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儿童英语读物 The Growling Bear Mystery CHAPTER 9 A Bear Scare

时间:2017-09-05 08:36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)

The children woke up at six the next morning.

“No slugabed Aldens today!” Jessie said a few minutes after she woke up. “We have to be at the front desk at six-thirty.”

While the other children stirred and stretched, Jessie reread the note they had found taped to their door the night before.

Dear Aldens,

Change of plans. Can you work in the morning instead of the afternoon? If so, please meet the manager, Mr. Colter, at the front desk, at 6:30. If you have other plans, don’t worry. It’s your vacation! Happy treasure hunting. See you Thursday. Lester and I are off tomorrow.

Eleanor Crabtree

“It looks like Ranger1 Crowe got in touch with Mrs. Crabtree after all,” Henry said. “And that Sam is on the trails with her.”

By six-thirty, the Aldens had finished a breakfast of pancakes and sausages. They gathered in the lobby to meet Mr. Colter.

“I like working here, but I wish we could go hiking instead,” Benny said. “What if Sam Jackson finds the cabin before we do? Or Mr. Crabtree does?”

Jessie bent2 down to talk with Benny. “Know what? There are four of us Aldens and only one Sam Jackson, one Ranger Crowe, and one Mr. Crabtree. Remember what Mrs. Crabtree said? We have four pairs of eyes. We’ll go hiking again first thing this afternoon. I promise.”

A minute later, a jolly man with a big smile came over to the Aldens. “Let me guess who you folks are,” the man said in a booming voice. “The Aldens, right? I’m Bob Colter. I heard all about you from Eleanor. I hope you don’t mind the change of plans. This morning our guides need some extra help giving a children’s nature tour out at the West Thumb geyser areas. I heard a rumor4 that you are good at taking care of young people.”

Benny looked up at the man. “That’s because we are young people,” he told Mr. Colter. “And we know lots about nature, even geysers. Especially Jessie. She knows everything.”

This tickled5 Mr. Colter. “So I heard. Anyway, the tour is only a couple of hours long. You’ll have the rest of the day free. Well, come along. The van is leaving for West Thumb at seven.”

Benny stuck his thumb out. “West Thumb? Here’s my west thumb, just like where we’re going.”

The Aldens spent the morning helping6 the guides lead a group of children around the West Thumb Paint Pots near Yellowstone Lake. The young children on the tour loved having the Aldens along. And Benny was right. Jessie knew everything—almost, anyway.

Riding back in the van, Henry had a good idea. “We’re passing the Continental7 Divide area soon, aren’t we?” he asked the van driver.

The driver nodded. “We’re about five minutes away. Why?”

Henry leaned over so the driver could hear him. “My brother and sisters and I would like to get off there. We want to hike on this end of the Lost Cabin Trails if they’re open. Then we’d only have a one-way hike back to the lodge8.”

“Sure thing,” the driver said. “I’ll pull into the parking lot.”

In a few minutes, the van slowed down. “Here’s the spot,” the driver told Henry. “Looks as if the trails are open. I’ll drop you off. You folks have plenty of water, food, and all your hiking gear?”

Henry held up his bulging9 backpack. “We Aldens don’t even go on a nature walk without all our outdoor supplies. Thanks a lot. Oh, would you tell Mr. Colter we decided10 to go hiking?”

“No problem,” the driver said. “Happy hiking.”

For a while the Aldens had very happy hiking indeed. Their backpacks were filled with plenty of water and trail mix. The hike began at the top of the mountain and went down. Best of all, they had the copy of Oz’s map safe in Henry’s pocket.

“This is an easy hike,” Benny announced, now that he was an experienced hiker. “It’s downhill. No huffing and puffing11.”

The Aldens had plenty of time to chat as they went along. Today they weren’t the least bit out of breath.

“Do you think we’ll run into Sam and Ranger Crowe?” Violet asked. “I’m worried that Sam saw our map. What if he made a copy for himself or figured out where the lost cabin might be?”

Everyone was quiet for a second until Jessie spoke12 up. “Sam might have Oz’s trapper’s map. I don’t like to think so, but he seems so unfriendly whenever we talk about hiking. Last night when he worked with us, he only talked with the children, never to us.”

“He talked to me,” Benny said. “He said, ‘Your turn’ when we were playing Old Maid.”

Everyone laughed. Sam Jackson wasn’t much of a talker.

After about twenty minutes of hiking, the children reached a rocky ledge13 that overlooked a clear, still lake.

“The lake looks like a mirror for the sky,” Violet said. “I wish I had my paints with me.”

They looked up at the cliffs to see if any birds were nesting up there.

“A bald eagle!” Jessie whispered. She didn’t want to frighten away the bird soaring in the air currents above her.

With the binoculars14, the children took turns tracking the huge eagle.

Henry followed the flight of the graceful15 bird, hoping to see its mate. “Oh. I don’t believe it,” he said a few seconds later. “Look.”

“What, Henry? What?” Jessie asked.

Henry slipped the binoculars from his neck. “Up there on that cliff. Isn’t that Mr. Crabtree? Whoever it is has on that same bright orange hat. It must be him.”

Jessie aimed the binoculars up the cliff. She focused the lenses. “It’s got to be Mr. Crabtree! Wait! I think he just saw us.”

The four children waved and jumped up and down to get Mr. Crabtree’s attention. When they stopped, the orange-hatted hiker had moved from the cliff trail.

The children gathered up their packs. Henry tightened16 the straps17 for Benny and Violet. “He didn’t wave back. Maybe that wasn’t Mr. Crabtree after all,” he said. “Remember, he told Mrs. Crabtree that he wouldn’t hike very far from the parking lot? That cliff is pretty far away to be hiking alone. I guess we should get moving, too. We’re not even halfway18 there yet.”

Jessie studied the copy of Oz’s map. “We’re almost where the arrow shows the lost cabin might be. See, Henry? Here’s the cliff. There’s the turnoff for Handkerchief Lake. The problem is, I can’t tell if the lost cabin is right off this trail or hidden in the deep woods.”

Henry took his position at the head of the line. The children hiked single file through the narrow, wooded trail.

“Let’s go a little farther, okay?” Henry suggested. “Benny, you and I can check the left side of the trail. Jessie and Violet can look to the right. Look for any unusual large shapes or forms. If no one’s discovered the cabin, it might be buried under trees or vines after all these years.”

The children saw fallen trees and unusual rocks, but no cabin. Soon the trail led into deep woods again.

“Grrr,” came a sound nearby.

The Aldens froze in their spots.

“Grrr,” came the sound again, this time much louder.

Henry clapped his hands. “Ring your bells, everybody!” he shouted.

Behind the other children, Jessie grabbed a big branch with dry leaves. She banged it against a tree trunk. “Make lots of noise,” she told everyone. “In case it is a . . . a . . . bear!”

“Back away slowly,” Henry yelled. “The sound is coming from farther ahead on the trail below the cliff. Keep ringing your bear bells. Let’s talk and shout while we’re backing away. Maybe the bear will head in the other direction.”

The growls19 seemed louder. Was the bear coming closer or just getting madder? The children heard the crunch20 of something moving in the woods. Whatever it was, it sounded huge.

With their bear bells ringing, the children yelled and shouted.

“No running!” Jessie advised. “Just smooth walking. Don’t be nervous. It’s probably more scared of us than we are of it.”

When Benny heard another round of growls, he yelled out, “My legs are all rubbery.”

That’s when Jessie began to sing at the top of her lungs. “The bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain. The bear went over the mountain, to see what he could see.”

Pretty soon the other children joined in. They shook their bear bells. They sang the bear song over and over until they reached the end of the trail, back where they had started.

“Whew,” Henry said, when they reached the lookout21 area. “That was a close call.”

“Let’s sit down on this picnic bench,” Jessie suggested. “I need to rest my legs.”

Benny took off his pack. “Look, my knees are knocking together from seeing that bear.”

The other children stared at Benny.

“You saw the bear?” Violet asked. Her throat was completely dry, and her words nearly faded away

Benny looked up at his brother and sisters. “Well . . . I almost saw the bear.”

“Hey, Aldens,” they heard a familiar voice call out from a tour bus parked nearby. “Need a ride?”

Henry stood up. “Grandfather! What are you doing here?”

“I’m on my way back from my fishing trip,” he told his grandchildren. “Some folks wanted to stop to take pictures by the Continental Divide sign. I guess I should ask what you are doing here, though I can see by your backpacks that you’ve been hiking.”

“Hiking and going the opposite direction from a bear,” Jessie told her grandfather.

“We saw a bear. I mean, I almost saw a bear,” Benny said. “But I wasn’t scared. Know why? Because I had on these.” Benny held out his arm and jingled22 his bear bells.

Mr. Alden laughed. “That’s the best bear repellent I know. Now, unless you want to hike all the way back to the lodge, hop3 on this tour bus. I want my companions to hear all about your bear stories. Then we can tell you all about our fish stories.”

The Aldens boarded the bus. They were so busy entertaining Mr. Alden’s new travel companions that they didn’t notice a familiar car pulling out of the crowded parking lot right after the bus. All the way up and down the mountain roads, an old red car stayed right behind the tour bus.

When the bus arrived at the lodge, Mr. Colter was standing23 out front to greet the passengers. “So you’re the grandfather of these splendid children,” he said to Mr. Alden. “We’ve had nothing but praise for them from everyone on our staff and all the guests who’ve met them.”

Mr. Colter turned to Benny. “I see you’re back from your hike safe and sound.”

“Almost not safe and sound!” Benny cried. “We saw a bear. I mean, we almost saw a bear. But we heard a bear for sure.”

“Whew, Benny,” Mr. Colter said after Benny repeated his story. “That sounds like a close call. Oh, Mrs. Crabtree,” he added when he noticed Mrs. Crabtree had joined the group. “You and your husband are back early. How did you two enjoy your day in Cody?”

Mrs. Crabtree was still smiling from hearing about Benny’s adventure. “Oh, I went to Cody alone. It was wonderful. Lester stayed behind to work on our trailer. He’s been there all day.”

“All day?” Jessie said, before she had time to think. “Oops.” She covered her mouth.

Mrs. Crabtree looked puzzled. “What is it, Jessie? Did you see Lester today?”

The Aldens weren’t sure what to say.

“Oh, we thought we saw Mr. Crabtree when we were hiking up by the Continental Divide.”

Mrs. Crabtree smoothed her jacket nervously24. “Oh, no. Mr. Crabtree spent the whole day at our trailer. Not that he got much done, mind you. It was his day off, after all. But he just told me he stayed in all day.”

“Oh,” Jessie said. She suddenly made herself very busy adjusting the straps on her backpack.

Just then Oz Elkhorn appeared. “There you are, Jimmy. And your grandkids, too. Mr. Colter said you’d be pulling up any second. I had a few errands up this way. I thought I’d wait around to tell you some good news.”

“What’s that?” the Aldens all said at once.

Grinning from ear to ear, Oz reached into his canvas bag. He pulled out a tube of paper and unrolled it.

“You found the trapper’s map!” Jessie cried.

“Nope, it found me,” Oz said, shaking his head. “I’m not sure how. I don’t suppose any of you children stuck this map in my mailbox here at the inn?”

“No way,” Henry said. “We haven’t seen that map since the day we arrived at Yellowstone. All we have is this beat-up copy that landed in the Dumpster.” Henry pulled out the Aldens’ copy of the map to show Oz.

“Good!” Oz told the children. “Now we have two maps. We’re going to need them for our hike tomorrow.”

“What hike?” Violet asked.

“Our hike to the lost cabin,” Oz said. “It’s about time we found that place. I’m taking the day off from the store. I’ll meet you bright and early.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ranger RTvxb     
n.国家公园管理员,护林员;骑兵巡逻队员
参考例句:
  • He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
  • He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。
2 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
3 hop vdJzL     
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过
参考例句:
  • The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛,看谁单足跳跃最快。
  • How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远?
4 rumor qS0zZ     
n.谣言,谣传,传说
参考例句:
  • The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
  • The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。
5 tickled 2db1470d48948f1aa50b3cf234843b26     
(使)发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)愉快,逗乐
参考例句:
  • We were tickled pink to see our friends on television. 在电视中看到我们的一些朋友,我们高兴极了。
  • I tickled the baby's feet and made her laugh. 我胳肢孩子的脚,使她发笑。
6 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。
7 continental Zazyk     
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的
参考例句:
  • A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
  • The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。
8 lodge q8nzj     
v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆
参考例句:
  • Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗?
  • I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。
9 bulging daa6dc27701a595ab18024cbb7b30c25     
膨胀; 凸出(部); 打气; 折皱
参考例句:
  • Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
  • Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她:“问问是不是重要的事。”
10 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。
11 puffing b3a737211571a681caa80669a39d25d3     
v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧
参考例句:
  • He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 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。
13 ledge o1Mxk     
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁
参考例句:
  • They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
  • Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上,摔倒了。
14 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。
15 graceful deHza     
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的
参考例句:
  • His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
  • The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。
16 tightened bd3d8363419d9ff838bae0ba51722ee9     
收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)变紧; (使)绷紧; 加紧
参考例句:
  • The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
  • His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机,然后又松开了。
17 straps 1412cf4c15adaea5261be8ae3e7edf8e     
n.带子( strap的名词复数 );挎带;肩带;背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 );用皮带抽打;包扎;给…打绷带
参考例句:
  • the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
  • The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。
18 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
19 growls 6ffc5e073aa0722568674220be53a9ea     
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 );低声咆哮着说
参考例句:
  • The dog growls at me. 狗向我狂吠。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The loudest growls have echoed around emerging markets and commodities. 熊嚎之声响彻新兴的市场与商品。 来自互联网
20 crunch uOgzM     
n.关键时刻;艰难局面;v.发出碎裂声
参考例句:
  • If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
  • People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。
21 lookout w0sxT     
n.注意,前途,瞭望台
参考例句:
  • You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
  • It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来,公司的前景可就不妙了。
22 jingled 1ab15437500a7437cb07e32cfc02d932     
喝醉的
参考例句:
  • The bells jingled all the way. 一路上铃儿叮当响。
  • Coins in his pocket jingled as he walked. 走路时,他衣袋里的钱币丁当作响。
23 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。
24 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地,不安地
参考例句:
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇,努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。
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