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儿童英语读物 The Cereal Box Mystery CHAPTER 3 Watch Hears a Burglar

时间:2017-09-11 06:21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)

Watch pricked1 up his ears. He raised his head from his paws and growled3 softly.

“What is it, Watch?” Benny whispered, sitting up.

Watch had been sleeping at the foot of Benny’s bed. It was very late. Benny could tell because the house was so quiet and dark. The only light was the night-light in Benny’s bedroom.

“Grrr,” growled Watch again. He hopped4 off the bed and ran to Benny’s bedroom door. He scratched at it.

Benny got out of bed, too. Had Watch heard something?

“Shhh,” he whispered to Watch.

Watch pressed his nose against the crack beneath the door and sniffed5.

Benny reached down and gripped Watch’s new red collar. Slowly, quietly, he pushed the door open. Very, very carefully, he walked down the hall to Henry’s room next door. He pushed Henry’s door open and crept inside.

“Henry,” he whispered. “Henry, wake up. I think there is a burglar in our house.”

Watch growled again, more loudly He pulled against his collar.

Henry sat up. “What?” he said sleepily. Then, realizing what Benny had said, he gasped6, “A burglar?”

At that moment they heard a loud crash from downstairs. Watch barked and pulled free from Benny’s grasp. Barking loudly, he ran out of the room.

“What is it?” Jessie cried. The door of her room banged open as Henry and Benny ran past.

“Burglar,” whispered Henry.

Grandfather came out into the hall and hurried after them, followed by Violet.

They heard a hoarse7 shout as they ran down the stairs. Then a shadowy figure ran across the hall and out the front door, with Watch at its heels. The door slammed, almost catching8 Watch. He yelped9 and jumped back, then leaped at the door again, scratching at it and barking louder than ever.

Grandfather turned on the light. A flowerpot by the front door had been turned over.

Violet and Benny ran to calm Watch.

“Good boy,” Violet crooned. “You scared the burglar away.”

“You’re brave, Watch,” said Benny, giving Watch a big hug.

Watch wagged his tail, but he gave one more soft growl2, as if warning the burglar not to come back.

Henry crouched10 by the overturned flowerpot. “Look,” he said. “The burglar left a footprint. A big footprint.”

“So did Watch,” Jessie added.

They studied the footprints. But although Watch’s footprint was very clear, the burglar’s footprint was smeared11 as if he had slipped. “The only thing you can tell from this footprint,” Henry said at last, “is that the burglar had big feet and he was in a hurry!”

They went into the kitchen and stopped in amazement12. Jessie threw out her arms. “What a mess!” she said.

Someone had broken a pane13 of glass in the back door and reached through it to unlock the door and come inside. Most of the cabinets had been opened. A bag of flour had been thrown on the floor, where it had burst open, coating everything in soft white powder. A loaf of bread had been knocked from the counter onto the floor.

“It doesn’t look as if anything is missing,” said Grandfather. “I’ll call the police.”

Jessie said, “Why would the thief break into the kitchen? What would he look for?”

“Maybe the thief was hungry,” said Benny.

Grandfather said, “Whatever the burglar was up to, it’s a good thing Watch barked when he did and scared him away.”

Watch wagged his tail.

“We’ll get up early and clean up this mess,” Jessie said. She yawned suddenly. “I’m sleepy.”

“Me, too,” said Benny. He yawned also. “But we should stay awake in case the burglar comes back.”

“I don’t think he will, Benny,” Grandfather said, patting Benny’s shoulder. “And besides, Watch will be on guard.”

“That’s true,” said Benny in a sleepy voice.

Violet shuddered14. “That’s two robberies in one day — at Antique Treasures and now at our house.”

“But we don’t have any jewelry15 for the thief to steal,” said Benny. “He must not be a very smart burglar.”

After Officer Weatherspoon from the Greenfield Police came and questioned Grandfather about the robbery, Grandfather taped a piece of cardboard over the broken pane of glass and the Aldens went back to bed.

Everyone got up early the next morning to clean up the mess in the kitchen.

They had the kitchen almost finished when Benny stopped. His mouth dropped open.

“Benny? What’s wrong?” asked Grandfather.

Benny pointed16 to the top of the refrigerator, where Mrs. McGregor had put his two unopened boxes of Silver Frosted Stars. “My Silver Frosted Stars,” he said. “They’re gone!”

“Maybe they fell behind the refrigerator,” Jessie suggested. “The burglar could have bumped into it and knocked them off.”

Jessie was right, but only half right. She only found one box of Silver Frosted Stars behind the refrigerator. The other box of cereal wasn’t anywhere in the kitchen, or in the whole house.

“That is very strange,” Henry said. “Why would anyone take a box of cereal?”

“Do you think they were collecting silver stars, too?” asked Benny.

Henry shook his head. “It doesn’t seem likely.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Violet said.

“What we have,” Jessie said, “is another mystery.”

Benny frowned. “That was bad, to steal my Silver Frosted Stars.”

Violet put her arm around Benny’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Benny,” she said. “You still have one box, as well as the one you had already opened.”

Jessie looked around. “Where is that other box?” she wondered.

“In the pantry,” Benny said. “Mrs. McGregor put it on a low shelf in there so I could reach it. And it’s a good thing, too, or the thief might have taken it, also.”

“It’s okay, Benny,” said Violet. “We’ll get you another box of Stars.”

“Okay,” said Benny. He sighed. “Talking about cereal has made me hungry!”

“How many bowls of Silver Frosted Stars are you going to eat, Benny?” asked Grandfather Alden after they’d begun eating their breakfast.

Benny poured milk over his second bowl of cereal. “Lots,” he said. “I just need one more silver star before I can send away for my detective’s badge. I’m almost done with this box of cereal. Then I can open a new one.”

“I see,” said Grandfather Alden. “In that case, pass the cereal, please.”

A moment later, Jessie looked around the table and burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny, Jessie?” asked Henry.

“We’re all eating Benny’s cereal!” she said.

Just then Grandfather said, “Well, well, well. What’s this in my cereal?” He held up a small ring with a big green stone in it.

“Look what I found!” Violet exclaimed at the same moment. “A pink ring.”

Benny looked surprised. “You found two more prizes in the cereal box? Wow, I told you this was a good box of cereal when I picked it out at the store.”

Grandfather said, “I don’t think this ring will fit me.”

“I think Jessie should have it,” said Benny generously. “And Violet, you can have the pink ring.”

Both Violet and Jessie looked pleased. They thanked Benny. Jessie’s ring fit on her little finger. But Violet’s was much too big for her. She had to take tape and wind it around the band so that the ring would fit. “It’s a pretty pink stone,” she said. “But it’s heavy.”

Grandfather opened the newspaper. The story of the theft was on the front page. “Look at this,” he told his grandchildren. “It’s about the Antique Treasures robbery.”

“What does it say?” Jessie asked.

Henry leaned over his grandfather’s shoulder and read, “ ‘Mr. Marvin Map, a known jewel thief, was captured by the police near the scene. Although Map was wearing a tan raincoat similar to the one described by witnesses, the police could find no evidence linking him to the crime. The jewels are still missing.’ ”

Next to the article was a photograph of Marvin Map. It showed a man with a thin face and a pointed chin and cool gray eyes.

“Oh, good,” said Benny. “I’m glad they didn’t catch the thief.”

“Benny!” exclaimed Violet. “You don’t mean that.”

“No,” Benny said. “I just meant that now we can help solve the mystery.”

“Well, if Marvin Map didn’t do it, who did?” asked Jessie.

“Maybe there were two people wearing raincoats in Greenfield yesterday,” Henry suggested.

Grandfather said, “It wasn’t raining yesterday. It seems unlikely that there would be two people wearing raincoats.”

“True,” agreed Henry.

Jessie said, “Maybe the thief hid the jewels when the police weren’t looking.”

“That’s an idea,” Henry said thoughtfully. “He could have hidden them when the police weren’t right behind him. Maybe if we found out where they caught Mr. Map, we could search for the jewelry there.”

“Let’s go look right now!” said Benny.

“We will, Benny,” Jessie said. “Just as soon as we finish our cereal!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 pricked 1d0503c50da14dcb6603a2df2c2d4557     
刺,扎,戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 ); 刺伤; 刺痛; 使剧痛
参考例句:
  • The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
  • He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。
2 growl VeHzE     
v.(狗等)嗥叫,(炮等)轰鸣;n.嗥叫,轰鸣
参考例句:
  • The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫,尾巴也跟着摇摆。
  • The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。
3 growled 65a0c9cac661e85023a63631d6dab8a3     
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说
参考例句:
  • \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道:“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 hopped 91b136feb9c3ae690a1c2672986faa1c     
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花
参考例句:
  • He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
  • He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车,向市区开去。
5 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
7 hoarse 5dqzA     
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的
参考例句:
  • He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
  • He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动,嗓子都喊哑了。
8 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
9 yelped 66cb778134d73b13ec6957fdf1b24074     
v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He yelped in pain when the horse stepped on his foot. 马踩了他的脚痛得他喊叫起来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • A hound yelped briefly as a whip cracked. 鞭子一响,猎狗发出一阵嗥叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 crouched 62634c7e8c15b8a61068e36aaed563ab     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
  • The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
11 smeared c767e97773b70cc726f08526efd20e83     
弄脏; 玷污; 涂抹; 擦上
参考例句:
  • The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
  • A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。
12 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
13 pane OKKxJ     
n.窗格玻璃,长方块
参考例句:
  • He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
  • Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气,在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。
14 shuddered 70137c95ff493fbfede89987ee46ab86     
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车,车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 jewelry 0auz1     
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝
参考例句:
  • The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
  • Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。
16 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。
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