时间:2018-12-31 作者:英语课 分类:71 The Ghost Town Mystery


英语课

No one spoke 1 for a moment as they gazed into the canyon 2. Dust blew down the dirt road that divided the buildings.



“That looks like a Wild West town,” said Violet in awe 3.



“It is a Wild West town,” Grandfather said with a grin. “And it’s ours!”



“You knew about this?” asked Henry.



“I wanted to surprise you,” said Grandfather, his grin broadening.



Jessie still couldn’t believe it. “Well, you sure did that!” She tapped the map. “How come the town doesn’t show up on this map?”



“It’s a topological map,” Grandfather answered. “It only shows roads and land formations, like mountains and rivers.”



“What’s the name of our town?” asked Violet.



“Tincup, after the creek 4,” said Grandfather. He checked his watch. “Well, we’d better head back to Eagles Nest for that afternoon snack. We’ll have plenty of time to explore the town this week.”



Back at the motel, they went into the dining hall, a large room made of logs. Sofas and a fireplace were at one end, while a long table and chairs were arranged at the other.



A lanky 5 young man with carrot-colored hair stood by the fireplace. He stared at Marianne Harrington as she arranged pitchers 6 on the sideboard by the table.



Mrs. Harrington came in when she heard the Aldens enter.



“This is Corey Browne, our new guest,” she told James Alden. “He’s a student at Colorado State.”



“Hey,” said the green-eyed young man, still watching Marianne.



Jessie stifled 7 a giggle 8. It was obvious Corey had a crush on pretty Marianne.



“Ready for snack time?” announced Mrs. Harrington.



“Mmm,” said Benny appreciatively. “I’m starving!”



But the “snack” turned out to be a few limp celery and carrot sticks with water to drink. Disappointed, Benny gnawed 9 on a piece of celery.



He was so hungry, he forgot about the town until Grandfather said, “Mrs. Harrington, I showed my grandchildren the town. What do you know about it?”



The motel owner sat down at the table.



“It’s quite a story,” she began. “Tincup,” she said, “is a ghost town!”



For some reason, Violet shivered. “A ghost town! That’s neat,” she said.



“It’s been that way for over a hundred years,” said Mrs. Harrington. “Way back, a forty-niner going home camped at Tincup Creek.” Then she explained, “A forty-niner was somebody who went to California for the 1849 gold rush. His name was Duncan Payne. One morning he washed his face in the stream and saw something yellow, like gold.”



Everyone at the table became still.



“Duncan had sold his mining stuff before leaving California,” said Mrs. Harrington. “All he had was a knife and a tin cup. He dipped the cup in the stream and caught the gold. Duncan dug and dug, but he didn’t find much gold. He did find a lot of black sand along the creek. He took samples of the sand back to Denver. It turned out to be silver ore.”



Corey nodded. “Silver is an important part of Colorado’s history. But it’s hard to find. No one had ever paid any attention to the black sand along the creeks,” he said loudly.



Corey seemed nice, thought Violet, but she didn’t like the way he practically yelled when he spoke.



“Until Duncan Payne came along,” Mrs. Harrington said. “Duncan started a mine. Soon a town was built near the mine. It was called Tincup after the gold Duncan found in his tin cup.”



“I have a cup,” said Benny. “It’s old, too. I used to drink milk out of it.”



Mrs. Harrington went on with her story. “The town of Tincup grew. Singers and dancers and actors came to entertain the miners. One night during an opera, Duncan fell in love with a singer. Her name was Rose. She had beautiful blue eyes and black hair down to her knees.”



Jessie hugged herself with delight. “This is so romantic!”



“Then what happened?” Violet asked eagerly.



Mrs. Harrington smiled. “Duncan and Rose married and built a mansion 10 above Tincup, near the mine. They had a daughter named Seraphina. Seraphina went to eastern schools. They traveled all over Europe. They were rich and happy. And then” — she lowered her voice — “trouble struck.”



At that moment, the door to the dining hall opened. Two men came in.



One had sandy hair and gray eyes that crinkled at the corners. His shirt was crisply ironed and his jeans were neat.



The other man was nearly bald and wore glasses. He wore a tattered 11 vest with mesh 12 pockets and fishing hooks poked 13 through loops. He scowled 14 when he saw the others at the table.



Henry wondered why the second stranger seemed so sour when no one had even said anything to him yet. At first Henry thought the two men were together, but they sat at opposite ends of the table.



The first man said, “Adele, do you have any iced tea?”



“Sorry,” said Mrs. Harrington. “Just water. Marianne, fetch the gentlemen some water.”



Marianne, who had been quietly folding worn napkins, got up to pour the newcomers glasses of water.



“Everybody,” announced Mrs. Harrington, “this is Victor Lacey.” The sandy-haired man smiled and raised his glass in a friendly way. “And our other guest is Robert Williams,” added Mrs. Harrington.



Robert Williams nodded formally. Now Henry knew the two men had not come to Eagles Nest together. They were so different, they couldn’t possibly be friends. Henry also noticed that Victor Lacey called the motel owner by her first name. Mr. Lacey must have been staying here awhile.



“They are here to try their luck at trout 15 fishing,” said Mrs. Harrington. She introduced the two men to the Aldens, and told them that the Aldens were visiting to see the land and the town that they owned.



Benny wanted to get back to the story. “What happened to Duncan and Rose?”



“It’s so sad,” said Mrs. Harrington mournfully. To the newcomers she said, “I’m telling the story of the old town at the bottom of the canyon. You might have seen it.”



Mr. Lacey gazed over his glass with round gray eyes. “There’s an old town around here?”



“You’ll see it if you go hiking,” said Grandfather.



“Tincup wasn’t the only silver-mining town,” Mrs. Harrington went on. “The West was full of them. But too much silver was being used for money. So President Cleveland lied to the silver-mine owners and told them gold would be used for money instead.”



“What happened to the silver mines?” asked Jessie.



“They closed,” replied Grandfather. “Overnight the mines shut down.”



“The miners had to leave,” Mrs. Harrington said, taking up the story again. “Soon towns like Tincup were empty. They became ghost towns because no one lived in them.”



Now even Corey was interested. “So what became of Duncan and Rose?”



“Duncan was suddenly broke,” answered Mrs. Harrington. “The men who abandoned the mines had to start over. Most of them didn’t have much money. They built rafts and floated down rivers to big cities to find work. Duncan, who was not a young man, joined a group on a homemade raft. There was a storm on the Colorado River one night. The raft broke up and he was killed.”



The dining room was silent.



“Poor Rose,” said Violet. “What did she do?”



Mrs. Harrington leaned forward. “Before he left, Duncan told her he would be back someday and to look for him at sundown. Rose Payne stayed in the mansion above Tincup. Every day she sat in her chair, watching until the sun began to drop over the cliff wall. Then she’d take the trail down to Tincup and walk toward the setting sun.”



“What was she doing?” asked Benny.



“Going to meet her husband,” Mrs. Harrington said dramatically. “Even after she knew he’d been killed, Rose Payne left her house and walked toward the sunset every single day.”



Grandfather had a question. “We didn’t see the mansion. Where is it?”



“Gone,” said Mrs. Harrington with a wave of her hand. “It was built near the mine on top of the mountain. Rose refused to leave or let anyone fix it. So the mansion fell to pieces around her.”



“But the town is still there,” said Corey. “Cool!”



“Wow!” exclaimed Victor Lacey. “That’s some yarn 16! What are you going to do with your ghost town, Mr. Alden?”



Grandfather shook his head. “I have no idea.”



Benny was excited about the idea of owning a town. “Can I be the police chief?”



Everyone laughed, breaking the spell of Rose and Duncan Payne’s tragic 17 story.



The “snack” over, Marianne hustled 18 over to clear away the glasses.



“You’ve lived near a ghost town all your life,” Jessie said to the young woman. “What’s it like?”



Marianne bent 19 down. “Mother didn’t tell you the whole story,” she said mysteriously.



“What didn’t she tell us?” asked Jessie.



But Marianne whisked away Jessie’s glass, saying only, “You’ll find out soon enough.”



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
  • 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。
n.峡谷,溪谷
  • The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
  • The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧
  • The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
n.小溪,小河,小湾
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
adj.瘦长的
  • He was six feet four,all lanky and leggy.他身高6英尺4英寸,瘦高个儿,大长腿。
  • Tom was a lanky boy with long skinny legs.汤姆是一个腿很细的瘦高个儿。
大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )
  • Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里,他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
  • Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖:投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。
(使)窒息, (使)窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 ); 镇压,遏制; 堵
  • The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。
  • The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。
n.痴笑,咯咯地笑;v.咯咯地笑着说
  • Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。
  • All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。
咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 ); (长时间) 折磨某人; (使)苦恼; (长时间)危害某事物
  • His attitude towards her gnawed away at her confidence. 他对她的态度一直在削弱她的自尊心。
  • The root of this dead tree has been gnawed away by ants. 这棵死树根被蚂蚁唼了。
n.大厦,大楼;宅第
  • The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
  • The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。
adj.破旧的,衣衫破的
  • 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。
n.网孔,网丝,陷阱;vt.以网捕捉,啮合,匹配;vi.适合; [计算机]网络
  • Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。
  • This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。
v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 );戳出;拨弄;与(某人)性交
  • She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
  • His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
怒视,生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )
  • He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
  • The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。
n.鳟鱼;鲑鱼(属)
  • Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
  • We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼,早饭时吃了。
n.纱,纱线,纺线;奇闻漫谈,旅行轶事
  • I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
  • The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
催促(hustle的过去式与过去分词形式)
  • He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
  • The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
  • 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。
学英语单词
98
acidity
aerosol food
afghanistani
alloy irons
antibiolumphin
ashpan blower valve
automatic assembly
avi cable
bakeout degassing clamp
birchleaf pear
body-curved disease
bodywood
bottom relief map
Bozeman's position
bridge cloth
bullock blocks
bushing electric
call accepted signal
chondriomere
Cirbanal
close set
color constants
comebackers
commodity wastage
correptions
courier bag
Cunaxa
departmentation by process or equipment
electronic fire-control equipment
element name
encoded fields
end of astronomical evening twilight
engine pod
ensampling
epss network
featurism
ferret distemper virus
fiber-map
full electronic switching
gallucci
general-purpose diagnostic program
geographical north
geospatial engineering
glowfly
haberse
hardware stage
hexagonal mirror
hot penetration construction
Hudsonian godwit
Immobilon
interstitial distance (mather 1936)
investigation on audience
Krasnaya Polyana
layer-wound solenoid
leather loader
limestone neutralization treatment
maximal tubular excretory capacity
melanedema
natural rate of unemployment
nerr
non-coplanar transfer
norvasc
nosedives
OMR (optical mark reader)
optically positive
over bridges
partner with
Pashtunwali
patung series
paving stone degeneration of retina
permanent magnet moving coil meter
pivoted bucket carrier
plantar spaces
plunged into
prince fumimaro konoyes
prodan
psychoanalytical theory
Pterocles
pyrophoric lead
raw material of woodcharcaol
roller chamfer
schwab
Scythians
sequentially-lobed radar
signal smoke
signe de peau d'orange
slugft
So it goes
sp vol
spin space
Stackelberg decision theory
swansea
tandem electrostatic generator
terry swatch
the leaflets of the trifoliolate leaves
topochemical control
variable acceptance sampling
viscosity model
Warenford
weighing-appliance
zeomorphis