时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:69 The Movie Star Mystery


英语课

Behind the bench,” said Jessie, without asking questions. She took Greta’s leash 1 as Tate dove behind a bench in front of the ice-cream parlor 2. The Aldens all sat down on the bench and faced the street.



Without moving his lips, Henry said, “Who are you hiding from, Tate?”



“You’ll see,” Tate hissed 3 back.



A moment later, a woman with red hair strode toward them. She was wearing a big white hat. A large red plume 4 curled over one side of the hat and bobbed gently as she walked. Before reaching them, she stopped and peered into the ice-cream shop. Then she turned and looked across the street.



“Are you lost?” Jessie spoke 5 up.



The woman turned back around and stared hard at the four Boxcar Children sitting on the bench. She looked at Greta and Watch, who were sitting in front of the bench. Her green eyes were sharp. Then she smiled.



“What cute dogs!” she said. “What are their names?”



Violet’s eyebrows 7 drew together in a frown.



“This is Watch,” said Henry. “And this is—” Just then, he felt a finger poke 6 him in the back. Henry paused. He knew that it was Tate who poked 8 him. But why?



Then he realized what Tate wanted. Henry cleared his throat and said, “And this is Sally.” He put his hand on Greta’s head.



“Sally!” exclaimed Benny. “But—”



Jessie put a hand on Benny’s arm and gave it a little squeeze.



The woman said, “Watch and . . . Sally? Hmmm. I know a dog that looks a lot like Sally, but her name is Greta.”



“You have a dog named Greta?” asked Jessie.



“No,” said the woman. “I don’t have a dog. I travel too much.” Her smile faded and her eyes narrowed a little. “In fact, that’s why I’m here in . . . Greenfield . . . now. I traveled all the way here from California to find a friend of mine.”



“Does your friend live in Greenfield?” asked Violet.



“He doesn’t live here, exactly. But maybe you’ve seen him. He’s got blue eyes and black hair and he looks a lot like Tate Radison, the movie star.”



Henry said, “No one who looks like that is around here now.” It was true. With his glasses and his hat, Tate didn’t look like himself.



The woman didn’t look entirely 9 convinced, but after a moment she nodded and stepped back. “Well, I have to be going. It’s nice to meet you and your two lovely dogs.” She strode off down the street.



The Aldens watched as she turned the corner.



“Don’t move yet,” Tate hissed. “She’s very sneaky.”



“Who is she?” asked Violet.



“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Tate whispered.



At that moment, the woman popped back around the corner. When she saw the Aldens still watching her, she waved and went back around the corner again.



“I think she’s gone now,” said Jessie.



Cautiously, Tate got up from his hiding place. He pushed his glasses into place on his nose and said, “Whew! That was a close call.”



“Why don’t you go down the alley 10 behind the bank,” Jessie suggested to Tate. “We’ll get the bikes and meet you at the other end of it.”



“Good idea,” said Henry.



“I’ll see you there,” Tate said. He slipped out from behind the bench and almost ran to the alley.



A few minutes later, the Aldens and Tate were on their way out of Greenfield back to Tate’s house.



“Who was that lady?” asked Benny.



“That was Monica Tripe,” Tate said. “She’s a reporter for True Star Stories.”



“She’s the one who wrote that story about the bad luck jinx on your last movie,” Jessie exclaimed.



“That’s right. If it hadn’t been for Monica, nobody would have paid any attention to what had happened,” Tate said. “But she was always lurking 11 around the movie set. That’s how she found out about everything.”



“She’s looking for you now,” Benny said. “And she knew Greta’s real name. But we didn’t tell her.”



“I’m glad you didn’t. That would have given me away for sure. But what I don’t understand is how Monica knew to look for me in Greenfield. Hardly anyone knows where I am,” Tate said.



“Stefan and Harpo know,” said Violet.



“And your mother and your bodyguard,” added Jessie.



“And your agent,” Henry said. “Anybody else?”



Tate thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No. Even if there are other people working on the film who know where we are going to shoot it, they don’t know I’m here yet. In fact, we told everyone that I was going to France for a vacation.”



“Someone must have told her,” said Violet.



“But who?” Tate said. “We were so careful not to let anyone know.”



When they reached Tate’s house, the Aldens said good-bye to Tate and Greta. As they pedaled up to the gates, they saw Courtney standing 12 by one of the gateposts. She had her arms folded and her mouth set in a thin line.



“Uh-oh,” said Benny. “She looks mad!”



Courtney said, “Well, there you are! Are you trying to make me lose my job?”



Tate looked startled. “No,” he said.



“Well, I will, if anything happens to you,” she said crossly. “Come inside. We’ve all been out looking everywhere for you.”



“But I left a note,” Tate protested.



“I didn’t see any note,” Courtney snapped. “We thought you might have been kidnapped. It wasn’t until I noticed that the bike and Greta and her leash were gone that I was able to convince your mother to stop worrying.”



Tate shrugged 13. “Okay, okay,” he said. “I’m sorry. But I did leave a note. And nothing happened.” He said to the Aldens, “Thanks. Greta and I had a great time.”



As Tate and Greta walked in the gate, Violet said impulsively 14, “Why don’t you come to dinner at our house tonight?”



“That’s impossible,” Courtney snapped. “The security risk is too high.”



“I’d love to,” Tate said, ignoring Courtney. “What time should I be there?”



“Seven o’clock. And you can come, too,” Violet said, smiling shyly at Courtney.



“See you then,” Tate said.



Courtney closed the gate and locked it. Tate took Courtney’s arm as they walked up the driveway. “Don’t worry,” the Aldens heard him say to her. “If you’re with me, what can happen?”



“What a good idea, Violet,” said Jessie.



“Let’s hurry home so we can tell Mrs. McGregor,” Henry said.



“Yes. And we can ask her to make an extra-special dessert,” Benny put in.



“Tate will be safe at our house, won’t he?” asked Violet anxiously.



“Sure he will. We have Watch to stand guard,” Benny said.



“A movie star for dinner!” exclaimed Mrs. McGregor. “Goodness gracious.” Her eyes twinkled. “I’d better make a special dessert. What do you think, Benny?”



“Yes!” cried Benny. “Cake and ice cream and pie and—”



“I’ll make a cake,” Mrs. McGregor said. “Chocolate cake with buttercream frosting.”



“Chocolate cake is my favorite,” said Benny.



“Every cake is your favorite, Benny,” teased Henry, smiling at his younger brother.



“Today it is chocolate cake,” said Benny “Mrs. McGregor’s chocolate cake.”



“Let’s go pick some flowers,” Violet suggested. “We can fill a vase with flowers to go on the table for dinner.”



“That sounds great,” said Jessie.



The Aldens went out into the yard to gather flowers for a bouquet 15 for the dinner table. They gathered roses and the long stalks of a lacy fern.



Benny found the feather of a blue jay. “Let’s put this in the flower arrangement, too,” he suggested. “It’s a pretty color.”



“It will look nice with the pink roses,” Violet said.



Jessie looked over at Henry. Henry’s mouth had suddenly dropped open. “What is it, Henry?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”



“The feather!” said Henry. “I’d forgotten about the feather. It’s still in my pocket from yesterday.”



Henry reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of red feather that the Aldens had found the day before near the car tracks by Old Farm Road.



Violet gasped 16. “The red feather. It’s the same color as the one on Monica Tripe’s hat!”

 



1 leash
n.牵狗的皮带,束缚;v.用皮带系住
  • I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳,但被狗挡住了路。
  • The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带,想挣脱开去。
2 parlor
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅
  • She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
  • Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店?
3 hissed
发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 ); 发嘘声表示反对
  • Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过?
  • The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。
4 plume
n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰
  • Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
  • He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。
5 spoke
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。
6 poke
n.刺,戳,袋;vt.拨开,刺,戳;vi.戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢
  • We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
  • Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。
7 eyebrows
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
8 poked
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》
9 entirely
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
10 alley
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
11 lurking
潜在
  • Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的,想干什么?
  • There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
12 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • 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。
13 shrugged
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 impulsively
adv.冲动地
  • She leant forward and kissed him impulsively. 她倾身向前,感情冲动地吻了他。
  • Every good, true, vigorous feeling I had gathered came impulsively round him. 我的一切良好、真诚而又强烈的感情都紧紧围绕着他涌现出来。
15 bouquet
n.花束,酒香
  • This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
  • Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
16 gasped
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
  • 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》
学英语单词
accumulative value
air nozzle
american tv series
automatic calculator
bang at
birdnesting
Black Cats
bulk carrier safety
calrissian
calypso-like
capul
central processing system
clodpole
combination starter
compensatory error
creatine phosphoric acid
D. P. L.
davit cleat
death-cell
debella
decussation of superior cerebellar peduncle
deirs
desirs
detartrate
diagenetic facies
diaminodihydroxyarsenobenzene
dip-coats
drengage
enchafed
equation governing the motion
feedback information
feedback type current transformer
final approach point (fap)
financial statement audit
financial worries
finite-wordlength effects
fluocinolone
geloscopy
german americans
grandstander
hydrometric current-meter
IAPSO
idle balance
II Peter
immunoinhibit
information-handling
initial public offering
it works for me
learning control system
leather-leafed
liquefied carbon dioxide tank vehicle
manukayami
Martian magnetosphere
mechanical hand
mental restriction
mohavite octahedral borax
much-larger
multicolor emission
mundick (pyrite)
neon-tube transformer
nestar
news of the world
nine-inch equivalent
nitropuine
non-aquifer area
nonleaded gasoline
ogcoite
oil-industry analysts
ophioglossid
Osborne, L.
papistic
phascolarctid
pinacothecas
Pinney.
plan sheet
Poa botryoides
polysphondylium pseudocandidum
procheilia
propane dewaxing process
push button for bell
raiotelephone call
readjustment of investment structure
reclamation depot
recover loans
Rumia
Schweringen
self draught beam
self sealing capacitor
siphonless
snappy spring cover
softball court
standard reinforced fillet weld
strong structure
submarine earthquakes
thrust one's oar into
transfer-rna
twin-screw extruder
Tytonidae
vertical auger drill
visceral lesion
wood lathe
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