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儿童英语读物 Bus Station Mystery CHAPTER 4 A Discovery

时间:2017-07-03 05:35来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The minutes went by, but no bus pulled up in front of the station. Frank did not come back either. The strange boys were gone, but nobody knew where. Not even a car passed.

Benny finally spoke1 up. “It’s one o’clock now. That’s long past lunch time, and I’m hungry. Why don’t we have some lunch? Frank told us we could. So it will be OK with him.”

“Yes, why not?” Jessie said. “There’s no telling when the bus will come. I’m hungry, too.”

“So am I,” Henry said.

That settled it. Jessie and Violet went behind the lunch counter and opened the refrigerator and looked in. They found butter, milk, and hamburgers. In the breadbox were hamburger rolls and loaves of bread for sandwiches.

“That’s enough,” Jessie said with a nod. “These are just the things Frank uses for his lunch counter. We can get up a good meal.”

“Just hurry,” Benny said.

Jessie got out a frying pan and began to cook the hamburgers. Soon the smell was delicious. Everyone began to sniff2.

“Come right up to the counter, ladies and gentlemen,” said Jessie. “Here are paper plates and paper cups.” She poured four cups of milk.

“Isn’t there anything else in the refrigerator, Jessie?” Benny asked.

“Well, Ben!” exclaimed Henry. “Right in front of your eyes. Look at that glass doughnut jar on the counter.”

“Well, well,” said Benny. “I guess I’m blind or something. Doughnuts and milk will finish this lunch off just fine.”

“Wait, Benny. Let me look again,” said Jessie. “There was another package in the refrigerator.” She opened the door and took out the package.

“Cheese!” shouted Benny. “I know it’s cheese before you get the paper off. I hope it’s the kind I like.”

It was cheese and the kind Benny liked. More milk and lunch was over.

“Not many dishes to wash,” said Jessie, laughing. She threw away the paper cups and plates. “No spoons, and not even knives and forks. I’ll just wash the frying pan,” she said as she scrubbed3 away. She left it clean and shiny and she hung it up under the counter.

Henry looked at his watch again. “I wonder where Frank is. He should have come back by now.”

“No sign of the bus, either,” said Benny. “We’ll never get to the fair in Oakdale at this rate. Not much of an adventure, just waiting in a bus station.”

Just then there were voices outside. “You still here?” someone called. It wasn’t Frank.

Benny ran to look out. The two strange boys were back. They had on dry clothes. They both grinned at the Aldens.

The big boy said, “We just went home to dry out. We found out we wouldn’t miss the bus. We could take our time.”

“How did you find out?” Henry asked.

The smaller boy said, “Because the wind blew a big dead tree across the road that leads to the bridge. Nobody can get through. The bus has to go miles around the other way.”

“The highway is closed!” said Violet in a low voice. “That means we’re stranded4. Grandfather will be worried about us. I wish we could call him in Greenfield. But the telephone line is broken.”

“Don’t worry about Grandfather,” Henry said. “He won’t know we are stuck at this little bus station. I’m sure he thinks we are in Oakdale now, enjoying the fair.”

“Come on,” the older boy said. “Let’s go back down to the road and watch for the highway patrol5 to come. See you kids later.” And the two boys ran off.

“I don’t like this very much,” said Benny. “Nothing to do. I wish I had something to look at.”

Jessie said, “Well, when I was cleaning up I did see something that made me curious.”

“You did?” Benny asked. “Anything will be better than nothing.”

Jessie said, “I didn’t say anything about it, because I didn’t think it was any of our business. Still, it is different from what you’d expect in a bus station.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Henry. He was curious now, too.

Jessie said, “Come around behind the counter. Look up on that high shelf.”

They all looked up. There were several drinking glasses half full of dirty water. Two glasses held old faded weeds, and one glass held clean water and bright green weeds. There were many test tubes in a wire rack, each labeled with the name of a chemical. Beside the glasses were several books and a few notebooks.

“I can see the name of one of those books from down here,” said Violet. “It is How to Analyze6 Water.”

“One of them is a bird book,” said Jessie in astonishment7. “Imagine a bird book in a bus station!”

Violet said, “That bird book is exactly like the one Grandfather has. It has colored pictures of every bird in this part of the country.”

“Now why didn’t I see all this before?” demanded Benny.

“Well, Ben,” replied Henry, laughing, “you don’t go looking around near the ceiling when it’s pouring and blowing like a tornado8 and two boys are hiding and acting9 mysterious. But we’ve seen all these test tubes and books now, and it means that Frank is all the more of a riddle10. He must be a strange man.”

Benny took a chair and put it under the shelf. He climbed up on it.

“Don’t touch anything, Benny,” said Jessie.

“Oh, no,” answered Benny. “In the first place, these things belong to Frank. In the second place, I don’t want to leave any fingerprints11.”

Then Benny exclaimed, “Oh, now I can see what I’m doing! Now guess what! Here is another big book on the other side of the glasses. It’s called Chemistry of Paints and Varnishes12. Is Frank a chemist and a bus station man and a lunchroom keeper and a gardener?”

“Maybe Frank is doing some work for the paint factory,” Jessie suggested.

“Maybe chemistry is just his hobby,” said Violet. “He hasn’t very much to work with. Only a few bottles and a book.”

“Frank has so many hobbies,” said Benny. “Remember the bird feeders and the bird houses and the flowers in the windows. I wish he would come back so we could talk with him.”

“I think those boys, Jud and Troy, were bothering Frank while he was working,” said Jessie. “He certainly wanted to get rid of them.”

“Maybe he thought they were watching him. Remember the field glasses,” Benny said.

Henry started to say something. But he heard the noise of a car turning around in front of the bus station.

“That must be Frank,” Violet said quickly.

It was Frank. “Everything OK?” he called. “No bus yet?”

“We’re fine,” said Jessie, “but no bus. Did you know the bridge is closed by a fallen tree? The bus has to go around, and that’s why it’s late.”

“Yes, I know,” replied Frank. “But how did you know? Did you walk down to the bridge?”

“No,” Jessie started to say. Then she remembered that Frank wouldn’t like to hear they’d been talking to those two boys.

But Frank was not paying any attention to Jessie. He was staring at the chair Benny had pulled over to the shelf.

Frank looked from the chair to the Aldens and then up at the books on the shelf. “Well,” he said, “what in the world were you looking for?”

He didn’t sound angry. He sounded sad. “Excuse me,” he said. “This has been a bad day. The storm . . . one of my big trees blown down by lightning . . . the kids pestering13 me . . .”

Benny said quickly, “We were just curious about all those weeds and things. We didn’t touch a thing.”

Violet added in a hurry. “We are all interested in flowers and plants. Maybe we can help you.”

“Nobody can help me,” Frank said. “The thing is too big. I’ve tried, but there is too much against me.”

He seemed to be speaking to himself, not to the Aldens. He seemed to have forgotten they were there.

Then there was a loud honk14 outside.

“The bus for Oakdale!” Benny cried. “Oh, we mustn’t miss it! We’ve waited so long.”

Frank shook his head as if to get rid of his troubles. “You won’t miss it,” he told Benny. “The driver will wait.”

Henry took out the tickets, and the four Aldens filed out of the bus station. Frank followed.

The bus driver was standing15 beside the bus, unlocking16 the baggage compartment17. He looked around and waved at Frank. “More passengers?” he asked.

Frank nodded. “They have their tickets.”

The driver lifted the door of the baggage compartment as he said, “I’ve got a package for Pickett, Plainview Junction18. Not very big—now where is it? Oh, here it is.”

“That’s all?” Frank said. “Nothing else?”

“That’s it,” the driver said. He looked at the Aldens. “You can give me your tickets now. All aboard!”

The Aldens went up the steps to the bus. It was dark inside.

Benny looked around. If Jud and Troy had already climbed in, he could not see them.

The driver slammed the big door shut. “Oakdale in fifteen minutes,” he announced.

The Aldens settled back in their seats, glad to be on their way to the fair at last.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 sniff PF7zs     
vi.嗅…味道;抽鼻涕;对嗤之以鼻,蔑视
参考例句:
  • The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
  • When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候,他们会彼此嗅一会儿。
3 scrubbed 0e51a5270f033b709377097d97622286     
v.用力擦洗,刷洗( scrub的过去式和过去分词 );取消(原有安排);对…不予考虑,取消
参考例句:
  • The mother scrubbed the floor and her child did the same. 母亲擦洗地板,孩子也跟着干。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She scrubbed the stain on the floor. 她把地板上的污迹擦掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 stranded thfz18     
a.搁浅的,进退两难的
参考例句:
  • He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里, 身无分文,一筹莫展。
  • I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市,既没有钱,又没有朋友。
5 patrol 2LKxC     
v.巡逻,巡查;n.巡逻,巡查,巡逻队
参考例句:
  • They attacked two soldiers on patrol.他们袭击了两名正在巡逻的士兵。
  • Policemen patrol the streets.警察在街上巡逻。
6 analyze RwUzm     
vt.分析,解析 (=analyse)
参考例句:
  • We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
  • The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。
7 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
8 tornado inowl     
n.飓风,龙卷风
参考例句:
  • A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
9 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。
10 riddle WCfzw     
n.谜,谜语,粗筛;vt.解谜,给…出谜,筛,检查,鉴定,非难,充满于;vi.出谜
参考例句:
  • The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
  • Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。
11 fingerprints 9b456c81cc868e5bdf3958245615450b     
n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
  • They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套,以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 varnishes fe2e780404c4ae2223d2cfb579863f48     
清漆的面(尤指木器或金属制品上的)( varnish的名词复数 ); 光泽面; 罩光漆
参考例句:
  • Current uses by subbase layer and color pigments, varnishes tier. 漆布一般由底基层,色料层和光漆层组成。
  • UV varnish: Varnishes which dried immediately by exposure ultra-violet light. 紫外线光油:在紫外光照射下,即时乾燥的光油。
13 pestering cbb7a3da2b778ce39088930a91d2c85b     
使烦恼,纠缠( pester的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He's always pestering me to help him with his homework. 他总是泡蘑菇要我帮他做作业。
  • I'm telling you once and for all, if you don't stop pestering me you'll be sorry. 我这是最后一次警告你。如果你不停止纠缠我,你将来会后悔的。
14 honk TdizI     
n.雁叫声,汽车喇叭声
参考例句:
  • Don't honk the horn indiscriminately.不要乱鸣喇叭!
  • While passing another vehicle,you must honk your horn.通过另一部车时必须鸣按喇叭。
15 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。
16 unlocking a3b0f3cd1976814b426b08d9775a6a5f     
n.接通,开放,解锁v.开锁( unlock的现在分词 );开启;揭开;开着,解开
参考例句:
  • Unlocking DaVinci's Code separates the facts from the fiction. 《解开达西密码》将事实与小说区隔开来。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年5月号
  • All of these questions will be answered on Unlocking DaVinci's Code. 这些问题将于《解开达文西密码》中一一解答。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年5月号
17 compartment dOFz6     
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间
参考例句:
  • We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴,整个客车隔间由我们独享。
  • The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。
18 junction N34xH     
n.连接,接合;交叉点,接合处,枢纽站
参考例句:
  • There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
  • You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。
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