儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Stolen Music CHAPTER 2 The Party

The Civic¹ Center was buzzing with activity. People ran this way and that checking on last-minute details. A long table was set up in the reception hall. Arms full, the Aldens headed toward it.

“The orchestra has arrived at the hotel!” someone said.

“Hurry!” Benny urged. “They’ll be here soon!”

Henry and Jessie spread a long white cloth over the table. Then, Violet placed her centerpiece. Henry poured the punch he had made into two large bowls. Soo Lee and Benny arranged the cookies on plates. Jessie put out the sandwiches.

They had just finished when Mr. Alden walked up. “Here’s someone I’d like you to meet,” he said. He turned to the young woman at his side. “This is orchestra member Melody Carmody.”

Benny repeated her name silently. It had a musical sound.

She had curly red hair and a warm smile, and was wearing a pretty blue dress. “I’m happy to meet you,” she said and put out her hand.

“Melody?” Benny asked as he shook her hand.

“Yes,” she answered.

“That’s a good name for a musician,” he said.

She laughed. Even her laugh was musical. “I come from a musical family,” she explained.

“What instrument do you play?” Violet asked.

“Violin.”

“First violin,” Mr. Alden added.

Violet’s eyes grew big. She was talking to the most important violinist in the orchestra.

“Violet plays violin, too,” Benny said. “Our cousin Joe taught her. Soo Lee here is his daughter. He’s teaching her to play now.”

Melody looked at Violet and Soo Lee. “Perhaps you’d play for me while I’m here,” she said.

Soo Lee shook her head. “I’m just learning,” she said.

“Next time, then,” Melody said. “How about you, Violet?”

Violet sputtered². “Oh, I — ”

“She’s good,” Benny said.

Melody nodded and smiled. “Then it’s settled.” She looked around. “I wonder what’s keeping Victor,” she said.

“Who’s Victor?” Soo Lee asked.

“Victor Perrelli, the conductor,” Violet told her.

“Was he at the hotel?” Mr. Alden asked.

“He took a later plane,” Melody said. “But he should be here by now.”

Just then, a large man entered. His gray hair stood up at odd angles. He wore a rumpled³ sweater and slacks, and a pair of old sneakers. He stood just inside the door looking uncertain. And he was humming!

“Oh, there he is,” Melody said, and headed toward hm.

Mr. Alden, who was on the welcoming committee, followed her.

“That’s the great Victor Perrelli?” Henry said aloud.

They were all surprised. This man was not what they had expected.

“I wonder why he’s dressed like that,” Violet said.

Everyone else was dressed up.

“Maybe he didn’t know about the party,” Jessie suggested.

“Let’s find out,” Benny said.

They went over to join the others.

“Oh, Victor, I was wondering where you were,” Melody was saying. “Did you forget about the party?”

“Oh,” he answered mumbling⁴. “I started thinking about the Mozart symphony. We need to work on the tempo⁵ before the concert.”

“We have plenty of time for that,” Melody assured him. “The concert is Friday evening — that’s five days away.”

“I’m afraid I got so involved that I lost track of time,” Victor explained. “Then, I couldn’t find my luggage anywhere.”

“Did you remember to pick it up at the airport?” Melody asked.

Mr. Perrelli ran his hands through his hair. “Did I? Now, let me think.”

“No, you didn’t remember,” a voice said, “but I did.” A man carrying a suitcase and a garment bag came up beside them.

Victor said, “Thank you,” and wandered off toward the food table, humming.

Melody sighed. “What would he do without you, Bob?” she said.

Looking at them over his half glasses, the man shrugged⁶.

“This is Bob Weldon,” Melody said to the Aldens.

Bob Weldon said, “Hello.” Then he hurried off, saying, “I have to check the auditorium⁷.”

“Is he a musician?” Violet asked.

“No,” Melody answered. “He’s our manager.”

“What does a manager do?” Soo Lee asked.

“Everything!” Melody answered. “He schedules our tours. Makes sure we get where we’re going and that everything is right when we get there. Sometimes, he settles arguments. The orchestra couldn’t do without him.”

“It sounds like an interesting job,” Henry said.

“It sounds like a hard job,” Benny put in.

Melody laughed. “It’s both those things.”

“Mr. Weldon doesn’t seem to like it very much,” Soo Lee said.

“He is a little grumpy at times,” Melody said. “I don’t think he knows how much we appreciate him.”

“We certainly couldn’t have scheduled this week without him,” Mr. Alden said. “He helped us plan everything.”

“I’ll show you something else he helped plan,” Melody said as she started across the room. “It’s what makes this tour extra special.”

The Aldens were puzzled. It seemed to them that everything about this tour was extra special.

1 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

2 sputtered   

v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出

参考例句：

• The candle sputtered out. 蜡烛噼啪爆响着熄灭了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The balky engine sputtered and stopped. 不听使唤的发动机劈啪作响地停了下来。 来自辞典例句

3 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

4 mumbling   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I could hear him mumbling to himself. 我听到他在喃喃自语。
• He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. 宴会结束时，他仍在咕哝着医院里的事。说着说着，他在一块冰上滑倒，跌断了左腿。

5 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

6 shrugged   

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》

7 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。