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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Hidden Painting CHAPTER 4 At the Museum

时间:2017-07-11 07:38来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The next day the Aldens were at the museum at exactly twelve o’clock. The entrance lobby1 was cool and quiet. The highly polished wood floors made their footsteps echo2 throughout the room. Henry pointed3 to an office to their right. They all walked to the door and peered4 in.

“Anyone here?” Henry called out.

A small, gray-haired man came out of a supply closet. In his hands were some pads of paper. He smoothed his mustache and walked toward the Aldens.

“Can I help you?” he asked, smiling. “I’m Carl Mason.”

At first the children were silent, not knowing where to begin. Then Jessie said, “Mrs. Harkins told us the necklace she wore to the hospital dance belonged to the museum.”

“Indeed it does,” Mr. Mason said. “But why are you youngsters5 interested in the necklace?”

“Because we think it belonged to our grandmother,” Benny blurted6 out.

Mr. Mason laughed loudly. “That’s a good joke!”

“Could we see your necklace?” Violet asked.

“No reason not,” Mr. Mason replied. “Follow me.” He led the children to a small room with a display case in the center. In the case was the necklace. It glittered7 under the light.

“Oh,” Violet whispered. “Its so beautiful.” “Oh, yes,” Jessie agreed. She took the newspaper picture and Violet’s drawing out of her pocket and put them on top of the display case.

The Aldens gathered closer and looked at the necklace and the pictures.

Quickly Henry explained about the necklace to Mr. Mason.

“So you think this necklace might be your grandmother’s?”

Mr. Mason asked.

Jessie examined Violet’s drawing again. “It looks like your necklace. Don’t you think so?”

Mr. Mason laughed again. “First of all, there are probably many necklaces that look exactly like these.”

“Oh, no,” Violet said. “Grandfather said his was designed just for our grandmother.”

“Well now, children,” Mr. Mason said, “you know that everyone isn’t always totally honest. This designer might not have kept his word.”

Benny looked upset. “Oh!” he said.

Mr. Mason looked at the Aldens and cleared his throat. “Why don’t you just leave this drawing? When I have more time, I’ll look at it closely.”

Violet frowned. “When do you think that will be?”

“I don’t know,” Mr. Mason said, curtly8. “Come back tomorrow afternoon after three. We’ll talk again if I have time.” Mr. Mason led the Aldens to the front door and made sure they left.

As they walked to their bikes, Benny said, “I don’t think anyone in this town likes us. ”

Violet laughed and put an arm around him. “I like you,” she said.

Jessie sighed and said, “Let’s go back to the pond and cool off.”

“Right,” Henry agreed. “First, we can go to that little market.” He pointed to a store across the street. “We’ll buy things for lunch and take Aunt Jane on a picnic.”

“You’re a smart brother,” Benny said, heading for the store.

In the market, they bought bread and ham and cheese for sandwiches. Benny lifted a container of chocolate milk from a case. Violet picked out fresh fruit while Jessie added cookies to their order.

Aunt Jane was folding laundry in the kitchen when the children came home. “We’re going to take you out to lunch,” Benny told Aunt Jane proudly.

“Right,” Henry said. “We’re going to picnic at the pond.”

“Wonderful,” Aunt Jane said. And then she asked, “What happened at the museum?”

She listened with total attention as the Aldens took turns telling her about their conversation with Mr. Mason.

“We did see the necklace,” Violet said. “It’s so beautiful.”

“I think it could be Grandmother’s,” Jessie said.

As the children made the sandwiches and packed the picnic basket, Aunt Jane thought about their visit to the museum. Finally she said, “It is really very hard to believe that after all these years, the necklace in the museum is the Alden necklace.”

“I think Aunt Jane is probably right,” Henry said. “After all when the robbery took place it must have been reported in the Greenfield newspaper. Elmford isn’t that far away. People here would have read about it.”

Aunt Jane thought for a moment. “As a matter of fact, it wasn’t in the Greenfield paper. The printing press was broken and the paper wasn’t published for a week. I remember your grandfather telling me that.”

“I’m tired of the necklace,” Benny said. “Let’s go to the pond.”

At the pond, Uncle Andy had hung a big, old rubber tire to a tree on a long rope. One by one the Aldens sat in the center of the tire, swung out over the pond, and dropped in. Benny and Henry went in together, since the middle of the pond was over Benny’s head. They all forgot about the necklace as they sailed out over the pond and then fell in.

They didn’t think about it much either, while they ate dinner and listened to Aunt Jane tell funny stories about her growing-up years. When the phone rang in the next room, Aunt Jane said, “Jessie dear, will you answer it?”

Jessie ran in and picked up the receiver. “Hello,” she said.

A woman’s voice asked, “Who is this?”

Jessie said, “I’m Jessie Alden … Jane Bean’s niece. I’m visiting her for a few days.”

“I think you should go home,” the woman said. “I think you and your brothers should just go home. Right away.”

“Who is this?” Jessie asked nervously9.

But all she heard was the phone being hung up.

Slowly Jessie walked back into the kitchen.

“Who was it?” Aunt Jane asked.

“It was a woman who said we should all go home … right away. When I asked who it was, she just hung up.”

Henry said angrily, “Well, she had some nerve.”

“Did you recognize the voice?” Violet asked.

“Was it that Mrs. Harkins, who didn’t like us?” Benny asked.

“It didn’t sound like her at all. But I don’t know who it was,” Jessie replied.

“I don’t like this,” Aunt Jane said. “Not one bit. Maybe you should go home. Maybe I should call your grandfather and tell him—”

“Oh, no,” Jessie interrupted. “We want to try to find out about the necklace just a little bit longer. Think how happy Grandfather would be if we found the necklace.”

“He’d love that,” Aunt Jane said, “but he wouldn’t want any harm to come to you children. He’d be very angry with me if I let that happen.”

“Aunt Jane,” Henry said, “we’re not going to get hurt. It’s probably just someone playing a joke on us.”

“Except,” Benny said, “we don’t know anyone here who would play a joke on us.”

They all silently agreed with Benny.

“We have to go back to the museum tomorrow,” Violet said.

“Please,” Jessie added.

“Well, all right,” Aunt Jane finally said. “But I’m going with you. I’ll drive you into town and we’ll all talk to Mr. Mason together.”
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 lobby lobby     
n.前厅,(剧院的)门廊
参考例句:
  • As he walked through the lobby,he skirted a group of ladies.他穿过门厅时,绕过了一群女士。
  • The delegates entered the assembly hall by way of the lobby.代表们通过大厅进入会场。
2 echo 6k7zU     
n.回音,共鸣;vi.发出回声;vt.模仿,附和
参考例句:
  • She shouted on the mountaintop and listened for the echo.她在山顶上大声喊着,然后聆听着回声。
  • I should like to echo the words of the previous speaker.我想重复前面一位发言者的话。
3 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。
4 peered 20df74dd9059112f4ef8506d8ece8b43     
去皮的
参考例句:
  • He peeled away the plastic wrapping. 他去掉塑料包装。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The paint on the wall has peeled off. 墙上涂料已剥落了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 youngsters 9d413e799253048dc5ebe7d07ff8dd5f     
n.孩子( youngster的名词复数 );少年;青年;年轻人
参考例句:
  • We followed the youngsters at a more sedate pace. 我们跟在年轻人后面,步子稍慢一点。
  • The camp is for youngsters aged 8 to 14. 这次夏令营是为8至14岁的少年儿童安排的。
6 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止,她已脱口而出。
  • He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相,说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 glittered ed6a60001d28fba879d568c9e99f1479     
闪烁,闪耀,闪光( glitter的过去式和过去分词 ); 眼睛闪现(某种强烈情感)
参考例句:
  • The ceiling of the cathedral glittered with gold. 大教堂的天花板金光闪闪。
  • The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
8 curtly 4vMzJh     
adv.简短地
参考例句:
  • He nodded curtly and walked away. 他匆忙点了一下头就走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The request was curtly refused. 这个请求被毫不客气地拒绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 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。
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