《神奇树屋》 第三十一册 Summer of the SeaSerpent 10 The Ancient Question

　　"A hhh!" screamed Jack¹ and Annie.

The giant sea serpent arched its long neck into thesky. Its scaly² green skin glistened³ in the late sunlight.

Staring at Jack and Annie, its eyes burned like brightyellow lamps.

Jack and Annie were frozen with terror.

The monster opened its mouth. Inside were hideousfangs and a purple forked tongue. The serpent made aterrible hissing⁴ sound!

Jack and Annie huddled⁵ together on the rock.

Frantic⁶ seal barks came from far away.

"Teddy!" yelled Jack. "Kathleen!""Their magic can't help us now!" cried Annie,"They're stuck in their seal--"Before she could finish, the sea serpent's deep voiceboomed through the cove⁷: "WHO ARE YOU? ANDWHY ARE YOU SSSTEAL-ING THE SSSWORD OFLIGHT?"Jack was too stunned⁸ to answer. But Annie shoutedback at the monster. "We're Jack and Annie! We're ona mission for Merlin!""SSSSSSSSS!"the serpent hissed⁹ angrily. Its purpletongue flicked¹⁰ as it coiled its body around the rockyisland. Then the monster arched its neck and loweredits huge head.

Again, the ancient voice boomed through the cove:

"TO BE WORTHY¹¹ OF THE SSSWORD, YOUMUSSST ANSSSWER THE QUESSS-TION OF THESSSWORD.""What is the question?" shouted Annie.

"SSSSSSSSS!"hissed the serpent. It turned away andcircled the rocks again. Soon its scaly91green body was coiled twice around the little rockyisland.

It's going to crush us! Jack thought with horror.

Maybe they had strength enough to stab the monsterbefore it squashed them. "Pick up the sword!" heshouted at Annie.

Together Jack and Annie lifted the mighty¹² sword.

They gripped its handle and pointed¹³ the gleamingblade at the sea serpent.

"Don't come any closer!" Jack yelled.

The serpent came closer. Its eyes flashed. Its forkedtongue darted¹⁴ in and out. It opened its mouth wide.

"Wait! Stop!" Annie shouted at the sea serpent.

"Give us a chance! Ask us the question!"The serpent closed its mouth. Then it arched itsneck, and its huge head dipped down right in front ofJack and Annie. In a low, deep voice, it said, "WHATISSS THE PURPOSSSE OF THE SSSWORD? THATISSS THE ANCIENT QUESSSTION."

"Okay! The purpose of the sword! Just a minute!"shouted Annie. She turned to Jack. "What is thepurpose of the sword?" she asked.

"To defeat your enemies?" Jack said.

Annie shook her head. "That doesn't sound right.""To force them to give up?" Jack said. "To slaythem?""No, I'm sure that's not right," said Annie.

"SSSSSSSSS!" the serpent hissed at themimpatiently.

"Then what?" said Jack.

"I don't know," said Annie, "but maybe-- maybe it'snot about fighting at all! Look at it!"Jack stared at the gleaming sword. Its silver bladeglowed against the red sunset sky. Staring at thewondrous sword, Jack felt calmer. A strange sense ofjoy and relief came over him.

"ANSSSWER THE QUESSSTION!" the serpentboomed.

Jack's mind became clear. "I think I've got it," hesaid. "Remember the line from Merlin's rhyme?

Answer a question with love, not fear.""Yes!" said Annie. "That's it! It's not about fighting!

It's about not being afraid!""ANSSSWER THE QUESSSTION!" the serpentboomed.

Jack looked up at the serpent's face. As he stareddeep into its yellow eyes, he no longer felt any fear. Itwas the serpent who seemed afraid now.

"The sword should not be used to harm anyone oranything!" Jack shouted.

"That's right!" said Annie. "It should be used forgood only!"The serpent stopped swaying. It flicked its tongue.

"The sword should not make people afraid!" saidJack. "It should help take away their fear! If they'renot afraid, they'll stop fighting!" The serpent was very still.

"The purpose of the sword is not fighting!" Jackshouted. "The purpose of the sword is peace !"

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 scaly   

adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的

参考例句：

• Reptiles possess a scaly,dry skin.爬行类具有覆盖着鳞片的干燥皮肤。
• The iron pipe is scaly with rust.铁管子因为生锈一片片剥落了。

3 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

5 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

6 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

7 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。

8 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

9 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。

10 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

11 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

12 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

13 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。

14 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》