英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

儿童英语读物 The Pumpkin Head Mystery CHAPTER 10 Sam is Found!

时间:2017-12-18 03:13来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

“Look!” Benny cried. “Watch is afraid of scarecrows, but he is not afraid of skeletons!”

Benny was wearing the skeleton costume. He and Watch played in Grandfather’s front yard. Watch jumped on Benny. He licked Benny’s face.

Henry, Jessie, and Violet sat on the front porch. It was dark. The air was cool and crisp. Jessie tapped her pencil on her notebook. “Let’s go over it one more time before tomorrow,” she said. “Mr. Bolger wants the Beckett farm. He wants to build houses there. And Bessie is probably working for Mr. Bolger.”

Henry nodded. “Jason loves the farm. He does not want houses built there. But he does not like the hayrides and the people who come to admire the farm.”

Violet agreed. “Maybe Jason loves the farm too much. He does not want strangers riding through the fields.”

“And he thinks Mr. Beckett has not planted the best crops.” Jessie looked thoughtful. “I think Jason wants the farm for himself.”

“Don’t forget that Sally wants her parents to move to Florida,” Henry added. “And Sally and Jason have been friends since they were children.”

Jessie turned the page in her notebook. “I feel like there is a clue that I have forgotten to write down. But I don’t remember what it is.”

“What I don’t understand,” Violet said, “is how a pumpkin1 head can float in the air. And how can it suddenly disappear? It seems impossible, but we all saw it.”

Jessie stood up. “Do you see Benny?” she asked.

Benny had thrown a stick for Watch to fetch. He ran after Watch to the edge of the woods.

“I don’t see Benny,” Violet said. “But I see a small skeleton!”

The white bones on Benny’s costume seemed to glow. The rest of Benny was hidden in the darkness. It looked like Watch was playing with a real skeleton!

“Now I understand!” Henry cried.

“What do you mean?” asked Violet.

“I will show you. Can you please light the candle in our jack-o-lantern? I will be right back.” Henry dashed into the house. He found a dark-colored blanket in the closet. He brought it outside. He wrapped the blanket around himself.

Benny and Watch ran up to the porch. “Are you putting on a costume, too, Henry?” asked Benny.

“I am,” Henry answered. “Stay here on the porch and tell me what you see.” Henry picked up the jack-o-lantern and walked away from the porch lights. He headed toward the darkness at the edge of the woods. Then he held the jack-o-lantern over his head. After a minute, he blew out the candle inside it.

“Wow!” Benny called. “Can I try? The jack-o-lantern was floating in the air! Then it disappeared! That was spooky!”

“Just like the pumpkin head at the Beckett farm!” Violet exclaimed.

“Nice work, Henry!” Jessie said. “You figured it out.”

Henry walked toward the porch. “I couldn’t have done it without Benny,” he said. “He gave me the idea.”

“I did?” Benny looked confused.

“Yes,” Henry said. “Your costume reminded me. Black things are invisible in the darkness. The pumpkin head haunting the Beckett farm seemed to be floating. But it was not. Someone dressed in black was carrying it. At night, we could not see the person.”

Suddenly, Jessie remembered something. “Jason was wearing a black cape2 the night of the haunted hayride! I saw him slip into the barn with the cape.”

Henry looked thoughtful. “I think we need to include Jason in Violet’s plan.”

The next morning, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were ready to put Violet’s plan to work. They arrived at the farm stand just after Bessie.

“My goodness!” Bessie said. “This farm stand is in good order. If you children keep doing such a good job, the Becketts might not need me anymore.”

Bessie carried her mug of coffee into the booth. She opened the window and set the snacks on the ledge3.

Henry and Benny went to the barn for a wheelbarrow. They hoped to find Jason there.

Violet and Jessie acted as though they were tired. They sat under the open window and rested against the booth. Violet nodded to Jessie to begin.

“What do you think will happen to the farm, Violet?” Jessie asked in a loud voice. “There have been so many problems around here.”

“I think the Becketts might sell the farm,” Violet said. “They asked Jason to come to the house for a meeting at ten o’clock this morning.”

“But what about Mr. Bolger? Doesn’t he want to buy the farm?” asked Jessie.

“Yes,” Violet said. “I think he does want to buy the farm, too. But I don’t know if he knows about the meeting.”

Suddenly, the door to the booth flew open. Bessie hurried out. “I am going to get more coffee,” Bessie said. “Can you watch things here for a few minutes?”

“Of course,” Jessie said. “Take your time.”

Bessie walked away quickly. Jessie and Violet went into the booth. Bessie’s mug sat on the counter. It was still full of hot coffee!

Henry and Benny wheeled some pumpkins4 to the stand. Violet explained how Bessie had overheard the conversation and then hurried away.

“Jason acted the same way,” Benny said. “He looked really angry”

“He was in the barn,” Henry said. “We made sure he could overhear us talking. We mentioned that we thought the Becketts might sell their farm to Mr. Bolger.”

“Did you talk about the meeting?” Jessie asked.

Benny lifted a large pumpkin from the wheelbarrow. “Yes. We said that we thought there was going to be a meeting at ten o’clock with Mr. Bolger. That’s when Jason ran out of the barn.”

“What time is it now?” Violet asked.

Jessie looked at her watch. “It is almost ten o’clock now. Let’s go up to the house.”

Mrs. Beckett was waiting for the children on the front porch. She winked5 at Violet.

Mr. Beckett opened the screen door and limped outside. He sat in his rocking chair and looked out toward the farm lane. “I’m sorry, Violet,” he said. “But I hope that your hunch6 is wrong. I hate to think that Bessie would do anything to hurt the farm. I know she is unfriendly sometimes, but she has worked for me for many years. I have always trusted her.”

“I understand,” Violet said. “I hope I am wrong, too.”

Just then, a big, black car raced up the lane. It screeched7 to a stop in the gravel8 lot. Mr. Bolger jumped out and slammed the door.

“Look,” Benny cried. “Here comes Jason, too.”

Jason was hurrying toward the house with a red folder9 in his hand. He reached the porch at the same time as Mr. Bolger.

Mr. Bolger pulled a checkbook from his pocket. “Listen here, Beckett,” he said. “I can pay you double whatever Jason is offering for this farm. You cannot afford to sell it to him. How much did he agree to pay you?”

Jason looked confused. “But I haven’t….I thought…”

Sally walked out onto the porch. “What’s going on here?” she asked.

“We’re having a meeting,” Mr. Beckett said. “Can you please find Bessie? I have some questions for her.”

Bessie stepped out from beside the house. Her face was red. “I just happened to be passing by,” she mumbled10. “I wondered what was going on.”

“I think you know what is going on!” Mr. Beckett replied.

Mr. Bolger tapped his pen on his checkbook. “I am glad to hear that you are finally ready to sell this farm, Beckett,” he said. “Now, please tell me how much you want for it. I have much more money than Jason.”

“Who told you we were ready to sell?” Mr. Beckett asked.

“What does that matter?” Mr. Bolger shrugged11 his shoulders. “I have ways of knowing things. Maybe your daughter, Sally, told me. She visited my office only a few days ago.”

Sally crossed her arms. “I wish my parents would sell the farm and come to live with me. But I did not tell you that they were ready to sell.”

“It was probably those kids,” Bessie said, pointing at the Aldens. “They are always snooping around.”

“We are not the ones who have been snooping,” Violet said. She turned to the Becketts. “Bessie has been working for Mr. Bolger. She tells him about everything that goes on at the farm. That is how he always knows when there has been a problem here.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about!” Bessie looked nervously12 toward the Becketts. “I have worked here for a long time. This farm is important to me. These kids don’t know what they are saying!”

“We saw Bessie come out of Mr. Bolger’s office,” Henry said. “We weren’t sure that she worked there.”

“But her friend, Kim, who works at the diner, told us that Bessie was working two jobs,” Jessie added.

“And then I found this newspaper ad in the booth,” Violet said. She took the ad from her pocket and handed it to Mr. Beckett.

Bessie wrung13 her hands together. “You have no right to snoop through my things!” she shouted at Violet.

Mrs. Beckett put her arm around Violet. “Bessie, do not shout at Violet. She was not snooping. She found the ad while she was working in the booth doing your job. If you did not call in sick, Violet would not have been there.”

Bessie collapsed14 into a chair. Her lip trembled. “I’m sorry,” she sighed. “Violet is right. It is true that I work for Dave Bolger. But I have no choice. My husband is sick and I need the money. At first, I only worked in his office. Then, he asked me for information about the farm. He paid me to tell him when there were problems here.”

Mr. Beckett shook his head. “So you called Mr. Bolger today and told him that I was ready to sell the farm?”

“Yes,” Bessie admitted. “I overheard the girls talking about a meeting this morning.”

Mr. Beckett turned to Dave Bolger. “You might as well leave, Mr. Bolger. I will never sell my farm to you, especially after all the things you have done to cause problems around here. I should probably call the police to report you.”

“You cannot call the police! I have done nothing wrong!” Mr. Bolger stuffed his checkbook back into his pocket. “All I did was offer you a lot of money for your farm. You will be sorry that you did not sell to me!” Mr. Bolger stomped15 back to his car and drove away.

“What an unpleasant man!” Mrs. Beckett said.

“I am so sorry,” Bessie sniffed16. “I know it was wrong to give Dave Bolger information about the farm. But I didn’t suspect that he was causing all the problems here.”

“He wasn’t,” Henry said. “Mr. Bolger was telling the truth. He wanted to buy the farm. But he has not caused all the problems around here. Jason has done that.”

Jason had been standing17 in the corner. He turned angrily toward Henry. “What do you mean? I love this farm!” he said.

Mr. Beckett looked very surprised. “Henry, I think you must be mistaken. Jason has worked on this farm with me since he was a young boy. Why would he do such a thing?”

Everyone turned to look at Jason. His face was quite red. He hung his head for a few moments. Then he looked at the Becketts. “You must understand,” he said. “I love this farm as much as you do. And I never meant for you to get hurt.”

Mr. Beckett looked very angry. He rested his hand on his broken leg. “But I did get hurt! And I lost a lot of money! Many customers were afraid to come here. Why would you haunt the farm and scare away the workers?”

Jason looked down at his feet. “I was worried that you would sell the farm to Mr. Bolger. I thought that if the farm was haunted, no one would want to live here. Mr. Bolger couldn’t build houses if everyone was scared away. And then maybe one day you would sell the farm to me.”

“It is a good thing not everyone was scared,” Mrs. Beckett said. “It seems that the Aldens do not believe in haunted farms.”

“I tried to scare them,” Jason admitted. “I slipped away during the haunted hayride. I was sure that the floating pumpkin head would frighten them. But instead of running away, they chased the pumpkin head. I had to disappear quickly.”

“We were chasing Sam!” Benny said.

“Sam?” asked Sally. “I never heard of Sam. Who is he?”

“He is my pumpkin head scarecrow!” Benny said. “He was scarecrow-napped from in front of Grandfather’s house. And then I saw his pumpkin head floating in the fields!”

“I’m sorry, Benny,” Jason said. “I did not know that the scarecrow belonged to you. I saw it when I was driving home one night. It was the scariest pumpkin head I had ever seen. I stopped my car to look at it. I almost had an accident!”

“That was you?” Violet said. “We heard the screeching18 tires. We were worried that someone could have been hurt.”

“No one got hurt,” Jason said. “But it was a foolish thing for me to do. I thought that Benny’s pumpkin head would be perfect for haunting the farm.”

“You came back the next day and stole it,” Jessie said.

“Yes, I admit it,” Jason replied. “But it was not easy. Your dog was very angry. He chased me all the way to the fence. He bit off a piece of the scarecrow’s pants.”

“That is why Watch did not like you!” Jessie exclaimed.

“I was surprised on the night that I drove you home from the farm,” Jason said. “I did not know that you lived there. Your dog remembered that I stole the scarecrow. I guess he was trying to warn you about me.”

Mr. Beckett shook his head. “I cannot believe that you did all those things, Jason. I am so disappointed in you.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said. I thought that I was trying to save the farm. But now I see I was wrong. It is not even my farm. I will understand if you want to fire me.”

Mr. Beckett took a deep breath. He looked at his wife and she nodded back at him. “I suppose I should fire you, Jason. But you are like a son to me. You love this farm even more than my own daughter. What you did caused a lot of trouble. You can stay, but you will have to work twice as hard. You have a lot to make up for.”

“I will work extra hard!” Jason promised. “I will pay you back for all the trouble I have caused. I have so many good ideas for this farm.” He opened up his red folder. “Did you know that many of the restaurants in town would be happy to buy their vegetables from the Beckett farm? I have been talking to the owners. And here is a design I have worked on for a new farm stand. If we made it bigger and put it closer to the road, you would have many more customers!”

Jason and Mr. Beckett were looking through the papers in the folder when several cars drove into the gravel lot.

Bessie looked anxiously at the Becketts. Mrs. Beckett put her hand kindly19 on Bessie’s shoulder. “Would you mind going back to work now?” Mrs. Beckett asked. “It looks like we have some customers.”

“You’re not firing me?” Bessie asked.

“No,” Mrs. Beckett said. “I know it is hard when your husband is sick. It has not been easy for me with George’s leg in a cast. But you must promise not to work for Mr. Bolger any longer.”

“I won’t,” Bessie replied. “I promise. And I’m sorry for any trouble that I have caused.”

Bessie hurried off to the farm stand. She almost bumped into Benny. He was kicking a stone around the front yard. He was waiting for Jason to finish talking with Mr. Beckett.

When Jason finally looked up, Benny asked his question. “Where is Sam? Is he still on the farm?”

“Oh, of course!” Jason said. “I’m sorry. I bet you want him back. He is in my office.” Benny dashed toward the barn.

“Your office?” asked Mr. Beckett. “Do you mean the barn?”

Jason’s face turned red.

“It’s quite clever,” Henry explained. “You would never know that it is there. Jason made a small room out of hay bales in the corner of the barn.”

“You do have good ideas!” Mr. Beckett said. “I wish you wouldn’t hide them all from me.”

“From now on,” Jason said, “I won’t.”

“I have a good idea, too,” Sally said. “With Jason doing such a good job on the farm, you and Mom can come to Florida and visit my family during the winter.”

Mr. Beckett nodded his head. “That sounds like a fine plan. But then you must visit the farm with the children during the summer.” Sally smiled. “I would love to.”

Benny came rushing back pushing his scarecrow in a wheelbarrow. “I found him!” he cried. “I have Sam back!”

“Oh, my,” Sally said. “That is the scariest pumpkin head I have ever seen!”

“And this is his body,” Benny said. He picked up the stuffed shirt and pants. Some of the straw had fallen out. Sam’s belly20 was quite flat.

“I think Sam has lost some weight,” Violet said.

“I know! I haven’t fed him in days!” Benny grabbed handfuls of straw from the wheelbarrow and began to stuff his scarecrow. Both Benny and Sam were soon covered in straw.

Jessie laughed. “One more handful of straw and Sam’s buttons will burst!” she said. “I think he is full!”

“Who is full?” Mrs. Beckett walked out onto the porch carrying a warm applesauce cake and a pitcher21 of cold milk. “Should I take this back inside?”

Benny jumped up from the ground. “No! I am not full. Only my scarecrow is. I’m starved.”

“That’s what I was hoping.” Mrs. Beckett cut big slices of cake for everyone. Sally poured the glasses full of milk.

Benny sat on the porch swing and ate his cake. It was soon gone. He was still covered in straw. It was stuck in his hair and on his shirt and pants.

“Benny, you look like a scarecrow again!” Jessie said.

“Yes,” Violet agreed. “But there is one big difference between Benny and Sam.”

“I know what the difference is,” Henry said. “It is impossible to stuff Benny. He is never full!”

Mrs. Beckett placed another large slice of cake on Benny’s plate. “Well, as long as Benny doesn’t mind,” she said, “I am going to keep on trying to fill him up!”

Benny dug his fork into the warm cake. “I don’t mind at all!” he said, patting his stomach. “You can try to fill me up any time you want!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 pumpkin NtKy8     
n.南瓜
参考例句:
  • They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
  • It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你!
2 cape ITEy6     
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风
参考例句:
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
3 ledge o1Mxk     
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁
参考例句:
  • They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
  • Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上,摔倒了。
4 pumpkins 09a64387fb624e33eb24dc6c908c2681     
n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 );南瓜的果肉,南瓜囊
参考例句:
  • I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜,但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸,并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分(高三)
5 winked af6ada503978fa80fce7e5d109333278     
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮
参考例句:
  • He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼,她便知道他的想法和她一样。
  • He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
6 hunch CdVzZ     
n.预感,直觉
参考例句:
  • I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉,他并不真正想去。
  • I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。
7 screeched 975e59058e1a37cd28bce7afac3d562c     
v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 );发出粗而刺耳的声音;高叫
参考例句:
  • She screeched her disapproval. 她尖叫着不同意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The car screeched to a stop. 汽车嚓的一声停住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
8 gravel s6hyT     
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石
参考例句:
  • We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
  • More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
9 folder KjixL     
n.纸夹,文件夹
参考例句:
  • Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
  • He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。
10 mumbled 3855fd60b1f055fa928ebec8bcf3f539     
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话,可我没太听清楚。
  • George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。
11 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 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。
13 wrung b11606a7aab3e4f9eebce4222a9397b1     
绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 ); 握紧(尤指别人的手); 把(湿衣服)拧干; 绞掉(水)
参考例句:
  • He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
  • He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。
14 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句:
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
15 stomped 0884b29fb612cae5a9e4eb0d1a257b4a     
v.跺脚,践踏,重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She stomped angrily out of the office. 她怒气冲冲,重步走出办公室。
  • She slammed the door and stomped (off) out of the house. 她砰的一声关上了门,暮暮地走出了屋了。 来自辞典例句
16 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
18 screeching 8bf34b298a2d512e9b6787a29dc6c5f0     
v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 );发出粗而刺耳的声音;高叫
参考例句:
  • Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
  • the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景
19 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
20 belly QyKzLi     
n.肚子,腹部;(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分,膛
参考例句:
  • The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
  • His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。
21 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。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴