英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十二册 Polar Bears Past Bedtime 04 Snow House

　　The dogsled skimmed silently over the frozentundra. The seal hunter ran alongside² it. Sometimeshe cracked his whip against the ice.

The snowdrifts looked like giant white sculptures asthe sun slipped behind the frozen¹ hills. Then a fullorange moon rose in the sky.

The moonlight lit a small, rounded igloo in of them.

The dogs slowed, then stopped.

Jack³ stepped off the sled. Annie went to helpunhitch the dogs. Jack took his book out and readabout igloos:

The word "igloo" means "house" in the language ofnative Arctic⁴ people. The house is built with blocks ofsnow. Dry snow is good wall material because itkeeps in the heat. The temperature inside an igloo canbe 65 degrees warmer than the temperature outside.

Jack took out his notebook. He pulled off his mittenjust long enough to write:

Igloo means house"Come on, Jack!" said Annie.

She and the seal hunter were waiting for him infront of the igloo. The dogs were leashed togetheroutside.

Jack hurried to join them. The hunter pushed asideanimal skins covering the entrance. They steppedinside.

A fat candle burned brightly. Shadows danced onwalls of ice and snow.

Jack and Annie sat on a fur-covered plat-form.

They watched as the seal hunter moved about.

First he lit a small stove. Then he slipped outside.

He came back with a snowball and chunks⁵ of frozenmeat.

He put the snowball in a pot over the stove. Thenhe added the meat.

"What's he making?" asked Annie. Jack pulled outhis book and found a picture of the hunter cooking.

He and Annie read the words silently:

There was a time when nearly all of the Arcticpeople's food and clothing and tools came from Arcticanimals, especially the seal. Nearly every part of theseal could be eaten. Lamps were fueled with seal fat.

Clothing was made from sealskin. And knives andneedles were carved from seal bones.

"He must be boiling seal meat," said Jack. "The poorseals," said Annie.

The seal hunter looked up.

"They are not poor," he said. "They help us becausethey know we would die without them.""Oh " said Annie.

"In return, we always thank the animal spirits," saidthe seal hunter.

"How do you do that?" said Jack.

"We have many special ceremonies," said the sealhunter.

He reached under the fur-covered plat-form andtook out two wooden masks.

"Soon there will be a ceremony to honor the spiritof the polar bear," he said. "I carved these masks forthe ceremony.""Polar bears?" said Annie.

"Yes," said the hunter. "Just as the seal has given usmany gifts, so has the polar bear.""Like what?" said Jack.

"Long ago the polar bear taught us how to live inthe ice and snow," said the seal hunter.

"Taught you?" said Jack. "I mean, can you give ussome facts?"The seal hunter smiled.

"Yes," he said. "A polar bear catches a seal when theseal comes up to breathe through a hole in the ice.

The oldest seal hunters watched the polar bear andlearned. This is how my father taught me to huntseal, as his father taught him.""That's a good fact," said Jack.

"The very first of my people learned to make igloosfrom polar bears," said the hunter. "Polar bears buildsnow houses by digging caves in the drifts.""Another good fact," said Jack.

"Sometimes the polar bear can even teach people tofly," said the seal hunter.

"That's an amazing fact," said Annie.

Jack smiled. "The rest sounded like true facts," hesaid. "But I know that's pretend."The hunter just laughed, then turned back to hiscooking.

That's why he wasn't surprised to hear about thetree house, Jack thought. If he believes polar bears canfly, he probably would believe anything.

The seal hunter lifted the chunks of boiled seal outof his pot. He dropped them into a wooden bucketand gave it to Annie.

"Let's feed the dogs," he said.

"Oh, boy!" said Annie. She followed the hunteroutside, swinging the bucket.

Jack quickly threw his notebook and the Arcticbook into his pack. He started to follow them. Thenhis gaze fell on the two bear masks.

He picked them up to get a better look.

Each was carved in the shape of a polar bear's facewith a blunt⁶ nose and roundish ears. There were twoholes for eyes and a strap⁷ to hold it on your head.

Suddenly howls split⁸ the air. The dogs were barkingand growling⁹. Annie squealed¹⁰.

Are the dogs attacking her? Jack wondered.

"Annie!"Still holding the bear masks, Jack charged out of theigloo.

1 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

2 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

3 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。

4 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

5 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

6 blunt   

adj.（刀子）钝的，不锋利的，迟钝的，直率的

参考例句：

• The axe is too blunt to cut down the tree.斧头太钝，砍不倒树。
• She is rather blunt in speech.她说话很直率。

7 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

8 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

9 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

10 squealed   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squealed the words out. 他吼叫着说出那些话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The brakes of the car squealed. 汽车的刹车发出吱吱声。 来自《简明英汉词典》