-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The children set out to find the old drinking fountain on Old Post Road. As they walked along, cars whizzed by in both directions. Gas stations, stores, and office buildings lined the busy road.
“Grandfather said when he was a little boy, farmers and peddlers still drove their horse carts along this road,” Violet said. “I guess the fountain is the only landmark1 left from those days.”
Along the way, the children passed the Big Dipper, their favorite ice-cream stand.
Benny licked his lips. “Can we stop for ice cream on the way back? I might be hungry by then.”
“Might be hungry?” Henry asked, laughing.
A few minutes later, the Aldens spotted2 the fountain up ahead. Clumps4 of roadside daisies and overgrown grasses nearly covered the old landmark. It hadn’t been used as a watering stop for travelers for many years.
Soo Lee wrinkled her nose when she looked down into the fountain. “The old rainwater is all yucky and green.”
Henry walked around the fountain. “Why would anybody include this old thing in a computer game? It’s all covered over with moss5 and weeds.”
“I think it’s pretty,” Violet said. “Maybe there’s some other reason it was in the game. Let’s look around.”
“What does that sign say?” Soo Lee asked a few minutes later. She pointed6 to a nearby sign no one else had spotted.
“‘Comet Interactive7 Games,’” Jessie answered. “That’s the name of the company C.D. told us about—the one with those two people he doesn’t trust. Let’s follow that side road where the sign is pointing.”
The Comet Interactive Games building was set way back from Old Post Road, up a hill and past some trees.
“You can’t really tell that the building is here,” Henry said. “Uh-oh. There’s a gate. I don’t think we can go inside.”
Sure enough, a security guard came over. “You kids have business here?” he asked in a sharp voice.
“Sort of. We’re curious to find out if this is where Comet Interactive Games are made,” Jessie said truthfully.
This information didn’t make the guard any friendlier. “You and a hundred other kids pestering8 us all the time,” he said. “You need an appointment to go inside.”
Jessie and Henry motioned for the other children to head back down the hill.
“Sorry,” Henry said. “We didn’t know.”
“Well, now you do,” the guard said.
“He didn’t like us,” Soo Lee said as the children walked away. “Can we go home now?”
As they walked along the side of the driveway the Aldens heard a car coming up fast from behind. Henry and Jessie pulled the younger children behind some bushes.
A white convertible9 whizzed past. A woman with a ponytail was driving.
“Did you see that? It had a QuestMaster parking sticker on the bumper10,” Jessie said after the car went by. “I could have sworn that was Jane Driver at the wheel.”
A minute later, the children saw a green car pull onto the road from a clump3 of trees. It followed the convertible down the hill. Like the white convertible, this one had a QuestMaster parking sticker on its bumper. Only this time the children were positive who the driver was.
“That’s Ned Porter’s car!” Henry said. “I’m sure of it. He must have been visiting the Comet Interactive offices, too. Only why did he park in the woods?”
Jessie thought about this. “Do you think he and Jane are up to no good? Now we really have to figure out what’s going on, so we can tell C.D.”
From where they were standing11, the children could see all the way down to Old Post Road. They noticed that the green car followed the white convertible at a distance until the Aldens couldn’t see either car anymore.
Henry stepped ahead of the other children. “Let’s leave a message for C.D. about this as soon as we get home.”
“Do we still have time for ice cream?” Benny asked when he saw the Big Dipper ice-cream stand up ahead.
Jessie took Benny’s hand. “We always have time for ice cream.”
When the children entered the Big Dipper, there was only one customer inside. As the Aldens got closer, they realized who it was.
“Andy Porter!” Henry whispered. “Of all people.”
Andy held a cone12 in one hand, but it was dripping all over, as if he’d forgotten he was holding it.
“How many times have you seen that white convertible go by here?” the Aldens overheard Andy ask the girl behind the counter.
“I told you, I don’t know,” the girl answered impatiently. “Why do you keep coming here and asking me all these questions about that car?”
Andy tapped on the metal counter nervously13 “I just need to know, that’s all. Have you seen that woman around here with a bearded man and a bald man?”
“A few times.” The girl looked over Andy’s head at the Aldens. “Look, I can’t talk right now. Some other customers just came in. May I help you?”
Andy whirled around. When he saw the Aldens, he seemed to want to speak to them. But he stopped himself, nodded quickly as a way of saying good-bye, and left. The Aldens saw him race off on his bike, which had been parked outside.
“May I help you?” the ice-cream girl repeated, this time louder.
“What was that all about?” Henry asked the girl.
“Do you know him?” the girl asked. “He’s been in here a bunch of times. He’s always wanting to know about some people who work at Comet Interactive Games up the road.”
“The woman in the white convertible?” Jessie asked.
The girl nodded.
“What about a tall man who looks like that boy?” Henry asked. “He’s got a green car.”
The girl shook her head. She was tired of all these nosy14 customers. “Look, I’m just here to serve ice cream, not spy on people or watch what cars go in and out of the parking lot. Now, if you want to order, please tell me what you want.”
The Aldens ordered their cones15 and went outside to eat them.
“Why did Andy leave so fast when he saw us?” Benny asked. “He didn’t even finish his cone. But I’m going to finish mine.”
Benny and Soo Lee licked up every last drip.
While he was finishing, Benny picked up a piece of paper blowing near his feet.
“What does that say?” Soo Lee wanted to know.
“Boring stuff, like a list or something,” Benny said. “Let’s see. What’s that word, Violet?” he asked when he got stuck.
“‘Nadje—three o’clock!’” Violet answered. “Why would Nadje’s name be on this piece of paper?” She grabbed the paper from Benny and ran over to Jessie and Henry with it. “It also says, ‘Check Head Shots.’ Didn’t C.D. say ‘Head Shots’ had something to do with Jane’s computer idea?”
“Now we’d really better get a move on,” Henry said. “I have a feeling Andy dropped that paper when he raced off. This is getting stranger and stranger all the time.”
Jessie hurried the younger children along.
“Don’t forget. We still have to pick up the Fix-It program at the computer store before we go home. Maybe that will help us figure out what’s going on inside our computer.” “I hope we can figure out what’s going on outside our computer, too,” Benny added.
收听单词发音 |
1
landmark
|
|
| n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
clump
|
|
| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
clumps
|
|
| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
moss
|
|
| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
interactive
|
|
| adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
pestering
|
|
| 使烦恼，纠缠( pester的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
convertible
|
|
| adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
bumper
|
|
| n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的 | |
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
cone
|
|
| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
nervously
|
|
| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
nosy
|
|
| adj.鼻子大的，好管闲事的，爱追问的；n.大鼻者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
cones
|
|
| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
购买
在百度中搜索