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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Missing Cat CHAPTER 7 So Many Cats!

时间:2017-08-08 06:44来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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Soo Lee was waiting by her bicycle at Dr. Scott’s office when the Aldens got there the next morning. They had brought Watch with them to keep his mind off the strange cat who was living in his house.

Watch had followed happily on his leash1, but when he saw where they were going, he stopped and sat down.

“Come on, Watch,” said Henry.

Watch looked at Henry. Then he looked at Dr. Scott’s office building. At last he got up and walked over to Henry.

“Good dog, Watch,” said Henry. He bent2 down and petted Watch’s head. Soo Lee came over and petted Watch’s head, too. Watch slowly wagged his tail.

The Aldens and Soo Lee went into Dr. Scott’s office.

“May we see Dr. Scott?” asked Jessie.

“Is Watch sick?” asked Dr. Scott’s assistant. She leaned over the counter to look down at Watch. Watch heard his name and looked up at her.

“No,” said Henry. “We put that sign up the other day.” He pointed3 to the sign about Spotzie on the bulletin board in Dr. Scott’s office. “But no one has called. We thought Dr. Scott might have some ideas that would help us find Spotzie.”

“Oh, yes. The missing cat.” The assistant nodded. “Let me check and see if Dr. Scott can see you.”

A moment later the assistant came back out. “Dr. Scott said to come on back to her office,” she told the Aldens. She held the door open and the Aldens walked down the short hall past the examining rooms to Dr. Scott’s office.

When the Aldens and Soo Lee came in, Dr. Scott set aside the papers she was looking at. “Hello,” she said, smiling. “What can I do for you today?”

“Watch isn’t sick,” Benny explained quickly.

“My assistant told me it wasn’t about Watch. She mentioned the missing cat. You still haven’t found her?”

“Not yet,” said Jessie. “We were hoping you might have some ideas.”

Dr. Scott rubbed her chin. “Hmmm. You’ve checked the animal shelter?”

“Yes,” said Henry. “We put a sign up there, too. But no one has brought in a lost cat like Spotzie.”

“And you’ve looked all around where Spotzie was last seen?”

“Yes,” Jessie answered Dr. Scott. “We talked to everyone at every house on the street.”

“Spotzie wasn’t wearing a collar with an identification tag, was she?” asked Dr. Scott.

“No,” said Henry.

Dr. Scott shook her head. “It’s very important for pets to wear collars and identification tags.”

“Even cats?” asked Benny.

“Even cats,” said Dr. Scott. “There are even special stretchy collars for cats. If the cat climbs a tree and the collar gets caught, the cat can slip loose without being hurt.”

“Wow,” said Benny. “When we find Spotzie, we’ll have to tell Mr. Woods.”

“That’s a good idea, Benny,” said Dr. Scott. “Let me think … oh, yes. Do you know who Mr. Allen is?”

“No,” said Henry. “Who is he?”

“A cat lover,” said Dr. Scott. “He owns purebred cats and shows them in cat shows.”

“Like dog shows?” asked Benny, remembering the dog show that had recently come to Greenfield and the mystery the Aldens had solved then.

“Sort of like dog shows,” said Dr. Scott. “Mr. Allen is a specialist and a cat collector. He might be able to help. I’ll give you his number.”

Dr. Scott looked up Mr. Allen’s phone number and wrote it down on a piece of paper.

“Thank you,” said Jessie, carefully folding the paper and putting it into the pocket of her jeans.

“Good luck,” said Dr. Scott. “Let me know what happens.”

“We will,” said Violet.

The Aldens and Soo Lee went back to the Aldens’ house. Jessie called the number Dr. Scott had given them.

A man with a soft voice answered the phone.

Jessie explained who she was and why she had called. “Dr. Scott told us we should call you. She said you might be able to help,” Jessie said.

Mr. Allen hesitated. Then after a long moment he said, “Well, I don’t see how I can, but if you’d like to come over, you may.” He told Jessie where he lived and hung up before Jessie could say thank you.

“I don’t think he wanted to talk to us,” said Jessie, hanging up the phone. She told her brothers and sister and Soo Lee about the conversation.

“Well, even if he didn’t want to, he said he would,” said Henry, when Jessie had finished. “We’d better get going before he changes his mind.”

“You’ll have to stay here, Watch,” said Violet. “Mr. Allen has lots and lots of cats and you don’t even like having one in your house.”

Watch sat down as if he understood what Violet had said.

“Good dog, Watch,” said Benny.

Saying good-bye to Watch and Mrs. McGregor, the children got their bicycles and pedalled over to Mr. Allen’s house.

Like Mr. Woods’s house, Mr. Allen’s house was at the end of a street. But it was very different. A high hedge surrounded the house so it could not be seen. Gates stood open on either side of the gravel4 driveway. The driveway was lined with neat flower beds.

As they rode their bicycles up the long driveway, the Aldens saw gardeners at work, one cutting the grass, another weeding the flower beds.

The enormous front door was made of dark polished wood. When Jessie knocked, a tall man with a stern expression answered.

“Mr. Allen?” asked Jessie.

“I am Mr. Allen’s butler. Is Mr. Allen expecting you?” answered the butler.

“Yes,” said Henry. “We called Mr. Allen about a missing cat.”

The butler nodded his head slightly, then lifted his chin so that he seemed to be looking down his nose at the five children. “Walk this way, please,” he said.

He led them down a long hall and into a room with a desk at one end. The room was lined with books. “I will inform Mr. Allen you are in the study.”

“Wow,” said Violet after the butler had left. “He’s like a butler in the movies!”

“Do you think he likes his job?” asked Benny. “He didn’t smile at all.”

Henry shook his head. “Maybe butlers aren’t supposed to smile, Benny.”

“What a strange job!” exclaimed Benny.

Just then the door opened and a small round man wearing a dark blue suit with a red bow tie came in. He had a small mustache and thinning hair combed over a bald spot on the top of his head. He stopped near the door and peered at the Aldens over the top of his half-glasses.

“Yes?” he asked in a soft voice. “How do you think I can help you?”

“Mr. Allen?” asked Jessie again.

“I am he,” said the man. “You must be the Aldens.”

“Yes,” Jessie said. Quickly she and the others introduced themselves.

“I don’t see how I can help you with a missing cat,” said Mr. Allen. “All of my cats are here where they should be. I assure you, I would know if any cats were around that didn’t belong.”

Jessie stepped forward and held out the photograph of Spotzie. Mr. Allen bent and squinted5 down at it without taking the picture out of Jessie’s hand.

“This is the lost cat, I presume,” he said after a lengthy6 silence.

“It is!” burst out Benny. “Spotzie. She’s lost and we have to find her so we can take her home.”

“I wish I could be of help, young man. But my cats are registered purebreds, very valuable. Not a cat like this one.”

“No spotted7 cats?” asked Benny.

“No.” Mr. Allen shook his head, then hesitated. Finally he said, “Why don’t you come see for yourself.”

Once again, the Aldens found themselves following someone through the mansion8. This time, Mr. Allen led them to a long, luxurious9 room.

Benny’s eyes got very large when he saw the room. Like the back room at Professor Madison’s house, it was filled with cats. But the room and the cats were very different.

The room seemed as big as Professor Madison’s whole house. It was lined with cages. Most of the cages had the doors open so that the cats could come and go as they pleased. Every cage was elaborately decorated like a little house, with windows that had curtains. There was a nameplate on each door. Dishes with food and water sat in front of each cage. On the dishes were names that matched the nameplates on the cage doors. Toy mice and scratching posts and little balls and all kinds of cat toys were scattered10 everywhere.

A dainty silver cat with dark brown markings on her head, paws, and tail jumped down from atop a cat house and ran lightly toward them. She wound herself in and out between Mr. Allen’s legs as he tried to walk.

Mr. Allen laughed and bent over to pet her. “There you go, Blue. This is Blue. She’s a chocolate-point Siamese.”

“Oh! Her eyes are blue,” said Benny. “Is she still a kitten?”

“No, Siamese have blue eyes their whole lives,” Mr. Allen told Benny.

“What kind of cat is that?” asked Soo Lee, pointing to a big white cat with long hair and a mashed-in face that made it look unhappy.

“That’s Ralph. He’s a champion longhaired Persian,” said Mr. Allen, picking up the cat and stroking his luxurious fur. “In fact, all my cats are champions. However, some, like Blue, are retired11. But as you can see, I have no cats like yours.”

“You have so many different kinds!” exclaimed Jessie.

“My goal is to have at least one of every breed. And I very nearly do,” said Mr. Allen, looking proud. “Cats are amazing creatures.”

“I like cats, too,” said Benny. “I like your cats. And Spotzie.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be of more help,” said Mr. Allen. He led them back out of the cats’ room and toward the front door. “Your cat is an ordinary cat, though, so it would be unlikely I would have her, don’t you think? All my cats are rare and expensive.”

“Every cat is special in its own way,” said Violet loyally. “Including Spotzie.”

Mr. Allen looked at Violet in surprise. A funny look came over his face. Then he said, “I’m sure she is,” and led them all to the front door. He opened it. “If I hear anything at all about your cat, I’ll certainly get in touch.”

“Thank you,” said Henry, and the five Aldens left.

No one said anything as they rode their bicycles home. There was nothing to say. Mr. Allen hadn’t been able to help after all. They had seen lots of interesting cats, but they were no nearer to finding Spotzie than they’d been when they first started looking.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 leash M9rz1     
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。
2 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
3 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。
4 gravel s6hyT     
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石
参考例句:
  • We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
  • More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
5 squinted aaf7c56a51bf19a5f429b7a9ddca2e9b     
斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 ); 眯着眼睛; 瞟; 从小孔或缝隙里看
参考例句:
  • Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩,眯起眼睛瞄准。
  • I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。
6 lengthy f36yA     
adj.漫长的,冗长的
参考例句:
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
  • The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。
7 spotted 7FEyj     
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。
8 mansion 8BYxn     
n.大厦,大楼;宅第
参考例句:
  • The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
  • The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。
9 luxurious S2pyv     
adj.精美而昂贵的;豪华的
参考例句:
  • This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
  • The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。
10 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
11 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
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