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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Stolen Sword CHAPTER 6 Signs in the Orchard

时间:2017-09-13 05:59来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Before long, the Aldens were walking through thick rows of apple trees. The wind swirled1 red and yellow leaves around them.

“It’s pretty here,” Violet observed.

“It is,” Benny agreed. “But how are we ever going to hear the ghost with all this wind?”

Henry shook his head and stopped before a group of apple trees with thicker trunks. “These look like the oldest trees in the orchard2,” he said. “I think this is where Seymour said some markings would be.”

Indeed, when the Aldens bent3 down they could see weathered drawings carved into the bark. There was an X, an 0, and a symbol that Henry thought looked like a rough drawing of a sword.

“Maybe the 0 is really an apple,” Violet suggested.

“What does the X stand for?” Benny wanted to know.

Henry shrugged4. “Beats me,” he said. “Remember, this was part of a game Seymour’s children used to play.”

“Let’s see if we can’t find the newer markings,” Jessie suggested. “These carvings5 are pretty faded.”

The Aldens walked alongside the trees, crunching6 fallen leaves beneath their sneakers. Benny gathered a pile of the leaves in his arms and threw them at Violet. Violet threw some leaves back at Benny. Before long, masses of leaves whirled through the air.

“Looks like you’re having fun,” a voice said.

The Aldens turned to face a tall blond boy who stood grinning at them. “I was just pruning7 some of these apple trees,” the boy explained as he pointed8 to the large power saw by his feet. “I work in this orchard part-time after school.”

“Are you Martin?” Jessie asked.

The boy nodded. “I am,” he said. “And you must be the Aldens. Seymour told me you’d be visiting. I’m pleased to meet you.”

“We’re pleased to meet you, too,” Jessie said for all of them.

“We’re looking at these markings on the tree trunks,” Benny informed Martin. “Do you know about them?”

“Oh, those,” Martin said, laughing. “I think they must have been part of a game the Curtis children used to play.”

Benny looked disappointed.

“Are there any other markings like this?” Violet asked.

“I haven’t seen any,” Martin answered. “But then again, I haven’t been looking.”

“What do you know about the ghost?” Benny asked Martin.

Martin laughed. “Well, I’ve heard some rustling9 in the trees, but I think it’s the sound of an animal, not a ghost.”

“You’ve never seen the ghost?” Benny asked.

“No, I don’t think I have,” Martin answered. “But you know, in most of the ghost stories I’ve read, the ghost never actually appears.”

“It doesn’t?” Benny’s eyes were as round as saucers.

“No.” Martin sounded very sure. “The room, or the area where the ghost is supposed to appear, just gets colder. And lights flicker10, that kind of stuff. People sense a ghost is around, but no one ever actually sees it.”

“I never thought of it that way.” Benny sounded much happier. He walked farther into the orchard, and the others followed, including Martin.

Henry was the first to see two markings scratched into the bark of one tree. “These markings look newer!” he exclaimed.

“Why do you think so?” Violet asked as she bent down to look at them more carefully.

“They don’t look as weathered,” Henry answered. “So it’s easier to make out what they are.”

“It’s true,” Jessie agreed. She sat on the ground near Henry. “Here’s a drawing of a sword with a curved blade.”

“That’s interesting,” Henry said. “Do you think this is still part of the game?”

“It could be a message or signal for someone,” Violet suggested.

Jessie’s eyes lit up. “I wonder if the sword that’s missing has a curved blade.”

“Maybe it’s the ghost of Joshua saying he wants that sword,” Benny pointed out.

“Maybe,” Martin said. “But I’ll bet it’s a signal for someone who’s alive today, maybe the burglars who take antiques.” He sounded as excited as Jessie.

“Yes,” Henry agreed. “The message could be that the coast is clear to take a sword with a curved blade.”

“We should tell Seymour right away,” Jessie said. Benny had already turned around to go back to the farmhouse11.

The Aldens and Martin had not gotten too far when Veronica stepped out from behind a tree and walked directly into their path.

“Martin, I’ve been looking all over for you.” She sounded angry.

“Oh, hi, Veronica,” Martin said, blushing a little.

“Why weren’t you over by the tree where you said you would be? Do you know how long it’s taken me to find you?”

“Well, Veronica, I—”

Veronica put her hands on her hips12. “I’m sure you have a good excuse, as always,” she interrupted.

“Veronica, I was helping13 the Aldens find some markings on the trees. We think these markings might be a clue — you know, for those burglaries.”

“Oh.” Veronica looked somewhat interested. “Why don’t we take a walk and you can tell me all about it,” Veronica suggested, locking her arm through Martin’s.

“So long,” Martin said, nodding to the Aldens. He looked sorry to be saying good-bye to them. Veronica firmly led Martin away without a word to the Aldens.

“I can’t believe someone as nice as Martin is going out with Veronica,” Jessie muttered as the four walked quickly in the other direction — toward the farmhouse.

“She is so rude to us,” Violet complained. “Did you see how she acted like we weren’t even there?”

“She probably wishes we weren’t around,” Jessie remarked. “If it weren’t for us, Martin would have been waiting for her by the tree.”

“Yeah,” Benny agreed.

“You know,” Henry began, “I wonder how much of our conversation she overheard. I wonder how long she was behind that tree.”

“Do you think she might have been spying on us?” Violet wondered.

“That is just what I was thinking,” Henry admitted.

“Well, did you see the markings?” Seymour wanted to know as soon as the Aldens walked in the door of the farmhouse.

“We sure did,” Jessie said.

“We saw two kinds,” Benny added. “Old ones and new ones. And I bet the new ones were drawn14 by the ghost.”

“Where were these new markings, exactly?” Seymour wanted to know.

“Near the horse’s pasture,” Violet answered.

“We saw a drawing of a sword with a curved blade on one of the trees. It didn’t look as old and faded as the others,” Henry explained.

“That’s odd,” Seymour said, scratching his chin. “The missing sword has a curved blade.”

“We thought it might,” Henry said, looking excited. “We think it might be a signal.”

“A signal for the burglar,” Seymour said, frowning. “I’d like to see this marking.”

“We’ll lead the way,” Henry said.

Before Seymour and the Aldens could get out the door, they heard Grandfather calling them from the living room. “Look at this!” Grandfather was almost shouting. The Aldens rushed into the living room ahead of Seymour.

They found their grandfather seated in an old armchair by the window, rustling the newspaper, which lay open on his lap.

“Take a look at this story,” Grandfather said as he handed the paper to Henry.

“‘Memories of Yesteryear.’” Henry read the headline aloud while the others peered over his shoulder — all but Benny, who was too short.

“‘Today’s column features a letter that has much to tell us about what life was like in Chassell in the horse-and-buggy days,’” Henry continued reading. Then he gasped15.

“What, what’s the matter?” Benny cried.

“This letter is addressed to Joshua Curtis,” Henry said, lowering the paper so Benny could see it.

“Wow, it was written in 1857,” Violet said, looking over Benny’s shoulder.

Seymour put on his spectacles and took a closer look at the paper. “Just as I thought,” he said grimly. “That’s one of Gideon’s letters to Joshua. It’s also one of the letters that was stolen from my desk.”

Henry looked puzzled. “Why did Gideon have a letter addressed to Joshua? Wouldn’t Joshua have that letter?”

“Good question,” Seymour said. “Gideon made copies of every letter he sent. That’s why there’s so much correspondence in this house.”

“I can’t believe that’s one of the stolen letters!” Rose said.

“It is,” Seymour said, a little gruffly. “It’s the letter where Gideon is inviting16 Joshua to come up for a visit.”

“I don’t think I ever read that letter,” Rose said slowly.

“James, why don’t you read that letter aloud?” Seymour suggested.

Grandfather cleared his throat and read:

15 October 1857

Dear Cousin Joshua,

I regret to have taken so long to answer your letter dated August third. We have been busy here planting & gathering17 this year’s crop of apples & corn. It is hard to believe that winter approaches as it has been very warm this October.

Sybil is preparing for the winter holidays, & we are hoping you may join us. I know the trip from Virginia is long, but we could arrange to meet you at the train station & bring you to our farm.

I know we must discuss this matter of dividing my father’s sword & armor collection. I have now read his will & diary & see that he wanted me to inherit it. We can discuss this further when I see you.

Sybil, the children, & I so hope you can visit & we await your response.

Your cousin, Gideon

“Does the paper say anything about where they found this letter?” Violet asked.

“Yes, it does,” Henry answered. “The letter was sent to them by a Mrs. Louise Hathaway, head librarian for the Chassell Public Library.”

“I wonder where Louise found that letter,” Rose remarked. “We know her. She would never steal anything from anyone.”

“We should probably pay a visit to the local library tomorrow,” Henry offered. “We can ask her in person.”

“Oh, would you?” Seymour sounded grateful. “I can’t leave the farm tomorrow because I want to supervise the pruning.”

“We’d be glad to go to the library,” Jessie said. “Maybe we can find more clues there.”
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 swirled eb40fca2632f9acaecc78417fd6adc53     
v.旋转,打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。
  • The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。
2 orchard UJzxu     
n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场
参考例句:
  • My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
  • Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。
3 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。
4 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 carvings 3ccde9120da2aaa238c9785046cb8f86     
n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 );雕刻术;雕刻品;雕刻物
参考例句:
  • The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 crunching crunching     
v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 );嘎吱作响;(快速大量地)处理信息;数字捣弄
参考例句:
  • The horses were crunching their straw at their manger. 这些马在嘎吱嘎吱地吃槽里的草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog was crunching a bone. 狗正嘎吱嘎吱地嚼骨头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 pruning 6e4e50e38fdf94b800891c532bf2f5e7     
n.修枝,剪枝,修剪v.修剪(树木等)( prune的现在分词 );精简某事物,除去某事物多余的部分
参考例句:
  • In writing an essay one must do a lot of pruning. 写文章要下一番剪裁的工夫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • A sapling needs pruning, a child discipline. 小树要砍,小孩要管。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
8 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。
9 rustling c6f5c8086fbaf68296f60e8adb292798     
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的
参考例句:
  • the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
  • the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声
10 flicker Gjxxb     
vi./n.闪烁,摇曳,闪现
参考例句:
  • There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
  • At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时,光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现,几乎并不灿烂。
11 farmhouse kt1zIk     
n.农场住宅(尤指主要住房)
参考例句:
  • We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
  • We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。
12 hips f8c80f9a170ee6ab52ed1e87054f32d4     
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》
13 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
14 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
15 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
16 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。
17 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
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