儿童英语读物 The Mystery in the Snow CHAPTER 17 The Winners

Mr. Mercer took them into his small office. There, Jimmy gave Mr. Mercer the equipment shop keys. Then, he told his story. The man sat silently, listening.

“It was a dumb thing to do,” Jimmy concluded. “And I’m really sorry. I’ll do anything I can to make up for it.”

Mr. Mercer nodded. For a long time, he didn’t say a word. He just kept nodding. The room was so quiet Jimmy and the Aldens could hear themselves breathing.

Finally, Mr. Mercer said, “Telling me this has not been easy.” He paused. “I think we’ll just keep it to ourselves.” He glanced at Jimmy. “Is that all right with you?”

“Oh, yes, sir,” Jimmy replied. The color came back to his cheeks.

“Fine. Now go on out of here, all of you.” Mr. Mercer turned his chair toward his desk. “I have work to do.”

They started out.

“Oh, Jimmy, there is one thing you can do,” Mr. Mercer said.

“Anything, sir,” Jimmy responded.

“For the remainder of the games, I expect you to do your best — like the champion you are.”

Jimmy smiled broadly. “You can count on it,” he said.

He went back to his room to phone his parents. The Aldens waited for him in the lounge.

“Maybe Jimmy’s parents will change their minds and come for the awards dinner,” Jessie said.

“I hope so,” Violet said.

Jimmy came toward them. His eyes were sad.

Benny was surprised to see him back so soon. “You didn’t talk very long,” he said.

“I didn’t talk at all,” Jimmy replied. “They weren’t there.”

“Maybe they’re out to breakfast,” Violet said.

Jimmy shook his head. “They’ve checked out of the hotel. No one knows where they went.”

At last it was time for the judging of the ice carvings¹. Watch sat very still beside his ice self.

“He wants everyone to know he posed for it,” Benny said.

Nan’s group had turned their ice castle into a dog house. Watch’s name was carved on the door.

The judges called it a tie.

The next two days were busy.

As he had promised, Jimmy did his best in the remaining events. Everyone else did well, too.

Everything was more fun. The lounge was always full of people playing word games and talking. The teams mixed more freely. Benny did very well in his sledding race, and afterwards, everyone — even the adults — had a gigantic snowball fight. No one won. But it didn’t seem to matter.

Skating was the last event. It was held on the afternoon of the awards dinner. Once more, the ice was smooth as glass. Beth and Jessie did figure skating dances. Jimmy and Matt raced against Freddy and another member of her team. All the skaters took part in the last race, a relay.

The crowd roared as the baton² was passed from one person to the next. It was the closest, most exciting race of the week. Only Pete and his stopwatch seemed to know who had won. And he wasn’t telling.

Back at the lodge³, people talked about the games.

Jimmy stood by the fire, talking with the Aldens. “This was probably the best — ” He broke off. The smile froze on his face.

“What’s the matter?” Henry asked.

Jimmy didn’t say a word. He just kept staring.

The Aldens followed his gaze. Standing⁴ inside the door were Mr. and Mrs. Phelps!

Jimmy sprang into action. “Mom! Dad!” he called and sprinted⁵ across the room to meet them.

Mrs. Phelps hugged her son. Mr. Phelps hugged him, too.

“I called you,” Jimmy told them. “You’d checked out.”

“We decided⁶ to surprise you,” Mr. Phelps said.

Jimmy took them over by the fire. “These are my friends,” he said and introduced the Aldens.

“No wonder you like it here, Jimmy,” Mr. Phelps said. “There are so many interesting people.”

“The whole time we were away, we kept wishing we were here with you,” Mrs. Phelps said.

Jimmy couldn’t hide his surprise. “And I was wishing I was there with you,” he told them. After that, all his feelings came tumbling out.

The Phelps were stunned⁷. They had always thought he wanted to come here for the winter games. And they thought he liked being on his own.

“What a terrible misunderstanding!” Mrs. Phelps said.

“From now on, we’ll discuss these things,” Mr. Phelps said. “And the next time we take a vacation, it will be together.”

Mrs. Phelps glanced around the room. She seemed to like what she saw. “And maybe we’ll spend it at Snow Haven,” she said.

“That’d be great,” Benny put in. “We might be here, too.”

The parade into the dining room began. Mr. Alden stood at the door beside Mr. Mercer.

“Well, Benny, are you ready to eat?” Mr. Alden asked.

“I’m too excited to eat,” Benny said. “I can’t wait until we find out who won.”

Mr. Mercer laughed. “I’ll save you the suspense⁸, Benny,” he said. “In my book, you’re all winners.”

1 carvings   

n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

3 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

4 standing   

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。

5 sprinted   

v.短距离疾跑( sprint的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sprinted for the line. 他向终点线冲去。
• Sergeant Horne sprinted to the car. 霍恩中士全力冲向那辆汽车。 来自辞典例句

6 decided   

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。

7 stunned   

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。

8 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。