儿童英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十一册 Lions at Lunchtime 04 Mud Bath

　　Jack¹ looked over the edge of the riverbankAnnie had fallen info a pool of mud near the waterThe thick black mud Was up to her chest.

"I Slipped" she said. "It feels like quick sand."Jack threw down his pack and got on his knees.

"Be careful," said Annie. "Don't slip, too."Jack pointed² to a tangle³ of old tree roots stickingout of the bank. "Grab those!" he said.

Annie reached for the roots. "Too far," she said,breathing hard. "I'm sinking."She was sinking. The mud was up to her neck.

"Hold on!" Jack looked around wildly. He saw afallen tree branch near the bank.

He raced to it, picked it up, and carried it back toAnnie. Only her head and arms stuck out of the mudnow.

Jack held out the branch. Annie grabbed it.

"Hold tight," said Jack. "I'll drag you over to theroots!"Lie started pulling on the branch.

"I'm still sinking!" Annie wailed⁴. The mud was upto her chin.

"Come on!" said Jack. "You can do it! I know youcan! Try! Try!"Just then, Jack heard a splash! He looked up.

On the other side of the wide river, a wildebeesthad jumped into the water. Another jumped.. .thenanother. They were headed right toward Jack andAnnie.

"Hold on tight!" said Jack. He pulled on the stickagain.

Annie moved a tiny bit.

"Hey, Jack, on the moon it felt like I weighed tenpounds," said Annie. "And in this mud it feels like Iweigh a ton.""Concentrate, Annie," said Jack, trying not to slipdown the bank.

"I am."The lead wildebeests were halfway⁵ across,swimming toward them. Many more wildebeestswere jumping into the water.

"It's now or never!" said Jack. He took a deepbreath. He pulled really hard.

Just then, a shadow passed over them. Jack lookedup.

"Uh-oh," he said.

A huge vulture circled overhead.

"It thinks you're near the end," said Jack.

"Oh, get out of here!" Annie shouted at the vulture.

"I'm fine!"In a burst of fury, she let go of the branch. Shelunged for the roots. She grabbed them!

"Yes!" cried Jack. "Pull! Pull!"Slowly, Annie pulled herself out. She was coveredwith the black mud from head to toe.

Jack helped her onto the bank, getting mud all overhimself.

"See!" Annie shook her fist at the vulture. "I'm fine!

Now beat it!"But the giant, ugly bird still circled.

"Come on. Let's get away from him," said Jack. Hepushed his glasses into place.

"Rats," he said. Now his glasses were muddy.

He tried to clean his hands in the grass.

"Oh, no!" shouted Annie.

Jack turned to her.

"The wildebeests will get stuck in the mud hole!"she cried. She waved her arms at the wildebeestsstruggling to swim across the river.

"Not here," she shouted. "Not here!"But the frantic⁶ swimmers kept coming.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 pointed   

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。

3 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

4 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

5 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

6 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。