儿童英语读物 The Cupcake Caper CHAPTER 9 Mystery Solved?

As soon as Mama Tova arrived at the tent with Grandfather, the Aldens told her what they had discovered. Together they walked over to the judging table.

“What are you doing here?” Mr. Kandinsky asked Mama Tova. “If you have changed your mind about selling your cupcake recipe, it’s too late.” He pointed¹ at the BakeMart judges who were talking amongst themselves in a corner. “My judges have tasted all the cupcakes and are going to announce a winner any minute now.”

“I have not changed my mind,” Mama Tova said, with her hands on her hips². “I am here on more important business.” She looked Mr. Kandinsky right in his eyes and said, “I am here to stop a thief. One of your contestants⁴ wanted to win so badly that they tried to steal my family cupcake recipe.”

Benny came to stand next to Mama Tova, saying, “We tricked the thief. She thought she was stealing Mama Tova’s secret recipe, but it was really a fake.”

Mr. Kandinsky’s face changed. Now he looked worried. “I can’t have a thief win my contest,” he said. “Do you know who stole the recipe?”

“We do!” Benny told him. “Follow us.”

Henry led the way across the tent. His siblings⁵, Grandfather, Mama Tova, and Mr. Kandinsky followed. They all stopped underneath⁶ the Number Six sign.

Jessie stepped forward. “Gretchen,” she said. “We need to talk to you.”

Gretchen looked up at the group. She’d been talking to Contestant³ Number Five and laughing about something. When she saw the group standing⁷ in front of her, her grin turned to a frown. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“We know you stole Mama Tova’s recipe,” Henry said. He explained about the trap they’d set with the chili⁸ powder recipe.

Gretchen was confused. “Yes, there’s chili powder in my recipe, but I didn’t steal anything from Mama Tova.” She held up her hand and vowed⁹, “I swear.”

“I tasted your cupcake and it was spicy¹⁰!” Benny told her. “We invented the recipe with chili powder in it and you used it.”

“It is obvious that your cupcakes were made from the fake recipe,” Mama Tova said.

“My recipe is your fake recipe?” Gretchen said slowly. Then, “Oh no!” Gretchen said, lightly touching¹¹ the letter A on the chain around her neck. “But I didn’t take it!” Gretchen said.

“Really?” Henry said, considering Gretchen’s statement. “You really didn’t take it?” he asked her.

“I didn’t,” Gretchen said. “I didn’t even know the recipe was stolen. I promise—I’m not a thief!”

“Then who is?” Mama Tova asked.

Before Gretchen could answer, Violet exclaimed, “I knew there was something funny about that necklace!” Her eyes grew big as the answer came clear.

Benny and Jessie suddenly understood, too.

“A … A … A …” Benny said, pointing at Gretchen’s neck.

Jessie announced, “The real thief’s name begins with the letter A.”

1 pointed   

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。

2 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。

4 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

6 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

7 standing   

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。

8 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

9 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

10 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

11 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。