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儿童英语读物 The Great Detective Race CHAPTER 9 Crossing the Finish Line

时间:2017-12-05 06:15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)

Benny was pointing to the mermaid1 in the fountain. “Alice is holding a mirror!”

Violet caught her breath. “And she’s made out of stone!”

“That’s it!” Benny almost shouted. “The code word is ‘Alice.’”

“You’re a genius!” Jessie said proudly.

“I guess I am kind of smart for my age,” Benny had to admit.

“You’re smart for any age, Benny!” Violet gave her little brother a warm hug.

Henry added, “Now there’s only one thing left to do.”

“What’s that, Henry?” Jessie wondered.

“Cross the finish line!” Henry jerked his head in the direction of the WGFD booth.

The others looked over to where Mike Devlin was sitting behind the microphone. The deejay was snapping his fingers in time to the music.

“Come on!” cried Benny, who was already racing2 for the booth.

But somebody else was headed in that direction, too. It was Amber3 Madison—and she reached the finish line just seconds before the Aldens.

Debra, who was unpacking4 ball caps, looked up. “Oh, you’re back again, Miss Madison?” she said with a frown. “If this is about switching your interview to the daytime …”

“It’s not,” Amber replied, cutting her short. “I’m here about the Great Detective Race.”

“Oh?” Debra seemed surprised to hear this.

“I found the code word!” declared Amber.

The Aldens could hardly believe their ears.

Were they too late to win the race?

Just then, Mike Devlin gestured for Amber to join him. As the author stepped into the WGFD booth, Mike spoke5 into the microphone.

“Well, folks!” he announced. “Somebody just stopped by our booth. Looks like we just might have a winner in the Great Detective Race.” Turning to Amber, he added, “How about telling our listeners a bit about yourself. Do you live here in Greenfield?”

“No, I’m an author from out of town. My name’s Amber Madison,” she said, “and my book—which is on sale now—is called The Art of Good Manners.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Amber,” Mike said in his smooth voice. “So you think you’ve tracked down the code word, do you?”

Benny held his breath. He couldn’t stand the suspense6.

“No doubt about it!” Amber sounded very sure. “The code word is … ‘mermaid!’”

“Yes, you hit the nail right on the—what?” Mike did a double take. “What did you say?”

Amber leaned closer to the microphone. “‘Mermaid,’” she repeated. “Now, about my book—”

“Um, no … I’m afraid that isn’t the code word,” Mike said, shaking his head in confusion.

For a long moment, Amber stared at Mike. Finally she said, “What … what do you mean?” She sounded puzzled. “Of course that’s it!”

Mike held up a hand. “Time for some mellow7 tunes8 from Lark9 Sanders,” he said, speaking into the microphone. As music boomed from the overhead speakers, he quickly hustled10 the author from the booth.

“That was pretty strange, wasn’t it?” Jessie said, keeping her voice low. “Mike seemed to be expecting a different answer.”

Henry nodded.

Amber whirled around to face the deejay. “What’s going on?” she demanded angrily. “I gave you the right code word—and you know it!”

“Please,” Mike told her, “try to calm down.”

“I will not calm down!” Amber was talking loudly now. “Not until you tell me what this is all about!” She folded her arms in front of her.

As shoppers gathered round, Mike ran his fingers nervously11 through his neatly12 combed hair. “This isn’t the time or the place—” he began.

“I won’t be cheated out of a win!” Amber broke in. “I guessed the correct code word. End of story.”

The Aldens looked at each other. They knew this was the moment to speak up.

“Actually,” said Henry, “we think the code word is ‘Alice.’”

Debra began to clap her hands. “Yes, yes, that’s it!” Turning to Mike, she added, “Looks like we have a winner after all.”

As a murmur13 went up from the crowd, Amber glared over at the Aldens. “And who on earth is Alice?” she wanted to know.

“It’s a nickname for the mermaid,” Jessie explained. “Everyone in Greenfield calls her Alice.”

“You were this close, Miss Madison.” Debra pinched her thumb and finger together. “But it was the name of the mermaid we were after.”

“Listen, Debra,” Mike said, “we can’t really expect someone from Boston to know what folks around here call the mermaid. Can we?” He lifted a shoulder in a shrug14. “I say she was close enough. Let’s just declare Amber the winner.”

“We can’t do that, Mike,” Debra said firmly. “It wouldn’t be fair to the Aldens—or to anyone else in the race.”

Before the deejay could answer, Henry spoke up. “How did you know Amber Madison was from Boston?” he wondered.

It was a good question. Amber had said she was from out of town, but nothing else. How could Mike know? Everyone waited for an answer.

The question seemed to catch Mike off guard. “I, um … had a hunch15, that’s all. What’s the big deal?”

Debra looked over at the deejay suspiciously, but she didn’t say anything.

“Maybe Amber mentioned it yesterday,” Jessie hinted.

“What are you driving at?” Mike asked. “I never met this lady before today.”

“Are you sure about that?” Violet questioned. Then she turned to Debra. “I have something you should see.” After shuffling16 through her snapshots, Violet handed Debra the photo taken outside the ice-cream parlor17.

“No wonder you knew Amber was from Boston,” Debra realized. She was staring at the photograph with a frown.

“What are you talking about?” Mike shifted uncomfortably.

“How would you explain this, Mike?” Debra passed the snapshot to him. “It clearly shows that you and Amber Madison have met before.”

Amber inched her way closer to look over Mike’s shoulder. As she got a glimpse of the photograph, her mouth dropped.

“You fixed18 the race, didn’t you, Mike?” Debra said accusingly. “You told Amber that the mermaid was the code word.”

Mike was at a loss for words. He looked over at Amber.

“Are you waiting for me to say something, Mike?” the author asked him in disbelief. “Fixing the race was your idea, not mine.” She threw up her hands. “I should’ve known better than to trust some small-town deejay.”

“Now wait just a minute …” Mike began.

“No, you wait!” Amber snapped. “You told me the mermaid was the code word. How should I know anything about her nickname?” Her dark eyes flashed angrily. “I should have stuck with the Aldens.”

Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. “You were at Potter’s Creek19, weren’t you?” Jessie guessed.

“You were watching us through binoculars,” added Violet.

Debra gave the author a sideways glance. “You were actually spying on these children, Miss Madison?”

Amber didn’t deny it. “I heard them talking at the mall about being good detectives. I asked around and somebody told me they were the Aldens. I was hoping they’d lead me to the code word.”

“But … why?” Debra was shaking her head in disbelief.

“You wanted an interview on Mike Devlin’s show,” Henry said. “Right?”

“Yes,” admitted Amber, surprised that Henry knew that. “Mike was interviewing the winner of the race, so … I signed up.”

“And you left a fake clue!” Benny accused her. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“Fake clue?” Amber looked surprised. “I did get carried away,” she admitted. “I should never have followed you around town. But I had nothing to do with any fake clue.”

The children looked at each other. They had a feeling Amber was telling the truth.

“Well, no harm done, right?” Mike put in, trying to make light of everything. Then he turned to Amber with a shrug. “An interview on our Late Night show isn’t as bad as all that. Is it?”

“You must be kidding!” Amber snorted. “I want nothing more to do with this second-rate station. You won’t be seeing me around here again,” she said, walking away. “Not ever!”

“We’re counting on it,” Debra called after her.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 mermaid pCbxH     
n.美人鱼
参考例句:
  • How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起,那个女孩会有多受欢迎!
  • The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴,因为她等不及了。
2 racing 1ksz3w     
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的
参考例句:
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
3 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。
4 unpacking 4cd1f3e1b7db9c6a932889b5839cdd25     
n.取出货物,拆包[箱]v.从(包裹等)中取出(所装的东西),打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 );拆包;解除…的负担;吐露(心事等)
参考例句:
  • Joe sat on the bed while Martin was unpacking. 马丁打开箱子取东西的时候,乔坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They are unpacking a trunk. 他们正在打开衣箱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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 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。
7 mellow F2iyP     
adj.柔和的;熟透的;v.变柔和;(使)成熟
参考例句:
  • These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节,苹果就熟透了。
  • The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时,色彩变得柔和了。
8 tunes 175b0afea09410c65d28e4b62c406c21     
n.曲调,曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调
参考例句:
  • a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
  • When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时,她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 lark r9Fza     
n.云雀,百灵鸟;n.嬉戏,玩笑;vi.嬉戏
参考例句:
  • He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
  • She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。
10 hustled 463e6eb3bbb1480ba4bfbe23c0484460     
催促(hustle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
  • The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。
11 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地,不安地
参考例句:
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇,努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。
12 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。
13 murmur EjtyD     
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言
参考例句:
  • They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
  • There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
14 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。
15 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。
16 shuffling 03b785186d0322e5a1a31c105fc534ee     
adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
17 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?
18 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。
19 creek 3orzL     
n.小溪,小河,小湾
参考例句:
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
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