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儿童英语读物 The Comic Book Mystery CHAPTER 5 Violet Remembers Something

时间:2017-10-26 03:19来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“He’s here!” Benny said excitedly, letting the curtain drop back from the living room window. He had been watching for Sid to arrive since breakfast.

“Benny,” said Mrs. McGregor. “It’s not polite to press your nose against the window.” The housekeeper1 straightened the drape.

“I know, but I couldn’t wait for Sid to get here,” said Benny.

When the doorbell rang, Mrs. McGregor answered it.

“Nice to see you again, Sid,” she said. “Please come in.”

Grandfather and the children entered the living room to greet their guest.

James Alden introduced himself. “It’s very nice of you to take my grandchildren to the publishing house today. They have talked of nothing else.”

“I’m glad to have such enthusiastic fans,” said Sid. He turned to the children. “Are we ready to go?”

“I’ve been ready for hours!” said Benny, grabbing2 his jacket and heading out the door first.

After everyone was buckled3 into Sid’s dark green van, Sid pulled out of the driveway and onto the main road.

“How far is it to the comic book place?” Benny asked.

“About forty-five minutes,” Sid replied.

“We were wondering how you became a comic book artist,” Henry said.

“I used to doodle as a kid,” said Sid. “I drew cartoons about a funny little character I made up. Then I put the cartoons in a book. Other kids saw it and wanted copies.”

The long drive passed quickly as Sid told the Aldens about how he kept drawing as a teenager and later went to art school.

“After art school, I got a job at ABC Comics, the comic book publishing house we’re going to,” he said. “I was hired as a ‘cleanup’ person.”

“You mopped floors and took out the trash?” Benny asked.

Sid laughed. “The cleanup person erases5 stray6 lines. It makes the artist’s job a little easier.”

“How did you go from being a cleanup person to making your own comic?” asked Jessie.

“That’s quite a story,” Sid began. “I made a couple of friends at this place. One was the letterer and the other did the inking. You’ll learn all about those jobs when we get to ABC Comics.”

Sid told the Aldens that he and his two friends decided7 to create their own comic. They made up a superhero character and wrote and drew a sample comic book.

“But the idea was rejected,” Sid said.

“You must have been really disappointed,” said Violet.

“We were, but I didn’t want to give up,” Sid told them. “I created my own superhero, Captain Fantastic, and did another sample comic book by myself. This time, when I showed it to my boss, he bought it.”

“Your friends must have been excited,” said Henry.

Sid maneuvered8 the van onto another highway. “Actually, they weren’t very happy, especially when Captain Fantastic was a hit. I was able to buy my house and work at home.”

“Are you still friends with them?” Benny wanted to know.

Sid shook his head. “They both left ABC Comics. The letterer is now working for another comic book company. And the inker quit. I think she’s doing something really different from art. I lost track of her.”

“That’s too bad,” said Violet. “Friends should stay friends.”

“I agree,” said Sid, turning the van into a parking lot.

“Are we here?” asked Jessie. She looked at the one-story brick building in front of her.

Sid switched off the engine. “This is it. ABC Comics is a small operation. There are lots of little companies publishing comic books these days. Comics are popular, so it’s a big business.”

They got out and went into the building. Sid carried his leather case.

A pretty blond9 woman sitting behind the front desk greeted them with a smile.

“Sid! I’m so anxious to see the new comic!” she said.

Sid set his case on her desk. “I hope everyone likes it. Cindy, these are my friends Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. They want to see how comics are made.”

Cindy asked the children to sign the guest book. “Enjoy!” she said.

They began the tour.

“This is John,” Sid said, introducing them to a young man sitting at a tilted10 drawing table. “He’s the cleanup man here.”

“That was your job once,” Benny said.

John grinned at Benny. “I replaced Sid Hoyt when he left. He’s famous now! Maybe one day I will be, too. As the cleanup person, I use this special eraser to erase4 smudges so the page is nice and clean.”

Next they visited another young artist at a drawing table.

“This is Gus,” Sid said. “He’s the inker. Tell the kids what you do, Gus.”

Leaning back in his chair, Gus explained that he inks over penciled drawings. Then he showed them his special pen and let them try it out on scrap11 paper.

In the back, the children met Lily, who was the colorist.

“You color in the comic,” Henry said.

“That’s right,” Lily told them. “I use a key, or chart, that the artist has written out for me. Right now I’m painting the sky on this panel12. It’s supposed to look like night, so I’m using a dark blue watercolor.”

On the walls, Lily had hung oil paintings of her dog.

“I like to do other kinds of art, too,” she explained. “I’d like to paint people’s pets for a living, but this job pays the bills.”

The last stop was a desk in the corner. A young man named Chris stopped working to explain his job.

“I’m the letterer,” he said. “I write the letters in the dialogue balloons.”

“How did you learn to write like that?” Benny wondered.

“Practice,” Chris said. “I learned from copybooks. Now I write like this all the time,” he said with a laugh.

Violet studied the comic page he was lettering. Where had she seen that kind of writing before? Suddenly she remembered.

The note that fell out of their fake13 comic had been written in that style! The person who wrote the note was the one who made the fake comic, since it was signed “Sid.” Could that person be a professional letterer, too?

Before Violet could mention this to the others, Sid took them around to see the rest of the company.

Benny had a question. “But where do you make the comics?”

“You mean, where are they printed?” Sid asked. “The publisher doesn’t print comics. We send them to a printing company in another state and they print the copies. Will you all excuse me a moment? I have to let my boss know I’m dropping off the original art for the new Captain Fantastic.”

The kids went back to the reception area. As they did, they saw Cindy zipping up Sid’s leather case.

She flushed14 with embarrassment15.

“I thought I saw a piece of paper sticking out,” she said. “I didn’t want it to get soiled.” She hustled16 the case to a glass-windowed office in the back.

“I think she was peeking17 inside Sid’s case,” Jessie whispered.

“Maybe she’s just nosy,” Henry whispered back. “She said she was anxious to see Sid’s new comic.”

“Maybe she’s a spy,” Jessie said. “Sid said the counterfeiter18 needed help to print and sell the fake comic. Somebody who works in a comic publishing house. Why not this one?”

Just then Sid returned.

“How about lunch,” he suggested. “Talking about comic books makes me hungry!”

“Me, too!” Benny agreed heartily19

Sid Hoyt took them to a little restaurant nearby. Framed drawings by comic book artists decorated the walls. The sandwiches and desserts were named after comic characters.

When their Captain Fantastic platters arrived, Sid asked the children if they’d had a chance to work on the mystery.

Violet told him about the lettering in the note. “It’s just like the writing Chris uses.”

Sid put down a french fry. “Most comic book artists can letter. But probably only a professional letterer, someone who writes that way so often that it becomes their normal handwriting, would use that style to jot20 a quick note. The counterfeiter may well be someone in the comic book business.”

“There’s something else,” Jessie brought up. “We caught Cindy peeking in your case. She made up an excuse, but she acted guilty.”

“Cindy is kind of nosy,” Sid said.

Henry had been thinking. Everyone at ABC Comics acted as if they wished they had another job or were successful like Sid Hoyt.

“It’s possible the person who made the fake number nine comic isn’t a stranger,” he said. “It could be someone you know.”

“I’ve never thought of that,” Sid said. “I just figured it’s somebody out to make money.”

Because it was late, they skipped dessert and headed home.

Benny, who was sitting in the backseat of the van, noticed a car behind them. It was a beat-up blue station wagon21.

The station wagon followed them almost to the Aldens’ house before turning off onto another street.

Was it the same station wagon they saw yesterday as they walked from Sid’s house to the bus station?

If it was, their spy had returned.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 grabbing 6631ce3e19c459ec52654b31168f12de     
v.抢先,抢占( grab的现在分词 );(尤指匆忙地)取;攫取;(尤指自私、贪婪地)捞取
参考例句:
  • The plane was grabbing for altitude. 这架飞机在抢占高度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He sprang to his feet, grabbing his keys off the coffee table. 他一跃而起,从茶几上一把抓起自己的钥匙。 来自辞典例句
3 buckled qxfz0h     
a. 有带扣的
参考例句:
  • She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
  • The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。
4 erase woMxN     
v.擦掉;消除某事物的痕迹
参考例句:
  • He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
  • Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。
5 erases 70d0c9cc7f972db566a5ef8bd65ed7f8     
v.擦掉( erase的第三人称单数 );抹去;清除
参考例句:
  • This command erases all data on the specified partition. 这指令在指定的分区上抹去所有的数据。 来自互联网
  • A literary image erases the more indolent images of perception. 文学意象抹除那些感官的懒惰意象。 来自互联网
6 stray bGpzL     
n.走失的家畜,浪子;adj.迷途的,偶然的;vi.迷路,彷徨
参考例句:
  • We couldn't identify the stray child.我们不能辨认出这个迷途孩子的身份。
  • Please don't stray from the subject.请不要离开本题。
7 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。
8 maneuvered 7d19f91478ac481ffdfcbdf37b4eb25d     
v.移动,用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 );操纵
参考例句:
  • I maneuvered my way among the tables to the back corner of the place. 我在那些桌子间穿行,来到那地方后面的角落。 来自辞典例句
  • The admiral maneuvered his ships in the battle plan. 舰队司令按作战计划进行舰队演习。 来自辞典例句
9 blond KRpyb     
adj.金发的;n.白肤碧眼金发的人
参考例句:
  • Her long blond hair spilled down over her shoulders.她那淡黄色的长发披垂在双肩。
  • This blond man delivers newspaper every morning.这个白肤金发碧眼的男人每天早晨送报纸。
10 tilted 3gtzE5     
v. 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。
11 scrap JDFzf     
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废
参考例句:
  • A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
  • Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。
12 panel l4IzD     
n.面,板,专门小组,控制板,仪表盘
参考例句:
  • The unusual control panel on the walls caught our attention.墙上不同寻常的控制板引起了我们的注意。
  • The panel of judges included several well-known writers.评判小组中包括几位知名作家。
13 fake RlDx4     
vt.伪造,造假,假装;n.假货,赝品
参考例句:
  • He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
  • You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。
14 flushed hstzqh     
a.(~with sth.)兴奋的,充满喜悦的
参考例句:
  • She flushed with anger. 她气得涨红了脸。
  • Her face was flushed with anger. 她的脸气红了。
15 embarrassment fj9z8     
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫
参考例句:
  • She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
  • Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
16 hustled 463e6eb3bbb1480ba4bfbe23c0484460     
催促(hustle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
  • The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。
17 peeking 055254fc0b0cbadaccd5778d3ae12b50     
v.很快地看( peek的现在分词 );偷看;窥视;微露出
参考例句:
  • I couldn't resist peeking in the drawer. 我不由得偷看了一下抽屉里面。
  • They caught him peeking in through the keyhole. 他们发现他从钥匙孔里向里窥视。 来自辞典例句
18 counterfeiter gvtzao     
n.伪造者
参考例句:
  • If the illegal gains are very large the counterfeiter shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than seven years and be fined. 对于违法所得数额巨大的,处3年以上7年以下有期徒刑,并处罚金。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Judge: (asking a counterfeiter) Why do you make false money? 法官:(威严地问假币制造者)你为什么制造假币? 来自互联网
19 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
20 jot X3Cx3     
n.少量;vi.草草记下;vt.匆匆写下
参考例句:
  • I'll jot down their address before I forget it.我得赶快把他们的地址写下来,免得忘了。
  • There is not a jot of evidence to say it does them any good.没有丝毫的证据显示这对他们有任何好处。
21 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
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