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 Mystery of the Singing Ghost CHAPTER 6 The Diary

时间:2017-07-24 09:07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)

Soon the Aldens heard a car stop in front of the Roth house. They ran to the front door and saw Mr. Alden getting out of the car.

“There’s our grandfather,” Jessie said to Mrs. Carter. “We have to go. Thanks for the phone and the snack.”

“Any time,” Mrs. Carter replied.

The children ran to their grandfather, and Violet2 said, “Come upstairs and see the dress I was telling you about.”

They all went into the house and upstairs to the small bedroom. They looked at the bed. It was empty.

“The dress was here just a little while ago,” Violet cried out. “Everyone saw it. We all did.”

“She’s right, Grandfather,” Henry said. “It was here.”

“We all saw it,” Jessie added.

“It was right here on the bed?” Grandfather asked.

“Yes!” Violet said. “I can’t believe it’s gone.”

“That is very odd,” Mr. Alden said. He looked around the room thoughtfully3. “There must be a good explanation. Meanwhile, I hope you children aren’t nervous here.”

“Of course not, Grandfather,” Jessie said. “It is funny that the dress is gone. But there must be a real good reason.”

“Something else happened,” Henry said. “We found a couple of boxes of old books in a closet.”

“That sounds interesting,” Mr. Alden said. “Let me see them.”

They walked into the master bedroom and showed Grandfather the books in the closet. He started looking through one box. “It’s much too dark in this closet to see anything. I think we should take the boxes home and see what’s in them. There might be something valuable.”

“I’ll help you carry the boxes downstairs,” Henry said.

Together Henry and Mr. Alden carried the two boxes down and put them in Mr. Alden’s car. “I think you children have had enough for one day. Why don’t you bike home now,” he said.

“I like that idea,” Benny replied.

“Before we go, Grandfather. Look at the man across the street. He’s the artist we told you about,” Violet said.

Mr. Alden gazed5 at Thomas Yeats. “He seems ordinary enough to me, Violet. Just an artist painting a picture of a house.”

“Not a very nice artist,” Violet said. “A grumpy one, just like Mr. Carter.”

Grandfather laughed. “Well, unfortunately, everyone isn’t pleasant all the time.”

It took much longer for the children to bike home than for Mr. Alden to drive there. So by the time they had arrived at their house, Grandfather already had the boxes of books in the den1. He also had some good news for them.

He said, “Aunt Jane called. Uncle Andy is away on business, so she’s going to come and spend a few days visiting us.”

Benny asked, “When will she get here? I can’t wait.”

Grandfather laughed. “Well, you won’t have to wait too long. She’ll be here in the morning. She said she would leave Elmford very early.”

Violet was already busy pulling books out of the two cartons. The other children joined her and they all sat on the floor, examining them. Grandfather sat in his favorite chair reading the newspaper. He enjoyed their laughter as they found books that seemed very old and outdated6.

Jessie pulled out a magazine that featured women’s styles. “Look at these dresses,” she cried out. “They’re so funny.”

“And the hats,” Violet added. “Can you imagine wearing something like that now?”

Henry looked at the pictures, too. “You know, some of these dresses look just like the one that was on the bed in the Roth house.”

Jessie closed the magazine and looked at the date on the cover. “This is from February 1917.”

“So the dress we saw could have been Celia’s,” Violet said softly7.

“Violet!” Jessie said. “Even if it was Celia’s dress a long time ago, there’s no such thing as ghosts. The dress got on the bed in some logical8 way.”

Mrs. McGregor came to the door of the den and said, “Dinner will be ready in five minutes. You children all go upstairs and wash your hands very well. You’re all dirty from those dusty old books.”

In a few minutes they all sat down to a wonderful chicken dinner. The children were impatient9, however, to get back to the books, which interested them all. Even Benny had found something special — a few old children’s books. And Watch liked sniffing10 at the old books. So they ate faster than usual and decided11 to save their dessert until later.

They ran back into the den and continued going through the two boxes. The evening was filled with one or another of the children calling out, “Look at this one” or “Have you ever seen anything like this?” or “Look at what a car looked like then!”

Suddenly Violet called out, “I’ve found something wonderful!”

She held in her hands a cracked blue leather book. Printed on the cover in gold letters was My Diary. On the first page was written in a delicate12, perfect handwriting, This book belongs to Celia Roth.

The Aldens all crowded around Violet and looked at the diary. “I’m not sure it’s right to read it,” Jessie said.

“Jessie, the diary is years and years old. Celia Roth is probably dead now. What harm is there in reading it?” Violet asked.

Jessie said firmly, “I wouldn’t want anyone reading my diary — even seventy-five years later.”

Violet turned to Mr. Alden, who was listening to the conversation. “What do you think, Grandfather?”

Mr. Alden said, “Well, I don’t really see anything wrong in reading the diary of someone who wrote it so long ago.”

Violet opened the book, and Henry said, “See if there are any entries for August, the month she disappeared.”

Violet read aloud: “August 1, 1917 … Dear Diary, I told Father last night that I was in love with George Collins and that we wanted to get married. I explained that since George is in the army and due to go overseas we wanted to be wed4 before he went. Father was very upset. He said he would never allow that. He said George and I didn’t know each other well enough and that it was a foolhardy thing to do. He said he would never give his permission. I cried and cried but he refused to change his mind.”

Jessie sighed. “Isn’t that romantic?”

“Read some more, Violet,” Henry said.

Violet went on. “August 3, 1917 … Dear Diary, I tried to talk to Father about George again, but he still won’t listen to how I feel. He wants George and me to wait until the end of the war. But who knows how long it will last? George is coming over tonight and he is going to try to change Father’s mind.

“August 4, 1917 … Dear Diary, George had no luck either. I am so unhappy. I don’t want to disobey Father, but I want so much to marry George now.

“August 5, 1917 … Dear Diary, George and I had a long talk today. He is sure he is going to be shipped to Europe soon. What are we going to do? I never thought Father could be so stubborn13. I know Father loves me and I love him. But I love George, too.

“August 6, 1917 … Dear Diary, I feel much better tonight. Father seemed so calm and kind today. I am sure that if I’m patient he will come around and see my point of view. He almost always does. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Violet flicked14 the pages. “That’s the last entry,” she said.

Jessie frowned15. “It seems as if Mr. Roth really didn’t understand how unhappy Celia was.”

Benny said, “I think it’s all very mushy.”

The other children laughed. Grandfather said, “Well, children, you certainly have made an interesting discovery. But now it’s late. Benny, I think you should be off to bed.”

Benny kissed Mr. Alden good night and started for the stairs. He smiled broadly. “Tomorrow Aunt Jane will be here.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 den 5w9xk     
n.兽穴;秘密地方;安静的小房间,私室
参考例句:
  • There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
  • The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。
2 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。
3 thoughtfully aoiwf     
ad.考虑周到地
参考例句:
  • She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. 她若有所思地抚摩着下巴。
  • The man pulled thoughtfully at his pipe before commenting on our proposal. 那人若有所思地吸了口烟,然后就我们的建议发表自己的见解。
4 wed MgFwc     
v.娶,嫁,与…结婚
参考例句:
  • The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
  • The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。
5 gazed 1ed4e09c62baf0bcfc59a52a3a1f67ec     
v.凝视,注视( gaze的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He gazed at her with pure adoration. 他一往情深地注视着她。
  • She gazed at him in amazement. 她惊异地注视着他。
6 outdated vJTx0     
adj.旧式的,落伍的,过时的;v.使过时
参考例句:
  • That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了,许多地址已经改了。
  • Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。
7 softly HiIzR4     
adv.柔和地,静静地,温柔地
参考例句:
  • He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻,她听不见。
  • She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。
8 logical WxHyZ     
adj.逻辑(上)的,符合逻辑的;合乎常理的
参考例句:
  • It is logical that the book is expensive.书贵是很自然的事。
  • This is undoubtedly logical.这显然是顺理成章的。
9 impatient bafxD     
adj.不耐烦的,急躁的;热切的,急切的
参考例句:
  • He was so impatient that I could hardly hold him back.他是那样急躁,我简直拉不住他。
  • With an impatient gesture he thrust the food away from him.他不耐烦地把吃的东西猛地推开。
10 sniffing 50b6416c50a7d3793e6172a8514a0576     
n.探查法v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的现在分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了,一个劲地抽鼻子,打喷嚏。
  • They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了,呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
11 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。
12 delicate Hx1xS     
adj.巧妙的,敏感的;易损的,娇嫩的
参考例句:
  • Be careful with those wine cups — they are very delicate.当心那些酒杯—它们很容易碎。
  • The delicate handicraft works will not bear rough handling.精致的手工艺品经不起粗鲁的摆弄。
13 stubborn VGHzT     
adj.难以移动,去除的,固执的,顽固的
参考例句:
  • I can not cope with that boy;he is stubborn.我对付不了那个孩子,他很固执。
  • When he's in his stubborn mood,he isn't easily talked round.他那股牛劲上来了,一时不容易说服。
14 flicked 7c535fef6da8b8c191b1d1548e9e790a     
(尤指用手指或手快速地)轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 ); (用…)轻挥; (快速地)按开关; 向…笑了一下(或瞥了一眼等)
参考例句:
  • She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
  • I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。
15 frowned fdfd04918425477a66e031069e013e79     
皱眉( frown的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She frowned in puzzlement. 她迷惑地蹙着眉。
  • The mother frowned when her son failed in his exam. 儿子考试不及格时,母亲皱着眉。
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