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儿童英语读物 The Ghost in the First Row CHAPTER 3 Goose Bumps

时间:2017-11-30 07:18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)

“Fern is such a pretty name,” Aunt Jane was saying, as they sat around the picnic table in the backyard.

“Oh, do you like it?” Fern’s face broke into a smile. “You know, I couldn’t make up my mind between Fern and Cassandra. But I decided1 to go with Fern.”

Benny wrinkled up his forehead. “You named yourself?”

“Well, I’m really Susan. But I wanted a name with more pizzazz. Something that would look good up in lights.”

“I think you made a great choice,” Violet said.

“Thank you, Violet,” said Fern. “Lots of people in show business change their names, you know. Even the winner of the play-writing contest changed her name. Isn’t that true, Ray?”

Ray wiped some mustard from the corner of his mouth. “Well, she changed her nickname, at least.”

“I was hoping to see my name first on the billboard,” Fern went on. “Above the title of the play, I mean.” She shot the director a look. “But I suppose that was hoping for too much.”

Ray rolled his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he dished up another helping2 of potato salad.

Jessie couldn’t help noticing that the Fern had hardly eaten a bite. She was only poking3 at her food with a fork.

The actress caught Jessie’s look. “I’m afraid I have a nervous stomach,” she said. “I can’t stop thinking about all the strange things that have been happening at the theater.”

Aunt Jane looked up in surprise. “What’s been happening?”

Fern leaned forward and whispered, “The ghosts have been acting4 up.”

“This isn’t the time or the place—” Ray began.

Fern waved that away. “They’ve been using it for years, you know. It gives me goose bumps just to think about it!”

“What do you mean?” Benny’s big eyes were round.

“I’m talking about the ghosts.” Fern replied. “They’ve been using the theater to perform their plays.”

The Aldens looked at one another. They were too stunned5 to speak.

“The ghosts aren’t happy about the theater opening up again,” Fern went on. “They don’t want to share it with the public.”

“You don’t really believe that,” said Henry. “Do you, Fern?”

“Take a look at the facts,” Fern said.

Jessie stared at the actress. “What facts?”

“Well, for starters, things keep disappearing.” Fern looked slowly around the table. “Then they show up in the oddest places.”

“That’s weird,” said Benny. He was so interested in the conversation that he still hadn’t taken a bite of his hamburger.

“Remember Lady Chadwick’s hat?” Fern turned to look at Ray. “The one with the yellow marigolds on it?”

“I remember,” said Ray. “We found it hanging from the chandelier in the lobby.”

“What’s a chandelier?” Benny wanted to know.

“It’s a fancy ceiling light,” Henry explained.

Violet giggled6. She couldn’t help it—it seemed so funny. “Well, if it’s a ghost,” she said, “it’s a ghost with a sense of humor.”

Everyone laughed—except Fern. “This isn’t a laughing matter,” she said with a frown. “The ghosts aren’t happy.”

“Now, Fern—” Ray started to say.

“It’s no use shaking your head, Ray. You know it’s true. And now Alice Duncan has joined the ghostly audience.”

“What?” Aunt Jane almost choked on her lemonade.

“What makes you say that?” Jessie asked.

Fern leaned forward again. “One morning, we found a ball of yarn7 and some knitting needles on a seat in the first row.”

Ray added, “We even found some popcorn8 on the floor.”

“And as everybody knows,” Fern said, “Alice always brought her knitting and a bag of popcorn to the theater with her. It was mentioned in all the newspaper articles after she died.”

“But Alice wanted the theater opened up to the public again,” Jessie pointed9 out. “Didn’t she?”

Violet nodded. “That’s why she left her money to the town.”

“I guess she changed her mind.” Fern suddenly pushed her plate away. “My stomach is too upset to eat. I’d better go home and lie down.”

“Why don’t you take the morning off tomorrow, Fern,” Ray suggested. “We’ll postpone10 the rehearsal11 until after lunch.”

“I just might take you up on that,” Fern said. “I need my beauty sleep.” With that, she said good-bye and left.

Ray apologized for Fern’s behavior. “She can be a handful sometimes. But she really is a wonderful actress.”

“I can understand why Fern would be upset with so many strange things happening at the theater,” said Aunt Jane. “I wonder who’s responsible for all those pranks12.”

Jessie asked, “Did you notice anyone hanging around, Ray?”

“Only the actors and the stagehands.” The director shook his head. “Nobody else.”

“Are you sure?” Henry looked uncertain.

“Quite sure, Henry,” said Ray. “We don’t want anyone to see the theater until opening night.”

Jessie had a thought. “What if somebody got in after everybody went home?”

Ray shook his head again. “I’m the only one with a key, Jessie.”

“Maybe they didn’t use a key,” Benny suggested.

“I checked it out, Benny,” Ray said. “It doesn’t look like anyone broke in.”

“Fern’s right about one thing,” said Violet. “If it’s a joke, it’s not a very funny one.”

“No, it’s not,” Ray agreed. “It’s making everyone in the cast and crew very nervous. Nobody wants to stay late anymore. They’re all afraid of ghosts.”

“You’ve sure got your work cut out for you, Ray,” said Aunt Jane.

“You can say that again.” Ray nodded. “I hired some high school kids to help with the posters, but they were a no-show. I have a hunch13 they were scared away by the rumors14 of ghosts.”

“Maybe we could lend a hand,” volunteered Henry.

“Of course,” agreed Jessie, while Violet and Benny nodded.

“Really?” Ray looked surprised—and pleased.

“We’d like to help,” Violet said shyly.

Ray looked at the Aldens’ eager faces.” Putting up posters around town is hard work,” he warned them.

Aunt Jane laughed. “Oh, you don’t know these children, Ray. There’s nothing they like better than hard work.”

“Well, I’d be very grateful for your help,” Ray told them. “We need all the advertising15 we can get. I’ve been trying to get someone from the local paper to do a write-up. But … they’re not interested unless it’ll grab the readers’ attention.”

“Well, we’ll help for sure,” promised Benny. “When do we start?”

Ray was all smiles. “How does first thing in the morning sound?”

The Aldens thought it sounded just fine. After dinner, they walked over to the shed with Ray. Stepping inside, they found it overflowing16 with tables, chairs, trunks, and wooden boxes.

“Alice sure had lots of stuff,” Benny said, looking around.

“She sure did,” said Ray. “And we plan to make good use of it on stage.”

Violet was taking a close look at an old typewriter. “Grandfather has one just like this in the attic17.”

“The keys stick and it won’t print w at all,” Ray told her. “But Alice used that old typewriter for years and years.”

“She never used a computer?” Henry asked.

“Never. Not even when her fingers got weaker as she got older,” said Ray. “She couldn’t peck away at the typewriter keys anymore, but she still refused to use a computer. Instead, she recorded her plays on tape and hired a college student to type them up for her.” Ray lifted the lid of a wooden box. “See? Alice’s tapes are right here.”

“The box is almost full,” Benny noted18.

Just then, Ray spotted19 a book on the windowsill. Reaching for it, he began to flip20 through the pages. “Looks like Alice’s appointment book,” he said. “Your aunt Jane’s mentioned in here quite a bit.”

“They were good friends,” Jessie said.

“Alice’s last entry seems to be about shoes.” Ray read the words aloud: Shoe won’t fit. Tell P.J. to make change.

“I guess Alice bought a pair of shoes that were too small,” Henry figured.

“I think your aunt Jane might like this book,” said Ray. “It would be a nice keepsake.”

“We’ll make sure she gets it,” Jessie promised.

Ray glanced around. “Now, there’s something I can use!” He reached a bag down from a shelf. The label read: Plaster of Paris.

“What will you use it for?” Benny wanted to know.

“A prop21 for the play,” Ray said, as he poured half of the white powder into an empty container. “We need a plaster cast of a footprint.” Then he added, “That’s how Lady Chadwick proves the butler did it.”

“You make the cast with powder?” asked Benny.

Ray nodded. “You mix plaster of Paris with water to form a paste,” he said. “The paste hardens as it dries.”

After helping Ray load up his pick-up truck, the Aldens said good-bye, then headed back to the house.

“I wish we could figure out what’s going on with the ghosts,” said Violet.

“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Benny said. “Right, Henry?”

“I hope so,” said Henry. “I’m just not sure how.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 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。
3 poking poking     
n. 刺,戳,袋 vt. 拨开,刺,戳 vi. 戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢
参考例句:
  • He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
  • He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。
4 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
5 stunned 735ec6d53723be15b1737edd89183ec2     
adj. 震惊的,惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
  • The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。
6 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》
7 yarn LMpzM     
n.纱,纱线,纺线;奇闻漫谈,旅行轶事
参考例句:
  • I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
  • The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
8 popcorn 8lUzJI     
n.爆米花
参考例句:
  • I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时,喜欢吃爆米花。
  • He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后,嘴里塞满了爆米花。
9 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。
10 postpone rP0xq     
v.延期,推迟
参考例句:
  • I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
  • She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。
11 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。
12 pranks cba7670310bdd53033e32d6c01506817     
n.玩笑,恶作剧( prank的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Frank's errancy consisted mostly of pranks. 法兰克错在老喜欢恶作剧。 来自辞典例句
  • He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句
13 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。
14 rumors 2170bcd55c0e3844ecb4ef13fef29b01     
n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷
参考例句:
  • Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
16 overflowing df84dc195bce4a8f55eb873daf61b924     
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
  • The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。
17 attic Hv4zZ     
n.顶楼,屋顶室
参考例句:
  • Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
  • What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理?
18 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
19 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。
20 flip Vjwx6     
vt.快速翻动;轻抛;轻拍;n.轻抛;adj.轻浮的
参考例句:
  • I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书,看来似乎很有趣。
  • Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。
21 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。
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