儿童英语读物 The Chocolate Sundae Mystery CHAPTER 11 A Party

A week later, Grandfather drove his whole family over to the Shoppe in the big station wagon¹. Soo Lee, Joe, and Alice came too.

A big sign that said OPEN HOUSE hung over the Shoppe’s front door. Inside, white and red balloons hung from the Shoppe’s ceiling. Streamers draped the counter. A big long table at one end of the parlor² held several cartons of fresh, homemade ice cream in silver buckets of ice.

“Yum, there are fresh berries and cherries cut up into some of the ice cream,” Jessie said happily.

“Jessie, look at the counter,” Benny beamed. He pointed³ toward the pots of chocolate, butterscotch, marshmallow, and raspberry sauces that were being heated over small burners. Festive⁴ jars of sprinkles, candy, and fresh fruit lined the rest of the counter. Over it was a sign that said: MAKE YOUR OWN BENNY SPECIAL SUNDAE.

“Oh, it looks beautiful in here,” Violet said admiringly.

Mr. Brown beamed as he greeted his company. Mr. Richards had come back to see how the Shoppe was faring. Eric and his brothers and Mrs. Saunders were also among the many guests. Simone, Brian, Ruth, and Tom carried trays of fresh lemonade in sparkling glasses.

“Tom, you came back!” Benny almost shouted when he saw his favorite waiter.

“Yes. Once we found out what had been happening around here, Ruth and I decided⁵ to come back. Mr. Brown needs the help, and we like working here better than anywhere,” Tom said.

“I’m glad to see so many people from the neighborhood,” Grandfather observed as he helped himself to some strawberry ice cream.

“Good choice. I just made it this morning,” Mr. Brown said, coming by with Mr. Richards.

“Hello, James,” Mr. Richards greeted his old friend. “I heard your grandchildren saved the Shoppe.”

“Well, they helped,” Mr. Alden answered modestly as he put his arm around Violet.

“Oh, Mr. Brown. Brian has been telling me about all the problems you’ve had in your parlor,” Mrs. Saunders called as she came toward them. She balanced her sundae in one hand and adjusted her long scarf with the other. She towered over Mr. Brown in her high spiked⁶ heels.

“Yes,” Mr. Brown nodded solemnly, “but I hope all that trouble is behind us, since I had someone come in and fix the old clock.”

“Oh, I’m sure it is,” Mrs. Saunders said. She looked genuinely concerned. “Listen, I hope you didn’t think I was trying to take some business away from you with my truck.”

“I did think so at one time,” Mr. Brown admitted.

Mrs. Saunders put her sundae down. “I know I’ve been difficult,” Mrs. Saunders said. “It’s just so hard to start a new business, especially when there’s someone in town who carries better ice cream than I do.”

Violet, Henry, and Mr. Alden looked at Mrs. Saunders in surprise.

“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Saunders admitted. “I’ve always been a little jealous of the parlor, but I would never do anything to hurt a fellow ice cream maker⁷. I know how hard we work,” she added looking at Mr. Brown, who nodded.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Mrs. Saunders continued. “Greenfield is so small. I’m going to try the bigger towns like Silver City during the week. I can come to Greenfield on weekends when we both have a lot of business.”

Mr. Brown chuckled⁸. “You shouldn’t feel you have to do that,” he said. “I’m sure with the summer coming, there will be more than enough business in Greenfield for both of us.”

Jessie waved to Simone and her red-haired friend. “Oh, Jessie, I’d like to introduce you to Martin,” Simone said proudly. “We’ve just started, uh . . . going up. Is that how you say it here?”

“Going out,”Jessie said and smiled while Martin blushed. “I’m happy to meet you,” she said. “So that’s what was going on,” she whispered to Simone when Martin went off to get more sprinkles.

“Jessie, you didn’t think Martin or I were involved in the mystery?” Simone looked surprised.

“I wasn’t sure, especially after Violet saw you hiding your note,” Jessie was forced to admit.

“Oh, that!” Simone said smiling. “Martin often wrote sweet little notes to me while I worked.”

Before everyone sat down to eat, Mr. Brown gave a speech, but just a short one. He didn’t want everyone’s ice cream to melt while he spoke⁹.

“Thank you so much for coming,” he began. “I know we’ve had a little trouble getting started without Mr. Richards, but those problems are behind us. From now on, we’ll all make sure to have enough fresh ice cream, whipped cream, and any sauce you like on hand.”

Suddenly, everyone heard the old clock chiming. “Ding ding ding ding!”

“Look!” Benny exclaimed. “The old clock is fixed¹⁰.”

Everyone cheered and began eating.

1 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

2 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

3 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。

4 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

5 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。

6 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

7 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

8 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。