儿童英语读物 The Mystery on Stage CHAPTER 10 Curtain Call

“It’s going so much better than the dress rehearsal,” Jessie said to Henry as she raced by him between scenes.

“I can tell,” Henry said as he brought one of the switches down to the off position.

Nancy caught Jessie’s eye and put her finger to her lips. Although she tried to look stern, she couldn’t resist giving the Aldens a big smile. Jim had told her about catching¹ Mr. Bellamy before the show, but she had had no time to thank the Aldens. Now she stood in the wings and quickly turned the pages of her script. As stage manager, she had to make sure everyone was on stage at the right time.

When the curtain fell on the final scene, the audience clapped and cheered. Sarah and Harold each received a standing² ovation³. Indeed, the audience applauded so hard, Sarah and Harold came on stage three times to take their bows. The third time, Sarah received a huge bouquet⁴ of red and white roses.

Sarah, Jessie, and Melody hugged one another in the dressing⁵ room. Soon the stage doors opened. Friends and relatives streamed backstage to congratulate the performers.

Grandfather stopped into the dressing room with Joe, Alice, Mr. Bellamy, and the woman in the big coat.

“You girls were wonderful,” Grandfather told Jessie, Sarah, and Melody. They all beamed at him.

“Sarah, I’m so proud of you,” Mr. Bellamy said. He choked a little over his next words. “I was wrong to try to stop you. You’re really gifted, just like your mother.”

“Oh, Dad, I’m so happy!” Sarah threw her arms around her father and hugged him for a very long time.

“You’re going to be even happier.” Sarah’s father smiled at her as he stepped back to put his hand behind the woman in the big coat. “I’d like to introduce you to Marilyn Morris. She’s a theatrical⁶ agent from New York. She’d like you to be her client.”

“I wrote to you,” Sarah said as she shook her agent’s hand. She looked dumbfounded. “I sent you my resume and a picture.”

“So that’s what you had in that mysterious manila folder⁷ you wouldn’t let us see,” Jessie teased. Sarah nodded sheepishly.

“I wrote to Ms. Morris also,” Harold said as he came by to offer his congratulations. “I told her she needed to come and discover you.” As he finished speaking, Harold lifted off his helmet.

“You’re Andrew Tompkins, the Broadway actor! Harold’s not your name at all.” Sarah could not contain her excitement. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re the man we saw in the pizzeria!” Benny blurted⁸ out. “Everyone recognized you except me.”

“I had to take a vacation from Broadway for health reasons, but I wanted to do some acting,” Andrew explained. “I wanted to go somewhere I wouldn’t be recognized. Only Jim knew my secret, but some of you came close to guessing,” he added, smiling at the Aldens.

“I think we should all go out to celebrate,” Grandfather suggested.

“I agree,” Benny said.

“I’ll never forget this evening as long as I live,” Sarah said, looking pleased and proud.

“None of us will,” Jessie said.

“Let’s eat,” Benny added, smiling happily.

1 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

2 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。

3 ovation   

n.欢呼，热烈欢迎，热烈鼓掌

参考例句：

• The hero received a great ovation from the crowd. 那位英雄受到人群的热烈欢迎。
• The show won a standing ovation. 这场演出赢得全场起立鼓掌。

4 bouquet   

n.花束，酒香

参考例句：

• This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

5 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

6 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

7 folder   

n.纸夹，文件夹

参考例句：

• Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
• He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。

8 blurted   

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》