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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Orphan Train CHAPTER 7 The Little Dog’s Ear

时间:2017-11-21 03:11来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The Aldens got up early the next morning. They wanted to surprise Kate with a special breakfast. While they worked, they talked about Thane’s rhyme.

“Maybe it really was just a parlor1 game," Jessie was saying as she sliced a cantalope into wedges.

Henry, who was keeping an eye on the sizzling sausages, looked over. “Or maybe Thane left Wiggin Place before he had a chance to hide any clues.”

“Anything’s possible,” admitted Violet, scrambling2 eggs in a large bowl. “Still, it wouldn’t hurt to take another look at Sally’s book.”

“It’s worth a shot,” declared Benny. He didn’t like to give up. As he placed a dish of strawberry jam on the table, he added, “We will solve the mystery, won’t we?”

“Sure we will,” said Henry. Then he added honestly, “At least, we’ll do our best.”

“Well, what’s all this?” Kate asked, her eyes wide as she walked into the kitchen. Lindsay was close behind.

“We made breakfast,” Jessie said with a smile. “You’re just in time.”

“Everything smells wonderful!” said Kate, pulling up a chair.

“It sure does.” Lindsay slipped into the empty seat beside Kate. “I feel like one of the guests.”

Over breakfast, the children noticed that Kate seemed unusually quiet. Violet couldn’t help asking if anything was wrong.

Kate smiled, but it wasn’t much of a smile. “Nothing for you to worry about, Violet. Everything will work out.”

The Aldens looked at one another with concern. Why wasn’t Kate her usual cheery self?

“If there’s a problem, maybe we can help,” offered Henry. He passed the platter of sausages to Benny.

Kate let out a sigh. “Well, this is going to sound a little odd, but—”

“The bluebird necklace has disappeared,” Lindsay blurted3 out.

“What …?” Benny almost choked on his toast.

Jessie stared over at Kate in surprise. “You can’t mean … the necklace that belonged to your grandmother?”

Nodding, Kate said, “I left it out on my dresser. At least, that’s where I thought I’d left it. You see, the clasp was a bit loose, and I was going to take it into town to have it fixed4.” A frown crossed her kind face. “It’s the strangest thing. When I got up this morning, it was gone,” she went on. “The necklace has vanished.”

“I can’t believe it!” said Violet.

Henry was baffled. “But it couldn’t just … vanish.”

“Apparently it did, Henry,” put in Lindsay.

“I don’t understand it,” said Jessie. “What could’ve happened?”

Benny spoke5 up. “I know what happened.”

All eyes turned to the youngest Alden. “What, Benny?” Kate asked.

“Somebody stole it!”

Kate held up a hand. “Now, now, Benny,” she cautioned him. “No need to think that. I refuse to believe anyone in this house would steal my grandmother’s necklace. I’ve simply misplaced it, that’s all. We mustn’t jump to any conclusions.”

Jessie agreed. “I guess we shouldn’t suspect people until we’re certain it was actually stolen.”

Lindsay reached out and placed a hand gently on Kate’s arm. “After I run a few errands in town, I’ll help you look for it. We’ll turn this place inside out if we have to!”

“We’ll help, too,” Jessie volunteered, and the others nodded.

Kate brushed some crumbs6 from the front of her dress. “I appreciate the offers,” she told them. “But I’ll give my bedroom a thorough going-over. I’m sure that’ll do the trick. The necklace must be in my room somewhere.”

After breakfast, the children discussed the strange disappearance7 while they cleaned the kitchen. “That necklace means so much to Kate,” said Violet, handing Jessie the sausage platter to wash. “I sure hope she finds it.”

“She won’t,” said Benny.

Jessie looked at her little brother. “Why do you say that, Benny?”

“Because Vanessa stole it.”

“Benny!” Jessie exclaimed. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“But I’m pretty sure she did, Jessie,” Benny said, carefully drying his cracked pink cup. “Vanessa wants everything she sees, remember? Even that painting of the Emerald Isle8.”

Violet carried the empty glasses over to the sink. “I know Vanessa seems a bit spoiled, Benny,” she said, “but that doesn’t make her a thief.”

“It is weird9, though, about the necklace suddenly disappearing,” said Henry.

Jessie turned to face her older brother. “Even if it was stolen, Henry, Vanessa isn’t the only suspect.”

Henry looked at her, puzzled. So did Violet and Benny.

“I think we should include the professor on our list.”

Violet gave her sister a questioning glance. “The professor?”

Nodding, Jessie told them how she’d caught the professor staring up at the photograph above the fireplace. “He had the strangest smile on his face—as if he knew something no one else did.” She paused for a moment. “Vanessa might not be the only one interested in the bluebird necklace.”

The others thought about this for a moment. Sally was wearing the necklace in that photograph over the fireplace. Was it the family heirloom that held the professor’s attention? Nobody knew. But they had to admit it was possible. Hadn’t the professor tried to convince Kate to sell her family heirloom? Didn’t he say she’d be better off with a little money tucked away for her old age?

“There’s somebody else we should consider,” Henry told them.

“Who’s that?” Benny wanted to know.

“Lindsay” Henry said.

“Oh, Henry!” cried Jessie. “I don’t think Lindsay has the heart to be a thief.”

“We have to consider everybody,” insisted Henry. “And remember what she said on the phone?”

Jessie nodded. “She said, ‘I just don’t think I can pull it off.’”

“And that’s not all,” Benny recalled. “She was talking about something old and blue.” He looked around at the others. “Kate’s necklace is old and blue!”

“That does sound suspicious,” admitted Jessie.

“But why would she want to hurt Kate like that, Henry?” Violet couldn’t believe Lindsay would do something so awful.

“I’m not sure, Violet,” Henry said. “But maybe we should keep an eye on all of them for a while—Vanessa, Lindsay, and the professor.”

After finishing the dishes, the Aldens headed for the reading room. Sitting cross-legged on the rug, they searched carefully through Sally’s book for clues. But once again they were disappointed.

Benny drew his eyebrows10 together in a frown. “It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The clue should be here.”

“But … where?” asked Violet.

Henry shrugged11. “That’s a good question.”

Just then, Kate walked into the room. “Oh, I didn’t know you were in here,” she said, looking surprised when she saw the Aldens. “I’m trying to tidy up a bit while I’m searching,” she told them, glancing down at her armful of old novels. “My night table was buried under books.”

“You sure have a lot,” Benny remarked, as Kate added to the stack of books on the coffee table. “Almost as many as the Greenfield Public Library.”

Kate laughed at this. “Well, most of my books are old and dog-eared, Benny. But I still treasure them.”

As Kate turned to go, Violet said, “No luck yet?”

Kate shook her head. “No, but it’ll turn up by the end of the day,” she said, trying to sound upbeat. “Just wait and see, Violet.” Then she closed the door behind her.

The Aldens soon turned their attention back to Sally’s book. They were more determined12 than ever to solve the mystery for Kate.

“There must be something we’re not seeing,” Jessie said. “Don’t you think, Henry?”

Henry didn’t answer. As he looked down at Sally’s book, an idea began to form in his mind. Then he suddenly slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Of course!” he exclaimed, laughing a little.

“Don’t keep us in the dark, Henry,” Benny said. “What’s up?”

“Remember what Kate said about her books?” Henry sounded excited.

The others stared at their older brother. They looked totally confused.

Seeing their puzzled faces, Henry explained, “She said they were old and—”

Jessie’s eyes widened as she caught Henry’s drift. She finished her brother’s sentence for him. “Dog-eared!”

“Oh, I can’t believe we didn’t think of that!” Violet clapped her hands.

“Dog-eared?” Benny repeated, not understanding.

“They say a book’s dog-eared, Benny,” Jessie was quick to explain, “when some of the pages have been turned down at the corners. You know, from people marking their spot.”

“Oh, I get it!” Benny said in sudden understanding. “The turned-down part looks like a dog’s ear, right?”

“Right,” said Henry.

“No wonder we weren’t getting anywhere,” Jessie realized, flipping13 to the end of the book. “Thane must’ve hidden the clue under a corner of the page.”

They all held their breath, as Jessie lifted the flap. Sure enough, a message had been scribbled14 under the little dog’s ear.

The Aldens let out a cheer. Figuring out clues was always fun.

“What does it say, Jessie?” Benny gave his sister a nudge.

With a puzzled frown, Jessie read the message out loud:

Blue and yellow,

yellow and blue,

two make one,

a gem15 of a clue!

“What do you think it means?” wondered Violet.

Jessie shrugged. So did Henry.

“It’s a mystery,” Benny said with a grin. “I love mysteries!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 parlor v4MzU     
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅
参考例句:
  • She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
  • Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店?
2 scrambling cfea7454c3a8813b07de2178a1025138     
v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发,冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止,她已脱口而出。
  • He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相,说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
5 spoke XryyC     
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 crumbs crumbs     
int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式
参考例句:
  • She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
  • Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊,天哪!都这会儿啦?
7 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
8 isle fatze     
n.小岛,岛
参考例句:
  • He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
  • The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。
9 weird bghw8     
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。
10 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
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。
11 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
13 flipping b69cb8e0c44ab7550c47eaf7c01557e4     
讨厌之极的
参考例句:
  • I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆!
  • Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。
14 scribbled de374a2e21876e209006cd3e9a90c01b     
v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
  • He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前,他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。
15 gem Ug8xy     
n.宝石,珠宝;受爱戴的人 [同]jewel
参考例句:
  • The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
  • The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。
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