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儿童英语读物 The Growling Bear Mystery CHAPTER 1 On Top of the World

时间:2017-09-05 08:31来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

The four Alden children posed for a picture in front of a log sign. The sign was tall, even taller than Henry, the oldest of the children.

The youngest Alden, six-year-old Benny, sandwiched himself between his two older sisters, Jessie and Violet. He smiled for his grandfather’s camera. “Cheese and crackers,” Benny said, breaking into a grin.

“Hold those smiles,” Mr. Alden called out. “I just ran out of film. Stay for a minute while I reload.”

Jessie said to Henry, Violet, and Benny, “Let’s move aside so these other tourists can take pictures in front of the sign, too.”

Benny asked Jessie, “Why does everybody stop here to get pictures taken?”

Jessie was always full of information. “Well, Benny,” she began, “we’re standing1 on the Continental2 Divide. It runs along the top of the Rocky Mountains. On one side of the Divide, streams and rivers flow west to the Pacific Ocean. On the other side, they go east toward the Atlantic Ocean. The Continental Divide is famous. That’s why people have their pictures taken here.”

Benny squinted3 at the log sign. “I get it. If I pour my water bottle out right here, half the water will go one way, and the other half will go the other way.”

“Why don’t you try it and find out,” Henry suggested.

Benny poured his water bottle onto the dry ground. “Hey, all my water disappeared into the ground!” he complained. “Which ocean would I go to if I rolled down this mountain?”

“I wouldn’t try that, Benny,” Violet said. “This mountain is pretty steep. My ears have been popping ever since we got off the plane.”

Mr. Alden noticed that Benny was getting restless. He knew his grandson always wanted to get wherever they were going. “Hang on, Benny. We’ll be in Yellowstone National Park shortly. Mrs. McGregor said she wants us to bring back plenty of snapshots from our trip. Let’s stretch our legs a bit until it’s our turn for pictures again.”

The Aldens strolled to the edge of the lookout4 where they were parked. In front of them, the Rocky Mountains stretched in every direction.

Violet took a deep breath of air. “I love the smell of all these trees. I never saw such tall, skinny ones before.”

Benny wanted to be walking through the trees, not sniffing5 them. “I wish we could try out our new hiking boots right now on this big mountain.”

Henry gave Benny a friendly punch in the arm. “No chance of that. There’s a chain across the trail. See the sign?”

“Lost Cabin Trails Closed,” Benny said, proud that he could read every word.

Mr. Alden came over to see what Benny was talking about. “What do you know! This is the end of a trail I hiked with my own grandfather when I visited Yellowstone as a boy. We never made it this far, though. I wonder why the trails are closed.”

“Maybe they’re not.” Henry pointed6 down the dirt path. “Look below. There’s a backpacker climbing up this way. See? He’s wearing a bright orange hat.”

The Aldens peeked7 over the edge to see who Henry was talking about.

Mr. Alden removed his sunglasses to get a better look. “I’d like to have a chat with the fellow and find out what’s going on with these trails. I’d give anything to go down a ways. I wonder if we’re anywhere near the famous lost cabin.”

Violet was curious, too. “What lost cabin, Grandfather?”

“Well, Violet, years ago, when I was about your age, I heard all kinds of stories about some California gold miners,” said Grandfather. “They got stuck in Yellowstone because of an early snowstorm and had to spend the winter here. The story goes that they built a log hut for themselves, but no one ever found it. There were all sorts of tales about how they may have left behind a bag of gold nuggets.”

The children wanted to know more, but Mr. Alden had nothing else to share. “Maybe that hiker knows about the lost cabin,” Benny whispered when the man finally reached the lookout area.

“Did you ever find the cabin, Grandfather?” Violet asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Mr. Alden answered in a disappointed voice. “We never had the right maps or enough time. But looking for it was a fine summer adventure. Maybe this hiker can tell us something.”

The Aldens greeted the man in the orange hat with friendly smiles.

The hiker seemed annoyed by the attention. “Tourists all over the place!” he muttered when he saw the children with their grandfather. He grew even grumpier when he had to squeeze by them to get to his truck. “This isn’t a shopping mall, you know,” he said to no one in particular.

Mr. Alden heard this but spoke9 to the man anyway. “How do you do, sir? I notice you just came up from one of the Lost Cabin Trails. But there’s a sign saying they’re closed. Do you have any idea why?”

The man stared at Mr. Alden, then turned away without answering.

“Sir! Sir!” Mr. Alden continued. “I’m just curious. You see, I hiked some of these trails when I was a boy. I’m hoping my grandchildren here can do the same. Is there a problem?”

This time the man stopped. “Bears everywhere,” he said.

Benny shivered at the thought of bears. “But what about the lost cabin?” he asked. “The one with the gold in it.”

For a few seconds, the man was silent. Finally he spoke directly to Benny. “Never was any such thing as a lost cabin. Just a lot of silly stories and fool hikers looking for something that never existed.”

With that, the man threw his backpack into his pickup10 truck and drove off.

“That’s strange,” Henry said. “If the trails are closed, why was he was hiking on them? He said there were bears, but he was hiking alone, something hikers should never do around Yellowstone.”

“And he wasn’t wearing any bear bells, either,” Jessie added. “The guidebooks say it’s a good idea for hikers to wear bells or make a lot of noise to keep bears away. Bears don’t like noise.”

Mr. Alden put his hat back on. “That’s good advice, Jessie. Well, this isn’t where the Lost Cabin Trails start anyway. The trailhead is inside Yellowstone.”

Benny looked disappointed. “But that hiker says there wasn’t any cabin or anything.”

Mr. Alden patted Benny’s head. “That’s one man’s opinion. Some of the rest of us have a different one.”

“Right,” Benny said, perking11 up again. “They couldn’t call the trails Lost Cabin Trails if there wasn’t a lost cabin, right?”

Mr. Alden smiled. “Good point, Benny. Now, everyone, line up again. I’ll get a picture for Mrs. McGregor.”

The four children scurried12 back to the big log sign.

“Say cheese and crackers,” Mr. Alden teased.

“Cheese and crackers,” everyone said.

“And bears,” Benny added, shivering just a little.

Mr. Alden snapped several pictures, then waved Benny over. “Okay, okay. Now we really can go, Benny. Hop8 in the car.”

“Grandfather, do you really think there are any bears in Yellowstone National Park?” Benny asked.

“I don’t think there are bears in Yellowstone, Benny, I know there are,” Mr. Alden answered as he drove up and up the twisting mountain road. “When I was a young boy trout13 fishing out here, I saw a grizzly14 bear or two. And plenty of moose and elk15 and buffalo16, too. You’ll see some wild animals in Yellowstone, no doubt about it. But bears don’t usually bother people in groups, especially noisy people. So I don’t think you’ll have a bear problem, Benny!”

Benny’s eyes were round and bright. “Look! There’s a sign that says ‘Watch Out for Buffalo.’ I’m watching, but I don’t see any. Where are they?”

Mr. Alden chuckled17. “Be patient. We’re not in Yellowstone National Park just yet. First we have to stop off in the little town up ahead. It’s the last good place to stock up on our hiking and fishing supplies.”

“And bear bells,” Benny added. “We can’t forget those.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
2 continental Zazyk     
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的
参考例句:
  • A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
  • The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。
3 squinted aaf7c56a51bf19a5f429b7a9ddca2e9b     
斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 ); 眯着眼睛; 瞟; 从小孔或缝隙里看
参考例句:
  • Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩,眯起眼睛瞄准。
  • I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。
4 lookout w0sxT     
n.注意,前途,瞭望台
参考例句:
  • You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
  • It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来,公司的前景可就不妙了。
5 sniffing 50b6416c50a7d3793e6172a8514a0576     
n.探查法v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的现在分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了,一个劲地抽鼻子,打喷嚏。
  • They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了,呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
6 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。
7 peeked c7b2fdc08abef3a4f4992d9023ed9bb8     
v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 );偷看;窥视;微露出
参考例句:
  • She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句
8 hop vdJzL     
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过
参考例句:
  • The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛,看谁单足跳跃最快。
  • How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远?
9 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。
10 pickup ANkxA     
n.拾起,获得
参考例句:
  • I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。
11 perking 1beafacd66037f0c7b4b9416f7101809     
(使)活跃( perk的现在分词 ); (使)增值; 使更有趣
参考例句:
  • The weather seems to be perking up. 天气似乎要变好。
  • She is perking herself at mirror. 她正对镜化妆。
12 scurried 5ca775f6c27dc6bd8e1b3af90f3dea00     
v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见,然后扭头跑回去干活了。
  • It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来,我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 trout PKDzs     
n.鳟鱼;鲑鱼(属)
参考例句:
  • Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
  • We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼,早饭时吃了。
14 grizzly c6xyZ     
adj.略为灰色的,呈灰色的;n.灰色大熊
参考例句:
  • This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
  • Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来,灰熊不是社交型动物。
15 elk 2ZVzA     
n.麋鹿
参考例句:
  • I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近,能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
  • The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。
16 buffalo 1Sby4     
n.(北美)野牛;(亚洲)水牛
参考例句:
  • Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
  • The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。
17 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。
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