雙語讀電影 《賽車總動員》第19章 :重要的是，麥坤換上了白胎壁輪胎

“Okay, here we go,” Lightning said to himself as he sat idling in the darkness of the trailer. It was the day of the Piston Cup Championship, and Lightning was working hard to find the zone.

“Focus,” he commanded himself. “Speed. I am speed.”

Across the country, cars had closed up their shops and headed to the closest television set to watch the race of the century.

“Bob, there’s a crowd of nearly three hundred thousand cars here at the Los Angeles International Speedway,” Darrell said as he and Bob sat in the announcers’ booth. “Tickets to this race are hotter than a black leather seat on a hot summer day.”

Chick was feeling smug as he basked in the limelight. He was surrounded by press and photographers, soaking up all the attention.

“C’mon, Chick, let’s see the cloud!” begged the reporters. “Flash that thunder, baby!”

“Oh, yeah, you wanna know the forecast?” Chick bragged. “I’ll give you the forecast: one hundred percent chance of thunder! Ka-chick-a! Ka-chick-a! Say it with me!”

Meanwhile, Lightning stayed in his trailer, ignoring the chaos outside. He revved his engine. “Victory,” he muttered quietly as he pictured himself flying down the track ahead of Chick and The King. “One winner, two losers. Speed. Speed. Speed!” Lightning remembered the drive with Sally and the view of Radiator Springs from the spot near the Wheel Well. Gosh, that was gorgeous, Lightning thought. He smiled a little, picturing the townsfolk. I never even said good-bye to Mater, he thought regretfully.

“Hey, Lightning!” Mack called as he banged on the trailer door. “You ready?”

Lightning’s eyes snapped open. What am I doing? he thought. I don’t have time to daydream— I have a race to win! “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said, giving himself a good shake. “I’m ready.”

He rolled out of his trailer and faced the enormous crowd of fans. They let out a deafening cheer, and Lightning squinted as a thousand cameras flashed in his face.

“Thanks for being my pit crew today,” Lightning said to Mack, who was parked beside a big gas can.

“Least I could do,” Mack replied.

Out on the track, a group of color-coded cars drove in formation, spelling out the words “Piston Cup.”

In the announcers’ booth, Bob explained that this would be the last race for Strip Weathers—The King.

“You know, Chick Hicks ain’t gonna let The King just drive away with it today,” Darrell added. “He’s gonna pull out all the stops to win this one.”

“And there he is,” Bob said as the stadium monitor flashed an image of Lightning pulling up to the starting line. “Lightning McQueen. Missing all week and then he turns up in the middle of nowhere, in a little town called Radiator Springs.”

“Wearing whitewall tires,” Darrell added with a chuckle, “of all things.”

Chick pulled up next to Lightning and flashed his shiny thundercloud. “Ka-chick-a! Ka-chick-a! Ka-chick-a!” He laughed uproariously. “Hey, where ya been, Lightning? I’ve been kind of lonely, nobody to hang out with—I mean, except the Dinoco folks.”

Chick babbled on, but Lightning was having a hard time paying attention to him. His mind was wandering. He was back on the mountain with Sally. Gee, she looked pretty that day, Lightning thought as he pictured the beautiful Porsche in front of the waterfall.

Just then, the green flag dropped. Chick and The King were off like bullets.

“Uuuugh!” Lightning cried as he snapped out of his daydream. “Shoot!” He took off after them, chasing their bumpers. Two laps later, all three cars were battling for first place.

“Oh, Chick slammed the door on him,” Darrell announced as Chick moved in to cut off Lightning. With a sudden burst of speed, Chick left the rookie in his dust.

“Chick’s not making it easy on him today,” Bob said. It was true. Although he wanted more than ever to win, Lightning was having trouble focusing on the race. His mind kept wandering. Like right then: he was picturing himself on the drive up the mountain with Sally again. He remembered how she had splashed him. And—

A wall!

Lightning jarred himself out of his memory just in time to swerve away from the concrete wall. But he cut too hard and spun deep into the infield. The crowed gasped.

Chick grinned. “Just me and the old man, fellas,” he told his pit crew over the radio. “Lightning just doesn’t have it today.”