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儿童英语读物 The Great Detective Race CHAPTER 8 Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

时间:2017-12-05 06:14来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“I was just wondering,” Violet said at breakfast the next morning, “do you think we should check out the House of Mirrors?”

“That store in the mall?” Henry paused as he cut his pancake with the side of his fork. “Seems a bit far-fetched, don’t you think?”

“It might be worth a shot,” Jessie said. She passed the platter of bacon to Henry. “Don’t you think?”

“I suppose you’re right.” Henry nodded. “The riddle1 did mention a looking glass.”

Benny nodded as he polished off his orange juice. “And that’s a kind of mirror.”

“Right, but … don’t forget the last part of the riddle,” Henry reminded them. “The code word is made out of stone.”

The Aldens left the kitchen spic-and-span, then headed for the mall. After dropping Violet’s film off at the one-hour photo shop, they made their way to the House of Mirrors.

Each mirror was different from the next. Some were tinted2, some were plain. Some were star-shaped, some were half-moons. Some were full-length, some hung from chains. The four children peered long and hard at each and every one. But after trying the magic words on the salesclerk, they finally turned to each other in dismay.

“That didn’t exactly pan out, did it?” Violet said, as they left the store.

“Never mind,” said Henry. “We have to consider every possibility.”

As they walked through the mall, Benny began to recite the riddle aloud in a sing-songy voice. “Through a looking glass/ all will be shown;/ the code word you’re seeking/ is made out of stone.”

“I’m not sure what to make of it,” Jessie said. “Any ideas, Henry?”

But Henry wasn’t listening. He was looking over at a man in a business suit who was sitting on a bench. “Isn’t that Chopper Dan?” he asked.

The others followed their brother’s gaze. A tall man with curly hair was talking to a boy about Henry’s age. The boy had a WGFD baseball cap on backwards—and he didn’t look very happy.

Jessie nodded. “I think you’re right, Henry.” She recognized the curly-haired man from the WGFD posters.

Benny’s eyes widened. “And that’s the boy who signed up for the race,” he realized. “The one on the skateboard.”

Just then, Chopper Dan got to his feet and walked away. When he was gone, the boy slouched down on the bench, his arms folded.

“I wonder what that was about,” said Violet.

Henry shrugged4. “There’s no way of knowing.”

As if feeling their eyes on him, the boy suddenly looked over. When Benny waved, the boy waved back.

“Come on,” said Jessie. “Let’s go over and say hello.”

As the Aldens headed his way, the boy sat up a bit straighten

“Hi!” Henry greeted him with a friendly smile. “You signed up for the race, right?” The boy nodded. “We signed up for it, too. I’m Henry. And these are my sisters, Jessie and Violet. And that’s my brother, Benny.”

“I’m Chris Beamer.” The boy shook hands with Henry. Then he shook hands with everyone else.

“Are you having any luck?” Violet asked him shyly. “With the race, I mean.”

“Not really,” he said with a shrug3. “How about you?”

“Well, it’s not easy,” Jessie replied. “But we’re hanging in.”

Chris heaved a sigh. “Well, at least somebody still has a chance for a helicopter ride.”

There was something in the way Chris said somebody that alerted Jessie. “But you still have a chance, too,” she said. “Right?”

“Not anymore.”

Benny’s face fell. “You mean—somebody won?”

“What?” Chris looked over at Benny. “No, what I meant was, I’m out.”

The Aldens looked at each other in surprise. “You gave up?” Benny asked him.

“Not exactly,” said Chris. “I just found out I’m not allowed to be in the race.”

“Oh, kids are allowed to enter the race,” Jessie argued. “I’m sure of it.”

Chris shook his head. “Not if somebody in the family works at the station,” he pointed5 out. “Somebody like Chopper Dan.”

“Somebody like Chopper Dan?” Benny repeated, not understanding.

“Don’t you get it?” said Chris. “I’m Dan Beamer’s son.”

“Chopper Dan”—Benny paused—“is your father?”

“Yup,” Chris answered with a frown. “I signed up so I could get a ride in the WGFD helicopter. But my dad just told me it was against the rules. For family members to enter the race, I mean.”

“That’s too bad,” Violet said in her soft voice. “But I’m sure your dad will take you for a ride another time.”

“He’s not allowed to take anyone up with him,” Chris informed them. “The only person who can ride with him is the winner of the race.”

“Wow,” said Henry. “That’s a tough break.”

Chris shrugged, then got up and walked away.

“Poor Chris!” said Violet. “I wish we could do something.”

“Me, too,” Henry said. “But I’m afraid we can’t change the radio station’s rules.”

After picking up Violet’s snapshots, the children were on their way out of the mall when they almost bumped into Debra Belmont. The young woman was carrying a large cardboard box.

“Hi, kids!” she said, laughing a little. “I should watch where I’m going.”

“Do you need some help with that?” Henry asked, nodding towards the box.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Debra looked surprised—and pleased. “It isn’t very heavy, but it is rather awkward.”

Henry didn’t mind at all. “Are you on your way to the WGFD booth?” he asked, taking the box from her.

Debra nodded. “We ran out of ball caps,” she explained as they headed back through the mall. “I had to dash over to the station to get some more. It’s a long walk.”

Jessie gave her a questioning look. “You walked all the way across town?”

“Yes, my car’s at the garage,” Debra explained. “It was leaking oil, so I had to get it fixed6.”

The Aldens exchanged glances. That must’ve been the phone conversation they’d overheard. Debra had been talking about fixing her car—not the race! Violet smiled a little. She knew Debra could never do anything dishonest.

After helping7 Debra with the box, the Aldens found an empty bench by the fountain. They sat down to look through Violet’s photos.

There was one of Jessie picking wildflowers that was off-center. And another one of Henry on his bike that was a bit blurry8. But most of the snapshots had turned out great.

“I really like this one,” Violet said.

“Which one is that?” asked Jessie, looking over.

“The one of Benny coming down the waterslide,” replied Violet, passing the photo to her sister.

“How about this one?” Jessie held up the snapshot taken in front of the ice-cream parlor9. “You’re becoming a wonderful photographer, Violet.” She passed the photo to Henry.

“Thanks, Jessie,” Violet said gratefully. “But I still have a lot to learn,” she added modestly.

“That’s funny,” Henry said, almost to himself. He stared at the snapshot.

“What is it?” Jessie asked, looking over at her brother.

“Take a look at the two people across from the ice-cream parlor.” Henry passed the snapshot back to Jessie.

Jessie looked from the photo to Henry and back again. “Is that Mike Devlin?”

“Mike Devlin and Amber10 Madison,” said Violet, who was peering over Jessie’s shoulder.

“I wonder what they’re talking about,” said Jessie.

“Maybe Mike decided11 to interview her after all,” guessed Benny.

“Maybe,” said Jessie. But something didn’t feel right.

“Remember what you said, Jessie?” Violet pointed out, as she tucked the photos back into the envelope. “One mystery at a time.”

Jessie laughed. “You’re right, Violet,” she said. “We have a code word to find.”

As the children got up to leave, Benny fished a penny out of his pocket. He tossed it into the fountain.

“Did you make a wish, Benny?” Henry asked, coming up behind him.

Benny nodded. “I wished we could find—” The youngest Alden suddenly stopped talking.

“What is it, Benny?” Jessie could tell by her little brother’s face that something was up.

Benny pointed. “Look!”


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 tinted tinted     
adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
  • a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法
3 shrug Ry3w5     
v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)
参考例句:
  • With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩,走出了房间。
  • I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。
4 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》
5 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。
6 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。
7 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
8 blurry blurry     
adj.模糊的;污脏的,污斑的
参考例句:
  • My blurry vision makes it hard to drive. 我的视力有点模糊,使得开起车来相当吃力。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The lines are pretty blurry at this point. 界线在这个时候是很模糊的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 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?
10 amber LzazBn     
n.琥珀;琥珀色;adj.琥珀制的
参考例句:
  • Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗?
  • This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。
11 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。
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