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儿童英语读物 The Firehouse Mystery CHAPTER 4 Not Just a Bunch of Old Junk

时间:2017-08-29 01:54来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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As the children were finishing up their lunch, Sparky began barking. A moment later, the door opened and Ms. Lerner walked in. With her was a smaller, young woman who had short blond hair and a cheerful smile. She was carrying a large sketch1 pad and pencil.

“Hello, Mike,” Ms. Lerner said. “This is Rebecca Wright, the architect I told you about yesterday. Do you have a minute to show her around?”

Mike sighed. He didn’t seem happy to see Ms. Lerner again.

“I could show them around, if you’re too busy,” Henry suggested.

“That’s very nice of you,” Mike said. He introduced the Aldens to the two women. “Let me know if you need me.”

While Jessie, Violet, and Benny went back to the garage to continue painting, Henry gave the two women the same tour he’d had the day before.

“See what awful condition this place is in, Rebecca?” Ms. Lerner said to the architect.

“Oh, yes,” she agreed. Every now and then she would pause and make some quick notes on her pad.

“It really just needs some fresh paint and a little tidying up,” Henry said. “Don’t you think so, Ms. Wright?”

“You can call me Rebecca,” she said, smiling. “That would help, I guess — ”

“But we’d still need a new firehouse,” insisted Ms. Lerner, frowning at Henry.

As they passed the shelves that held the silver trophies2, Ms. Lerner stopped abruptly3. “Look at these,” she said, carefully picking up a dusty silver trophy4. She read the engraved5 inscription6 on the front. “This one is from 1865! These must be very valuable.”

“Really? It just looks like a bunch of old junk.” Rebecca picked up one of the old speaking trumpets8 and turned it over in her hands. She frowned a little and then stared at the speaking trumpet7 for a long time.

“I know a lot about antiques,” Ms. Lerner said, studying the shelf of trophies. “Well, shall we go upstairs?”

Rebecca was still holding the speaking trumpet. “Oh, uh, yes,” she said, startled out of her thoughts. She gently set the dusty trumpet back on the shelf.

When the tour was over, Henry went back to the garage. He was pleased at how clean and white the walls looked.

“We’re almost done,” Jessie called. She had taken Henry’s place on top of the ladder while he was gone. “How was the tour?”

“It was okay, I guess,” Henry said.

“What’s wrong?” asked Violet.

“I just wonder if we’ll be able to save this old place. Ms. Lerner seems determined9 to have it torn down,” Henry said.

“That just means we’ll have to work twice as hard,” said Benny.

“Is there something else bothering you?” Violet asked her older brother.

“It’s probably nothing,” Henry began. “But when I showed them the silver trophies, Rebecca and Ms. Lerner just stood there and stared at them for a very long time.”

“So? Those trophies are really neat,” said Jessie. “They probably just wanted to look at them. I think you and Benny are both looking for a mystery where there isn’t one. Like Mr. Frederick — you kept saying there was something strange about him, but I thought he was nice.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Henry said, picking up a paint roller.

Soon, with the help of a few firefighters, the Aldens had painted the whole garage. Everyone was worn out.

“It looks great!” Jessie said, sitting down to survey their work.

“Don’t sit down yet,” said Henry. “I noticed the sign by the door needs to be repainted.”

The rest of the Aldens followed him around to the front, where they all helped to touch up the sign that read GREENFIELD FIRE DEPARTMENT. In no time it sparkled with fresh paint.

“I’m going to repaint those old window boxes,” said Violet, heading over to the large windows on the side of the firehouse. The paint there was cracked and peeling. The boxes looked much better when Violet had finished with them, but still she wasn’t satisfied. “I wish it weren’t so cold out. These window boxes would be cheerier if they had flowers in them.”

“How about if we get some evergreen10 boughs11 like the ones we had in the house during the holidays?” suggested Jessie. “We could put them in the window boxes. That would brighten things up out here. Remember how nice they made the town square look for the Winter Festival?”

“Yes! What a good idea,” Henry agreed. “We’ll get some tomorrow.”

The children returned to the garage to clean up. Violet cleaned the rollers and Henry put the newspapers in the recycling bin12. Jessie folded up the ladder. Then she helped put the cans of leftover13 paint beside the door that led into the firehouse. They’d continue painting inside the next day.

Steve came out to see how the children were doing. “The garage looks like new,” he said.

Benny was just putting the lids on the leftover cans of paint when the fire alarm rang. Several firefighters ran out and started pulling on their gear.

“A kitchen fire on Chester Road,” Christine told the children as she pulled on her coat.

“I wish we could go help,” said Benny.

Steve smiled. “Maybe when you’re older.”

The children watched the firefighters getting into the trucks, which had been parked on the street while the garage was being painted.

“Why not now?” Benny asked.

“Fires are dangerous, Benny. It wouldn’t be safe and we might be in the way,” Jessie explained gently.

“Couldn’t we just watch?” Benny said, refusing to give up.

Steve looked thoughtful for a moment. “You know, I think you could. I’ll take you there in my car. We’ll stay out of the way. Come on!”

The children ran to Steve’s car, which was parked just behind the fire trucks. They were amazed at how quickly he was able to move himself from his wheelchair to the car, fold up the wheelchair, and put it in the backseat. The Aldens were ready to help, but Steve obviously didn’t need it. The children climbed into the car just as the fire trucks were roaring off.

As Steve and the Aldens took off after them, Henry, who was sitting in the front seat, noticed something unusual about the car. “There are no pedals!” he said.

“Since I can’t use my feet, I control the speed of the car and the brakes with my hands,” Steve said.

“That’s really neat,” said Jessie from the backseat.

Chester Road was only a few blocks away from the firehouse. Steve stopped the car some distance from the fire trucks, which had pulled up in front of a small yellow house. On the lawn were a man, a woman, and a small child. The Aldens realized this must be the family that lived there.

“I don’t see any smoke or fire,” said Benny.

“That’s good,” Steve said. “It may already be under control.”

Mike ran over and spoke14 briefly15 to the man and woman on the lawn. Then he directed a couple of the firefighters into the house.

“Shawn and Tom are going inside to check how bad the fire is,” Steve told the children.

Meanwhile, Christine climbed up into the back of the pumper. “She’ll control how much water goes through the hoses by using the knobs and dials up there,” Steve explained.

A firefighter was hooking up two hoses to the pumper. Another firefighter attached the loose end of one of the hoses to a nearby hydrant.

A few minutes later Shawn and Tom emerged from the house and stopped to speak to Mike and the family. The man and woman looked relieved.

Then the firefighters went back to the trucks, and Mike began calling directions out to them. “The fire’s out. There’s just a lot of smoke inside. Christine, you and Stuart can go on back to the station. Shawn and Tom, get the fans.”

“What are the fans for?” asked Violet.

“They’re to blow the smoke out of the house,” Steve answered.

The Aldens watched as Christine and Stuart disconnected the hoses and put them away inside the truck. Meanwhile, Shawn and Tom got a large fan out of the ladder truck and carried it inside.

“They didn’t get to use all the hoses and everything,” Benny said as Steve headed the car back to the firehouse.

“We never know how bad a fire is going to be, so we have to be prepared,” said Steve. “Fortunately, today it wasn’t too bad.”

When the Aldens arrived back at the firehouse, they got their bicycles and got ready to go home.

“This has been a long day!” said Violet.

“Yeah, and I’m starving,” added Benny. “Remember Mrs. McGregor said she was making chili16 for dinner tonight?”

“I’d hurry home, then, if I were you,” said Steve with a laugh. “Chili is one of my favorite dinners, and I haven’t had any in a long time.”

“Really?” asked Jessie. “We’re pretty good at making it, too — Mrs. McGregor showed us how. Maybe tomorrow we could make some for you and the other firefighters.”

“I’m off duty tomorrow, but how about the next night?” suggested Steve. “If it isn’t too much trouble.”

“It would be our pleasure,” said Henry.

And with that the children hurried home. They couldn’t wait to tell Grandfather and Mrs. McGregor, Grandfather’s housekeeper17, about their exciting day.

The next morning the Aldens rode back to the firehouse, eager to get to work. When they got there, Mike was out in front with Sparky. Mike looked very unhappy.

“What’s wrong?” Jessie asked.

“Come take a look,” he said, leading the way into the garage.

As soon as the Aldens entered the garage, they saw what was bothering Mike. Beside the door to the firehouse, all over the floor, was a huge, messy puddle18 of white paint!


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 sketch UEyyG     
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
参考例句:
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
2 trophies e5e690ffd5b76ced5606f229288652f6     
n.(为竞赛获胜者颁发的)奖品( trophy的名词复数 );奖杯;(尤指狩猎或战争中获得的)纪念品;(用于比赛或赛跑名称)奖
参考例句:
  • His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
3 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
4 trophy 8UFzI     
n.优胜旗,奖品,奖杯,战胜品,纪念品
参考例句:
  • The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
  • He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。
5 engraved be672d34fc347de7d97da3537d2c3c95     
v.在(硬物)上雕刻(字,画等)( engrave的过去式和过去分词 );将某事物深深印在(记忆或头脑中)
参考例句:
  • The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
  • It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美,背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 inscription l4ZyO     
n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文
参考例句:
  • The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损,无法辨认了。
  • He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。
7 trumpet AUczL     
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
8 trumpets 1d27569a4f995c4961694565bd144f85     
喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 ); 小号; 喇叭形物; (尤指)绽开的水仙花
参考例句:
  • A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
  • A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。
9 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
10 evergreen mtFz78     
n.常青树;adj.四季常青的
参考例句:
  • Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的,被叫做常青树。
  • There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
11 boughs 95e9deca9a2fb4bbbe66832caa8e63e0     
大树枝( bough的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
  • A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。
12 bin yR2yz     
n.箱柜;vt.放入箱内;[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件
参考例句:
  • He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
  • He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。
13 leftover V97zC     
n.剩货,残留物,剩饭;adj.残余的
参考例句:
  • These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
  • Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。
14 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。
15 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地,简短地
参考例句:
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
16 chili JOlzm     
n.辣椒
参考例句:
  • He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
  • It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉,辣椒,和其他的调味品。
17 housekeeper 6q2zxl     
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家
参考例句:
  • A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
  • She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家,一家人吃得很省。
18 puddle otNy9     
n.(雨)水坑,泥潭
参考例句:
  • The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑,沿着人行道跑了。
  • She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下,跌在水坑里。
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