-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
That night, Jessie had trouble sleeping. She awoke several times. Finally she decided1 to get some fresh air. She stepped onto the back porch of the guest cottage. The moon was high in the sky, casting its silvery light over Pineapple Bay.
Jessie walked over to the telescope Cousin Mary had left on the porch for the children. She turned the telescope this way and that, trying to find stars, but the moonlight made most of them too faint to see.
A shooting star!” Jessie said when she spotted2 a light moving across Pineapple Bay. “Oh, it’s just a boat,” she whispered to herself. “It’s stopping.”
Jessie couldn’t see much else. She was tired again, so she went back inside and climbed into her warm, cozy3 bed.
Slip-slap. Slip-slap.
What’s that sound?” Jessie called out as she packed a duffel bag with snorkels5, masks, and fins6 the next morning. When she turned around, she started to laugh. “Oh, it’s you, Benny, in your snorkeling fins! You sounded funny coming into the room.”
Benny stood in the doorway7 of Jessie’s bedroom. A snorkeling mask covered his eyes, nose, and mouth. On his feet were big yellow swimming fins.
I’m ready,” he said after he took off his snorkel4 and mask.
I’m ready, too,” Jessie said. “Henry asked us to meet him in Cousin Mary’s office. We’re going to pick up those underwater maps she told us about. Are Soo Lee and Violet ready?”
They were ready. The Aldens had learned all about snorkeling on a trip to Florida with Grandfather Alden. They knew how to breathe through a snorkel. They knew how to keep their masks from getting fogged. Best of all, they knew how much fun snorkeling could be. They couldn’t wait!
I’m glad I ran into you. Just go right in my office for those maps,” Cousin Mary said. “I’m heading into town on errands this morning. I had Joseph set out bag lunches for you and the Pierces on the porch. I told the Pierces I’d be out all morning and that all of you should just help yourselves.”
Something was still bothering Henry about the night before. “Did Joseph say anything about last night? I mean about seeing Norma Kane or anything?”
A shadow seemed to pass over Cousin Mary’s face. “He told me he didn’t see her. I’m still concerned that she’ll hire him away from Pineapple Place. I gave him the next few days off when he asked me. Maybe he needs some time to think. Oh, dear. Here I am gabbing8 on and on about my troubles. Now off you go to my office for those maps. I left them right on top of my desk for you yesterday afternoon.”
The children headed for Cousin Mary’s office. First they checked her desk, but the maps were nowhere to be seen.
Let’s check underneath9 the desk and behind the furniture in case the maps slipped off,” Henry suggested.
The Aldens got on their hands and knees behind the desk. That’s when they heard the office door squeak10 open. They all popped up at the same time.
Richard Pierce stepped back from the doorway, startled by the sight of the five Aldens. “What are you kids doing here?”
Cousin Mary told us we could pick up something she left for us that we need for snorkeling,” Jessie said simply.
Emma Pierce, standing11 behind her husband, quickly stuffed something into her tote bag. “Let’s . . . uh . . . go, Richard. Obviously Mrs. Cook isn’t here. We just . . . mmm . . . wanted to ask her about some farms for sale down the road. See you later.”
Richard Pierce had one last thing to say to the Aldens. “If you’re going snorkeling, I’d stay away from Reef Bay. There are reports of shark sightings.”
After the Pierces left, Henry seemed puzzled. “It’s pretty strange. Cousin Mary said she told the Pierces she would be going to town this morning. Why did they come to her office when they knew she was gone?”
Jessie shook her head. “There’s something about those two I can’t figure out. As for the maps, I guess we’ll just have to ask Cousin Mary about them when she gets back. And we’d better forget about snorkeling out at Reef Bay. We don’t want to meet up with any sharks.”
On their way to Pineapple Bay, the children passed the Pierces’ rented car. Jessie noticed their trunk was open. “Should we shut it for them, Henry?”
Know what?” Henry said. “I’ll run to their cottage and ask them. Maybe they were just unloading their — hey, look what’s in there. Scuba12-diving equipment, tanks, hoses, and all kinds of deep-diving gear. I didn’t know the Pierces were —”
Now what are you kids snooping around here for?” Richard Pierce demanded. “You didn’t touch anything, did you?” He slammed the trunk shut.
Jessie swallowed hard. “Henry was just about to look for you to tell you the trunk was open. We would never bother other people’s things.”
Richard Pierce looked upset with himself for yelling at the Aldens. “Sorry. The equipment belongs to someone else. I didn’t want anything to happen to it, that’s all.”
Henry felt better. “I know how to scuba dive, too. When my grandfather comes back, he’s meeting a marine13 biologist friend who dives around here. She’s going to lend me some scuba equipment so we can explore some of the local reefs and caves. Would you like to come along when we go?”
This equipment belongs to someone else,” Richard Pierce repeated before he turned around and walked away.
Why doesn’t he want to go scuba diving, Henry?” Benny asked after Mr. Pierce left. “If I knew how, I would go diving with you and Grandfather’s friend.”
Mr. Pierce didn’t really answer that question, Benny,” Henry answered. “Hey, with all the excitement, we forgot something.”
Our lunch!” Benny cried. “My stomach didn’t forget that.”
The Aldens returned to the main house. Joseph was arranging the lunch bags Cousin Mary had left behind for the guests.
Hi, Joseph,” Violet said in a quiet voice. “We came to pick up our lunches before we go snorkeling.”
Joseph nodded. “Here they are. Mrs. Cook had me fill one thermos14 with coffee for the Pierces. The other one is juice for you children. I put a juice cup in each bag with the sandwiches. Good day.”
We hope it’s a good day,” Jessie said. “But we just heard there might be sharks in Reef Bay.”
Joseph Kahuna wasn’t so quiet with the children now. “Who said such a thing? Sharks don’t swim in our bays. Why, a shark is a creature that needs the whole ocean for its home, not a small bay. In all my many years of living on the bay, I haven’t seen or heard of a shark in Reef Bay or any other bay nearby, not even an injured shark. Someone is making up a story.”
We like stories but not that one,” Benny told Joseph. “Before we go back to Greenfield, can you tell us the black pearl story like you told your —” Benny stopped when he felt Henry tap his hand. “Sorry, never mind.”
You are like my grandchildren, always wanting another story. I have many stories. As for the black pearl, there is nothing much to tell. It was a rare jewel that brought bad luck to everyone. Its last owner . . .” Joseph stopped talking for a minute. “Yes, the last owner of the pearl threw it into the sea, and that’s where the story ends. Now I must be going. I’ll be away for a few days on another part of the island. Good-bye.”
The children packed their lunches into their beach bags. They headed for the steps that led down to the beach. They were nearly there when Henry spoke15 up.
You realize, don’t you, that Joseph told us a different story than the one he told his grandchildren?” Henry asked the other children.
Jessie took off her sandals and walked along the water’s edge. “Yes, he just said the last owner of the black pearl threw it into the sea, but he told his grandchildren the pearl was hidden in a cave. And he didn’t mention anything about the five hundred moons passing. That’s about forty-two years ago. I wonder if Joseph was the young man in his story. He seems about sixty now, so he could have been eighteen then.”
Maybe Joseph is searching for the black pearl,” Henry said.
I wonder if other people are searching for it, too,” Jessie said.
收听单词发音 |
1
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
cozy
|
|
| adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
snorkel
|
|
| n.泳者所戴的通气管，潜水艇的吸、排气装置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
snorkels
|
|
| n.（潜泳者或潜水艇的）水下通气管( snorkel的名词复数 )；[消防]高空作业车，按展臂方式分为直臂式和曲臂式，按功能分为高空洒水车和高空救援车。v.使用水下呼吸管潜游( snorkel的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
6
fins
|
|
| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
gabbing
|
|
| v.空谈，唠叨，瞎扯( gab的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
underneath
|
|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
squeak
|
|
| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
scuba
|
|
| n.水中呼吸器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
marine
|
|
| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
thermos
|
|
| n.保湿瓶，热水瓶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
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： |
|
|
|
购买
在百度中搜索