《神奇树屋》 第二十三册 Twister on Tuesday 07 Twister!

　　The black clouds had taken on an odd greenishcolor. They all seemed to be going in differentdirections.

"Do you think it's a grasshopper¹ attack?" Annieasked nervously².

"No, I think it's some more weird³ weather, like thathailstorm," said Jack⁴. "Let's go before it gets worse."As they started back to the tree house, the windpicked up.

Jack and Annie looked over their shoulders. Thegreenish clouds had dipped down close to the prairie.

"I feel like something awful is about to happen,"said Annie.

"Hurry!" said Jack. "Run!"He and Annie started running through the grass.

When they got to the ladder of the tree house, theylooked back.

In the distance, twisting had dropped out of thestorm swirled⁵ into a funnel⁶ shape.

The dark funnel started twisting across the prairie.

Jack's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

"It's a twister!" he said.

"Oh no!" cried Annie.

The twister was whirling and tearing across thegrass.

"Let's get out of here!" said Jack. He grabbed therope ladder and started up.

"Wait!" said Annie. "We have to help Miss Neelyand the other kids!""They have a storm cellar!" Jack said. "That's whatour book said!""Yeah, but it's only their first day in the dugout!

They might not know about it!" said Annie. "Therewas a rug on the floor!"Annie is right, Jack thought.

He looked up at the tree house. All they had to dowas climb up and leave, and they'd be safe.

But what about Miss Neely? What about Will andKate and Jeb?

"Okay!" said Jack. He jumped down from theladder. "Let's go back!"He and Annie started running back toward theschoolhouse.

They ran as fast as they could across the prairie.

The roaring sound of the twister followed them.

Suddenly, the wind threw them to the ground!

Jack clutched the tall grass, trying to stand. Whenhe got up, he grabbed Annie's hand. He pulled her up,too.

With all his might, Jack held on to Annie andpulled her along.

The roaring twister came closer and closer.

The wind ripped up grass and earth around them.

The roar grew deafening⁷.

Jack and Annie could barely stay on their feet.

Finally, they reached the dugout.

They tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge⁸.

They banged on the door with their fists. "Let usin!" Annie shouted.

No one opened the door. "They can't hear us!"yelled Jack.

But the sound of the twister drowned out his voice.

1 grasshopper   

n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱

参考例句：

• He thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper.他以为把那个小蚱蜢干掉了。
• The grasshopper could not find anything to eat.蚱蜢找不到任何吃的东西。

2 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

3 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。

4 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。

5 swirled   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。
• The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。

6 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

7 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

8 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。