《神奇树屋》 第十七册 Tonight On The Titanic 01 A New MISSION

       Jack¹ opened his eyes.

It was a stormy night. The rain tapped hard on hiswindow pane².

"Do you hear what the rain is saying?" said a voice.

Jack turned on his lamp.

Annie stood in his doorway³. She wore her rainponcho over her pajamas⁵ and held a flashlight.

"It's saying, Come now!"she said.

"You're nuts, " said Jack. "Listen, just listen," saidAnnie. Jack listened.

The rain did seem to be tapping out Comenow!

Come now!

"Wehaveto go to the tree house," said Annie. "Somethingimportant is about to happen.""Now?" said Jack.

Jack didn't want to leave his warm, cozy⁶ room. Buthe had a feeling Annie was right. Somethingimportant was about to happen.

"You coming?" she said. "Yeah, yeah," he said. Heclimbed out of bed.

"Just put on your rain poncho⁴," said Annie.

Jack threw his rain poncho over his pajamas. Hepulled on his sneakers and grabbed his backpack.

"Don't forget your Master Librarian card, " saidAnnie. "I have mine with me." Jack put the card withthe glowing letters ML on it into his backpack. "I'mready," he said.

Jack and Annie went quietly down the stairs. Thenthey slipped out the door into the chilly⁷, damp night.

The storm had eased up. Rain fell gently as they ranup the street. The wet ground glistened⁸ in the beam ofthe flashlight.

They headed into the Frog Creek⁹ woods. Windblew through the trees, shaking water to the ground.

Jack shivered. He wiped raindrops off his glasses.

2"Brrr," said Annie. "I'm cold." "Me too, " said Jack.

As they kept walking, Annie pointed¹⁰ the flashlightup into the trees.

"There it is, " she said. Her light had found the treehouse.

"Morgan!" Jack called. There was no answer.

"I wonder what's wrong," said Annie. "I was sureshe'd be here.""Let's go up and see," said Jack.

Annie grabbed the rope ladder and started climbing.

Jack followed. Rain dripped from the trees onto hisponcho.

.They climbed into the tree house. Annie shined herlight into each corner. The first three corners wereempty.

then the flashlight beam hit the fourth. Jack andAnnie gasped¹¹ with surprise.

Sitting in the corner was a small dog. He lookedlike a terrier puppy. He had scruffy¹² light brown fur.

He stared sadly at Jack and Annie. "Oh!" whisperedAnnie.

"Where did you come from?" said Jack. Anniepatted the dog's head. He wagged his tail.

"He's so cute, " she said. "He looks like a little teddybear. Hi, Teddy."Teddy was actually a good name for him, Jackthought.

"Where did you come from, Teddy?" he asked.

The little dog whimpered.

"Don't be sad, " said Annie. "Everything's okay.""How did he get up here?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. But I bet Morgan had something todo with it," said Annie.

Jack's gaze fell on a piece of paper lying on thefloor.

"I think you're right," he said.

He picked up the paper. On it was fancy writingthat said:

This little dog is under a spell and needs your help.

To free him you must be given four special things:

gift from a ship lost at sea, gift from the prairieblue, gift from a forest far away, gift from a kangaroo.

Be wise. Be brave. Be careful. MorganP.S. Your Master Librarian cards wont¹³ help on thismission. just be yourselves and all will be well.

"What kind of spell do you think Teddy is under?"said Annie.

"Who knows?" said Jack.

"Poor thing," said Annie. She patted the dog's head.

He licked her hand.

"It looks like we have to take four trips," said Jack.

Teddy trotted¹⁴ over to a book. He pushed it with hisnose.

"Look!" said Annie. "I bet that will take us on thefirst trip."She picked up the book that the little dog hadchosen.

"Good job, Teddy," she said.

The title of the book wasThe Unsinkable Ship.

"Well, at least that's good," said Jack. "The shipwon't sink, even if itislost.""Ready, Teddy?" asked Annie.

"Arf Arf"he answered.

Jack pointed at the cover of the book.

"I wish we could go there," he said. The windstarted to blow.

The tree house started to spin. It spun¹⁵ faster andfaster.

Then everything was still. Absolutely still.

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 pane   

n.窗格玻璃，长方块

参考例句：

• He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
• Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气，在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。

3 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

4 poncho   

n.斗篷，雨衣

参考例句：

• He yawned and curled his body down farther beneath the poncho.他打了个呵欠，把身子再蜷拢点儿，往雨披里缩了缩。
• The poncho is made of nylon.这雨披是用尼龙制造的。

5 pajamas   

n.睡衣裤

参考例句：

• At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
• He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

6 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

7 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

8 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

10 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。

11 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》

12 scruffy   

adj.肮脏的，不洁的

参考例句：

• Despite her scruffy clothes,there was an air of sophistication about her.尽管她衣衫褴褛，但神态老练世故。
• His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.他邋遢的外表并不反映他的性格。

13 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

14 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。

15 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。