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儿童英语读物 The Mystery in the Computer Game CHAPTER 2 A New Quest

时间:2017-09-29 06:10来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The next afternoon, the Aldens headed out for their appointment at the QuestMaster Company, just outside Greenfield.

“I’ve never driven a car full of magic Ringmasters around before,” Grandfather said. “And here’s the place where they make the magic,” he added when he turned into the QuestMaster parking lot.

Benny stared at the ordinary brick building up ahead. “That? It sure doesn’t look like much.”

Indeed, there wasn’t a cave or a castle or a haunted house in sight. The small sign in front of the large brick building said QUESTMASTER in plain letters—nothing like the red-and-yellow flame letters on the Ringmaster game box.

“Don’t be too disappointed,” Mr. Alden said when he parked the car. “My friend John Romer said his nephew, Charles, designed the building for hard work and hard play, too. There’s a playing field in back, a basketball court, video games, pool tables, and the like. Some of the employees here even bring their dogs to work.”

“You mean we could have brought Watch?” Jessie asked.

Grandfather nodded. “Perhaps—though I’m not sure Watch is ready to sit in front of a computer just yet.”

“Just under the computer,” Benny said.

The children laughed at the thought of Watch going to a big office. Yet, just outside the QuestMaster building, the Aldens noticed several dogs playing in a fenced dog run. Next to that, they saw several people playing basketball outside.

Henry and Jessie looked at each other.

“Wouldn’t it be fun to work in a place where you could bring your dog and play basketball at lunch?” Jessie asked.

A tall young man with sandy hair, freckles1, and blue eyes spotted2 the Aldens on the sidelines. He waved them over, then tossed the ball to Jessie. Soon all the Aldens, except for Grandfather, had joined the basketball game. Many of the players were wearing bright red Ringmaster shirts.

“This is fun,” Benny said to Henry a few minutes later. “Only that lady over there doesn’t pass the ball.”

Henry nodded. He, too, had noticed that the young woman with the ponytail grabbed the ball a lot and didn’t pass it much. She was a pretty good player, though, and made lots of baskets.

Finally the game was over.

“Hi, Aldens,” the young man said, holding out his hand to Mr. Alden, then to the children. “I’ve been expecting you. I’m Charles David Romer, but around here everybody calls me C.D. That was pretty good playing.”

The Aldens looked surprised. This young man was the founder3 of QuestMaster? Although he was in his midtwenties, he didn’t look much older than Henry.

“I’m the boss around here,” C.D. said when he realized the Aldens still didn’t quite know who he was.

“You don’t look bossy,” Benny blurted4 out.

This made the Aldens laugh and feel right at home.

Mr. Alden introduced the children by name.

“Hi,” C.D. said as he went around shaking each of the Aldens’ hands. “Here comes one of our new designers. This dynamo hoop5 star is Jane Driver. Jane just started work here last month. Jane, meet the Aldens. They’re going to be testing out some of the new Ringmaster II stuff we’ve been working on.”

The young woman didn’t seem interested in the Aldens. “I have to get back to work, C.D.,” she said before rushing indoors.

“Jane would spend all her time on game design if I let her. But I don’t let her,” C.D. said. “In a company like QuestMaster, we all share ideas. So we play a lot of group games to encourage everyone to work together. Jane’s not used to our way of working yet.”

“We are!” Benny announced. “We work together while we’re having fun. That’s how we got to be Ringmasters.”

C.D. gave Benny a high five. “Way to go, Benny! Uncle John was right to send you over to help us out,” C.D. told the Aldens as he led them inside the building to a small room.

He pulled out a box of red Ringmaster T-shirts and gave one to each of the children. “After you try these on, meet me in the design studio,” C.D. said to the children. “It’s down that hall and through the door. See you later, Mr. Alden. I’ll have the computer and your grandchildren all ready to go at five o’clock. Meet us at our loading dock.”

After their grandfather left, the children walked down the hall and opened a door. They were surprised to find themselves in a huge room.

“This room is almost as big as the school gym,” Jessie said. “I’ve never seen so many computers in one place, either. Plus two pool tables. What a funny place QuestMaster is. I can’t tell if it’s a place to work or a place to play.”

All along the walls, a dozen or so people were working in front of large-screen computers. All the screens showed the same thing—a mean-looking dragon about to pounce6 on Tracker, the little game dog from Ringmaster I.

“Look at that!” Henry said. He was thrilled to get a sneak7 peek8 at his favorite game.

C.D. spotted the Aldens across the studio. “Hey, everybody. It’s okay to leave your work on-screen,” he told all the designers. “Meet the Aldens. They’re here to help us test out our new game.”

C.D. led the children to the fanciest computer they had ever seen. “Come meet Morka, our dragon character,” he said. “Our designers are trying to decide what kind of dragon we want Morka to be. Right now we’ve made him a scary dragon. He’s after Tracker, one of our favorite characters.”

A real dog, not a computer dog, came out from under one of the nearby desks. He was scruffy9, with rough gray fur. He wagged his tail and sniffed10 at the Aldens.

“He smells our dog, Watch, on our clothes,” Jessie told C.D.

“He’s the original Tracker,” C.D. explained, “and our QuestMaster mascot11, too. I found him wandering near our old offices a couple of years ago. So I modeled our computer dog after him.”

“Our dog, Watch, is a good tracker,” Benny said. “He tracked us when we lived in the woods.”

C.D. scratched Tracker’s head before the dog went back to his nap spot under the desk. “Sometimes people find dogs, and sometimes dogs find people. Bring Watch in sometime. Anyway, how do you like the look of this dragon so far? Too scary?”

“No way!” Benny answered.

C.D. sat down in front of his computer again. He fiddled12 with some controls and did some amazing art tricks on-screen. “How about this?” he asked after he added a pair of pink wings to the dragon.

“Now he’s a nice dragon,” Soo Lee said.

C.D. offered each of the Aldens a turn at the computer. They turned Morka into a fish-faced dragon, then a cat-faced dragon, then back to a scary dragon again.

“Maybe Morka can be a dragon that changes all the time,” Violet suggested, “depending on what’s happening in the game.”

C.D. gave Violet a big smile. “Great idea! We’ll be trying a lot of new things on Ringmaster III after this game is sent out to the stores. Jane Driver came up with something no other game has—it’s top secret right now.”

The next thing everyone heard was a crash nearby.

“What on earth was that?” C.D. asked.

C.D. walked over to the next workstation. A tall, dark-haired man was picking up papers, photos, and computer disks that had fallen to the floor.

“Is everything okay, Ned?” C.D. asked. “That was quite a racket.”

The man’s face was angry-looking. “Talk about racket! I’ll tell you what’s a racket—a pack of kids running around an office.”

This didn’t much bother C.D. “Hold your horses, Ned. You know this place isn’t a library.”

“It’s not a playground, either,” Ned said. “A man can’t get a minute’s quiet here.”

C.D. chuckled13. “Now, Ned. You know QuestMaster is part playground, part office. After all, what are we designing here? Games for kids. Now take a break, okay? You’ve been working too hard. Come meet the Aldens. According to their grandfather, they’ve got a reputation for solving problems and mysteries. Kids, meet one of our head designers, Ned Porter. He’s responsible for a lot of great ideas in Ringmaster I and II.”

Ned Porter brushed right by the Aldens.

“Should we go home?” Jessie asked.

C.D. laughed. “No way! Ned’s been kind of grumpy lately. I wish I knew what was bothering him. Maybe he’s just been working too hard. Now let’s go back to my computer so you can try out Ringmaster II. That’s why I brought you here.”

When it was nearly five o’clock, the children had been exploring Ringmaster II for a few hours.

“So what do you think of our new game so far?” C.D. asked.

“Amazing,” Henry said. “There are a lot of new features and characters.”

C.D. beamed. “Glad you like it. Wait until next year when you get a look at Ringmaster III. We’re experimenting right now with that new feature Jane Driver came up with.”

The children held their breath. Maybe this time C.D. would let them in on the big secret.

“Sorry, guys,” C.D. told them. “I can’t tell you what it is. If Jane and I work out all the bugs14, Ringmaster III is going to bring computer games to a whole new level, just you wait.”

Benny rocked back and forth15 on his sneakers. “I can’t wait.”

C.D. smiled at the Aldens. “One thing you don’t have to wait for is that computer I promised you. Follow me. Your grandfather is probably waiting at our loading dock now.”

“This looks like a computer store,” Jessie said when C.D. led the children to a storage room packed with computers.

“These are practically brand-new,” C.D. explained. “We replaced them because all the artwork we’ve been doing on Ringmaster II soaks up a lot more power.” He walked up and down the room. “Now, where’s the one I set aside for you?”

With the Aldens trailing behind, C.D. turned down another aisle16. When he did, he nearly bumped into Jane Driver.

“Whoa, Jane!” C.D. said. “What are you doing in here?”

Jane looked flustered17 when the Aldens crowded around her. “The sound card on my new computer isn’t working. I was going to remove the one from my old machine.”

C.D. looked puzzled. “Sorry, Jane. You really can’t do that. Just ask Ned to help you figure out how to use the new card. I want all these computers I’m donating to the high school to go out fully18 equipped. Your old one is going to the Aldens. They’ll need the sound card for testing out parts of Ringmaster II.”

Jane’s face grew red. “But ...”

C.D. grew a bit impatient. “Look, Jane, please go find Andy Porter now. I need him to carry the monitor out to Mr. Alden’s car, and that’s that.”

Jane seemed frozen in place.

“The sound card should stay in this machine,” C.D. repeated. “Now please find Andy for us.”

A long time seemed to pass before Jane moved. When she finally left, she pushed the swinging doors so hard they swung back and forth several times before coming to a stop.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 freckles MsNzcN     
n.雀斑,斑点( freckle的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She had a wonderful clear skin with an attractive sprinkling of freckles. 她光滑的皮肤上有几处可爱的小雀斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • When she lies in the sun, her face gets covered in freckles. 她躺在阳光下时,脸上布满了斑点。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
3 Founder wigxF     
n.创始者,缔造者
参考例句:
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
  • According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说,罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。
4 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止,她已脱口而出。
  • He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相,说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 hoop wcFx9     
n.(篮球)篮圈,篮
参考例句:
  • The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
  • The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。
6 pounce 4uAyU     
n.猛扑;v.猛扑,突然袭击,欣然同意
参考例句:
  • Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦?
  • We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。
7 sneak vr2yk     
vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝);偷偷摸摸做;n.潜行;adj.暗中进行
参考例句:
  • He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
  • I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。
8 peek ULZxW     
vi.偷看,窥视;n.偷偷的一看,一瞥
参考例句:
  • Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
  • Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛,别偷看。
9 scruffy YsWyG     
adj.肮脏的,不洁的
参考例句:
  • Despite her scruffy clothes,there was an air of sophistication about her.尽管她衣衫褴褛,但神态老练世故。
  • His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.他邋遢的外表并不反映他的性格。
10 sniffed ccb6bd83c4e9592715e6230a90f76b72     
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 mascot E7xzm     
n.福神,吉祥的东西
参考例句:
  • The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
  • We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。
12 fiddled 3b8aadb28aaea237f1028f5d7f64c9ea     
v.伪造( fiddle的过去式和过去分词 );篡改;骗取;修理或稍作改动
参考例句:
  • He fiddled the company's accounts. 他篡改了公司的账目。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He began with Palestrina, and fiddled all the way through Bartok. 他从帕勒斯春纳的作品一直演奏到巴塔克的作品。 来自辞典例句
13 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。
14 bugs e3255bae220613022d67e26d2e4fa689     
adj.疯狂的,发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 );病菌;虫子;[计算机](制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的)错误
参考例句:
  • All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞,都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 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。
16 aisle qxPz3     
n.(教堂、教室、戏院等里的)过道,通道
参考例句:
  • The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
  • The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。
17 flustered b7071533c424b7fbe8eb745856b8c537     
adj.慌张的;激动不安的v.使慌乱,使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The honking of horns flustered the boy. 汽车喇叭的叫声使男孩感到慌乱。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She was so flustered that she forgot her reply. 她太紧张了,都忘记了该如何作答。 来自辞典例句
18 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
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