儿童英语读物 The Mystery in San Francisco CHAPTER 3 Sightseeing

First thing in the morning, Aunt Jane said, “Andy, here’s your cap.” She handed him the baseball cap containing the four slips of paper.

“Hurry, Uncle Andy!” Benny said.

The Aldens watched as Uncle Andy reached into the hat. He drew out a piece of paper and looked at it.

“What does it say?” Violet asked.

Uncle Andy smiled. “I think I’ll keep it a surprise,” he said, and put the paper in his pocket.

At first the Aldens were disappointed. They didn’t want to wait another minute to find out where they were going.

Then Jessie said, “That’s a good idea, Uncle Andy.”

Henry agreed. “The longer the wait, the better the surprise.”

“Let’s get going!” Benny urged. “We can wait on the way.”

Violet laughed. “What about breakfast, Benny?”

“Oh,” Benny said. “I forgot.”

They all laughed. It wasn’t like Benny to forget about a meal.

“We’ll eat breakfast out,” Aunt Jane said. “I know the perfect place.”

And off they went.

Clang! Clang! went the cable car as it came down the hill toward them. When it stopped, Uncle Andy said, “Hop on!”

“Watch your step!” the friendly conductor called out.

Benny was the first one aboard. Riding a cable car was what he most wanted to do. He led the way to the front section, where the sides were open and the long benches faced out.

Uncle Andy said, “So what do you think, Benny? Is this what you expected?”

“Better!” Benny answered. He had seen pictures of the cable cars. But looking at pictures was not the same as actually riding in one. It was a thrill to rumble¹ and creak up one hill and down another.

“Benny’s lucky,” Violet said. “He got his wish first.”

Andy said, “I didn’t pick Benny’s paper out of my hat. But he is lucky. We can take cable cars to many of the places we’ll go.”

Benny smiled. He was happy to know this was not his last ride.

The cable car stopped in a park. “End of the line!” the conductor called. The Aldens clambered down the steps.

When everyone had left the cable car, it moved onto a big turntable. The motormen gripped the side rails on the wooden circle and pushed the cable car completely around. Now it was ready for its return trip.

“Wow!” Benny said. “They don’t have anything like that in Greenfield!”

Aunt Jane put her arm around his shoulders. “San Francisco is a unique place, all right,” she said.

“Let’s eat,” Uncle Andy said.

Benny smiled. “Aunt Jane’s right, Uncle Andy. You are full of good ideas.”

They crossed the street to the Buena Vista² Cafe. They sat at a table beside the window and watched people line up for the cable cars. As soon as a car left, another line formed. Along the street, craftsmen³ sold their wares⁴ and musicians played. Beyond, the bay glimmered⁵ in the morning light.

“Buena Vista means ‘beautiful view,’ ” Aunt Jane, told them.

“That’s a perfect name,” Violet said.

The Aldens and the Beans ate hearty⁶ breakfasts of bacon, eggs, toast, and pancakes.

Afterward⁷, they boarded a cable car heading south.

Before long, Uncle Andy said, “This is our stop.” They hopped⁸ off the car and followed Andy to Grant Street. There they stopped before a tall arch⁹ with a green tile¹⁰ roof. Colorful dragon figures decorated the top.

“Henry I think you’ll recognize this,” Aunt Jane said.

Henry nodded. “It’s the Chinatown Gate.”

They passed under the arch into a different world. The narrow streets were crowded with traffic. Colorful signs written in Chinese characters lined the way.

They wandered in and out of shops filled with unusual things. It was hard to resist the hand-carved animals and beautiful clothing. After they had finished shopping, the happy group went down another street into a park. They sat on a bench to rest.

Just then, Violet noticed a young woman across the street. She was coming out of a restaurant. “Isn’t that Kate Kerry, the woman who works for Charlie?” she asked.

The other Aldens saw the young woman. She was wearing a yellow slicker with a hood¹¹.

“It looks like her,” Jessie said, “but I can’t tell. She’s too far away.”

Benny stood up. Waving, he jumped up and down. “Hello! Kate!” he called.

“Benny don’t do that,” Jessie said, laughing.

The woman looked toward them. When she did, the hood fell to her shoulders. Her red hair glistened¹² in the sunlight.

“It’s her, all right,” Benny said. He kept waving.

The woman did not return Benny’s greeting. Instead, she hurried around the corner and disappeared.

“That’s strange,” Benny said. “She didn’t even wave.”

“I don’t think it’s strange at all,” Jessie said. “She doesn’t know us.”

Charlie had not introduced them. Benny had forgotten that.

“But she knows us,” Uncle Andy said.

“Oh, Andy,” Aunt Jane said, “she probably didn’t see us.”

“Maybe it wasn’t Kate,” Violet suggested. “Jessie is right. She was too far away to tell for sure.”

“What about the red hair?” Benny asked.

“A lot of people have hair that color,” Violet said.

“Well, she sure did look like Kate,” Benny said.

Aunt Jane stood up. “How about lunch? I know the perfect place. Follow me.”

A few minutes later, the Aldens entered a crowded restaurant and forgot all about the young woman they had seen. They took seats and looked around.

“Where are the menus?” Jessie asked.

“There are no menus here,” Aunt Jane answered.

“How do we order?” Benny asked.

A woman pushed a cart to their table. On it were many small dishes with food on them.

Cart after cart rolled up. The Aldens and the Beans took some of the small dishes off the carts and sampled everything.

Benny sat back. “I’m full,” he said. He noticed a sign. It read DIM SUM. “What does that mean?” he asked.

Uncle Andy shrugged¹³. “Little . . . things.”

“I think it means ‘little delights’ or ‘little pleasures,’ ” Aunt Jane said.

“Whatever it means, it sure tastes good,” Benny said.

Violet said, “I’ve never been to a restaurant that didn’t have a menu.” She was wondering how they would pay for their lunch. There were no prices listed anywhere.

Uncle Andy seemed to read her mind. “We pay according to the number of empty plates on our table,” he explained.

Benny’s eyes widened. He began to count the small dishes. When he reached twenty-five, he said, “Wow! This could be expensive!”

But to the Aldens’ surprise, the food wasn’t expensive at all.

1 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

2 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

3 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

4 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

5 glimmered   

v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "There glimmered the embroidered letter, with comfort in its unearthly ray." 她胸前绣着的字母闪着的非凡的光辉，将温暖舒适带给他人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• The moon glimmered faintly through the mists. 月亮透过薄雾洒下微光。 来自辞典例句

6 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

8 hopped   

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。

9 arch   

n.拱门，桥洞；v.拱起，成为弓形

参考例句：

• Dip your head under the low arch.在低矮的门拱下要低头。
• The trees arch overhead.树木在头顶上弯成拱形。

10 tile   

n.砖瓦；vt.铺以瓦，铺以瓷砖

参考例句：

• The bathroom is faced with tile.浴室铺着瓷砖。
• I pointed to a number of scratches in the tile floor.我指向地板砖上的一道道划痕。

11 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

12 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 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》