.
“You get used to it,” Ant-Man shouted. “Thank you for believing me when no one else did.”
“Sure,” said Banner. “I don't know why the others didn't pay enough attention.”
“I do,” Ant-Man replied. “It's me. I talk to bugs. I shrink. Those aren't really super powers. I mean, they are kind of, I guess. But Thor's a near-immortal Asgardian, Captain America's a living legend Super-Soldier, and Iron Man has more firepower than a small army. Hawkeye and Black Widow don't have powers, but they have years of super-spy experience with S.H.I.E.L.D. And what do I have? Bugs! If I were them, I don't think I'd take me very seriously, either. Let's face it, I'm no big strong hero like the Hulk.”
“You think people look up to the Hulk?” Banner asked sharply. “When I become the Hulk, people only think of me as a monster. The Hulk is a hero and wants to help. But people don't understand that. They run from him, even when he's trying to save them. Everything runs from the Hulk.
“And it's not just when I'm Hulk—it's when I'm Bruce Banner, too,” he continued. “Even when I'm human, some people still think of me as a monster. I went to a conference last month to present some of my research, but no one listened to my presentation. They spent the whole time worrying about making me angry.”
Ant-Man knew what Banner meant. It was difficult being misjudged by people who hadn't gotten to know you yet.
“I started to correspond with some other electronics specialists I met online,” Ant-Man said to Banner. “We traded ideas, brainstormed new inventions, that kind of thing. But when they found out I was a Super Hero, things got awkward. They stopped talking to me. I guess it was all just too strange for them.”
Banner nodded, understanding, but their conversation was interrupted as Euclid came in for a landing. Ant-Man used his Pym Particle gun to shrink himself and Banner, but when they went into the same anthill Ant-Man had investigated a few hours earlier, all the ants were gone.
“That's really strange,” Ant-Man said. “Usually there are at least some ants left to guard the tunnels. It's like this place has been completely abandoned.”
When the two left the anthill and enlarged back to human size, Banner looked around. “Hey, where is everybody?”
Ant-Man saw what Banner meant. When he had been there earlier, the park had been busy, packed with hundreds of people. . . Now there was no one.
“Look at this,” Ant-Man said to Banner, pointing at a picnic blanket that had been abandoned. “The sandwiches are half eaten, as if these people left right in the middle of their lunch.”
“There are some people,” Banner said, spotting across the park a crowd standing with their backs to the heroes. When Ant-Man and Banner got closer, the people turned on them and snarled!
Ant-Man was shocked!
Something was horribly wrong! Everyone in the group had webs of pulsing blue veins bulging out all over their pale-green-tinted skin! Their eyes were a sickly mucus yellow and had no pupils!
“What happened to them?” asked Banner urgently.
“The undead virus! They've been infected!” shouted Ant-Man. “They've become the living undead!”
Suddenly, the whole group of undead jumped at the heroes, growling and snapping their teeth! “This makes me miss hanging out with insects!” Ant-Man shouted as he dodged their bites.扫一扫，收听本节英语音频
Chapter 5
These “living undead” didn't move slowly, like zombies in old movies. Their arms and legs were stiff, but they could move very fast! In no time, the undead had Ant-Man and Banner backed up against a stand of trees.
“Don't let them bite you!” warned Ant-Man, trying to push the undead off him. “You'll get infected, too.”
“What can we do?” asked Banner. “We don't want to hurt them. They're not bad guys, just sick humans. We have to help them!”
But as the undead roared and scratched at him, Banner felt himself getting angry. . . and starting to change.
Ant-Man looked at his friend. Oh, no! If Banner changed into Hulk, Hulk might lash out against his attackers, hurting them—or much worse. Ant-Man had only seconds to figure out how to stop Banner from changing. . .
That was when he spotted something on the ground he could use to solve the problem. To anyone else, this thing wouldn't have seemed like much, but because of Ant-Man's particular skills, it was exactly what was needed.
It was an earthworm.
Ant-Man dodged the grabbing hands of the living undead and snatched up the worm.
Quickly, he tossed it between the undead and Banner, then enlarged it!
The earthworm was suddenly huge, and it became a living wall, with Ant-Man and Banner on one side and the living undead on the other!
“Are you okay, Bruce?” asked Ant-Man, putting an arm around the scientist.
“Yeah . . .yeah.” Banner assured him, calming down. His transformation stopped. “But what do we do now?”
They could hear frustrated howls coming from the other side of the earthworm.
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