英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十六册 Hour of the Olympics 06 mystery man

　　Plato and Jack¹ hurried past the crowds standing² atthe sides of the race track. Everyone was shoutingand cheering.

"I have seats next to the judges," said Plato. Hepointed to a tall stand with rowe of benches.

Plato led Jack through the crowd and up the stepsto their seats.

"Wow, thanks," said Jack.

He had a great view.

The Olympic parade had already started. Musiciansplaying pipes were at the front. Behind them marchedthe Olympic athletes -the best in all of Greece.

Jack sighed as he watched the parade going aroundthe track. Annie would really love this, he thought.

"The athletes in front are the runners," said Plato.

"Foot races are the oldest event of the games."Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

Oldest event is foot race"Behind the runners are the boxers³," said Plato.

"They're wearing special gloves and bronze helmets."Jack wrote:

Boxers wear gloves and helmets"Behind them are the wrestlers," said Plato.

And Jack wrote:

wrestlersWhen Jack looked up again, he saw a soldierstaring up at him from the sidelines.

The soldier was dressed like the actor from theoutdoor theater. He had on a long cape⁴ and a red-crested helmet that covered most of his face.

But something was strange. This soldier was short-really short.

"Here come the discus and javelin⁵ throwers," saidPlato, "and then the men in armor.""What do they do?" asked Jack.

"They race wearing full armor," said Plato. Jacksmiled to himself. He knew Annie would think thatwas funny.

He wrote in his notebook:

Some runners race in armorJack finished writing.

He looked back at the short soldier.

"In a moment, the chariot races will begin," saidPlato. "Winning a chariot race is the greatest honor ofthe games."Jack just nodded. He was still studying the shortsoldier, who seemed to be looking back at him.

Suddenly, a small hand came out from the soldier'scape. The hand gave a little wave.

Jack gasped⁶. It was Annie's hand waving!

The short soldier was Annie.

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 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

5 javelin   

n.标枪，投枪

参考例句：

• She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中，她掷了60米远。
• The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。

6 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》