When the new tractor arrives on the farm, Isadora's grandfather walks around it twice and says nothing. It is bright green and has no steering wheel that he trusts. It follows a map that Isadora has drawn on a tablet. It drives itself in perfectly straight lines.
新拖拉机运到农场的时候，伊莎多拉的爷爷围着它走了两圈，一句话也没说。它是鲜亮的绿色，没有一个他信得过的方向盘。它按照伊莎多拉在平板电脑上画好的地图行驶，自己就能开出一条条笔直的线。
"A machine that thinks it knows my land better than I do," he says finally. "No, thank you."
“一台自以为比我更了解我的地的机器，”他终于开口说，“不用，谢谢。”
"It doesn't think anything, Grandpa," Isadora says. "It only follows the map. It will save us weeks in the fields."
“它什么也不会想，爷爷，”伊莎多拉说，“它只是照着地图走。它能帮我们在地里省下好几个星期。”
"And when it hits a rock, who will pay?" He walks back to his old red tractor, which has served the family for forty years. He climbs into the seat. The subject is closed.
“要是它撞上石头，谁来赔？”他走回他那台旧红拖拉机旁边，它已经为这个家服务了四十年。他爬上座位。这件事就算结束了。
For two weeks, the new tractor sits in the barn while Isadora does the work the slow way. Then, on a Thursday morning, the radio brings bad news. A big storm will arrive by tomorrow evening, and a third of the wheat is still standing.
接下来的两个星期，新拖拉机一直停在谷仓里，伊莎多拉用慢办法干着活。后来，一个星期四的早上，收音机里传来了坏消息。明天傍晚会来一场大风暴，而三分之一的麦子还立在地里。
Her grandfather listens with his arms crossed. Then he looks at the sky, which has already turned a heavy gray. "We have no choice," he says. "If we don't finish today, we will lose it."
她的爷爷抱着手臂听着。然后他抬头看天，天已经变成了沉沉的灰色。“我们没有选择，”他说，“如果今天收不完，我们就全完了。”
"Then we use both tractors," Isadora says. "You take the east fields. I'll send the new one out west and watch it from the hill."
“那我们就两台一起用，”伊莎多拉说，“您去东边的地。我把新的那台派到西边，在山坡上看着它。”
He nods once, as if it hurts. They work from dawn until the first wind begins to bend the wheat. Isadora checks her tablet every few minutes. The green tractor never tires, never stops for lunch, and never drifts from its line. At six, the last field is cut, and the first raindrops hit the barn roof.
他点了一下头，像是很痛苦。他们从天亮干到第一阵风开始吹弯麦穗。伊莎多拉每隔几分钟就看一眼平板电脑。那台绿拖拉机从不疲倦，不停下来吃午饭，也从不偏离它的线路。六点钟，最后一块地收完了，第一滴雨点打在谷仓屋顶上。
Her grandfather climbs down from the old tractor, his face covered in dust. He looks across the field at the green machine, still moving slowly toward the gate. "It's good," he admits. "Very good. Don't tell your father I said so."
她的爷爷从旧拖拉机上爬下来，满脸都是灰尘。他隔着田野望向那台绿色的机器，它还在朝大门慢慢移动。“它不错，”他承认，“非常不错。别告诉你爸爸我这么说过。”
"Does that mean you'll use it next year?"
“这是不是说，明年您会用它？”
"Maybe on the west fields, when I'm tired." He pats the old red tractor on its wheel. "But I sit in my own seat for the east."
“也许西边的地可以，等我累了的时候。”他拍了拍那台旧红拖拉机的轮子。“不过东边的地，我还是坐我自己的位子。”
