英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

儿童英语读物 The Deserted Library Mystery CHAPTER 10 The Last Missing Piece

时间:2017-07-06 01:38来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

When dawn broke, Henry awakened1 and jumped out of bed. Quietly he went into the kitchen. Jessie joined him. Then Violet and Miguel came in.

And last, Benny slowly shuffled2 toward them. He gave a wide yawn and rubbed his half-closed eyes. “Is it time to get up?” he asked sleepily.

“No,” Henry said. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Neither could I,” Jessie said.

“Me neither,” Violet echoed.

“I woke up lots of times,” Miguel said.

“I didn’t sleep very good either!” Benny said.

In the half light Henry moved toward the fireplace. Suddenly he halted, unable to go another step.

Jessie, who was beside him, stopped also. “The chair!” she exclaimed. “It’s ripped to shreds3.”

“So it wasn’t my imagination after all,” Violet said in a husky voice, a hand flying to her flushed cheek. “To think the intruder was in the house while we were sleeping!” She shivered, hating to think how near a stranger had been.

“Well,” Henry said, trying to laugh, “it looks like Pete has one ruined chair.”

“I’ll say,” Benny said in a low tone. “The chair is all stuffing and springs.”

They stared at the damage, not quite knowing how to handle this.

Jessie was the first to stir. She forced a cheerful smile. “There’s not much we can do about the damage.” She hesitated, then continued, “Besides, that old chair was so caved in that you almost sank to the floor.”

“Oh, Pete won’t care. It’s just the thought of someone . . .” Henry didn’t finish.

“Someone being so close,” Miguel finished.

“Right,” Violet said. Her face was pale. “Shall we go for help?”

Jessie, attempting to keep her smile, said, “If word gets out there’s a prowler, we won’t be able to finish.”

Henry nodded. “We’ll be very careful. We have to keep our eyes open every minute, and we have to stay together.”

“Will he come back tonight?” Benny asked in a small frightened voice, his eyes fastened on Henry’s face.

They all shifted their feet uneasily, but Henry was positive. “Absolutely not! We only have one more night here, and we’ll take turns standing4 guard. We’ll work in the library today and if we don’t find the missing sword, then I guess it will never be found!”

Jessie leaned down, looking at Benny. “You must eat some breakfast, Benny.” Benny shook his head.

“I can’t believe you’re not hungry,” Miguel said with concern in his dark eyes. “You must eat so you can help at the library.”

“I’m tired of working in the library.”

“Then you can be our lookout5 today,” Henry said. “You won’t have to lift books anymore.”

“Really?” he said, slowly weakening.

“Yes,” Jessie said.

Benny stared at Jessie with his big brown eyes. “Can we have pancakes?” He smiled impishly.

Violet laughed. “That’s just the breakfast I was thinking of,” she said.

“Then, I guess I’m hungry, after all,” Benny said, going into the kitchen.

They all pitched in, making the morning meal. Henry set the table, Jessie made the pancakes, Violet poured the milk, and Miguel set the syrup6 and butter on the table. Benny folded napkins and set one at each place, but every once in a while he stopped and glanced at the ruined chair.

Everyone ate a hearty7 breakfast, trying to forget the intruder who had been in their house.

They decided8 to bike to the library and on the way Henry began to sing, and soon everyone joined in. In the bright sunlight, the stranger didn’t seem so ominous9. Besides, it was their last day, and tonight the lookout would warn them if anyone approached the little house.

When they reached the library, Henry paused before opening the door. What if it was a mess again? He shook his head to get rid of the awful picture of yesterday’s chaos10, and flung open the door.

All was as they had left it yesterday. Everyone crowded behind Henry, peeking11 over his shoulder.

“It’s all right,” he laughed. “You can come in.”

Row after row of books lined the shelves. Boxes of books, tied with string and labeled, hadn’t been opened.

“Wow,” Benny exclaimed. He beamed his approval.

“Doesn’t everything look grand?” Henry said, surveying the room with his hands on his hips12.

Jessie stood beside him. “All our hard work has paid off.”

“Wait until Grandfather sees how lovely the library looks,” Violet said with a sweet smile.

“What’s the matter, Miguel?” Henry motioned the boy forward. “You helped in this, too, you know.”

“It’s the nicest library I’ve ever seen,” Miguel said, but he still hung back.

Jessie and Violet exchanged glances. They knew why he wasn’t in a happy mood. The wind had died down, and now Miguel would have to face the two fishermen who would soon be brought to shore. Miguel might be the happiest boy in the world or the most heartbroken. Jessie took Miguel’s hand, pulling him into the group.

“We only have the upstairs and we’ll be finished,” Henry said briskly, attempting to distract Miguel so he wouldn’t think too much.

“There aren’t many books upstairs,” Jessie said lightly, already mounting the steps.

“Now, Benny,” Henry said gravely. “You stay downstairs and be our guard. If anyone approaches, you yell a warning.”

“Okay,” Benny said, feeling important. He climbed atop the circulation desk. “I’ll sit right here and look out the window,” he said, swinging his legs.

“Good boy,” Henry said. “We don’t need to worry with you as our lookout.”

“You bet you don’t!” Benny grinned, glad not to have to handle any more books. Being a guard was much easier.

Violet patted Benny’s knee. “We shouldn’t be too long.”

“That’s okay,” Benny answered, resting his chin in his hand and staring intently out the window.

Henry, Violet, and Miguel went upstairs where Jessie was already straightening books.

After two hours of hard work, their job was almost ended.

Suddenly they heard a thud. Then another.

“What was that?” Violet asked in a shaky voice.

Henry laughed. “Did you see the rubber ball sticking out of Benny’s back pocket?”

“Oh, is that it?” Violet said in relief, listening to the steady bounce of the ball.

All at once the noise stopped.

They all listened.

Benny shouted, “Hurry, hurry! See what I’ve found.”

They rushed downstairs.

Benny, bending over a hole in the floor, pulled and tugged13 at something below the floorboards.

“What is it, Benny?” Jessie questioned, her brown eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“I was playing with the ball, and it rolled into the hole,” Benny panted. His face was beet-red, and he grunted14 with huge effort. He gave one final pull and lifted out a rusty15 black object.

“What in the world did you find?” Violet asked.

“It looks like the point of the sword,” Miguel said.

Jessie eagerly seized the metal from Benny. “It is!” she cried triumphantly16. “It’s the missing sword piece! Now our Civil War sword is complete!”

Henry said slowly, “I hope we can get it home without the stranger finding out.”

Just then the back door slammed.

Benny jumped.

Everyone’s eyes darted17 from one to the other.

“Is it the prowler?” Jessie whispered.

“Nonsense!” Henry said with a snort. He ran to the back door and quickly returned. “Not a soul in sight. It was only the wind,” he said heartily18. But there was doubt written all over his face.

The others were doubtful, too.

“How come the backdoor wasn’t locked?” Violet asked.

Benny looked sheepish. “I opened it before to look outside.”

Henry sighed. “Remember I said we have to be careful . . . very careful.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 awakened de71059d0b3cd8a1de21151c9166f9f0     
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到
参考例句:
  • She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
  • The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 shuffled cee46c30b0d1f2d0c136c830230fe75a     
v.洗(纸牌)( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 );拖着脚步走;粗心地做;摆脱尘世的烦恼
参考例句:
  • He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
  • Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 shreds 0288daa27f5fcbe882c0eaedf23db832     
v.撕碎,切碎( shred的第三人称单数 );用撕毁机撕毁(文件)
参考例句:
  • Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮,切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
4 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
5 lookout w0sxT     
n.注意,前途,瞭望台
参考例句:
  • You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
  • It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来,公司的前景可就不妙了。
6 syrup hguzup     
n.糖浆,糖水
参考例句:
  • I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
  • Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。
7 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
8 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
9 ominous Xv6y5     
adj.不祥的,不吉的,预兆的,预示的
参考例句:
  • Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
  • There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。
10 chaos 7bZyz     
n.混乱,无秩序
参考例句:
  • After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后,城市一片混乱。
  • The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
11 peeking 055254fc0b0cbadaccd5778d3ae12b50     
v.很快地看( peek的现在分词 );偷看;窥视;微露出
参考例句:
  • I couldn't resist peeking in the drawer. 我不由得偷看了一下抽屉里面。
  • They caught him peeking in through the keyhole. 他们发现他从钥匙孔里向里窥视。 来自辞典例句
12 hips f8c80f9a170ee6ab52ed1e87054f32d4     
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯,耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 );[建筑学]屋脊;臀围(尺寸);臀部…的
参考例句:
  • She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
  • They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 tugged 8a37eb349f3c6615c56706726966d38e     
v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
  • A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 grunted f18a3a8ced1d857427f2252db2abbeaf     
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说
参考例句:
  • She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声,继续看书,不屑抬起头来看一眼。
  • She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
15 rusty hYlxq     
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的
参考例句:
  • The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
  • I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用,我的法语又荒疏了。
16 triumphantly 9fhzuv     
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地
参考例句:
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
17 darted d83f9716cd75da6af48046d29f4dd248     
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔
参考例句:
  • The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了,瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴