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儿童英语读物 The Secret of the Mask CHAPTER 2 A Wooden Mask

时间:2017-11-28 05:33来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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Five minutes later, the children stood in front of 332 Locust1. Faded blue paint chipped and peeled off the old house. Thick weeds choked the flowerbeds and grew up through cracks in the walk. Hot summers and freezing winters had turned the white picket2 fence a dirty gray. A few broken pickets3 poked4 jagged edges in all directions. Violet backed away. “Let’s go home,” she said.

“Wait,” said Jessie. “I know this house. We trick-or-treated here. Remember? The housekeeper5 was that funny lady dressed as a mummy. She brought us into the living room—”

“To a nice old lady in a wheelchair,” said Violet. “I do remember. She was dressed like Betsy Ross and was sewing an American flag.”

“I don’t remember,” Benny said.

“Sure you do,” said Jessie. “There was a big silver candleholder on the table next to her with five black-and-orange candles. Candle wax was dripping onto the table, and you picked up a glob and shaped it into a ball.”

Benny’s eyes grew wide. “And she let me ride up and down the staircase in her special elevator.”

“This house was so cluttered6 with all of her things,” Henry said, “that I wondered how her wheelchair got through. No wonder they need such a big moving truck.”

Jessie remembered the stacks of books, piles of pictures, and shelves of figurines that were scattered7 through the big blue house.

The children looked around. A red car, as bright and shiny as a candy apple, was parked in front of 332 Locust, but no Best Movers truck. “Where is it?” asked Violet.

“Maybe the driver stopped for gas,” said Jessie.

“Or dinner,” said Benny, who was usually hungry. “Let’s go see what they’re throwing away.”

The children ran around the block and looked down the alley8. “Oh, no!” cried Benny.

Empty trash cans stood neatly9 next to garages. At the far end of the alley, a Greenfield garbage truck rattled10 away. Two workers walked behind the truck, picking up trash cans, bags, and boxes, emptying everything into the truck. One man pulled a lever. A loud whirring and grinding noise filled the air as the truck crushed everything inside.

“We’re too late,” said Violet.

Benny watched the garbage truck turn down the next alley. He felt sad as he thought about all of the treasures they could have found.

“That’s too bad,” said Jessie. “It was a great idea.”

Henry put an arm around his brother. “Cheer up,” he said. “Let’s go home and open the tackle box, see how much we made today.”

Usually, Benny liked counting money. But now he lagged behind the others, kicking pebbles11 as he walked. At the end of the alley, as he turned to kick one last stone, he saw a woman with long red hair wedge a large white box into a trash can behind the blue house. She leaned out into the alley, staring at the distant garbage truck, then hurried back inside the house.

Benny raced over and lifted the lid.

“What did you find?” asked Henry.

Benny pulled out the box and opened it. Popcorn12 spilled out. “Popcorn?” he said. “Why throw away popcorn?”

“Sometimes,” said Violet, “people pack fragile things in popcorn.”

“Fragile?” asked Benny.

“Fragile means things that can break easily. Like the glass snow globes Grandfather sent from New York. Those were packed in popcorn to keep them from breaking. Popcorn’s cheaper than bubble wrap.”

“And it tastes better,” said Benny.

“You should never eat packing corn,” warned Violet. “It can be months and months old and dirty.”

The others bent13 over and looked into the box as Jessie slowly uncovered their new treasure. “It looks like some kind of mask or something,” she said.

The children all stared at the wooden mask that lay neatly in the box. The colors were faded, and a crown of dusty feathers sprouted14 from the top and sides. The face was half faded yellow and half gray, and the bottom of the mask was painted in different colors, almost like a rainbow. On both sides of the face, rain clouds had been painted.

“Wow!” said Benny. “Look at how thick these feathers are!” He ran his fingers from the bottom to the top of each bunch of feathers.

Violet looked carefully at the mask before speaking. “I read about something like this in one of my Prairie Girls books,” she said. “It looks like the face of one of the dolls that Katrina found in the book Katrina and the Kachina Doll.”

“That’s right,” said Jessie. “My teacher talked about kachinas at school. Kachinas are Native American spirits. The tribes made dolls of the spirits to give to women and children as presents. But I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

“I wonder what it was used for,” Henry said.

“Do you think it’s real?” asked Benny, very excited.

Henry began to close the box. “I’m sure this is just a copy of a Native American mask. Maybe the person who lives here bought it as a souvenir and didn’t want it anymore.”

“I’m going to sell it tomorrow,” Benny decided15. “I bet someone pays five dollars for it.”

Violet looked at the mask carefully before Henry closed the lid all the way. “This must be a copy. But why would someone pack it so nicely just to throw it in the trash?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Let’s stop at the library on the way home. They might have some books on kachinas,” said Henry.

As they wheeled the wagon16 out of the alley, an orange pickup17 truck pulled in. The children moved aside as it passed. The man driving was skinny with a scruffy18 black beard. He glanced at the children as he drove by, and seemed puzzled when he saw their wagon with the box inside. As he drove off down the alley, the children saw parts of an old swing set and a couple of broken bikes in the back of his truck.

Benny laughed. “He’s probably a junker trying to catch up to the garbage truck. But I’ll bet Mr. Robbins already picked up all the good stuff.”

The head librarian typed “kachina” into her computer. “Ah, here we go,” said Ms. Connelly, printing out a list of titles. “These will get you started.”

The library lights flashed on and off. “Oh, no,” Jessie said, “the library’s closing.”

“We still have fifteen minutes,” said Violet, running toward the computer room. “I’ll see what information I can find online.”

As Violet headed toward the computer room, Henry, Jessie, and Benny quickly found the books from the list the librarian had given them.

“My book says that kachinas are spirits from the Hopi Native American tribe that live in Arizona,” said Jessie. “It says there are many different kinds of kachinas.”

“My book says that a few Native American tribes have kachina spirits, but the Hopi tribe has the most,” Henry noted19. “The Hopi dress up as kachinas by wearing masks like the one we found. The masks are very special to them. When the Hopi tribe wears these masks in their ceremonies, they believe they become the kachina spirits,” Henry explained.

“What kind of spirits are they?” Benny asked. “Are they like ghosts?”

“No Benny,” said Henry. “The Hopi spirits help give the tribe the things they need to survive. Each spirit is responsible for something important to the Hopi tribe.”

“Like food?” asked Benny.

“Yes, Benny,” Henry answered with a laugh. Benny loved to eat. “But there are also kachinas that control the weather and the earth.”

“There are also clown kachinas that are there just for fun,” chimed in Jessie.

“And scary kachinas that are used to frighten children into being good,” said Henry, tickling20 Benny.

In the computer room, Violet paced up and down. Every computer was taken. Someone please leave, she thought, please, please, please. Finally, a man with a long braid down his back stood and pushed back his chair. He reached out to turn off his computer. Violet froze. He wore a beautiful bracelet21 decorated with dark and light silver. It was just like a Hopi bracelet she had seen in her book. She glanced at his computer screen. It was filled with photographs of old masks. Could they be kachina masks? The screen went blue as he logged off.

The library lights flashed again. Violet didn’t have time to go online so she hurried to find the others. Jessie was flipping22 through a book of kachina masks while Henry read a book to Benny.

Jessie quickly looked up from her book. “Look!”

“What is it, Jessie?” asked Violet.

“This mask looks a lot like ours. It’s very dark on one side, light on the other, and there’s the same colorful chin. It says here this mask represents a Hopi cloud kachina maiden23.” Jessie continued. “The cloud kachinas bring rain to the tribe, and make their crops grow.”

“I think someone copied our mask from one of these books, the way I copy drawings and paintings from Grandfather’s old art books,” said Violet.

“Isn’t that cheating?” asked Benny as Henry grabbed their pile of books to check out.

“Artists copy other people’s art all the time. It’s a good way to learn.”

“I bet it’s still worth something,” Benny said. “I bet I can sell it tomorrow for more than five dollars!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 locust m8Dzk     
n.蝗虫;洋槐,刺槐
参考例句:
  • A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
  • This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。
2 picket B2kzl     
n.纠察队;警戒哨;v.设置纠察线;布置警卫
参考例句:
  • They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
  • Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。
3 pickets 32ab2103250bc1699d0740a77a5a155b     
罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Five pickets were arrested by police. 五名纠察队员被警方逮捕。
  • We could hear the chanting of the pickets. 我们可以听到罢工纠察员有节奏的喊叫声。
4 poked 87f534f05a838d18eb50660766da4122     
v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 );戳出;拨弄;与(某人)性交
参考例句:
  • She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
  • His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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 cluttered da1cd877cda71c915cf088ac1b1d48d3     
v.杂物,零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 );乱糟糟地堆满,把…弄得很乱;(以…) 塞满…
参考例句:
  • The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
7 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
8 alley Cx2zK     
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
参考例句:
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
9 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。
10 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
11 pebbles e4aa8eab2296e27a327354cbb0b2c5d2     
[复数]鹅卵石; 沙砾; 卵石,小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
  • Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石,以确保排水良好。
12 popcorn 8lUzJI     
n.爆米花
参考例句:
  • I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时,喜欢吃爆米花。
  • He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后,嘴里塞满了爆米花。
13 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。
14 sprouted 6e3d9efcbfe061af8882b5b12fd52864     
v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 );抽芽;出现;(使)涌现出
参考例句:
  • We can't use these potatoes; they've all sprouted. 这些土豆儿不能吃了,都出芽了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The rice seeds have sprouted. 稻种已经出芽了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 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。
16 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。
17 pickup ANkxA     
n.拾起,获得
参考例句:
  • I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。
18 scruffy YsWyG     
adj.肮脏的,不洁的
参考例句:
  • Despite her scruffy clothes,there was an air of sophistication about her.尽管她衣衫褴褛,但神态老练世故。
  • His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.他邋遢的外表并不反映他的性格。
19 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
20 tickling 8e56dcc9f1e9847a8eeb18aa2a8e7098     
反馈,回授,自旋挠痒法
参考例句:
  • Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢?
  • Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说,笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。
21 bracelet nWdzD     
n.手镯,臂镯
参考例句:
  • The jeweler charges lots of money to set diamonds in a bracelet.珠宝匠要很多钱才肯把钻石镶在手镯上。
  • She left her gold bracelet as a pledge.她留下她的金手镯作抵押品。
22 flipping b69cb8e0c44ab7550c47eaf7c01557e4     
讨厌之极的
参考例句:
  • I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆!
  • Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。
23 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
参考例句:
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
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