《神奇树屋》 第二十五册 Stage Fright On A Summer Night 05 Stage Fright

　　"Why do you need a boy who's a brilliant reader?"Annie asked the man.

"Because I have just lost two fairies!" he said. Hepointed at Jack¹. "You can read both!"And you are nuts, thought Jack. "Well, bye, see youaround," he said. He nudged Annie to move along.

"Wait, wait," she said. She turned to the man.

"What do you mean, my brother can read bothfairies? Read them where?""Two boy actors didn't show up today to playfairies," said the man. "But your brother reads withsuch expression! He can save us all!"Jack stared. Was this guy saying what he thoughthe was saying?

"You mean you want Jack to be in your play?" saidAnnie.

"Indeed!" said the man. "There are three thousandpeople here today, waiting to see the play I havewritten! We cannot disappoint them, can we?""Three thousand?" said Jack.

"Yes!" said the man. "And one of them is the mostimportant person in the world!""No. No way. I can't do that," said Jack. He hadnever liked being onstage. He always got stage fright.

"Wait, wait, Jack," said Annie. She turned to theman. "You need two fairies, right?""Yes," said the man.

"Well.. ." Annie tilted² her head. Her voice went up.

"I can read, too.""Yes! Let Annie do it," said Jack. "She's a greatreader. She can be both fairies!""Ah, but of course Annie cannot go onstage," theman said kindly³.

"Why not?" asked Annie.

The man raised his eyebrows⁴. "Surely you know it'sagainst the law for girls to go on the stage," he said.

"Boys must play all the girls' parts.""But that's not fair!" said Annie.

"Indeed, 'tis not. But we cannot change the lawnow" said the man. He turned to Jack. "So, Jack? Willyou join our players?""No thanks," said Jack. He tried to walk off, butAnnie grabbed his arm.

"Wait, I think I know what Jack wants," she said tothe man. "He will only be in your play if I can be in it,too.""No, that's not what I want, Annie," Jack said underhis breath.

"But, Jack, it would be so much fun," she whispered.

"And there's nothing to be afraid of. You get to readyour part. You don't have to memorize it."Jack could tell that Annie really, really wanted tobe in the play. And it was definitely a way to keepher mind off the bear.

"Uh, okay," he said, sighing. He looked at the man.

"I'll be in your play--if Annie can be in it, too."The man looked at Annie. She smiled eagerly athim.

The man smiled back.

"Why not?" he said. "But Annie will have topretend to be a boy. She can tuck up her hair, andwe'll call her Andy.""Yay, thanks!" said Annie with a grin.

A trumpet⁵ blasted inside the theater.

"Hark, the play begins!" the man said. He took Jackand Annie by the hand.

"My name is Will, by the way," he said. "Comealong, Jack and Andy! Be as swift as shadows!"

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 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

3 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

4 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

5 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。