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儿童英语读物 The Panther Mystery CHAPTER 2 The River of Grass

时间:2017-09-12 07:59来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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Mrs. Johnson told the Aldens about a pancake restaurant just down the road. Over pecan pancakes and fresh Florida orange juice the next morning, the Aldens made plans.

“Now what do we do?” asked Violet.

“We’re going to the Everglades,” James Alden replied. “To the visitors’ center where Andrew was supposed to be working. The young woman I spoke1 to yesterday didn’t sound too concerned.”

“How did she sound?” Violet asked.

“Annoyed,” Grandfather said. “Are we ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes!” the children answered at once.

It was very hot, even early in the morning. The kids were glad their rental2 car had air-conditioning. Jessie sat up front with Grandfather as his “map guide.”

“We just go out Route Forty-one,” she told him. “And we come to the Shark Valley Information Center.”

“What a funny name,” Violet remarked. “They don’t have sharks in the Everglades, do they?”

“Not in the Everglades,” Henry replied. “But there are plenty of sharks in the water around Florida.”

Soon they turned into Shark Valley. They parked and went inside the information center. At the front desk, they were greeted by a ranger3. Her name badge read, MELANIE HARPER.

“Can I help you?” the young woman asked. She had blond hair cut very short.

“Yes,” said Grandfather. “I’m looking for Andrew Beldon. I understand he works here.”

Melanie frowned. “Were you the gentleman who called yesterday?”

“Yes,” replied Grandfather. “Andrew is a family friend. I’ve come to see him.”

“Good luck,” Melanie said breezily. “He’s on rotation4 here this week, but we haven’t seen him. So I’m doing his job as well as mine.”

“Andrew hasn’t called his supervisor5?” asked Grandfather.

“Nope.”

Melanie seemed awfully6 casual, Jessie thought. “Isn’t anybody worried about him?” she asked Melanie.

“It’s his life,” the young woman replied flippantly. “If he wants to lose his job, that’s his business.”

Henry thought the ranger had the wrong attitude. “Maybe he’s sick at home. Has anyone called or gone to his house to check on him?”

“Look, all I know is I have to run Andrew’s tram tours and announce the showings of the film,” said Melanie. “It isn’t easy doing double duty. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for the next tour.”

The Aldens moved away from the desk and went over to the exhibit area.

“Now I’m really worried,” said Grandfather. “But I don’t want to call Thomas and tell him that no one has seen Andrew in days. It might make his illness worse.”

“You won’t have to do that,” said Henry firmly. “We’ll find Andrew.”

“Yeah,” Benny said. “This won’t be the first mystery we’ve solved.”

Grandfather smiled. “You’re right about that. You kids have solved a lot of mysteries.”

“I have an idea,” said Violet. “Let’s take the tram tour that Andrew was supposed to be running. Maybe we’ll find out something on the tour.”

“Good idea,” Henry said. “We’ll retrace7 Andrew’s steps. Maybe we can learn something about where he was last seen.”

They wandered around the exhibits. The information center was busy.

Melanie picked up a microphone and announced the next viewing of the film. Then she added, “The next tram tour leaves in ten minutes. This is a two-hour guided tour. We will end at the observation tower.”

One woman fanned herself with a map. “Too hot for me,” she said to Jessie. “I think I’ll go watch the movie!”

Several people followed the woman into the auditorium8. Others went out the door to the tram platform. Melanie came out a few moments later. Her face wore a hurried look.

“You seem short-staffed,” said a man as Melanie told them all to board the tram.

The Aldens sat up front, the children sitting in two seats across from one another. Grandfather shared a seat with an older gentleman.

“We are short-staffed,” Melanie replied, jumping into the driver’s seat and clipping a microphone to her shirt collar. “Another ranger came up from Flamingo9 Visitors’ Center to help out these last few days.” After checking to see that everyone was safely inside the tram, she started the engine.

In a monotone, she told them about the Shark Valley area. No cars were allowed on the fifteen-mile loop that went deep into the Everglades. But visitors could bike or walk the trail. Most people took the tram, since fifteen miles was a long walk in the summer heat.

“Will we see any alligators11?” Benny asked Melanie. He sat directly behind her. “I really, really wish I’d see an alligator10.”

“You might,” she said. “There are lots of alligators in the Everglades.” Then she went back to her talk. She told them that nowhere on earth was there a place like the Everglades. The name meant “river of grass.” The Everglades began north at Lake Okeechobee, a Native American name meaning “big water.” The river flowed south, moving slowly.

“There’s a lot of grass in it,” Violet said.

“That’s called sawgrass,” Melanie replied into her microphone. “It only grows here. It’s not really grass at all, but a plant called sedge. It’s very sharp. Some sawgrass plants are rooted six to fifteen feet deep beneath the water. But here the water is only knee-deep.”

The tram stopped several times as Melanie pointed12 out a white heron, a colorful spoonbill, and other birds.

At last they reached the end of the loop. “If you want,” Melanie announced, “you may climb the observation tower. It’s sixty-five feet high. You’ll be rewarded with a spectacular view of the Everglades.”

Benny climbed off the tram with the others. “We didn’t see any alligators,” he said, disappointed.

“We will,” Violet told him. “Maybe it’s their nap time.” It was very hot. She had brought her camera. It swung around her neck on its strap13.

Several older people decided14 to stay on the shaded tram.

“I’ll stay here, too,” said Grandfather. “Mr. Austin, here, and I both served in the navy and have a few stories to trade. But you kids go ahead. Be careful.”

“We’ll watch Benny,” Jessie promised.

The observation tower was actually very safe to climb, with handrails on both sides. Soon they reached the top. The platform had railings all the way around.

“Wow!” Benny cried, running from one side to the other. “We’re up as high as the moon!”

Jessie giggled15. “Not quite.” But the view was wonderful, just as Melanie had promised.

“We still don’t know anything about Andrew Beldon,” said Henry. “I thought we might learn something on the ride.”

“I sure hope we find him soon,” Jessie said.

Just then Henry pointed to a dark, greenish shape down below. “Look! Is that an alligator?”

“If it is, your wish has come true,” Violet told her little brother.

Benny rushed over. “It looks like an old log to me.”

“I think alligators do look like old logs,” Henry told him. “They don’t move a lot. But it’s pretty far away.”

“I’ll take a picture,” Violet offered. “Just in case it is an alligator.”

She stepped forward to position the greenish log in her viewfinder, then put her finger on the button. Just then someone joggled her arm. Her finger pressed the button, but the camera moved. The picture was spoiled.

She turned to see who had bumped into her. It was a man dressed like a tourist, with a straw hat, a flower-printed shirt, and baggy16 plaid shorts. He, too, had a camera around his neck. He thumbed through a guidebook on birds.

But as Violet watched him, she realized he wasn’t a typical tourist at all. The man wasn’t gawking like the others, pointing out birds or other unusual sights. He seemed to be listening to the Aldens. But why? And why did he seem familiar?

She moved away from the man and was about to tell the others.

Just then Benny cried, “Look at that!”

A strange-looking vehicle skimmed quickly over the sawgrass. It was very loud. Birds flew up, wings beating.

“That’s an airboat,” Henry said. “Maybe we’ll get to ride on one.”

“They’re awfully noisy,” said Jessie. “All the birds flew away.”

It was time to go back down to the tram. Violet looked around for the strange man, but he had melted into the crowd. When the tram returned to the information center, she thought she glimpsed him hopping17 quickly off and blending into the swarm18 of tourists waiting for the next tour.

“We’ll look inside once more,” said Grandfather. “In case Andrew has come back.”

But the ranger at the desk wasn’t Andrew. Melanie was getting ready for the next tram tour.

“I don’t think we’ll get any more information here today,” said Grandfather after letting the children buy guidebooks and maps of the Everglades.

“Besides, it’s lunchtime,” Benny pointed out.

“There aren’t any restaurants in the Everglades,” Grandfather said. “We’ll have to drive back to town.”

“I remember a barbecue place on the way in,” Henry said.

Sure enough, there was a small barbecue shack19 on the edge of the Everglades. Everyone piled out of the car and into the restaurant. They ordered iced tea and barbecue platters with extra sauce.

While waiting for their food, the children leafed through their new books.

“We should see all kinds of animals,” Henry said excitedly. “Turtles, birds, snakes —”

Jessie shuddered20. “No snakes.” Normally she was brave, but she didn’t like snakes.

“You know what we ought to do?” Henry suggested. “Since we know how to make plaster casts from our trip to upstate New York, we should buy supplies. We want to be prepared if we come across the footprint of a crocodile. Or, if we’re very, very lucky, a Florida panther.”

“Wildcats?” Benny’s eyes grew round. “Here?”

“Not in the restaurant,” Jessie teased. “The Florida panther is very rare. I doubt we’ll see one. But that’s a good idea, Henry.”

On the way back to the hotel, the Aldens stopped at a variety store. They loaded up on more bug21 spray plaster of paris for making casts, and other supplies.

At the Flamingo, Grandfather went up to his room to make more calls to the Park Service. “This time I’ll try Andrew’s supervisor,” he said.

The kids gathered in the boys’ room to discuss the case.

“I think we should try calling Andrew,” said Violet. “Maybe he’s home by now.”

“Great thinking!” Henry praised. After finding Andrew’s number in the phone book, he pulled the phone toward him and dialed the number.

“Hello?” answered a woman’s voice on the other end.

“Hello,” Henry said. “I’m a friend of Andrew Beldon’s and I was wondering —”

Click. The line went dead.

Henry held out the receiver. “She hung up on me.”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 rental cBezh     
n.租赁,出租,出租业
参考例句:
  • The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
  • We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。
3 ranger RTvxb     
n.国家公园管理员,护林员;骑兵巡逻队员
参考例句:
  • He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
  • He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。
4 rotation LXmxE     
n.旋转;循环,轮流
参考例句:
  • Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
  • The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。
5 supervisor RrZwv     
n.监督人,管理人,检查员,督学,主管,导师
参考例句:
  • Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说,我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
  • He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。
6 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。
7 retrace VjUzyj     
v.折回;追溯,探源
参考例句:
  • He retraced his steps to the spot where he'd left the case.他折回到他丢下箱子的地方。
  • You must retrace your steps.你必须折回原来走过的路。
8 auditorium HO6yK     
n.观众席,听众席;会堂,礼堂
参考例句:
  • The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
  • The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出,伸入观众席。
9 flamingo nsWzxe     
n.红鹳,火烈鸟
参考例句:
  • This is the only species of flamingo in the region,easily recognized by its pink plumage.这是那个地区唯一一种火烈鸟,很容易凭粉红色的羽毛辨认出来。
  • In my family,I am flamingo in the flock of pigeons.在家里,我就像一只被困在鸽笼里的火烈鸟。
10 alligator XVgza     
n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)
参考例句:
  • She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
  • Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。
11 alligators 0e8c11e4696c96583339d73b3f2d8a10     
n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
  • In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句
12 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。
13 strap 5GhzK     
n.皮带,带子;v.用带扣住,束牢;用绷带包扎
参考例句:
  • She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
  • The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。
14 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。
15 giggled 72ecd6e6dbf913b285d28ec3ba1edb12     
v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
  • The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 baggy CuVz5     
adj.膨胀如袋的,宽松下垂的
参考例句:
  • My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
  • Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦,而不是无礼。
17 hopping hopping     
n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
  • I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。
18 swarm dqlyj     
n.(昆虫)等一大群;vi.成群飞舞;蜂拥而入
参考例句:
  • There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
  • A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。
19 shack aE3zq     
adj.简陋的小屋,窝棚
参考例句:
  • He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前,他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
  • The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。
20 shuddered 70137c95ff493fbfede89987ee46ab86     
v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动
参考例句:
  • He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车,车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 bug 5skzf     
n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器
参考例句:
  • There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
  • The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。
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