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儿童英语读物 The Amazing Mystery Show CHAPTER 4 Cats at Play

时间:2017-12-15 05:44来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

When the Aldens finally arrived at the Betsy Ross House, Andy said, “There’s no filming allowed inside the house, kids. I’ll wait in the courtyard.”

Henry gave him the thumbs-up sign. “We’ll meet you out there.”

As the four children stepped inside the house, they breathed in the musty smell of the past. The narrow little house was filled with tourists, so they had to thread their way through the crowds as they went from room to room.

“It’s kind of like walking through a haunted house,” Benny said as they climbed the winding1 staircase.

“Don’t worry, Benny,” said Violet, who was a step above him. “Ghosts don’t exist.”

They looked for cats in the shadowy kitchen where herbs hung from the ceiling, and in the storage room piled high with boxes of fabrics2. They looked for cats in the small parlor4 where portraits covered the walls, and in Betsy’s bedroom with its four-poster bed. They even looked for cats in the workroom filled with the tools of Betsy’s trade—thimbles, spools5 of thread, and fabric3.

When the Aldens stepped out into the courtyard, Andy called out to them, “Any luck?” He was sitting at a small table in the shade of a tree.

“Zilch,” Henry said as they pulled up a chair. “No sign of cats anywhere.”

“It doesn’t make sense.” Jessie was shaking her head. “I was so sure we were on the right track this time.”

“Speaking of time.” Henry glanced at his watch. “It’s running out fast.”

“I’ve drawn6 a blank,” said Jessie.

Just then, Benny caught his breath.

“What is it?” Jessie asked in alarm.

Benny’s eyes were huge. They all looked over in the direction he was staring.

“Is that what I think it is?” Violet asked in disbelief.

Henry nodded his head. “Cats!”

Sure enough, a fountain in the middle of the courtyard was decorated with bronze cats!

As Andy started filming again, Jessie gave her little brother a hug. “What would we do without you, Benny?”

“I’m a pretty good detective, aren’t I?” Benny beamed.

“They look so real,” Violet said, as they hurried over to the fountain. She rubbed a hand over one of the bronze cats. “This one’s dipping his paw into the water.”

Jessie laughed a little. “This one’s scratching his back against the fountain.”

At that very moment, something caught Henry’s eye. The others watched in amazement7 as their older brother stuck his arm deep into the water. When he pulled it out again, he was holding something in the palm of his hand. As he slowly uncurled his fingers, Jessie, Violet, and Benny gasped8.

Henry was holding a gold coin!

“We won the first round!” Benny said for about the umpteenth9 time.

“We still have two more rounds to go,” Henry reminded him. “Don’t get too excited yet.” The four children had gone for a swim later that evening. Now they were sitting on the edge of the pool, dangling10 their feet in the water.

“I can’t believe somebody tampered11 with our map!” Violet couldn’t stop thinking about it. “Who would do such a thing?”

Benny had an answer. “Fiona.”

Jessie looked at her little brother. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because she wants to go to Hawaii,” Benny answered. “It’s her dream.”

“That’s true,” said Violet. “And she won’t get there unless the Best kids become five-time champions.”

Jessie nodded. “Fiona didn’t look happy when we showed her the gold coin.”

“She said it was just beginner’s luck,” Benny added.

“Fiona does have a motive,” Henry said after as moment’s thought. “But what about opportunity? I’m not sure she had a chance to tamper12 with the map.”

“You’re forgetting something, Henry,” Jessie reminded him. “They got to the lobby before we did this morning.”

“That’s true,” Henry said, backing down a little. “She could’ve switched the landmarks13 on the map while the twins were browsing14 in the gift shop.”

Violet remembered something else. “Fiona made a point of handing out the maps,” she said. “Maybe she wanted to make sure we got the mixed-up one.”

“It’s a pretty strong case against Fiona,” Henry admitted. “But she isn’t the only suspect.”

The other Aldens looked over at him, puzzled.

“I think we should include Andy on our list.”

“Oh, Henry!” cried Violet. “You don’t really suspect Andy, do you?”

“I don’t want to think he would do something like that, Violet,” Henry said. “But we have to consider everybody.”

“And we heard him on the phone,” Benny said, lowering his voice.

“What are you talking about, Benny?” Violet wanted to know.

“I’m talking about when we were at the zoo.”

Henry nodded. “He said something about making the switch.”

Jessie didn’t like the sound of this. Neither did Violet.

“Are you positive?” Jessie asked. She wanted to be sure.

Benny gave the water a splash with his feet. “We heard it with our own ears.”

“Now that you mention it,” Jessie said after a moment’s thought, “Andy suddenly stopped filming when we were peeling the stickers off the map. Did you notice?”

Henry had thought nothing of it. Neither had Violet and Benny. But now they wondered about it, too.

“I bet he didn’t want anyone to find out he’d tricked us,” guessed Benny.

They had to admit it was possible. After all, the ratings had shot up since the Best kids had taken the nation by storm. And wouldn’t the show be cancelled if the ratings went down? Andy would lose his job if that happened.

“You know,” said Jessie, “there’s somebody else we should consider.”

“Who’s that, Jessie?” Violet asked.

“Hilary.”

“Hilary!” The others were so surprised, all they could do was stare at Jessie with their mouths open.

“But, Jessie,” said Violet, “Hilary seems so nice.”

“We all like her, Violet,” said Jessie. “But she’ll lose her job if the ratings go down.”

“And she likes traveling to different cities,” Benny recalled.

Violet didn’t look convinced. “That’s not much to go on.”

“There’s something else,” said Jessie. “I overheard Hilary talking on the phone, too. She said she didn’t like sneaking15 around, but she didn’t have any choice.”

“That does sound fishy,” Henry admitted. “I think we should keep a close eye on all of them for now—Fiona, Andy, and Hilary.”

The other Aldens were quick to agree. There was definitely something funny going on!


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 winding Ue7z09     
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
参考例句:
  • A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
  • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
2 fabrics 678996eb9c1fa810d3b0cecef6c792b4     
织物( fabric的名词复数 ); 布; 构造; (建筑物的)结构(如墙、地面、屋顶):质地
参考例句:
  • cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
  • The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。
3 fabric 3hezG     
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织
参考例句:
  • The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
  • I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。
4 parlor v4MzU     
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅
参考例句:
  • She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
  • Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店?
5 spools 18804a56ac4c1a01100511d70fe46ac2     
n.(绕线、铁线、照相软片等的)管( spool的名词复数 );络纱;纺纱机;绕圈轴工人v.把…绕到线轴上(或从线轴上绕下来)( spool的第三人称单数 );假脱机(输出或输入)
参考例句:
  • I bought three spools of thread at the store. 我在这个店里买了三轴线。 来自辞典例句
  • How many spools of thread did you use? 你用了几轴线? 来自辞典例句
6 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
7 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
8 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 umpteenth 70fd13bbfce639c2edadd2d575ff3efc     
adj.第无数次(个)的
参考例句:
  • W; `Qmp`tinW/ pron, det: For the umpteenth time, I tell you I don't know! 我告诉你多少次了,我不知道! 来自辞典例句
  • Vera: That's the umpteenth suggestion I've made which you've turned down. 薇拉:这不知是我提出的第几个建议了,你全部不接受。 来自互联网
10 dangling 4930128e58930768b1c1c75026ebc649     
悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 ); 摆动不定; 用某事物诱惑…; 吊胃口
参考例句:
  • The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果,那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
  • The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上,摇晃着他们的双腿。
11 tampered 07b218b924120d49a725c36b06556000     
v.窜改( tamper的过去式 );篡改;(用不正当手段)影响;瞎摆弄
参考例句:
  • The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句
  • The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句
12 tamper 7g3zom     
v.干预,玩弄,贿赂,窜改,削弱,损害
参考例句:
  • Do not tamper with other's business.不要干预别人的事。
  • They had strict orders not to tamper with the customs of the minorities.他们得到命令严禁干涉少数民族的风俗习惯。
13 landmarks 746a744ae0fc201cc2f97ab777d21b8c     
n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 );目标;(标志重要阶段的)里程碑 ~ (in sth);有历史意义的建筑物(或遗址)
参考例句:
  • The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句
14 browsing 509387f2f01ecf46843ec18c927f7822     
v.吃草( browse的现在分词 );随意翻阅;(在商店里)随便看看;(在计算机上)浏览信息
参考例句:
  • He sits browsing over[through] a book. 他坐着翻阅书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Cattle is browsing in the field. 牛正在田里吃草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 sneaking iibzMu     
a.秘密的,不公开的
参考例句:
  • She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
  • She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走,躲开采访者。
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