儿童英语读物 迈克的谜案 Mike's Mystery Chapter 4 大餐桌

CHAPTER 4
At the Big Table

Let’s all sit at the big table,” said Henry. “Then we can talk.”

“I don’t want to talk. I want to eat!” shouted Mike.

“Then you can keep still all you want,” said Benny. “We’ll do the talking.”

“But I’ll say something if I want to,” argued Mike.

“Well, make up your mind,” returned Benny. “You’re the one that said you didn’t want to talk.”

“I only said I was hungry,” said Mike.

“Oh, stop it, Mike,” said his mother. “All this talk about nothing. Don’t you know you have no home?”

“That sounds awful,” said Jessie. “Tell me, how did you know the house was on fire?”

“The dog,” said Mrs. Wood. “Spotty was down in the cellar¹. He sleeps down there. He barked and barked. I knew something was wrong, so I went down to see. There was fire on all four sides. I let the dog out and woke up Mike and Pat².”

“You didn’t wake me,” said Mike. “I was awake.”

“Yes, you were, son,” agreed his mother. “I will say you were going down to get the dog yourself.”

“Spotty was the most important one,” said Mike, “because he can’t open doors.”

“By the way, where is the dog?” asked Mr. Carter.

“He’s tied up at the blue house,” said Pat. “He was in the way, barking at everyone.”

“Yes, we had to leave Watch and Lady at the ranch³, too,” said Jessie. “A fire is no place for dogs.”

“It is very queer⁴ that the fire started in four places at once,” said Mr. Carter.

“I wonder if anyone set the fire,” said Henry.

“Oh, no!” cried Mrs. Wood. “Why would anybody set fire to our house?”

“What do you plan to do now, Mrs. Wood?” asked Mr. Carter.

“I really don’t know,” she answered. “I’m staying in the blue house with my good neighbor, Mrs. Smith, for tonight.”

Breakfast came then. The eight hungry people went to work on the bacon and eggs, toast, and cereal⁵ and milk. For a minute the restaurant was very still. Then the children heard a man say, “I heard that the boy who lived there set the house on fire just for fun.”

In an instant Mike was out of his chair. He ran over and faced the man who had spoken. “I did not!” he shouted. “Who says I did?”

In another minute all four children were behind Mike.

“Mike never did!” shouted Benny. “He wouldn’t! Who says he did?”

The man laughed a little. He was very much surprised. “Well, don’t get so excited, sonny,” he said.

“Don’t get excited?” yelled⁷ Mike. “You told a lie about me!”

“I didn’t say it,” said the man. “I said I heard it.”

Then Henry spoke⁶. “Can you tell us who told you? You must know this story is very bad for Mike.”

“Well, well,” said the man. “You’re not afraid to stand up for a friend, are you?”

“No, sir,” said Henry.

Jessie said, “Mike likes fun, yes. He gets into trouble. But he would never set his own house on fire.”

Then Benny went right up to the man. He said, “Mike wouldn’t set a fire in the cellar anyway. His dog was there.”

“So his dog was there,” repeated the man. “That settles it. I believe you.”

“Who told you?” asked Mike. He was not yelling⁸ now.

“I don’t know him,” said the man. “He was a stranger to me. He stood beside me in the crowd, watching the fire. I think that he wore a blue hat.”

“I’ll ask him,” said Benny, “if I ever see a man with a blue hat.”

The man looked at the four of them. “I wish I had as many good friends as you have, Mike,” he said. He looked at Benny. “This one here is a wonderful friend.”

“He don’t always stand up for me,” said Mike.

“Doesn’t,” said Benny.

“Now look here, Ben!” said Mike. “Don’t start that again!”

“You see how Mike is,” said Jessie. “He will fight over nothing. But he would never set a fire. Come on back, boys, and eat your breakfast.”

The children moved away. All this time Mr. Carter had sat still watching. “Well, Jessie!” he said. “That was just like a play! I am very proud of all of you.”

“Why didn’t you come over, too?” asked Benny.

“You didn’t need me,” said Mr. Carter laughing. “You children did it much better than I would. But the man could see I was with you if you needed help.”

Mike began to eat again.

“That gave me a good appetite,” he said.

“Your appetite was all right before,” said Henry, laughing.

“I like to have you with us, Mike,” said Violet⁹, laughing. “Now if you weren’t here, I couldn’t eat my breakfast at all.”

“That’s right,” said Henry. “She couldn’t.”

“Now everyone watch out for a man with a blue hat,” said Benny drinking the last of his milk.

“That man would change his hat, Ben,” said Mike.

“Maybe he will have a black hat next time. Maybe no hat at all.”

“I’ll watch, too,” said Mr. Carter. “You can be sure of that.”

1 cellar   

n.地窖，地下室，酒窖

参考例句：

• He took a bottle of wine from the cellar.他从酒窖里拿出一瓶酒。
• The little girl hid away in the cellar.小姑娘藏在地下室里。

2 pat   

n.轻拍，拍打声；vt.轻拍，拍打；vi.轻跑，轻击；adv.适时，彻底；adj.油腔滑调的，恰好的，合适的

参考例句：

• Could you hear the pat?你能听到轻轻的拍击声吗？
• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。

3 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

4 queer   

adj.奇怪的，异常的，不舒服的，眩晕的

参考例句：

• I heard some queer footsteps.我听到某种可疑的脚步声。
• She has been queer lately.她最近身体不舒服。

5 cereal   

n.谷类，五谷，禾谷

参考例句：

• I have hot cereal every day for breakfast.我每天早餐吃热麦片粥。
• Soybeans are handled differently from cereal grains.大豆的加工处理与谷类的加工处理不同。

6 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。

7 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 yelling   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The coach stood on the sidelines yelling instructions to the players. 教练站在场外，大声指挥运动员。
• He let off steam by yelling at a clerk. 他对一个职员大喊大叫，借以发泄怒气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 violet   

adj.紫色的；n.紫罗兰

参考例句：

• She likes to wear violet dresses.他喜欢穿紫色的衣服。
• Violet is the color of wisdom,peace and strength.紫色是智慧的，和平的和力量的颜色。