英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十六册 Hour of the Olympics 02 Any Girls Here?

　　Jack¹ opened his eyes. Warm sunshine streamed intothe tree house.

"We sure don't need the flashlight here," he said.

"Look, Morgan gave us clothes like the ones wewore in Pompeii," said Annie.

Jack looked down.

His clothes were similar to the ones he'd worn inthe Roman town of Pompeii: a tunic² and sandals. Healso had a leather bag in place of his backpack again.

Annie looked out the window.

"And we landed in an olive tree-just like Pompeii!"said Annie.

Jack looked out the window. He caught his breath.

"Are we in the wrong place?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Annie. "Look past the trees.

Doesn't it look like a big fair?"Jack looked. Annie was right. Past the olive grovewas a field filled with white tents. Beyond the fieldwere red-brick 'buildings with columns and hugecrowds of people.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

He pulled the research book out of his leather bag.

He found a picture of the scene outside. Below thepicture were these words:

The Olympic Games began in ancient Greece over2,500 years ago. Every four years, more than 40,000people traveled to Olympia, the town where thefestival of athletic⁴ games took place.

"Oh, man," Jack whispered. "We're at the ancientOlympics!""Cool," said Annie.

Jack wrote in his notebook:

Olympia- first Olympics take place"Come on, let's go watch!" Annie said. She starteddown the rope ladder.

Jack threw his notebook and the research book intohis leather bag.

"Don't forget we have to get Morgan's story, too,"he said as he followed Annie.

Annie waited as Jack stepped to ground. Then theywalked through the grove³ to where the tents were.

Jack heard pipe music and smelled food roastingover fires. Groups of men talked excitedly to oneanother.

"That's funny," said Annie. "I don't see girls here.""Oh, sure, there're girls," said Jack.

"Where?" said Annie. "Show me."Jack looked around. But he only saw men and boys.--no women or girls at all.

Then he saw an outdoor theater. A woman wasstanding on the stage. She had yellow hair and apurple tunic.

"There," said Jack, pointing.

"What's she doing?" asked Annie.

A soldier was on the stage with her. He wore a longcape. A helmet with a red crest⁵ hid his face.

The woman and the soldier were waving their armsand talking loudly to each other.

"I think they're doing a play," said Jack. "I'll look."He pulled out the Greek book and found a pictureof the theater.

"Listen," he said. He read aloud:

The Greeks were the first to write plays. ManyEnglish words for the theater come from Greekwords, such as drama, scenery, and chorus. ManyGreek plays are still performed today.

"Hey, Jack," said Annie. "You're wrong."When Jack looked up, he saw the woman hadpulled off her wig⁶. It was a boy dressed up as awoman!

"See, even she's a boy," said Annie. "That's weird⁷.""Hmm," said Jack. He went on reading:

A few actors would play many differ-ent parts inthe same play. Women were not allowed to act, somen played the female roles, too.

woman wanted to be in a play?""That's not fair," said Annie. "What if a womanwanted to be in a play?""Don't worry about it," said Jack. He put the bookaway. "Let's just take a peek⁸ at the Olympics, thenfind our story."He nudged Annie to move along.

Just then he heard a voice.

"Wait!"They turned around. A man with a short whitebeard was walking toward them.

"Hello," said the man. He was looking right atAnnie. "Who are you?""Who are you?" Annie asked boldly.

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 tunic   

n.束腰外衣

参考例句：

• The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。
• Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

3 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

4 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

5 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

6 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

7 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

8 peek   

vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥

参考例句：

• Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
• Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。