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儿童英语读物 The Rock N Roll Mystery CHAPTER 5 A Clue and a Keyboard

时间:2017-11-27 06:18来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

“I’m glad Raymond isn’t the thief,” said Violet. “Or Danny Duellman.”

Jessie agreed. “And it’s nice that they’re both helping1 out the Greenfield Four.”

The girls were at the rehearsal2 studio unpacking3 bags of sandwiches. Henry was opening up the soda4, and Benny was counting napkins. The children didn’t have any new clues, but they still wanted to be helpful, so they decided5 to bring lunch to the band.

“Still, we’re right back where we started with this mystery,” Henry said.

“Don’t feel bad,” Karen said. She was sitting nearby, with a guitar on her lap. She’d borrowed it from a friend and was trying to tune6 it. “You tried your best. The police aren’t having any luck, either.”

Dave, the drummer, was also there. “We’ll have to do the best we can with all this borrowed stuff,” Dave grumbled7. “I’m glad I could find another set of cymbals8, but I think I could get a better sound out of a bunch of garbage-can lids.” He tapped them a few times with a drumstick and frowned.

Karen said, “He’s right—we’ll just have to work with what we’ve got and hope everything sounds okay.” She strummed the borrowed guitar again and sighed. “This doesn’t sound right. I need to go to Lessenger’s to buy some new strings9.”

When Karen mentioned the music store, Jessie sat up straight in her chair.

“I just remembered! This morning, after Benny and I helped Mr. Lessenger set up the Instrument Petting Zoo, I noticed something,” she said. “I’m not sure if it’s a clue or not, but it was certainly odd. You know that boy Tim who works there?”

“He has dark messy hair, right?” Henry asked. “Sort of quiet?”

“That’s him!” said Benny.

“Well, after we finished setting up the tent, Tim told Mr. Lessenger he was going right back to the store,” Jessie went on. “But he didn’t do that.” She told the others how she had spotted10 him talking to a girl with a long ponytail at the festival grounds.

“Maybe that was his girlfriend,” Violet suggested.

“I don’t think so,” said Jessie. “They shook hands, as if they didn’t know each other. And then he kept looking around, as if he wanted to make sure no one was watching.”

“They could have been talking about anything,” Henry pointed11 out.

“I suppose,” Jessie said. “But … I don’t know. I just have a feeling that he could be involved somehow. Just a hunch12.”

“Why don’t we go to Lessenger’s Music Store and pick up Karen’s guitar strings?” said Henry. “Maybe Tim will be there.”

“Good idea,” said Violet.

“I second that,” said Karen, fishing money out of her purse to pay for the guitar strings. She handed the bills to Jessie. “Good luck,” she said.

Lessenger’s was an exciting place if you loved music. One room had nothing but drums and cymbals, another had brass13 horns like trumpets14 and trombones. There was a room only for guitars, and another for recording15 equipment. And there was always music playing in the store—not just from the speakers in the ceiling, but from shoppers trying out instruments.

The children didn’t see Tim or Mr. Lessenger when they first walked in, but it didn’t take long to find them. They heard Mr. Lessenger’s voice coming from the guitar room—and they were surprised at how angry he sounded.

“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times: do not buy a used instrument unless I see it first!”

The Aldens went over to the doorway16 Behind the counter, Mr. Lessenger stood and scolded Tim.

“I know,” Tim said sheepishly, “and I’m sorry. It just seemed like such a good deal.”

“That’s exactly why you should have been suspicious!” Mr. Lessenger replied. “A deal that seems too good to be true usually is! Now the store is out three hundred dollars!” he went on. “If this happens again, Tim …” He sighed. “Well, let’s just hope it doesn’t, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Tim answered.

Mr. Lessenger disappeared into his office, closing the door with a slam.

Tim stood there for a moment, looking upset. Then he spotted the Aldens and tried his best to put on a smile.

“Hi, can I help you with something?”

The Aldens weren’t sure what to do or say, either. That had been such a nasty scene!

Jessie finally said, “Uh, you’re Tim, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, Tim the fool. That’s my full name. Do I know you?”

“Don’t you remember us from the festival this morning?” Jessie asked. “You helped us set up the Instrument Petting Zoo.”

“Oh, sure, I remember. What’s up? Did I do something wrong over there, too?”

“Oh,” Jessie said quickly. “We were just wondering—we noticed you were talking to a girl. She had a ponytail, very long.”

Tim gave out a little laugh. “Yeah, I bought a used keyboard from her. That’s why I just got yelled at.”

“Why would you get in trouble for that?” Henry asked. “You sell used instruments here, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Tim replied, “but this one was a little different—it was stolen.”

“Stolen!” Jessie said. “How do you know?”

“Here, I’ll show you,” Tim said. He disappeared into a back room and returned a moment later with the keyboard in his arms.

It was long, black, and very heavy with knobs and buttons above the keys.

“See this?” Tim said. He pointed to a spot at the back. Henry carefully turned the keyboard around. And there, right by the button that turned it on and off, was a name scratched into the metal—“Amy Keller.”

“Oh my goodness!” Violet said. “This belongs to the Greenfield Four! It’s one of the missing instruments!”

“Yeah,” Tim said, nodding and looking very unhappy. “I didn’t know their stuff had been stolen until Mr. Lessenger told me.”

“And you bought it from that girl?” Jessie asked. “The one with the long ponytail?”

“That’s right,” Tim said. “She wanted to know if I was interested in buying a great keyboard really cheap.”

“If it seemed like such a good deal, then why didn’t you tell Mr. Lessenger about it first?” Henry asked.

Tim paused before speaking. He suddenly seemed uneasy.

“Because,” he said, “I had my own reasons for buying it from her, too. She was wearing a Glenwood Studios shirt, and she said she worked there. My buddies17 and I have a band, but we can’t afford to go there and record our music. So she and I made a little deal—I would buy the keyboard from her, and she would let us use the studio for free for a few weeks when no one else was in there.” He shook his head. “Like I said, it seemed like such a great deal. We could’ve sold this for seven or eight hundred dollars. I thought Mr. Lessenger would be thrilled.”

“I wonder if this girl has any of the other stolen instruments,” Henry said.

“Do you think she’s the one who stole the instruments in the first place?” Jessie wondered.

Tim spoke18 up. “I doubt it. I don’t know her very well, but she’s come into the store before. Her name is Zoey.”

“If the thief sold the instruments to a total stranger, then no one would know they were stolen to begin with,” Henry pointed out. “It doesn’t sound like Zoey is the thief.”

Tim agreed. “I bet she’d be just as surprised as I was to find out the keyboard was stolen.” He added, “My boss is calling the police right now to tell them one of the stolen instruments turned up. I’m sure they’ll want to talk to her soon.”

So do we, thought Jessie.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
2 rehearsal AVaxu     
n.排练,排演;练习
参考例句:
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
  • You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。
3 unpacking 4cd1f3e1b7db9c6a932889b5839cdd25     
n.取出货物,拆包[箱]v.从(包裹等)中取出(所装的东西),打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 );拆包;解除…的负担;吐露(心事等)
参考例句:
  • Joe sat on the bed while Martin was unpacking. 马丁打开箱子取东西的时候,乔坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They are unpacking a trunk. 他们正在打开衣箱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 soda cr3ye     
n.苏打水;汽水
参考例句:
  • She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
  • I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。
5 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。
6 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
7 grumbled ed735a7f7af37489d7db1a9ef3b64f91     
抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 发牢骚; 咕哝; 发哼声
参考例句:
  • He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
  • The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏,水手们边干活边发着牢骚。
8 cymbals uvwzND     
pl.铙钹
参考例句:
  • People shouted, while the drums and .cymbals crashed incessantly. 人声嘈杂,锣鼓不停地大响特响。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
  • The dragon dance troupe, beating drums and cymbals, entered the outer compound. 龙灯随着锣鼓声进来,停在二门外的大天井里。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
9 strings nh0zBe     
n.弦
参考例句:
  • He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上,随意地拨着吉他的弦。
  • She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
10 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
11 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。
12 hunch CdVzZ     
n.预感,直觉
参考例句:
  • I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉,他并不真正想去。
  • I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。
13 brass DWbzI     
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器
参考例句:
  • Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
14 trumpets 1d27569a4f995c4961694565bd144f85     
喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 ); 小号; 喇叭形物; (尤指)绽开的水仙花
参考例句:
  • A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
  • A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。
15 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
16 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。
17 buddies ea4cd9ed8ce2973de7d893f64efe0596     
n.密友( buddy的名词复数 );同伴;弟兄;(用于称呼男子,常带怒气)家伙v.(如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般)交往( buddy的第三人称单数 );做朋友;亲近(…);伴护艾滋病人
参考例句:
  • We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
  • The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
18 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。
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