《神奇树屋》 第三十一册 Summer of the SeaSerpent 07 Cove of the stormy Coast

　　"S eals?" asked Annie.

Jack¹ looked at Teddy. "Did she say 'change intoseals'?" he asked.

"Indeed!" said Teddy. "That's what selkies do. Theyare people on land and seals in the sea.""You're a seal?" Jack asked Kathleen.

"Sometimes," said the selkie, smiling.

Jack just stared at her. He couldn't believe thebeautiful girl was sometimes a seal.

"Whenever I come ashore² and dry off in the65sun, my seal skin falls away," said Kathleen. "ThenI am as human as--well, as I am right now.""Oh, I get it!" said Annie. "You were one of the sealswe met in the water!""Of course," said Kathleen, "and Teddy was theother."Jack looked at Teddy. "Y-you?" he stammered³.

"How... ?"Teddy grinned. "I am a magician, remember?" hesaid.

Kathleen laughed. "Yes, but this time, 'twas mymagic that did the work," she said. She pointed⁴ to twoshiny gray skins lying on the sand. "I gave him a sealskin and spoke⁵ a selkie spell.""You turned Teddy into a seal?" asked Jack.

"Aye," said Kathleen, "and I shall do the same foryou. I am sure my sisters will not mind if we borrowtwo more of their skins." The selkie started toward alarge pile of rocks.

66Teddy watched Kathleen go, then looked back atJack and Annie. "She has powerful magic indeed," hesaid.

"No kidding," said Annie.

Jack was speechless. He couldn't believe he andAnnie were about to become seals.

Kathleen came out from behind the rocks carryingtwo shiny skins. "Take these," she said, handing themto Jack and Annie. The skins looked like scuba⁶ divers⁷'

wet suits with hoods⁹.

"Pull them on over your clothes," said Kathleen.

"Like this." She and Teddy picked up their own sealskins from the sand and began pulling them on. Jackand Annie did the same.

Jack stretched the skin up over his legs and shorts,then over his arms and T-shirt. He felt as if he werewearing a thick layer of rubber.

"Before we cover our heads and faces, we mustwade into the water," said Kathleen. "Follow me."Jack waded¹¹ clumsily into the water with the67others. This is crazy,he thought. You can't becomea seal just by putting on a seal costume.

Kathleen stopped them when they were waist deep.

"Slip on your hoods," she said. "I will say a few wordsin selkie language. Then we shall all dive in."Teddy grinned at Jack and Annie. "We have flowntogether through the sky," he said. "Now we shallswim together in the deep, eh?"Jack nodded, but he still didn't believe this couldpossibly work.

"Quickly!" said Kathleen. "Cover your heads andfaces! Dive as soon as I've spoken the spell!"Jack pulled on his hood⁸. He stretched it down overhis forehead, then over his face--his glasses, nose, andchin. He couldn't see or talk. He wanted to rip thehood off, but Kathleen's voice stopped him:

An-ca-da-tro-a-day-mee!

Ba-mi-hu-no-nay-hah-nee!

68Jack heard one splash--then two more. He quicklydove into the sea.

As soon as the seawater covered his head and body,Jack felt the seal skin melt into his69own. His chest expanded to the size of a barrel! Hisarms and legs vanished and flippers took their place!

Jack shot through the water like a torpedo¹².

70When he moved his front flippers, he turned rightor left. When he moved his back flippers, he zoomedforward.

Jack rolled and swerved¹³ in and out of schools offish and jungles of sea grass. He dove down to themurky depths of the cove¹⁰. Then he shot back up tothe surface. In his smooth seal body, he could swimten times faster than he ever had in his human body!

And he could see and hear perfectly¹⁴!

Jack rose and fell and rose and fell through thedeep. Two seals appeared beside him. Bubbles camefrom their mouths. They made gurgling, clickingsounds. Jack could understand exactly what their sealsounds meant.

Hey, Jack! It's me!

'Tis me, too!

Hi, guys!Jack called to Annie and Teddy. He heardtrilling sounds on his other side. He saw a third seal.

It was Kathleen, swimming gracefully¹⁵ toward him.

Hello, Jack!

Hello, Kathleen!Jack clicked back to her.

He wanted to tell the selkie how much fun he washaving. But when he opened his mouth, a school oftiny fish swam down his throat. Before he knew it,Jack had swallowed all the fish whole! But he didn'tmind. He laughed a seal laugh full of bubbles.

Onward¹⁶, Kathleen! clicked Teddy. Lead the to theJellyfish Cave!

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 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

3 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

7 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

8 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

9 hoods   

n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩

参考例句：

• Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen. 迈克尔瞅了瞅坐在厨房里的四条汉子。 来自教父部分
• Eskimos wear hoods to keep their heads warm. 爱斯基摩人戴兜帽使头暖和。 来自辞典例句

10 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

11 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

12 torpedo   

n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏

参考例句：

• His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
• Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。

13 swerved   

v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She swerved sharply to avoid a cyclist. 她猛地急转弯，以躲开一个骑自行车的人。
• The driver has swerved on a sudden to avoid a file of geese. 为了躲避一队鹅，司机突然来个急转弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

15 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

16 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。