儿童英语读物 The Great Bicycle Race Mystery CHAPTER 3 Gone!

“Come on, Henry,” Benny said the next morning. “We have to practice for the race one more time!”

But Henry didn’t come out of the garage next to the house where the Aldens kept their bicycles.

“Henry?” Jessie called.

“I can’t find it!” Henry said. His voice was muffled¹.

“Find what?” asked Violet. She leaned her bike against a tree and started toward the garage.

Just then, Henry burst out of the garage door. His eyes were wide. “I can’t find it. I can’t find my bicycle!” he cried.

“Isn’t it in the garage?” asked Jessie. “I saw you put it there last night. You leaned it against the ladder.”

Propping² her own bike against Violet’s, Jessie hurried toward the garage. Benny, Soo Lee, and Watch quickly followed. As soon as they walked into the old garage, Watch growled⁴ softly.

“What is it, boy?” asked Benny.

But Watch couldn’t answer. He could only growl³.

Jessie looked at the ladder in the corner where she’d last seen her older brother’s bike. It wasn’t there.

She glanced around the garage. She didn’t see Henry’s bicycle anywhere. She peered behind an old trunk. She raised the edge of a tarp, but found only spiders, dust, and a broken lawn mower⁵ beneath it.

The dust made her sneeze.

“It’s not here,” reported Violet, who’d been making a search of her own.

“Maybe you didn’t leave it in the garage. Maybe we got yesterday mixed up with some other day. Maybe you forgot to put it away and left it out by the boxcar,” Jessie said.

But as she spoke⁶, Henry shook his head. “I’m sure I put it here last night,” he said. “I never took it out to the boxcar.”

“Then someone must have sneaked⁷ into the garage last night and taken it,” said Violet. “But why?”

Henry shook his head. “I don’t know. It wasn’t worth much — except to me.”

“We’ll find your bike,” said Jessie.

Suddenly she squatted⁸ down. “Look.” She pointed⁹ to the track of a wheel through a patch of old motor oil on the floor of the garage.

“Any one of us could have made that track,” Violet objected. “It’s not the only one.”

“But look how clear it is,” Jessie said.

Henry bent¹⁰ forward. “You’re right. That’s the track of a new tire. You can see every ridge¹¹. All the other tracks are much smoother, with many fewer tread marks.”

“You’re the only one of us who has a brand-new tire,” said Soo Lee.

“And look at this!” Violet’s voice rose in excitement as she pointed to the tracks leading from the garage.

The Aldens followed the tire track out of the garage. It curved suddenly and went off into the grass.

“The track leads out of the garage onto the grass at one side of the driveway and I know Henry always goes straight up or down the middle of the driveway,” Violet concluded.

“Why would someone ride your bike in the grass?” Benny wanted to know. “It’s not a mountain bike. Is it?”

“No, it isn’t,” Henry said.

“Here’s a streak¹² of grease on the grass,” Violet said from around the corner of the garage.

“That’s funny,” said Jessie. “It looks as if whoever took the bike wasn’t taking it out to the road to ride away. He or she was going in the opposite direction.”

“Then that’s where we’ll start looking,” said Henry.

The five of them and Watch spread out and searched all around the big old white house. Henry checked the basement door just in case someone had moved the bike in there for a joke. But the door was locked from the inside, just as it always was.

Soo Lee suddenly cried, “Look!” She pointed to a slash¹³ of red on a large rock near the edge of the woods behind the Aldens’ house.

“Is it blood?” gasped¹⁴ Benny.

“No,” said Soo Lee. “I think it’s paint.”

Henry raced over, with Jessie and Violet close at his heels. He stooped and examined the red mark. “You’re right, Soo Lee. It is paint.”

“And it’s exactly the same color as your bicycle,” added Jessie.

“If the scrape is on this side of the rock, whoever took the bike was probably going in that direction,” said Violet, pointing toward the woods.

“Maybe the thief made a getaway through the woods?” asked Soo Lee.

“Then I guess we’d better look for more clues in the woods,” Henry said.

“Let’s spread out about five or ten feet apart,” Jessie suggested. “That way we can cover more ground.”

“Good idea,” said Henry. “If anybody sees anything, shout.”

“I will. Really loud,” Benny said.

The Aldens began to search the woods. They crunched¹⁵ through the leaves and pushed aside branches. Benny and Watch found two rusty¹⁶ tin cans and an old pop bottle. Violet found a tattered¹⁷ plastic bag caught in some bushes. She and Benny put the cans and the bottle in the bag to throw away later.

Just when they were about to give up, Violet called out, “I see something red. Over there by that big tree.”

Henry squinted¹⁸ in the direction she was pointing. “You’re right, Violet,” he called back. “Let’s go.”

He and Violet pushed through the bushes. A moment later, Jessie, Soo Lee, Benny, and Watch heard Violet wail¹⁹, “Oh, no!”

“Let’s go!” shouted Jessie, and led the rest of the search party to Henry and Violet.

They all stopped and stared in stunned²⁰ silence at what lay in the small clearing beneath the big old oak tree. It was Henry’s bike—or what was left of it.

“Who would do such a thing?” Soo Lee asked.

“I don’t know,” said Henry in a choked voice.

The tire on the rear wheel was flat, and several of its spokes²¹ were broken. The paint was scratched and scraped. Dirt clogged²² the gear wheels and bike chain. The chain itself was snapped. The bottom of the front fork, which held the front wheel on the bike, was bent.

“Oh, Henry,” said Violet. “I’m so sorry about your bike.”

“Me too,” said Henry.

“Maybe whoever took it ran away in such a hurry that it got all beaten up in the woods,” said Soo Lee.

Jessie said, “Well, whoever took this bike didn’t seem to care what happened to it.”

“Maybe we can get it fixed,” said Benny. “Let’s take it to Greenfield Wheels.”

“I guess we can try,” said Henry.

With Jessie’s help, Henry carried the bike out of the woods. They told Grandfather what had happened and he called the police to report the theft. Then they all walked slowly into town. As they walked, they tried to figure out what had happened.

“Maybe it was Ms. Whatney and her driver. Ronald, that was his name,” said Violet. “Maybe they wanted to keep us from riding in the race.”

“It could be,” said Henry. “After all, it’s Ms. Whatney who wants to buy Eagle Mountain.”

“And she knows where we live,” Benny added.

“And Ronald the chauffeur²³ even asked about our bikes,” said Soo Lee.

“Maybe it was one of the people who were so mean to us when we were raising money,” said Violet.

“Like that guy who made fun of Henry’s bike in front of our lemonade stand,” said Soo Lee.

“Or the man at the card shop who told us he hoped we’d all have flat tires,” Benny said.

Henry sighed. He said, “It could be any of those people, I guess. But it doesn’t really make sense and we don’t have any proof.”

“When people do mean things it usually doesn’t make sense,” Violet added softly.

Henry looked sadly at his battered²⁴ bicycle and added, “And now I don’t have a bicycle for the race.”

1 muffled   

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》

2 propping   

支撑

参考例句：

• You can usually find Jack propping up the bar at his local. 你常常可以看见杰克频繁出没于他居住的那家酒店。
• The government was accused of propping up declining industries. 政府被指责支持日益衰败的产业。

3 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

4 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mower   

n.割草机

参考例句：

• We need a lawn mower to cut the grass.我们需要一台草坪修剪机来割草。
• Your big lawn mower is just the job for the high grass.割高草时正需要你的大割草机。

6 spoke   

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。

7 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

8 squatted   

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》

9 pointed   

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。

10 bent   

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。

11 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

12 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

13 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

14 gasped   

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 crunched   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头，使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命

16 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

17 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

18 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

19 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

20 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

21 spokes   

n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动

参考例句：

• Her baby caught his fingers in the spokes of the pram wheel. 她宝宝的手指被婴儿车轮的辐条卡住了。 来自辞典例句
• The new edges are called the spokes of the wheel. 新的边称为轮的辐。 来自辞典例句

22 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

23 chauffeur   

n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车

参考例句：

• The chauffeur handed the old lady from the car.这个司机搀扶这个老太太下汽车。
• She went out herself and spoke to the chauffeur.她亲自走出去跟汽车司机说话。

24 battered   

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。