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 Hurricane Mystery CHAPTER 4 A Terrible Fight

时间:2017-08-24 08:30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)

Uh-oh!” said Henry.

“We’ll help you clean it up,” said Violet.

“Don’t worry,” said Mrs. Ashleigh. She walked quickly to the overturned1 box. “But be careful! Some of these papers are very, very old.”

Benny knelt down by the box. “Look,” he said. “A picture!”

“That’s Mr. Fitzhugh,” said Mrs. Ashleigh.

“The pirate2!” Benny gasped3, his eyes round.

“Maybe so,” Mrs. Ashleigh answered. “We can just put the papers back in the box. I have to go through them anyway.”

“Look at this,” said Jessie.

“Is it a pirate’s map for treasure?” asked Benny excitedly.

Jessie laughed. “No, Benny. But it is a drawing of something.”

“The original plans for the house that Mr. Fitzhugh built in Charleston. And here are the original plans for the Pirate’s Gate. They all go in this envelope,” said Mrs. Ashleigh.

“These should be in a safe place,” said Henry.

Mrs. Ashleigh nodded. “I know. I’m going to go through them and give them to the local museum.”

“Does the museum have dinosaurs4 in it?” asked Benny. He was thinking about another mystery the Aldens had solved.

“No, Benny, it’s not that kind of museum,” said Mrs. Ashleigh. “It’s a museum about Charleston.”

“We can help you go through the papers, too,” said Jessie. “It will be fun.”

“We’ll start right away!” agreed Henry.

Mrs. Ashleigh held up her hand. “Tomorrow is soon enough. Right now, I think it’s time for dinner.”

“Good,” said Benny. “We’ve worked hard today. We even solved a mystery. That always makes me hungry!”

In the next few days, the sounds of hammers and saws could be heard all over the island as people repaired their houses. The Boxcar Children worked hard helping5 Mrs. Ashleigh. Soon they’d finished moving furniture and were nailing new floorboards on the porch6. They put fresh paint on all the window frames and shutters7. When the porch was ready, they planned to paint that, too. They also ran errands8 and, in the late afternoons, explored the island and played on the wide, smooth beaches.

One day, on their way to the small island grocery store to pick up milk for Mrs. Ashleigh, they saw Diana working on a house. She waved them over.

“How’s everything going?” Diana asked. She reknotted the rubber band she had around her ponytail and smoothed her hair back.

The Aldens told her what they’d been doing and asked Diana questions about her work. She told them a couple of stories about the island and asked them questions about Mrs. Ashleigh and her house.

“That house of hers is one of the oldest on the island,” said Diana. “It’s been here since the 1800s and has survived lots and lots of hurricanes. They just don’t build them like they used to!”

“We saw the plans for Mrs. Ashleigh’s house in Charleston,” Henry said. “They’re in the old papers that we’re helping her sort out.”

“Really?” said Diana. “Well, well, well. Soon you’ll be looking for old Mr. Fitzhugh’s pirate treasure, too, won’t you?”

“How did you know about that?” cried Benny.

“Oh, everybody knows about that story,” said Diana. “It’s a good one. Part of Charleston history.”

“You don’t believe there’s really any treasure?” asked Jessie.

“Nah. And I wouldn’t waste my time looking for make-believe treasure,” said Diana. “I’ve got too much work to do. Time is money and I need all the money I can get.”

She shook her head. “A hurricane is a bad thing, but it’s meant a lot of work for me. But then, I guess you could say disaster repair is my specialty9. Hurricanes, earthquakes — ”

“Earthquakes, too?” asked Benny.

“Well, I lived in San Francisco for a while, near the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco has lots of earthquakes. I helped people earthquake-proof their houses. But Charleston’s had earthquakes, too.”

Diana picked up her hammer.

“Well, we won’t keep you from your work,” said Henry politely.

“See you later,” said Diana. “Happy treasure hunting.” She laughed.

“Everybody knows about Mr. Fitzhugh’s treasure,” said Benny, discouraged, as they walked away. “If they haven’t found it, how can we?”

“It sounds as if most people don’t even believe there is a treasure,” said Violet.

“It sounds to me as if she was trying to discourage us from looking for the treasure,” said Jessie. “Like she doesn’t want us to believe there is one.”

“So she can look for it herself?” Henry asked. “Hmmm. Maybe so.”

“Because we could solve the mystery and find the treasure first,” said Benny. “I’d like that.”

“We all would,” said Henry.

“Let’s go look at those papers right now!” Benny urged.

“We have to stop at the grocery store first, Benny,” Violet reminded him.

“I’ll wait here with Watch,” said Benny.

Henry, Jessie, and Violet went into the store to buy milk. Suddenly Henry said, “I have an idea. Let’s make a pretend map and put it on top of the papers. We can let Benny find it and we can go on a treasure hunt tomorrow afternoon when we finish working.”

“Oh, Benny will like that,” said Jessie. She pointed10 and laughed. “And I have an idea for the treasure we can bury!”

“Do you want me to carry the milk for you?” Benny asked Violet when they came out of the store. But Violet shook her head and kept a firm hold on the grocery bag.

“Thanks, but I’ll carry it, Benny,” she said.

“Come on, then!” said Benny. He and Watch raced ahead and his brother and sisters hurried to catch up.

When they had put the groceries away, the children hurried to the study. The door was closed. And when Henry reached out to turn the knob11, they heard the sound of an angry voice coming from inside.

“Why won’t you listen to me?” a man almost shouted.

“Because it’s my house, not yours!” said another quieter voice, fiercely.

“That’s Mrs. Ashleigh!” gasped Violet.

“Well, it won’t be yours for long,” said the man. “You’d better sell before something worse happens to it. And to you!”

The door to the study slammed open and a tall man stormed out. He didn’t even seem to see the Aldens standing12 in the hall. “Stubborn,” he muttered13 under his breath. “She’ll be sorry!” He stomped14 to the front door, slamming it on his way out.

Jessie rushed into the study with the others behind her. Mrs. Ashleigh had slumped15 into a chair by the window. She was staring out, her hands on her cheeks.

“Mrs. Ashleigh,” said Jessie, trying to sound calm. “Are you all right?”

Mrs. Ashleigh looked up slowly. She blinked16, as if surprised to see everyone. Then she shook her head. “I’m fine, dear. It’s just that . . .” Her voice trailed off and she sighed.

“Who was that? Why was he threatening you?” said Henry. “We could hear him all the way out in the hall.”

Mrs. Ashleigh didn’t seem to hear Henry. She turned to stare out the window again. “It’s my house,” she said. “I’m not going to sell it. No matter what happens. And he can’t make me. No matter how much money anyone offers me. This is my home.”

“Who’s trying to make you sell your house?” asked Jessie.

“Who was that mean man?” asked Benny.

Mrs. Ashleigh turned back to look at them. A sad smile crossed her face. “That mean man,” she said, “was my son, Forrest Ashleigh.”
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 overturned overturned     
adj. 倒转的 动词overturn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。
  • When a bird's nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact. 覆巢之下无完卵。
2 pirate F23z9     
n.海盗,每盗船
参考例句:
  • The pirate chief commanded that the prisoners should be shot.海盗头子下令枪毙俘虏。
  • The shore batteries fired at the pirate boat.海岸炮兵向海盗船开火。
3 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
4 dinosaurs 87f9c39b9e3f358174d58a584c2727b4     
n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 );守旧落伍的人,过时落后的东西
参考例句:
  • The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
6 porch ju9yM     
n.门廊,入口处,走廊,游廊
参考例句:
  • There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
  • The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。
7 shutters 74d48a88b636ca064333022eb3458e1f     
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门
参考例句:
  • The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
  • The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。
8 errands 73b17faa22c4125bdd671cd69e0185d6     
n.errand的复数;差使( errand的名词复数 );差事
参考例句:
  • He often runs errands for his grandmother. 他经常给他的祖母跑腿儿。
  • I have a few errands to do in the town. 我在城里有些差事要办。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 specialty SrGy7     
n.(speciality)特性,特质;专业,专长
参考例句:
  • Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
  • His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。
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 knob NkCyB     
n.球形把手,球形柄,旋钮,小块
参考例句:
  • There is a knob of butter on the table.桌子上有一小块黄油。
  • This knob is only held on by sellotape.这个旋钮只是用透明胶带固定住的。
12 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。
13 muttered 2764630c23cae6a012e2a09fc41abbd2     
轻声低语,咕哝地抱怨( mutter的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He muttered a curse at the other driver. 他低声咒骂另一位开车的人。
  • She turned away and muttered something unintelligible. 她转向一旁,嘴里不知咕哝些什么。
14 stomped 0884b29fb612cae5a9e4eb0d1a257b4a     
v.跺脚,践踏,重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She stomped angrily out of the office. 她怒气冲冲,重步走出办公室。
  • She slammed the door and stomped (off) out of the house. 她砰的一声关上了门,暮暮地走出了屋了。 来自辞典例句
15 slumped b010f9799fb8ebd413389b9083180d8d     
大幅度下降,暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 ); 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]
参考例句:
  • Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
  • The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上,疲惫得睡着了。
16 blinked e3d1093d7e443918dc1306c875f2f46b     
眨眼睛( blink的过去式 ); 闪亮,闪烁
参考例句:
  • He blinked in the bright sunlight. 他在强烈的阳光下直眨眼睛。
  • The boy blinked up at me in some surprise. 那男孩有些吃惊地眨着眼看我。
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