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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Singing Ghost CHAPTER 2 Work! Work! Work!

时间:2017-07-24 09:05来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The next morning, the Aldens got up and fixed1 a breakfast of orange juice, cold cereal2, toast with strawberry jam, and milk. When they had eaten and cleaned up the kitchen, they ran down to the boxcar.

It was almost the same as when they had lived in it. The only new things were the plump3 cushions Mrs. McGregor had made for the children to sit on. Now they made themselves comfortable on the pillows. Benny pulled an apple out of his pocket and bit into it.

“Benny,” Henry asked, “don’t you ever stop eating?”

Benny grinned. “Yes — when I sleep.”

“Okay,” Jessie said, “let’s make a list of everything we need to take to the old house.”

“Well,” Violet said, thoughtfully, “we need soap and rags and a mop …”

“And oil and paint and a paintbrush,” Henry added.

“And, work gloves, and a broom and paper to line the drawers,” Jessie said.

“And food,” Benny said. “For us!”

“Okay,” Jessie said. “We’ll bike into town, buy all the stuff at the hardware store, and then we’ll go to the market and get food for lunch. And then we can go to the ‘Roth house,’ as Mr. Farley calls it.”

Henry said, “That’s fine! Let’s get our bikes and go.”

Five minutes later the Aldens were biking down a tree-lined country road to the town of Greenfield. Once they reached the small town, they stopped at Mrs. Thaler’s for the keys to the house. She handed Jessie two keys on a ring. “The larger one is for the front door and the smaller one is for the back door,” she told them.

Then they rode over to Harmon’s Hardware store. Mr. Harmon greeted them when they walked in. “Hi, Aldens. Can I help you?”

“We need a lot of cleaning things to take to the Roth house, which our cousins Joe and Alice are buying. We’re going to help fix it up for them,” Benny said all in one breath.

Mr. Harmon laughed. “It will take an army to fix that place up … and get rid of the ghosts.”

Benny and Violet exchanged looks. “Ghosts?” they said together.

“Come on, Mr. Harmon,” Jessie said. “Don’t joke like that.”

Mr. Harmon glanced at Benny’s pale face. “Sure! Sure! I’m just joking. Now what can I get you?”

Henry handed Mr. Harmon the list. Mr. Harmon looked at it and said, “That’s quite a load. Tell you what — I have a delivery out that way this afternoon. I’ll drop all this stuff off at the Roth place for you … around one o’clock.”

“Great!” Jessie said. “Thanks a lot.”

“I’ll just put it all on your grandfather’s account,” Mr. Harmon said.

Benny said, “Now we can go to the store for our lunch food.”

The Aldens walked across the street to a small market. Henry took a shopping cart, and the four children walked through the aisles4. Into the cart they put a loaf of whole wheat bread, a large package of cheese slices, juicy tomatoes, peaches, chocolate cookies, and two quarts5 of milk. Benny added potato chips, and Violet ran back for paper plates, cups, and plastic tableware.

After they had paid, they divided the food into two bags. Henry and Jessie each put one in their bike baskets. Then they all rode the couple of miles to the old house. As they got off their bikes, a middle-aged6 man and woman were getting into a car parked in the street. The dark-haired woman stared at the Aldens and then walked over to them.

“We’re the Aldens,” Benny said quickly. “Our cousins Joe and Alice are buying this house.” He carefully pointed7 to the Roth house.

“I’m Gloria Carter,” the woman said. “I live next door to the Roth house.”

The man came over to her and she introduced him. “This is my husband, David.” She turned to Mr. Carter. “Dave, the Roth house has been sold to the children’s cousins.”

Mr. Carter slowly narrowed his eyes. “I don’t need any neighbors,” he said gruffly.

Gloria Carter put her hand on her husband’s arm and said, “Now, David, it will be lovely to have new young neighbors. I’m delighted!” She smiled. “We’re driving into Greenfield to shop now. Will you be here long?”

“We’re going to start cleaning up,” Jessie said. “We’ll be here a lot in the next few weeks.”

“How nice,” Mrs. Carter said. “Then I’ll see you again.” The Carters got into their car and drove off.

The Aldens took the bundles from the bike baskets and carried them up to the porch8. Jessie unlocked9 the door and they went into the house. “She was a nice lady,” Benny said.

“Yes,” Violet said. “But he wasn’t very friendly.”

Henry laughed. “Oh, well, one friendly neighbor out of two is okay.”

Inside the house Benny wrinkled10 his nose. “Like I said before, it smells.”

Henry went to a window and pulled it up. “It’s just a little stuffy11. Let’s open all the windows. Upstairs, too. That will help.”

“I’ll go upstairs with you, Violet,” Jessie said. “Benny, you stay down here and help Henry.”

Upstairs, the girls went into each room and pulled the windows up. Jessie looked into the largest bedroom. “Look, Violet, there are still shades on these windows.”

Violet shook her head. “Yes, and look at them. They’re torn and dirty and faded. I wonder if these are the Roths’ shades, or if anyone lived in this house after they moved out.”

“We can ask someone,” Jessie said. “Let’s go downstairs and see where we should begin to clean.”

The girls ran lightly down the stairs and joined their brothers, who were in the living room. “Where should we start?” Jessie asked.

“We can’t start anywhere,” Benny said. “We have no cleaning things.”

Jessie laughed. “Oh, I forgot. You are smart, Benny.”

Benny grinned. “Well, then, I’m smart enough to know since we can’t clean, we can at least eat. Let’s fix lunch.”

Henry shrugged12 and began to laugh. “We might as well.”

Suddenly there was a loud bang from upstairs. The Aldens all jumped. “What was that?” Benny asked, his eyes wide.

Violet moved closer to Jessie. “There’s nobody here but us — is there?” she asked, her voice shaking.

“I don’t know, but I’ll go look,” Jessie said bravely.

“I’ll go with you,” Henry said.

Henry and Jessie walked up the stairs slowly. “What do you suppose it was?” Henry whispered to Jessie. He took her hand and they went from room to room.

In the large bedroom a shade was lying on the floor. Jessie laughed. “That’s what it was. That shade fell off the window. The wind must have done it.”

Henry sighed with relief. “All this ghost talk. You know it gets to you.”

“Are you all right?” Violet called from downstairs.

“We’re fine,” Henry called back. “A window shade fell on the floor. That’s all.”

“Good,” Benny called out. “Let’s eat.”

The Aldens went into the kitchen and unpacked13 their food. “How come there are lights and water, if no one lives here?” Benny asked.

“Real estate agents often turn them on when they know they are going to be showing a house,” Henry said. “Joe told me that.”

The children made sandwiches of cheese and tomatoes and put them on the paper plates. Benny opened the chips and Violet passed around the fruit and cookies. After Henry poured the milk they sat on the floor in the kitchen and ate.

While they were eating there was a knock at the back door. “Harmon’s,” a voice called out. The delivery boy from the hardware store brought the boxes of cleaning things into the kitchen and put them on the floor. He glanced around the grimy room and said, “Boy, you sure have a lot of work to do.” Then he left.

When the Aldens had finished eating, they put all the garbage into a paper bag. “I wonder if there’s a garbage can around here,” Jessie asked. She looked around the kitchen.

“What’s behind that door?” Benny asked, pointing to a heavy wooden door next to the sink.

“I don’t know — I didn’t even notice it until now,” Jessie said.

She pulled open the door and peered14 into the darkness. “No garbage can. But there’s a staircase15 going up. Who wants to come with me?”

First there was silence, then Benny said, “I’ll go,” but his voice was just a little shaky.

Slowly Benny and Jessie walked up the flight of stairs. It was very dark, and Benny hung onto Jessie’s hand tightly16. They came to another door at the top of the stairs and Jessie opened it. They were in one of the bedrooms. She laughed. “It just leads up to the second floor.”

“I thought so,” Benny said.

Jessie lightly poked17 his arm. “I’ll bet,” she said.

The Aldens spent the afternoon working. Henry and Jessie scrubbed18 the kitchen. Violet dusted the living room and dining room, and Benny weeded the garden. After a couple of hours, they all admitted they were tired.

“Let’s go home,” Benny said.

“Yes, let’s,” Violet agreed.

They neatened up the cleaning supplies, carefully locked the back door, and went out the front door. They locked that, too.

Mr. Farley was in his yard mowing19 the lawn. He stopped when he saw the Aldens come out. “What have you been doing?” he asked.

“Cleaning and weeding,” Benny answered. “So when our cousins move in, they won’t have as much work to do.”

“So, they are buying it,” Mr. Farley said. “Foolish people. There is never enough room in one house for real live people and a ghost.”

“We don’t believe in ghosts,” Jessie said.

“You will,” the old man answered. “When you hear Celia Roth singing, you’ll believe in ghosts.”

“Did you know her … Celia?” Violet asked timidly20.

“I did,” Mr. Farley replied. “I was just a boy when she lived here, but I remember her well. She was a beautiful, sweet girl. Maybe you’ll see her someday, when you’re in the house.”

“Mr. Farley,” Henry said, “I don’t think we will.”

Mr. Farley laughed. “We’ll see,” he said.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
2 cereal Wrzz1     
n.谷类,五谷,禾谷
参考例句:
  • I have hot cereal every day for breakfast.我每天早餐吃热麦片粥。
  • Soybeans are handled differently from cereal grains.大豆的加工处理与谷类的加工处理不同。
3 plump P2dzN     
adj.丰满的,丰富的,直接的;vi.下降,支持,变丰满;vt.突然放下,支持,使丰满;n.突然膨胀,坠落;adv.骤降,直线下降,不加限制的
参考例句:
  • The baby is plump and very cute.那个婴儿白白胖胖的,十分可爱。
  • The grains are quite plump.谷粒儿很饱。
4 aisles aisles     
n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊
参考例句:
  • Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期,原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
  • They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近,并且很快就坐了下来。
5 quarts 71f6d348e5cebaae9d3412a15e243ca4     
夸脱(液体或固体的容积单位)( quart的名词复数 ); 金矿
参考例句:
  • A gallon contains four quarts. 一加仑相当于四夸脱。
  • Susie cried quarts, I know she did. 苏姗泪流满面,我知道她会这样的。
6 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
7 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。
8 porch ju9yM     
n.门廊,入口处,走廊,游廊
参考例句:
  • There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
  • The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。
9 unlocked d821dbe5ef2db3d805cd0f7eea0ec33f     
v.开锁( unlock的过去式和过去分词 );开启;揭开;开着,解开
参考例句:
  • Don't leave your desk unlocked. 请不要忘记锁好办公桌。
  • On no account should you leave the door unlocked. 你无论如何也不应该不锁门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 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》
11 stuffy BtZw0     
adj.不透气的,闷热的
参考例句:
  • It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
  • It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热,我们感到空气都是潮的。
12 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》
13 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
14 peered 20df74dd9059112f4ef8506d8ece8b43     
去皮的
参考例句:
  • He peeled away the plastic wrapping. 他去掉塑料包装。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The paint on the wall has peeled off. 墙上涂料已剥落了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 staircase ju5wq     
n.楼梯,楼梯间
参考例句:
  • Footsteps on the staircase interrupted his train of thought.楼梯上传来脚步声,打断了他的思路。
  • I crossed the staircase landing,and entered the room she indicated.我经过一个楼梯平台,走进她说的那个房间。
16 tightly ZgbzD7     
adv.紧紧地,坚固地,牢固地
参考例句:
  • My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时,孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
  • The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起,我们几乎喘不过气来。
17 poked 87f534f05a838d18eb50660766da4122     
v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 );戳出;拨弄;与(某人)性交
参考例句:
  • She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
  • His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 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》
19 mowing 2624de577751cbaf6c6d7c6a554512ef     
n.割草,一次收割量,牧草地v.刈,割( mow的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么?” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
20 timidly ab83c67ea8f9a532a7547a19c473126f     
adv.胆小地,羞怯地
参考例句:
  • She knocked timidly on the study door and entered. 她小心翼翼地敲了敲书房门然后进去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The child glanced at his angry father timidly. 孩子怯生生地瞟了一眼怒气冲冲的父亲。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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