《神奇树屋》 第二十二册 Revolutionary War on Wednesday 06 Crossing the Delaware

　　The huge boat rocked in the water. Giant chunks¹ ofice smashed against its sides.

"Thanks a lot, Annie," Jack² whispered. He shiveredin the snowy cold. "We're not supposed to go on theirsecret mission with them.""It's okay," she whispered. "Maybe we can helpGeorge Washington.""Are you nuts?" Jack whispered. 'We should be onour way home now."The boat hit a piece of ice. The boat bounced, thendipped into the river.

Jack clung to the wooden side. He hoped theywouldn't turn over. Nobody could survive in this icywater, he thought. It would be like sinking on theTitanic.

The crew fought hard to keep the boat movingforward. They rowed past chunks of ice into asmoother part of the river11Light from oil lamps shone on the water, makingthe ice chunks behind them glow like huge, glitteringjewels.

Jack looked back. Other boats were following them.

They were filled with soldiers, horses, and cannons³.

"Where exactly are we going?" Annie whispered.

Jack shrugged⁴. He reached into his bag and pulledout their Revolutionary War book. By the dim lanternlight in the boat, he searched through the book. Hefound a painting of General Washington crossing theDelaware River.

He showed the painting to Annie. They each readthe caption⁵ silently:

After George Washington crossed the Delaware, heled his men on a nine-mile march to a British post.

The post was filled with Hessians, German soldiershired by the British to fight for them. The Americanpatriots caught them off guard. The Hessians neverthought the patriots⁶ would attack on a stormyChristmas night. It was a great victory for thepatriots. They captured almost 1,000 Hessians. Hardlyany of Washington's men were lost.

"Yay! We won't have to send the captain's letter!"Annie exclaimed.

"Shh!" said Jack.

But George Washington turned around and lookedback at Jack and Annie.

Oh, no, Jack thought, caught again.

He closed his eyes, as if that would make himinvisible.

"He's coming," said Annie.

Jack looked up.

George Washington was making his way backtoward them.

In the next moment, the commander-in-chiefloomed above them like a giant shadow.

"Children?" he asked in a quiet, angry voice.

"Sorry," Jack squeaked⁷.

"Merry Christmas!" said Annie.

But George Washington did not say "MerryChristmas" back.

1 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

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 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 caption   

n.说明，字幕，标题；v.加上标题，加上说明

参考例句：

• I didn't understand the drawing until I read the caption.直到我看到这幅画的说明才弄懂其意思。
• There is a caption under the picture.图片下边附有说明。

6 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

7 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句