时间:2018-12-31 作者:英语课 分类:9 Mountain Top Mystery


英语课

It was a fine warm day in early summer. The Aldens—Henry, Jessie, Violet 1, and Benny—and their grandfather were just eating lunch. They had come to dessert of apple pie and cheese.



Benny rested his head on his hand. After awhile he said, “Grandfather, do you remember a few summers ago we wanted to go mountain climbing?”



“Yes, I remember, my boy.”



“Well, do you remember we got cheated out of it? Joe and Alice had to go abroad and we couldn’t go alone.”



Henry said, “Benny will never forget that. We went to see Aunt Jane at Mystery Ranch 2 instead.”



Benny said, “Well, I wondered where we were going that summer, if we had gone. What mountain were we going to climb?”



“Benny, does all this mean you want to go mountain climbing?” asked Mr. Alden. He couldn’t help laughing.



“Yes, it does,” said Benny. “Maybe not the same mountain.”



“No, indeed, it won’t be,” said Mr. Alden. “That year I was going to take you up in the Rockies. No more of that. We’ll have to choose Old Flat Top because I don’t want Violet getting all tired out with a long climb. And I don’t want me getting all tired out either. The rest of you are tough enough.”



Grandfather looked up to see that every Alden was looking at him. The four shining faces answered him. There were four nods.



“You do have the strangest ideas, Benny,” said Jessie. “What put that into your head?”



“Well,” said Benny, “I’ve been reading about that place in school.”



“About Flat Top?” asked Violet.



“Oh, you have, have you?” said Henry. “You chose Flat Top yourself?”



“Right,” said Benny. “I don’t want to climb too much myself. I get lame 3.”



Mr. Alden said, “Well, my answer is yes. Old Flat Top is easy enough for all of us, and yet it is interesting all the way up. And we’ll all be able to get a good rest on the smooth top.”



“Just like airplanes landing 4 on an airplane carrier 5,” said Benny.



“That’s exactly right, my boy,” said Grandfather. “Only this flat top is twice as big as a carrier.”



Benny finished his apple pie and put down his fork. “Then the only question is when. Let’s go right away.”



Everyone laughed. Benny and Grandfather were so much alike 6. When they wanted anything they wanted it right away.



“What do you mean by right away?” asked Grandfather, smiling. “You mean this minute? If you do, we could go this minute, very easily. It is only a day’s trip. You climb up Flat Top, eat lunch, and climb down. There is just time in one day. Nobody spends the night there.”



“How do you know all this, Grandfather?” asked Henry.



“Oh, I had a friend who made that trip last summer. He said it was exactly right for his wife, and they had a fine time. Near the foot of the mountain is a general store. The men give you poles and a lunch and directions. They always leave a lot of firewood all cut for a campfire to cook your lunch on the flat top. This place isn’t for real mountain climbers. It’s for old men and children.”



Henry laughed. He knew that it was a real mountain. Grandfather was having a good time teasing 7 them.



“Do you mean we can really go today?” asked Jessie.



“Well, no,” Grandfather answered. “I should say tomorrow would be better because we must have a full day. We can drive to Old Flat Top in two hours. What time do you want to get up, Benny? You’re the sleepy one.”



“I’ll get up at five,” said Benny. “I did when we went to the lighthouse.”



“So you did. Five it is. Lay out some sport clothes. Better take some extra clothes. We may want to go on somewhere else. And another thing, we can’t take Watch. He’ll just be in the way.”



“That’s right,” said Henry. “He will do nothing but whine 8. He doesn’t like to see us do anything dangerous.”



Mr. Alden looked thoughtful 9 and then said, “I believe that Dr. Percy Osgood is working somewhere in the range not too far from Old Flat Top. How about it, Benny, does that name mean something to you?”



Benny shook his head. But Henry said, “Osgood? It means something to me. He was the author of a book on geology 10 I read for a college course last year.”



“Right!” Grandfather said. “Percy is on a hunt for some fossils 11. If John Carter can find out where he is for me we might pay him a visit. I haven’t seen Osgood for years, but I don’t suppose he’s changed much.”



The Aldens went to pack and Grandfather made a phone call to John Carter. It was too bad Benny wasn’t around to hear some of the plans being made. But he and the others were busy packing.



There was not much sleep in the Alden house that night. At five o’clock everyone was wide awake and downstairs eating breakfast.



“I have two flashlights,” said Henry, “and some batteries and the binoculars 12. You can see the view better.”



Grandfather said, “We’ll get the lunch at the store and water and either coffee or cold drinks in bottles. We can buy anything we need.”



The day was beautiful. It was warm even in the early morning. They all knew it would be cooler on Flat Top, and they each had a warm sweater.



When they reached the mountain range, Violet said, “Oh, isn’t this lovely!”



“That’s Old Flat Top,” said Benny, pointing. It was the lowest mountain in the range. Other peaks went much higher into the sky. Some looked blue in the distance. Others looked violet. Others looked green. But Flat Top was so near it looked green almost all the way up. The top was all solid rock.



“Hey!” said Henry. “There is the store. It seems to be made of logs 13.” He stopped the car at the door and they all went into the store. Old Flat Top towered right over them.



“Just right,” said Benny. “Not too high. Not too steep. Just right, just a good healthy climb and a grand view at the top.” Then he thought, “Isn’t it queer 14 that this store man seems to know Grandfather?”



The two men were shaking hands, and Grandfather just said, “Fit us out for Flat Top, won’t you?”



The man said, “You each need a pack on your back to carry your lunch. You’ll need five poles. I should think that would be enough. You’ll find the path is well marked, but there’s only one. And remember that there is no other path down.”



“I’d like to go first,” said Benny.



“I’m sorry to disagree with you, Benny,” said Mr. Alden. “I should like to go first.”



“Oh,” said Benny, “of course, you should go first. That’s OK.”



“Thanks,” said Mr. Alden.



Up they went. It was true that the path was well marked. The trees were marked with knotted 15 strips 16 of red cloth. It was a little hard in some places, but the poles were a great help. Each climber had a pack on his back.



Up and up they went. Violet was right behind Grandfather. Benny still wished he could be the leader, but he thought he had better mind his grandfather at this point.



It took the Aldens three hours to reach the first stop.



“See the sign?” said Henry. “Lunch Here. The man said we must eat just half of our lunch here.”



“I have never been so hungry in my life,” said Benny.



“Oh, yes, you have!” joked Henry. “Almost every meal you eat. And be careful how much water you drink. That’s the thing we have to save.”



Soon they were ready to go on. When they were almost at the top they noticed there were no more bushes, no more trees, no more grass. It was all gray rock.



Grandfather looked ahead. He could see the last two steps very well. He noticed that the last step was a big one, and he was glad he had gone first. With his pole, he reached the very top where it was flat. He turned around and gave a hand to Violet. Then he helped Jessie up, and reached way down to help Benny. With his pole, Henry climbed up by himself.



They all looked around. “This is as big as our own front yard,” said Jessie.



“What a view,” said Benny. “The town is over there, and nothing but woods there at the foot of the mountain.”



Henry said, “Here is the woodpile for campfires and a fireplace 17. This is where we can cook the rest of our lunch.”



It never entered anyone’s head, even Grandfather’s, that a fire might be needed to keep them warm.



 



adj.紫色的;n.紫罗兰
  • She likes to wear violet dresses.他喜欢穿紫色的衣服。
  • Violet is the color of wisdom,peace and strength.紫色是智慧的,和平的和力量的颜色。
n.大牧场,大农场
  • He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
  • The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。
adj.跛的,(辩解、论据等)无说服力的
  • The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
  • I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。
n.登陆;着陆;楼梯平台
  • Owing to engine trouble,the plane had to make a forced landing.由于发动机出了毛病,飞机不得不进行迫降。
  • When are we landing?我们什么时候着陆?
n.运货人;带菌者;运输军队的交通工具
  • The airplane lifted from the aircraft carrier.飞机从航空母舰上起飞。
  • I applied for the job as a mail carrier.我申请邮差的工作。
adj.同样的,相像的;adv.一样地;同程度地 
  • The twins are so alike that I can't tell which is which.这对双胞胎一模一样,我分辨不出谁是谁。
  • All stories seemed dreadfully alike,no matter who told them.看来,不管谁讲,故事都是千篇一律的。
adj.戏弄的,逗趣的v.取笑,戏弄( tease的现在分词 );梳理(羊毛等)
  • Don't get upset—I was only teasing. 别不高兴,我只是在逗你玩。
  • I didn't think you meant that seriously;I thought you were teasing. 我未想到你是当真的,我原以为你是开玩笑的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.哀号,号哭;n.哀鸣
  • You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
  • The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上,一声尖厉的呼啸,跳飞开去。
adj.思考的,沉思的,体贴的,关心的
  • She is thoughtful for her friends.她很体贴她的朋友们。
  • This is a thoughtful essay.这是一篇具有思想性的随笔。
n.地质学,(某地)地质
  • The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
  • In his lecture on geology,he touched on the subject of climate.他在关于地质学的报告中,也涉及气候问题。
n.化石( fossil的名词复数 );老顽固;食古不化的人;老古董(老人)
  • fossils over two million years old 两百多万年的化石
  • The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley. 在那山谷里,地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.双筒望远镜
  • He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。
  • If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜,我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。
n.练习用球瓶;原木,木材,木料( log的名词复数 );航海[飞行]日志
  • logs for the fire 烧火用的木材
  • The logs were knocked together as they floated down the stream. 圆木顺流而下时互相碰撞着。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.奇怪的,异常的,不舒服的,眩晕的
  • I heard some queer footsteps.我听到某种可疑的脚步声。
  • She has been queer lately.她最近身体不舒服。
n.壁炉,炉灶
  • The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。
  • I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。
学英语单词
a function of
alsakharovite-zn
amphidetic ligament
Arnafjord
aveto r.
B.E.E.
ballad stanza
bat caves
behavior language
binary cycly
braking mechanism
breather-pipe
business establishment
calcium psilomelane
capitals of ethiopia
car hauler
carl erich correns
chthonian
concurrent input-output
courier-post
crawl pipe cutter
dairy breed
dame rebecca wests
data base engineering
debit schedule
decoloured
Deutzia aspera
dichotomists
diphthongoid
electric soldering appliance
enclose in
first stage
generic noun
genus Syngnathus
George Eliot
gunkhole
hears from
himalayensis
intuitings
iron strapping
island chains
Kambangan
Kolmer's test
kurten
lakeside
lost causes
marine meteorograph
mast timber
master source program
McLean-Maxwell disease
microdrone
Mlicrococcus pyogenes var.albus
mono-block cylinder
muscarinergic
navicula pantocsekiana
near beers
needle loop transfer
non-plastic soil
NUC-1
nut tap
p-skeleton of complex
Parknasilla
pavarottis
peroxidations
personal property tax
petroleum acids
philobiblon
plaintiff in error
program status
remediators
riccis
screw jacks
semigroup of quotients
slide-caliper
slitter edge
soluble neutron poison
spastic cerebral paralyses
sulcus of inferior petrosal sinus
suturae implanta
symmetric balance
talk back telephone
tartrate
terms of shopment
Tetradox
the basket maker
Theme-song
thermal friction
Thermomonospora
thiefly
thiocarbazide
Toyota Way
trioxide
tsaritzas
two-dimensional spectrum
under-swain
unreliable item
varand
viudas
waterdrainage
wn
you and me