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儿童英语读物 The Radio Mystery CHAPTER 8 Violet’s Big Clue

时间:2017-11-09 05:50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)

“Tell us exactly what happened,” Henry said to Frances.

“I had just finished writing the script,” Frances said. “I went into the rest room to wash the ink off my fingers. When I came back, the script was gone! I don’t know how this could have happened — Avery and I are the only ones here.”

“This just happened,” Jessie said. “The thief can’t be far.”

“The side door!” Benny said. “Remember? I just heard someone out there!”

“That has to be the thief’s escape route,” Jessie said. “Hurry before he gets away!”

The Aldens dashed forward. Frances stood where she was, wringing1 her hands. She seemed too distraught to move.

Jessie reached the end of the hall first. She unbolted the inside lock and flung open the door.

Just beyond the doorway2, a figure was crouched3 in the shadows. The person sprang up to run away.

“Stop!” Henry commanded.

The figure stepped into the light. It was Gwen Hawley.

“Gwen!” exclaimed Violet. “What are you doing here?”

Gwen looked embarrassed. “I came back here to look for clues,” she said.

“Clues?” asked Jessie.

Gwen nodded sheepishly. “I want to help Gran by finding the ghost. I thought I could be a detective, too. I even followed you guys to the station last night. That time you saw me in the park, I was following Frances. I thought she might be the thief.

She’s trying to earn enough money to go to California.”

The Aldens looked at one another. “Does this mean you didn’t steal tomorrow’s script?” Benny said.

Gwen looked shocked. “Steal the script? No! I was looking for clues out back.”

Henry believed her. “Well, did you see anyone out here who might have? Frances says somebody took it just a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, no!” said Gwen. “No, I didn’t see anyone.”

“The thief must have used this door,” Henry said, “because we came through the front door. But the door was locked — whoever used it had to have a key.”

“Earl has a key,” said Gwen. “So does Frances. And Avery.”

“If Earl Biggs took it, he’s already gotten away,” said Violet. “If it was Frances or Avery, they’re both still here — the script could be hidden in the station, or dropped somewhere out here.”

Jessie spoke4 in a near whisper. “If Frances is the thief, she could be hiding the script right now. Maybe that’s why she didn’t follow us outside.”

Just then, Frances stepped out of the station. “I didn’t see anyone in there,” she said.

“Let’s look around out here,” Benny said.

The Aldens, Gwen, and Frances fanned out to search.

Jessie glanced at the office of the Auto5 Sales lot. She wondered if Earl Biggs was the ‘ghost’ — he could be making trouble at the station to get Jocelyn’s attention. Maybe he had sneaked6 in the side door with his key, hidden in the shadows until Frances left the breakroom, then grabbed the script and gone out the side door. Gwen had been outside behind the station, so she wouldn’t have seen him.

“I don’t think we’re going to find it,” Frances said after they had searched a while. “I’ll just have to write the whole script over.” She sighed. “It’ll take me hours.”

“We’ll help,” Henry offered. “With all of us working, it won’t take so long.”

“I can’t write very well,” Benny said. “But I can staple7 the pages together.”

Frances smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Benny. You five are lifesavers.”

They sat down at the table in the break-room and got to work. Because Frances had just written the script, she remembered most of it. She told the story while Jessie, Violet, and Henry copied it down. Gwen wrote the sound effects directions.

It was almost dinnertime before they finished. Avery put on a prerecorded program, changed into his running clothes, and put his work clothes in the closet. “Is everything ready for tomorrow?” he asked as the Aldens walked by the sound booth.

“Yup,” Henry said. “The final script is great.”

“Good,” said Avery. He picked up his duffel bag and headed for the door.

Frances came in with her raincoat over one arm. “I just spoke with Jocelyn. She and Mr. Alden and Earl Biggs are all coming to tomorrow’s broadcast.”

Avery paused. “If nothing goes wrong with the show, maybe Earl won’t cancel his advertising8.”

“Tomorrow’s show must go right,” Violet said.

Frances opened the lobby door. “Avery, do you need a ride?”

“No, thanks,” he said. “I’m going running as always.”

Frances turned to the Aldens and Gwen. “Jocelyn asked me to tell you you’ll be eating dinner late tonight. She suggested that you stop by the diner for a snack.”

“Sounds good to me,” Benny said. “I ate ages ago.”

Henry grinned. “It wasn’t that long ago. But I could go for some ice cream.”

They followed Frances outside and said good-bye as she climbed into her rusty9 old car. “When I’m rich and famous in Hollywood,” she declared, “I’ll buy a brand-new car.” She waved and smiled. “See you tomorrow!”

The diner was nearly empty when the children walked in.

DeeDee motioned them over to a large booth and signaled that she would be with them in a minute.

“Time is running out. We only have one day to solve this mystery,” Henry reminded the others.

“None of our suspects has a strong motive,” Violet said. “We’ve ruled out Gwen. Yes, you were a suspect until tonight.”

“That leaves Frances, Avery, and Earl,” said Jessie. “I think Frances is the most suspicious. She wants to write a movie script, and she could be playing the ghost to help her with her story.”

“But she seems to like the kids’ show she’s writing,” Henry pointed10 out. “Why would she sabotage11 it?”

“Frances and Avery are both key suspects,” Violet said. “They both have keys to the station and they’re around every day. Either one of them could be stealing stuff to sell for the money.”

“But then they’d be out of a job,” Henry pointed out. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“That leaves Earl,” said Gwen. “He keeps telling Gran he’s going to cancel his account.”

Jessie had been thinking. “I don’t believe he will,” she said, “or he would have done it by now. I think Earl says that to get your grandmother’s attention. Remember, he really likes her.”

“Jessie’s right,” Violet put in. “Earl keeps coming into the station to try to talk to her. I think he just uses his advertisements as an excuse to be there.”

“Boy,” said Gwen admiringly. “You guys are good.”

An idea slowly formed in Violet’s mind. “You know,” she said, “maybe we should think more about the old mystery.”

Benny frowned. “What old mystery?”

“The one about Daphne Owens,” Jessie said. “She’s supposed to be the ghost. What really happened to her? She didn’t vanish into thin air.”

“If she moved to another town, maybe we can find her — you know, by looking in phone books or something,” Gwen said, pulling napkins from the dispenser.

“She’d be hard to find,” Henry put in. “She might have gotten married and changed her last name.”

“She could be anywhere,” Benny said glumly12.

DeeDee came over with her order pad. She wore pink and yellow ribbons in a bow at her neck. “What would you like tonight?”

“Your ribbons are pretty,” Gwen complimented.

DeeDee touched the bow. “Thank you. I’ve been wearing ribbons every day since I was your age. My hair was long then, like yours. I always wore it in a ponytail tied with a ribbon. After I left my hometown and got married, I cut my hair. But I still wear ribbons.”

As Violet listened to DeeDee, she thought about the other person in Deer Crossing who always wore a ribbon in her ponytail — the girl in the photographs at the station: Daphne Owens. She remembered the talent scout13 remark DeeDee had made. Who else was so interested in talent scouts14? It can’t be, Violet thought. But somehow it made sense.

“DeeDee!” she exclaimed. “You’re Daphne Owens!”

The others looked at Violet in surprise.

DeeDee nearly dropped her pad and pencil. “What did you say?”

“I said, you’re Daphne Owens,” said Violet. “You’ve changed your name. But it’s you.”

“Well, I’ll be —” DeeDee gave her bark of a laugh. “I never thought anybody would figure it out. Too bad. It was such fun, working in the radio station again with everyone thinking I was a ghost. My little joke.”

“So is Rhoads your married name?” Gwen asked.

“Yes,” DeeDee said. “And DeeDee is a nickname. After my husband died, I moved back to Deer Crossing. But since nobody remembered me, I didn’t tell them who I really was. I like having secrets.”

“Why did you leave Deer Crossing in the first place?” Henry wanted to know. “Was it really because of the talent scout?”

“Yes. I was so embarrassed,” said DeeDee. “I had bragged15 to everyone about how I was going to be a star. And then the show was a disaster! I had made a fool of myself. How could I face my friends?”

“So you left town that day,” Jessie said.

DeeDee nodded. “I only meant to go away for a little while — I thought I would come back to Deer Crossing once my embarrassment16 died down. But then I met Harold Rhoads. We fell in love and were married.” DeeDee smiled. “He called me DeeDee. I kept the name, even after I moved back here.”

Benny had the most important question. He looked at the waitress and asked boldly, “Are you haunting the radio station?”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wringing 70c74d76c2d55027ff25f12f2ab350a9     
淋湿的,湿透的
参考例句:
  • He was wringing wet after working in the field in the hot sun. 烈日下在田里干活使他汗流满面。
  • He is wringing out the water from his swimming trunks. 他正在把游泳裤中的水绞出来。
2 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。
3 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。
4 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。
5 auto ZOnyW     
n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车
参考例句:
  • Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
  • The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。
6 sneaked fcb2f62c486b1c2ed19664da4b5204be     
v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 );偷偷溜走;(儿童向成人)打小报告;告状
参考例句:
  • I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
  • She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。
7 staple fGkze     
n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类
参考例句:
  • Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
  • Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。
8 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
9 rusty hYlxq     
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的
参考例句:
  • The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
  • I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用,我的法语又荒疏了。
10 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。
11 sabotage 3Tmzz     
n.怠工,破坏活动,破坏;v.从事破坏活动,妨害,破坏
参考例句:
  • They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
  • The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。
12 glumly glumly     
adv.忧郁地,闷闷不乐地;阴郁地
参考例句:
  • He stared at it glumly, and soon became lost in thought. 他惘然沉入了瞑想。 来自子夜部分
  • The President sat glumly rubbing his upper molar, saying nothing. 总统愁眉苦脸地坐在那里,磨着他的上牙,一句话也没有说。 来自辞典例句
13 scout oDGzi     
n.童子军,侦察员;v.侦察,搜索
参考例句:
  • He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵,受了重伤。
  • The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。
14 scouts e6d47327278af4317aaf05d42afdbe25     
侦察员[机,舰]( scout的名词复数 ); 童子军; 搜索; 童子军成员
参考例句:
  • to join the Scouts 参加童子军
  • The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组,然后开始巡逻这个地区。
15 bragged 56622ccac3ec221e2570115463345651     
v.自夸,吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。
  • Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 embarrassment fj9z8     
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫
参考例句:
  • She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
  • Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
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