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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Hot Air Balloon CHAPTER 12 Up, Up, and Away

时间:2017-08-15 08:25来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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Sky was right. Mary was a changed person when she returned from her flight. “I’ll never again condemn1 something I know nothing about,” she said. Then, she offered to take posters announcing the rally to every store in town. “I’ll even put them up out near the highway to attract more business.”

Matt said, “Thank you, but we don’t need more publicity2.”

“We’ll keep you busy, though,” Sky said. “It looks as if this will be a very busy, very successful rally.”

She was right about that, too.

The remaining events that day went smoothly3. The weather was perfect: clear skies, light breezes. The competitors helped one another. Even Don Fister softened4. The Aldens overheard him giving tips to other balloonists.

“Your business will do fine,” Don told Sky and Matt. “And it’ll be good for my business.”

They were all surprised at his change of heart.

Benny asked, “Why will it be good for your business?”

“The more people we can interest in the sport, the better it is for everybody,” he explained. He sounded as if he had always believed that.

As busy as the Aldens were with launching and chasing, they found a few quiet moments. They sat under the oak tree. Sometimes, they talked about the mystery they had solved. Sometimes, they would be silent, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Sometimes, Violet would sketch5. Her drawings were full of colorful balloons and bright skies.

“I wonder what’s it’s like,” Soo Lee said.

They all knew what she meant. Each was trying to imagine what it would be like to float over the countryside.

“We’ll soon find out,” Henry responded enthusiastically.

“Tomorrow at sunset,” Jessie added.

That night, Barbara and Pete had a barbecue. All the balloonists and their crews attended it. Mary England and Hollis McKnight were there, too.

“I’d like to make up for the missing ad,” Hollis told Sky. “I thought I’d run a full-page story about ballooning. Perhaps you and Matt could write it.”

Sky shook her head. “Writing an ad is one thing,” she said, “but I couldn’t write an entire article.”

“Count me out, too,” Matt said.

“Henry’s a good writer,” Benny offered. “Maybe he could do it.”

“Oh, Benny, please, I couldn’t write anything,” Henry said, but he had been thinking the same thing.

Hollis tilted6 his head and looked at Henry through the bottom half of his glasses. “How about it, son?” he said. “Would you like to give it a try?”

Henry gulped7. “Really?” he said.

Hollis smiled. “Really.”

“Yes, sir, I’d like that,” Henry decided8. “Jessie could help. She knows a lot about ballooning.” He looked at Jessie. There was a question in his eyes.

Jessie’s smile was an enthusiastic yes.

“Good,” Hollis said. “Now, you have to understand, I don’t print every article sent to me.”

“Oh, you’ll print this one,” Benny said. “It’ll be very good.”

“And you could use Violet’s drawings,” Soo Lee said.

Violet blushed. “Oh, Soo Lee, I don’t know.”

Hollis was delighted. “Story and illustrations! Perfect!”

“Now that that’s settled,” Benny said, “let’s eat!”

On their way to the table, Matt said, “You certainly are a talented family.”

Sky nodded agreement. “That’s for sure,” she said. “Writers, artists — ”

“Don’t forget detectives,” Benny put in with a grin on his face.

Sky nodded again. “And very good ones at that. We never would have solved this mystery without you.”

The evening ended early. Everyone wanted to be rested for the last day’s events.

The Aldens gathered in the girls’ bedroom where they sat up talking for a short time.

“Strange how things work out,” Henry commented.

“What do you mean, Henry?” Violet asked.

“Well, take Mary. She’s really interested in ballooning now. I’ll bet she keeps volunteering to help.”

Jessie understood what he meant. “And if she hadn’t been so against the business to begin with, she might not have come out to the port at all.”

“It’s lucky Mary didn’t hurt anybody,” Benny reminded them.

“She was careful not to do anything dangerous,” Henry said.

“Still,” Soo Lee put in, “she had no right to do the things she did.”

They all agreed with that.

Henry stretched and yawned. “We’d better get to bed,” he said and crossed into the other room.

Benny followed. “I’ll be up all night,” he said. “I’m so excited about tomorrow.” But he fell asleep the minute he laid his head on the pillow.

Next morning, when Sky and Matt drove the Aldens to the port, it was still dark. Yet, everyone was busy readying for flight. Several balloonists ascended9 as the day’s first light appeared in the sky.

Still sleepy, Soo Lee asked, “Why do the balloonists like to fly so early?”

“Dawn and sunset are the best times,” Sky answered.

“The sun has an effect on the wind,” Matt explained. “During the middle of the day, the breezes are usually too strong.”

Violet got out her sketchbook. “It’s hard to tell which is prettier,” she said. “The sunrise or the balloons.”

Because they were excited about their own flight, the Aldens thought the day would seem long, but they were wrong. When Sky said, “Well, are you ready for your great adventure?” they were surprised the time had come.

Mary, Pete, Brad, and Don volunteered to be their crew. Matt was the crew chief.

Once the balloon was inflated10 and straining to be free, they took hold of the basket to steady it. The Aldens climbed over the padded sides into the basket.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Sky told them.

That was difficult to do in such a small space. But no one complained.

Sky opened the blast valve. Whooossshhh! The yellow-blue flame roared into the bulging11 bag.

There was a tug12 on the basket.

“Is everybody clear?” Sky called.

Matt raised his arms toward the spectators. “Move back,” he directed them. Then he said, “All clear” to Sky.

“Hands off!” Sky shouted.

The crew stepped away.

One more blast of heat and then everything went silent. In a few seconds, the world began to fall away. The people seemed to grow smaller.

“Are they moving or are we?” Benny wanted to know.

Sky laughed. “We’re moving all right. Look around you.”

Sure enough, they were already above the treetops.

Sky skillfully maneuvered13 the balloon higher and higher. Below them, everything was in its place, neat and orderly.

“It’s like a patchwork14 quilt,” Jessie said.

Benny giggled15. “Look!” he said.

Below them, a dog ran through a field, barking at them. All along their route, people came out of their houses or stopped their work in the fields to wave. Miniature cars moved along the roads. Some of them pulled to the side of the road to watch them pass. To the west, the sun had slipped into the slot between earth and sky like a bright copper16 coin into a piggy bank. It left behind a brilliant display of color.

Violet gasped17. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”

Soo Lee spotted18 the chase crew. “There’s the van,” she said.

Then, for a long time, no one said anything. Now and then, the whoosh19 of the burner sounded. Otherwise, everything was silent.

Suddenly, Henry pointed20 to a station wagon21 making its way toward Lloyd’s Landing. “That looks like Grandfather’s car.”

“It is! It is!” Benny exclaimed. “Wait till he hears about everything!”

Jessie laughed. “You certainly got your wish, Benny,” she said. “No one could hope for a better adventure.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 condemn zpxzp     
vt.谴责,指责;宣判(罪犯),判刑
参考例句:
  • Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他,而有些人谴责他。
  • We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。
2 publicity ASmxx     
n.众所周知,闻名;宣传,广告
参考例句:
  • The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
  • He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事,只当它是一种宣传手法。
3 smoothly iiUzLG     
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
参考例句:
  • The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
  • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
4 softened 19151c4e3297eb1618bed6a05d92b4fe     
(使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰
参考例句:
  • His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
  • The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。
5 sketch UEyyG     
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
参考例句:
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
6 tilted 3gtzE5     
v. 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。
7 gulped 4873fe497201edc23bc8dcb50aa6eb2c     
v.狼吞虎咽地吃,吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 );大口地吸(气);哽住
参考例句:
  • He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out. 他把剩下的茶一饮而尽便出去了。
  • She gulped nervously, as if the question bothered her. 她紧张地咽了一下,似乎那问题把她难住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 decided lvqzZd     
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。
9 ascended ea3eb8c332a31fe6393293199b82c425     
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 inflated Mqwz2K     
adj.(价格)飞涨的;(通货)膨胀的;言过其实的;充了气的v.使充气(于轮胎、气球等)( inflate的过去式和过去分词 );(使)膨胀;(使)通货膨胀;物价上涨
参考例句:
  • He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
  • They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 bulging daa6dc27701a595ab18024cbb7b30c25     
膨胀; 凸出(部); 打气; 折皱
参考例句:
  • Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
  • Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她:“问问是不是重要的事。”
12 tug 5KBzo     
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船
参考例句:
  • We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
  • The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
13 maneuvered 7d19f91478ac481ffdfcbdf37b4eb25d     
v.移动,用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 );操纵
参考例句:
  • I maneuvered my way among the tables to the back corner of the place. 我在那些桌子间穿行,来到那地方后面的角落。 来自辞典例句
  • The admiral maneuvered his ships in the battle plan. 舰队司令按作战计划进行舰队演习。 来自辞典例句
14 patchwork yLsx6     
n.混杂物;拼缝物
参考例句:
  • That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
  • She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上,所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。
15 giggled 72ecd6e6dbf913b285d28ec3ba1edb12     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
  • The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 copper HZXyU     
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的
参考例句:
  • The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
  • Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。
17 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
18 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。
19 whoosh go7yy     
v.飞快地移动,呼
参考例句:
  • It goes whoosh up and whoosh down.它呼一下上来了,呼一下又下去了。
  • Whoosh!The straw house falls down.呼!稻草房子倒了。
20 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。
21 wagon XhUwP     
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。
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