英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

儿童英语读物 The Haunted Clock Tower Mystery CHAPTER 7 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner!

时间:2017-10-13 03:12来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

A few minutes later, the children were standing1 inside McGraw Hall, looking up at the directory on the wall.

“It says Professor Meyer’s office is on the first floor,” said Henry. “Room 106.”

The children passed a large lecture hall and found Room 106 at the back of the building. Jessie knocked on the door.

“Come in,” said a voice from inside.

Jessie opened the door and stepped in. Professor Meyer was standing next to a large, messy desk covered with papers. She was stuffing some of the papers into a large canvas bag that was already overflowing2 with papers and books. Again she was wearing a lively patterned dress with a brightly colored hat and matching sneakers.

“Well, if it isn’t the Aldens,” she said.

“Professor, we have a question for you,” said Jessie.

“I hope it’s a quick one,” Professor Meyer said. “I was just on my way out.”

“Actually, it’s not a quick one,” Jessie said. “Is there another time we could talk to you?”

“How about over dinner?” Henry suggested. “I’m sure our grandfather would enjoy chatting with you as well.”

“What a lovely idea,” the professor said. “I would invite you to my place, but I’m not much of a cook, I must confess. And my house is such a mess.”

Looking around the cluttered3 office, the children had no trouble believing that.

“We’ll make dinner for you at our suite4,” Jessie offered.

“Now, that would be a treat,” Professor Meyer said. “What time shall I come?”

“What time did Grandfather say he’d be home?” Henry asked.

“I think the concert ends at five,” Jessie said. “How about six o’clock? We’re in Sage5 Hall, Suite B-8.”

“I will see you then,” the professor said, picking up her overstuffed bag and putting it on her shoulder. The children stepped into the hallway with her. She shut and locked her office door.

“Where are you going now?” Benny piped up.

“Now? Oh, I’m going to, um … now, where am I going?” She paused for a moment. “Where did you say your grandfather was?”

“He’s at a concert in Rhodes Hall,” said Henry.

“Oh, yes, that’s right. That’s where I’m headed, too,” Julia Meyer said.

“You know it started a while ago,” Jessie said.

“Did it?” asked Ms. Meyer. “That’s all right. I’ll just be a little late. Good-bye!”

The children watched her walk away.

“That was sort of strange, wasn’t it?” asked Henry. “It seemed as if she didn’t know where she was going.”

“She’s a very unusual woman,” said Jessie. “Now we’d better get to the store and figure out what we’re going to make her for dinner.”

A short while later, the Aldens were at the local grocery store, pushing their cart to the checkout6 counter. They had decided7 to make hamburgers, corn on the cob, and a green salad, and they had gotten ice cream for dessert. Just then, Jessie spotted8 Andrea Barton at the counter ahead of them. She was smiling and humming to herself.

“Hello again,” Jessie said.

“Hello!” Andi said. Almost instantly her happy face grew serious. “Oh, um, I’m glad I ran into you,” she said. Her voice sounded tense and nervous.

“So are we,” Benny said. “Your concert the other day was great.”

“Thanks,” Andi said, a smile filling her face. But then she grew serious again. “I just wanted to ask you, um …”

“Yes?” Violet asked.

“Well, nothing really, just …” She twirled a piece of hair. “Please don’t say anything to Ezra about what I said yesterday, okay?”

“Sure,” said Jessie. After a moment she asked, “But what did you say?”

Andi laughed briefly9. “Never mind,” she said, picking up her bag of groceries. “I’ll see you around.”

The Aldens paid for their groceries and left the store. Their arms were loaded down with grocery bags.

“What do you think Andi meant when she asked us not to say anything to Ezra?” Violet asked as they walked.

“I was wondering that, too,” said Jessie. “Was it that she told us she came in a lot to practice?”

“I thought it was about losing her glasses,” said Benny.

“And losing the new music she bought,”

Henry added. “Remember she said Ezra probably wouldn’t have liked it?”

“I wonder why she always seems so nervous,” Violet said. “She’s so nice and so talented. She should be happier.”

When they got back to their suite, Jessie began shaping the ground beef into round patties. Henry and Violet washed and tore the lettuce10 and cut up carrots and tomatoes for the salad. Benny husked the corn and put a large pot of water on the stove. They would wait until dinnertime, when Grandfather came home, to boil the corn and fry the burgers. After the food was prepared, the children set the table and placed some flowers in the center.

“That looks nice,” Violet said.

As they waited for Grandfather to arrive, the children got out a deck of cards and began to play.

“I can’t stop thinking about the buried treasure,” Jessie said as she shuffled11 the cards.

“Me neither!” said Benny, his eyes aglow12.

“Do you think that someone we know is the person who’s after it?” asked Henry.

“Like who?” said Violet.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Henry said. “But some of the people we’ve met here have acted, well, strangely. Like Ezra.”

Jessie began to deal the cards. “You think he’s the one who found the letter and started looking in the tower?”

“Could be,” Henry said. “Maybe that’s why he got so angry when we asked him if anyone goes up there at night—because he’s going up there, and he doesn’t want anyone to know.”

“But he didn’t seem to know about the treasure at all,” said Violet. “In fact, he was surprised that we actually found something in the clock.”

“Hmmm, that’s true,” Jessie said. “But he could have been pretending.”

Henry agreed. “He helped us out—but maybe that was so he could find out for himself where the key was hidden.”

“I’ve been wondering about Andi,” said Violet, picking up her cards. “Ezra said everything was okay until she started working there. Maybe she took the job in the tower so she could look for the treasure.”

“Go on,” Jessie said thoughtfully.

Violet continued, “Remember that day she was searching for something and she said it was her glasses? Maybe it was really that letter that she’d misplaced, and then we found it not long afterward13.”

“And today in the grocery store she was certainly worried about something,” said Jessie. “She seems to be keeping something secret from Ezra.”

“And Ezra seems to be hiding something from us,” said Benny. “Something about going up in the tower at night.”

“But remember, whoever went up there broke the carillon,” said Henry. “Why would Ezra do that?”

“That’s true,” said Benny.

“Don’t forget the muddy footprint,” Henry said. “Neither Ezra nor Andi seem to wear sneakers.”

The children stopped talking and concentrated on their game of cards for a moment. After Jessie had taken her turn, she said, “Don Dixon has also been acting14 strangely. He got so upset about that old book, and we were being really careful with it. He still seemed upset about it today when we saw him on the Quad15. Maybe he was afraid we’d read something about the treasure in there. And then on the tour he asked so many questions about the clock tower. I bet it’s because he was trying to figure out where the treasure is hidden.”

“But Don is Joel’s son and Joel is Grandfather’s good friend,” Violet pointed16 out. “Do you really think he’d act so sneaky?”

Jessie shrugged17. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”

“Well, I do know one thing,” Benny said, laying down his cards to show the others. “I won!”

A short while later, Grandfather returned from the concert. As he came in the door, he was humming lightly under his breath.

“How was the concert?” Violet asked.

“It was wonderful,” Grandfather said. “It was a choral group, and they sang some lovely songs from when I was young. Reminded me of your grandmother.” He smiled fondly at the memory. “At the end, they sang the school’s fight song and anthem18.”

“That sounds great,” Jessie commented.

“How did your treasure hunt go?” Mr. Alden asked.

“We didn’t get very far,” Violet said. “We went to ask Professor Meyer for help, but she was busy.”

“So we invited her for dinner tonight,” Henry said. “I hope that’s all right with you.”

“Sure it is,” Grandfather said. “I was just noticing how nicely you set the table. I was wondering if that was just for me.”

“We went into town and bought some burgers and corn,” Jessie said.

“She should be here soon,” Violet added. “Did you see her at the concert? She said she was going.”

“She was at the concert?” Grandfather thought for a moment. “I must have missed her. I’m surprised, though, because it wasn’t a very large room.”

“Hmmmm,” said Henry, pulling Violet aside. “I wonder if she really was going to the concert, or if she just made that up when we told her Grandfather would be there. She didn’t seem to know much about it.”

“But why would she make it up?” asked Violet.

“I don’t know. It might have something to do with her ‘special project,’ ” said Henry.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

“That must be Professor Meyer now,” Grandfather said, going to greet her.

“Hello,” he said as he opened the door.

“Nice to see you, Jimmy,” Professor Meyer said as she came into the suite. “Hello, children,” she called. “How pretty the table looks!”

“Come sit down,” Jessie said. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

“Did you enjoy the concert?” Violet asked.

“The concert?” Professor Meyer looked puzzled.

Henry shot a look at the others as if to say, See? She didn’t even go to the concert.

But after a moment the professor said, “Oh, the concert! It was lovely.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Grandfather agreed.

With help from Grandfather, the children fried the burgers, boiled the corn, and tossed the salad. Soon everything was ready.

“This all looks so good!” Professor Meyer said, sitting down to eat.

The food was delicious, and the conversation lively. Professor Meyer told them lots of good stories about the old days at Goldwin. It wasn’t until they had finished eating that the children decided to bring up Joshua Chambers19’s letters.

As soon as the table was cleared, Henry said, “Professor Meyer, we wanted to ask you about a couple of old letters and a key we found.”

“Oh, yes, you did have a question for me,” she recalled.

Violet handed the letters to the professor. “Oh, how interesting,” she said, carefully unfolding the yellowed papers. “Wherever did you find these?”

“Up in the clock tower,” Benny said.

Professor Meyer had put the letters down on the table and was feeling around in her pockets for something. “Now, where did I …” she muttered to herself.

“Are you looking for something?” Henry asked.

“My glasses,” she said.

“They’re on top of your head,” Benny said, trying to keep from laughing.

“They are?” she said. She put her hand up and touched them. “Oh, goodness, you’re right!” She laughed heartily20, and the others joined her. “Silly me!”

“I think those are the same glasses as Mrs. McGregor’s—our housekeeper,” said Benny.

“They are?” Grandfather asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Benny said. “They look so familiar.”

“Let’s see these letters,” Professor Meyer said. She read the first letter quickly, and then turned to the second, and studied it as well. “So that’s what happened to it,” she said softly to herself.

“What did you say?” Benny asked.

“Oh, um, nothing,” Professor Meyer said quickly.

The Aldens explained how they had found the first letter, and the research they had done in the library. “That was some good thinking,” Professor Meyer said to Jessie. “The library is a wonderful resource. Maybe you’ll be a professor one day. We spend a lot of time in the library looking things up.”

Jessie blushed with pride.

“Then we went back to the tower and found the second note and the key,” Benny explained. “Can you help us figure out where the treasure is buried?”

“I don’t know,” said Professor Meyer. “It’s very mysterious, isn’t it? I remember a long time ago …” She went off on a long story about the old days. When she’d finished, she looked at her watch. “Oh, my, look what time it is. Well, I’ve imposed on your hospitality long enough.” She pushed her chair back from the table and stood up.

The family walked Professor Meyer to the door. “So you don’t have any more ideas about how we can find this treasure?” Benny asked, disappointed.

“No, I really don’t,” she said.

“Okay,” Benny said, looking sad.

Professor Meyer thought for a moment. “There is one thing,” she said slowly. “Let me see the second letter again.”

Violet handed it to her.

The professor studied the letter. “No, I can’t be sure,” she said to herself. “But it could be …”

“What?” Benny asked excitedly.

Professor Meyer pointed to the letter. “See here where he talks about North and South?”

The children nodded.

“Morrill Hall and McGraw Hall used to be called North Building and South Building because of where they’re located on the Quad,” she said. “Maybe that’s what he means by North and South.” Professor Meyer looked around at the children. “Who knows?”

A moment later, she was gone.

“That was a lovely dinner you children made,” Grandfather said. “And I certainly enjoyed having the chance to talk to Professor Meyer some more.”

“I wonder if she’s right about North and South meaning Morrill and McGraw,” said Benny.

“In the letter, Chambers says, ‘Set yourself between North and South,’ ” Violet said. “It sounds as if he’s telling his son to stand between those two buildings.”

“That’s where the treasure is?” Benny asked.

“I guess so,” said Henry.

“Come on, let’s go!” Benny cried.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” Henry said. “The letter says to stand there when the clock strikes six in the morning.”

“But why does it matter?” Benny asked.

“I don’t know,” said Henry. “But that’s what the letter says.”

“It looks like we’re getting up early tomorrow!” said Jessie.
 


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 overflowing df84dc195bce4a8f55eb873daf61b924     
n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
  • The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。
3 cluttered da1cd877cda71c915cf088ac1b1d48d3     
v.杂物,零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 );乱糟糟地堆满,把…弄得很乱;(以…) 塞满…
参考例句:
  • The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
4 suite MsMwB     
n.一套(家具);套房;随从人员
参考例句:
  • She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
  • That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。
5 sage sCUz2     
n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的
参考例句:
  • I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
  • The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。
6 checkout lwGzd1     
n.(超市等)收银台,付款处
参考例句:
  • Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
  • A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。
7 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。
8 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
9 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地,简短地
参考例句:
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
10 lettuce C9GzQ     
n.莴苣;生菜
参考例句:
  • Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿,我好做色拉。
  • The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。
11 shuffled cee46c30b0d1f2d0c136c830230fe75a     
v.洗(纸牌)( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 );拖着脚步走;粗心地做;摆脱尘世的烦恼
参考例句:
  • He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
  • Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 aglow CVqzh     
adj.发亮的;发红的;adv.发亮地
参考例句:
  • The garden is aglow with many flowers.园中百花盛开。
  • The sky was aglow with the setting sun.天空因夕阳映照而发红光。
13 afterward fK6y3     
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。
14 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
15 quad DkVzao     
n.四方院;四胞胎之一;v.在…填补空铅
参考例句:
  • His rooms were on the left-hand side of the quad.他的房间位于四方院的左侧。
  • She is a 34-year-old mother of quads.她是个生了四胞胎的34岁的母亲。
16 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。
17 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
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》
18 anthem vMRyj     
n.圣歌,赞美诗,颂歌
参考例句:
  • All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
  • As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上,唱起了国歌。
19 chambers c053984cd45eab1984d2c4776373c4fe     
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅
参考例句:
  • The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间:Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网
20 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴