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儿童英语读物 The Gymnastics Mystery CHAPTER 6 The Box in the Window

时间:2017-09-22 02:35来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The Aldens rushed forward to help. They searched under the bleachers and around the equipment. They even asked other gymnasts if they had seen two cassette tapes.

But the tapes had definitely disappeared.

“It’s like they walked away,” said Jessie, though she knew better. Tapes don’t walk off—someone had taken them.

Katya was still crying. The music was for her floor routine, her favorite event.

“We can get you another cassette,” Violet offered.

“Grandfather can buy it at the music store this afternoon,” added Henry.

Irina shook her head doubtfully. “Thank you. But the music for Katya’s floor routine is a Russian piece. You would not be able to find it in Greenfield.”

Jessie had an idea. “I bet Grandfather could find it in another city. He has friends all over.”

“Perhaps,” said Katya’s coach. “But the competition is tomorrow. We cannot take that chance.” She looked at Katya. “There is only one thing to do. We’ll make up a new routine to a new piece of music.”

Katya stopped crying. Her eyes widened. “How will I learn a new routine so fast?”

“Because you are the best gymnast on the team,” Irina declared. “Now dry your tears. We have much work to do.”

Irina flipped1 through the extra cassettes she had brought and selected one. “You will like this, Katya.”

They began designing a new program to the bouncy tune2. Soon Katya had learned four tumbling passes. The last pass was a crowd-dazzler with a round-off, cartwheel, handsprings, and three saltos, or aerial somersaults.

Katya’s shiny red leotard was damp with sweat when Irina finally nodded with satisfaction.

“Remember to use the entire floor,” she coached. “And give those leaps good height. You cannot lose points on the floor routine. It is your best event.”

“We have a mat at home,” said Henry. “We’ll help Katya practice some more.”

Irina smiled. “Katya is lucky to have such good friends. Go back to the Aldens’ for a break, Katya. You do not want to become overtired.”

On the way home in Grandfather’s station wagon3, Katya admitted her fears.

“Things happen at competitions. But I have never had to learn a new routine one day before the event! I spend months learning new routines. I hope I can remember it!”

“We’ll write down the moves,” Violet suggested. “And you tell us where that move is when the music is playing. When you practice tonight, we’ll keep saying the move.”

“Good idea,” said Grandfather as he pulled into the driveway. “Repetition is the key to remembering.”

Benny frowned. “Repe—what?”

“Repetition,” Henry answered, getting out of the car. “It’s another word for ‘repeat.’ If you keep doing something over and over, you’ll start to do it automatically. You won’t have to think about it so much.”

Katya nodded. “Henry is right. Irina always tells me, practice, practice, practice. Even if I think I can do it perfectly4, I should practice anyway.”

Inside, Mrs. McGregor had lunch ready.

“You’re a little late today,” the housekeeper5 remarked.

Grandfather explained about the missing tapes. “Katya had to learn a brand-new routine from scratch this morning.”

“Well, I’ve made a nice hot lunch from scratch,” said Mrs. McGregor. “Shepherd’s pie and cranberry6 sauce.”

Everyone washed up and sat down at the table. Then Mrs. McGregor brought in a large glass dish. Grandfather served helpings7 of the hamburger, vegetable, and gravy8 pie topped with whipped potatoes. Cranberry sauce on the side added a pleasant tang to the meal.

Since she had worked so hard that morning, Katya didn’t have to return to the sports arena9 until late afternoon.

But when she was supposed to be napping, the children found her outside pacing around the boxcar.

“I could not lie still,” she said ruefully. “So I came out here. Is it all right?”

Benny hopped10 up on the steps. “You can go inside our boxcar anytime you want.”

Katya peeped through the doorway11. “I cannot believe you really lived here.”

“We did,” Henry assured her. “As long as we were together, it didn’t matter where we lived.”

“Though Grandfather’s house is a lot better,” Benny said, making them all laugh.

Jessie realized that Katya had precompetition jitters12. “Why don’t we take a walk? You haven’t seen much of our neighborhood except from the car.”

“That would be nice,” Katya said eagerly.

Everyone was already bundled in jackets and scarves against the chilly13 day. They strolled down the sidewalk, talking about everything but the competition. Benny pointed14 out a cat sitting on a doorstep.

“Do you have any pets?” he asked Katya.

She shook her head. “There is no room—I mean, no time to care for a pet. I am always training, you see.” She fell silent.

Violet knew Katya had started to say something about not having a cat because of no room. What did she mean by that? But she couldn’t question Katya farther. The gymnast was nervous enough over the upcoming competition.

They had wandered out of their neighborhood and into the local shopping district. Benny pointed out the grocery store, the dry cleaner’s, and the post office.

“Mrs. McGregor goes to all these places,” he explained. “Sometimes we go with her.”

They crossed the street and found themselves in front of a wide window. In arching gold letters, the words NEARLY NEW were painted on the glass.

“I’ve never noticed this store before,” said Jessie, pushing back her ponytail. “Has it always been here?”

Henry nodded. “A few years. It’s one of those places you never notice.”

Benny pressed his nose against the window. “I would. Look at that cool drum set!”

He pointed to a snare15 drum set on a platform in the middle of the display. Surrounding the drums were other musical instruments, silver teapots, china vases, bronze statues, and many other items.

“Just what Grandfather needs,” Jessie said, giggling16. “You learning to play the drums!”

“Do they sell headphones here?” Violet joked.

“Looks like they sell just about everything,” Henry replied, scanning the contents of the crowded display.

Jessie was staring at a small golden box set up high on a velvet-draped shelf. She gasped17.

“What is it?” Violet asked.

Jessie couldn’t take her eyes off the box. “That little box. I’d like a closer look at it. Let’s go in.”

Violet gave her older sister a meaningful glance, then led the others inside Nearly New.

A silver-haired man sat behind a counter filled with jewelry18. He glanced up from the crossword19 puzzle he was working on and said, “Good afternoon. May I help you?”

Benny spoke20 first. “How much are the drums in the window?”

The man looked at Benny over the rims21 of his reading glasses. “Well, young man, those particular drums aren’t for sale. At least not yet.”

Benny frowned. “I don’t get it.”

Henry did. “This is a pawnshop. People who need money bring in things like that drum set and get cash for it.”

“That’s right,” agreed the owner. “I take the item and give them a claim ticket. The person needs to pay back the money within a certain time period. If he doesn’t, I keep the item and sell it.”

“So the person who pawned22 the drums still has time to pay you back,” Violet said, trying to understand the system.

The owner nodded.

Henry touched a saxophone. “You have so many musical instruments.”

“I get a lot of them,” said the owner. “And jewelry. Watches and class rings, mostly.”

Jessie whispered to Violet, “Can you take Katya over there so I can talk to the man?”

“Yes,” Violet whispered back. Louder, she said, “Katya, have you ever seen such pretty rings?” They moved down the display case, admiring the jewelry.

Jessie leaned closer to the owner. “That gold box in the window. What is it?”

“It’s the strangest thing,” said the man, scratching his chin. “I’m sure it’s a fine work of art. But the young fellow who sold it to me only wanted two hundred dollars!”

“Do you remember what he looked like?” Jessie inquired.

“Let’s see. He had light hair, blue eyes. And he wore blue sweatpants.”

Blue sweatpants again! Did everyone in town wear them? Jessie wondered. But the description sounded familiar.

Henry and Benny gathered around her.

“Why the interest in that gold box?” Henry asked.

Sneaking23 a glance at Katya, who was still with Violet, Jessie replied, “It looks like the one in the newspaper picture that was in Katya’s letter. Remember? She didn’t want us to see it.”

“I remember the picture,” said Benny

“How could a gold box in a Russian newspaper wind up in a pawnshop in Greenfield?” asked Henry.

Jessie shrugged24. “I don’t know. But the person who pawned it sounds like Lucas Tripp! He has light hair and blue eyes.”

“A lot of people do,” Henry pointed out practically. “Lucas wears glasses. The owner didn’t mention glasses.”

Jessie didn’t want to give up the clue. “But Lucas is also interested in Katya. And she got the newspaper clipping in her letter. Maybe the printing on the clipping was a code!”

Benny was studying a small item in the display case. It was a tiny silver key with the number 11 stamped on it.

“This key,” he said to the owner. “What does it go to?”

“Oh, that’s my airport locker25 key,” the man replied. “I make a lot of last-minute trips, so I keep a packed carry-on bag at the airport in a locker. This way I can leave right from the shop. And I keep my locker key in the case so I don’t lose it!”

Benny felt the key he kept in his pocket. A piece of the mystery suddenly became clear.

He owned the key to an airport locker. And he found it the day Al Stockton, mystery man, ran into them at the airport. Al Stockton had dropped it.

The day they picked up Katya.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 flipped 5bef9da31993fe26a832c7d4b9630147     
轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 ); 按(开关); 快速翻转; 急挥
参考例句:
  • The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转,撞毁了。
  • The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。
2 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
3 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
4 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
5 housekeeper 6q2zxl     
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家
参考例句:
  • A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
  • She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家,一家人吃得很省。
6 cranberry TvOz5U     
n.梅果
参考例句:
  • Turkey reminds me of cranberry sauce.火鸡让我想起梅果酱。
  • Actually I prefer canned cranberry sauce.事实上我更喜欢罐装的梅果酱。
7 helpings 835bc3d1bf4c0bc59996bf878466084d     
n.(食物)的一份( helping的名词复数 );帮助,支持
参考例句:
  • You greedy pig! You've already had two helpings! 你这个馋嘴!你已经吃了两份了!
  • He had two helpings of pudding. 他吃了两客布丁。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
8 gravy Przzt1     
n.肉汁;轻易得来的钱,外快
参考例句:
  • You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
  • The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。
9 arena Yv4zd     
n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台
参考例句:
  • She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
  • He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。
10 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。
11 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
12 jitters bcdbab80a76ba5b84faa9be81506e8ea     
n.pl.紧张(通常前面要有the)
参考例句:
  • I always get the jitters before exams. 我考试前总是很紧张。
  • The whole city had the jitters from the bombing. 全城居民都为轰炸而心神不宁。
13 chilly pOfzl     
adj.凉快的,寒冷的
参考例句:
  • I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
  • I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后,寒气逼人。
14 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。
15 snare XFszw     
n.陷阱,诱惑,圈套;(去除息肉或者肿瘤的)勒除器;响弦,小军鼓;vt.以陷阱捕获,诱惑
参考例句:
  • I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
  • Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。
16 giggling 2712674ae81ec7e853724ef7e8c53df1     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑,叫我真受不了,那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
17 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》
18 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。
19 crossword VvOzBj     
n.纵横字谜,纵横填字游戏
参考例句:
  • He shows a great interest in crossword puzzles.他对填字游戏表现出很大兴趣。
  • Don't chuck yesterday's paper out.I still haven't done the crossword.别扔了昨天的报纸,我还没做字谜游戏呢。
20 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。
21 rims e66f75a2103361e6e0762d187cf7c084     
n.(圆形物体的)边( rim的名词复数 );缘;轮辋;轮圈
参考例句:
  • As she spoke, the rims of her eyes reddened a little. 说时,眼圈微红。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
  • Her eyes were a little hollow, and reddish about the rims. 她的眼睛微微凹陷,眼眶有些发红。 来自辞典例句
22 pawned 4a07cbcf19a45badd623a582bf8ca213     
v.典当,抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 );以(某事物)担保
参考例句:
  • He pawned his gold watch to pay the rent. 他抵当了金表用以交租。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
23 sneaking iibzMu     
a.秘密的,不公开的
参考例句:
  • She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
  • She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走,躲开采访者。
24 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》
25 locker 8pzzYm     
n.更衣箱,储物柜,冷藏室,上锁的人
参考例句:
  • At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
  • He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。
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