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儿童英语读物 The Seattle Puzzle CHAPTER 8 In Search of a Troll

时间:2017-11-29 06:25来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“Can you believe it?” Jessie couldn’t help laughing. “There might really be a troll under a bridge!” She couldn’t get over it.

The four children were up bright and early the next morning. They were talking about the mystery while they made breakfast.

Benny placed napkins around the table. “I wonder what message it’s guarding.”

“We’ll find out soon,” said Henry, who was standing1 at the stove. “We’ll head over to the bridge after we eat.”

“I wish Grandfather had joined us for breakfast,” said Violet, when they sat down at the table. “He hasn’t had a chance to see the photographs yet.” She reached for the envelope of photos on the table. “There was one that turned out especially well.”

“You mean the one of the bald eagle?” asked Henry, swallowing a mouthful of eggs. “That was my favorite.”

Violet shook her head. “No, I mean the one with Benny sleeping on the ferry.” She looked through the envelope. “Here it is.” She held it out to Henry. “Benny looks so cute with his head on Grandfather’s lap.”

Henry couldn’t help smiling. “You were lost in dreamland, Benny,” he said. Then his eyebrows2 suddenly furrowed3. “Take a look at the man in this photo. The one sitting at the back of the ferry.”

The others pushed back their chairs and went to look over Henry’s shoulder.

Jessie’s eyes widened as she looked from the photo to Henry and back again. “That can’t be Uncle Andy, can it?”

“Where?” Benny asked.

Jessie tapped a finger, pointing to a man in the back row. He was sitting in the shadows, reading a newspaper.

“It does look a lot like Uncle Andy,” Violet had to admit.

Henry nodded. “Enough like him to be his twin brother. At least, from a distance,” he quickly added.

“It is Uncle Andy,” declared Benny. He sounded very sure.

Violet’s lips curled up into a smile. “It can’t be, Benny. Uncle Andy’s in Connecticut.”

“Besides,” put in Jessie, glancing down at the photo, “it’s hard to tell what this man really looks like. After all, he’s half-hidden by a newspaper.”

Henry shrugged4. “I guess we’ll have to chalk it up to another look-alike sighting.”

Violet giggled5 as she sat down again. “I guess it was your turn to see a double, Henry.”

With that, the four Alden children finished breakfast. After leaving the kitchen spick-and-span, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny headed down to the lobby6.

“Hi, kids!” Toby called out to them. “Where are you off to today?”

Jessie didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t trust the hotel clerk with the truth. “Oh, we’d thought we’d take a look around the Fremont neighborhood.”

“Well, that’s quite a distance to walk,” Toby informed them. “It’ll be easier if you hop7 on the bus at the corner.”

“Thanks, Toby,” said Henry. Then they hurried away.

The children walked towards the bus stop, past smartly dressed men and women hurrying to work. They hadn’t gone far before Benny noticed a souvenir shop. He stopped to look at the display of T-shirts in the window.

“I bet you want a T-shirt with the Space Needle on it,” said Jessie, reading his mind. “Right, Benny?”

Benny looked over at his oldest sister expectantly. “Do we have enough money?”

“We’ll, Grandfather did give us some extra money for souvenirs,” Jessie told him.

Inside the store, Benny made a beeline for the salesclerk. “Excuse me,” he said. “I was wondering if you have any T-shirts with the Space Needle on the front?”

His brother and sisters exchanged smiles. They could always count on Benny not to waste time on small talk.

“Yes, right over here.” The smiling young woman held up a T-shirt. “This one should fit.”

Benny beamed. “Thank you very much!”

“I really like that purple T-shirt with the ferry on it,” said Violet. Purple was Violet’s favorite color, and she almost always wore something purple or violet.

Jessie glanced around. There were so many T-shirts, it was hard to choose. After much thought, she chose one with the Monorail on the front.

“I think I’ll get the Seattle Mariners,” said Henry, who was a big baseball fan.

“I’m guessing you’re from out of town,” the salesclerk remarked as she rang up their purchases.

Violet answered shyly, “Our grandfather’s here on business.”

The young woman counted out the change. “And you’re off to see the sights?”

Benny piped up, “Wealready saw the Space Needle and the underground city. Now we’re checking out the troll.”

The salesclerk did not seem surprised to hear this. “The Fremont Troll always gets a lot of visitors.”

The Aldens all looked at each other in surprise. “You’ve heard of the troll?” Jessie questioned.

“Oh, of course! It’s one of the most popular art pieces in Seattle. Kids love to climb all over it.” The salesclerk slipped their T-shirts into a bag.

“How about that?” Henry was shaking his head in disbelief as they stepped outside. “The riddle’s leading us to a sculpture.”

“I can’t wait to see it,” said Violet, who took a great interest in art.

It wasn’t long before the children were on a bus heading towards the Aurora8 Bridge.

“I can see the bridge up ahead!” Benny cried out. He was craning his neck and pointing out the window.

Henry pulled on the bell. As the bus slowed to a stop, the Aldens quickly got off. There was no stopping the youngest Alden. The others gave chase as Benny led the way under the bridge. They all came to a sudden stop when they caught sight of a huge concrete sculpture of a one-eyed troll.

For a few moments no one spoke9. Then Violet said, “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Neither have I,” said Jessie.

“And look at that!” cried Benny, staring wide-eyed. “The troll’s crushing a car in his hand.”

“Awesome!” Henry couldn’t stop shaking his head.

For a while, they put all thoughts of the mystery aside as they climbed all over the gigantic10 sculpture. Violet took a snapshot of Benny standing on the troll’s head, and another one of Jessie and Henry sitting on the monster’s shoulder. Finally, Benny spoke up.

“I wonder where that message could be?” he said, scratching his head.

Jessie slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. “We almost forgot why we came!”

The children began making a careful search. They circled the troll once … twice … three times looking for the message. But no luck.

Henry scratched his head. “Maybe somebody beat us to it.”

“Oh, Henry!” cried Violet. “I hope not.”

But sharp-eyed Benny had spotted11 something the others hadn’t. In a flash, he crawled under the troll’s hand. He came out holding a small white box tied up with a red ribbon.

“What would we do without you, Benny?” Jessie gave him a hug.

Benny beamed. “I’m pretty good at finding things.”

“You sure are,” agreed Henry. The Aldens sat down together on a concrete slab12.

Sure enough, they found another note inside the box. Jessie wasted no time reading it aloud.

“If you catch sight

of fish flying high,

make your way to a bank

standing nearby.”

“Flying fish?” Benny wrinkled13 his forehead. “That’s kind of weird14.”

Violet agreed. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Nothing about this mystery makes sense!” Henry pointed15 out.

“It’s almost as if—” Violet stopped in mid-sentence when Jessie put a finger to her lips, signaling for her brothers and sister to be quiet.

“What is it?” Henry asked in a hushed voice.

“I’m not sure,” Jessie told him, glancing around uneasily16. “I just have the strangest feeling we’re being watched.”

The Aldens all stopped and looked around. They saw a young couple taking pictures of the troll, but they didn’t see anything suspicious17.

Benny leaned closer to the others. “Maybe the troll has his eye on us,” he whispered, half-joking.

“That troll has a hubcap for an eye, Benny,” Henry pointed out, laughing a little. “I don’t think he can see much.”

Jessie put a comforting arm around her little brother. “I’m sure nobody’s watching,” she said. She didn’t want him to worry. But she really wasn’t sure at all.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
3 furrowed furrowed     
v.犁田,开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Overhead hung a summer sky furrowed with the rash of rockets. 头顶上的夏日夜空纵横着急疾而过的焰火。 来自辞典例句
  • The car furrowed the loose sand as it crossed the desert. 车子横过沙漠,在松软的沙土上犁出了一道车辙。 来自辞典例句
4 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》
5 giggled 72ecd6e6dbf913b285d28ec3ba1edb12     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
  • The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 lobby lobby     
n.前厅,(剧院的)门廊
参考例句:
  • As he walked through the lobby,he skirted a group of ladies.他穿过门厅时,绕过了一群女士。
  • The delegates entered the assembly hall by way of the lobby.代表们通过大厅进入会场。
7 hop vdJzL     
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过
参考例句:
  • The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛,看谁单足跳跃最快。
  • How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远?
8 aurora aV9zX     
n.极光
参考例句:
  • The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
  • Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。
9 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。
10 gigantic c6py0     
adj.巨大的,巨人似的
参考例句:
  • He has a gigantic appetite and eats gigantic meals.他有很大的食量,能吃很多的食物。
  • The earth may be thought of as a gigantic magnet.整个地球可以想像为一块硕大无朋的磁石。
11 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。
12 slab BTKz3     
n.平板,厚的切片;v.切成厚板,以平板盖上
参考例句:
  • This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
  • The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成,它们共同支撑着一块平板。
13 wrinkled qeQzK4     
adj.有皱纹的v.使起皱纹( wrinkle的过去式和过去分词 );(尤指皮肤)起皱纹
参考例句:
  • She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth. 她把起皱的桌布熨平了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A wrinkled purse,a wrinkled face. 手中无钱,愁容满面。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 weird bghw8     
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的
参考例句:
  • From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来,他好像有点怪。
  • His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
15 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。
16 uneasily uneasily     
adv. 不安地, 局促地
参考例句:
  • I wondered uneasily if anything had happened to the children. 我忐忑不安地揣测孩子们是不是出了什么事。
  • They looked unsure and shifted uneasily from foot to foot. 他们看上去没有把握,站在那儿左右脚换来换去不安地晃着。
17 suspicious DrLw1     
adj.可疑的,容易引起怀疑的,猜疑的,疑心的
参考例句:
  • A man was hanging about the house in a suspicious manner.一个男人在房子周围可疑地荡来荡去。
  • He's so suspicious he would distrust his own mother.他这个人疑心太重,连自己的母亲也不相信。
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