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儿童英语读物 The Clue in the Recycling Bin CHAPTER 5 Footprints and Key Rings

时间:2017-12-20 04:57来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The next morning, the children loaded Grandfather’s car with recyclables, and he drove them to the recycling center. They unloaded the recyclables into the proper bins2 and said good-bye to Grandfather.

“Let’s walk around the outside of the recycling center,” said Henry.

“Good idea,” said Jessie. “We might find footprints.”

The children walked out the front gate of the recycling center and turned rightto follow the chain-link fence around the outside of the center.

Violet noticed that Mrs. Wickett was sitting on her porch3, holding something in her lap. Violet waved. Mrs. Wickett waved back.

There weren’t any suspicious-looking footprints along the front of the recycling center. There were none along the side.

But as soon as the children turned the second corner, Henry raised his hand.

“Stop!” he said.

Benny, Violet, and Jessie crowded around Henry so they could see what he was looking at.

On the ground were two blurred4 footprints. The toes of the footprints were clearer than the rest of the footprints. The toes were pointing toward the back fence of the recycling center.

“Look,” said Benny, pointing through the fence. “The toes point right at the bags filled with leaves and grass on the other side of the fence.”

Jessie stared at the two prints. “The back footprint is a left foot,” she said. “And the front footprint is a right foot.”

“The two footprints are very far apart,” said Violet. “It looks like somebody was running.”

“We don’t have our camera with us,” said Jessie. Then she grinned. “But I do have one of my recycled notebooks!”

Henry pulled a small tape measure out of his pocket. Henry loved tools, and he often had some with him. He measured one of the footprints from front to back. “Exactly eleven inches,” he said.

Jessie wrote that in her notebook. Then she sketched6 the tread7 pattern of the shoe.

When Jessie’s sketch5 was finished, the children bent8 down to hold the drawing near the footprint.

“Good work,” Henry told his sister. “Now look at the top of the fence,” he said.

Jessie and Violet looked. “The top of the fence is fine,” said Jessie. “It’s not bent at all.”

“That’s right,” said Henry. He looked up at the sky. “It looks like it’s going to rain, so it’s a good thing we have this drawing.”

“Yes,” said Benny, “because the rain will wash everything away.”

Being careful not to step on the two footprints, the Aldens continued walking along the back of the recycling center.

Soon Henry raised his hand again and said, “Stop!”

“Wow,” said Benny. “More footprints! Look at them! They’re all on top of one another.”

“Hmmm,” said Jessie. She was looking through the chain-link fence into the recycling center. The footprints were opposite the Other Stuff bin1 that had been tipped over yesterday.

“I think we can draw some conclusions,” said Jessie. “First, these footprints were made by a different person. They don’t match the first set.”

“Maybe,” said Henry. “Or maybe they were made by the same person, but the person was wearing different shoes,” saidHenry. “There’s one way to find out.”

Henry pulled the small tape measure out of his pocket again. It took him a while to find a whole footprint. When he did, he measured it. “These footprints are only nine-and-a-half inches long,” he said. “They were made by a different person.”

Jessie wrote the information on another page of her notebook. “There’s something very different about these footprints,” she said. “Instead of being far apart like the other set, these ones are close together.”

“They’re all on top of one another,” Benny reminded her. “See,” he said, pointing to where one heel mark was pressed deeply into another toe mark.

Henry stood and examined the top of the chain-link fence. It still had the same damage he had seen the first day. “The fence is bent inward here,” he said.

“So somebody climbed the fence here,” said Jessie.

“And whoever it was kept slipping off,” Violet said. “Whoever it was kept fallingback to the ground onto his own footprints!”

“Or her own footprints,” said Jessie.

Jessie drew the tread mark of a toe and of a heel. Everybody looked at her drawing and back at the fence.

“You know what this means,” Jessie said.

Henry nodded. “It means we have two different people breaking into the recycling center.”

“One wears a shoe that’s eleven inches long,” said Jessie. “And the other wears a shoe that’s nine-and-a-half inches long.”

“Are the two people working together?” asked Benny.

“I don’t think so,” said Henry. “And I think each of them is breaking into the recycling center for a different reason.”

“Two people, two reasons,” said Jessie. “That makes sense to me.”

The children talked about their discovery as they walked around the last side of the recycling center. When they turned the final corner, they saw Mrs. Wickett leaning over one of the boxes people had left outsidethe center. She was wearing her bright red rubber boots.

“We’re about to take all those bags and boxes inside,” Henry told her.

Benny walked up to the box Mrs. Wickett had been bending over. A bottle of raspberry Doo-Dah Tea lay on top of the box. Benny thought that Mrs. Wickett must have put it there.

Mrs. Wickett didn’t say anything. She just stood there holding a brown paper bag.

“Is something wrong?” Violet asked her.

Mrs. Wickett let out a long sigh. “Yes,” she said at last, “something is wrong.”

The children waited. “What is it?” Violet asked at last.

Mrs. Wickett looked at the children. “I behaved badly yesterday morning. Violet and Henry, I’m sorry that I was rude to you. Will you accept my apology?”

Violet and Henry said yes.

“I was rude to Kayla, too,” said Mrs. Wickett, staring into the recycling center.

When it looked as if Mrs. Wickett mightstand there forever, Jessie spoke9. “You would probably feel better if you apologized to Kayla,” she said.

“Will you go in with me?” Mrs. Wickett asked them.

The Aldens walked into the recycling center with Mrs. Wickett. As soon as they entered, they heard Kayla shouting.

The four children and Mrs. Wickett walked toward the main recycling bins. There was Chad, pulling plastics and glass out of the bins and throwing them on the ground again.

“Stop! Stop!” Kayla shouted at Chad. “You’re supposed to put things into the bins, not take them out!”

Chad stuck his head into the plastics bin and said something.

“I can’t hear you!” Kayla said.

Chad pulled his head out. “I said I lost something yesterday and I want to find it.”

Then Chad seemed to notice the Aldens and Mrs. Wickett.

“What are you doing here?” Chad asked Mrs. Wickett.

“Hello Chad,” she answered. “I’m here because I live across the street. You haven’t been in to work since the jewel robbery. What happened?”

“I quit,” he said. “I don’t want to work at a place that gets robbed.”

“Oh,” said Mrs. Wickett.

“What did you do at Jonah’s Jewelry10 Store?” Henry asked Chad.

Chad started to answer, then stopped. “I sold jewelry to customers,” he said finally. As Chad answered, he kept looking into the glass bins and moving things around.

“You’re making me nervous doing that,” Kayla told him. “If you tell me what you lost, I’ll help you find it.”

“I can help, too,” said Benny.

Chad looked at everybody looking at him. “Uh,” he said, “I lost a pocket watch.”

“We’ll help you find it,” said Jessie.

“I never saw you with a pocket watch,” said Mrs. Wickett.

Chad frowned. “I don’t want anybody’s help. Just leave me alone!” He turned back to the bins and kept on searching.

Mrs. Wickett cleared her throat. “Kayla,” she said, “I owe you an apology. Even though you shouldn’t allow people to leave their trash on the outside of the fence, I shouldn’t have shouted at you. I’m sorry.”

Kayla seemed to think about the apology. “That’s okay,” she finally replied. “We all have bad days.”

Mrs. Wickett opened the brown paper bag she had been holding. “I brought some bottled tea as a peace offering,” she said. “Would you like some? It’s cold and refreshing11.”

“Sure,” said Kayla with a smile. She accepted a bottle of raspberry Doo-Dah Tea.

Next, Mrs. Wickett offered each of the children a bottle of tea. All of the bottles had red labels.

Violet and Benny said no, thank you. Henry and Jessie each took a bottle of tea and thanked Mrs. Wickett.

“Chad,” said Mrs. Wickett, “I didn’t know you would be here, or I would have brought mint-flavored tea, too. I know it’s your favorite. Would you like a raspberry Doo-Dah Tea?”

“No, thanks,” said Chad. He stood with his back to the Dumpster for clear glass.

Henry thought Chad looked as if he was waiting for everybody to leave.

“Hey!” said Chad suddenly, pointing at Henry’s key ring. “What’s that?”

Henry lifted his key ring upward. “It’s my new key ring,” he said. “I bought it from Kayla yesterday.”

“I have more if you’re interested,” Kayla told Chad.

“Is that a diamond inset?” asked Chad. “On a piece of scrap12 metal?”

“No,” said Kayla. “It’s not a diamond, it’s glass. And I happen to like jewelry made from scrap metal.”

“Let me see it,” said Chad, holding his hand out to Henry.

Henry thought Chad had very bad manners. He demanded the key ring instead of asking, and he didn’t even say “please.”

Henry took the key ring off his belt and handed it to Chad.

And then, to Henry’s surprise, and perhaps to everybody’s surprise, Chad took a small magnifying13 glass out of his pocket. Using the magnifying glass, Chad studied the sparkling14 stone set in the middle of the key ring. Henry knew that jewelers used such magnifying glasses to look at precious stones more closely. Watchmakers used them, too. Henry just couldn’t remember what the small tool was called.

“Yep,” said Chad. “It’s glass.” He folded up his tiny magnifying glass and handed the key ring back to Henry.

“I’m surprised to see you carrying a loupe around,” Mrs. Wickett said to Chad. “If I’m not mistaken, I saw the name Jonah’s Jewelry Store on that loupe.”

That’s what it’s called, thought Henry. A loupe.

“So what?” challenged Chad. “I took a little something with me as a souvenir.”

Chad steals things, thought Violet. He took the loupe from Jonah’s Jewelry Store.

“May I see your key ring?” Mrs. Wickett asked Henry.

“Sure,” he said, handing it to her.

Mrs. Wickett looked at the key ring closely. “Hmmm,” she said, handing it back to Henry. “Very nice work,” she said to Kayla.

“Thank you,” said Kayla.

Violet could tell that the praise made Kayla happy.

“All my jewelry is very affordable15 because I make it out of old metal and glass—things I find in these recycling bins. I like to tell people that there are treasures in recycling. Not just in reusing all our plastic and glass and paper again, but in reusing everything.”

“Jessie and I each took a treasure home from the Other Stuff bin,” said Benny proudly. “And after we each took something home, somebody else took an old chair home.”

“Really?” asked Chad, looking at Benny. “What day was that?”

“It was Monday,” said Jessie.

When Chad didn’t say anything, Jessie asked him if Monday was the day he lost something.

“I’m not sure,” said Chad. “I’m just not sure.” Then he turned his back to them all and walked down the row of Dumpsters.

Mrs. Wickett turned to Kayla. “I would like to buy a piece of your inexpensive jewelry,” she said.

“Oh good!” said Kayla. “Let me show you what I have.”

The children watched as Kayla and Mrs. Wickett headed for the shed that was Kayla’s studio. The last thing they heard was Mrs. Wickett saying that something had to be done about all the recycling left alongside16 the public sidewalk each night.

“Something has to be done about it right now,” said Jessie.

“Yes,” said Henry. “Time to haul17 bags and boxes into the center.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 bin yR2yz     
n.箱柜;vt.放入箱内;[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件
参考例句:
  • He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
  • He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。
2 bins f61657e8b1aa35d4af30522a25c4df3a     
n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 );宽口箱(如面包箱,垃圾箱等)v.扔掉,丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
  • Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事,你能欣然接受吗? 来自辞典例句
3 porch ju9yM     
n.门廊,入口处,走廊,游廊
参考例句:
  • There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
  • The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。
4 blurred blurred     
v.(使)变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 );(使)难以区分;模模糊糊;迷离
参考例句:
  • She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
  • Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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 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》
7 tread tmSwm     
vi.踩;行走;vt.踩烂(出);n.胎面,脚步声
参考例句:
  • A policeman walked by with a slow,measured tread.一名警察迈着小心的步子慢慢走过。
  • We heard father's tread on the steps.我们听到台阶上父亲的脚步声。
8 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。
9 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
10 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。
11 refreshing HkozPQ     
adj.使精神振作的,使人清爽的,使人喜欢的
参考例句:
  • I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
  • The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼,特别解乏提神。
12 scrap JDFzf     
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废
参考例句:
  • A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
  • Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。
13 magnifying 034e3f0a47b1b761a42e4e7bb21d3b80     
放大的
参考例句:
  • Fame is a magnifying-glass. 名誉是放大镜。
  • It is unusual for people to press their differences by magnifying them. 对人们来说,以夸大差异的方式强调差异是不正常的。
14 sparkling xvYwy     
adj.发火花的,闪亮的;灿烂的,活泼的;闪闪发光的,闪烁的;起泡沫的v.闪光,闪耀(sparkle的现在分词)
参考例句:
  • the calm and sparkling waters of the lake 平静的波光粼粼的湖水
  • Other sparkling wines are often considered the poor relations of champagne. 其他起泡的葡萄酒通常被认为较香槟酒为次。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 affordable kz6zfq     
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
参考例句:
  • The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
  • There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。
16 alongside XLWym     
adv.在旁边;prep.和...在一起,在...旁边
参考例句:
  • There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
  • Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。
17 haul Yd3zq     
vt./n.(用力)拖,拉,(用车等)拖运,运送
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • The rope stood up under the strain of the haul.这绳子经受不住紧拉。
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