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儿童英语读物 The Movie Star Mystery HAPTER 6 A Mysterious Letter

时间:2017-09-18 06:33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)

Watch and Greta barked. Tate grabbed Greta’s collar and Henry held on tightly to Watch’s leash1.

Jessie ran into the woods, but it was too late. Whoever it was had gotten too big a head start for her to catch up. Returning breathlessly, she said, “I couldn’t see who it was.”

“It was probably a reporter,” said Tate. He didn’t sound very concerned. He reached into the mailbox and took out a bundle of mail.

He drew out a single letter with the word Tate written on the front.

“Look,” said Benny. “Your letter doesn’t have a stamp on it.”

“Or an address, either,” Violet said.

“Looks like it was hand-delivered,” said Tate, sounding a little uneasy now. Carefully, he opened the envelope and unfolded a single sheet of white paper. Printed in big black letters they saw:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

The world will find out where you are.

Henry frowned. “What do you think that means? Is it some kind of a threat?”

“I don’t know,” said Tate. He turned the sheet of paper over, but nothing else was written on it.

Jessie glanced up the road in the direction that the mysterious figure hiding in the undergrowth had fled. “I think I know who delivered your letter,” she said. “It was whoever was hiding in the bushes. Someone must have just put it into the mailbox when we came out.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Tate said. “If someone knows I’m here, what does he or she want?” He groaned2. “I hope this isn’t the beginning of more bad luck.”

“Maybe someone wants you to pay money to keep it a secret,” said Henry.

“There hasn’t been a demand for money,” Tate said.

“Don’t worry,” said Benny. “It’s a mystery and we’re very good at solving mysteries.”

Tate smiled at Benny. “Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” said Benny.

“One thing’s for sure,” Tate said as he walked back inside the gate. “I’m not going to tell Courtney about this. It would make her even more overprotective than she is now.”

“Be careful, though,” Jessie warned.

“I will,” said Tate. He smiled and waved. “Come back tomorrow. We’re still scouting3 locations for the movie and I don’t have much to do right now.”

“Okay,” said Benny.

The Aldens wheeled their bikes back out onto the road. Jessie folded her jacket into the basket of her bike and gave Watch a ride in it. He was still panting from playing with Greta.

As soon as they got started, Watch stood up in the basket and uttered a short, high bark. At the same moment, Henry slowed his bike and pointed4. “Do you see that?” he asked. “Over there? Tire tracks.”

The Aldens stopped their bikes and went over to inspect the tracks.

“They weren’t here this morning when we went by,” said Violet.

“Let’s see where they go,” Benny said.

They followed the tracks to the edge of the woods and saw that branches and broken brush had been pulled over the tracks in an attempt to hide them. Pushing the branches aside, they saw that the tracks stopped just beyond where the children stood.

“No car now,” remarked Jessie. “But I’m sure there was one here earlier.”

“Maybe whoever sent Tate the letter left a car hidden here,” Violet said. “Or maybe it is a reporter, spying on Tate.”

“What if it was the bank robbers?” said Benny. “Maybe they had their van in here.”

“But the van was leaving when we turned onto Old Farm Road. And the tracks weren’t here,” said Henry.

Benny looked stubborn. “Maybe they came back,” he said.

“I guess they could have,” said Jessie. “But why?”

“Maybe they’re not bank robbers. Maybe they’re spies,” said Benny.

Henry chuckled5. But Jessie frowned thoughtfully.

“Look at this,” Henry said. He bent6 down and picked up a piece of a bright red feather. “I’ve never seen a bird with a feather like this around here.”

“A cardinal7?” suggested Benny. “Cardinals are red.”

“But too small to have a feather that big,” said Violet. “It’s pretty.”

“Maybe it’s a clue,” said Henry. He slipped the feather into his pocket. “We’d better get going, or Mrs. McGregor will be worried.”

“A red feather, a blue van, a funny letter, bank robbers, and spies,” said Benny. “Those are a lot of mysteries.”

Jessie said, “It seems like the more clues we find, the more mysterious everything gets.”

When they buzzed the intercom at the Radley house the next day, Tate answered immediately. “Wait there,” he said. “I’ll be right out.”

A few minutes later, an unfamiliar8 figure came hurrying down the driveway. He was wheeling a battered9 bicycle and Greta was walking alongside him. When he reached the gate, he stopped and put a leash on Greta. Then he punched in the code, pushed the gate open, and stepped out to join the Aldens.

“Tate?” said Violet in a puzzled voice.

The figure in front of them had frizzy brown hair and wore little wire-rimmed glasses. He had on an enormous shirt and looked almost fat. Then Benny saw the blue eyes behind the glasses and said, “It is you. It’s Tate.”

Tate smiled. “Yep. It’s a disguise. Not bad, huh?”

“If Greta wasn’t with you, I wouldn’t have guessed so quickly,” Violet said.

“Why are you in disguise?” Jessie wanted to know.

“Because I want to go into Greenfield. This way, no one will recognize me,” Tate explained.

“Where’s Courtney?” asked Benny. “Did she say you could go?”

“She went with my mom to run some errands,” Tate said. “This is a perfect time to slip away.”

Henry looked up and down the road. But he didn’t see any suspicious vans or anyone lurking10 in the trees. “Come on, then,” he said. He grinned at Tate. “Let’s go.”

As they walked through the peaceful streets of Greenfield, the Aldens told Tate about the history of the town and about some of the mysteries they had solved there.

“That’s the old train station,” said Jessie. “Greenfield used to have lots of trains come through it.”

“We found out about it when our boxcar got stolen,” Jessie added.

“But you got it back?” Tate asked.

Benny said, “We sure did. We can solve any mystery. We even found some stolen rubies11.”

“Taken from the antique store over there,” said Henry, pointing to a store with a sign that read ANTIQUE TREASURES, W. BELLOWS12, PROPRIETOR13.

“Wow,” said Tate. “Greenfield only looks like a quiet little town. From the way you talk, I can tell that anything could happen.”

Suddenly Violet stopped. “There they are!” she gasped14.

“Who?” asked Henry.

“The robbers,” Violet said. “I just saw them slip down the alley15 behind the bank!”

“Bank robbers?” Tate said, his eyes widening behind his glasses.

“Come on!” Jessie said. She hurried down the sidewalk and stopped to peer around the corner. “I don’t see them,” she said.

“Let’s go a little farther down the alley,” Henry whispered. “We can hide behind those trash cans.”

“This is great,” said Tate. “Just like the movies!”

“Shhh!” said Benny, frowning at him.

As quietly as they could, they all walked down the alley. They crouched16 down and stayed close to the wall. When they got to the trash cans, they squatted17 down behind them.

“Pee-eew! It stinks,” said Benny.

“It’s the garbage, Benny,” said Violet. “Pinch your nose together with your fingers.”

“I just did,” said Benny in a muffled18 voice.

Just then they heard footsteps.

“Shhh,” Henry warned.

A familiar voice said, “Well, we can’t shoot here. It would never work.”

“George Smith,” Violet breathed.

“You’re wrong. This bank is perfect, from every angle,” said the second voice.

“And Harper,” Henry whispered.

“Harper?” said Tate.

“Shhh!” said Benny.

But Tate wasn’t listening. He stood up!

Violet grabbed the sleeve of his sweatshirt. “Tate. Be careful!” she said.

Tate smiled down at Violet. “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I know how to handle these bank robbers.”

With that, Tate began to walk down the alley toward the two men, leading Greta with him.

Henry jumped to his feet. So did everyone else. Watch began to pull Benny forward, after Greta.

“Harpo, Stefan, you’ve been caught,” Tate said. “Will you surrender quietly?”

The Aldens watched in amazement19 as the two men spun20 around. They were in disguise again today, but Harpo had on his bright silver sneakers.

Harpo’s eyebrows21 rose. He pushed up his glasses and peered at Tate. Then he said, “Tate! What are you doing here?”

The man that the Aldens knew as George Smith, whom Tate had addressed as Stefan, put his hands on his hips22. “A good question, Harpo. Tate, what are you doing here? What if someone sees you and recognizes you?”

By then the Aldens had reached Tate’s side. Benny said, “You know the bank robbers?”

Stefan’s thick brows went up. “Bank robbers? How do you know about the bank robbers? Tate, did you tell them?”

Laughing and shaking his head, Tate said, “No. They don’t know anything about the plot of the movie. They think you and Harpo are bank robbers.”

Harpo said, “I know you kids! We saw you in the woods, when we were scouting a location for the hideout.”

Benny look confused.

Violet said in a faint voice, “Hideout?”

“Stefan, Harpo, allow me to introduce my friends the Aldens. Henry, Jessie, Violet, Benny, and Watch,” Tate said.

Hearing his name, Watch wagged his tail.

“And these two gentlemen are Harpo Woo and Stefan Kirk. Harpo is locations director and Stefan is the director of my next movie, Money in the Bank.”

Henry said, “We heard you talking about hiding loot in the woods and then we saw you in disguise watching the bank and we thought you were getting ready to rob it. But you’re not bank robbers.”

Harpo laughed. “No. I’m in charge of finding the best places to shoot scenes from the movie. We’re in disguise because we don’t want anyone to recognize us until we’re finished picking locations.”

“Why?” asked Jessie.

“It’s much harder to get things done when people are crowding around, watching and asking questions,” said Stefan crisply.

“That’s Stefan’s way of telling us to go away so he can get back to work,” Tate said.

Stefan smiled a little, but he didn’t disagree with Tate’s words. Instead he said, “And I might remind you, Tate, that you don’t want to be recognized, either. I thought you were trying to stay out of the spotlight23 after all the incidents that happened during the filming of your last movie.”

“I am. But I’m in disguise, too,” Tate said.

“As long as no one tells anyone where you are,” Stefan said, giving the Aldens a hard look.

Benny frowned. Then he said, “We won’t tell. We can keep secrets!”

“Good,” said Stefan. He turned back toward the bank.

Harpo said, “See you when we get back to the house, Tate. Nice meeting you kids—again.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” said Violet politely.

The Aldens and Tate turned and walked out of the alley.

“I’m glad your friends aren’t bank robbers,” Benny told Tate.

Tate laughed. “Me, too,” he said. Suddenly he stopped laughing. He frowned and looked around uneasily.

“What is it?” asked Jessie.

“I don’t know,” said Tate. “I just had the funniest feeling that someone was following me.”

The Aldens all stopped and surveyed Main Street. But they didn’t see anybody suspicious, just friends and neighbors going about their business.

“Who could be following you?” Henry asked. “Nobody even knows you’re here.”

Tate didn’t answer Henry’s question. Instead, he grabbed Henry’s arm and said, “Oh, no! Quick. Hide me!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 leash M9rz1     
n.牵狗的皮带,束缚;v.用皮带系住
参考例句:
  • I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳,但被狗挡住了路。
  • The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带,想挣脱开去。
2 groaned 1a076da0ddbd778a674301b2b29dff71     
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦
参考例句:
  • He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
  • The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 scouting 8b7324e25eaaa6b714e9a16b4d65d5e8     
守候活动,童子军的活动
参考例句:
  • I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
  • Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分
4 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。
5 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
6 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。
7 cardinal Xcgy5     
n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的
参考例句:
  • This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
  • The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火,脸涨得通红。
8 unfamiliar uk6w4     
adj.陌生的,不熟悉的
参考例句:
  • I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
  • The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。
9 battered NyezEM     
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损
参考例句:
  • He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
  • The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。
10 lurking 332fb85b4d0f64d0e0d1ef0d34ebcbe7     
潜在
参考例句:
  • Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的,想干什么?
  • There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
11 rubies 534be3a5d4dab7c1e30149143213b88f     
红宝石( ruby的名词复数 ); 红宝石色,深红色
参考例句:
  • a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
  • The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。
12 bellows Ly5zLV     
n.风箱;发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的名词复数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的第三人称单数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫
参考例句:
  • His job is to blow the bellows for the blacksmith. 他的工作是给铁匠拉风箱。 来自辞典例句
  • You could, I suppose, compare me to a blacksmith's bellows. 我想,你可能把我比作铁匠的风箱。 来自辞典例句
13 proprietor zR2x5     
n.所有人;业主;经营者
参考例句:
  • The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
  • The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。
14 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》
15 alley Cx2zK     
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
参考例句:
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
16 crouched 62634c7e8c15b8a61068e36aaed563ab     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
  • The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
17 squatted 45deb990f8c5186c854d710c535327b0     
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。
参考例句:
  • He squatted down beside the footprints and examined them closely. 他蹲在脚印旁仔细地观察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He squatted in the grass discussing with someone. 他蹲在草地上与一个人谈话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 muffled fnmzel     
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己)
参考例句:
  • muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
  • There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
20 spun kvjwT     
v.纺,杜撰,急转身
参考例句:
  • His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
  • Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。
21 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。
22 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》
23 spotlight 6hBzmk     
n.公众注意的中心,聚光灯,探照灯,视听,注意,醒目
参考例句:
  • This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
  • The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。
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