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儿童英语读物 The Mystery in San Francisco CHAPTER 2 A Crooked Street

时间:2017-08-30 02:37来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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Uncle Andy suggested that they continue along the wharf1. “I’ll show you where Charlie usually docks.”

They passed big sightseeing boats. Aunt Jane stopped at the ticket booths to collect information. “So well be prepared for our tour,” she explained.

A block away at open-air fish markets, men prepared giant crabs2 for steaming kettles. Inside, people sat at tables with checkered3 cloths enjoying fresh fish dishes.

They came to an open section. At the railing, Uncle Andy said, “Look down there.”

The Aldens looked over the side. Below them fishing boats — small and large — rocked beside high wooden posts. No docks separated the crafts.

“How do the fishermen get on their boats?” Violet asked.

Uncle Andy pointed4 out the metal ladders leading down to each boat.

“I can see why Charlie had to dock somewhere else,” Benny observed. “This place is filled up.”

Aunt Jane headed toward the car. “Let’s go home,” she said. “It’s time you children were settled in.”

Benny skipped after her. “Is your friend Charlie a fisherman and a cook?” he asked.

Uncle Andy opened the car door. “A cook? Charlie? What makes you think that, Benny?”

Benny climbed into the backseat. “He said he had to fry some fish.”

Uncle Andy eased into the driver’s seat. “That’s just an expression,” he said. After everyone was inside the car, Uncle Andy started the engine and soon they were on their way.

“I’ve never heard that expression before,” Violet said. “About frying fish. What does it mean?”

“It means he has some business to take care of,” Uncle Andy explained.

“What kind of business?” Benny asked.

“Fishermen lead busy lives,” Aunt Jane answered. “They’re out on the water before dawn, and when they come back to shore, they have to take care of their catch.”

“I don’t think Charlie was talking about ordinary business, though,” Uncle Andy said. “There’s been trouble on the wharf.”

“Trouble?” Henry repeated. “What kind of trouble?”

Uncle Andy shrugged5. “Charlie hasn’t wanted to talk about it, but I know something is bothering him.”

“That explains it,” Benny said.

In the front seat, Aunt Jane turned to look at him. “Explains what, Benny?”

“Well, he wasn’t very friendly.”

“Benny, that’s not polite” Violet said.

“It’s okay, Violet. Benny’s right,” Uncle Andy said.

“That wasn’t like Charlie at all,” Aunt Jane said. “He must be very worried about something.”

They slowed down. “Look to your left,” Aunt Jane told them. “We rent the second house right down there.”

The sign said LOMBARD STREET. Underneath6 it, the narrow road zigzagged7 down the hill. Houses and flower gardens were perched on either side. The Aldens were amazed.

“I’ve never seen such a crooked8 street,” Henry said.

“And I doubt you’ll ever see another one,” Uncle Andy told him. “This block of Lombard Street is said to be the crookedest street in the world.”

He pulled into a garage underneath a white house. Benny hopped9 out. “Don’t go inside yet,” Benny said. “I want to see something.”

The others followed him. Then they stood watching as Benny dashed down the brick street. He didn’t go far, though, and after a few seconds, he came trudging10 toward them.

“Eight!” he said. “There are eight sharp turns!” He stopped to catch his breath.

Uncle Andy chuckled11. “Much easier going down than coming up. Right, Benny?”

Inside, Aunt Jane showed them to their rooms. The boys had one, the girls another. Each room had a view of the bay below. They unpacked12 and then met on the deck outside their rooms. The view was thrilling.

Henry dug a guidebook out of his back pocket. He looked at a map. “See that tower?” he said. “It’s called Coit Tower. It was built to look like a fire hose nozzle. It’s a tribute to the firemen who fought the earthquake fires in 1906.”

Benny shivered. “I hope there’s no earthquake while we’re here,” he said.

Jessie said, “I’ve been thinking about Charlie. I wonder what could be bothering him.”

“Maybe he didn’t catch many fish today,” Benny suggested.

“Fishermen are probably used to bad days,” Violet said.

“Uncle Andy mentioned trouble,” Henry said. “I saw a man on the wharf. He was acting13 strangely. I wonder if he has anything to do with the trouble.”

“The one in the suit?” Jessie asked.

“I saw that man, too,” Violet said.

“He seemed out of place,” Henry said. “He was so dressed up.”

Benny hadn’t noticed the man. “Maybe he was sightseeing like us,” he suggested.

Henry shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“He was staring right at us,” Violet said.

“At Charlie, not us,” Jessie corrected.

“And when Charlie looked at him, he turned away,” Henry said.

Benny smiled. “Great! Another mystery,” he said. “I’m ready!”

By the time they came downstairs, Aunt Jane was preparing supper. “I thought we’d eat here in the kitchen tonight,” she said.

“It looks like home,” Benny said. He was thinking of Grandfather Alden’s big, airy kitchen in Greenfield, where they all lived.

Henry offered to set the table. Aunt Jane showed him where she kept the plates and silverware.

“Is there anything we can help you with?” Jessie asked.

Aunt Jane said, “No, thank you. Everything’s ready. We had such a big lunch, I wasn’t sure what to fix. I decided14 on a little of this and a little of that.”

She carried a large platter of meats and cheeses to the table. To that, she added a basket of bread, a bowl of fruit, and a pitcher15 of cold milk.

Benny rubbed his hands together. “I’ll have a little of everything,” he said. They made sandwiches and ate fruit. Benny drank two glasses of milk.

When they had finished eating, Jessie asked, “Do you know that woman — the one who works for Charlie?”

“Kate Kerry,” Uncle Andy said. “We’ve met her. She’s been working for Charlie for a while. But I can’t say we really know her.”

“Why do you ask?” said Aunt Jane.

“I just wondered,” Jessie said.

“Has she heard about the trouble Charlie’s having?” Henry asked.

“I can’t say for certain,” Uncle Andy answered. “Charlie doesn’t talk about it much.”

“Charlie’s not one to complain,” Aunt Jane said.

Henry looked at his uncle. “Is Charlie the only one having trouble?”

Uncle Andy shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

When they were finished eating, the children cleared the table. Uncle Andy got out the maps so they could plan their next day.

“Refresh my memory,” Uncle Andy said. “What was it you wanted to see?”

The Aldens all spoke16 at once. Aunt Jane held up her hands. “One at a time,” she said.

“I have an idea,” Uncle Andy said. He opened a drawer and took out paper and pencil. “Each of you write down what you most want to see.”

Uncle Andy got his baseball cap from a hook near the back door. “Now, put the papers in my hat.”

Each Alden dropped a folded piece of paper into the cap. “Now what?” Benny asked.

“Nothing yet,” Uncle Andy answered. “We’ll just leave this here.” He put the cap on the counter near the phone. “Let everything sit till morning. Then I’ll pick a paper. Where we go will be a surprise.”

Aunt Jane smiled at her husband. “Andy Bean, you are full of good ideas.”

The Aldens weren’t so sure this was a good idea. They were so excited they didn’t know if they could wait until morning to find out where they would go first.

“We’d better get to bed early,” Andy suggested. “We want to be rested for whatever comes.”

That did seem like a good idea. The sooner they went to sleep, the sooner morning would come. Upstairs, Benny said, “I’m too excited to sleep. I’ll probably lie awake all night trying to figure out which place well see first.”

The other Aldens smiled at one another. They knew Benny would soon be sound asleep.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wharf RMGzd     
n.码头,停泊处
参考例句:
  • We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
  • We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。
2 crabs a26cc3db05581d7cfc36d59943c77523     
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 checkered twbzdA     
adj.有方格图案的
参考例句:
  • The ground under the trees was checkered with sunlight and shade.林地光影交错。
  • He’d had a checkered past in the government.他过去在政界浮沉。
4 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。
5 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
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》
6 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
7 zigzagged 81e4abcab1a598002ec58745d5f3d496     
adj.呈之字形移动的v.弯弯曲曲地走路,曲折地前进( zigzag的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The office buildings were slightly zigzagged to fit available ground space. 办公大楼为了配合可用的地皮建造得略呈之字形。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The lightning zigzagged through the church yard. 闪电呈之字形划过教堂的院子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 crooked xvazAv     
adj.弯曲的;不诚实的,狡猾的,不正当的
参考例句:
  • He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指,示意我们到他那儿去。
  • You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。
9 hopped 91b136feb9c3ae690a1c2672986faa1c     
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花
参考例句:
  • He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
  • He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车,向市区开去。
10 trudging f66543befe0044651f745d00cf696010     
vt.& vi.跋涉,吃力地走(trudge的现在分词形式)
参考例句:
  • There was a stream of refugees trudging up the valley towards the border. 一队难民步履艰难地爬上山谷向着边境走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Two mules well laden with packs were trudging along. 两头骡子驮着沉重的背包,吃力地往前走。 来自辞典例句
11 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
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。
12 unpacked 78a068b187a564f21b93e72acffcebc3     
v.从(包裹等)中取出(所装的东西),打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 );拆包;解除…的负担;吐露(心事等)
参考例句:
  • I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李,整理衣物。
  • Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒,并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句
13 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
14 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。
15 pitcher S2Gz7     
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手
参考例句:
  • He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
  • Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。
16 spoke XryyC     
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。
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