《神奇树屋》 第二十四册 Earthquake in the Early Morning 05 Stop! Stop!

　　Jack¹ and Annie ran up the street to the book wagon².

The man was carefully stacking the books in the backof the wagon. He was covered with dust and hisglasses were cracked.

"Hey, what's the story?" Annie asked the man.

Jack couldn't help smiling. Annie sounded just likethe newspaper reporter.

"I'm moving all the rare books to the Pavilion," theman said.

"Can we help?" asked Jack.

"Sure, there are only a few left by the door," saidthe man. "Grab 'em! Hurry! The fires on Market Streetwill soon be blowing this way."Jack and Annie ran into the building. Near the doorwere two small stacks of books.

Jack and Annie each gathered up a stack.

The books looked very old and fancy. Some evenhad sparkling gold on their covers. "Wow," whisperedJack.

He and Annie carried the books outside. "Careful,please!" said the man. "All these books are treasures-ancientBibles and hand-painted books."The man carefully took the books from Jack's andAnnie's arms and put them in the back of the wagon.

"Thanks," he said, pushing his hat back. "Run homenow! The fires will be here soon!"As the horses started up the hill, Annie waved andshouted, "Good luck!""I bet he was the librarian," said Jack.

He opened his research book. He looked for aphotograph of the building that had the books.

"Here it is," he said. He read aloud:

People tried to save special things. But they did notalways succeed.

Rare books from a library were moved to thePavilion building.

When the Pavilion building caught fire, all thebooks burned. The building that originally held themdid not burn at all.

"Oh no!" cried Jack. "Stop! Stop!"Clutching the research book, he ran after thewagon. Annie ran with him.

"Stop! Stop!" they both yelled. They ran as fast asthey could over the broken cobble-stones and up thesteep hill.

Near the top, the driver finally heard them. Hebrought his wagon to a halt.

"You can't go to the Pavilion!" Jack cried.

"You have to take them back to the building wherethey were!" said Annie.

"They won't burn there!" said Jack, trying to catchhis breath. 'The building you're taking them to isgoing to burn instead!"The driver looked at Jack and Annie as if they werecrazy.

"You kids need to worry about yourselves, not thesebooks," he said. "Go home to your parents. I'll takecare of the library."Then the man snapped his reins³ and went on overthe hilltop.

"Come back!" Jack cried.

They watched helplessly as the wagon bumpeddown the street, over the rubble⁴. Smoke billowed upfrom the bottom of the hill.

"I can't believe it," Jack said. He was close to tears.

"We tried, but we couldn't save them," said Annie.

She touched Jack's shoulder gently.

"All those books.. ." His voice trailed off.

"Hey," said Annie. "Someone's crying over there-someone with two kids. Maybe we can help them."

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 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

3 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

4 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。