英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十二册 Polar Bears Past Bedtime 08 Riddle Solved

　　Now only the moon shone on the snow.

Jack¹ looked around for the polar² bear.

She was gone.

"Where'd she go?" asked Annie.

"I don't know," said Jack. He looked over thetundra. There was no sign of the giant bear or hercubs.

"Maybe she's not interested in scientific reasons,"Jack said.

Annie sighed. She took off her bear mask andhanded it to Jack. He put both their masks in his pack.

"Now what?" asked Annie.

They looked around. The vast³ fields of snow endedin darkness. Jack had no idea where they were.

He shrugged⁴. "I guess we just have to walk andhope for the best.""Wait--listen," said Annie.

From the distance came howling⁵ sounds. They grewlouder and louder.

"Yay! We don't have to wait long!" said Annie. "Thehuskies are coming!"Howling filled the night as the dogsled came intoview.

The seal hunter was running beside it.

"We're here! Over here!" called Jack. He ran towardthe sled. Annie followed.

"I was afraid you were lost," said the seal hunter.

"We were!" said Annie. "And we got stuck on thinice, too! But a polar bear helped us.""Yeah," said Jack. "And we wore your masks andthey made us feel like bears--""Yeah, the masks made us brave," said Annie. Shecaught her breath⁶.

"Oh, man, wait--" said Jack. Annie's words soundedfamiliar.

He took out his notebook and read Morgan's riddlealoud:

I cover what's real and hide what's true. Butsometimes I bring out the courage in you. What am I?

"A mask!" Jack and Annie said together. The sealhunter smiled.

"You knew!" said Annie.

"It was for you to discover," said the seal hunter.

"Not me."Jack pulled the bear masks out of his back-pack.

"Here," he said. "Thanks a lot."The hunter took the masks and put them inside hisparka.

"We can go home now," said Jack.

"Do you mind taking us back to the tree house?"said Annie.

The seal hunter shook his head. "Climb on," he said.

Jack and Annie climbed onto the dogsled. "Mush!"said the seal hunter.

"Mush!" said Annie.

"Mush!" said Jack.

Snow began to fall as they took off across the darkice.

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 polar   

adj.两极的，极地的，南辕北辙的，南极的，北极的，极性的；n.极线，极面

参考例句：

• It's very cold in the polar regions.南北极地带是很寒冷的。
• Love and hatred are polar feelings.爱与恨是完全相反的感情。

3 vast   

adj.巨大的，庞大的；大量的，巨额的

参考例句：

• Tom has made a vast improvement in his German.汤姆的德语有了很大的进步。
• China has a vast territory and a large population.中国地域辽阔，人口众多。

4 shrugged   

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》

5 howling   

adj.嚎叫v.嗥叫( howl的现在分词 )；咆哮；吼叫；哀号

参考例句：

• We got stuck in a howling blizzard. 我们被困在怒号的暴风雪中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The baby is howling. 这婴儿在大声地啼哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 breath   

n.呼吸，气息，微风，迹象，精神，一种说话的声音

参考例句：

• I'm just going out for a breath of fresh air.我正要出去呼吸新鲜空气。
• While climbing up the stairs the old man always loses his breath.那老人上楼时总是气喘吁吁的。