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儿童英语读物 The Mystery at the Crooked House CHAPTER 7 Look Out!

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The Aldens had searched through all the books of riddles2 but found absolutely nothing that would help them. So the next morning, they decided3 to take a break for a while. After a breakfast of hot oatmeal and blueberry muffins, they bundled up in their warmest clothes and went outside to build a snowman.

As Henry lifted the head onto the snowman’s body, Jessie said, “Oh, dear! Our snowman is leaning over to one side!”

Henry stood back to take a look. “He sure is! Just like the chimney.”

“We made a crooked4 man to go with the Crooked House!” Benny cried out with delight.

The idea made them all laugh. “He does seem to fit right in!” said Henry.

“Hmmm,” said Violet thoughtfully. “I think our crooked snowman still needs a little something.”

Henry looked around until he found a broken branch on the ground. A few minutes later, Benny came running out of the house with a funny-shaped carrot. Soon their snowman had a crooked walking stick and a crooked nose!

Nick and Clarissa were walking out to their car. They came over to see what all the excitement was about.

“Oh, look!” cried Clarissa. “A crooked snowman!”

Nick threw his head back and laughed. “Now all you need is a crooked cat!”

Benny nodded. “I remember that nursery rhyme! The crooked man bought a crooked cat who caught a crooked mouse.”

“And they all lived together in a little crooked house!” everybody sang out at the same time.

“Our snowman leans to the right,” Benny told Mrs. McGregor over a lunch of chicken noodle soup and toasted tomato sandwiches. “That means he’s a very friendly snowman, doesn’t it, Jessie?”

Jessie reached over and ruffled5 her younger brother’s hair. “That’s just for handwriting, Benny!”

“Oh, are you children interested in handwriting?” Madeline’s eyebrows6 shot up. “Nick’s been studying it for years. Did you know that he can look at someone’s handwriting and tell you exactly what sort of person they are? It’s really quite amazing.”

“Is Nick an expert in handwriting analysis?” Nola sounded surprised.

Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. Why was Nola suddenly so interested in their conversation?

“It’s just a hobby of his,” said Madeline. “But he’s really quite good at it.”

“Jessie’s good at it, too,” Benny put in. “She could tell that Henry was a hard worker and that Violet was helpful just by looking at their handwriting. And Jessie was right! It was Violet’s idea to decorate a tree with food for the birds. That was very helpful.”

Madeline nodded approvingly. “If you’d like to help the birds of Riddle1 Lake, feel free to use whatever you can find in the kitchen.”

“Thank you,” said Violet shyly. “We’ll make some decorations when we get back from tobogganing.”

As they made their way up the snowy slope, Henry said, “Just one more ride down, then we’d better start back.”

They had been tobogganing all afternoon. Clarissa had come along, too, and the sun was just starting to set as they piled on for one last ride. Benny was in front, with Clarissa, Violet, and Jessie behind him. “Hold on tight!” hollered Henry. He gave the toboggan a push, then hopped7 onto the back.

Zooming8 down the hill, they all shouted and squealed9 as the snow sprayed back into their faces. About halfway10 down, the toboggan went off course. Before they knew what was happening, they were heading straight for a tree!

“Look out!” cried Clarissa.

But it was too late. Everybody tumbled into the snow when the toboggan collided into the tree with a great thunk!

“Is everyone okay?” asked Henry, shaking the snow from his hat.

For a moment, they were all laughing too hard to speak. Finally, Benny held up an icicle. “Look! We knocked out the tree’s tooth.”

Everyone laughed at Benny’s joke. Then Violet began to stare wide-eyed at the tree.

“What’s the matter?” Jessie asked her in alarm.

Scrambling11 to her feet, Violet rushed over and snapped another icicle from a branch. “It really does look like a tooth,” she said. “A dragon’s tooth!”

When Violet started to recite the riddle aloud, the other Aldens chimed in. By now, they knew it by heart. When they were finished, Benny cried out, “Wait a minute! A tree loses its teeth when the icicles melt!”

Jessie’s eyes were sparkling. “And it gets new teeth when the winter comes around again. Just not the kind of teeth that bite.”

“Of course!” agreed Henry. “A tree does have bark, so its—”

“Bark is worse than its bite!” finished Violet. “The answer to the riddle is a tree!”

The Aldens let out a cheer. Putting together clues was always fun.

“I’m glad you found the answer to the riddle,” Clarissa told them as they headed home. “Even if it did take longer than just a second!”

Jessie looked confused. How did Clarissa know about the P.S. at the end of the Mystery Lady’s note?

When they were back at the Crooked House, they waved good-bye to Clarissa. As soon as she was out of earshot, Jessie said, “Nobody told Clarissa that it was supposed to take a second to find the treasure. How did she know?”

“Maybe Madeline told her about it,” suggested Henry.

“I doubt it,” said Jessie as they went around to the back of the house. “Madeline doesn’t even believe there is a treasure.”

Violet thought about this. “Clarissa might have overheard us talking yesterday. Don’t forget, she was standing12 right behind us when we were taking a break from playing hockey.”

“I guess that’s possible,” admitted Jessie. But she wasn’t so sure.

Henry put the toboggan away in the shed, then fastened the lock on the door. “Well, at least we found the answer to the riddle!”

Benny seemed worried. “But we still don’t know where the treasure is hidden. Do we?”

“I think I know where to look!” Violet said, her voice excited.

When their boots were lined up neatly13 by the door and their knitted hats were all hanging on the hat tree, the Aldens raced up the crooked stairs behind Violet. Dashing into the room with the cornflower-blue wallpaper, Violet pointed14 to the Mystery Lady’s painting on the wall.

Everybody stared at it for a moment. Then Jessie said thoughtfully, “There are icicles on the trees in that picture. But I doubt the painting’s worth very much, Violet. Mrs. McGregor told us that the Mystery Lady was just a beginner.”

“That’s true,” said Violet. “But what if there’s something hidden in the back of the frame?”

That was possible. They decided to check. Henry lifted the painting down from the wall. And sure enough, Violet was right! They found a note just under the backing.

“It’s another riddle,” Henry told them. Then he snapped his fingers. “That’s what the Mystery Lady meant! She wasn’t talking about time when she said it would take a second to find the treasure.”

“I don’t get it,” responded Benny.

“I think I do,” said Jessie. “She meant it would take a second riddle!”

Henry nodded.

“Well, what does it say, Henry?” Benny asked.

Henry read the riddle out loud:

“‘Look around and you will see,

A thing that hangs upon a tree;

If you’re partial to the shade,

Just keep this thing with you all day!

What is it?’”

“What does partial mean?” asked Benny.

“It means, if you prefer the shade to the sun,” explained Violet.

Jessie sighed. “The second riddle is certainly a mystery, too!”

“I just hope it’s a mystery we can solve,” replied Henry.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 riddle WCfzw     
n.谜,谜语,粗筛;vt.解谜,给…出谜,筛,检查,鉴定,非难,充满于;vi.出谜
参考例句:
  • The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
  • Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。
2 riddles 77f3ceed32609b0d80430e545f553e31     
n.谜(语)( riddle的名词复数 );猜不透的难题,难解之谜
参考例句:
  • Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看,口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
  • But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句
3 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。
4 crooked xvazAv     
adj.弯曲的;不诚实的,狡猾的,不正当的
参考例句:
  • He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指,示意我们到他那儿去。
  • You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。
5 ruffled e4a3deb720feef0786be7d86b0004e86     
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
  • All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。
6 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
7 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。
8 zooming 2d7d75756aa4dd6b055c7703ff35c285     
adj.快速上升的v.(飞机、汽车等)急速移动( zoom的过去分词 );(价格、费用等)急升,猛涨
参考例句:
  • Zooming and panning are navigational tools for exploring 2D and 3D information. 缩放和平移是浏览二维和三维信息的导航工具。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
  • Panning and zooming, especially when paired together, create navigation difficulties for users. 对于用户来说,平移和缩放一起使用时,产生了更多的导航困难。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
9 squealed 08be5c82571f6dba9615fa69033e21b0     
v.长声尖叫,用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He squealed the words out. 他吼叫着说出那些话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The brakes of the car squealed. 汽车的刹车发出吱吱声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 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。
11 scrambling cfea7454c3a8813b07de2178a1025138     
v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发,冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
14 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。
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