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儿童英语读物 The Radio Mystery CHAPTER 5 The Face in the Photograph

时间:2017-11-09 05:34来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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Before Benny could hear any more, Frances St. Clair swept into the breakroom.

“What are you doing?” she said sharply. “The station phones are not toys.”

Benny quickly hung up the receiver. “It kept ringing, so I answered it.”

“From now on,” Frances said frostily, “let the grown-ups answer the phones.”

She fetched a bottle of water from the refrigerator, then left without another word.

Why is she always so grouchy1? Benny wondered.

Violet stuck her head in the door. “We’re ready to go, Benny. How come you look so funny? Did something happen?”

Before Benny could reply Frances came back in with Gwen. Gwen tidied the counter while they talked about the next day’s show.

“Tell you later when we’re alone,” Benny whispered to Violet.

Gwen walked back to Jocelyn’s house with them. She seemed distant. When they reached Jocelyn’s, Gwen went straight to her bedroom and shut the door.

Grandfather and Jocelyn were in the office, studying a chart on the computer screen.

Henry, Jessie, Benny, and Violet settled on the couches in a small study upstairs. They were eager to discuss the mystery.

“Does anybody have anything to report?” Henry asked. “Suspicious behavior, clues …”

“Frances St. Clair might be a suspect,” Violet said. “She doesn’t like kids very much.”

“A lot of people don’t like children,” Jessie pointed2 out. “That doesn’t make them thieves.”

“I think Frances is kind of strange, too,” Henry said. “But why would she take the microphones and the records? What’s her motive3?”

“She doesn’t seem to like writing the mystery show,” Violet said. “Remember, she wanted to quit, too, when the cast left yesterday.”

“I think Frances is just grumpy,” Benny said. “My top suspect is Earl Biggs. And I have a clue!”

“Earl Biggs?” Jessie said. “We’ve never even seen him!”

“I have,” Benny said. Benny told the others about meeting Earl by the Dumpster and the overheard phone call. “The woman was definitely Jocelyn. And I think the man was Earl Biggs!”

“Wow,” said Henry. “This is major. What kind of answer do you think he needs from her?”

“Maybe Earl Biggs is trying to get Jocelyn to sell the station,” Violet suggested.

Jessie nodded. “That would make Earl a strong suspect. And his auto4 shop is right next door to the station. He could easily sneak5 in and out during the day.”

“He wasn’t very nice, either,” Benny said. “And he said we won’t be doing the mystery show anymore! It sounded like a threat.”

“We’ll watch out for Earl Biggs,” said Henry. “We could have this mystery wrapped up by tomorrow!”

After breakfast the next morning, Jessie, Violet, Henry, Benny, and Gwen left for the station.

“I have a feeling the ‘ghost’ will pay us a visit today,” Gwen predicted as they walked down the street.

Henry patted his backpack. “I brought flashlights, just in case.”

When they got to the station, Gwen and the Aldens waved hello to Avery, who was busy in the control booth, then went to the breakroom to wait for Frances to arrive with the script.

Gwen handed them each a paper cup filled with water. “Sipping water will help your voices,” she advised.

Violet examined the framed photographs in the display case. “Do you know who these people are?” she asked Gwen.

“The cheerleader is Gran. That football player is my grandfather,” said Gwen. “The other football player is Earl Biggs.”

“Earl must be sad that Jocelyn married Luther instead of marrying him,” Benny said.

Gwen shrugged6. “That was a long time ago. I don’t think he’d still be sad. Besides, Gran and Earl are good friends. And Earl was friends with my grandfather, too.”

“Who’s this girl?” Violet asked, pointing to a photograph of a girl with a ponytail, speaking into a microphone. “She’s in all the radio station pictures.”

“That,” Gwen said, “is Daphne Owens.”

“Really?” Violet looked at the pretty face more closely. “I wonder what happened to her …”

Just then, Frances walked briskly into the breakroom. She nodded hello and handed each of them a script.

“You kids are good readers,” she said. “I’ll let you go over your lines by yourselves. Then we’ll do the run-through.”

Jessie, Henry, Benny, and Violet headed for the soundstage. As they passed the sound booth, Avery looked up and smiled. An opened box of chocolate doughnuts sat on the counter near his sports water bottle.

Jessie remembered Avery had a box of doughnuts on the console the day before, too. “Avery sure likes doughnuts,” she said.

Benny tapped on the glass. He pointed to the doughnuts. That chocolate one sure looked good.

But Avery, who was talking into the mike, shook his head.

“He doesn’t want to share,” Benny said, disappointed.

“Maybe he didn’t know what you wanted,” said Jessie. “Anyway, you just had breakfast.”

“I think it’s a little strange,” Violet remarked. “Usually Avery is so nice. He can’t eat all those doughnuts himself.”

“He ate all the doughnuts yesterday,” Jessie said, opening the door to the soundstage. “Maybe those doughnuts are Avery’s breakfast and lunch.”

Henry pulled up four folding chairs. “I wish we had time to memorize our lines,” he said, “in case the lights go out.”

“I could! I only have to remember ‘woof’ and ‘arf,’” Benny said, making them all laugh.

Then Gwen came in. “How’s the script?”

“Today’s episode is really good,” Jessie said. “Our characters get caught outside in a storm. They see the ghost dog in a graveyard7 on a hill, and he leads them to shelter and then disappears.”

“When they go into the graveyard again, they find a tombstone with the dog’s picture on it,” Violet added.

Gwen looked over her own copy of the script. “Hmmm. I’ll need my thunderstorm tape. I can make the wind sound effects with a fan.”

After Gwen had assembled her props8, the cast did a run-through with Frances.

“Fine,” she said crisply. “You’re ready to go on the air.”

The kids began the live show at ten o’clock. Everything was going well until the windstorm scene. Right after Gwen turned on her fan, the lights flickered9, then died. Only the red ON AIR light remained on.

“Don’t stop!” Henry whispered to the others, clicking on his flashlight.

Violet and Jessie turned on their flashlights, too. Without a pause, they read their parts as if nothing was wrong.

At least this time there isn’t any horrible screaming, Jessie thought. She aimed her flashlight around the soundstage. She saw the fan on Gwen’s stool, still blowing mightily10. But Gwen wasn’t at her station. Before she could beam her flashlight into the shadow-draped corners, the lights came back on.

Avery, who was just entering his booth, gave them a thumbs-up signal through the soundproof glass. Frances paced in the hallway.

Then Jessie noticed that Gwen was at her station, changing tapes in front of her microphone. Had she been in the room all along, hidden in the shadows?

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny exchanged eyebrow-raised glances, but they kept going through the last scene in the play. At last the show ended. Avery cued up the Earl’s Auto Sales commercial and came into the soundstage.

“You kids were terrific,” he praised. “You too, Gwen. It was great how you kept the play going even when the lights went out. You’re just like professionals!”

“What happened?” Gwen asked breathlessly.

Jessie stared at her. Why was Gwen short of breath? Had she left the room, then hurried back under cover of darkness? Or had the incident genuinely frightened her?

“Some of the fuses were pulled,” Avery said. “Whoever is doing this knows our fuse box is by the side door. And he knows exactly which fuses to loosen to make the lights go out.”

“What do you mean?” Benny asked, confused.

“The fuse box in the hall controls the electricity in the station,” Avery explained. “One fuse is for the electricity to my equipment. Another fuse controls the lights. Still another controls the microwave and refrigerator in the breakroom. So to make the lights go out, the ghost has to pull the right fuse.”

“The fan stayed on,” Jessie pointed out, “and so did the red ON AIR light. Those fuses weren’t touched.”

Avery nodded. “The equipment stayed on, too. The commercial is about over. I’d better start some music.”

Avery dashed back to the sound booth. Suddenly he cried out. The Aldens, Frances, and Gwen ran into the control booth.

Avery stood before the counter, holding up several frayed11 cables.

“The turntable!” he exclaimed. “It’s gone!”

“You didn’t see this before?” Henry asked.

“No!” Avery said. “I punched a button on this side to play the commercial. I didn’t even look over here where the turntable is plugged in.”

Frances put her hand to her mouth. “Someone stole it! We were both in the back working on the fuse box, but surely we would have heard something.”

“Not necessarily,” said Violet. “That fan made a lot of noise. And we were still broadcasting.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Gwen said — a little too quickly, Jessie thought. “I’m going to pack up my sound effects stuff,” she added, and left.

Avery sighed. “I can use the CD changer for now, but a lot of our best music is on records. Jocelyn will have to buy a new turntable. That won’t make her happy.”

A gravelly voice spoke12 from the hall. “What won’t make Jocelyn happy?”

Henry turned to see a tall man in a black cowboy hat standing13 in the doorway14. He held a key ring loosely in his fingers.

“Hello, Earl,” said Frances.

So that’s Earl Biggs, Henry thought.

“Nobody answered my question,” Earl said.

“We had another robbery,” Avery told him. “The turntable was stolen this time.”

Earl shook his head. “Tough luck. I know that equipment is expensive.”

Avery seemed annoyed. “Did you come over for a reason, Earl?”

“Yes,” said the older man. “Is Jocelyn here?”

“No,” Avery said, sighing.

“Oh,” said Earl. “Well, I … I, uh, I thought I told you to stop running that kiddie show.”

“But it’s popular,” Frances said. “Watch, the calls from kids will be coming in any second.”

“I don’t care,” Earl said. “Kids don’t buy cars. Put on the regular program!”

“We can’t,” Avery said. “You know the cast from the diner quit. We’re lucky to have the Aldens fill in for them.”

Benny stared at the key ring in Earl Biggs’s hand. “Is that a key to the side door?”

“Yup,” Earl replied. “Jocelyn gave me a key. My office is right next door.” Earl attached the key ring to his belt. “I’m a . . . a family friend.”

“You’re only supposed to use that key in emergencies,” Avery said tightly.

Earl shrugged. “It hardly seems to matter. Somebody — or something — is coming into this station anytime he or she wants.”

While Avery, Frances, and Earl argued, the Aldens slipped out the side door Earl had used. Again, Benny propped15 it open with a wastebasket.

“Let’s split up and look for clues,” Jessie told the others. “If Earl stole the turntable, he didn’t have much time to stash16 it.”

Violet and Benny went around the side of the building. Jessie started peeking17 under the cars in the parking lot. Henry stood still and looked around him.

“The Dumpster!” Henry said to himself. “It’s a perfect hiding place!”

Before he could cross the parking lot, Henry saw a figure dart18 around the corner of the building. He caught a glimpse of long red hair. “Gwen?” Henry called. The only answer came from a mockingbird perched on the roof.

Henry ran around the back of the radio station but saw no one. Entering by the front door, he saw Gwen in the hall between the soundstage and the control booth.

“Were you outside just now?” Henry asked.

“I’ve been in here, emptying the trash,” she replied, tying the ends of a plastic garbage sack. Her long hair fell over her face like a curtain. Henry couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth.

Jessie, Violet, and Benny came back inside just as Gwen disappeared into the breakroom.

“What’s up?” Benny asked Henry.

“We have another suspect,” Henry declared. “Jocelyn’s own granddaughter!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 grouchy NQez8     
adj.好抱怨的;愠怒的
参考例句:
  • Grouchy people are always complaining for no reason.满腹牢骚的人总是毫无理由地抱怨。
  • Sometimes she is grouchy, but all in all she is an excellent teacher.有时候她的脾气很坏,但总的来说她还是一位好老师。
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 motive GFzxz     
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
参考例句:
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
4 auto ZOnyW     
n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车
参考例句:
  • Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
  • The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。
5 sneak vr2yk     
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝);偷偷摸摸做;n.潜行;adj.暗中进行
参考例句:
  • He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
  • I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。
6 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 graveyard 9rFztV     
n.坟场
参考例句:
  • All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
  • Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。
8 props 50fe03ab7bf37089a7e88da9b31ffb3b     
小道具; 支柱( prop的名词复数 ); 支持者; 道具; (橄榄球中的)支柱前锋
参考例句:
  • Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
  • The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。
9 flickered 93ec527d68268e88777d6ca26683cc82     
(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
  • These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。
10 mightily ZoXzT6     
ad.强烈地;非常地
参考例句:
  • He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
  • This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后,他似乎轻松了许多。
11 frayed 1e0e4bcd33b0ae94b871e5e62db77425     
adj.磨损的v.(使布、绳等)磨损,磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • His shirt was frayed. 他的衬衫穿破了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The argument frayed their nerves. 争辩使他们不快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
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 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。
14 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
15 propped 557c00b5b2517b407d1d2ef6ba321b0e     
支撑,支持,维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
  • This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。
16 stash zFmya     
v.藏或贮存于一秘密处所;n.隐藏处
参考例句:
  • Stash away both what you lost and gained,for life continues on.将得失深藏心底吧,为了那未来的生活。
  • That's supposed to be in our private stash.这是我的私人珍藏。
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 dart oydxK     
v.猛冲,投掷;n.飞镖,猛冲
参考例句:
  • The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
  • Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。
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