《神奇树屋》 第二十二册 Revolutionary War on Wednesday 02Day or Night?

　　Jack¹ shivered. The wind blew hard.

"It's cold," he said. He could see his breath in theair.

'Wrap your scarf tighter," said Annie.

Jack looked down. He had a wool scarf around hisneck.

He was also wearing woolen² pants that buttoned atthe knees, a coat, and a hat w ith three corners. Onhis feet were funny-looking shoes with buckles³. Inplace of his backpack was a leather bag.

Annie was wearing a long coat over a long dress.

Jack pulled his scarf tighter. Then he looked out thewindow with Annie.

They'd landed in trees near an icy river.

The sky was gray and heavy with clouds.

"It's almost day--or almost night. I can't tell," saidAnnie.

"Yeah. I hope it's almost day," said Jack.

"I wonder where we'll find something to send?" saidAnnie.

Jack shrugged⁴.

"First we have to find the Revolutionary War," hesaid.

He opened their research book. By the gray light, heread:

Over 200 years ago, the United States was made upof thirteen colonies ruled by Britain. From 1775 until1782, American "patriots⁵" fought for independencefrom Britain. This was called the Revolutionary War.

Jack took out his notebook. He wrote:

American patriots fight for independence fromBritain.

Jack turned the page. There was a picture ofsoldiers in red uniforms. He read aloud:

During the Revolutionary War, British soldierswore red uniforms. For this reason, they were called"redcoats."Jack wrote in his notebook:

British = redcoats"Wow, snow," said Annie.

Jack looked up from his writing. was holding herhand out the window. snowflakes blew into the treehouse.

"Not much yet," said Jack. "But we better find thespecial writing soon.""Well, stop reading and come on," said AnnieShe buttoned up her coat and started down theladder.

"Okay, okay," said Jack. He packed the researchbook and his notebook into his bag. Then he followedAnnie.

When they stepped onto the ground, there weremore snow flurries. The sky was growing darker.

"I'm afraid it's almost night instead of day," saidJack.

"Yeah," said Annie, looking around. "Hey, look-people."She pointed⁶ up the river. In the misty⁷ distance wasa campfire. Several men sat around the fire. They allheld muskets⁸.

"Maybe they can help us," said Annie. She startedaway. But Jack grabbed her.

"Wait, I think they're soldiers," he said.

"They have muskets. Remember the muskets fromthe Civil War? The guns that the soldiers carried?""Oh, yeah," said Annie.

"They might be redcoats," said Jack. "Let's sneakcloser and get a better look at their uniforms.""Quick," said Annie, "before it's too dark to see."

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 woolen   

adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的

参考例句：

• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
• There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。

3 buckles   

搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She gazed proudly at the shiny buckles on her shoes. 她骄傲地注视着鞋上闪亮的扣环。
• When the plate becomes unstable, it buckles laterally. 当板失去稳定时，就发生横向屈曲。

4 shrugged   

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》

5 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

6 pointed   

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。

7 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

8 muskets   

n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The watch below, all hands to load muskets. 另一组人都来帮着给枪装火药。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• Deep ditch, single drawbridge, massive stone walls, eight at towers, cannon, muskets, fire and smoke. 深深的壕堑，单吊桥，厚重的石壁，八座巨大的塔楼。大炮、毛瑟枪、火焰与烟雾。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记