儿童故事集：Astropup and the Wreck of the Hesperus

 Standby for action and adventure, in this first episode of an Astropup mini-series. Our space travelling hero is sent with his comrade, the Parrot, to investigate a wrecked² spaceship. Unfortunately, ferocious³ space sharks are in the area. What a time for poor Astropup to go space-walkies.

 

Story by Bertie.

 

Read by Richard.

 

Proofread⁴ by Jana Elizabeth.

 

 

Hello, this is Richard, and I am here with another Astropup Story. Actually, it’s the first in a little mini-saga⁵ featuring our friend the space travelling dog. Don’t be surprised if it ends on a bit of a cliff hanger⁶. Anyway, as usual, Astropup is here to tell us the story in his own words.

 

Space, it’s a big place. It takes an age to get from one part of it to the next. How did I pass the time on our voyages across the empty unknown? Perhaps you dear listener would have read a book, or listened to a story, or played ‘I spy with my little eye’ – something beginning with ‘S’ – yes, that’s it – Space! And more space. And yet more space. There’s enough of it to drive a dumb dog insane. As for me, I preferred to sleep, and, perchance, to dream. To dream of, mmmm, GRAVY…. WUFF oh, happy Wuff. I was in the midst of one long, smellorific dream when, BANG! A great jolt⁷ awoke me. In a trice, I was on all four paws, teeth clenched⁸, gums snarling⁹, GRRRRRRRRRR! And BOOM! Another knock sent me tumbling through the cabin, flapping my legs like a helpless baby bird fallen from its nest. It’s hard to get used to weightlessness.

 

My friend and commanding officer, the Parrot Major, rasped: “You can growl¹⁰ if you like, they aren’t scared.”

 

“Who?” I woofed.

 

“Them!” He pointed¹¹ a wing. I pressed my nose against the porthole and found myself peering into a cavern¹² of pearly white teeth. It pulled back and I saw that its body was blue and it had fins¹³ and a tail like a fish. But mostly it had a giant mouth.

 

“What are they?” I gasped¹⁴.

 

“Space sharks,” replied the Parrot.

 

“Will they eat us?”

 

“If you feel like going for a space walkie, you can find out.”

 

I had never felt less like going space walkies than just then.

 

“Can they bite our ship?” I asked.

 

“They already have,” said he. “One of them nipped off the radio mast for breakfast.”

 

The radio went CRRRRRRRRRRRRR…

 

I admit that I am not the brightest pup in the kennel¹⁵, but even I understood that no radio mast meant no chit-chat with the humans back on Earth. We were cut off. Perhaps we were lost in space. “AW AW AWWWWWWWWWWW!”

 

CRACK! A giant tail whacked¹⁶ the nose off our ship. It went hurtling through space, and three sharks chased it like ducks after a piece of stale bun, I’m glad to say that they didn’t bother coming back for more spare parts. Phew. That was a relief. I stretched my front legs, yawned, and asked my usual question:

 

“Are we there yet?”

 

Sometimes the Parrot would answer: “Where’s there?” or “Fancy that, we are still here.” But this time he said: “Almost. Another half hour.”

 

Half an hour! That was nothing – a mere¹⁷ jiffy. A quick dream about a squirrel and we would be there.

 

In this particular case, “there” was a plot in the middle of nowhere. It was a pin on a space chart. The last known location of a spacecraft called HMS Hesperus. It had carried 250 humans back in the days when they still flew their own missions. It disappeared without trace. Its sister ship, HMS Vesperus did the same. Both of them had been on voyages to contact alien life forms. After they and their crews vanished, the humans decided¹⁸ to call off manned space missions to distant corners of the Universe. They hit upon the idea of sending us animals and birds instead.

 

The Parrot woke me for lunch, which I wolfed down in a trice. While I was still licking my bowl, he said:

 

“There she is!” I looked up and saw it through the porthole. The wreck¹ of the Hesperus was many times the size of our puny¹⁹ little ship. It was like a giant can of dog food, with one end ripped open by some cosmic tin opener. I woofed with satisfaction. This was the object of our mission. Then the Parrot, as was his way, put the dampener on my delight. He said:

 

“Walkies! Get your space suit on!” Oh yes, this was my part of the mission. It was my job to go out and explore. I was to enter the space wreck and find two things. One was a black box that had recorded every moment of the doomed²¹ mission. The other was something precious to the humans. It was the largest and most perfect diamond ever found. It made the crown jewels look like a princess dress up kit²². This crystal was the source of all the spacecraft’s power. How it worked, I don’t know. You’d better ask the Parrot about all that astrophysics stuff. His job was to think. Mine was to do.

 

“But what if there are space sharks?” I asked. Nobody had mentioned them back on Earth.

 

“Then you, dear dog,” said the Parrot, “will be shark snack. But that’s a risk I’m prepared to take. We haven’t come all this way for nothing.”

 

Oh well, every dog must do his duty.

 

“Wuff Sir” I said, and I scrambled²³ through the tunnel that contained my spacesuit. It zipped me in automatically. The Parrot pecked a button and “Woosh” I was ejected out into space like the garbage. I shot towards the Hesperus, and entered through the opening.

 

In all my space travels, that wreck was the eeriest²⁴ place I had ever been. The 250 people were gone. Perhaps they had been food for the sharks. But there were reminders²⁵ of them everywhere. A toothbrush floated by my nose. A stellar powered iPhone was playing Angry Space-Birds with itself. A cheese sandwich still looked rather tasty. I cruised through the living quarters and passed into the engine room. I knew the way. Back on Earth, my trainer had taken me through the full sized mock-up a hundred times. I found the black box in its place under the chief navigator’s station. A sensor²⁶ in my collar peeped like a crazy bird in the mating season, and the box floated up and homed in on it. They fastened together like they were supposed to do. Next I had to find the diamond. It was embedded²⁷ in the captain’s control panel. I had to tap in a code with my nose. In rehearsals²⁸ I had practised it over and over again. 9421 Bingo! The diamond shot out like a rabbit and I caught it in my mouth. It was certainly the biggest stone I had ever clenched between my teeth. If it had been a bone it would have been a whopper, but this was all rock.

 

A few moments after I had grasped it, there was a WHIRRRR all over the ship, a bit of a shudder²⁹, and the lights went out. I was expecting this. The power was gone. The emergency lighting³⁰, which was much dimmer, took over.

 

Now all I had to do was to get back to our ship. I gave myself a good shove with my hind³¹ legs against the captain’s computer, and flew towards the exit. But oh now, as I was halfway³² across the living quarters, I saw a silhouette³³ in the opening. I knew it right away. It was a beastly space shark, and I was heading straight for its mouth. Frantically³⁴ I stuck out a paw and got hold of a handle on the roof. This was enough to slow down my course to doom²⁰, and I managed to change direction and dive under a bed that was fastened to the floor. There was just enough space for me to get under it. But oh, would the shark munch³⁵ his way through the furniture? Could he see me? Could he smell my doggy odour? Cautiously, I peered out, and saw him sail past the bed. He seemed to know where he was going. He headed straight for a door that was marked with a black skull³⁶ and crossbones. Even I knew what that meant. It was death by the electric dragon. The cupboard contained a colourful spaghetti of electric cables. Back on Earth, only the dimmest of dogs would chew those. Those stringy things are as deadly as snakes. The shark took a mouthful. But there was no flash or bang. The power was off. I held its source in my mouth. He seemed almost disappointed as he sulked back out of the shipwreck³⁷. I would have waited a long while under the bed, to make certain that he was as good as gone, but I was running low on Oxygen. I had to make it back to our craft. Cautiously I crept out from under the bed and made my way. When I was safely home, it was a relief to spit the diamond out of my mouth. The rock floated past the Parrot. He followed it with his greedy eye. 

 

“It’s BEAUTIFUL!” he cried. You’ve done a wonderful job to get back with this one.”

 

I yelped³⁸ with delight. Praise from the Parrot was rare indeed.

 

“Do you think they will give me a medal for this?” I asked.

 

He looked at me quizzically.

 

“A biscuit more like,” he said. “The humans are an ungrateful lot. Dear dog, I thought you were a gonner when I saw that shark go in there. How did you get out?”

 

I explained about the shark’s strange attraction to the electric fuse box.

 

“Oh I understand,” said the Parrot. “He came by when he saw the lights go out. The space sharks have been feeding off the electricity from the ship. Afterwards, I saw them shoot off in the direction of an electric space storm. Electricity is like their oxygen.”

 

“Well it’s good to see the last of that lot,” I said. “Mission completed. Let’s head back home.”

 

“Home?” said he, like I had said something strange. “Why should we go there? Our radio blacked out at the same place they lost contact with the Hesperus. The humans have written us off. Meanwhile, we have the most expensive diamond in the Universe. We’re Rich!”

 

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said. “The humans are our masters. We can’t double-cross them.”

 

“Can’t double-cross them? They’d gladly triple-cross us. If they wanted that diamond so much, why didn’t they fetch it themselves? Because they’re scardy cats, that’s why. They sent us instead, because they don’t care what happens to us dumb creatures.”

 

“Oh,” I said, “I hadn’t thought of that before.”

 

“That’s because thoughts rarely trouble your head,” said he. “If they did, you’d be more seditious like me.”

 

“What does seditious mean?” I asked.

 

“It means, it means, oh never mind, it means that you think about things… ”

 

“Think,” I said. “My mother always told me that thoughts are for fools. A happy animal has a full stomach and an empty head. The road to trouble is paved with thoughts.”

 

“Well trouble here we come!” cried the Parrot. And he pressed a button on his control panel, and off we sped.

 

Wow! Thank you Astropup. Astropup promised us a cliffhanger, and that really was one. I can’t wait to find out what happens next in this mini Astropup saga. The next instalment is called the Planet of the Pirates, and Astropup promises that he will be here very soon to tell it to us.

 

But for now, from Astropup, and from me Richard.

 

Goodbye.

1 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

2 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

3 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

4 proofread   

vt.校正，校对

参考例句：

• I didn't even have the chance to proofread my own report.我甚至没有机会校对自己的报告。
• Before handing in his application to his teacher,he proofread it again.交给老师之前，他又将申请书补正了一遍。

5 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

6 hanger   

n.吊架，吊轴承；挂钩

参考例句：

• I hung my coat up on a hanger.我把外衣挂在挂钩上。
• The ship is fitted with a large helicopter hanger and flight deck.这艘船配备有一个较大的直升飞机悬挂装置和飞行甲板。

7 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

8 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

10 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。

11 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。

12 cavern   

n.洞穴，大山洞

参考例句：

• The cavern walls echoed his cries.大山洞的四壁回响着他的喊声。
• It suddenly began to shower,and we took refuge in the cavern.天突然下起雨来，我们在一个山洞里避雨。

13 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

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 kennel   

n.狗舍，狗窝

参考例句：

• Sporting dogs should be kept out of doors in a kennel.猎狗应该养在户外的狗窝中。
• Rescued dogs are housed in a standard kennel block.获救的狗被装在一个标准的犬舍里。

16 whacked   

a.精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• She whacked him with her handbag. 她用手提包狠狠地打他。
• He whacked me on the back and I held both his arms. 他用力拍拍我的背，我抱住他的双臂。

17 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

18 decided   

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。

19 puny   

adj.微不足道的，弱小的

参考例句：

• The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。
• Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙，身体还不壮，还不能干活。

20 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

21 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

22 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

23 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 eeriest   

adj.（因阴森怪诞而）引起恐惧的，可怕的( eerie的最高级 )

参考例句：

25 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

26 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

27 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

28 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

30 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

31 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

32 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

33 silhouette   

n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓

参考例句：

• I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
• I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。

34 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

35 munch   

v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼

参考例句：

• We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。
• Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。

36 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

37 shipwreck   

n.船舶失事，海难

参考例句：

• He walked away from the shipwreck.他船难中平安地脱险了。
• The shipwreck was a harrowing experience.那次船难是一个惨痛的经历。

38 yelped   

v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelped in pain when the horse stepped on his foot. 马踩了他的脚痛得他喊叫起来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• A hound yelped briefly as a whip cracked. 鞭子一响，猎狗发出一阵嗥叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》