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儿童英语读物 The Seattle Puzzle CHAPTER 10 Surprise!

时间:2017-11-29 06:26来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Henry poured lemonade into four tall glasses. As they gathered around the table in the hotel, Jessie carefully unfolded the sheet of white paper.

“Is it another riddle1?” Violet wanted to know.

Jessie nodded and took a sip2 of lemonade. The ice cubes clinked in her glass. The others inched their chairs closer. They wanted to catch every word.

Jessie cleared her throat, then read aloud:

In the heart of the city

where first it began,

all questions are answered

surrounded by fans.

The children sat in puzzled silence. Jessie was about to say something, but Violet spoke3 first.

“Pioneer Square!” she cried.

Henry gave Violet a confused look. “What about it, Violet?”

“That’s where the city first began, isn’t it?”

“That’s true, Violet,” said Henry. “I suppose Pioneer Square is the heart of the city.”

“But the clues could fit the Seattle Center, too,” Jessie pointed4 out.

But Benny wasn’t convinced. “What about the rest of the riddle?” he said. “The last part doesn’t fit either one of those places.”

Jessie had to agree. “There would be plenty of shoppers and tourists in Pioneer Square and the Seattle Center,” she realized. “But not fans.”

“But there would be fans at a baseball game,” Henry said, after a moment’s thought. “Especially if the Seattle Mariners5 are playing.”

Jessie was bending over the note again. “Now that you mention it,” she said, “this riddle could fit a lot of places.”

Benny let out a sigh. “That means we have a whole lot of places to check out.”

“I guess we got more than we bargained for on this trip,” said Jessie.

Henry nodded. “You can say that again.”

Just then, Grandfather came through the door. “Hi, kids!” he said. “How was your trip to the market?”

“We had a great time!” said Violet.

The children took turns telling their grandfather about their outing. Jessie finished by saying, “Wewere just thinking about getting dinner started, Grandfather.”

“Why don’t we eat out tonight?” Grandfather suggested. “Maybe we can find a nice restaurant within walking distance.”

“The Hungry Heart Diner’s just down the street,” Henry pointed out.

“Sounds perfect,” said Grandfather. “It would be nice to dress up a bit. What do you think?”

Henry raised an eyebrow6. “Just to go to the diner?”

“Sure,” said Grandfather. “Why not look our best?”

“Don’t worry, Grandfather,” Jessie assured him. “We’ll change into our good clothes.”

Soon enough, the children were ready for their dinner out. Violet was wearing her new jeans and a light sweater. Jessie had changed into a denim7 skirt and hooded9 white top. Benny had on his favorite pants with the zippered10 pockets, and Henry was wearing his most grown-up collared shirt.

“I wonder why Grandfather wanted us to get all fancy,” said Benny, patting his neatly11 combed hair. “What’s so special about the Hungry Heart Diner?”

Jessie was smoothing her hood8 in the hall mirror. “I’m not sure, Benny,” she said, shrugging a little.

“The Hungry Heart Diner is special to us,” Violet pointed out. “After all, that’s where the mystery began.”

Jessie suddenly whirled around. A funny look came over her face. Then she clapped her hands.

“That’s it!” she exclaimed.

A frown crossed Benny’s round face. “What’s it?”

“I know the answer to the riddle!”

“We already figured that out, Jessie,” Benny reminded her. “It’s either Pioneer Square or the Seattle Center.”

“Or maybe the ballpark,” added Henry.

Jessie shook her head. “I think we got it wrong,” she said, her voice rising with excitement. “Remember the first part of the riddle?”

“Sure,” said Violet, who had it memorized. “In the heart of the city / where first it began.”

“What if the riddle wasn’t talking about where the city began,” said Jessie. She paused for a moment to let them think about it. “Don’t you see?” she said at last. “Maybe that wasn’t it at all.”

Henry looked puzzled. “I’m not following you, Jessie.”

“What else could it mean?” asked Violet.

“The mystery!” Jessie told them. “The riddle’s telling us to go back to where the mystery first began.”

“Of course!” exclaimed Violet. “The ‘heart’ is the Hungry Heart Diner.”

“There’s only one problem,” said Benny.

“You’re thinking about the fans, right?” Violet asked him. And Benny nodded.

Henry thought about this for a moment. “Maybe they use fans at the diner to keep the place cool.”

“I don’t remember seeing any,” said Benny.

“Me, either,” said Jessie. “But it’s worth checking out.”

“What a fine group!” Grandfather said, coming into the room. “I still have a few calls to make. Why don’t you go to the diner and get us a table. I’ll meet you there shortly.”

“Sure, Grandfather,” said Henry, and the others nodded.

The children soon hurried on their way. But when they stepped inside the diner, Benny’s shoulders slumped12.

“Uh-oh,” he said. “I don’t see any empty tables.”

“We might have to wait a while,” added Violet.

Just then, a young woman with curly red hair came rushing over. The children recognized her immediately. It was Gwen—the waitress who’d taken their orders the other day.

“I’m afraid we’re packed with the dinner crowd right now,” she told them. “But I might be able to squeeze you into the back room.”

The children kept their eyes peeled for any sign of fans as they followed the waitress past the crowded booths and tables.

“After you,” said Gwen, as she opened a door onto a darkened room. “I’ll get the light switch.”

Jessie looked at Henry. Why were the lights off?

As they stepped into the shadowy room, Gwen flicked13 a switch and lights blazed.

“SURPRISE!!”

The four Alden children stood frozen to the spot, their mouths opened wide as Watch came bounding over. The little dog jumped up on them, barking happily. Around a table in the middle of the room, familiar faces were beaming at them.

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny stared in speechless wonder as Mrs. McGregor gave them a cheery wave. On either side of her, Aunt Jane and Uncle Andy were all smiles. Finn Evans and Toby Spinner were giving each other high-fives, while Reena was laughing and clapping her hands.

“Is this a surprise party … for us?” Benny asked. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

“It sure is,” said Grandfather, coming into the room behind them. “A surprise party with all of your biggest fans.”

As the children sat down, it slowly began to sink in. “You were behind this mystery,” Jessie realized. “Weren’t you, Grandfather?”

“It was a team effort, Jessie,” Grandfather told her. “Everything was planned before we even got to Seattle.”

“Your grandfather thought following clues would be an interesting way to see the sights,” put in Mrs. McGregor.

Aunt Jane nodded. “You’ve solved so many mysteries for so many people,” she said, looking at each of the Aldens in turn, “we figured it was time you had a mystery of your very own.”

Violet had a question. “Did everybody come all this way just for the surprise party?”

“Well, I had a business trip planned for the Northwest,” explained Uncle Andy. “Aunt Jane decided14 to join me.”

Mrs. McGregor put in, “And Watch and I tagged along, too.”

“Dogs aren’t allowed in the hotel,” said Reena, “so my father and I have been looking after Watch.”

“No wonder you knew Watch’s name,” Jessie realized.

“And this must be the dinner party you were talking about,” added Violet, who noticed the vase of fresh flowers on the table.

Reena’s eyes were twinkling. “Like I said, Violet, it was a party for some very special friends!”

Something was bothering Benny. “Mrs. McGregor, why did you run away from me?”

“I’m sorry, Benny,” Mrs. McGregor apologized. “I just didn’t want to ruin the surprise. I never expected to see you in Pioneer Square.”

“We thought the underground city was the answer to one of the riddles15,” explained Jessie. “Only, we were on the wrong track.”

Henry turned to Uncle Andy. “And you were on the ferry the other day, weren’t you?” guessed Henry.

Uncle Andy nodded. “I had a meeting on Bainbridge Island,” he admitted. “But I didn’t know you were on the ferry until your grandfather mentioned it later.”

Violet turned to her grandfather. “You spotted16 Uncle Andy when we were getting off the ferry, didn’t you?”

“Right.”

“That’s why you wouldn’t let me take a picture,” Violet concluded.

“Right again,” said Grandfather. “I thought it best to hustle17 you out of there as fast as I could.”

“That was a close call, all right!” Uncle Andy laughed, as the waitress put bowls of salad on the table.

Aunt Jane laughed. “Don’t feel bad, Andy. I almost blew it myself.”

“What do you mean, Jane?” Mrs. McGregor wondered.

Violet had an answer. “Aunt Jane almost knocked me over coming out of the diner.”

“I was on a mission to plant clues,” explained Aunt Jane. “Only, I got a late start that morning so I was in a rush. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“You also left the riddle at the Space Needle, right?” put in Jessie. “We saw you getting off the elevator.”

Aunt Jane nodded. “I was afraid you might see me, so I tried to stay hidden under my umbrella.”

“Unless I miss my guess,” put in Henry, “after you planted the clues, you stopped by the hotel to see grandfather.”

“Why, yes,” said Aunt Jane, surprised that Henry knew this. “I just wanted to touch base about the mystery and—”

“Guess what?” Benny broke in. “You left your umbrella behind.”

“What … ?” Aunt Jane slapped a hand against her cheek. “Are you serious?”

Grandfather chuckled18. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when Violet held it up,” he said, swallowing a bite of his salad. “I had to do some pretty fast talking!”

Everybody laughed, including Aunt Jane.

Henry looked over at the desk clerk. “You played a part in this mystery, too. Didn’t you, Toby?”

Toby nodded. “I hid the clue by the troll.”

“Toby’s my cousin,” Reena added.

“I had a hunch19 you knew more than you were letting on,” said Henry, as he sprinkled pepper onto his salad.

“I felt someone watching us,” said Jessie. “The day we went to see the troll, I mean. It was you, wasn’t it, Toby?”

“You found me out, Jessie,” he said. “The suspense20 was starting to get to me. I had to find out if you were on the right track.”

Benny nodded in understanding. The youngest Alden didn’t like to be kept waiting in suspense either.

Violet spoke up. “We over heard you on the phone, Grandfather, when we got back from Pioneer Square. You said everything depended on finding Rachel.”

Grandfather smiled a little. “Oh, you heard that, did you? That must have been when Reena phoned me.”

“You were talking about the bronze pig at the market, weren’t you?” Violet added.

Grandfather didn’t deny it. “Finn was afraid you’d never figure out his clue about the flying fish. He insisted somebody take you on a tour of the marketplace. I’d planned to take you myself, but something came up. Reena was kind enough to fill in for me.”

“I was worried you’d never find Rachel,” said Finn. “And solving the mystery depended on it.”

The children were looking over at Finn in surprise. “You made up the riddles?” Benny questioned.

“There’s nothing I like better than a mystery,” said Finn. “When your grandfather told me about his plan, I offered to help out.”

“You sure did a good job,” Benny told him, popping a cherry tomato into his mouth.

Jessie added, “I’ll second that!”

As the waitress refilled their water glasses, Henry watched her closely. As if feeling his eyes on her, Gwen looked over.

“Yes, I was in on it, too, Henry,” she confessed, reading his mind.

“Gwen’s a friend of mine from school,” Reena told them. “She wanted to help out.”

Gwen explained, “It was my job to make sure you sat down at the right table.”

Jessie nodded. That explained why she’d asked them to move to the booth.

“We saw you one day, Gwen,” said Violet, “You were walking with Reena.”

“Wow!” Reena shook her head in disbelief, “You kids don’t miss a thing.”

“We’ll, we do miss things sometimes,” Jessie said, with a twinkle in her eye. “When our trip ends, we’re sure going to miss Seattle!”

“And our new friends,” Violet was quick to add.

Finn nodded approvingly. “Well said!” he remarked. Then he turned to Grandfather. “You must be very proud of your family, James.”

At that, Grandfather had to laugh. “Finn, I never know what’s around the next corner.”

“I do,” Benny piped up. “I bet it’s another mystery!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 riddle WCfzw     
n.谜,谜语,粗筛;vt.解谜,给…出谜,筛,检查,鉴定,非难,充满于;vi.出谜
参考例句:
  • The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
  • Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。
2 sip Oxawv     
v.小口地喝,抿,呷;n.一小口的量
参考例句:
  • She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
  • Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。
3 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。
4 pointed Il8zB4     
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 mariners 70cffa70c802d5fc4932d9a87a68c2eb     
海员,水手(mariner的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • Mariners were also able to fix their latitude by using an instrument called astrolabe. 海员们还可使用星盘这种仪器确定纬度。
  • The ancient mariners traversed the sea. 古代的海员漂洋过海。
6 eyebrow vlOxk     
n.眉毛,眉
参考例句:
  • Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
  • With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬,似乎既感到吃惊,又觉有趣。
7 denim o9Lya     
n.斜纹棉布;斜纹棉布裤,牛仔裤
参考例句:
  • She wore pale blue denim shorts and a white denim work shirt.她穿着一条淡蓝色的斜纹粗棉布短裤,一件白粗布工作服上衣。
  • Dennis was dressed in denim jeans.丹尼斯穿了一条牛仔裤。
8 hood ddwzJ     
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 hooded hooded     
adj.戴头巾的;有罩盖的;颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的
参考例句:
  • A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
  • Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘,用华丽的手巾包着头,突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句
10 zippered ed46cf997b13826b9dcc208fa3765aea     
v.拉上拉链( zipper的过去式和过去分词 );用拉链扣上
参考例句:
  • Freeze grapes and put them into a zippered plastic bag. 还可以把葡萄冷冻,然后放在有拉链的塑料袋里。 来自互联网
  • Packaging is a VZB( Vinyl Zippered Bag packaging), with a color insert. 包装:有拉链的塑料袋,放一张彩卡。 来自互联网
11 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
12 slumped b010f9799fb8ebd413389b9083180d8d     
大幅度下降,暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 ); 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]
参考例句:
  • Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
  • The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上,疲惫得睡着了。
13 flicked 7c535fef6da8b8c191b1d1548e9e790a     
(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。
14 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
15 riddles 77f3ceed32609b0d80430e545f553e31     
n.谜(语)( riddle的名词复数 );猜不透的难题,难解之谜
参考例句:
  • Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看,口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
  • But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句
16 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
17 hustle McSzv     
v.推搡;竭力兜售或获取;催促;n.奔忙(碌)
参考例句:
  • It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
  • I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。
18 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
19 hunch CdVzZ     
n.预感,直觉
参考例句:
  • I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉,他并不真正想去。
  • I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。
20 suspense 9rJw3     
n.(对可能发生的事)紧张感,担心,挂虑
参考例句:
  • The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
  • The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。
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