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儿童英语读物 Tree House Mystery CHAPTER 4 Finding Uncle Max

时间:2017-06-22 03:23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)

Jeffrey and Sammy Beach were running around their yard early the next morning when the Aldens were eating breakfast.

“Good luck to all of you,” Mr. Alden said as he started for his car. “I hope the boys can go with you on your bicycle trip.”

“Well, they act happy,” said Benny. “I bet1 they can go.”

When the boys saw the Aldens coming, they were too excited to take turns speaking. “Yes, we can go on our bikes!” Jeffrey shouted. “Mom said so. We were so surprised! And we don’t even have to get back for lunch. We can buy lunch at Uncle Max’s restaurant.”

“We each have a dollar,” said Sammy.

“Good,” said Jessie. “We’ll go back for our bikes.”

The Aldens went home to get their bikes and to tell Mrs. McGregor that they would not be home for lunch.

“We’ll eat lunch at that little diner just off the Shore Road,” said Jessie.

Mrs. McGregor nodded. She said, “I’m glad the two boys are going to have a bit of exercise—and get out of that backyard2 for once.”

“Yes,” Jessie agreed. “Mr. and Mrs. Beach don’t think much about what young boys like to do. I have a feeling they just expect Jeffrey and Sam to be as little trouble as possible.”

“They don’t want to be bothered,” agreed Mrs. McGregor. “That’s easy to see.”

Soon six bicycles were wheeled out to the street. Benny stayed close to Sammy and began to talk to him. “Sammy,” he said, “tell me why you want that spyglass so much.”

“Every tree house ought to have a spyglass,” Sammy answered him. “You have to watch out for the enemy. And you want to see anything moving in the woods.”

“Yes, but most people build their house first and then get a telescope3,” said Benny. “Now you boys wanted one before we even started the tree house. Why?”

“Well, you see we knew Uncle Max and Dad had one once,” Sammy told him, “and we might as well find it.”

Benny thought this over. He knew it was no reason at all. But now the others were pedaling5 down the street on their way to the Shore Road. Benny and Sammy followed.

It was very pleasant riding along the country road. There were no hills, and the road was smooth. It was not too hot, and there was a salt breeze6 blowing off the ocean. The six riders7 kept together very well. Sometimes one was ahead and sometimes another.

After they had been riding for about an hour, Benny was ahead. Suddenly he turned in a half-circle and came back to the rest. He said, “I will not go another pedal4 without something to eat.”

Violet8 laughed and said, “I’m glad you said that, Benny. I’m hungry, too.”

Jeffrey said, “Well, anyway I’m tired. Aren’t we near Uncle Max’s place yet?”

“Yes, we are,” replied Henry. “I have driven past it in the car, but never stopped to eat there. It’s right around this bend.”

Benny said, “Well, I can wait that long.” And they rode along to the bend in the road.

“Here it is, Jeffrey,” said Henry. “BEACH’S PLACE.” He pointed9 to an old sign. It was broken and hard to read.

The four boys and two girls parked their bikes by the steps.

“Sammy and I never saw this place before,” said Jeffrey. “Uncle Max must be an old guy. He’s much older than my dad. I hope he will know who we are.”

“Don’t worry,” said Benny. “Just tell him. He’ll believe you. And if he doesn’t, we’ll tell him.”

They went in. The room was rather dark and it was empty, but there was a fine smell of hamburger cooking.

Then a man came out of the back room of the restaurant. He was not an old guy at all. He was lively and strong, never still a minute. He had curly10 gray hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled at his customers and said, “Do you want sandwiches or hot dogs or hamburgers?”

Nobody answered, but Sammy stepped up to the counter11 and looked up at the man.

“Are you Uncle Max?” he asked. “I’m Sammy.”

“Bless my soul!” said Max Beach. “Are you really? The last time I saw you, I held you in my arms. You were a tiny baby. Where is your brother?”

“Right here,” Jeffrey said. “Then we both have been in this very room?”

“Yes, you have, Jeffrey. But you were too small to remember it. And how is your father? And your mother?”

“They’re very busy,” answered Sammy. “But Dad says he is coming to see you soon.”

“I hope so,” Mr. Beach replied. “I know he is an important scientist now. He won’t have much time for me, I’m afraid.”

“Well, don’t worry,” said Sammy. “He doesn’t have much time for us either. These are our new neighbors, the Aldens. They take lots of time with us.”

The Aldens smiled at Mr. Beach.

Benny said, “These boys are worth a lot of time. We are all building a tree house.”

“A tree house!” Uncle Max exclaimed12. “Now that’s interesting! Are you building it in the big oak13 tree?”

“That’s right!” said Benny. “How did you guess?”

“Well, I’ll tell you all about it, but you must have something to eat first. You look hungry to me.”

Violet laughed, “Yes, we are. I want a hamburger, a big one!”

“We’d all like hamburgers,” said Jessie. “And milk for everybody.”

“I’ll be back in a jiffy,” said Uncle Max. “Everything is ready. Excuse me for a minute.”

The visitors looked around. The room was quite dark. There was one big table and two smaller ones with chairs. Then there was the counter with stools14. They all sat on the stools.

Soon Mr. Beach came in with a tray15. He put six plates with hamburgers on the counter and poured six glasses of milk. He sat down on the other side of the counter.

Jeffrey said, chewing16, “This isn’t just a hamburger, Uncle Max. This is a whole dinner. French fried17 potatoes, lettuce18, tomatoes, and salad dressing19 and pickles20!”

“Yes, I know,” Uncle Max nodded. “I like to see people eat. And now tell me about the tree house.”

“We began it two days ago, Mr. Beach,” said Henry. “The boys just finished the floor.”

“You call me Uncle Max, too, will you? Now I bet you children came down to see about that old spyglass.”

Everybody laughed because Uncle Max was laughing. “Such a silly thing!” he said. “I suppose your father forgot about it long ago.”

“Oh, no, he didn’t!” said Sammy. “He still says you have it.”

“Well, I haven’t,” said Uncle Max. “I have no idea where it is. And now I guess you want it for your tree house.”

“Well, we’d certainly like it,” said Sammy, drinking his milk. “A tree house always has a spyglass.”

“Well, that is true,” agreed Mr. Beach. “Let me tell you something you don’t seem to know. Your father and I had a tree house in that very tree.”

“You did?” exclaimed Benny. “Nobody told us that.”

“No, my dad never told us,” said Jeffrey. “I don’t know why. I guess he was too busy. He’s always working.”

“We didn’t have it very long because we moved away,” Uncle Max went on. “But it was a pretty fine tree house. And that’s where we used the spyglass. We were very careful of it because it was a good one. It was in a heavy leather case. We always put it back in the case.”

“Did you and Mr. Beach do all the work on the tree house yourselves?” asked Benny.

“Well, almost. We had trouble with the roof. We weren’t tall enough, so a man helped us a couple of times. He was visiting the people who lived in your house then.”

“Maybe that man took the telescope,” said Jeffrey.

“Oh, no! He wouldn’t steal a penny21, I’m sure of that. He wasn’t there very long, anyway. He came and went in a month, and we never saw him again.”

Henry looked at Uncle Max and asked, “Did you miss the spyglass just after he helped you?”

Uncle Max did not want to answer this. But he said, “Well, I must say yes. We missed it the very day he went away. But he didn’t steal it. I’m absolutely sure! He had a telescope of his own, anyway.”

Violet said, “I don’t think Henry meant that the man stole it. But he may have put it somewhere.”

“Maybe,” said Uncle Max. “We never found it, anyway. The man made a hole in the roof so we could lie down in the tree house at night and look at the stars.”

“What a dandy idea!” exclaimed Sammy. “We’re going to do that, too, aren’t we, Benny?”

“Yes, sir,” said Benny. “We’ll have a hole in the roof even if we don’t have a spyglass!”

Jeffrey was thinking. He looked at his uncle and said, “The spyglass was one reason you didn’t get along with my dad?”

“Yes, part of the reason. I didn’t like school very much, but your dad always did well. There was a war then, and I wanted to be in the army. Your dad went to college. We didn’t see each other for many years. When the war was over, I traveled around for a while. Then I came back here and bought this diner. Your father and mother came to see me once. Sammy was a baby, and Jeffrey was too little to remember.”

“That must have been when we were living in New York,” Jeffrey said. “But New York is so noisy and busy that Mom doesn’t like it any more. She didn’t like to walk to the library, and she didn’t like to drive.”

“And Dad found the old house in Greenfield was empty—so we moved,” said Sammy.

“I’m glad you did,” said Uncle Max. Then he looked from Jeffrey to Sammy. “I used to think it was kind of a spooky old house. It sounds funny, but I always felt better in our tree house than anywhere else. You boys feel that way?”

“No,” Jeffrey said. “Of course we haven’t any tree house yet. We haven’t had much chance to explore the house. Mostly we stay outside.”

“I used to hear a queer22 rocking sound,” Uncle Max said, more to himself than to the boys. “People used to tell stories about families who had lived in the house a long time ago. They were always sad stories. But things must be different today. And now, how about some apple pie for dessert?”

“Yes,” said Henry. “We always take apple pie when we can. We want to see if it is as good as Jessie’s. She made one once with a glass bottle for a rolling pin.”

Uncle Max laughed and went out to get dessert. He soon came back. They were all eating the delicious pie when Sammy said, “All this fuss23 about a spyglass!”

“Well, it wasn’t just the spyglass,” said Uncle Max. “Your father was smart and he’s really a great man. I am not smart like that, and I’ve never made much money. This diner isn’t doing very well. You can see there aren’t any other customers.”

“Yes, we noticed that,” said Jessie. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” said Uncle Max. “I wish my brother and I could be friends, but if he is too busy, that’s that.”

“We’ll tell him what a good lunch we had,” said Jeffrey. Both Beach boys took out their money.

“No sir!” cried Uncle Max. “You’re invited to lunch. I won’t take a cent from any of you. It was a pleasure to talk to you.”

Even Henry could not make Uncle Max change his mind, so they thanked him again and rode away.

“We’ll be back soon,” they all called.

“Now isn’t that the funniest thing!” said Benny. “Nobody has the spyglass. It must really be lost.”

“We can use our old field glasses to look at the birds,” said Jessie. “But a telescope would be better.”

“We’ll make do,” said Benny. “And we still have a little time to work on the tree house this afternoon.”

Benny was right. Before Mr. and Mrs. Beach came home, they finished one whole side of the tree house, leaving a square hole for a window.

“We’re doing fine!” exclaimed Sammy. “The back is done, because that’s the tree, and the front will be open. That leaves only one side to do!”

Henry said, “When we get the roof on, you can live up there.”

Sammy added24, “By that time we’ll have my carpet in.”

Just then they were all surprised. The back door of the house opened, and Mrs. Beach came out.

“Mom! You’re home!” cried the boys.

“Stay right there,” said Mrs. Beach. “Here is your supper. We’ll send it up in the basket. Wait till we say ‘Ready.’”

The Beach boys climbed into the tree house and let down the basket. The Aldens went to meet Mrs. Beach, and Henry took the heavy tray.

Mrs. Beach said, “Benny, you eat with them the first time. They will enjoy it more.”

Benny said, “So will I. It looks delicious, Mrs. Beach.”

First the boys pulled up fried chicken, raw carrots, and paper plates in the basket. Then they let it down, and Benny put in rolls, cookies, and a bowl of chocolate pudding. The third time they pulled up a carton of milk and three plastic cups. Then Benny went up to join the supper party.

Jessie said, “We’ll leave them alone, Mrs. Beach. They will have a better time with no girls.”

“You have been good to my boys,” said Mrs. Beach. “Sometime we will have a talk. My husband and I are very grateful25 to you.”

Jessie was just going to tell Mrs. Beach about their trip to see Uncle Max. But she stopped in time. The boys surely26 ought to tell their parents about Uncle Max and the lost telescope.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 bet ddZy8     
v.打赌,以(与)...打赌;n.赌注,赌金;打赌
参考例句:
  • I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说,你解决不了这个难题。
  • I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。
2 backyard hymz8B     
n.后院,后庭
参考例句:
  • I parked the car in the backyard.我把汽车停在后院。
  • The residents didn't want a new factory in their backyard.居民不希望在他们住地附近建新工厂。
3 telescope Fp0wp     
n.望远镜
参考例句:
  • I looked through a telescope.我用望远镜看东西。
  • Many stars are invisible without a telescope.许多星辰不用望远镜便看不见。
4 pedal iuNyz     
n.踏板;adj.脚的,踏脚的;v.用脚踏动,踩踏板
参考例句:
  • He pressed down the accelerator pedal of his car.他踩下汽车的加速器踏板。
  • I saw him pedal to school every morning.我看到他每天早晨骑自行车上学。
5 pedaling dcb5fb4578bb0a3a4f10a68c10779ae6     
vt.& vi.踩自行车的踏板(pedal的现在分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The back pedaling brake of the bike is out of order. 这辆自行车的倒轮闸失灵了。 来自互联网
  • Suspension system effectively reduces reacting force of pedaling. 避震系统可以有效的减缓踩踏时的反作用力。 来自互联网
6 breeze 7sRzv     
n.微风;轻而易举的事;vi.来去匆匆,急速走
参考例句:
  • A little breeze is blowing in from the window.微风从窗户里吹进来。
  • The clouds are pale and a light breeze is blowing.云淡风轻。
7 riders bc3cc5db6bc6041e77d37a99c86254b9     
骑(马、自行车等)的人( rider的名词复数 ); 乘客; 附文; 附加条款
参考例句:
  • a group of riders strung out along the beach 沿海滩散开的一队骑手
  • The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
8 violet 8h3wm     
adj.紫色的;n.紫罗兰
参考例句:
  • She likes to wear violet dresses.他喜欢穿紫色的衣服。
  • Violet is the color of wisdom,peace and strength.紫色是智慧的,和平的和力量的颜色。
9 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。
10 curly wybxh     
adj.卷曲的,卷缩的
参考例句:
  • The little boy has curly hair.这小男孩长着一头卷发。
  • She is tall and dark with curly hair.她高高的个子,黑皮肤,卷头发。
11 counter Iznxc     
n.柜台;计数器;adj.相反的;adv.与…相反地;vt.反对,反击;vi.反对,反击
参考例句:
  • This counter is closed now.这个柜台现在已停止营业。
  • Set the counter to zero and you'll know where the recording starts.把计数器拨到零,你就会知道录音从哪儿开始。
12 exclaimed 68e477dcdab3965d2189fb7276ee5041     
vt.exclaim的过去式v.呼喊,惊叫,大声说( exclaim的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • "We have a good chance of winning," he exclaimed optimistically. “我们很可能获胜。”他乐观地喊道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She exclaimed in delight when she saw the presents. 她见到礼品高兴得叫了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 oak YHoxP     
n.栎树,橡树,栎木,橡木
参考例句:
  • The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
  • The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。
14 stools cf4fe235d168a6ac73def455013f9ddc     
n.凳子( stool的名词复数 );大便,粪便
参考例句:
  • If you don't make your choice in time, you are likely to fall between two stools. 如果你不及时作出决定,就会两头落空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • 48 Between two stools one goes to the ground. 48脚踏两条船,迟早要落水。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
15 tray qmDwn     
n.盘,托盘,碟
参考例句:
  • There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
  • A waitress came in,carrying tea on a tray.一名女侍者走进来,手端放着茶的托盘。
16 chewing chewing     
v.咀嚼,咬( chew的现在分词 );(因为紧张等)咬住,不停地啃,(为尝味道)不停地咀嚼
参考例句:
  • She was admonished for chewing gum in class. 她在课堂上嚼口香糖,受到了告诫。
  • cows chewing the cud 在咀嚼反刍食物的牛
17 fried osfz81     
adj.油煎的;油炒的
参考例句:
  • I ate everything fried.所有油炸的我都吃。
  • I prefer fried peanuts.我选择炸花生。
18 lettuce C9GzQ     
n.莴苣;生菜
参考例句:
  • Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿,我好做色拉。
  • The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。
19 dressing 1uOzJG     
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料
参考例句:
  • Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
  • The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
20 pickles fd03204cfdc557b0f0d134773ae6fff5     
n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 );处于困境;遇到麻烦;菜酱
参考例句:
  • Most people eat pickles at breakfast. 大多数人早餐吃腌菜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I want their pickles and wines, and that.' 我要他们的泡菜、美酒和所有其他东西。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
21 penny 0MFxu     
n.(英)便士,美分
参考例句:
  • I will not lent you a penny.我一便士都不愿借给你。
  • Sugar has risen a penny a pound.糖价每磅涨了1便士。
22 queer f0rzP     
adj.奇怪的,异常的,不舒服的,眩晕的
参考例句:
  • I heard some queer footsteps.我听到某种可疑的脚步声。
  • She has been queer lately.她最近身体不舒服。
23 fuss Ifkz4     
n.过分关心,过分体贴,大惊小怪,小题大作
参考例句:
  • My mother makes a fuss of me every time I come home.我每次回家,母亲总对我体贴备至。
  • Stop all this fuss and do your homework.别大惊小怪了,去做你的家庭作业吧。
24 added mzJzm0     
adj.更多的,附加的,额外的
参考例句:
  • They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
  • The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。
25 grateful meZz5     
adj.感谢的,感激的,受欢迎的,表示谢意的
参考例句:
  • If you will help us, we shall be very grateful.如果你愿意帮助我们,我们会很感激你。
  • He closed his letter with expression of grateful thanks.他在那封信的结尾表达了自己的感激之情。
26 surely yrRwj     
adv.确实地,无疑地;必定地,一定地
参考例句:
  • It'should surely be possible for them to reach an agreement.想必他们可以达成协议。
  • Surely we'll profit from your work.我们肯定会从你的工作中得到益处。
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