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儿童英语读物 The Ghost Town Mystery CHAPTER 7 The Secret Cupboard

时间:2017-09-20 05:52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)

Everyone discussed the vanishing ghost at dinner that night.

“We saw Rose Payne,” Benny insisted.

Grandfather said, “Benny, we’ve been over this. There are no ghosts.”

“But we saw someone,” Violet insisted. “We even followed her. But she vanished.”

“Just like a ghost!” Corey leaned forward. He and Mr. Lacey were the only ones who had eaten the tough burgers that were supper that night. Jessie figured Corey cleaned his plate every meal because he didn’t want to hurt Marianne’s feelings. Both Marianne and Mrs. Harrington did the cooking at Eagles Nest.

“Or a real person who knows a hiding place,” said Mr. Williams. He had come back from Tincup Creek1 without any fish and now sat discouraged over the awful hamburger and boiled cabbage supper.

“I’d like to see the ghost,” Corey said.

“She only appears at sundown,” said Mrs. Harrington.

“That’s cool,” said Corey. “Will you kids take me? Maybe we could have a picnic.”

That sounded like fun to Benny. “May we go, Grandfather?” he asked eagerly.

“Corey is an experienced hiker,” Grandfather acknowledged. “I think it would be all right.”

“Yippee!” Benny said, forgetting the picnic would probably be as terrible as the other meals.

When supper was over, James Alden and Victor Lacey went for a walk to further discuss the property offer. Mr. Williams settled down with some fishing magazines in the sitting area.

Henry meant to tell the fisherman about the net stretched across the stream, but Corey was noisily scooping2 up the heavy white crockery dishes.

“Stop it,” Marianne told him, annoyed.

“Make me,” he teased. “I’m helping3 so you’ll go for a walk with me.”

Marianne’s dark brows drew together. “I don’t want to.”

“Why? I’m cute, funny, likable.” He grinned.

Marianne glanced meaningfully at the Alden children.

“Uh ... we should go brush our teeth,” Jessie said.

They left the dining hall.

“I don’t want to brush my teeth,” protested Benny.

Violet giggled4. “We don’t have to yet. But we should leave Marianne and Corey alone.”

Instead of sitting in the rockers on the front porch, the children wandered around the back of the dining hall.

“Mrs. Harrington has put out the garbage already,” Henry said, noting the sturdy, bear-proof cans lined up on the back deck.

“She probably has lots of it,” Jessie said. “Nobody but Corey and Mr. Lacey ate that nasty meal. I don’t know how they stand it.”

“I don’t know how Marianne and Mrs. Harrington stand their own cooking,” Henry added. “If I were them, I’d hire a cook.”

Benny was staring at the row of cans. Beside them was a white metal cupboard with a lock through the double handles. One door was open, the lock dangling5 loosely from its handle. Pretty fancy for a garbage container, he thought.

Suddenly he knew what was in the cupboard. Marianne and Mrs. Harrington didn’t eat their own cooking.

“I bet I know what’s in the cabinet,” he declared.

“What?” asked Henry.

“Something good,” said Benny. “Look, the door’s open. Can I look inside?”

Jessie nodded. “I guess it’s okay.”

Benny ran up on the porch. “I knew it! Food! Pork and beans, fruit juice, cupcakes, pickles6 — ”

Jessie suddenly felt nervous. “Come away from there, Benny. Mrs. Harrington might be back any minute.”

“Maybe those things will be in our picnic tomorrow,” Violet told him.

“Maybe.” But he doubted it.

Jessie pointed7 to some wires leading to a hinged metal panel beside the door.

“That’s the fuse box,” she said. “Those wires are for the phone and electricity.”

“I wonder why the phones and power are always going out,” Henry said. “I wonder if Mrs. Harrington tries to make this place horrible on purpose.”

“But why?” asked Violet. “She should want tourists to come, not scare them away.”

“I think the key to this mystery,” said Jessie, “is the Lady in Gray.”

“We’ll see her tomorrow,” Violet said softly.

The next afternoon the children and Corey piled into the Jeep.

“Us old guys will stay behind and chew the fat,” said Victor Lacey, waving them off.

“Chew the fat?” said Benny. “Is that what’s in our picnic basket?” He wouldn’t be surprised.

“I hope not!” Corey laughed, starting the Jeep with a roar. “Now you kids show me the way.”

The road was as bumpy8 as ever. Jessie felt like her bones were being rattled9.

Suddenly Corey hit a huge pothole10 and the Jeep halted.

“Uh-oh,” he said, hopping11 out. He and Henry lifted the hood12.

“Do you know anything about cars?” asked Henry.

“Oh, sure.” Corey twisted knobs and pulled out oily dipsticks. After tinkering with the engine about fifteen minutes, he threw up his greasy13 hands. “She’s a goner! We’ll have to walk.”

Violet hauled the picnic basket out of the backseat while Jessie grabbed the plaid blanket Marianne had given them to sit on.

Jessie whispered to Henry, “I thought Corey could fix cars.”

“That’s what he said,” he whispered back. “But all he did was check the oil and battery fluid.”

When they reached the wagon14 trail leading down into the canyon15, Corey took the picnic basket and blanket from the girls. He’s really nice, Jessie thought. If he weren’t so loud, maybe Marianne would like him better.

Corey was excited about everything in Tincup. He pretended to be a cowboy getting off his horse in front of the dry goods store, giving Benny a fit of giggles16. After he looped imaginary reins17 over the hitching18 post, they went inside.

“Cool,” Corey said. “I wish I lived in those days.”

“Me, too,” agreed Benny. He liked Corey.

Violet was checking the sky out the window. “The sun is starting to go down,” she reported. “We’d better get ready.”

But Rose never appeared. The sun faded over the rim19 of the canyon without any sign of the Lady in Gray.

“I guess even a ghost needs a night off,” Corey joked.

Sitting on the blanket, they ate their supper — cheese and stale bread with boiled eggs.

“Don’t you think the food here is lousy?” Jessie asked Corey.

He laughed. “If you had college food, you’d think this was great.” He tipped his head back. “If I’m not mistaken, serious rain clouds are rolling in. We’d better hurry back.”

They packed quickly. As they hurried down Main Street, Violet glanced back over her shoulder. She had a feeling someone was watching them.

Someone was!

Violet glimpsed half a shadowed face through the slatted swinging doors of the dance hall. A yellowed, gnarled hand gripped the edge of the door.

Was it the ghost of Rose Payne, scared off by Corey’s loud voice? she wondered. Afraid, Violet scurried20 to catch up with the others.

Without the Jeep, it was a long hike back to Eagles Nest. Maybe I’m imagining things, Violet thought. She decided21 not to tell anyone about the face.

Heavy clouds burst while the children were several yards from the motel. Soaked and shivering, they ran into the dining hall.

Grandfather had built a fire in the stone fireplace. Lanterns glowed on tables. The power was out again.

“The Jeep died,” Corey explained, taking the thin towel Marianne handed him.

“So has the electricity and phones — again,” said Mr. Williams with disgust. “I think I’ll pack it in.”

“You’re leaving?” asked Mrs. Harrington. “In this storm?”

“It’s not that far to Beaverton,” said Mr. Williams. “At least I can get a decent meal! You can send me a refund22 in the mail.” Then he stalked out of the hall, knocking over the stack of fishing magazines.

Henry and Benny bent23 to straighten the pile. In the flickering24 lamplight, a picture caught Henry’s eye. His suspicions about the two fishermen grew stronger.

“You guys get dry,” Jessie told her brothers and sister. “I had the blanket over my head, so I’m not as wet as you are. I’ll go to our cabins and bring dry socks and shirts.”

“Take the umbrella.” Grandfather handed her a black umbrella.

But when Jessie opened it outside, the umbrella was full of holes! Nothing worked at Eagles Nest!

“I’m better off without it,” she muttered to herself.

As she skirted puddles25, she saw Corey leaving his cabin. He wore a yellow plastic rain poncho26 and was heading for the dining hall.

Something peculiar27 was sticking out from under his poncho. It looked like the gray crocheted28 shawl worn by the ghost of Rose Payne!

Was Corey Browne pretending to be the ghost of Tincup?


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 creek 3orzL     
n.小溪,小河,小湾
参考例句:
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
2 scooping 5efbad5bbb4dce343848e992b81eb83d     
n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 );(敏捷地)抱起;抢先获得;用铲[勺]等挖(洞等)
参考例句:
  • Heated ice cream scoop is used for scooping really cold ice cream. 加热的冰淇淋勺是用来舀非常凉的冰淇淋的。 来自互联网
  • The scoop-up was the key phase during a scooping cycle. 3个区间中,铲取区间是整个作业循环的关键。 来自互联网
3 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
4 giggled 72ecd6e6dbf913b285d28ec3ba1edb12     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
  • The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 dangling 4930128e58930768b1c1c75026ebc649     
悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 ); 摆动不定; 用某事物诱惑…; 吊胃口
参考例句:
  • The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果,那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
  • The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上,摇晃着他们的双腿。
6 pickles fd03204cfdc557b0f0d134773ae6fff5     
n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 );处于困境;遇到麻烦;菜酱
参考例句:
  • Most people eat pickles at breakfast. 大多数人早餐吃腌菜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I want their pickles and wines, and that.' 我要他们的泡菜、美酒和所有其他东西。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
7 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。
8 bumpy 2sIz7     
adj.颠簸不平的,崎岖的
参考例句:
  • I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
  • The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄,成了一条崎岖不平的小径。
9 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
10 pothole hiay1     
n.坑,穴
参考例句:
  • As the car sped over a pothole she lurched forward.车子飞驶过一个坑洼时,她身子猛地向前一倾。
  • The young teacher knows every pothole in the 10-minute ride to school.这位年轻的老师熟悉这条往学校的10分钟路上的每一个坑洞。
11 hopping hopping     
n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
  • I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。
12 hood ddwzJ     
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。
13 greasy a64yV     
adj. 多脂的,油脂的
参考例句:
  • He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
  • You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时,你会厌恶油腻的气味。
14 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
15 canyon 4TYya     
n.峡谷,溪谷
参考例句:
  • The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
  • The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。
16 giggles 0aa08b5c91758a166d13e7cd3f455951     
n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 );傻笑;玩笑;the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Her nervous giggles annoyed me. 她神经质的傻笑把我惹火了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I had to rush to the loo to avoid an attack of hysterical giggles. 我不得不冲向卫生间,以免遭到别人的疯狂嘲笑。 来自辞典例句
17 reins 370afc7786679703b82ccfca58610c98     
感情,激情; 缰( rein的名词复数 ); 控制手段; 掌管; (成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的)保护带
参考例句:
  • She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
  • The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。
18 hitching 5bc21594d614739d005fcd1af2f9b984     
搭乘; (免费)搭乘他人之车( hitch的现在分词 ); 搭便车; 攀上; 跃上
参考例句:
  • The farmer yoked the oxen before hitching them to the wagon. 农夫在将牛套上大车之前先给它们套上轭。
  • I saw an old man hitching along on his stick. 我看见一位老人拄着手杖蹒跚而行。
19 rim RXSxl     
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界
参考例句:
  • The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
  • She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。
20 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》
21 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。
22 refund WkvzPB     
v.退还,偿还;n.归还,偿还额,退款
参考例句:
  • They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
  • We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意,我们愿意退款给你。
23 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
24 flickering wjLxa     
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的
参考例句:
  • The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
  • The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。
25 puddles 38bcfd2b26c90ae36551f1fa3e14c14c     
n.水坑, (尤指道路上的)雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
  • The road was filled with puddles from the rain. 雨后路面到处是一坑坑的积水。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 poncho 9OkxP     
n.斗篷,雨衣
参考例句:
  • He yawned and curled his body down farther beneath the poncho.他打了个呵欠,把身子再蜷拢点儿,往雨披里缩了缩。
  • The poncho is made of nylon.这雨披是用尼龙制造的。
27 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
参考例句:
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
28 crocheted 62b18a9473c261d6b815602f16b0fb14     
v.用钩针编织( crochet的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Mom and I crocheted new quilts. 我和妈妈钩织了新床罩。 来自辞典例句
  • Aunt Paula crocheted a beautiful blanket for the baby. 宝拉婶婶为婴孩编织了一条美丽的毯子。 来自互联网
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