基础信息
作者尼尔·盖曼，知名奇幻文学作家。这是一本充满蒸汽朋克脑洞的中篇儿童冒险小说，用爸爸一次买牛奶的离奇经历，编织一场天马行空的时空闹剧。
核心人物：
‑ Dad（爸爸）：风趣爱讲故事，出门买牛奶，意外卷入跨时空冒险，拼尽全力守护那一瓶牛奶。
‑ the kids（一双儿女）：妈妈外出旅行，留在家中等早餐，等爸爸买牛奶回家，最后怀疑整段冒险只是迟到的借口。
‑ Professor Steg（施泰格教授）：会驾驶蒸汽热气球穿越时空的友善剑龙，爸爸冒险路上最重要的伙伴。
‑ Aliens（外星人）：想要重新改造装饰地球的外星生物，制造故事最大危机。
妈妈出门旅行，家里早餐没有牛奶，爸爸出门去小店采购，本该很快回家，却消失了好几个小时。等他终于到家，面对生气不耐烦的孩子，他讲出一段匪夷所思的奇遇：刚买到牛奶，就被外星飞碟吸上飞船；侥幸逃生坠落天空，被剑龙教授救下，登上蒸汽热气球；误触按钮穿越回史前时代，遭遇火山神明、野蛮海盗、吸血怪物；一次次险境之中，他拼命保护口袋里那瓶牛奶。外星人再次追捕他们，情急之下，剑龙教授打开时空传送门，爸爸向过去的自己借来另一瓶一模一样的牛奶，用“两瓶相同牛奶相撞会毁灭宇宙”吓退外星人；太空警察赶来逮捕外星人。历经重重劫难，爸爸终于带着牛奶回到家中。听完光怪陆离的长篇故事，孩子们满心疑惑：这场惊心动魄的冒险到底真实发生过，还是爸爸编造出来迟到的借口？唯一确定的是：幸好，他把牛奶带回来了。
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Mom goes away for a trip. Dad stays home to take care of his son and daughter. One morning, they find out there is no milk for their breakfast cereal. So Dad walks to the corner shop to buy some milk. He is supposed to return very soon. However, hours pass and Dad still does not come back. When he finally shows up at the door, the children feel upset and impatient. Then Dad begins to tell them a crazy, unbelievable adventure story.
Right after Dad buys the bottle of milk, a huge silver flying disc appears and hovers over the street. Before he can react, Dad gets sucked up into this alien spaceship. Fortunately, he has put the milk safely inside his coat pocket. On the spaceship, strange blobby aliens plan to redecorate our whole planet. They hope to get Dad’s permission. Dad escapes through an emergency exit and falls from high in the sky.
Just as he thinks all hope is gone, he gets rescued by Professor Steg. Professor Steg is a smart and friendly stegosaurus. He travels through time in a special steam‑powered hot‑air balloon.
By accident, they press a big red button on the machine. Suddenly, they jump all the way back to pre‑historic times. They land in a steamy, dangerous jungle. Local villagers try to sacrifice them to a furious volcano god. They barely escape from the terrible volcanic eruption. During their wild journey, they also meet rude pirates and strange wumpires. Again and again, Dad tries his best to keep that single bottle of milk safe.
Soon, the aliens catch them once again. Lots of frightening characters from their adventure gather together on the alien ship. Dad comes up with a quick‑thinking plan. Professor Steg opens a tiny space‑time portal. Dad reaches into the past and borrows another bottle of milk from his younger self. Now he holds two identical bottles of milk.
He warns the aliens: if two exactly‑same milk bottles touch each other, it may cause huge disaster, even the end of the whole universe. Scared by this warning, the aliens panic. Right at that moment, Galactic Space Police arrive. They arrest the aliens for illegally redecorating other people’s planets.
Dad says goodbye to his dinosaur friend. At long last, he travels back to his own time. He walks through the front door with the milk.
After hearing this fantastic tale, the children stare at Dad in complete doubt. Is this adventure real? Or is it just a creative excuse for being late? No one can be sure. One thing is for certain — fortunately, the milk has come home.
核心名词
• cereal /ˈsɪəriəl/ n. 麦片，谷物早餐
• disc /dɪsk/ n. 圆盘，飞碟
• alien /ˈeɪliən/ n. 外星人
• stegosaurus /ˌsteɡəˈsɔːrəs/ n. 剑龙
• portal /ˈpɔːtl/ n. 时空传送门
• eruption /ɪˈrʌpʃn/ n.（火山）爆发
• pirate /ˈpaɪrət/ n. 海盗
• sacrifice /ˈsækrɪfaɪs/ v.&n. 献祭；牺牲
重点短语
• hover over 在……上空盘旋
• be sucked up into 被吸入……
• escape through 从……逃离
• travel through time 进行时空旅行
• come up with a plan 想出一个计策
• arrest somebody for… 因……逮捕某人
• show up 现身，出现
形容词&副词
• unbelievable adj. 难以置信的
• pre‑historic adj. 史前的
• furious adj. 暴怒的
• identical /aɪˈdentɪkl/ adj. 完全相同的
• fortunately adv. 幸运地
• impatient adj. 不耐烦的
佳句摘抄
1. Fortunately, he has put the milk safely inside his coat pocket.
幸运的是，他把牛奶稳妥放进了外套口袋。
2. He is supposed to return very soon. However, hours pass and Dad still does not come back.
他本该很快就回来，可是好几个小时过去了，爸爸依旧不见踪影。
3. Before he can react, Dad gets sucked up into this alien spaceship.
还没来得及反应，爸爸就被吸进了外星飞船。
4. If two exactly‑same milk bottles touch each other, it may cause huge disaster, even the end of the whole universe.
倘若两瓶一模一样的牛奶相互触碰，会引发巨大灾难，甚至是整个宇宙的毁灭。
5. Is this adventure real? Or is it just a creative excuse for being late?
这场冒险是真实发生的吗？或者，它仅仅是一个充满想象力的迟到借口？