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儿童英语读物 The Ghost Ship Mystery CHAPTER 9 A Whale of a Time

时间:2017-08-03 08:30来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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At lunch the guests at the Black Dog Inn could talk of nothing but the museum robbery.

“If you ask me,” one guest said, “the police should question Miss Coffin1 first. After all, she lives at the Sailors’ Museum.”

“Humph!” another guest said. “What about investigating the biggest scrimshaw dealer2 in these parts, Spooner Cooke? He’s another strange one, always in that rowboat of his at odd hours.”

This last comment about Spooner Cooke upset Violet. She put down her soup spoon and spoke3 up. “Mr. Cooke only rows his boat at different times because of the tides and weather. We visited him just a little while ago. He was as nice as could be.”

“Nice to children?” one person asked with raised eyebrows4. “As long as we’ve been coming to Ragged5 Cove6 he hasn’t let a child so much as look in the window of his shop.”

Benny reached into his pocket, pulled out his scrimshaw top, and whirled it next to his clam7 chowder bowl. “Well, today he gave me this as a present. And he gave Violet a whole bunch of needles. All kinds.”

Mrs. Pease came around with the soup pot. “There are different sides to everyone,” she said. “Now, who wants seconds on chowder?”

For once Benny didn’t want seconds. “I’m saving room for apple pie,” he said, giving Mrs. Pease a big smile.

“Well, you’d better start your pie now,” Mr. Pease said when he overheard this. “I just found out Captain Hull8 is setting out on a whale watch with a bus group that came down from Bassville. I asked him for a few more tickets for some of our guests. So whoever wants can have a whale of a good time.”

“Let’s go find some whales!” Mr. Alden told his grandchildren.

When the Aldens arrived at the docks, a tour group was boarding the Jonah. The children and their grandfather stood at the end of the line with tickets in hand. The line moved slowly up the gangplank.

Mr. Alden handed Captain Bob their five tickets. “Hi there, captain. I finally finished my business, so I can go out and see some of those whales my grandchildren told me about.”

Captain Bob stared at the Aldens. “Uh . . . gee9, Mr. Alden, where did you get these tickets?”

Mr. Alden took a closer look at the tickets. “Why, from you, of course. Mr. Pease said you gave him some for the Black Dog guests. That’s us, you know. Is something wrong?”

The captain’s face reddened. “It’s just that I don’t have any room today, sir. This tour group from Bassville pretty well fills the boat. I’ll be going out in a couple days. I’ll take you then.”

Mr. Alden shook his head. “We have to be on our way tomorrow, so this is our last chance.”

Several other tourists overheard Mr. Alden. A man stepped forward from his group to speak to Captain Bob. “Let these folks take our place. Our group has decided10 to come back tomorrow when it’s sunnier.”

“Then we can take their places, captain, wouldn’t you say?” Mr. Alden asked.

A shadow seemed to pass over the captain’s face. Finally, he took the Aldens’ tickets and stuffed them into his pocket. “Life jackets are over there,” was all he said before he rushed below deck.

The Aldens settled themselves on a bench at the front of the Jonah. “I can’t imagine why Captain Bob didn’t want our family on board,” Mr. Alden said. “He seems out of sorts for some reason.”

One of the passengers leaned on the railing near the Aldens and pointed11 toward Howling Cliffs. “Look. There are those lights again. Didn’t I tell you, Millie, that I saw some lights over that way before the last storm?”

The children jumped up to see what the man was talking about. Sure enough, flickering12 lights shone over the water near Howling Cliffs.

The man went on. “Captain! Captain! Aren’t those lights supposed to be from that wreck13 the uh . . . .”

“The Flying Cloud,” Jessie finished. “Or the lights have something to do with the weather. They only come out when there are storm clouds.”

“What’s your opinion on that, Captain Bob?” the man asked. “You’re the expert in these waters.”

Captain Bob just piloted the Jonah straight ahead, as if there were nothing unusual at all about lights coming from nowhere.

“Leave him alone,” the man’s wife whispered. “He’s looking out for whales, not ghosts.”

Everyone nearby except for Captain Bob had a good laugh over this comment. Just as Jessie had said, once the clouds disappeared, so did the strange lights.

“Whale off! Whale off!” Benny cried a while later. “Look, Captain Bob. There’s a pod of whales.”

All the passengers moved to the front of the boat. Everyone could see the shiny gray backs of at least six whales.

“Oh, look!” Violet cried with delight. “There’s a baby whale on its mother’s back! How wonderful!”

“It’s a whale calf,” Captain Bob said from behind the wheel of the Jonah. His voice seemed gentler now that there were whales nearby. “That’s how the young ones ride around until they’re old enough to leave their mothers. They stay safe that way. Whoa!” he yelled out suddenly. “Everybody sit down on the benches or go below deck! There’s a big whale ready to breach14 right by us!”

Mr. Alden motioned for Henry, Violet, Jessie, and Benny to head below deck.

“What’s ‘breach’ mean, Grandfather?” Benny asked, holding on to the rail of the narrow stairs.

“That’s when a whale suddenly breaks to the surface,” Mr. Alden explained. “That one came awfully15 close to this boat.”

“My tummy feels funny,” Benny said as the Jonah rocked back and forth16.

“I bet that big whale made some big waves,” Henry said. “That’s why the boat is rocking like this.”

Everyone tried to hold on to each other when the Jonah made a sharp turn. Some metal dishes slid and crashed to the floor. Several cans of food rolled around. Cabinet doors opened. Out fell books, ropes, boxes, and tools. The boat pitched back and forth for several long minutes before it settled down.

“Let’s put away some of these things that fell out,” Jessie said.

Mr. Alden and the older children started to pick up all the objects that had fallen to the floor. They returned everything to its proper place. Then Jessie noticed something way under the table.

“Look at this,” Jessie whispered to Henry. She held up a black, leather-covered book that said: Diary: Captain Coffin on the front.

The Aldens heard the Jonah’s engines stop. They looked up and saw Captain Bob’s black rubber boots on the stairs.

“Everybody and everything okay down here?” Captain Bob yelled down below. “Hope nobody got seasick17.”

Jessie quickly replaced the diary in the cabinet.

“We’re fine now that the boat’s not rocking,” Mr. Alden told Captain Bob when he came to see how the Aldens were doing. “But I think we’ll head up for some fresh air.”

The captain looked around. “Thanks for cleaning up. I forgot to lock up some of these cabinets. I’d better do that now in case another whale decides he wants to ride nearly piggyback with us.”

The children watched Captain Bob go straight to the cabinet where the logbook was hidden. He put a small lock through it and snapped it shut.

“Everything’s where it should be now,” Captain Bob said. “Let’s find some more whales.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 coffin XWRy7     
n.棺材,灵柩
参考例句:
  • When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
  • The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。
2 dealer GyNxT     
n.商人,贩子
参考例句:
  • The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
  • The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。
3 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。
4 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
5 ragged KC0y8     
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的
参考例句:
  • A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
  • Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。
6 cove 9Y8zA     
n.小海湾,小峡谷
参考例句:
  • The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁,嫩绿一片,好一个山外的小海湾。
  • I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。
7 clam Fq3zk     
n.蛤,蛤肉
参考例句:
  • Yup!I also like clam soup and sea cucumbers.对呀!我还喜欢蛤仔汤和海参。
  • The barnacle and the clam are two examples of filter feeders.藤壶和蛤类是滤过觅食者的两种例子。
8 hull 8c8xO     
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳
参考例句:
  • The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
  • The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。
9 gee ZsfzIu     
n.马;int.向右!前进!,惊讶时所发声音;v.向右转
参考例句:
  • Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
  • Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇!我们会赚好多钱啦!
10 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。
11 pointed Il8zB4     
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。
12 flickering wjLxa     
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的
参考例句:
  • The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
  • The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。
13 wreck QMjzE     
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
参考例句:
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
14 breach 2sgzw     
n.违反,不履行;破裂;vt.冲破,攻破
参考例句:
  • We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
  • He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。
15 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
16 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
17 seasick seasick     
adj.晕船的
参考例句:
  • When I get seasick,I throw up my food.我一晕船就呕吐。
  • He got seasick during the voyage.在航行中他晕船。
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