《神奇树屋》 第二十一册 Civil War on Sunday 02 Cruel War

　　Glaring¹ sunlight filled the tree house. "It's really hot here,"said Jack². "Especially in these clothes," said Annie. Their clotheshad magically been changed.

Annie wore a long dress. Jack wore scratchy pants and a long-sleeved shirt. His backpack was now a leather knapsack.

"Where are we?" asked Annie. They looked out the windowtogether. The tree house had landed in a tree at the edge of a field--the same field on the cover of the book.

"It looks so peaceful," said Jack. "Where's the Civil War?""There," whispered Annie with a shiver³. She pointed⁴ to thewoods beyond the field.

Jack saw a soldier riding a horse out of the woods. The horsewas covered with mud. The soldier's blue uniform was torn. Hisarm was bloody⁵.

Another man rode into the field. His blue uniform was in rags,too. His head was bandaged.

"Oh, man," whispered Jack. "Who are they?"He opened the Civil War book and found a painting of somesoldiers in blue. He read toAnnie:

1861--1865The Civil War called the "War Between the States," because itwas fought between the Southern and Northern States of theUnited States. Southerners wore gray uniforms and were calledConfederate soldiers.

Northerners wore blue uniforms and were called Unionsoldiers.

"So they're Union soldiers," said Jack. He pulled out hisnotebook and wrote:

Civil War - 1861 -1865Blue = North = UnionGray = South = ConfederateJack looked at his book again. He read The Civil War was acruel and bloody war. More people died in this war than in all ofAmerica's other wars put together. One out of every five youngmen in the nation died or was wounded.

"That's so sad," said Annie.

Jack wrote in his notebook:

Cruel war"Wow, they keep coming," Annie said.

Jack looked up. More Union soldiers were coming through thefield. These didn't have horses.

They all looked sad and weary⁶. Some of them limped⁷. Some ofthem helped others along. One man stumbled⁸ and fell down.

"I have to help--" said Annie.

"Wait!" said Jack.

She started down the rope ladder.

"You can't help!" said Jack. "A kid can't help..."But Annie kept going.

"Don't forget--we have to find some special writing forMorgan!" Jack called in a loud whisper. "Something to follow!"He packed the Civil War book and his notebook in hisknapsack. Then he started down the ladder.

When he stepped onto the ground, Jack saw Annie in thedistance.

She was holding her hand out to the fallen soldier. She helpedhim to his feet.

The soldier slowly started walking again. Annie walkedbeside him.

"Oh, brother," said Jack. And he hurried to catch up withAnnie.

The sun was scorching⁹ hot as Jack ran through the dry field.

He was sweaty in his scratchy clothes.

He caught up with Annie. Together, they walked silently withthe soldiers.

At the edge of the field was a steep hill. Everyone stopped andgazed at the sight below them--rows and rows of white tents.

"Thank goodness," said the soldier beside Jack. "We're saved."

1 glaring   

a.耀眼的，极度光亮的；显眼的，显著的

参考例句：

• At the examination he made several glaring blunders,and that did for him. 他在考试中出了几个大错，这下就完了。
• The report contained some glaring errors. 报告中有些大错误。

2 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。

3 shiver   

vi.战栗，发抖；n.战栗，发抖

参考例句：

• A sudden gust of cold wind made me shiver.一股突然刮来的冷风吹得我打哆嗦。
• It kept him in a cold shiver all the time.这些话让他不停地打寒噤。

4 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。

5 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

6 weary   

adj.疲劳的，使人疲劳的；vi.厌烦，不耐烦

参考例句：

• He has laid out all his strength and is weary.他使出了全部气力，非常疲倦。
• I am weary of his constant complaints.我对他不断发牢骚感到厌烦。

7 limped   

一瘸一拐地走( limp的过去式和过去分词 )； 困难地航行

参考例句：

• The damaged ship limped back to port. 那艘受损的船困难地驶回港口。
• He limped off the playground. 他一瘸一拐地离开了运动场。

8 stumbled   

v.（不顺畅地）说( stumble的过去式和过去分词 )；跌跌撞撞地走；绊脚；（说话、演奏等）出错

参考例句：

• I stumbled and sprained my ankle. 我摔了一跤，把脚脖子扭了。
• The child stumbled and fell. 孩子绊了一下，摔倒了。

9 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评