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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Hidden Beach CHAPTER 4 Petting a Shark

时间:2017-08-07 06:21来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“So that’s why they call them parrot fish!” Violet said excitedly a few minutes later. Melanie and the Aldens were peering into a large tank at the Key West Aquarium1 where a dazzling fish zipped through the crystal-clear water. It was brightly colored and had a beak2 almost like a bird’s.

“Parrot fish use their beaks3 to scrape algae4 off the coral,” Melanie explained. “Unfortunately, they can leave some pretty bad scars on the reef.”

Jessie steered5 them to another large tank, where a young man was giving a lecture. He lifted something dark and wriggly6 out of the tank, and held it up carefully in front of the visitors. “This is a nurse shark,” the man explained. “Would anyone here like to pet her?”

Benny’s eyes lit up. “Can I?” When the man nodded, Benny stepped closer and carefully stroked the shark’s side. Then he drew his hand back in surprise. “It feels just like sandpaper!”

“Will it bite?” Violet asked, waiting her turn to touch the shark.

“No, nurse sharks are completely harmless. They’re very gentle,” Melanie told the Aldens.

After they learned about porcupine7 puffers and sea cucumbers, the guide lifted a large conch shell out of the tank.

“That’s just like the one you found,” Jessie whispered to Violet.

“I know,” Violet said, admiring the pink and white spiral shell. She wondered who had broken into the classroom building that night, and if the thief would ever be caught. She hoped so.

“This is the horse conch,” the guide was saying. “Maybe he’ll come out for us.” He waited until something large and brown slithered out of the shell.

“There he is!” Benny leaned forward for a closer look.

Everyone watched as the conch inched across the guide’s hand, and then lumbered8 slowly back into his shell. “The conch is a very interesting marine9 animal. He eats red algae and moves one mile in twenty-four hours.”

“Wow! That’s pretty slow,” Henry pointed10 out.

Benny giggled11. “Not if you’re carrying your house on your back!” He suddenly spied a pretty blue fish in another tank. “Look,” he said, tugging12 at Melanie’s hand.

“That’s the fish I told you about. The car-wash fish.”

Melanie nodded. “The blue angel fish,” she said, reading the label on the tank. “You have a good memory, Benny,” she told him. “He cleans up the other fish by eating parasites13 off them.”

The same fish that Nick Simon had never heard of, Henry thought.

Later that night over a delicious dinner of fried chicken and mashed14 potatoes, Benny was telling the whole table about his visit to the aquarium.

“We even saw a barracuda,” he said proudly. “He was swimming really fast underwater.”

Nick Simon smiled at him politely. “They can be very dangerous,” he pointed out. “Just remember to get out of the water if you see one headed your way,” he added jokingly.

“Or better yet, don’t wear any jewelry15 while you’re swimming,” Melanie said, pointing to a thin silver chain around Nick Simon’s neck.

The marine biologist looked at her blankly. It was clear to everyone that he had no idea what she was talking about. Violet finally turned to Melanie. “What do you mean?”

Melanie shrugged16. “Everyone knows that barracuda are attracted to things that are shiny. If they see a flash of silver in the water — like a chain — they think it’s something to eat. You see, their favorite food is a type of little silvery fish.” She paused and stared right at Nick Simon. “But then, you know that.”

“Yes, of course,” Nick said quickly. He looked a little embarrassed.

“I definitely don’t want to be dinner for a fish!” Benny exclaimed and everyone laughed.

“Don’t worry, Benny,” Melanie reassured17 him. “We’ll make sure that you’re not.”

When dinner was over, the Aldens decided18 to check on their aquariums19. Jessie had picked up a few pretty, colorful shells at the market and she wanted to add them to the tank.

They were working in the classroom building, when suddenly Benny remembered something. He tugged20 at Henry’s wrist. “Something really strange happened the night we went out in the pontoon boat.” He quickly told everyone about seeing Joshua Slade pluck something out of the ocean and hide it in his shirt.

“He didn’t put it into his bucket the way he was supposed to,” Benny said, confused. “He stuffed it right here.” He pointed to his chest.

“What was it?” Soo Lee asked.

“It couldn’t have been a live fish,” Jessie pointed out, sensibly. “It would have been wriggling21.”

“Maybe it was a conch shell,” Violet offered, thinking of her own shell.

“No, that would be too big to fit under his shirt,” Henry said.

“Maybe it was a really pretty shell and he didn’t want the rest of us to see it.” Jessie suggested as she carefully added a sea fan to her tank.

“But what did he do with it?” Soo Lee asked. She glanced at the tank that Joshua Slade shared with his wife. It was almost empty except for a few wisps of sea grass and a couple of angel fish. “He didn’t put it in his tank.”

On the way back to their cabins, they noticed Ned, one of the counselors22, guiding a boat toward the dock. The craft was filled with campers, and Violet remembered that a night expedition was scheduled that evening. Usually boats weren’t taken out at night, but this was a special occasion.

“Let’s see what they got,” Benny said eagerly. “Melanie said you can find some nice fish that only come out at night.”

They were almost at the water’s edge when they spotted23 Joshua Slade strolling by. He seemed lost in thought and was startled when Ned tossed him a line from the boat. “Would you mind tying that for us?” Ned asked.

“Sure, I . . . I’ll be glad to.” Joshua Slade looked helplessly at the line in his hand, and looped it uncertainly around the piling. “There you go,” he said brightly, and hurried off.

When Ned leaped nimbly off the boat, he looked at the line and shook his head. “What kind of knot is this?” Henry heard him mutter. “The guy doesn’t know how to tie up a boat!”

“Did you hear that?” Henry asked as soon as they were out of earshot. They were walking down the winding24 path that led to the cabins.

Jessie nodded. “Mr. Slade is supposed to run a sailing company, but he doesn’t know how to tie a knot?” She paused. “That doesn’t make any sense at all.”

“A lot of things don’t make sense,” Violet added. “Mr. Simon is supposed to be a marine biologist, but he didn’t know that barracuda like to eat little silvery fish. Melanie had to explain it to him.”

“And he didn’t know about the car-wash fish,” Benny reminded her.

“That’s right,” Henry agreed. “And now look at Mr. Slade. I never heard of a sailor who couldn’t tie a simple knot!”

They were at the girls’ cabin, and Violet stopped outside the door. “I’m beginning to think that Melanie is the only person around here who really knows everything she’s supposed to.”

“She sure does,” Benny said enthusiastically. “I like her a lot!”

“We all do,” Jessie said. “Time to turn in, little brother. We have a big day tomorrow.”

“I know,” Benny said, dancing down the path to the boys’ cabin excitedly. “Windsurfing at eight, sailing at ten, and snorkeling at two.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Henry said teasingly.

Benny thought a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Breakfast at seven!”

Benny grinned and rubbed his stomach. “I could never forget that!”

The next morning, Benny raced through the cafeteria line so he could be the first one to try the wind-surfing simulator. It was a wide flat board, mounted on a giant spring. If you stepped on the board and shifted your weight, you felt just like you were bouncing back and forth25 over the waves. “It seems funny surfing on dry land,” he said, as he hopped26 on the machine.

“You won’t think it’s so funny if you land on your bottom,” Melanie told him. “The beach sand is nice and cushiony. It will break your fall.”

“I won’t fall,” Benny said.

“Maybe not.” Melanie positioned his feet on the board. “But nine out of ten people do. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”

For the next ten minutes, Benny practiced balancing on the board and working the sails. “Wow, this is hard,” he said, tugging the sail in one direction, then another. “But it must be lots of fun when you finally try it in the ocean.”

“It’s a lot of fun,” Melanie promised. “But we have to make sure you do it safely on land first. And once you’re on the water, you’ll be wearing a life jacket. That’s in case you tumble into the water,” she said. “Not that I think you will.”

Each of the Aldens took turns, and Jessie caught the hang of it right away. “When can we try the real thing?” she asked, her face flushed with excitement.

“I know you think you’re ready to go right now, but you still need some more practice,” Melanie said firmly. “I want everybody out here for half an hour every day, because you can’t try it in the ocean until you master it on land.”

“Oh no!” Benny groaned27.

“It’s not easy,” Melanie pointed out. “But if you practice hard, we’ll try to get you on the water, Benny.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 aquarium Gvszl     
n.水族馆,养鱼池,玻璃缸
参考例句:
  • The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
  • I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天,我要和父母一起到水族馆去。
2 beak 8y1zGA     
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻
参考例句:
  • The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
  • This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
3 beaks 66bf69cd5b0e1dfb0c97c1245fc4fbab     
n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 );鹰钩嘴;尖鼻子;掌权者
参考例句:
  • Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的,嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
  • Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网
4 algae tK6yW     
n.水藻,海藻
参考例句:
  • Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
  • Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。
5 steered dee52ce2903883456c9b7a7f258660e5     
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 );操纵;控制;引导
参考例句:
  • He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
  • The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 wriggly 90ed187c02f4940f1fe66825971b49ea     
adj.蠕动的,回避的;蜿蜒
参考例句:
  • When he picked up, a wriggly kissy puppy, I saw tension ease from my father's face. 当他挑选了一只身体扭动、喜欢舔吻人的小狗时,我看到凝重的表情从他脸上消失了。 来自互联网
7 porcupine 61Wzs     
n.豪猪, 箭猪
参考例句:
  • A porcupine is covered with prickles.箭猪身上长满了刺。
  • There is a philosophy parable,call philosophy of porcupine.有一个哲学寓言,叫豪猪的哲学。
8 lumbered 2580a96db1b1c043397df2b46a4d3891     
砍伐(lumber的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • A rhinoceros lumbered towards them. 一头犀牛笨重地向他们走来。
  • A heavy truck lumbered by. 一辆重型卡车隆隆驶过。
9 marine 77Izo     
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵
参考例句:
  • Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
10 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。
11 giggled 72ecd6e6dbf913b285d28ec3ba1edb12     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
  • The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 tugging 1b03c4e07db34ec7462f2931af418753     
n.牵引感v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉,样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
  • She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他,一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句
13 parasites a8076647ef34cfbbf9d3cb418df78a08     
寄生物( parasite的名词复数 ); 靠他人为生的人; 诸虫
参考例句:
  • These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的,而与寄生虫无关。
  • Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。
14 mashed Jotz5Y     
a.捣烂的
参考例句:
  • two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
  • Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。
15 jewelry 0auz1     
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝
参考例句:
  • The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
  • Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。
16 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》
17 reassured ff7466d942d18e727fb4d5473e62a235     
adj.使消除疑虑的;使放心的v.再保证,恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 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。
19 aquariums 82747d9c1d5a367d4d227b28ed8cf5c6     
n.养鱼缸,水族馆( aquarium的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Biotope aquariums represent the natural environments of ornamental fish. 生态鱼缸表现出观赏鱼的自然生活环境。 来自互联网
  • There are aquariums in many cities in the world. 世界上好多城市有水族馆。 来自互联网
20 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》
21 wriggling d9a36b6d679a4708e0599fd231eb9e20     
v.扭动,蠕动,蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 );(使身体某一部位)扭动;耍滑不做,逃避(应做的事等);蠕蠕
参考例句:
  • The baby was wriggling around on my lap. 婴儿在我大腿上扭来扭去。
  • Something that looks like a gray snake is wriggling out. 有一种看来象是灰蛇的东西蠕动着出来了。 来自辞典例句
22 counselors f6ff4c2b4bd3716024922a76236b3c79     
n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 );律师;(使馆等的)参赞;(协助学生解决问题的)指导老师
参考例句:
  • Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。) 来自超越目标英语 第4册
23 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。
24 winding Ue7z09     
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
参考例句:
  • A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
  • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
25 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
26 hopped 91b136feb9c3ae690a1c2672986faa1c     
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花
参考例句:
  • He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
  • He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车,向市区开去。
27 groaned 1a076da0ddbd778a674301b2b29dff71     
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦
参考例句:
  • He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
  • The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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