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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Haunted Boxcar CHAPTER 5 Strange Noises

时间:2017-11-14 08:27来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The Aldens went through the grocery store buying everything on Mrs. McGregor’s list. Then they returned home, pulling the wagon1 filled with grocery bags.

“I’ll check the mail,” called Benny, running to the mailbox. The mail hadn’t arrived yet, but there was something in the box. Benny pulled it out. It was a brochure with a note clipped to the front. Benny tried to figure out what the note said, but he was just learning to read, and the note was written in cursive. He would have to ask for help. Benny ran into the house.

When he entered the kitchen, he knew immediately that Mrs. McGregor had been baking. The kitchen smelled delicious. Lines of cookies were cooling on a rack. They were filled with jelly and covered in powdered sugar.

“Those look good,” said Benny. “May I have one?”

“Not yet — you’ll spoil your lunch,” Mrs. McGregor said. She was preparing a big fruit salad.

Disappointed, Benny quickly put his hand down.

“Was there any mail?” Henry asked.

“Just this,” said Benny, handing him the brochure.

Henry quickly read the note clipped on top. “It’s from Professor Murray. He wrote, ‘This might be a good place for your boxcar.’” Henry removed the note and looked at the brochure. “It’s a brochure for a museum near here.”

The others moved closer to look at the brochure. “It looks nice, but … ” said Jessie.

“We’re not giving away our boxcar,” said Benny. “Grandfather said so. Professor Murray can’t make us.”

“No, he can’t,” said Jessie, putting an arm around her brother. “We’ll show the brochure to Grandfather when he gets home, but I’m sure he’ll agree with us.”

“Professor Murray doesn’t give up,” said Henry.

The others nodded.

Jessie turned to Mrs. McGregor. “Is it all right if we sleep out in the boxcar tonight?”

“That sounds fun,” said the housekeeper3. “And the weather is supposed to be lovely tonight.”

“Great!” said Benny.

After lunch, the children hurried upstairs to pack for their sleepover. They gathered pajamas4 and slippers5 and bathrobes and stuffed them into their overnight bags. Then they grabbed sleeping bags and pillows and stuffed animals to sleep with and books to read. At last they came downstairs, their arms filled.

“Oh my goodness!” said Mrs. McGregor when she saw them. “Are you sure you’re only going for one night? Looks like you’ve got enough to last you through next month!”

The children laughed.

“Mrs. McGregor, about those cookies … ” Benny said.

“Yes?” said Mrs. McGregor.

“I was just thinking it wouldn’t be a real sleepover without a bedtime snack,” Benny said.

“I was expecting that,” said Mrs. McGregor, handing him a tin. “I’ve put eight cookies in here — two for each of you. Are you sure you can carry it with all that stuff?”

“Yeah, I’ll just tuck my sleeping bag under this arm and my pillow under this arm. … ” Benny let out a moan as everything fell to the floor.

“Why don’t you come back for the cookies?” Mrs. McGregor suggested, hiding a smile. “It’s a long way until bedtime.”

“Well. … Okay,” said Benny reluctantly. He followed his brother and sisters out to the boxcar.

“Let’s put our stuff in that corner,” Jessie said, pointing. “We’ll get everything set up tonight when we’re ready for bed.” The others agreed.

“Now, how about a rematch of that soccer game,” suggested Henry.

“You’re on,” said Violet.

Benny piled his things in the corner with the rest of the sleeping bags and pillows. “I’ll be right there,” he called to the others, heading back to the house. “I’m going to get the cookies.”

Henry, Jessie, and Violet were kicking the ball around when Benny ran back to the boxcar with the cookies. He opened the tin and peeked6 in. The cookies smelled wonderful. “Maybe I’ll just have one now,” Benny said to himself. He quickly counted to check how many there were. “Eight cookies, just like Mrs. McGregor said.” That was good. That meant he could eat one now and still have another one that night. He picked up one of the cookies and took a bite. Delicious.

“Benny, are you coming?” Violet called from the yard.

Benny quickly stuffed the rest of the cookie into his mouth, brushing the powdered sugar from his hands. As he came out of the boxcar, his brother and sisters started laughing.

“What?” Benny asked.

“You didn’t by any chance try one of the cookies, did you?” Jessie asked, her eyebrows7 raised.

“Er … maybe … ” Benny said. “Why?”

“Your mustache gives you away,” Jessie said, giggling8. Benny smiled and wiped the white powder off his face.

The Aldens played soccer until Mrs. McGregor called them in for lemonade. Afterward9, Henry and Jessie went to the family room for a game of checkers.

“I’m going to sit on the porch and read my book,” Violet said. She had started a ghost story the day before and was eager to get back to it.

“I’ll go get my book, too,” Benny said.

“Great,” said Violet. “I’ll read you some.”

Benny ran to the boxcar, where he’d left his book, thinking someone might read him another chapter at bedtime. When he stepped inside, he looked longingly10 at the tin of cookies on the table.

“No,” he told himself. “I already had one. I’ll have another one tonight.” But then Benny noticed something strange — white powder and crumbs11 on the table around the tin. “I didn’t make that much of a mess, did I?” he wondered aloud. Stepping closer, Benny noticed that the lid of the tin wasn’t tightly shut. Benny lifted the lid and looked inside.

“Huh!” he said. There were only six cookies in the tin. Mrs. McGregor had put in eight, and he’d eaten one. That meant there should be seven cookies left.

“Hey, they made fun of me for eating a cookie, and now one of them had one!” Benny said. He ran back to the house. “Jessie, Henry?” he called, heading into the family room. “Did you have a cookie?”

“No,” said Jessie.

“I’m too stuffed from lunch,” said Henry.

Benny went out to the porch. “Violet, did you have a cookie?”

Violet shook her head.

“Are you sure?” Benny asked.

Violet smiled. “Don’t you think I’d remember if I’d eaten one?”

“Yes,” Benny said. “But … ” He frowned. “Will you come take a look at something?”

Benny led Violet back to the boxcar and showed her the tin. “Mrs. McGregor told me we could each have two cookies. That would make eight, right?”

“Yes,” said Violet.

“I ate one before,” said Benny. “Which means there should be seven left. But there are only six cookies now.”

Violet looked inside the tin and quickly counted. “You’re right.”

“If you and Jessie and Henry didn’t have any,” Benny said, “who ate the missing cookie?”

Violet narrowed her eyes and smiled at her little brother. “Are you sure you didn’t have another?”

“No!” Benny said. “They’ve just been sitting here in the boxcar.”

“Maybe Watch took one,” said Violet. “Or some other animal, like Mrs. McGregor said this morning.”

“Would an animal take out one cookie and leave the tin here, with the lid on?” asked Benny.

“That does seem unlikely,” said Violet.

Benny bit his lip. “You don’t think it was the ghost, do you?”

“Oh, Benny, not the ghost again. No, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation,” said Violet.

Just then Watch appeared in the doorway12 of the boxcar with his wet, shredded13 tennis ball in his mouth.

“Hey, boy, you want to play?” Benny asked, plucking the ball from Watch’s mouth. He threw the ball out into the yard, and Watch chased after it. Laughing, Benny followed him.

Violet looked at the cookies and shrugged14 her shoulders. Then she curled up on a chair and opened her book to read.

She hadn’t been sitting there long when she heard a strange scuffling sound.

Violet looked around, but seeing nothing unusual, she went back to her book.

A moment later the sound came again. Violet looked up quickly, scanning the boxcar. It sounded like the noise had come from inside, but Violet couldn’t figure out what would have made the sound. She was alone with just the table, chairs, stack of games, and all the usual things. And in the corner, the pile of bedding for that night. Was she imagining things?

Violet began reading again, but she found it hard to concentrate. She felt a prickly feeling at the back of her neck, as if someone was watching her.

Suddenly, Violet jerked around, almost certain there was someone behind her.

But the boxcar was empty.

This is silly, Violet thought. Benny’s talk of ghosts and this creepy book have got me spooked.

Just then Watch appeared in the doorway, panting and wagging his tail.

Relief flooded over Violet. “Hey, boy!” she said. Watch ran over and she rubbed his head and back. “Are you done playing ball with Benny?”

Then Violet had a thought. “Was that you before, scratching around the outside of the boxcar?” Of course Watch couldn’t answer her. He just looked up at her and wagged his tail as she scratched his ears. “That must be what I heard,” Violet told herself. But she wasn’t completely convinced. Nervously15, she took one more look around the boxcar before walking out with Watch.

Stepping out into the bright sunshine, Violet felt silly for having been scared. She raced Watch to the house and got him a dog biscuit from the kitchen.

Leaving him to munch16 it happily, Violet went to find the others. Jessie and Henry had just finished their checkers game and Benny was about to play the winner.

“I beat Henry,” Jessie said.

“But you won’t beat me,” said Benny, grinning.

“How’s the book?” Henry asked.

“It’s okay,” said Violet. “Um, Benny, when did you come in from playing with Watch?”

“A little while ago,’ Benny said as he set up his pieces.

“Did you see him scratching around the boxcar at all?” Violet asked.

“No,” said Benny. “Why?”

“Oh, I don’t know … ” Violet said. She felt silly mentioning how spooked she’d felt.

“What’s up?” Henry asked.

“Well, it’s just that when I was alone in the boxcar, reading, I heard some weird17 noises,” said Violet. “I thought it might have been Watch.”

The other three looked back at the board.

“But I had the strangest feeling … ” Violet went on.

“What kind of feeling?” Henry asked.

“Well, like someone was watching me,” said Violet.

“Really? Inside the boxcar?” said Benny. “And remember there was that missing cookie!” He quickly told Henry and Jessie about the cookie.

“Let’s go out and look around,” said Jessie. “Maybe some sort of animal was in there or right outside. Maybe it left some pawprints or scratches.”

Leaving their checkers game, the Aldens went back outside. The boxcar looked the way it always did. Benny showed Henry and Jessie the cookie tin. Violet showed them where she’d been sitting when she heard the noises.

“Let’s do a thorough search,” Jessie suggested.

“Okay,” said the others. Following Jessie’s lead, they got down on their hands and knees and searched the floor and walls for any animal scratches or muddy pawprints. They looked under the table, behind the chairs, near the stack of games, and under the big pile of sleeping bags, clothes, and stuffed animals in the corner. There was nothing.

Jessie stopped searching and looked around at the others. “We thought Amelia or Professor Murray could have been poking18 around in the boxcar last night,” she said. “But I don’t think either of them would steal a cookie, do you?”

“That doesn’t seem likely,” Henry agreed. He stared at the wall, deep in thought. Suddenly he noticed something.

Henry looked from one corner of the boxcar to the corner opposite. “That’s weird,” he said.

“What’s weird?” asked Jessie.

Henry looked back and forth19 again. “I can’t believe we never noticed this before.”

“Noticed what?” asked Benny, bursting with curiosity.

“See how, down in this corner, there’s a diagonal wall?” Henry pointed2 to the corner where the pile of sleeping bags was. “But that corner doesn’t have it.” Henry pointed to the opposite corner. “It’s almost as if extra boards were added in this corner.” Henry tapped the wall and raised his eyebrows. “It’s hollow!”

“I don’t get it,” said Benny.

“There’s a space between these boards and the wall. A hollow space,” Henry explained.

“You think someone just added a secret compartment20 to the boxcar?” Jessie said.

“No,” Henry said. “If the boards had just been added, they would look fresh and new. But these boards are faded to the same color as the rest of the boxcar walls. That means they must have been nailed into place a long time ago.”

“Why?” asked Violet.

“I’m not sure,” said Henry. “Maybe this space was once used to store something.”

“But there’s no handle or doorknob,” Jessie pointed out. “No way to get in there easily.”

“That’s just what I was thinking,” said Henry, staring at the corner.

“Why would someone want a compartment that you can’t get into?” asked Benny.

“Good question,” said Jessie. She looked puzzled.

Henry spoke21 up. “It would be the perfect place … to hide something.”
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
2 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
3 housekeeper 6q2zxl     
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家
参考例句:
  • A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
  • She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家,一家人吃得很省。
4 pajamas XmvzDN     
n.睡衣裤
参考例句:
  • At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时,我脱去衣服,换上睡衣。
  • He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。
5 slippers oiPzHV     
n. 拖鞋
参考例句:
  • a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
  • He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋,倒在床上。
6 peeked c7b2fdc08abef3a4f4992d9023ed9bb8     
v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 );偷看;窥视;微露出
参考例句:
  • She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句
7 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
8 giggling 2712674ae81ec7e853724ef7e8c53df1     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑,叫我真受不了,那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
9 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
10 longingly 2015a05d76baba3c9d884d5f144fac69     
adv. 渴望地 热望地
参考例句:
  • He looked longingly at the food on the table. 他眼巴巴地盯着桌上的食物。
  • Over drinks,he speaks longingly of his trip to Latin America. 他带着留恋的心情,一边喝酒一边叙述他的拉丁美洲之行。
11 crumbs crumbs     
int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式
参考例句:
  • She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
  • Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊,天哪!都这会儿啦?
12 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
13 shredded d51bccc81979c227d80aa796078813ac     
shred的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶,再把鱼放上,就可以上桌了。
  • I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地,不安地
参考例句:
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇,努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。
16 munch E1yyI     
v.用力嚼,大声咀嚼
参考例句:
  • We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。
  • Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。
17 weird bghw8     
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的
参考例句:
  • From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来,他好像有点怪。
  • His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
18 poking poking     
n. 刺,戳,袋 vt. 拨开,刺,戳 vi. 戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢
参考例句:
  • He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
  • He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。
19 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
20 compartment dOFz6     
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间
参考例句:
  • We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴,整个客车隔间由我们独享。
  • The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。
21 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
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