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 Bus Station Mystery CHAPTER 9 Frank’s Problem

时间:2017-07-03 05:39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)

Frank1 put the dead fish in the trunk of his car. He locked the door of his house, then he got in the driver’s seat. The Aldens slid in, with Benny and Henry sitting in front with Frank.

“I’m glad we don’t have the fish with us,” Violet2 whispered3 to Jessie.

They were soon at the bus station and Frank was unlocking4 the door. He found Bill’s note and put it with the package that had come on the bus.

“If I close up like this in the morning, I don’t miss much business,” he said. “Too late for breakfast and too early for lunch.”

The Aldens had followed Frank into the station. They saw the sun shining in the clean windows. The flowers in the pots on the sills were bright and gay5. Frank opened a window and the room was filled with a bird song.

Frank looked around as if the station was his own little kingdom. He said, “Sit down, kids, and let me tell you something. I think you’ll understand, and I need to talk to someone.”

The Aldens sat down quietly and waited. Frank was a puzzling person. He was angry one minute and gentle the next.

Frank reached down and pulled out the envelope Benny had handed him yesterday. He unfolded6 the letter.

He began, “You saw the chimney7 of the paint factory when you came to find me. The factory is right there on the river around a little bend from me. You might say it’s my neighbor.”

“We smelled it, too,” Benny said.

“ ’You can say that again,” said Henry.

“I will,” said Benny. “We smelled it, too.”

Frank laughed. “That’s just part of the problem. I don’t like it, but that isn’t the worst of it.”

Frank got up and put the letter down. He pulled out a big notebook. Opening it, he said, “I think you’ve guessed that maybe I’m not just a lunch-counter man and bus station keeper8. I’m a chemist. I like living in a quiet place like this. I’m interested in growing plants without using chemicals. I like birds and wild animals. That’s why I’m here.”

“We understand,” Violet said quietly.

“Everything was fine until this Mr. Pickett came along and built his paint factory. There was no way to stop him. He bought the land. He could do what he liked out here in the country. He didn’t expect to bother anyone.”

“He can spoil9 the river and no one will care?” Henry asked. “Is that what he thinks?”

“Yes,” Frank said. “But he is wrong. He has to be stopped. But how? That’s the question.”

Frank dropped his head in his hands. Then he went on quietly, “I did some experiments to show how the water from the factory pollutes the river. The chemicals are carried in the water. They kill fish and water plants. I thought that if I showed this notebook about my experiments to Mr. Pickett he would stop polluting.”

“But that didn’t work?” Benny asked.

Frank shook his head. “Mr. Pickett just said it was too bad, but lots of people have jobs at his factory. It was too late to build somewhere else.”

Benny looked angry. “Build somewhere else? Pollute somewhere else? That’s no answer.”

“That’s what I said,” Frank continued. “I told him that there are laws to stop pollution. He told me I was a troublemaker10. He said he’d get rid of me.”

“How?” asked Jessie.

“Easy enough, I guess,” Frank said. “Mr. Pickett bought all the land along the river. That means11 all the land around my house and garden. If he likes, he can keep me from getting to my house. That’s what he told me.”

“That’s not fair!” Henry said. “There must be some way to stop him.”

Frank said, “It takes money. I’d have to go to court. Anyway, now he has a new idea. He wants to buy my house and garden to make into a parking12 lot for the factory workers. Imagine! Tear down my house. Cover my garden with blacktop. That’s what his letter to me was about. I’m not rich. I can’t fight him.”

The Aldens looked at each other. Benny decided13 to ask another question. “What about Jud and Troy?”

“Yes,” Henry added14. “We saw them giving out papers15 at the bus station when our bus stopped yesterday.”

Frank gave his angry short laugh again. “Oh, yes! They think they can change things. They tried to show how important the river is to wildlife. Older people don’t pay attention to boys. Then they tried to line up some of the workers against the paint factory. You saw how that worked out.”

“Not at all,” Jessie said.

“Yesterday in Oakdale we heard about the town meeting tonight,” Henry said. “We know it’s about Mr. Pickett’s factory and the way it’s polluting the river. Are you going?”

“I’m going,” Frank answered. Then he shook his head. “But I don’t think there’ll be much of a crowd. Mr. Pickett and his workers and friends will be there. Nobody will do anything.”

Jessie said, “It sounded to us as if a lot of people want to save the river, just as you do. You’re not alone. You have to believe that.”

For a minute Frank did not say anything. Then he looked right at the Aldens. “That is good news. Do you know what I was going to do? I was going to take that dead fish to the town meeting and pass it around among the people. It was a stupid idea, but I was angry enough to do it.”

Benny liked the idea. He knew just how angry Frank felt. He said, “I don’t think that would be such a bad idea. It would show the townspeople just how bad the river is.”

Frank said, “If what you say is true and a lot of people really care, maybe we can save the river.”

Benny said in a rush, “I know we’re outsiders. But maybe we can help, too.”

“How?” asked Frank, looking surprised.

“Our grandfather has plastics factories. Maybe you have heard of him. He is Mr. James Alden. His factories don’t pollute any rivers. They don’t make any bad smells either. Let’s see if Grandfather will come to the town meeting. He’s a businessman. Perhaps he can talk to Mr. Pickett.”

Frank thought for a moment. Then he said, “It’s worth trying. Will he come?”

Benny said, “Let me call him right now. We Aldens always like to do things in a hurry!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 frank JibxK     
adj.坦白的,直率的,真诚的
参考例句:
  • A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
  • She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。
2 violet 8h3wm     
adj.紫色的;n.紫罗兰
参考例句:
  • She likes to wear violet dresses.他喜欢穿紫色的衣服。
  • Violet is the color of wisdom,peace and strength.紫色是智慧的,和平的和力量的颜色。
3 whispered ac3eda029cd72fefda0d32abc42aa001     
adj.耳语的,低语的v.低声说( whisper的过去式和过去分词 );私语;小声说;私下说
参考例句:
  • She sidled up to me and whispered something in my ear. 她悄悄走上前来,对我耳语了几句。
  • His ill luck has been whispered about the neighborhood. 他的不幸遭遇已在邻居中传开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 unlocking a3b0f3cd1976814b426b08d9775a6a5f     
n.接通,开放,解锁v.开锁( unlock的现在分词 );开启;揭开;开着,解开
参考例句:
  • Unlocking DaVinci's Code separates the facts from the fiction. 《解开达西密码》将事实与小说区隔开来。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年5月号
  • All of these questions will be answered on Unlocking DaVinci's Code. 这些问题将于《解开达文西密码》中一一解答。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年5月号
5 gay sfOzP     
adj.同性恋的;色彩鲜艳的;n.(男)同性恋者
参考例句:
  • I don't know he was a gay person.我不知道他是同性恋者。
  • Spring comes round to the earth again and everything looks fresh and gay.春回大地,万象更新。
6 unfolded 1f1248ffd4feae5ab2ed9acae86ca255     
adj.展开的,解开的v.显露,展现( unfold的过去式和过去分词 );展开,打开
参考例句:
  • As I opened the scroll, a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded. 我打开卷轴时,黄河的景象展现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The children listened enthralled as the storyteller unfolded her tale. 讲故事的人一步步展开故事情节,孩子们都听得入迷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 chimney zVoyu     
n.烟囱,烟筒;玻璃罩
参考例句:
  • The chimney blew out a cloud of black smoke.烟囱里喷出一团黑烟。
  • His father is a chimney sweeper.他的父亲是一位扫烟囱的工人。
8 keeper 031xU     
n.管理人,看守人,看护人,饲养员
参考例句:
  • He found a job as a keeper.他找到了一份当饲养员的工作。
  • He might lose his job as keeper.他也许会丢掉他当监护人的职位吧。
9 spoil 4rVyC     
n.战利品,赃物,奖品,掠夺,次品;vt.损坏,破坏,溺爱;vi.腐坏,掠夺
参考例句:
  • Don't bunch the flowers up so tightly,you'll spoil them.别把花束得这么紧,会弄坏的。
  • Overacting will only spoil the effect.表演过火,效果反而不好。
10 troublemaker xflzsY     
n.惹是生非者,闹事者,捣乱者
参考例句:
  • I would hate you to think me a troublemaker.我不愿你认为我是个搬弄是非的人。
  • Li Yang has always been a troublemaker.李阳总是制造麻烦。
11 means 9oXzBX     
n.方法,手段,折中点,物质财富
参考例句:
  • That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
  • We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。
12 parking EmKzN3     
n.停车,停机,停放
参考例句:
  • A bus is parking on the road.路上停着一辆公共汽车。
  • Next you must learn how to back a car into a parking space.下一步你应该学会如何把车倒入停车的空地。
13 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。
14 added mzJzm0     
adj.更多的,附加的,额外的
参考例句:
  • They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
  • The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。
15 papers qmQzJz     
n.文件,纸币,论文
参考例句:
  • I want to check with my secretary before I sign the papers.在签署这些文件前,我要与我的秘书商议。
  • The lawyer read all the papers relating to the case.律师阅读了与该案有关的全部文件。
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