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儿童英语读物 The Radio Mystery CHAPTER 7 The Missing Script

时间:2017-11-09 05:49来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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Back at the Hawley house, the Alden kids met Gwen on the porch. She was out of breath.

“Hi, Gwen,” Benny said. “What are you doing?”

Gwen looked startled to see them. A guilty look passed over her face. “I, uh, I was just looking for you guys,” Gwen said unconvincingly. “Let’s go inside.”

As they followed Gwen inside the house, the Aldens exchanged glances. Had Gwen really been looking for them, or was she out of breath because she had just run home from the station? If so, what had she been doing there?

They said good night to Grandfather and Jocelyn, then headed upstairs to bed.

“Sleep well,” Henry told the others. “Tomorrow’s another big day.”

Jessie nodded. “I’ll say. If that was the ‘ghost’ at the station, I bet tomorrow there will be another haunting.”

“Either way,” Benny concluded, “it looks like Gwen Hawley is our number one suspect.”

“I’ve outdone myself,” Frances St. Clair bragged1 as she passed out the new script. “Today’s episode is even better than yesterday’s.” She helped herself to some coffee, then left the room.

Henry, Jessie, and Violet sat down and read the script. Benny watched the rain streaming down the breakroom window.

“Wow,” Henry said. “This is exciting stuff. The kids get a dog that runs away, so they go hunting for him —”

“And the ghost dog leads them into an old house in the woods,” Jessie added. “Today we end with another storm and our characters are trapped in an old mine. I wonder what will happen tomorrow?”

At that moment, Gwen came in with a box of cassette tapes. She had overheard Jessie’s last remark.

“Nobody knows, not even Frances,” she said. “That’s the way she works. She doesn’t even know the ending until it’s time for her to write it.”

“I get to do a lot of barking today,” Benny told Gwen. “I play the real dog and the ghost dog.”

“You’d better practice two different kinds of barks,” Gwen said. “Let’s go to the soundstage. It’s almost time for the run-through.”

The run-through went smoothly2. Gwen made note of the sound effects she’d have to do, like strong winds blowing and creaking floorboards in the old house. “I’ll need a lot of tapes today,” she said, going through her box.

Avery waved, inviting3 them into the control booth. “Hi,” he said. “Are you ready for today? I think every kid in Deer Crossing is tuning4 in to your show now.”

“We’re having a lot of fun,” Jessie told him.

Henry pointed5. “Is that the new turntable?” he asked.

“Yup,” Avery said. “It’s a nice one. Jocelyn brought it by early this morning.”

Jessie nodded. “She said it cost even more than she’d expected.”

“Really?” said Avery. “That’s too bad. I know Jocelyn has been worried about money. Do you think she might sell the station?”

“She seems determined6 not to,” Henry said.

“She won’t have to,” Benny said, “because we’re going to catch the ghost.”

Jessie noticed Avery’s duffel bag in the corner. “Are you still going to run today, even though it’s raining?”

“Yes,” Avery said. “I run in all types of weather. This job involves a lot of sitting. I need the exercise.”

Earl Biggs came down the hall, jingling7 his keys.

“You’re not doing that kiddie show again, are you?” Earl asked Avery. “I’d rather you played tapes of the old shows.”

“You don’t run this station,” Avery told him. “Jocelyn does.”

“Hmph,” said Earl. “We’ll see.”

It was almost time to broadcast the show. The Aldens went into the breakroom to fill four cups with water. Gwen was there buying a juice from the vending8 machine. They walked to the soundstage together.

Frances had placed the Aldens’ microphones in a row. Gwen’s microphone stood farther back, next to the stool holding her prop9 box, cassette player, and the tapes she had taken out for the show.

Frances checked to make sure everyone was ready, then counted them down. They were on the air.

“Ow-oooooo,” Benny howled into Violet’s microphone, playing the ghost dog.

Frances gave Gwen the cue for the first sound effect, a door creaking open. Gwen punched the button on her cassette player.

“Meow! Meow! Me —”

Gwen quickly hit the STOP button. Frances frowned, but cued Henry, who had the first line.

“What was that?” Henry said. “It sounded like a wolf.”

Jessie lowered her voice dramatically. “Do you think it was that strange white dog we keep seeing?”

It was time for the sound of someone walking up squeaky stairs. Gwen put the next tape into the cassette player and punched the ON button.

Rrrrrrrrr. This time a lawn mower10 noise blasted from the machine.

Rattled11, Gwen hit STOP. She scrabbled through her tapes.

Through the window, Jessie saw Earl Biggs pacing impatiently.

Frances waved her hands as if to say, “Forget it.” They would have to do the show without any taped sound effects. Gwen got out the men’s shoes to make footsteps.

The Aldens performed their parts well until Jessie’s microphone quit.

She tapped it lightly, but it was dead. She moved over by Violet to share hers.

Then Henry’s mike went dead! He stood by Violet and Jessie. Now all three shared the same mike. It remained working for the rest of the program.

At last the show was over.

“What a disaster!” Frances exclaimed. “What else could have gone wrong? Gwen, what happened with your tapes?”

Gwen was nearly in tears. “I don’t know! I put them in order right after the run-through.”

“Somebody obviously went through your box and switched the tape labels,” said Violet. “When could they have done it?”

“I left the soundstage after arranging my tapes,” Gwen said, “to go to the breakroom for some juice. But I was only gone a minute.”

“It takes longer than a minute to switch labels,” Violet said.

“Frances, did you see anyone?” Jessie asked.

Frances shook her head. “No, but I wasn’t in the room the whole time.”

Gwen still looked shaken. “If I didn’t know better, I might start to believe in this ghost.”

Henry was following the trail of microphone cords to the wall sockets12. “Violet’s and Jessie’s mikes were only plugged in partway,” he announced. “That was dangerous — they could have shorted.”

“This ghost,” Gwen said, “means business.”

They walked out of the soundstage and into the hall.

“Sorry about today’s show,” Avery apologized to Earl. “We had technical difficulties. But the Aldens still did a great job.”

Earl looked around. “Is Jocelyn coming today?”

“Probably,” said Avery.

Benny noticed a small flashlight hanging from the key chain on Earl’s belt. Was Earl the visitor last night? Did he sneak13 into the station and loosen the plugs on the microphones? Did he mess up Gwen’s tapes?

Grandfather and Jocelyn pushed open the lobby door.

When Earl saw Jocelyn, he asked her, “Are you free now?” Benny watched Earl. He had a funny expression on his face.

“Sorry,” Jocelyn said to Earl. “Not now. James and I are taking the children out to lunch.”

Earl left, looking disappointed.

On the way to the diner, Violet thought about the old photo in the breakroom. “Was that really Earl Biggs in the picture of the football game? It doesn’t look like him.”

“Yes, that’s Earl,” Jocelyn replied with a laugh. “He had more hair back then.”

“Earl sure hangs around the station a lot,” Benny said.

Jocelyn smiled. “He’s an important advertiser — and an important friend.”

“I think Earl still has a crush on you, Jocelyn,” Violet said cautiously.

Jocelyn looked surprised. Then she blushed. “You might be right, Violet. Earl has been pressuring me to date him again. I told him I need some time to think about it — I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

So that explained the mushy look on Earl’s face, Benny thought. Earl was in love with Jocelyn.

Benny exchanged glances with his brother and sisters. So that’s what Earl had been asking Jocelyn on the phone!

After they were seated, Frances came into the diner. “I’m getting my lunch to go,” she told Jocelyn, stopping by their table. “I’m going back to the station to work on the last installment14 of the show. What better place to write a ghost story than in a haunted station?” She laughed.

Jessie nudged Henry. “Let’s go back, too,” she whispered, “to look for more clues.”

Henry nodded. “We’re running out of time. Tomorrow’s our last day on the show.”

Raindrops dripped off the trees. It had stopped raining, but jagged clouds sailed across the sky.

The Aldens didn’t tell Gwen they were going back to the station. Jocelyn’s granddaughter went up to her room right after they returned to the house, claiming she had a headache.

The Aldens walked into the station just as Avery turned off the long record he’d been playing and sat down to announce the day’s news.

“Let’s check out the soundstage,” Henry suggested. “Maybe we’ll find clues we’ve overlooked.”

As the Aldens walked into the hallway Benny grabbed Violet’s sleeve.

“What is it?” she said.

Benny pointed at the side door. “I hear noises,” he whispered. “Somebody’s out there!”

Before the Aldens could investigate, Frances St. Clair ran out of the breakroom.

“My script!” she cried. “It’s been stolen!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 bragged 56622ccac3ec221e2570115463345651     
v.自夸,吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。
  • Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 smoothly iiUzLG     
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
参考例句:
  • The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
  • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
3 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。
4 tuning 8700ed4820c703ee62c092f05901ecfc     
n.调谐,调整,调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调
参考例句:
  • They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 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。
6 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
7 jingling 966ec027d693bb9739d1c4843be19b9f     
叮当声
参考例句:
  • A carriage went jingling by with some reclining figure in it. 一辆马车叮当驶过,车上斜倚着一个人。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Melanie did not seem to know, or care, that life was riding by with jingling spurs. 媚兰好像并不知道,或者不关心,生活正马刺丁当地一路驶过去了呢。
8 vending 9e89cb67a07fe419b19a6bd5ee5210cc     
v.出售(尤指土地等财产)( vend的现在分词 );(尤指在公共场所)贩卖;发表(意见,言论);声明
参考例句:
  • Why Are You Banging on the Vending Machine? 你为什么敲打这台自动售货机? 来自朗文快捷英语教程 2
  • Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines to accept the new coins. 可口可乐公司必须使将近三十万台自动贩卖机接受新货币。 来自超越目标英语 第5册
9 prop qR2xi     
vt.支撑;n.支柱,支撑物;支持者,靠山
参考例句:
  • A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
  • The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。
10 mower Bn9zgq     
n.割草机
参考例句:
  • We need a lawn mower to cut the grass.我们需要一台草坪修剪机来割草。
  • Your big lawn mower is just the job for the high grass.割高草时正需要你的大割草机。
11 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
12 sockets ffe33a3f6e35505faba01d17fd07d641     
n.套接字,使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 );孔( socket的名词复数 );(电器上的)插口;托座;凹穴
参考例句:
  • All new PCs now have USB sockets. 新的个人计算机现在都有通用串行总线插孔。
  • Make sure the sockets in your house are fingerproof. 确保你房中的插座是防触电的。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
13 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。
14 installment 96TxL     
n.(instalment)分期付款;(连载的)一期
参考例句:
  • I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
  • He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。
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