儿童英语读物 The Mystery at the Dog Show CHAPTER 4 Dog Walking

The Lamplighter Inn seemed to be just as full of people and dogs and hustle¹ and bustle² as the Greenfield Center had been.

“How will we find Mrs. DeCicco?” asked Benny, staring.

“We’ll ask at the desk,” said Henry.

He led the way to the inn’s front desk and asked for Mrs. DeCicco’s room. Soon the Aldens were on their way to the north side of the inn.

“Here’s her room,” said Jessie. She knocked crisply on the door.

A few moments later, Mrs. DeCicco answered it. She looked just as flustered³ as before.

“Oh, good, I’m so glad you came. Ruth is still missing. It’s not at all like her …” Mrs. DeCicco stepped back and motioned for the Aldens to come inside.

Along one side of the room were the dogs, in three large wire cages with flat metal bottoms. Each cage had a different blanket in it, along with dog toys and bowls for food and water. A small plaque⁴ above the door of each cage had the dog’s name and the name DeCicco Kennels⁶.

Mrs. DeCicco handed Violet, Henry, and Jessie each a leash⁷, and began opening the cages. She lifted the first beagle out. “This is Sally. Good girl,” she crooned as Sally wriggled⁸ and began to lick her face. Handing Sally to Henry, she reached for the next beagle. “Here’s Gloria. She’s Sally’s mother.” Gloria and Sally looked exactly alike. Jessie took Gloria and clipped the leash to the dog’s collar as Henry had done with Sally.

“And this,” said Mrs. DeCicco, opening the last cage, “is Joe.” She handed Joe to Violet.

“What about me?” asked Benny.

“You can carry their dog biscuits,” said Mrs. DeCicco. “If they behave on their walk, you may give them each a dog biscuit at the end of it.”

“Oh, good,” said Benny. He took the three dog biscuits and put them carefully in his shirt pocket.

“Give them a brisk half-hour walk,” instructed Mrs. DeCicco. “Don’t let them dawdle⁹ too much.” She had to raise her voice, for the beagles had begun to bay and leap up in excitement, and then to pull the children toward the door of the hotel room.

“See you in half an hour!” called Mrs. DeCicco as the Aldens and the beagles hurried out.

The Alden children didn’t have to worry about getting the beagles to walk briskly. They trotted¹⁰ along the street in front of the hotel, heads down and ears flying, sniffing¹¹ everything. People smiled and nodded as they passed, recognizing Mrs. DeCicco’s prizewinners. One woman said, “Ah, the DeCicco beagles. Are you helping¹² Mrs. DeCicco?”

“Yes we are,” Henry said.

“It’s too bad she didn’t have a beagle for you to walk, too,” the woman said, turning to Benny. She motioned to the little dog she was walking. “Would you like to walk Britty for a little while?”

“That would be great!” Benny said, looking down at the woman’s long, skinny dog. “He looks like a hot dog!”

“He’s a dachshund,” the woman told him. “I’ll wait for you here.”

Benny took the leash and the children continued their walk. As they were passing the Greenfield Center, Benny exclaimed “Uh-oh!” and backed up into Jessie.

“What is it, Benny?” Jessie asked.

Benny pointed¹³, his eyes round. A very big black-and-white spotted¹⁴ dog with a square head and pointed ears was being led on a leash toward them.

“Wow,” breathed Violet. “That’s a huge dog.”

“Excuse me,” said Henry. “What kind of dog is that?”

The tall, thin woman holding the dog’s leash smiled down at them. “He’s a Great Dane. We call him Berries. Because of his spots, you see?”

Berries lowered his head toward Benny and wagged his tail.

“Is he friendly?” Benny asked.

“Very. Great Danes are a very friendly breed,” the woman said.

“I don’t know …” Benny said, backing away nervously¹⁵.

“How about if your brother holds his leash, and you can pat Berries,” the woman offered.

Handing Sally’s leash to Jessie, Henry took Berries’s leash, feeling a bit nervous himself. But Berries stayed perfectly¹⁶ calm. Benny reached out and patted Berries’s head. Berries lowered his head even more and his tail wagged harder.

“He likes that,” the woman said. “Well, I think Berries and I had better be on our way.” Henry returned Berries’s leash to her. “Come, Berries,” she said.

After they had left, Benny turned to his sisters and brother. “He looked like he would be big and mean,” said Benny.

“That just goes to show you can’t judge by appearances,” Henry said.

“Yes, but you should never pet strange dogs without asking their owners first,” Jessie told Benny.

They had now gone all the way around the block, and they saw Britty’s owner waiting for them.

“Thank you for letting me walk her,” Benny said, giving her the leash.

“Thank you,” the woman replied.

As they were heading back to the hotel, the Aldens passed lots of other people and dogs.

There were two full-coated collies being walked by a stately man with long, flowing golden hair, and a bulldog being walked by a thickset old man with a mashed-in nose.

“You know, some people look just like their dogs,” whispered Violet.

“It’s true,” said Jessie. “Oh look! Excuse me, what kind of dog is that?”

A short, stout¹⁷ woman with very short, very white hair stopped and smiled at them, while her dog pulled on his leash and grinned a doggy grin. “She’s an English bull terrier,” said the woman. “Her name is Shug.”

They all looked at Shug, who also had very short white hair and was very solidly built. “She looks like a nice dog,” said Jessie politely.

“Oh, she is when she wants to be,” said the woman cheerfully as Shug pulled her in the opposite direction.

Just then a large, shaggy dog bounded around from behind and stopped in front of them. It was clear from his excited wiggling that he wanted to play. He didn’t have a tail, but his whole back end was wagging.

“A sheepdog!” cried Violet.

“An Old English sheepdog, actually,” said a voice behind them. A man in a rumpled¹⁸ gray suit, with shaggy gray hair, came up to them.

“He’s beautiful,” said Violet.

“Thank you,” said the man. “He’s a champion — Champion Burger Plum Pudding.”

“What a funny name,” said Benny.

The man raised an eyebrow¹⁹. “Burger is the name of my kennel⁵ where he was born and bred. Plum is from his father’s name — Plum Best, you know — and Pudding is from his mother’s name, Proof of the Pudding.”

“Oh,” said Benny. “Hello, Burger Plum Pudding.” He began to pat the dog’s head.

“I call him ‘Plum’ for short,” said the man, smiling.

“Like Sunny!” said Benny.

“Sunny?” The man abruptly²⁰ stopped smiling and his eyes narrowed. “Sunny?”

“That’s the dog who’s staying with us. She has a longer name, but the Teagues call her Sunny for short.” Henry explained.

“The Teagues,” repeated the man. “Well, well, well.”

“Do you know the Teagues?” asked Jessie eagerly.

The man stared at them, then turned abruptly without answering. “Come, Plum,” he ordered, and stalked away.

Plum hesitated. He liked having Benny pat his head.

“Now,” ordered the man sharply.

Plum reluctantly obeyed.

“I wonder what that was all about,” said Jessie, frowning as she watched the man march away with Plum trailing along behind him.

“I don’t think he liked us,” said Benny.

“He seemed to like us fine at first,” said Henry, puzzled. “Until we mentioned Sunny. Oh, well, our half hour with these guys is almost up. We’d better get back. We don’t want Mrs. DeCicco to worry.”

“Do you think Sunny knows Plum?” asked Violet.

“We can ask tonight,” said Jessie.

“I think that would be a very good idea!” agreed Henry.

“Is it a mystery?” asked Benny.

“Maybe it is, Benny,” said Henry. “Maybe it is.”

1 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

2 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

3 flustered   

adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The honking of horns flustered the boy. 汽车喇叭的叫声使男孩感到慌乱。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She was so flustered that she forgot her reply. 她太紧张了，都忘记了该如何作答。 来自辞典例句

4 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

5 kennel   

n.狗舍，狗窝

参考例句：

• Sporting dogs should be kept out of doors in a kennel.猎狗应该养在户外的狗窝中。
• Rescued dogs are housed in a standard kennel block.获救的狗被装在一个标准的犬舍里。

6 kennels   

n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处，养狗场；狗窝( kennel的名词复数 )；养狗场

参考例句：

• We put the dog in kennels when we go away. 我们外出时把狗寄养在养狗场。
• He left his dog in a kennels when he went on holiday. 他外出度假时把狗交给养狗场照管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 leash   

n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住

参考例句：

• I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳，但被狗挡住了路。
• The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带，想挣脱开去。

8 wriggled   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）

参考例句：

• He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 dawdle   

vi.浪费时间；闲荡

参考例句：

• Don't dawdle over your clothing.You're so beautiful already.不要再在衣着上花费时间了，你已经够漂亮的了。
• The teacher told the students not to dawdle away their time.老师告诉学生们别混日子。

10 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

11 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 helping   

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。

13 pointed   

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。

14 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

15 nervously   

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。

16 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

17 stout   

adj.强壮的，粗大的，结实的，勇猛的，矮胖的

参考例句：

• He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
• The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。

18 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句

19 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

20 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。