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儿童英语读物 The Mystery at Skeleton Point CHAPTER 7 The Secret in the Library

时间:2017-10-24 06:18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)

After breakfast the next morning, the Aldens made their lunches in Cousin Charlotte’s kitchen. While they were bagging their lunches, the phone rang.

Jessie ran for it, and the other children listened in. “Cousin Charlotte! We’re fine. We just got our lunches and extra food ready before we leave for town. Then we’re riding to Skeleton1 Point. We’re even going to spend the night since you said it was okay.” Jessie handed the phone to Henry.

“No, William and Hilda haven’t told us what we’ll be doing next,” Henry said. “All we did yesterday was run an errand2, then we hiked home.

Charlotte told them all about her trip with Grandfather. Then she added something surprising. “Before we left yesterday, we came across a plastic skeleton — right by the car!”

“You came across a skeleton yesterday, too? So did we!” Henry said.

After that, the younger children took turns speaking with Cousin Charlotte and Grandfather about some of their adventures the day before. By the time they hung up, they were nearly out of breath.

Henry handed the other children their lunches. “Cousin Charlotte’s going to tell William to let us into Dr. Tibbs’s study this afternoon. She wants us to count everything so she knows exactly what’s there before she sends it to the medical school.”

“What about the missing statue?” Violet asked. “Did you mention it to her?”

Henry’s face grew serious. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her about that yet. I was thinking we could bike to town and visit Hilda’s studio. Without William around, maybe she’ll tell us what she knows about the statues. So what do you say guys? Everybody ready?”

Ten minutes later, the children headed into town, biking carefully now that their bikes were loaded down with their sleeping bags and overnight things. They parked their bikes in front of the drugstore to pick up film for Benny.

Benny unzipped his bike bag to get his camera. “Hey, my pictures aren’t in here with my camera. They were in my bike bag yesterday.”

“Are you sure?” Jessie asked Benny. “Did you leave it unzipped? I hope the pictures didn’t fall out while we were biking.”

Benny shook his head. “No way. I zipped everything up. Remember? I left the bike bag on the porch3 when we went out in the boat and picked it up when we got back.”

Jessie had a suggestion. “Then the pictures must be out at Skeleton Point. We’ll look around when we go there this afternoon.”

While Jessie ran into the drugstore to get the film, Henry took out the map Charlotte had given him. “Hilda’s studio is the next block over,” he said when Jessie came out again. “Let’s go see if she’s there.”

When the children rang Hilda’s bell, no one answered. A sign with an arrow pointing to the back of the house read, STUDIO. The children walked along quietly, looking in the windows of the house to see if anyone was around. A sign on the garage door read, STUDIO CLOSED.

Jessie cupped her hands over the tall windows of the studio. Then she waved for the other children to come over and look inside, too.

“The Clover Dodge4 statue!” Violet whispered when she peeked5 in.

Hilda was seated at a cluttered6 worktable facing away from the Aldens. The statue stood in the middle of the table. Also on the table were a life-sized skull7 and a skeleton of a hand. Hilda was bent8 over a large drawing pad, sketching9 a large stone arm that looked familiar to the Aldens.

The children tiptoed away.

“We have to decide what to do next,” Jessie said.

“A book I noticed on a shelf in the studio gave me an idea,” Violet said. “The title was, Sculptures of Clover Dodge. It must be the name of the sculptor10 who made the statue. My idea is to go to the library and see if we can find out more about Clover Dodge.”

“Good thinking,” Henry said. “One other thing. I didn’t get a real good look, but the stone arm Hilda had in there looked like the missing one from the angel statue.”

Jessie checked her watch. “I know. Well, let’s get to the library like Violet suggested. It’s just down the street.”

“Can Henry and I wait for you outside?” Benny asked when the children came to the town library.

“Sure,” Violet said, setting off with Jessie. “We’ll be back in a while.”

When the girls found the librarian, they handed him the piece of paper with the title of the art book they wanted. “My sister and I are interested in this book about a sculptor named Clover Dodge. The book isn’t on the shelf. Do you know when it’s due back?”

“Clover Dodge?” the librarian asked. “Isn’t it funny how some books aren’t checked out for ages, then suddenly everybody wants them at the same time? Clover Dodge was a well-known sculptor at the turn of the last century. But her work disappeared, and people forgot about her.” The man checked the library computer. “I see one of our local artists, Hilda Stone, checked it out. It’s reserved for William Mason next, but I can reserve it for you after he brings it back.”

“Hmm, no,” Jessie said. “Thank you anyway.”

Minutes later, the girls met their brothers outside and told them what they had discovered.

“Wow! So William is interested in Clover Dodge, too,” Jessie said. “I wonder if he and Hilda are up to something together with the statues.”

“Let’s go back to the studio and find out what Hilda has to say,” said Jessie.

The rest of the Aldens nodded in agreement. They were always ready for an investigation11.

Henry led the way. “While we’re walking, Benny can tell you what we discovered while you and Violet were in the library.”

Benny couldn’t keep his secret another minute. “The scary rock with the door is called Dead Man’s Cave, only there aren’t any dead people in it,” he announced.

Jessie’s and Violet’s eyebrows12 shot up.

Henry grinned at the two girls. “Benny and I went to check old maps in the town hall. There are a couple small caves, not very deep ones, on Skeleton Point. One of them is called Dead Man’s Cave. The man we met at the general store works in the land records department. He said that a long time ago kids used to hike up there. He’d heard they’d turned the cave into a hideout or a clubhouse. They called it Dead Man’s Cave to scare other kids away.”

“But we’re not scared,” Benny said. “We can go there this afternoon, right, Henry?”

“You bet,” Henry said. “But first let’s see what Hilda is doing with all those skeletons13 and statue parts from Skeleton Point.”

When the children returned to the studio, the STUDIO CLOSED sign was still on the door. This didn’t stop the Aldens.

“Hi, Hilda! It’s the Aldens,” Jessie yelled14 as she rapped15 on the window.

Hilda whirled16 around, startled17 to see four pairs of eyes staring at her. She opened the door slightly. “What are you doing here? My studio is closed right now.”

Violet looked past Hilda. “Oh, so you have the Clover Dodge statue,” she said before the young woman could block her view. “Are you fixing it? I’d love to see how.”

Hilda stared at Violet. “I’m not here to teach art classes, Violet. I’m here to... well, I haven’t time to explain.”

Henry, who was taller than Hilda, peered18 right over her shoulder. “Are you fixing the arm from the angel statue, too? Charlotte will be glad you got started on that.”

Hilda studied the Aldens’ faces. “What do you mean? William was the one who got me working on the angel statue, not Charlotte. He told me she left most of the decisions up to him.” Hilda pushed the door to keep the children back. “I really must get back to my work. I’ll see you at Skeleton Point later this afternoon.”

The Aldens had a lot more to say, but they never got the chance. After she slammed the door, Hilda walked over to the windows and pulled the shades down one by one.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 skeleton OE7z0     
n.骨骼,框架,骨干,梗概,提要
参考例句:
  • A long illness made a skeleton out of him.长期的卧病使他骨瘦如柴。
  • Her notes gave us just the bare skeleton of her theory.她的笔记只给我们提供了她的理论的梗概。
2 errand 17Zyw     
n.差使(如送信,买东西等),(短程)差事
参考例句:
  • I've come on a special errand.我是专程来办一件差事的。
  • This is a formidable errand for me.这对我来说是个太艰巨的任务。
3 porch ju9yM     
n.门廊,入口处,走廊,游廊
参考例句:
  • There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
  • The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。
4 dodge q83yo     
v.闪开,躲开,避开;n.妙计,诡计
参考例句:
  • A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪,才没被车从身上辗过。
  • The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。
5 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
6 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》
7 skull CETyO     
n.头骨;颅骨
参考例句:
  • The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
  • He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去,跌裂了颅骨。
8 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。
9 sketching 2df579f3d044331e74dce85d6a365dd7     
n.草图
参考例句:
  • They are sketching out proposals for a new road. 他们正在草拟修建新路的计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • "Imagination is busy sketching rose-tinted pictures of joy. “飞舞驰骋的想象描绘出一幅幅玫瑰色欢乐的场景。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
10 sculptor 8Dyz4     
n.雕刻家,雕刻家
参考例句:
  • A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
  • The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。
11 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
12 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
13 skeletons 138f64f4bf514101e6f6e68f9b00bcd9     
n.(建筑物等的)骨架( skeleton的名词复数 );骨骼;梗概;骨瘦如柴的人(或动物)
参考例句:
  • Only skeletons of buildings remained. 只剩下了建筑物的框架。 来自辞典例句
  • It looks like six skeletons in front of that stone door! 在这石头门前看上去就象有六副骨骼! 来自辞典例句
14 yelled aeee2b86b284e7fbd44f45779d6073c1     
v.叫喊,号叫,叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
  • The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着,希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 rapped c554bddab0a4bec3b87b6af2a62a9983     
v.突然说出( rap的过去式和过去分词 );(公开地)严厉批评;突然大声说出;连续敲叩
参考例句:
  • He rapped sharply on the door. 他猛烈地敲门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The king rapped on the table with his heavy metal ring, and the company fell silent. 国王用他重重的金属戒指敲打桌子,使客人安静下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 whirled 7034552cb33a8cbc30fc9e5358ba22b2     
v.(使)飞快移动,使旋转( whirl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Leaves whirled in the wind. 落叶在风中旋转。
  • A tornado whirled into the town last week. 龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 startled 651a5bec8a61bb5867cc270c8ec3c20b     
adj.受惊吓的v.使惊跳,使大吃一惊( startle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • A crowd of 2000 was startled near the end of the concert. 2000名观众在音乐会将近结束时大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Startled by the sudden whistle of the train, the horse broke away. 火车突然鸣笛,那匹马受惊脱逃。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 peered 20df74dd9059112f4ef8506d8ece8b43     
去皮的
参考例句:
  • He peeled away the plastic wrapping. 他去掉塑料包装。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The paint on the wall has peeled off. 墙上涂料已剥落了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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