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儿童英语读物 The Panther Mystery CHAPTER 4 A New Friend

时间:2017-09-12 08:02来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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A girl stood by the roadside, holding a basket. She was a little older than Jessie. Her black hair was in a ponytail with a red ribbon tied around it. She wore a white blouse and a full skirt stitched of many patches — yellow, red, and blue.

“Hello,” said the girl. “Welcome to the Miccosukee Village. My name is Irene Osceola.”

“Hello,” Henry replied. “We were looking for the ranger1 station.”

“It’s a little farther down the road,” said Irene. “Won’t you come have a cool drink?”

“That’s an excellent idea, young lady,” said Grandfather.

Benny was puzzled. “Where are we? This isn’t the ranger station.”

Violet helped him guide his bike to one side. “We’re at the Miccosukee Village. Did I say that right, Irene?”

Irene nodded, making her ponytail bounce. “We are one of two tribes who live in the Everglades. Our people live on a reservation in the Glades2. Some of us work at the cultural center here. We show tourists how we live and sell our crafts.”

Walking behind Irene, Henry read a sign that said, AIRBOAT RIDES, GUIDED TOURS, SNAKS, CRAFTS. TRY OUR FRY BREAD AND PUMPKIN3 BREAD!

As they followed Irene, the Aldens introduced themselves.

“I’m pleased to know you,” said Irene.

Inside the village, tourists examined patchwork4 vests, skirts, and shirts that were for sale. Others were sipping5 cold drinks and eating snacks.

“We’ll try some of your famous fry bread, too,” Grandfather told Irene.

Irene led them to an empty table. “I’ll be right back.” Soon she returned with cold drinks and slices of warm fried bread.

Violet admired Irene’s beautiful skirt. “I love your outfit6.”

“Thank you.” Irene twirled to make the skirt bell. “My mother made it.”

“Do you wear those clothes all the time?” Jessie asked.

Irene shook her head. “Not always. I wear jeans and T-shirts, too.”

“Tell us about your tribe,” Grandfather urged. “By the way, the bread is delicious.”

“Thank you,” said Irene. “Our tribe has lived in the Everglades for more than a hundred years. We raise pumpkins7, squash, and corn. I travel to school on my father’s airboat.”

“Neat!” said Benny. Ever since he’d seen one of the noisy boats skimming over the grass, he’d wanted to ride on one.

Irene laughed. “Well, it’s the only way to get to school!”

“What are those buildings called?” asked Henry.

“Chickees,” Irene replied. “Those are our traditional dwellings8. We sleep in hammocks or up on cypress9 platforms.”

“It’s like a tree house,” Violet commented.

“We also have other houses,” Irene added. “With screened windows all around and shutters10 that can be closed during storms and hurricanes.”

Benny wiped his mouth and declared, “I want to live here.”

“We’d love to have you, Benny,” Irene said. “But you might get tired of living outdoors.”

Benny shook his head. “No, we used to do it all the time.”

Violet explained that the Aldens had once lived in an abandoned boxcar. “That was before Grandfather found us,” she concluded.

Irene seemed impressed. “You’ve had very exciting lives.”

“We solve mysteries, too,” Benny added.

“But we’re stumped11 on our current case,” Jessie said, her chin on her fist.

Irene leaned forward, fascinated. “You solve mysteries! I love to read mystery stories. Tell me about your case.”

This time Grandfather answered. “Maybe you can help us, Irene. We’re looking for a missing park ranger. His name is Andrew Beldon.”

Irene’s dark eyes widened. “Ranger Beldon! I know him well. He brings me books from the big public library. We have very few books on the reservation. Ranger Beldon stops by the library every two weeks.”

“When did you see him last?” Henry asked.

“Let me see.” Irene thought a moment. “It’s been more than two weeks. He picked up my books and returned them to the big library. But he hasn’t been back. I was wondering why we hadn’t seen him lately.”

“No one has seen him for a while,” said Violet. Then she explained how Grandfather’s friend had asked him to come look for Andrew.

“That’s very strange,” Irene agreed. “Ranger Beldon loves his job. He wouldn’t just quit.”

“I’ve talked to officials at the Park Service,” said Grandfather, “but they don’t know where he is, either.”

“If Ranger Beldon is lost in the Glades, he could be in real trouble,” Irene said.

“That’s what we’re afraid of,” said Henry.

James Alden pointed12 to the sign. “I see airboat tours are given here.”

Irene nodded eagerly. “My father, Billy Osceola, has his own airboat. He often drives tourists into the Glades.”

“Can we ride on your father’s airboat to look for Andrew Beldon?” Benny asked. “Maybe we’ll find him that way.”

Now Irene frowned. “Tourists like the airboats because they’re exciting. But they are very noisy. The big motors scare the birds and animals.” Then she brightened. “But we can look for Ranger Beldon by canoe! Canoes are quiet and safe. We can go almost anywhere in them. Places you can’t get to on foot or by bike.”

The canoes were all rented, so Grandfather rented three canoes for the next day. They bade Irene good-bye.

Back on their bikes, the Aldens peddled13 away from the Miccosukee Village to the ranger station. But no one there had heard from or seen Andrew Beldon in several days. The Everglades National Park had many employees and a dozen visitors’ centers — plus there were feeding stations for wildlife and campsites. Andrew could be anywhere.

Grandfather and the children were hot and tired when they returned the bicycles to the Shark Valley entrance. They went inside the visitors’ center to cool off. The boys looked for the water fountain.

Violet and Jessie walked to the front desk. When Melanie Harper saw Jessie and Violet, she frowned.

Jessie strode up to the desk. “Hi,” she said cheerfully. “Remember me? Jessie Alden?”

Melanie’s glance was far from welcoming. “You and your family still looking for Andrew Beldon? He hasn’t come in to work.”

“Has he called or anything?” Violet pressed.

“Nope.” Melanie didn’t seem the least bit concerned. In fact, Jessie thought, Melanie was a little too unconcerned. It almost seemed like an act.

Jessie believed the girl was hiding something. “Do you have any idea where Andrew went? Or why he hasn’t come back to work? It’s just not like him to quit without telling anybody.”

“Do you know what I think?” Melanie said, leaning forward confidentially14.

“What?” Jessie’s heart beat faster.

“I think Andrew has let his obsession15 go too far this time.”

“His what?” asked Violet.

But then a flock of tourists breezed through the door. Melanie greeted them with a bright smile and an Everglades map.

Jessie knew the Park Service woman wouldn’t say any more to them.

Henry and Benny came over.

“What’s up?” Henry wanted to know.

“We’ve been talking to Melanie,” Violet replied. “She said something strange about Andrew.”

“What?” asked Henry.

Jessie filled him in. “Melanie said she thought Andrew had let his obsession go too far this time and that’s why he’s disappeared.”

“Ob-session?” Benny said. “What does that mean?”

“It means that Andrew has been really interested in something that takes up all his time,” Henry replied. “You know what I think, though?” Henry added. “Melanie is after Andrew’s job. She’s always here at the visitors’ center.”

“She complained about having to do his work and hers, too,” said Violet. “I bet Henry’s right. Melanie wants everyone to know she’s working so hard, so she’ll get Andrew’s job when he comes back.”

Jessie had been thinking. “Melanie could be jealous.”

“Of what?” asked Violet.

“Maybe he and Melanie were boyfriend and girlfriend. Maybe Andrew broke up with her. He could have met another girl he liked better,” Jessie said.

Henry understood where Jessie was going. “And Melanie didn’t like it, so she’s doing everything she can to make him look bad.”

Grandfather came up just then. “It’s so hot. Why don’t we go to a movie to cool off? We’ll have an early supper and be all ready for our canoe trip tomorrow.”

“Good idea.” Benny swung Grandfather’s hand as they left the center. “Can we have key lime pie today?”

“Do you know what that is?” asked Grandfather with a smile.

“No, but it’s something everybody has here,” said Benny. Any kind of pie was fine with him.

The last out the door, Jessie turned to glance back at the front desk.

Melanie Harper was watching them. Her blue eyes were secretive.

Jessie was certain Melanie knew something she wasn’t telling.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ranger RTvxb     
n.国家公园管理员,护林员;骑兵巡逻队员
参考例句:
  • He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
  • He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。
2 glades 7d2e2c7f386182f71c8d4c993b22846c     
n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Maggie and Philip had been meeting secretly in the glades near the mill. 玛吉和菲利曾经常在磨坊附近的林中空地幽会。 来自辞典例句
  • Still the outlaw band throve in Sherwood, and hunted the deer in its glades. 当他在沉思中变老了,世界还是照样走它的路,亡命之徒仍然在修武德日渐壮大,在空地里猎鹿。 来自互联网
3 pumpkin NtKy8     
n.南瓜
参考例句:
  • They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
  • It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你!
4 patchwork yLsx6     
n.混杂物;拼缝物
参考例句:
  • That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
  • She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上,所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。
5 sipping e7d80fb5edc3b51045def1311858d0ae     
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
  • She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。
6 outfit YJTxC     
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装
参考例句:
  • Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
  • His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
7 pumpkins 09a64387fb624e33eb24dc6c908c2681     
n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 );南瓜的果肉,南瓜囊
参考例句:
  • I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜,但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸,并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分(高三)
8 dwellings aa496e58d8528ad0edee827cf0b9b095     
n.住处,处所( dwelling的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
  • The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 cypress uyDx3     
n.柏树
参考例句:
  • The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
  • The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏,常绿不凋。
10 shutters 74d48a88b636ca064333022eb3458e1f     
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门
参考例句:
  • The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
  • The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。
11 stumped bf2a34ab92a06b6878a74288580b8031     
僵直地行走,跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 ); 把(某人)难住; 使为难; (选举前)在某一地区作政治性巡回演说
参考例句:
  • Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克气喘吁吁地干完活,然后很艰难地走出房间。
  • He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被问得张口结舌,半天说不出话来。
12 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。
13 peddled c13cc38014f1d0a518d978a019c8bb74     
(沿街)叫卖( peddle的过去式和过去分词 ); 兜售; 宣传; 散播
参考例句:
  • He has peddled the myth that he is supporting the local population. 他散布说他支持当地群众。
  • The farmer peddled his fruit from house to house. 那个农民挨家挨户兜售他的水果。
14 confidentially 0vDzuc     
ad.秘密地,悄悄地
参考例句:
  • She was leaning confidentially across the table. 她神神秘秘地从桌子上靠过来。
  • Kao Sung-nien and Wang Ch'u-hou talked confidentially in low tones. 高松年汪处厚两人低声密谈。
15 obsession eIdxt     
n.困扰,无法摆脱的思想(或情感)
参考例句:
  • I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
  • She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。
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