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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Hidden Painting CHAPTER 3 A Visit to Aunt Jane

时间:2017-07-11 07:38来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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After dinner, all the Aldens sat out on the wide green lawn and enjoyed the soft, cool evening breeze. When the children told Mr. Alden they wanted to visit Aunt Jane, he agreed right away. He thought it was a fine idea.

“You haven’t been away this summer at all,” he said. “I’ll call her right now.”

Aunt Jane thought the visit was a fine idea, too. “I’ll be especially happy to see you because Uncle Andy is away on business and I’m really lonesome,” she told Jessie on the phone.

It was arranged that the Aldens would take the one o’clock bus the next day and Aunt Jane would be waiting at the bus stop for them.

In the morning they all packed small, brightly colored suitcases. Benny made sure his pink cup was in his. At one o’clock Grandfather drove them to the bus station and waved good-bye. At three they were in Elmford where Aunt Jane was waiting for them. They couldn’t wait to get to Aunt Jane’s old farmhouse1, thinking of the cold water in the pond not far from her house, and how they’d enjoy splashing2 in it.

When they had unpacked3 and played in the creek4 for over an hour, they all joined Aunt Jane in her big kitchen. Benny tore lettuce5 for a dinner salad. Henry mashed6 potatoes. Violet cut string beans, and Jessie and Aunt Jane shaped turkey patties. Aunt Jane was very aware of healthy eating and tried to get the Aldens to enjoy her menus … even the turkey patties instead of hamburgers. They never told her they weren’t crazy about the turkey patties.

Violet and Jessie exchanged a glance. Then Jessie quickly told Aunt Jane the story of their finding the portrait and then seeing Mrs. Harkins’ picture in the newspaper. Aunt Jane was astounded7.

“Your grandmother’s necklace has been missing for years. I can’t believe Mrs. Harkins’ necklace is the same one,” Aunt Jane said, looking at the Aldens.

“Do you know Mrs. Harkins?” Henry asked.

Aunt Jane shook her head. “A little. We aren’t really friends, but in a small town like Elmford, everybody knows almost everybody else.”

“Could you call her and ask if we could talk to her?” Jessie asked, wiping her hands on the apron8 she was wearing. She waited eagerly for Aunt Jane’s answer.

“I don’t know,” Aunt Jane replied. “I’m not sure she’d want to be questioned by four strange children she’s never met.”

“Try,” Violet pleaded9. “Please!”

“Please,” Benny repeated.

“All right,” Aunt Jane agreed. “I’ll call her.”

Aunt Jane went into the sitting room next to the kitchen and made her call. She came back and said, “Mrs. Harkins said you could come by at eleven tomorrow morning. She didn’t seem too happy at the idea, but she did say she’d see you. She said to be on time.”

Benny threw his arms around Aunt Jane. “You’re a good aunt.”

After breakfast the next morning, Aunt Jane told the Aldens exactly where Mrs. Harkins lived. They had all visited Aunt Jane so many times that they knew their way around town very well. They took the bikes Aunt Jane kept for them and rode through the green countryside, passing well-kept farms and small houses. The air smelled sweet and fresh.

“Look! Cows!” Benny shouted, pointing to three cows grazing10 lazily behind a wire fence next to the road. “I like farms,” he said positively11.

“You just like cows, because they give you the milk you love so much,” Jessie said, laughing.

The children pedaled12 slowly so that they arrived at Mrs. Harkins’ just at eleven. They remembered her instructions to be on time. Her home was a large, redbrick house with white shuttered windows. A maid answered Jessie’s ring and took them into a large, comfortable living room. Mrs. Harkins stood waiting for the Aldens.

She was a small, attractive woman of about fifty. “Well,” she said. “Your aunt said you wanted to talk to me about a necklace … or something like that. Why would four young children be interested in a necklace?”

Jessie took the newspaper picture out of her pocket and showed it to Mrs. Harkins. “The necklace you’re wearing—” she began.

“Why don’t we all sit down,” Elizabeth Harkins said, leading them all into the living room. “We’ll be more comfortable.”

“The necklace—” Jessie continued.

“It looks like our grandmother’s,” Benny blurted13 out.

Mrs. Harkins frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Violet reached into her knapsack and smoothed out her drawing of the Alden necklace. “You see, our grandmother had this necklace. We think it looks like the one you wore to the dance.”

Suddenly a man appeared in the doorway14. “Elizabeth,” he said firmly, “please come in here.”

Mrs. Harkins stood up. “Excuse me. My husband wants to talk to me.”

She walked into the next room. First there was just a murmur15 of voices. Then the sounds were louder, as if the Harkins were arguing. The Aldens looked at each other.

“Maybe we should leave,” Violet said. “I think we’ve upset them.”

Mr. Harkins then said, loud enough to be heard in the next room, “Be careful!”

Mrs. Harkins came back and sat down again. “I really only have a couple of minutes to talk to you children. What do you want?” Her voice was cold.

Henry said, “We just were wondering if your necklace could possibly be—”

Mrs. Harkins interrupted him. “The necklace isn’t mine.” Now she smiled. “The Elmford Museum lent it to me to wear to the dance, because it was a charity affair for the hospital. I don’t know anything about the necklace at all.”

She stood up and held her hand out to Jessie. “It was very nice meeting all of you. Now I have an appointment I must get to. I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Outside the house, Benny said, “She wasn’t very friendly. Was she?” He looked very puzzled.

Henry put an arm around Benny’s shoulders. “You’re right, Benny. She wasn’t.”

“What do we do now?” Violet asked.

“Eat!” Benny said. “I’m hungry.”

Jessie turned to Henry. “Remember that nice little coffee shop on Main Street? Let’s go there for lunch.”

“Good idea,” Benny said.

In minutes they were seated in a booth in the small coffee shop. “First let’s order, then we can talk about Mrs. Harkins,” Violet said.

When the waitress stopped at their table, Benny ordered a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, chocolate cake, and milk. He smiled when he finished ordering.

“Can you eat that much, Benny?” Jessie asked.

“Sure can. Watch,” Benny answered.

Henry ordered a grilled16 cheese and a cola. Jessie had tuna fish and a milk shake and Violet ordered a hamburger and milk. Then Jessie said, “I don’t understand, if Mrs. Harkins doesn’t even own the necklace, why was she so cold to us?”

“And why did Mr. Harkins tell her to ‘Be careful’?” Henry asked.

“Well, I think the next thing to do is go to the museum and talk to someone there,” Jessie suggested.

“We’ll do that right after lunch,” Henry said.

As soon as they finished eating, the Alden children biked to the small museum. When they got there, they saw a sign on the door that read:

CLOSED ON MONDAY
HOURS: TUES-SUN. I 2-5.

“Oh, no!” Violet cried out. “Maybe we should have called first.”

“Now what should we do?” Benny asked. “I’m getting hot.”

Henry glanced down the street where he saw a small movie theater. “How about a movie to escape the heat? It should be cool in there.”

“Well,” Benny said, thoughtfully, “if the movie’s not mushy. I don’t want to sit through a mushy movie.”

Jessie laughed. “It isn’t mushy at all. It’s a western.”

“Let’s go!” Benny shouted.

“I’ll call Aunt Jane and tell her we‘ll be home later,” Violet said.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 farmhouse kt1zIk     
n.农场住宅(尤指主要住房)
参考例句:
  • We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
  • We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。
2 splashing de13ae58d5efba954190454601e0b385     
v.使(液体)溅起( splash的现在分词 );(指液体)溅落;击水声
参考例句:
  • Water was splashing down from a large hole in the roof. 雨水从房顶上的一个大洞里倾泻下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The children love splashing water over each other. 儿童喜欢互相泼水。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 unpacked 78a068b187a564f21b93e72acffcebc3     
v.从(包裹等)中取出(所装的东西),打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 );拆包;解除…的负担;吐露(心事等)
参考例句:
  • I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李,整理衣物。
  • Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒,并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句
4 creek 3orzL     
n.小溪,小河,小湾
参考例句:
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
5 lettuce C9GzQ     
n.莴苣;生菜
参考例句:
  • Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿,我好做色拉。
  • The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。
6 mashed Jotz5Y     
a.捣烂的
参考例句:
  • two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
  • Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。
7 astounded 7541fb163e816944b5753491cad6f61a     
v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词);愕然;愕;惊讶
参考例句:
  • His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
  • How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话?我感到大为震惊。
8 apron Lvzzo     
n.围裙;工作裙
参考例句:
  • We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
  • She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。
9 pleaded 1180b0c3eadb43bd3420016b36aaf0a9     
恳求,请求( plead的过去式和过去分词 ); 提出…为借口[理由]; (向法庭)陈述案情; (在法庭)申辩,认罪,辩护
参考例句:
  • She pleaded with him not to go. 她恳求他不要离开。
  • She wept and pleaded until he agreed to do as she wished. 她哭着恳求他,一直到他答应按她的愿望去做。
10 grazing grazing     
n. 放牧, 牧草 动词graze的现在分词
参考例句:
  • There were cows grazing beside the river. 有些牛在河边吃草。
  • Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
11 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
参考例句:
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
12 pedaled cf570c9c2cdf9b44332328334780988b     
vt.& vi.踩自行车的踏板(pedal的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • She pedaled her bicycle slowly up the hill. 她骑自行车慢慢上山。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • With these instructions, he straddled his bike once again and pedaled off. 小伙子在她身后跨上车子,边说边飞快地骑跑了。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
13 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止,她已脱口而出。
  • He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相,说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 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。
15 murmur EjtyD     
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言
参考例句:
  • They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
  • There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
16 grilled grilled     
adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后,警察才放他走。
  • He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问,直到他承认为止。
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