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儿童英语读物 The Pumpkin Head Mystery CHAPTER 5 Violet’s Fliers

时间:2017-12-18 03:11来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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Early the next morning Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny rode their bicycles to the farm.

“You did a good job fixing the sign, Henry,” Jessie said as they rested at the end of the farm lane. “It looks straight and sturdy now.” “Thanks,” Henry said. “But what is that on the sign?”

Someone had painted an angry pumpkin1 face at the top of the sign. Underneath2 it said, Stay Away! Or Else!

The children quickly pedaled down the lane. Bessie was just opening up the booth. The children were relieved that nothing seemed to have been disturbed at the farm stand.

Mrs. Beckett smiled and called to the children from her front porch. “Come on up to the house! I have something for you.”

A tray of freshly baked cranberry3 muffins and a pitcher4 of cold milk sat on the table. Mr. Beckett rested in a chair with an account book on his lap. He wrote numbers in columns. There were dark circles under his eyes. Sally leaned against the porch rail with a cup of coffee and a newspaper in her hands.

“Good morning!” said Mrs. Beckett. “Please help yourselves to some muffins. They’re still warm.”

“Oh, boy!” said Benny. “I love muffins.”

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny thanked Mrs. Beckett. They each took a muffin and a glass of milk.

“I don’t know if you noticed,” Henry said, “but someone wrote on your sign up by the road.”

Sally gulped5 her coffee. “Oh, no!” she said. “What did they write?”

Henry explained what they had seen. Sally’s face went white.

“Don’t worry,” Henry said. “I can clean it off for you.”

“Thank you,” said Sally. “But it’s worse than you think.”

Mr. Beckett dropped his papers into his lap. “It’s nothing but nonsense,” he said.

“Maybe so,” Sally agreed. “But some people believe it. It is scary. And now that more workers have quit, how will you ever run the haunted hayrides?”

“We do need the money from those haunted hayrides, George.” Mrs. Beckett wrung6 her hands together. “I don’t know what we’ll do without it.”

“Did something happen last night?” asked Henry.

“Yes, and it was very frightening.” Bessie walked up the porch steps. She poured herself a cup of coffee.

“We saw a new pumpkin head floating through the fields last night,” Sally explained. “It had a very scary face. It glowed in the dark.”

“It also made horrible screaming noises.” Bessie shuddered7. “And it warned people to stay away from the farm.”

“Our employees were frightened,” Mrs. Beckett said. “They quit and we had to cancel the haunted hayride. We have no workers left.”

Benny’s eyes were wide. Jessie knew he was thinking of ghosts. She put her arm around her little brother.

Henry had a hunch8 about the glowing pumpkin head. He wished he had seen it. “We could help out tonight,” he offered. “It would be fun to be part of a haunted hayride.”

“But who will come to our hayrides after this article in the paper?” Sally asked. She pointed9 to the headline: Strange Happenings at Local Farm. “The story says our farm is haunted. It says that our employees have quit because they are afraid.”

“It’s in the paper?” Bessie put her hand to her mouth. “I didn’t think he…” Bessie did not finish her sentence. “I have to get to work,” she said. “Remember, Mae, I have an appointment later today.” She quickly headed toward the farm stand.

Mrs. Beckett sighed. She began to collect the dishes and coffee cups. Mr. Beckett crossed out some numbers in his account book. “I suppose we’ll have to shut down,” he said. “Sally is right. Who will come to the farm now?”

“Wait a minute,” Henry said. “Maybe the newspaper article will bring more customers to the farm. After all, don’t people expect strange happenings on a haunted hayride? Maybe they will want to come and see this scary pumpkin head.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Violet said. “I think we should make fliers. We can advertise how scary the hayride will be.”

“What a great idea.” Jessie smiled at her younger sister. “Violet is very talented. She could design the fliers. We could put them up all around Greenfield. After seeing them, I bet a lot of people will want to come for the hayrides!”

“What do you think, Mae?” Mr. Beckett asked his wife.

“I think the Alden children are very clever! Let’s give it a try.” Mrs. Beckett opened the screen door. “Come on inside. I have some art supplies in the closet.”

“And I’ll drive you into town when the flier is ready,” Sally said. “That will be quicker than riding your bikes.”

Violet got right to work on designing the flier. Jessie suggested using bright autumn colors. Henry thought that drawing a few ghosts and the scary pumpkin head would be a good idea. At the bottom, Violet added a phone number and directions to the farm.

Benny was hard at work with his own paper and crayons. “How do you spell ‘pumpkin head’?” asked Benny. “How do you spell ‘scarecrow’?” He was just learning how to read and write. Jessie spelled the big words for him.

Benny jumped up from the table. “There!” he said. “I made my own flier.” He held it up for his brother and sisters. He had drawn10 a picture of Sam. Underneath were the words Missin! Pumpkin Head Scarecrow.

Jessie smiled. “That looks great, Benny. Just one little mistake to fix.” Jessie squeezed the letter g onto Benny’s paper.

“I’m going to put my flier up in Greenfield, too,” Benny said. “Maybe somebody has seen Sam.”

Henry was about to say something about his hunch when Sally came into the room. “All ready?” she asked.

It was a beautiful, warm day. Sally and the children climbed into the car to head for town. Some customers were already at the farm stand buying tomatoes and corn.

“Do you miss the farm when you are in Florida?” asked Jessie.

“A little bit. Mostly, I miss my parents,” said Sally. “I was never much good as a farmer. I prefer to work in an office. Jason was always more help to my parents than I was.”

“Jason?” asked Henry.

“Yes,” Sally explained. “Jason and I have been friends since we were little children. He has always loved the Beckett farm. He would come over to play with me, but he would soon be out in the fields with my father. I think Jason was helping11 with the planting when he was only ten years old!” Sally laughed. “I hated to get my shoes dirty! I never went out into the fields. Even the mice in the barn scared me! I was never meant to be a farmer.”

“But mice aren’t scary!” Benny said. “They can’t hurt you.”

Sally shivered. “I suppose you’re right, Benny. Maybe it’s just that I don’t like them very much.”

“That’s like our dog, Watch,” Benny said. “I told him that scarecrows weren’t dangerous, but he was still afraid. Do you want to see Sam?” Benny held up his drawing.

Sally pulled into a parking space in front of the office store. When she looked at Benny’s drawing, a funny look crossed her face.

“Sally!” A woman in a green dress waved at the car.

“Excuse me, children,” Sally said. “That is an old friend of mine. How about we meet back here in a few hours?” she asked.

“Of course,” Jessie said.

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny headed into the store to make copies of their fliers. They each took a handful and began to walk down Main Street. They stopped in many offices and stores to ask if they could tape a flier in the window. Most people were very kind and gave permission. Several admired Violet’s drawing. They said that the haunted hayride sounded like a lot of fun.

At the end of one long block, Benny stopped. “My feet hurt,” he said. “Are we almost done?”

“Yes,” Jessie said. “Then we’ll get a cool drink and rest. Do you think you can make it a little farther?”

Before Benny could answer, the Aldens heard a commotion12 close by.

“What’s that?” asked Violet.

Two men were across the street. They were standing13 in front of a small café. They were having a loud argument.

Jessie grabbed Henry’s arm. “Look!” she said. “That’s Jason!”

“I could have been killed!” shouted a man in a blue shirt.

“I already said I was sorry.” Jason had a bright red folder14 tucked under his arm. He accidentally dropped it. Papers spilled onto the sidewalk. “Now look what you made me do! Why don’t you leave me alone? It is over now.”

The man’s face was very red. “I am still upset. You need to learn how to drive!”

People on the street were staring. A policeman stopped to ask if everything was okay.

“He almost got me killed!” the man shouted. “He stopped his car in the middle of the road! You should give him a ticket!”

The police officer looked around. Traffic was moving fine along Main Street. He seemed confused. “What car?” he asked.

“Oh, forget it!” The angry man stalked off.

The police officer shrugged15 his shoulders. Jason shook his head. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and clipped it to the red folder. Then he opened the door of the café and went inside.

Jessie looked at her sister and brothers. “I wonder what that was all about.”

“I don’t know,” Violet said. “But that man was very angry. Maybe Jason ran out of gas and had to stop in the road somewhere.”

Benny sank to the sidewalk. “I think my feet are out of gas.”

Henry smiled. “Can they make it one more block to the diner? It’s our last stop.”

“Maybe they can make it,” Benny said. “Will we get something to eat there?”

“Yes,” Jessie said. “I think we could all use a rest and a bite to eat.”

Benny jumped up. “Then my feet have just enough gas left!”

The diner wasn’t crowded and the children slipped into a booth by the front window. They ordered sandwiches and four tall lemonades. Their waitress’s name was Kim.

She had short blond hair and a big smile.

When Kim brought the food, Jessie showed her the flier. “May we hang up this flier in the diner?” she asked

“That is a beautiful drawing,” Kim said. “I can hang it on the wall up front. More people will see it that way. This hayride sounds like a fun time.”

“Thank you,” said Jessie.

The waitress stared at the flier. “Hey,” she said. “This is the Beckett farm!”

“Yes,” Jessie said. “Do you know about the Beckett farm?”

“They sell wonderful vegetables at their farm stand,” she answered. “And my friend works there. Maybe you know her. Her name is Bessie Unger.”

“Oh, yes!” Violet said. “We know Bessie.”

“Tell her I said hello,” Kim said. “I haven’t talked to her in a while. Is her husband feeling better?”

“I’m sorry,” Violet answered. “But we didn’t know her husband was sick.”

“Oh, sure,” Kim said. “That’s why she’s been working two jobs.” A bell rang in the kitchen. “Excuse me, kids,” Kim said. “The order’s up for table five.”

After Kim left, Henry took a long drink of lemonade. “Two jobs is a lot,” he said. “Bessie must really need the extra money.”

“I hope her husband gets better soon,” Violet said. She looked out the window at the shops across the street. Some people were stopping to look at the fliers. “Do you think the fliers will help bring customers to the farm?” she asked.

“I sure hope so,” Jessie said. “I think the Becketts are counting on it.”

Benny swallowed a big bite of his hamburger. “If the Becketts don’t make enough money, will they have to sell the farm to Mr. Bolger?”

“They might,” Henry said. “Mr. Bolger seems to have a lot of money and he really wants their land.”

“Do you think he is behind all the problems on the farm?” asked Violet.

“He could be,” said Jessie. “He wants the farm very badly and the Becketts have refused to sell to him. Maybe he thinks he can frighten them away or force them to sell.”

“That’s terrible,” said Violet.

“Yes,” said Henry, “but Mr. Bolger is not the only one who wants the Becketts to sell. Sally thinks her parents are too old to take care of the farm. She wants to convince them to move to Florida with her.”

Jessie pulled out a small notebook and pencil. She often took notes when there was a mystery to be solved. She listed Mr. Bolger and Sally. They both wanted the Becketts to sell the farm, but for different reasons.

Jessie tapped her pencil on the pad. “Is there anyone else who could be causing the problems?”

Henry finished his turkey sandwich. “Jason knows the farm well and he lives nearby. He could be behind the hauntings in the fields.”

“But why would Jason do that?” asked Violet.

“I don’t know,” Henry said. “I can’t think why he would want the farm to seem haunted. It’s just that…”

“Look!” Benny exclaimed. He pointed out the window. “Isn’t that Bessie?”

“And Mr. Bolger!” Jessie said.

Bessie had just come out of an office. A sign above the door said Bolger Construction. She looked nervously16 up and down the street. Mr. Bolger leaned out the door.

“Anything else, kids?” asked Kim, stopping at their table.

“No, thank you,” Henry replied.

The waitress placed the check on the table. “I hope you enjoyed everything.”

“Yes, we did,” Jessie answered. When she turned to look back out the window, Mr. Bolger was handing an envelope to Bessie. Bessie slipped the envelope into her purse. She got into her car and drove away.

“What was Bessie doing?” asked Benny.

“I don’t know,” said Violet. “But she seemed happy that Mr. Bolger gave her that envelope.”

Jessie looked at her watch. “It is getting late,” she said. “We should get back to the car. Sally will be there soon.” Before she left the diner, Jessie added Bessie’s name to the list in her notebook.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 pumpkin NtKy8     
n.南瓜
参考例句:
  • They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
  • It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你!
2 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
3 cranberry TvOz5U     
n.梅果
参考例句:
  • Turkey reminds me of cranberry sauce.火鸡让我想起梅果酱。
  • Actually I prefer canned cranberry sauce.事实上我更喜欢罐装的梅果酱。
4 pitcher S2Gz7     
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手
参考例句:
  • He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
  • Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。
5 gulped 4873fe497201edc23bc8dcb50aa6eb2c     
v.狼吞虎咽地吃,吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 );大口地吸(气);哽住
参考例句:
  • He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out. 他把剩下的茶一饮而尽便出去了。
  • She gulped nervously, as if the question bothered her. 她紧张地咽了一下,似乎那问题把她难住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 wrung b11606a7aab3e4f9eebce4222a9397b1     
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 ); 握紧(尤指别人的手); 把(湿衣服)拧干; 绞掉(水)
参考例句:
  • He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
  • He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。
7 shuddered 70137c95ff493fbfede89987ee46ab86     
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车,车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 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。
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 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
11 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。
12 commotion 3X3yo     
n.骚动,动乱
参考例句:
  • They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵,引起了一阵骚乱。
  • Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间,整条街道变得一片混乱。
13 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。
14 folder KjixL     
n.纸夹,文件夹
参考例句:
  • Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
  • He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。
15 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》
16 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地,不安地
参考例句:
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇,努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。
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