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儿童英语读物 The Mystery in San Francisco CHAPTER 10 The Catch of the Day

时间:2017-08-30 02:41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)

When they returned to the docks2, the Aldens met Kate.

“I’ve been looking for you,” she said. “Your aunt phoned. She and your uncle will be late. They don’t expect to get here until dinnertime. I wish I had time to take you sightseeing, but with Charlie and all . . .” Her voice trailed off.

“We’ll find plenty to do,” Jessie assured her.

“How is Charlie?” Henry asked.

Kate shrugged3. “He wanted to be alone,” she said. Her green eyes were sad.

“Alone?” Benny repeated. “But we just saw him with — ”

Jessie gave him a poke4.

“It’s not at all like him,” Kate continued. “I’m going to find him now and try to talk to him. See you later,” she said, and started away.

Kate could not be involved in the trouble. She was too nice, too concerned about other people. The person they had seen in Chinatown, Sausalito, and on Joe Martin’s boat wasn’t Kate. Violet was sure of it.

“She didn’t do it,” Violet murmured.

Benny didn’t like to see Violet upset. To make her feel better, he said, “If Kate did do it, she probably had a really good reason.”

But it didn’t work. “You all think she’s guilty,” Violet said. “And now you think Charlie’s in on it, too.”

“We don’t know for sure,” Jessie said. “We’re just trying to figure it out.”

Henry put an arm around Violet’s shoulders. “We hope Kate and Charlie have nothing to do with all this,” he said. “We hope nobody we know is involved.”

“Yes,” Jessie added. “Joe and Tony — they’re good people, too. It’s hard to believe either of them could be guilty.”

Even Violet had to agree that was true.

“If we knew more about the mysterious man,” Henry said, “we might be able to solve this puzzle.”

They decided5 to look for the man.

“What will we do if we find him?” Benny asked.

“We’ll decide that when the time comes,” Jessie answered.

The time never came. They looked all over the piers6, but they could not find the mysterious man.

Just before sunset, they gathered on the wharf7. Charlie was himself again, friendly and positive. He and Kate were repairing the torn nets.

The Aldens wondered if his good mood might have had something to do with his meeting with the mysterious man earlier in the day.

Tony Gregor was helping8 Kate and Charlie. If he had cut the nets, why would he help repair them? Henry wondered.

“Has anyone seen Joe?” Tony asked.

Charlie shrugged. “Not since he brought in his catch.”

“Perfect timing9, too,” Kate added, “with Vito ready to buy.”

“Here comes Joe,” Benny said.

Joe Martin sauntered toward them, a big smile on his face.

Looking at him, the Aldens thought it was hard to believe that he had anything to do with the trouble on the wharf. He had helped Tony rescue his boat; he had brought the Aldens to shore when they were stranded10; and he had returned to the Chum with fuel. And, even today, when he sold Vito his catch, he had said, “Maybe I could help out until Charlie gets back on his feet.” That didn’t sound like a man who was trying to steal Charlie’s business.

“Hey, there,” Joe said. “This looks like a party.”

“It’s a repair-the-torn-net party,” Charlie said. “Want to help?”

Joe’s smile faded. “Wish I could,” he said, “but I have some work of my own.” He went down the dock1 to his boat and disappeared inside. A few minutes later, he was back. “Charlie, do you have a lantern I could borrow? It’s getting too dark to work without one, and I can’t find mine.”

Benny remembered the lantern in the coil of rope. He said, “But we saw — ”

Henry remembered the lantern, too. “I’ll get you a light,” he interrupted, and dashed away.

“Do you know where my lantern is?” Charlie called after Henry.

“Don’t worry, Charlie,” Benny said. “He’ll find a light.”

Henry was back in a flash, carrying a lantern.

“That’s not my lantern,” Charlie said.

“I think Joe knows who owns it,” Henry said. He held up a piece of broken glass.

“And I think he knows who owns this, too.” He turned the lantern to reveal a hole the shape of the broken glass.

Joe’s smile froze. “I . . . uh . . . ”

“We heard glass breaking out on the dock last night,” Violet said.

Charlie glared11 at Joe. “So you were the one who ripped12 these nets.”

Joe backed away. “No, no. Not me. I didn’t do it.”

“And you siphoned off our fuel and broke the radio,” Kate said.

“No, listen,” Joe pleaded13. “I didn’t do any of those things. I did break my lantern. I came back here last night to check on my boat. I tripped over something and the lantern fell.”

Jessie said, “But you said you couldn’t find your lantern.”

Joe seemed to be searching for a reply. Finally he said, “I . . . uh . . . I was embarrassed. What kind of fisherman breaks his lantern?”

“A greedy fisherman.” The words came from behind them.

The Aldens whirled14 around.

The voice belonged to Kate!

That couldn’t be. Kate was beside them. Yet the faces were the same; the red hair was the same. But this woman wore a yellow slicker.

“Two Kates!” Benny exclaimed.

Kate was no less surprised. “Kim!” she cried. “What are you doing here?”

The other woman said, “Before I tell you that, let me introduce Sam Goodall.” She gestured toward the man beside her.

The mysterious man!

“He’s an investigator15,” Kim continued.

Sam Goodall stepped forward. “Some of the fishermen hired me to find out who was causing the trouble on the wharf,” he explained. “I suspected you, Joe, from the beginning, but I could never find the proof.” He turned to the Aldens. “The lantern is just what I needed to close this case, and I have you kids to thank for that.”

Joe Martin raised his arms into the air. “All right,” he said. “I did it. I didn’t mean to ruin anyone’s business. I just wanted to show that I could be as good as the other fishermen. But how could I compete with men like Charlie and Tony?”

“It takes years of practice,” Kate told him. “You’ve only just started.”

Sam Goodall glanced at Charlie and Tony. “What do you want to do about this?”

“Joe should pay for what he’s done,” Tony said.

Charlie thought about that. “Joe has the makings of a good fisherman,” he said. “But he has to learn to have patience. If he works for us for a while, we can teach him. And he’ll be making up for our losses at the same time. What do you think, Tony?”

“Great idea, Charlie,” Tony answered. “I think the other fishermen will agree.”

Then Sam took Joe aside to ask him a few more questions.

Now only one mystery remained: Who was the young woman in the yellow slicker?

Kate answered that question. “This is my twin sister, Kim,” she said. “She’s studying to be a private investigator.”

“I’m very happy to meet you, Kim,” Violet said, and then she looked at her brothers and sister. Her expression said, I told you so.

“She’ll have to tell you what she’s doing here,” Kate continued, “because I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“Sam asked me to help out,” Kim explained. “I took a job delivering fish for Joe. That way I could keep an eye on him.”

“But why didn’t you tell me?” Kate asked.

“I asked her not to,” Sam answered. “The fewer people who knew, the better.”

“Believe me, Kate,” Kim said, “it wasn’t easy. I wanted to tell you. Talk about patience!”

“But Joe must’ve known you were Kate’s twin,” Charlie said. “And he never mentioned it.”

“I asked him not to,” Kim explained. “I told him Kate and I were having some problems and she’d be upset if she knew I was working down here.”

“Were you delivering fish in Chinatown? “ Henry asked.

Kim nodded. “Joe has been supplying one of the restaurants there.”

“What about Sausalito?” Violet asked.

Kim looked surprised. “You saw me in Sausalito?”

“Yes,” Benny answered. “But we thought you were Kate.”

“I didn’t think so,” Violet said.

Kim nodded. “I was delivering fish there, too.”

“We saw you there, too,” Benny told Sam.

“I decided to go along,” Sam said. “It gave us the chance to exchange information. We couldn’t risk being seen together. We figured no one would see us there.”

“But you were wrong,” Benny piped up.

Sam laughed. “We didn’t know you were such good detectives.”

“We’ve had lots of practice,” Benny said. Vito Marino came running toward them. “I just heard about Joe. Is it true?”

Charlie explained what had happened. Vito was upset. “What are we going to do about this?” he asked.

“We’re going to teach Joe the importance of honesty,” Tony said.

Shortly thereafter16, Aunt Jane and Uncle Andy arrived.

“Is everyone ready for dinner?” Aunt Jane asked.

“We sure are,” Benny answered.

Vito said, “Come to my place. Dinner’s on me.” He turned to Joe. “You’re not charging me for those fish you brought in this morning, are you, Joe?”

Joe shook his head. “No. They’re my gift to you,” he mumbled17. “It’s the least I can do.”

Kate introduced the Beans to her sister, Kim, and to Sam Goodall. Then everyone — except Joe, who stayed behind to repair the nets — headed for Vito’s Vittles. On the way there, the Aldens excitedly discussed the events of the day.

In the distance, the sky was a brilliant red. The lights on the Golden Gate Bridge looked like bright beads18 strung across the bay. This was truly a beautiful city. And there was so much of it left to see.

“So, Vito, what’s the catch of the day?” Uncle Andy asked.

The Aldens smiled at one another. They had just helped uncover a troublemaker19. That was the real catch of the day.

Laughing, Jessie said, “It was a big one, Uncle Andy. A really big one!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dock GsQx9     
n.码头;被告席;vt.使(船)进港;扣;vi.进港
参考例句:
  • We took the children to the dock to see the ships.我们带孩子们到码头去看轮船。
  • The corrupt official stood in the dock.那贪官站在被告席上。
2 docks mulz0c     
n.港区
参考例句:
  • He was born in squalor next to London's docks. 他出生在伦敦码头附近肮脏的地区。
  • The enemy raided the docks. 敌人突然袭击了码头。
3 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》
4 poke 5SFz9     
n.刺,戳,袋;vt.拨开,刺,戳;vi.戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢
参考例句:
  • We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
  • Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。
5 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。
6 piers 97df53049c0dee20e54484371e5e225c     
n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 );(常设有娱乐场所的)突堤;柱子;墙墩
参考例句:
  • Most road bridges have piers rising out of the vally. 很多公路桥的桥墩是从河谷里建造起来的。 来自辞典例句
  • At these piers coasters and landing-craft would be able to discharge at all states of tide. 沿岸航行的海船和登陆艇,不论潮汐如何涨落,都能在这种码头上卸载。 来自辞典例句
7 wharf RMGzd     
n.码头,停泊处
参考例句:
  • We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
  • We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。
8 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。
9 timing rgUzGC     
n.时间安排,时间选择
参考例句:
  • The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
  • The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。
10 stranded thfz18     
a.搁浅的,进退两难的
参考例句:
  • He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里, 身无分文,一筹莫展。
  • I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市,既没有钱,又没有朋友。
11 glared bb8b114d908b9d05c55d49d1b1cb9b35     
怒目而视( glare的过去式和过去分词 ); 发强光
参考例句:
  • Two fierce eyes glared at them. 一双凶狠的眼睛对着他们怒目而视。
  • He didn't shout, he just glared at me silently. 他没有喊叫,只是默默地怒视着我。
12 ripped ripped     
adj. <美俚>喝醉的,受毒品麻醉的 动词rip的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He had ripped up the carpet, leaving only the bare boards. 他用力扯去了地毯,只剩下裸露的地板。
  • I ripped my jeans on the fence. 我的牛仔裤在栅栏上划破了。
13 pleaded 1180b0c3eadb43bd3420016b36aaf0a9     
恳求,请求( plead的过去式和过去分词 ); 提出…为借口[理由]; (向法庭)陈述案情; (在法庭)申辩,认罪,辩护
参考例句:
  • She pleaded with him not to go. 她恳求他不要离开。
  • She wept and pleaded until he agreed to do as she wished. 她哭着恳求他,一直到他答应按她的愿望去做。
14 whirled 7034552cb33a8cbc30fc9e5358ba22b2     
v.(使)飞快移动,使旋转( whirl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Leaves whirled in the wind. 落叶在风中旋转。
  • A tornado whirled into the town last week. 龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 investigator zRQzo     
n.研究者,调查者,审查者
参考例句:
  • He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
  • The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。
16 thereafter dotwv     
adv.此后,以后
参考例句:
  • Thereafter they did not speak.此后他们就不再讲话了。
  • On the opening day all tickets are a dollar, thereafter,they'll be two dollars.开张那天票价一元,以后两元。
17 mumbled 3855fd60b1f055fa928ebec8bcf3f539     
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话,可我没太听清楚。
  • George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。
18 beads 894701f6859a9d5c3c045fd6f355dbf5     
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链
参考例句:
  • a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
  • Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。
19 troublemaker xflzsY     
n.惹是生非者,闹事者,捣乱者
参考例句:
  • I would hate you to think me a troublemaker.我不愿你认为我是个搬弄是非的人。
  • Li Yang has always been a troublemaker.李阳总是制造麻烦。
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