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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Empty Safe CHAPTER 7 The Magic Show

时间:2017-09-26 08:15来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“I can’t find my new shoes!” Benny called.

“Can someone tie my purple hair ribbon?” Violet asked.

It was the following night and the Aldens were getting ready to go to the magic show. They were all getting dressed up in their best clothes. The boys were in slacks and jackets, and the girls wore pretty dresses. Even Grandfather was wearing a suit and his red flannel1 vest.

“Here are your shoes,” Henry said, pulling them out from under Benny’s bed.

“Oh, is that where they were,” said Benny. “How did you know?”

“Because that’s where I always find them when you forget to put them away in the closet, silly,” Henry said.

Meanwhile, Jessie was tying a purple satin ribbon in Violet’s hair. “There,” Jessie said, standing2 back and looking at her work. “You look very pretty, and the bow matches your dress perfectly3.”

“Thanks,” Violet told her sister. “And you look nice, too.”

In a short while the Aldens arrived at the community theater. A large crowd filed into the auditorium4. There were lots of young children, and the air was filled with the buzz of excited voices.

Jessie heard a boy next to her say, “This is the same magician that I saw at Billy’s birthday party. She was great!”

A man in front of them was telling another man, “Yes, we saw her here last year. She puts on a great show.”

As soon as the lights began to dim, the voices hushed. Music played and the lights came up on the stage. Then Cassandra appeared, dressed magnificently in a purple satin dress with a matching top hat and cape5. The audience broke into applause.

Cassandra was a tall woman with long, flowing brown hair. She walked gracefully6 back and forth7 across the stage, smiling out at the audience and bowing her head slightly in thanks for the applause. As soon as she spoke8, Jessie and Benny recognized the voice they’d heard in Party Time. Only now she didn’t sound angry. Now her voice was calm and cool.

Cassandra began with some small tricks, pulling silk flowers and scarves from her cape and hat. She heaped the colorful scarves and flowers on a small round table to her right. She juggled9 some sparkly balls and made them disappear. She poured a glass of milk into her hat, and the milk vanished. With each trick she invited the audience to help her by repeating the magic words she recited. The Aldens eagerly joined in, laughing and clapping at the tricks.

The next trick was a card trick. A girl Cassandra had chosen from the audience had to pick cards from a deck and Cassandra guessed the numbers. Amazingly, she was right every time. After the girl sat down, Cassandra called up another volunteer—this time a boy sitting near the stage.

Cassandra asked the boy to write his name and favorite ice cream flavor on a piece of paper. She took the paper from him.

Everyone was very surprised by what she did next. She tore up the paper into little pieces and dropped them into her hat. Then she waved her hand over the hat and pulled out—a whole sheet of paper. The paper wasn’t even crumpled10. When Cassandra turned the hat upside down, there was nothing else inside—no torn scraps11. Next Cassandra held up the paper and read from it. “Mint chocolate chip,” she said. “Is that your favorite kind of ice cream?”

The boy nodded.

“And your name is Kevin?” Cassandra asked.

“Yes,” said Kevin, obviously amazed. “But you just tore up what I wrote. How did you …?”

“That’s my secret,” Cassandra said, sending Kevin back down to his seat. “And now we’re going to take a short break. But make sure you’re back in your seats for the second half of the show!” The audience began clapping, and Cassandra smiled and curtsied before the curtain fell.

“That was great!” Benny said as the lights came back on.

“It sure was,” Henry agreed.

“She seems so nice,” said Violet. “It’s hard to believe she said all those mean things and might be trying to run us out of business.”

“You’re right,” said Jessie. “She doesn’t sound anything like she did yesterday at Party Time.”

“How about some Cokes?” Grandfather suggested. They all walked out to the lobby and enjoyed drinks and popcorn12 before returning to their seats.

The second half was even more exciting than the first. Cassandra was now wearing a sparkly red outfit13 with a matching red top hat. She took a live dove from her top hat and placed both dove and hat on the little round table, where the dove settled comfortably on the brim of the top hat among the silk scarves and flowers. Then she blew up some long thin balloons and twisted them into animal shapes—a dog, a bird, a monkey in a tree. She threw the first two balloon animals to eager children in the audience. But the monkey she put under her cape—and when she lifted her cape, it was gone. She did several more tricks and then paused and spoke dramatically. “I need three volunteers for my last and most amazing trick,” Cassandra said.

“Pick me, pick me!” Benny whispered under his breath as he reached his arm up as high as he could.

“You in the blue jacket,” Cassandra said, pointing right at Benny, “and the girls on either side of you.”

Benny, Jessie, and Violet turned around to make sure she was really pointing at them. “Us?” Benny asked.

“Yes,” Cassandra said with a smile, “you three.”

“Go on!” Henry said, patting each of them on the back as they slid down the row of seats and walked up the aisle14 to the stage.

“What are your names?” Cassandra asked Benny.

They each said their names in turn.

Cassandra seemed surprised. She paused for a minute. “Did you say Alden?” she asked.

“Yes,” Benny said.

Then Cassandra recovered from her surprise. “Well, do you see this big box behind us that’s covered by a cloth?”

“Yes,” they answered.

“Benny, Violet, go pull the cloth off,” Cassandra said.

They did as they were told. Underneath15 the cloth was no ordinary box. It was a safe.

“This trick is called the Mystery of the Empty Safe,” Cassandra said. “Jessie, will you hand me what’s inside the safe?” Jessie opened the door to the safe, which was not locked. Inside was a large bag with a dollar sign on the front. She lifted out the bag and gave it to Cassandra. It was quite heavy.

“What’s inside?” Cassandra asked, holding out the bag so Jessie could put her hand in.

Jessie reached in and pulled out some gold coins. “Looks like gold,” she said.

“Ah, money,” Cassandra said, her eyes lighting16 up. “Now, Violet and Benny, look inside the safe and tell me if you see anything else.”

“No,” Benny said after he’d looked.

“Just an empty safe,” said Violet.

“Now, all of you, feel the safe—try to move it. Is it heavy? Does it feel solid, like a real safe?” Cassandra asked.

Benny, Jessie, and Violet banged on the safe with their hands, tried to push it, and walked all around it, inspecting it closely.

“It feels very solid,” said Jessie.

“Put the money bag back inside, please, Jessie,” Cassandra instructed.

Again Jessie did as she asked. Then Cassandra shut the door of the safe and turned the lock on the front. “Now, each of you see if you can open the safe.”

Benny Jessie, and Violet each tried pulling the door open, but it was locked shut. Benny even tried turning the lock, but the door still wouldn’t open.

“I bet I can open it,” Cassandra said. She stepped in front of Benny and waved her hand over the safe. Then she knocked two times on the top of the safe, stepped back, and the door swung open by itself. Inside, the safe was empty.

The audience gasped17 and then began applauding. Jessie, Violet, and Benny smiled in surprise. Cassandra bowed deeply, and then showed the Alden children off the stage. Cassandra bowed one more time, the curtain fell, and the show was over.

Grandfather was standing up, putting on his coat and wrapping his scarf around his throat, when he noticed that none of his grandchildren were ready to go. They were all staring at the curtained stage, looking amazed and confused.

“Can you believe that last trick she did?” Jessie said at last.

“Wasn’t that wonderful?” said James Alden. “I’ll never guess how she did it.”

“That’s not what Jessie means,” Henry said. “That trick was … well, it’s exactly what’s happened to the two families we’ve given parties for. At the end of the parties their safes are empty.”

“Well, isn’t that a funny coincidence,” Grandfather said.

“If it is just a coincidence,” Henry said.

“What do you mean?” their grandfather asked.

“I think we’d better tell you about this in the car,” Jessie said. She and the others quickly put on their coats, hats, and mittens18. Once they were in the car, Jessie told Grandfather about their torn posters, which had been replaced by Cassandra’s posters, and about the angry phone call Cassandra had made to Mr. Grayson. They also told him about the conversation they’d overheard in Party Time. “We’ve been wondering if we’re the ones she was talking about—if she’s mad at us for taking away some of her birthday party business. We’re afraid she’s trying to get rid of us—or at least our party business. And now that empty safe trick really makes me wonder …”

“You don’t think she robbed those two families, do you?” Grandfather asked.

“I can’t believe she’d really do that,” said Henry. “And yet …”

“She’s such a successful magician,” Mr. Alden said. “Why would she risk committing crimes to make money, when she does so well with her magic shows?”

“Yes, but not with her birthday party business, and she said that was a big part of her income. Anyway, maybe she didn’t rob the safes for the money,” Jessie offered. “Maybe she just did it as a prank19, because she was mad at the families that used us for their parties.”

“That’s a pretty dangerous prank,” Henry said.

“Yes, it is,” Jessie agreed.

“I noticed something else,” said Violet, who’d been quiet since the show ended. “Remember when we went up on stage and Cassandra asked our names? Did anyone notice something strange about her reaction?”

“Yes, I’d forgotten, but I did notice that,” said Benny. “When we told her, she looked surprised. She said, ‘Did you say Alden?’ as if she’d heard our name before.”

“That would make sense if she knows about our birthday party service,” said Jessie.

“Maybe Cassandra isn’t to blame at all,” said Henry. “Maybe it’s her manager using her party service as a cover for his own burglaries.”

“You kids and your mysteries,” said Grandfather. “I agree that there have been some strange coincidences happening lately, but I hope you’re not going to jump to any conclusions about Cassandra.”

“Don’t worry, Grandfather, we won’t,” Henry assured him. “But we’re not going to rest until we’ve solved this.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 flannel S7dyQ     
n.法兰绒;法兰绒衣服
参考例句:
  • She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
  • She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子,看上去楚楚动人。
2 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。
3 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
4 auditorium HO6yK     
n.观众席,听众席;会堂,礼堂
参考例句:
  • The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
  • The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出,伸入观众席。
5 cape ITEy6     
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风
参考例句:
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
6 gracefully KfYxd     
ad.大大方方地;优美地
参考例句:
  • She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
7 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。
8 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。
9 juggled a77f918d0a98a7f7f7be2d6e190e48c5     
v.歪曲( juggle的过去式和过去分词 );耍弄;有效地组织;尽力同时应付(两个或两个以上的重要工作或活动)
参考例句:
  • He juggled the company's accounts to show a profit. 为了表明公司赢利,他篡改了公司的账目。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The juggler juggled three bottles. 这个玩杂耍的人可同时抛接3个瓶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 crumpled crumpled     
adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
  • She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。
11 scraps 737e4017931b7285cdd1fa3eb9dd77a3     
油渣
参考例句:
  • Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
  • A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。
12 popcorn 8lUzJI     
n.爆米花
参考例句:
  • I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时,喜欢吃爆米花。
  • He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后,嘴里塞满了爆米花。
13 outfit YJTxC     
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装
参考例句:
  • Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
  • His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
14 aisle qxPz3     
n.(教堂、教室、戏院等里的)过道,通道
参考例句:
  • The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
  • The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。
15 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
16 lighting CpszPL     
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
参考例句:
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
17 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》
18 mittens 258752c6b0652a69c52ceed3c65dbf00     
不分指手套
参考例句:
  • Cotton mittens will prevent the baby from scratching his own face. 棉的连指手套使婴儿不会抓伤自己的脸。
  • I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm. 我在手套中握拳头来保暖手指。
19 prank 51azg     
n.开玩笑,恶作剧;v.装饰;打扮;炫耀自己
参考例句:
  • It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.人们认为火警报警器响是个恶作剧。
  • The dean was ranking the boys for pulling the prank.系主任正在惩罚那些恶作剧的男学生。
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