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儿童英语读物 The Mystery Bookstore Chapter 6 The Shadow Knows

时间:2017-08-16 06:52:02

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(单词翻译)

“I’m so full, I can hardly walk up these stairs,” Benny said as the children climbed up to Miss Chase’s apartment. “And guess what? I’m not even hungry! That jumble1 dish we had for dinner sure filled me up.”

“You mean the jambalaya,” Violet said.

Jessie stepped into the apartment first. “It’s so dark in here. Miss Chase was nice to leave the door unlocked, but I sure wish she had left a light on. I can’t see a thing. She must have gone to bed early.”

Henry felt around in the dark for a light switch and flicked2 it on. “Hey, what’s that?” He pointed3 to a crumpled4 note lying near the front door and smoothed it out. He read it aloud:

“Dear Aldens,

I hope you’ve had a wonderful day and evening out in New Orleans. I went out to dinner, too. I have locked the door. I’ll be back around ten o’clock. I have my key, so be sure to lock up when you get home.

    ’Night all,

    Olivia Chase.”

Henry lowered his voice to a whisper. “We’d better go back out.”

“Come along, Violet. You, too, Benny,” Jessie whispered.

Thinking about the cozy5 cot on the sleeping porch, Benny wasn’t too happy about turning back. “Why can’t we go in?”

“You shouldn’t go into a house if the door is unlocked when it shouldn’t be. There might be a burglar inside. Miss Chase said she locked the door,” Jessie said. She took Benny by the hand and led him back downstairs and into the courtyard.

“Let’s go out to the street and find a phone booth. It can’t hurt to call the police to make sure no one is prowling nearby,” Henry said. “There’s something strange about Miss Chase’s apartment being unlocked. Just yesterday, the courtyard was unlocked when it wasn’t supposed to be.”

Henry unlocked the courtyard gate, and the children stepped onto the sidewalk. Then Benny saw someone step from the shadows of the bookstore doorway6.

“Look!” Benny pointed to a figure who darted7 down the street. “I think that person just came out of the bookstore.”

The children ran to the shop doorway. Jessie pulled and pushed the door, but it wouldn’t budge8. When everyone looked down the street again, the shadow had vanished.

“Benny, are you sure you saw someone come out of the shop?” Jessie asked.

Benny scrunched9 his forehead. “It was so dark, I couldn’t see. I couldn’t even tell if it was a she or a he.”

The children heard footsteps on the sidewalk. They belonged to Miss Chase. “Are you just coming home, too?” she said, surprised to see the Aldens. “You must be tired out. Let’s get you off to bed after your long day.”

“But . . . but,” Violet began, “we think there was a prowler in the bookshop or in your apartment. The back door was unlocked, and your note was bunched up on the floor.”

“And know what else?” Benny broke in. “A person jumped out of this doorway but then disappeared. Henry was just about to call the police.”

Even in the dim street light, the children could see that Miss Chase looked worried. She checked up and down the street and inside the bookshop windows. “You children did just the right thing. Calling the police is a good idea. I’ll make the call.”

Less than five minutes later, a cruiser arrived in front of the bookshop. Two police officers got out carrying flashlights.

“We got your call, Miss Chase,” one of them said. “First, let’s check out the shop.”

With that, the police examined the bookshop door lock. “Well, it doesn’t look forced or anything. Can you unlock it, Miss Chase?”

“Do you see anything missing or disturbed?” one of the police officers asked Miss Chase when they got inside the shop.

“Not that I can tell. You see, we’ve been unpacking10 books and cleaning and throwing things out,” she explained. “Everybody’s been so busy, if someone touched or took anything, it would be hard to tell.”

The police led everyone out to the courtyard and flashed their lights up and down the brick walls and book tables. “How about out here? Is everything in order?”

Miss Chase sighed. “Again, it’s impossible to say, Officer. Everything looks fine. The children said they found my apartment unlocked. I’m sure I locked it, before I left.”

Everyone trooped upstairs to check the apartment. Henry handed the police officer Miss Chase’s crumpled note. “Maybe somebody saw this on the door and somehow got into the apartment when they figured out no one was here.”

“We saw a person run from the bookshop doorway when we went out to the front sidewalk,” Jessie added. “Maybe the person went up to the apartment, down the stairs into the bookshop, then out the front door to the street.”

“Man or woman?” the police officer asked.

“It was too dark to tell,” Henry explained. “And the person was halfway11 down the block by the time we put two and two together. Sorry.”

The two officers turned on the lights and led everyone through the apartment. “Just walk through and tell me if you see anything out of place since you left,” one of the officersadvised.

Miss Chase and the Aldens checked each room. Nothing seemed disturbed in any way. The drawers were all shut. Miss Chase’s jewelry12 box and silverware were neatly13 in their places. Even Benny’s stuffed animal, Stockings, was propped14 up on the cot on the sleeping porch, exactly where Benny had placed him that morning.

“We’ll cruise around the block a few times during the night,” one of the officers told Miss Chase, “just in case.”

“Good night. Thank you for coming,” Miss Chase said.

“No problem,” one of the police officers said. “Often kids see things that turn out to be nothing. And everybody forgets to lock their doors once in a while. Why, if I had a dollar for every time somebody called up. . . .”

“Good night, Officer,” Miss Chase said, this time a little more firmly.

“The police didn’t believe us,” Benny said after they had gone. “Just because we’re kids.”

Miss Chase patted Benny’s hand. “Well, I believe you, Benny. I can see the police have made up their minds that I left my apartment unlocked. We’ll just have to be extra careful about keeping our eyes and ears open to see if there really is someone snooping around here. We’ll be very busy with the book sale and all, but that would be a good time to be on the lookout15.”

“I learned lots of detective tricks from your books,” Jessie said. “We can try them out first thing tomorrow morning.”

“How about tonight?” Benny said, suddenly as wide-awake as could be.

“Aren’t you tired?” Miss Chase asked, smiling at Benny’s liveliness.

“Me, tired?” Benny said. “I’m never tired when there’s a mystery to solve. I want to find out if somebody’s following us around.”

“Well, I’m ready for bed,” Miss Chase said. “Good night.”

“Where do we start?” Violet asked Henry and Jessie after Miss Chase left.

“Let’s check the bookshop again, then the apartment,” Henry suggested. “Where are you going, Benny? The stairs to the bookshop are down the hall.”

“You’ll see,” Benny said with a big smile. “Wait for me, okay?”

When Benny came back, he was carrying a small white-and-pink can of baby powder.

“Where did you get that?” Violet asked.

“From the bathroom. It’s for dusting for fingerprints16. When Jessie reads me Miss Chase’s books, the detective always uses powder to look for fingerprints where the bad guy was.”

Henry smiled at Benny. “That works okay in books, but the bookshop will be covered with so many fingerprints from all the customers, we’d have to stay in New Orleans our whole lives before we could check out each print.”

“Oh, well,” Benny said. “I’ll go put it back in the bathroom.”

“Wait,” Violet said. Then she bent17 down and whispered something in Benny’s ear.

“Goody!” Benny cried, leading the way downstairs.

When Jessie unlocked the inside door of the bookshop, Benny raced over to the front door. He sprinkled powder on the floor. When he was done with that, he sprinkled more powder on the windowsills.

Jessie smiled at Benny. “I bet Violet told you about how Miss Chase’s detective used to put down powder to see if anyone returned to the scene of a crime in The Streetcar Mystery. Good work, Benny!”

The children checked the bookshop carefully for any signs of a prowler.

“I can’t remember what was over here and what was over there since this morning,” Jessie said, after about half an hour of checking the room inch by inch. “We moved everything around so much.”

Henry put down one of the books he’d been examining from a box of books in the corner. He yawned. “We ought to call it a night,” Henry said, “and start looking again in the morning.”

“There’s one more thing we can do,” Jessie said, handing Benny and Violet some sheets of paper from a notepad. “Tear these in tiny pieces and hide them in different places — inside some of the books that are left and in those boxes of odds18 and ends.”

“I know!” Benny cried. “Those little pieces will fall out if someone picks up stuff with the paper scraps19 inside. Then we’ll know for sure if somebody touched anything. Neat!”

The Aldens went around hiding the small paper scraps in as many places as they could.

As soon as they were done, they went upstairs to get ready for bed.

Jessie went over to tuck Benny under his covers. “Would you like me to read you one of Violet’s fairy tales?”

Benny’s answer was a big yawn and lots of eye rubbing. He hugged Stockings, then flopped20 back on his cot. “No stories tonight. I’m too tired.”


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 jumble I3lyi     
vt.使混乱,混杂;n.混乱;杂乱的一堆
参考例句:
  • Even the furniture remained the same jumble that it had always been.甚至家具还是象过去一样杂乱无章。
  • The things in the drawer were all in a jumble.抽屉里的东西很杂乱。
2 flicked 7c535fef6da8b8c191b1d1548e9e790a     
(尤指用手指或手快速地)轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 ); (用…)轻挥; (快速地)按开关; 向…笑了一下(或瞥了一眼等)
参考例句:
  • She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
  • I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。
3 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。
4 crumpled crumpled     
adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
  • She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。
5 cozy ozdx0     
adj.亲如手足的,密切的,暖和舒服的
参考例句:
  • I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯,因为他们是舒适的。
  • We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
6 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。
7 darted d83f9716cd75da6af48046d29f4dd248     
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔
参考例句:
  • The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了,瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 budge eSRy5     
v.移动一点儿;改变立场
参考例句:
  • We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来,但它连动都没动一下。
  • She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。
9 scrunched c0664d844856bef433bce5850de659f2     
v.发出喀嚓声( scrunch的过去式和过去分词 );蜷缩;压;挤压
参考例句:
  • The snow scrunched underfoot. 雪在脚下发出嘎吱嘎吱的声音。
  • He scrunched up the piece of paper and threw it at me. 他把那张纸揉成一个小团,朝我扔过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 unpacking 4cd1f3e1b7db9c6a932889b5839cdd25     
n.取出货物,拆包[箱]v.从(包裹等)中取出(所装的东西),打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 );拆包;解除…的负担;吐露(心事等)
参考例句:
  • Joe sat on the bed while Martin was unpacking. 马丁打开箱子取东西的时候,乔坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They are unpacking a trunk. 他们正在打开衣箱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
12 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。
13 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
14 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。
15 lookout w0sxT     
n.注意,前途,瞭望台
参考例句:
  • You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
  • It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来,公司的前景可就不妙了。
16 fingerprints 9b456c81cc868e5bdf3958245615450b     
n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
  • They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套,以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
18 odds n5czT     
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别
参考例句:
  • The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
  • Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗?
19 scraps 737e4017931b7285cdd1fa3eb9dd77a3     
油渣
参考例句:
  • Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
  • A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。
20 flopped e5b342a0b376036c32e5cd7aa560c15e     
v.(指书、戏剧等)彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 );(因疲惫而)猛然坐下;(笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地)移动或落下;砸锅
参考例句:
  • Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽,一屁股坐到椅子上。
  • It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地,出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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