《神奇树屋》 第二十五册 Stage Fright On A Summer Night 08 The Most Important Person

　　Will stepped forward and held up his hands. Slowlythe crowd quieted down.

"Thank you all," he said. "And thank you to themost important person in all the world. She hasgraced us with her presence today."Will made a sweeping¹ bow to a woman in a galleryabove the stage. The woman wore a white dress withpearls. A veil covered her face.

The woman stood up and slowly lifted the veil. Shehad pale, wrinkled skin and small dark eyes. She worea red wig².

The audience members let out a gasp³. They all fellto their knees.

"Long live Queen Elizabeth!" said Will.

"Long live Queen Elizabeth!" the crowd shouted.

"Long live Queen Elizabeth!" shouted Jack⁴ andAnnie.

The queen smiled. Her teeth were all black! Theaudience didn't seem to mind. They cheered evenlouder.

The queen raised one hand and the crowd instantlyhushed.

"I thank you, my good people," she said. "And Ithank all these good players, every one. Today, theygave us a special kind of magic--the magic of theater.

They turned the very daytime into night.""Oh, man," whispered Jack. That was it-- the specialmagic. Their search was over.

The audience cheered again. When the actors leftthe stage, they gathered around Will to congratulatehim on his success.

Annie pulled Jack aside.

"We found it!" she said. "The magic!""I know!" Jack said. "Will helped us. Let's thankhim!""Later," said Annie. "First I have to show yousomething. I need your help! Quick!"Annie led Jack downstairs and outside. As peoplestreamed away from the Globe, the late afternoon sunwas going down.

"This way," said Annie. She headed for the patch oftrees behind the theater.

When she and Jack stepped into the gloomy shade,Jack saw an odd figure near a tree. A purple capebarely covered his furry⁵ back. A golden wig and alion mask barely hid his furry head.

Jack gasped⁶. "The bear! You stole him!""I had to," said Annie. "I went to the cart when noone was looking. I put a costume on him. So if wepassed people on the way here, they'd think he wasan actor.""But you can't just steal him!" said Jack.

"I wasn't stealing. I was saving," said Annie. "I'mnot sure what to do with him now. What do youthink?"Just then the bear's owner charged into the woods.

"Where's my bear?" he shouted. His face was red. Hewas scowling⁷.

"Thieves!" he yelled. "Give him back! I'm sellinghim to the fights!""NO!" said Annie, standing⁸ between the bear andthe man. "He's a tame bear! Not a fighter!""She's right!" said Jack, jumping in. "And besides,bear fighting is stupid! Really stupid!""'Tis, indeed," said a deep voice.

Jack, Annie, and the bear's owner whirled around.

Will and Puck were standing at the edge of thewoods.

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

3 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

6 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》

7 scowling   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里，穿着灰色的衣服，漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。