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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Empty Safe CHAPTER 6 Mr. Woodruffs Workshop

时间:2017-09-26 08:15来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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When Jessie and Benny got back to the Woodruffs’ house, they wanted to tell the others what had happened in town. But Sara was there, and they decided1 to wait until they were alone.

All the decorations were done except the stars. The children quickly mixed the glitter with the yellow paint and painted the stars.

As they were working, Mr. Woodruff came downstairs, as grouchy2 as ever.

“Are you kids here again?” he asked.

“We’ve got a lot to do if we want this party to be really great,” Henry explained.

Mr. Woodruff walked slowly around the basement, looking at all the decorations the children had painted. He was frowning the whole time. The children waited anxiously wondering what he would say about them. But he said nothing. Instead he noticed some spots on the linoleum3 floor. “You spilled some paint here,” he said, annoyed.

“Don’t worry Mr. Woodruff. It’s washable paint,” said Henry quickly. “We’ll clean everything up before we go.”

“Make sure you do,” Mr. Woodruff grumbled4. “There are cleaning supplies in there.” He motioned to a door. “And Sara, have you cleaned your room yet?”

“No, Dad,” Sara said quietly. “I was going to do it later.”

“You’d better have it done before dinnertime,” her father said before heading upstairs.

Benny was sitting silently. He had a thoughtful look on his face.

Sara was also sitting quietly, her face red. At last she spoke5 softly. “I’m sorry about my dad. He’s not usually like this. It’s been a hard year. Ever since Uncle John …” She stopped, and said nothing more.

“That’s okay,” Violet said. “Sometimes people act differently when they’re feeling sad or something is bothering them.”

“Yes, I guess so,” Sara muttered.

Henry opened the door Mr. Woodruff had indicated, looking for a sponge. The door led into a large workshop. There were some large pieces of machinery6 and some long wooden boards propped7 up in a corner. The floor was covered with sawdust.

Sara followed him in. “This is my dad’s workshop,” she explained.

“Looks like he’s good with his hands,” Henry said, impressed by all the tools. “What kind of things does he make?”

“He doesn’t make things as much as fix things,” Sara said. “You know, anything that breaks—my mom’s radio, my Rollerblades. Once he even had to fix the lock on our safe when it got stuck.”

“The lock on your safe?” Henry repeated.

“Yeah, we have a safe built into a cabinet in our living room,” Sara said. “My parents keep jewelry8 in there, you know, expensive stuff like that.”

Henry nodded quietly, but his mind was racing9. He’d had no idea that Mr. Woodruff was good at fixing things—like locks on safes. Could he be the one who’d been breaking into safes? He’d have to discuss this with the others on their way home.

Sara and Henry found cleaning supplies in a corner cabinet. They returned to the main part of the basement and wiped up the drips of paint. Violet was setting out the last few painted stars to dry.

“Well, we’re all done here. We’d better get going. We promised Mrs. McGregor we would help her with chores today,” said Jessie.

“And she’s making macaroni and cheese tonight!” Benny said excitedly.

“You wouldn’t want to miss that,” Sara said with a smile.

On the way home, Jessie said, “Wait until you hear what Benny and I overheard today at Party Time,” and she told them the whole story of Cassandra’s angry words and of the magic show she had gotten tickets for.

“Cassandra the Great?” Henry asked.

“The one and only!” Jessie said. “She’s doing the show tomorrow night at the community theater. I thought we should see who our competition is!”

“Do you really think Cassandra was talking about us in Party Time?” Violet asked.

“I don’t know,” said Jessie. “It’s possible. Right, Benny?”

But Benny didn’t answer. He hadn’t been listening.

“Benny, what’s the matter?” Jessie asked. “Is something bothering you?”

“I was just thinking about when Mr. Woodruff came down to the basement,” Benny said. “Did anyone notice how he was walking?”

“Was there something odd about the way he walked?” Henry asked.

“No,” Benny said.

Now the others were really confused.

“Benny, what are you talking about?” Jessie demanded.

“Don’t you see?” said Benny. “He walked like everybody else. Mr. Woodruff didn’t have a limp!” Benny said.

“Oh,” Jessie said, understanding at last. “But when you saw him following us, he was limping.”

“Yes,” said Benny. “I just don’t get it.”

“Maybe he only limps when he walks a long way,” Jessie said. “Or maybe he had pulled a muscle and now it’s healed.”

“Yes, or maybe it wasn’t really Mr. Woodruff you saw,” Violet suggested.

“But I was sure it was,” Benny said, looking confused. “Now I don’t know what to think!”

“Well, listen to this,” Henry said. He told the others what Sara had told him about her father fixing the lock on a safe. And then he added, “If he can fix a lock, he probably knows how to break into one.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 grouchy NQez8     
adj.好抱怨的;愠怒的
参考例句:
  • Grouchy people are always complaining for no reason.满腹牢骚的人总是毫无理由地抱怨。
  • Sometimes she is grouchy, but all in all she is an excellent teacher.有时候她的脾气很坏,但总的来说她还是一位好老师。
3 linoleum w0cxk     
n.油布,油毯
参考例句:
  • They mislaid the linoleum.他们把油毡放错了地方。
  • Who will lay the linoleum?谁将铺设地板油毡?
4 grumbled ed735a7f7af37489d7db1a9ef3b64f91     
抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 发牢骚; 咕哝; 发哼声
参考例句:
  • He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
  • The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏,水手们边干活边发着牢骚。
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 machinery CAdxb     
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
参考例句:
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。
7 propped 557c00b5b2517b407d1d2ef6ba321b0e     
支撑,支持,维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
  • This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。
8 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。
9 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。
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