英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十四册 Day of the Dragon King 6 The Dragon King

　　The oxcart bumped across the wooden bridge thatcrossed over a moat. Then it passed guards standingby giant wooden gates.

"Are the gates ever closed?" Jack¹ asked.

"Oh, yes, every day at sunset," said the scholar.

"When the gong sounds, the gates close. The bridgecomes up. And the city is sealed shut for the night.""I guess visitors have to leave before that happens,"Annie said. "Or they'll be stuck here for the wholenight. Right?""Yes ," said the scholar.

The cart bumped between the city gates. Rows ofsmall houses were bunched together on either side ofthe street. They were made of mud with straw roofs.

People cooked over outdoor fires. They washed theirclothes in wooden tubs.

As the oxcart bumped along, the houses got larger.

These were made of painted wood and pottery² tiles.

They all had curved roofs.

"Why are those roofs like that?" asked Jack.

"To keep away the bad spirits," said the scholar.

"How do they do that?" said Annie.

"The spirits can only travel in straight lines," saidthe scholar.

"Wow," whispered Annie.

The cart went by some open tea shops. Then itpassed a large market square filled with stalls andshoppers. People were buying and selling fish,chickens, firewood, wagon³ wheels, silk cloth, furs,and jade⁴ jewelry⁵.

Some people were lined up at a stall filled with tinycages.

"What's for sale there?" said Annie.

"Crickets," the scholar said. "They make good pets.

You can feed them tea leaves and enjoy their delicatesong."The cart moved on toward the Dragon King'swalled palace. They stopped in front of the palacegates.

"Grain delivery!" the scholar shouted up to theguard at the tower.

The guard waved them through. Inside werebeautiful gardens and huge mounds⁶ of earthsurrounded by a low brick wall.

"That is the Imperial Burial Grounds," said thescholar, pointing at the mounds.

"Who is buried there?" asked Jack. "The ancestors ofthe Dragon King," said the scholar.

"What are ancestors?" Annie asked.

"They are the people in your family who livedbefore you," said the scholar. "Someday the DragonKing himself will be buried there. Three hundredthousand workers have been building his burialtomb.""Oh, man," said Jack.

He looked over his shoulder at the burial grounds.

He wondered why it took so many workers to build atomb.

"No!" said the scholar.

Jack whirled around.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

The scholar pointed⁷ at the palace court-yard. Adark cloud of smoke was rising into the sky.

"Fire!" said the scholar.

"The books!" said Jack.

"Hurry!" said Annie.

The scholar snapped the reins⁸. The oxen trotted⁹ upthe stone path. When the cart rolled into thecourtyard, soldiers were everywhere.

Some threw wood on a huge bonfire. Others werecarrying bamboo strips down the steep stairs that ledfrom the palace.

"Are those books?" asked Jack.

"Yes. The strips are tied together into differentbundles," moaned the scholar. "Each bundle is abook.""Look!" said Annie, pointing to the palace entrance.

Stepping outside was a man in a rich, flowing robeand a tall hat. Jack knew him at once--the DragonKing!

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 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

3 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

4 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 mounds   

土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆

参考例句：

• We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
• Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊，这就是同墓，”——我想他要说的一定是公墓，“看到那些土墩了吗？

7 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。

8 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

9 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。