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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Wild Ponies CHAPTER 8 What Shad Knows

时间:2017-09-28 06:26:18

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(单词翻译)

“Let’s have our lunch on the deck,” Jessie suggested.

“Good idea.” Henry loaded a tray with egg-salad sandwiches and a plate of carrot and celery sticks.

Violet followed him out the sliding glass doors with a pitcher1 of limeade.

The children sat down on the deck chairs and began eating.

Jessie was looking at Winifred Gorman’s house. The artist had come out on her own deck. She saw the Alden children and waved.

“Come on over,” she called. “I made brownies.”

Jessie looked at Henry in astonishment2. “Did she just invite us over for brownies?”

“You heard right,” he said, raising his eyebrows3. “Let’s go. It’ll be a good chance to find out more about the pony4 painting.”

Violet stacked their lunch things on the tray. “I’ll be right out. I want to show something to Winifred.”

She returned moments later with her sketch5 pad. Then the kids walked over to their neighbor’s house.

Winifred had arranged the chairs around the umbrella table. A plate of vanilla-iced brownies sat in the middle.

“Help yourself,” she said. “If you don’t, I’ll eat them all myself. My waistline can’t afford it!”

Benny was confused. First Winifred was mad at them. She thought they had stolen her apples. Now she was giving them brownies. But Benny couldn’t resist. He took a brownie and tasted it. He never turned down chocolate.

“Mmm,” he pronounced. “Good.”

Winifred smiled. Benny had never seen the woman smile before. Why was she so nice all of a sudden?

“May I show you something?” Violet asked the artist. “It’s a drawing I did.”

“Sure!” Winifred opened Violet’s book and examined the sketch of a bird. “You used one line! Isn’t that a fun technique?”

“Did I do it right?” Violet asked anxiously.

“Art is about expressing oneself,” said Winifred. “There is no right or wrong way.”

“Can you draw like that? Just using one line?” Violet wanted to know.

“Of course.” Winifred reached down by her chair for her own drawing pad. Taking a pencil from her pocket, she flipped6 to a fresh page. “You can draw people this way, too. Just put your pencil down and start with the eyes—don’t pick up your pencil until you’re done.”

As she talked, she rapidly sketched7 Violet’s features using a single line. She tore off the page and gave it to Violet.

Violet was thrilled. “That’s wonderful! Thank you.”

As Winifred closed her sketchbook, Henry noticed a drawing of another face. The artist saw him looking and closed the book quickly.

Henry was suspicious. Why had Winifred invited them over? She usually acted like they were a nuisance. The woman must want something from them, but what? Maybe if he learned more about her …

“Are you going to live here all the time?” he asked.

“I have a studio in New York City,” said Winifred. “This summer I came down here on vacation.”

“Like us,” Benny put in.

Winifred smiled. “Well, I took a vacation from my work. People aren’t buying my paintings. I thought a change of scenery would be good for me.”

“And has it been?” asked Jessie.

“I think it has,” the artist replied. “I might sell my studio and live here all the time. It’s very peaceful.”

“Except for the robberies,” Henry brought up.

Winifred frowned. “What robberies?”

“You know, your missing beach towel. And the apples.”

“Oh, those,” Winifred said. “I found the beach towel the other day. As for the apples, no great loss.”

“But you were really upset,” Benny reminded her.

“That’s because I was worried about my work,” she explained. “I know I haven’t been a very nice neighbor, and I’m sorry about that,” she added quietly. “But now I’m painting better than ever. A bowl of missing apples is nothing.”

Jessie was amazed at how Winifred had changed her tune8. Every time they had seen the woman, she was grouchy9. Now she was nice as pie! What was going on?

At that moment, Benny stood up. “Grandfather’s back,” he said. Then he saw another car pull into the driveway behind their station wagon10.

The car had a star painted on the side. It was from the sheriff’s office.

By the time the children ran over to the cottage, two uniformed deputies were sitting in the living room with Grandfather.

“I’m Deputy Knight11,” said a tall, dark-haired man with a deep tan. “And this is Deputy Perelli.” His brown-haired companion nodded.

“I’m James Alden,” said Grandfather. “These are my grandchildren, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. How may we help you?”

Deputy Knight removed a black-and-white photograph from his clipboard and passed it to Grandfather.

“Have you seen this boy? We think he is somewhere in the vicinity,” said the officer.

James Alden studied the photograph, then shook his head before handing it to Henry. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve never seen him.”

The others gathered around Henry. The photograph showed a blond-haired boy around fifteen years old. He was wearing a necklace.

Benny was startled. He was sure he’d seen that boy’s picture before. It was in the newspaper Grandfather had bought their first day. But the boy wasn’t by himself. He was in a group of other boys.

Jessie thought she recognized that face, but she wasn’t sure. It looked like the blond boy she’d seen watching them from the dune12 yesterday. And the boy she’d spied carrying the Seagull Resort beach chair.

“Who is this boy?” Grandfather asked the deputies.

“His name is Austin Derrick,” Deputy Perelli replied. “He has run away from summer camp on the mainland. We have reason to believe he is hiding on the island.”

Deputy Knight continued the explanation. “Apparently Austin didn’t want to go to this camp. He argued with his parents, but they both had long business trips this summer. Austin went to camp, but left after the first week.”

“Did he call his parents?” Grandfather asked, concerned.

“Yes, he did,” said Deputy Perelli. “He told them he was with a friend. But they checked out his story. The friend he was supposed to be staying with hasn’t seen Austin all summer. So then they called the police. The parents are on their way now. They should be here by this evening.”

“Why do they think he is here?” Grandfather probed.

“Because the boy’s father has an older, distant cousin who lives here,” replied Deputy Knight. “Apparently Austin spent a few summers with the cousin. He was angry when he learned he couldn’t stay with the relative this summer.”

Grandfather nodded sympathetically. “Sounds like the boy is lonely, with his parents away a lot. Have you contacted the cousin yet?”

“He doesn’t have a phone,” said Deputy Knight. “And we can’t locate him at his residence. We’ll keep trying, but we’re worried because his house is quite a bit out of the way, and it’s possible that the boy may have become lost. That’s why we’re checking out the whole island.”

“We’d like to help,” said Grandfather. “My grandchildren and I will keep an eye out for this boy. We’ll call you if we see him.”

The officers stood and shook Grandfather’s hand.

“Thanks for your cooperation,” said Deputy Perelli.

As Grandfather showed the men to the door, Benny went over to the coffee table. He found the old newspaper, tore a page from it, folded it, and jammed it into his pocket.

Henry watched his brother and knew Benny was on to something.

“We’re going out,” said Henry to Grandfather. “We need some air.”

Outside, they all began talking at once.

Henry held up a silencing hand. “Wait a minute! I know Benny knows something.”

“So does Jessie,” said Violet. “She’s got that look on her face. Spill, you two.”

Benny and Jessie told Violet and Henry where they thought they had seen the boy before. Benny showed them the newspaper photograph of the campers. Sure enough, the blond boy stood in the front row.

Violet gasped13. “It is him! You can even see the shark’s tooth necklace around his neck!”

“I knew I’d seen that necklace someplace else before. But who could the relative be the policemen were talking about?” Benny wondered out loud.

“I have an idea,” said Henry. “Follow me.”

He led them across the road to the docks. At the end of the dock, Shad Toler was cleaning his catch. Shad’s pelican14 friend was watching intently.

The fisherman looked up when he saw them approach.

“Hey,” he said. “Think I ought to throw Greedy here a fish?”

Henry glanced into the bucket. Shad had caught a lot of fish today—enough to feed two people.

“I don’t know if you can spare a fish,” he said carefully. “It depends on how much Austin eats.”

Shad stared at him. “Pardon?”

Benny showed him the newspaper photo. “Some policemen came to our house today. They’re looking for this boy. Do you know him?”

“What makes you think I’d know him?” Shad said, suddenly unable to look them in the eye.

Jessie pulled the shark’s tooth necklace from her pocket. “This is Austin Derrick’s necklace. We found it on the beach. When we showed it to you, you said it was bad luck to wear shark’s teeth. But I think you were really afraid that we’d find out about Austin.”

Violet noticed the sky behind them growing very dark. A storm was approaching from the mainland. She remembered what Grandfather had said about storms being dangerous on the Outer Banks.

“Storm’s comin’,” Shad said nervously15. “I’ve got to go home and … check on things.”

“Maybe we should come with you,” said Henry. “I think it’s time we found out the whole story.”

Shad looked out over the water. “Maybe it is time you knew. I’m getting tired of keeping secrets.”


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 pitcher S2Gz7     
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手
参考例句:
  • He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
  • Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。
2 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
3 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
4 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
5 sketch UEyyG     
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
参考例句:
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
6 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。
7 sketched 7209bf19355618c1eb5ca3c0fdf27631     
v.草拟(sketch的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The historical article sketched the major events of the decade. 这篇有关历史的文章概述了这十年中的重大事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He sketched the situation in a few vivid words. 他用几句生动的语言简述了局势。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
8 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。
9 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。
10 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。
11 knight W2Hxk     
n.骑士,武士;爵士
参考例句:
  • He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
  • A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。
12 dune arHx6     
n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘
参考例句:
  • The sand massed to form a dune.沙积集起来成了沙丘。
  • Cute Jim sat on the dune eating a prune in June.可爱的吉姆在六月天坐在沙丘上吃着话梅。
13 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》
14 pelican bAby7     
n.鹈鹕,伽蓝鸟
参考例句:
  • The pelican has a very useful beak.鹈鹕有一张非常有用的嘴。
  • This pelican is expected to fully recover.这只鹈鹕不久就能痊愈。
15 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地,不安地
参考例句:
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇,努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

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