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儿童英语读物 The Haunted Clock Tower Mystery CHAPTER 8 The Tower Points the Way

时间:2017-10-13 03:13来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“Jessie, Violet, wake up,” said Benny.

Violet opened her eyes and sat up. “What time is it?”

“Five-thirty,” said Benny.

“Ugh,” said Violet, falling back onto her pillow.

Benny had set his little alarm clock for five-thirty to give them time to get dressed and get to the Quad1 by six. He and Henry had already put on their clothes.

Jessie sprang out of bed. “Come on, Violet! Let’s go find the treasure!”

The children reached the Quad a few minutes before six. They walked past the building under construction, with its wooden frame and piles of dirt. When they had reached the lawn in between McGraw and Morrill Halls, they stopped and looked around.

“I feel as if we should be looking for something,” Violet said, “but I’m not sure what.”

“I know what you mean,” Jessie agreed.

Then they heard the clock strike. Ding, ding, ding, it began. The children looked around. Ding, ding, it continued. Ding. The last chime hung in the air.

“Well?” Benny asked. “The clock has struck six. Now what?”

“I don’t know,” said Henry.

“Let’s look at the letter again,” suggested Violet.

“I’m hot,” said Benny. It was an unusually hot day and he had run straight up the hill to the Quad because he was so excited. “Let’s sit down in the shade while we read it.” He walked over and sat down in the shadow of the tower, which cut across the Quad in a long line.

As they all sat down, Violet pulled out the letter. “It says, ‘The tower will point the way.’ What does that mean?”

Suddenly Jessie said, “That’s it! Look at the tower’s shadow!”

The shadow was a long thin rectangle, with a point at the top because of the pointed2 roof.

“Oh, my goodness!” Violet exclaimed. “It looks like a giant arrow.”

“It really is pointing the way!” Benny said.

“It looks like it’s pointing to a spot right here,” Henry said, marking the ground with his foot.

“That must be where it’s buried!” said Jessie.

“And that would explain why we had to be here at six on a summer morning—the tower’s shadow would be different at different times of the year and different times of the day,” Henry pointed out.

The children looked at one another, their faces glowing with excitement.

“What are we waiting for?” Benny cried. “Let’s start digging!”

“I don’t think we can just start digging up the middle of the Quad,” Violet said uncertainly.

“No, I don’t think so, either,” said Henry.

“But we can’t just do nothing!” Benny said. “There’s a treasure down there.”

“There might be a treasure,” Jessie reminded him. “Someone might already have found it.”

“We need to ask someone if it’s okay to dig,” Henry said.

“Look at that truck.” Violet pointed off to the side of the Quad, where some men in green jumpsuits were trimming bushes. “It says ‘Goldwin University Grounds Crew’ on the side. They might be good people to ask.”

The children ran over to where the men were working. Jessie noticed that one of the men had a walkie-talkie and a clipboard. He seemed to be in charge. When she got closer she saw his jumpsuit had the words HEAD GROUNDSKEEPER embroidered3 over the left breast pocket.

“Excuse me,” she said to the man. “We have a question to ask you.”

“What can I do for you, young lady?” he asked.

“I know this is going to sound strange, but we’d like to dig a hole in the Quad, over there where the tower’s shadow ends.” Jessie turned and pointed. “Would that be okay?”

“What are you doing, searching for buried treasure?” the man asked, chuckling4. “Normally I’d say no, but they’re going to be digging up this area anyway this week, to put in a water line for the new construction. So it’s fine with me!”

“Thank you!” Jessie said.

“You can even borrow our shovels6, if you like,” he said, motioning to some shovels in the back of the truck.

Jessie looked around at the others.

“That would be great,” Henry said as he and Jessie each took two large shovels out of the truck. “We’ll bring them back in a little while.”

The four children walked back to the spot between Morrill and McGraw, carrying the shovels. When they got to the spot where the shadow seemed to be pointing, they started digging. Henry pushed his shovel5 in first, pulling up a big pile of dirt. The others joined in.

All of a sudden Benny stopped shoveling.

“What’s the matter, Benny?” Jessie asked as she lifted a shovelful7 of dirt and dumped it in the growing pile.

“I was just thinking about Professor Meyer’s glasses,” Benny said, going back to his digging.

“Why were you thinking about that?” Henry asked.

“Remember last night I said her glasses were the same as Mrs. McGregor’s?” Benny said.

The other children nodded.

“I just realized something. That’s not why they looked familiar. It’s because they’re the same glasses we found up in the clock tower,” he said.

“Really?” Jessie asked. “That would mean Professor Meyer has been up in the tower at night. Maybe she dropped the letter!”

“Remember when we showed her the letter?” Violet asked. “She said, ‘So that’s what happened to it.’ ”

“And she wears sneakers,” Benny said excitedly. “That would explain that muddy footprint.”

“Maybe this is the ‘special project’ she’d said she was working on,” Henry said. “Remember—she said she was always hoping to make a little more money. Finding a treasure would certainly do that!”

“But she seems so nice,” Jessie said. “I can’t believe she would be up to no good.”

“And how could she find a treasure if she can’t even find her own glasses?” Benny asked.

“Maybe that’s just an act,” said Henry. “Maybe she just pretends to be nice and sweet and forgetful, when she really knows exactly what she’s doing.”

By now they had dug a hole about a foot deep. But there was no sign of a treasure.

“What if this isn’t the right spot?” Benny asked, taking a break and leaning on his shovel. It was hard work, and the children were all getting tired and sweaty.

“Or what if the treasure is already gone?” asked Violet.

“Let’s dig a little while longer before we give up,” Henry suggested.

“Okay,” the others agreed.

A moment later, Jessie’s shovel hit something hard. “I think there’s something down here,” she said excitedly. The others began digging in that spot as quickly as they could.

“Yes, there’s definitely something hard here!” Violet said.

But when they’d pushed the dirt away, all they found was a large rock.

“Oh, no!” Benny said. “All that work for nothing. I bet it’s not here.”

Refusing to stop, Henry pushed his shovel into the ground one more time. The children all heard a loud clanging sound.

“What was that?” asked Benny.

“I don’t know, but it didn’t sound like dirt, and it didn’t sound like a rock,” said Henry.

Jessie, Violet, and Benny all came over and helped dig. At last they could see what Henry’s shovel had hit. It was the top of a large metal box!

“The treasure!” Benny cried.

“I don’t believe it,” said Jessie. “It’s really here!”

Getting down on their hands and knees, the children used their hands to clear the dirt away from the top and sides of the metal box. Then they dug more around the sides, until at last they had found the bottom corners of the box. After a little more digging, Henry and Jessie were able to reach down and put their arms around the big box, and put their hands underneath8. “It’s heavy,” Henry said as he and Jessie slowly lifted.

“Yeah,” Jessie gasped9. Slowly the two lifted the large metal box out of the hole.

“Wow, look at that,” said Violet.

The front of the box had a large heavy lock on it. “It’s a good thing we have the key,” said Benny.

“Let’s hope it fits,” Violet said, pulling it from her pocket.

She slipped the key into the old lock and turned. The lock clicked open.

The children looked at one another with anticipation10. What would they find inside?

“Here goes,” Henry said. He and Jessie stood on either side of the box and slowly lifted the heavy lid.

Inside the box they found several bundles wrapped in cloth. Henry bent11 down and began unwrapping one. Inside was an antique silver teapot. He unwrapped another bundle and found a collection of silverware. A large cloth bag was filled with heavy gold and silver coins and jewelry12.

The children just stood and stared, too stunned13 to speak. They had known they were on a treasure hunt, but they had never imagined they’d really find a treasure.

“I don’t believe it!” said Jessie.

“A real treasure,” said Benny.

“But it’s not ours,” Violet pointed out.

“No, we’ll have to return it to Joshua Chambers’s family,” said Henry.

“But still, I can’t believe we found a real treasure,” said Benny.

“You sure did,” said a voice behind them. “And you beat me to it!”

The children turned to see Julia Meyer standing14 behind them.

“Professor Meyer!” said Henry.
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 quad DkVzao     
n.四方院;四胞胎之一;v.在…填补空铅
参考例句:
  • His rooms were on the left-hand side of the quad.他的房间位于四方院的左侧。
  • She is a 34-year-old mother of quads.她是个生了四胞胎的34岁的母亲。
2 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。
3 embroidered StqztZ     
adj.绣花的
参考例句:
  • She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
  • She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。
4 chuckling e8dcb29f754603afc12d2f97771139ab     
轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • I could hear him chuckling to himself as he read his book. 他看书时,我能听见他的轻声发笑。
  • He couldn't help chuckling aloud. 他忍不住的笑了出来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
5 shovel cELzg     
n.铁锨,铲子,一铲之量;v.铲,铲出
参考例句:
  • He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
  • He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。
6 shovels ff43a4c7395f1d0c2d5931bbb7a97da6     
n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 );锹;推土机、挖土机等的)铲;铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 );锹;推土机、挖土机等的)铲;铲形部份
参考例句:
  • workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
  • In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天,我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句
7 shovelful rEYyc     
n.一铁铲
参考例句:
  • Should I put another shovelful of coal on the fire? 我要再往火里添一铲煤吗?
8 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。
9 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》
10 anticipation iMTyh     
n.预期,预料,期望
参考例句:
  • We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着,期待她的到来。
  • The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安,像是感到了地震即将发生。
11 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。
12 jewelry 0auz1     
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝
参考例句:
  • The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
  • Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。
13 stunned 735ec6d53723be15b1737edd89183ec2     
adj. 震惊的,惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
  • The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。
14 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。
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