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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Lost Village CHAPTER 5 Snooping at the Dig

时间:2017-08-01 06:18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)

“I can’t believe it’s gone,” Violet said softly to Mrs. Lightfeather a few minutes later. “Who would take it?”

“Someone must have stolen it,” Joe said. “Maybe they thought it was valuable.” All the children had gathered in the kitchen once they heard what had happened.

“But no one else knows about the bowl,” Violet pointed1 out. “No one else even knows about the dig.”

“That’s not really true,” Henry interrupted. “What about Rita Neville? And Ted2 Clark? We’ve run into both of them wandering around in the woods.”

“I knew there was something suspicious about Ted Clark!” Amy blurted3 out. “He says he’s part Navajo, Mom, but he didn’t know what turquoise4 looks like. And he said his relatives are from New England!”

Mrs. Lightfeather looked serious. “I met him yesterday, searching through the council records. If he told you he’s from New England, he’s way off base. All the Navajo tribes are right here in the Southwest,” she said.

“Maybe he was watching from the woods when you found the bowl,” Jessie suggested. “And maybe he saw you put it in the tool shed.”

“Maybe,” Violet said reluctantly. She couldn’t believe that someone would steal something she’d worked so hard to find. Yet someone had taken it. Why?

The next morning was bright and sunny, and the children arrived at the dig after breakfast.

“Just as I thought!” Jessie said. She pointed to a square on the left side of the dig. “Someone’s been here during the night.”

“How do you know?” Benny asked.

“Because I laid a little trap for them.” Jessie squatted5 on her heels and peered at the dirt. “I left two twigs6 here yesterday afternoon. I crossed them so they formed an X. And now look — they’ve been pushed aside.”

“I think someone’s been snooping around my square, too,” Henry said, frowning. “The hole is much deeper, and you can see red clay. I know I didn’t dig down that far yesterday.”

“Who do you think is doing it?” Violet asked. She shivered a little even though the day was warm.

“Probably the same person who took your bowl,” Amy said quietly. “And that person could be watching us from the woods right this minute.”

“Good morning!” A cheerful voice made the children all turn in surprise. It was Michael Running Deer. He was standing7 in the center of the path, setting up a metal pole.

“What are you doing?” Benny piped up.

“I’m surveying,” Michael answered. “We’ll be moving those bulldozers in pretty soon, and I need to get some preliminary work done.” He unrolled some blueprints8 from his back pocket and looked over the dig. “There are always a few last-minute measurements to take before we get the heavy equipment in.”

“I’m going to miss the woods,” Amy said sadly. “I can’t believe all these trees will be cut down in a few weeks.”

Michael looked solemn. “I guess you kids have really enjoyed playing here.” He stared at the huge tree that towered over them. The sky was bright blue, and the forest had never looked more beautiful.

“It’s more than playing,” Benny told him. “We’re finding things.”

“What sort of things?” Michael asked.

“Arrowheads, pieces of pottery9,” Benny said. “And Violet found a bowl.”

“It makes you think about the people who lived here a long time ago, doesn’t it?” Michael said. He lifted his binoculars10 and scanned the forest. “I often wonder about them.” He put down his binoculars and his expression was very serious. “But you can’t stop progress. Pretty soon, this whole forest will be full of roads and homes.” He wiped his face with a bandanna11. “Well, I’d better get back to work now.”

The children returned to the dig, and Violet looked thoughtful. “It seemed as if something was bothering him,” she whispered to Amy.

Amy nodded. “It did. I wonder what?” She crouched12 over her square at the dig and picked up a trowel.

By mid-afternoon, everyone was tired and thirsty. “I’m ready to take a break,” Joe said. “Why don’t we go into town for a cold drink?”

“Good idea!” Violet said, scrambling13 to her feet. She had just packed her trowel in her knapsack when Benny let out a whoop14.

“I’ve found something!” Benny was so excited he was digging in the earth with his bare hands. “It’s some kind of bone!”

“Really?” Joe dropped down beside him. “Be careful you don’t damage it.” He helped Benny smooth away the top layers of soil from his find.

“Here it is,” Benny said. He held up a large bone with a big knob at one end. “What is it?” he asked. “Do you think it came from a buffalo15?”

Amy leaned closer and started to laugh. “I’m afraid not, Benny. That bone belongs to Honey. She’s a cocker spaniel who lives next door to us.”

“Honey?” Benny’s face fell. “You mean this is a dog bone?”

“I’m afraid so,” Joe said. “She loves to bury things and then dig them up. If you look at it carefully, you’ll see it’s not even a real bone, Benny. It’s made out of rawhide16.” Benny started to toss the bone back into the hole, but Joe stopped him. “Put it in your pocket, Benny. We’ll give it to Honey when we get back home.”

Half an hour later, all six children trooped into Cranston’s, the general store.

“This is my favorite place in town,” Amy confided17. “They sell everything from saddles to sunflower seeds. And they make fresh lemonade with crushed ice.”

The Aldens were settled with tall glasses of lemonade at a small table in the back of the store when they spotted18 Rita Neville at the counter.

“She must still be looking for locations for that television show,” Violet whispered to Amy.

When Jessie got up to get everyone refills a few minutes later, Ms. Neville was sipping19 a soft drink. She glanced at Jessie’s stained overalls20 and shook her head.

“I bet you’ve been playing in the forest today,” she said in a friendly way. “Looks like you’ve been rolling in the dirt.”

“We haven’t been playing, we’ve been working,” Benny said, suddenly popping up behind Jessie. “We’re … excavating21.”

“Oh, and what are you excavating?” Ms. Neville sounded as though she were joking.

“All sorts of things,” Jessie said vaguely22.

“Violet found a really pretty dish, except now it’s gone!” Benny piped up.

“That’s too bad. Maybe you can buy another one,” Rita Neville said.

“This was a special dish,” Benny insisted. Jessie tried to catch Benny’s eye to make him stop talking, but he ignored her.

Ms. Neville pushed away her drink and looked interested. “Have you found anything else? Any wood carvings23? Any silver or turquoise?”

“I don’t think so,” Benny shrugged24.

“Our drinks are ready,” Jessie said. She nudged her brother, glad that they had an excuse to escape from Ms. Neville.

“Well, have you or haven’t you?” Ms. Neville repeated.

“I told you I don’t know,” Benny said, putting the drinks on a cardboard tray. “Anyway, I wasn’t very lucky today. The only thing I found was an old bone.”

“A bone!” Ms. Neville slid off the stool and knelt down so she could talk to Benny eye to eye. “Tell me about it. What did it look like?”

“It was big, and it had a knob at one end — ”

“Benny,” Jessie interrupted. “I can’t carry all these drinks by myself.”

“Where did you find the bone? The same place you were digging the other day?”

Benny opened his mouth to answer when Jessie said, “Benny!”

“Okay, okay,” he said, picking up the tray. He couldn’t understand why Ms. Neville was so interested in a dumb old dog bone. “That’s right. I found it in the forest,” he said over his shoulder to Ms. Neville.

She started to follow Jessie and Benny back to their seats, and then changed her mind. Throwing a dollar bill on the counter, she hurried out of the store.

“She sure was interested in that bone,” Benny said when they sat down.

“I wish we could find out what happened to my bowl,” Violet said. “It was so pretty, with the bird on one side, and the snake on the other.”

“By the way,” Jessie said. “Why are there so many snakes on Indian pottery?”

Amy looked up from her lemonade. “That’s because snakes, or serpents, have a special meaning for us.”

“I understand why you like birds,” Violet said. “But why snakes?”

“We respect them both.” Amy looked around the table at her friends. “Birds can soar high into the sky, but snakes are powerful, too. They can shed their skin. Now that’s a real mystery!”

“I never thought of it that way,” Violet told her.

“Can we stop at the stables on the way home?” Jessie asked. “I’d like to see Thunder again.”

“Sure,” Amy agreed.

When they stepped outside Cranston’s, they spotted Ted Clark, chatting with one of the elders of the tribe.

“Hi, kids,” he greeted them. To their surprise, he fell into step with them as they headed to the stables. “I’ve been doing some research,” he said, patting a thick manila folder25 under his arm.

“What have you learned?” Amy asked.

“Well, I’ve come across something interesting,” he told her. “Did you know that some tribes use a stone to mark buried treasure?”

Amy looked doubtful. “You don’t have to be a Navajo to use a stone as a marker.”

“Oh, but this isn’t an ordinary stone.” Ted Clark lowered his voice as if he were telling an important secret. “It’s a special stone. It’s shaped like a triangle and glows in the dark.”

“I’ve never heard of that,” Joe spoke26 up. “And Kinowok talks about Indian customs all the time.”

“It’s true,” Ted Clark insisted. “Maybe not many people know about it, but it’s true.”

He said good-bye at the end of the street, and the children headed for the stables. As they rounded the corner, Violet caught a glimpse of Rita Neville. She had been walking behind them the whole time! Was she spying on them?

“Amy,” Violet asked when they were inside the stable, “do you believe what Ted said about the stone that glows in the dark?”

Amy shrugged. “I never heard of it before, but it could be true, I guess.” She greeted Thunder, who whinnied softly when he saw them.

“If we could find a stone like that at the dig, it would save us a lot of time.” Jessie paused. “We could go look for it tonight.”

Meanwhile, the boys refilled Thunder’s trough with fresh hay. “So what did you think about the glowing-rock story?” Joe asked.

“I think he made it up,” Henry said flatly.

“Me, too,” Benny chimed in. “Why would a rock glow in the dark?”

Violet and Amy exchanged a look, and then Amy leaned close to whisper in Amy’s ear. “If we go, let’s go without the boys. Just us girls.”
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 ted 9gazhs     
vt.翻晒,撒,撒开
参考例句:
  • The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
  • She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
3 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》
4 turquoise Uldwx     
n.绿宝石;adj.蓝绿色的
参考例句:
  • She wore a string of turquoise round her neck.她脖子上戴着一串绿宝石。
  • The women have elaborate necklaces of turquoise.那些女人戴着由绿松石制成的精美项链。
5 squatted 45deb990f8c5186c854d710c535327b0     
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。
参考例句:
  • He squatted down beside the footprints and examined them closely. 他蹲在脚印旁仔细地观察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He squatted in the grass discussing with someone. 他蹲在草地上与一个人谈话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 twigs 17ff1ed5da672aa443a4f6befce8e2cb     
细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
  • Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。
7 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。
8 blueprints 79424f10e1e5af9aef7f20cca92465bc     
n.蓝图,设计图( blueprint的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Have the blueprints been worked out? 蓝图搞好了吗? 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • BluePrints description of a distributed component of the system design and best practice guidelines. BluePrints描述了一个分布式组件体系的最佳练习和设计指导方针。 来自互联网
9 pottery OPFxi     
n.陶器,陶器场
参考例句:
  • My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
  • The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。
10 binoculars IybzWh     
n.双筒望远镜
参考例句:
  • He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。
  • If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜,我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。
11 bandanna BPQyF     
n.大手帕
参考例句:
  • He knotted the bandanna around his neck.他在脖子上系了一条印花大围巾。
  • He wiped his forehead with a blue bandanna and smiled again.他用一条蓝色的大手帕擦擦前额,又笑了笑。
12 crouched 62634c7e8c15b8a61068e36aaed563ab     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
  • The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
13 scrambling cfea7454c3a8813b07de2178a1025138     
v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发,冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 whoop qIhys     
n.大叫,呐喊,喘息声;v.叫喊,喘息
参考例句:
  • He gave a whoop of joy when he saw his new bicycle.他看到自己的新自行车时,高兴得叫了起来。
  • Everybody is planning to whoop it up this weekend.大家都打算在这个周末好好欢闹一番。
15 buffalo 1Sby4     
n.(北美)野牛;(亚洲)水牛
参考例句:
  • Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
  • The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。
16 rawhide 4TNxG     
n.生牛皮
参考例句:
  • At his belt he carried a rawhide whip.他腰间别着生牛皮制成的鞭子。
  • The drum skin was tightly strapped over the circle rawhide laces.鼓皮的一圈被生牛皮紧紧地勒住了。
17 confided 724f3f12e93e38bec4dda1e47c06c3b1     
v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的过去式和过去分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等)
参考例句:
  • She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
  • He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露,他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
19 sipping e7d80fb5edc3b51045def1311858d0ae     
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
  • She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。
20 overalls 2mCz6w     
n.(复)工装裤;长罩衣
参考例句:
  • He is in overalls today.他今天穿的是工作裤。
  • He changed his overalls for a suit.他脱下工装裤,换上了一套西服。
21 excavating 5d793b033d109ef3f1f026bd95b1d9f5     
v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 );开凿;挖出;发掘
参考例句:
  • A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句
22 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
23 carvings 3ccde9120da2aaa238c9785046cb8f86     
n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 );雕刻术;雕刻品;雕刻物
参考例句:
  • The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
24 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
25 folder KjixL     
n.纸夹,文件夹
参考例句:
  • Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
  • He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。
26 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
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