时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:123 The Amazing Mystery Show


英语课

As soon as they got to Franklin Square Park, the Aldens made a beeline for a food stand. Henry ordered a hot dog and soft pretzels. So did everyone else—including Andy.



“Grandfather says Philadelphia is famous for its soft pretzels,” Benny told the man behind the counter.



“Your grandfather’s right,” the man said. “You folks from out of town?”



Jessie nodded. “This is our first trip to Philadelphia.”



“Well, there’s a mini-golf course in the park if you’re interested.” The man placed the hot dogs and pretzels on the counter. “It’s pretty cool,” he added. “There’s a miniature landmark 1 on every hole—like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.”



“Cool!” Henry squirted mustard over his hot dog. “Maybe we’ll come back later in the week.”



Jessie was glancing around for a place to eat. “There’s a spot over there,” she said, jerking her head in the direction of a huge bench.



“Somebody’s sitting there, Jessie,” Benny pointed 2 out. “A lady in a costume.”



“That’s a storytelling bench,” Andy informed them. “The city hires actors to dress up in costumes and tell stories about the early days in Philadelphia.”



“Sounds like fun,” said Jessie. “We can eat our lunch and hear a story.”



The young woman in the long gown and white cap looked up from her sewing as they walked over. “I’m Caroline,” she said, greeting them with a smile. “I was hoping you’d join me.”



“What a pretty design,” Violet remarked, after everyone said hello. She was admiring the woman’s delicate stitches.



“I’m making a small tablecloth,” Caroline told her. “I decided 3 to add a border of blue cornflowers. Of course, I’m not as skilled as Betsy Ross,” she added, “but I do my best.”



“Betsy Ross?” The name sounded familiar to Jessie. “Didn’t she sew the first American flag?”



“Nobody knows for sure.” Andy wiped some mustard from the corner of his mouth. “But Betsy Ross usually gets the credit.”



Caroline nodded. “According to the story,” she told them, “it was George Washington who asked Betsy to sew the first American flag.”



“That’d take forever,” said Benny. He held out his cracked pink cup while Henry poured the lemonade. “To sew fifty stars and all those stripes, I mean.”



Caroline shook her head. “Actually, Betsy only sewed thirteen stars—one star for every colony.”



“What’s a—” Benny began.



“Colony?” Henry knew the question before his brother even asked it. “That’s what the first states were called,” he said. “Back when the settlers first came to America.”



Caroline nodded. “There were only thirteen colonies back in the days of the American Revolution. That’s why there were only thirteen stars on the first American flag.”



Thirteen stars? Jessie glanced over at Henry. She could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking what she was thinking. Wasn’t that the exact number of stars in the box of clues?



Andy caught the look. In a flash, he swallowed the last bite of his hot dog and started filming again.



The storyteller went on to say that Betsy Ross was a seamstress and a good friend of George Washington’s. But there was no proof she actually sewed the first American flag.



After thanking Caroline, Jessie was anxious to talk to her sister and brothers. “That was a real stroke of luck,” she said, as they tossed napkins and empty containers into a trash can.



“What was, Jessie?” Violet wanted to know.



“You’re thinking about the thirteen stars in the box of clues,” guessed Henry. “Right, Jessie?”



“Exactly!”



“Of course!” Violet put a hand over her mouth in surprise. “Then the clues are pointing to the first American flag.”



“Got to be,” said Jessie. “Even the spools 4 of thread are red, white, and blue.”



“Just like the flag!” cried Benny. Then he gave a happy twirl all around.



But Henry was having second thoughts. “One problem,” he said. “What about the cats at play?”



“I’m not really sure what that’s all about,” admitted Jessie.



Violet’s mind was racing 5. “Unless …”



“Unless what, Violet?” Henry asked.



“Unless the clues are pointing to Betsy Ross.” Violet started flipping 6 through the pages of a travel brochure. “I knew there was a picture of the Betsy Ross House in here,” she said, thumping 7 a finger down.



The other Aldens gathered round to take a look at a narrow brick house with a thirteen-star flag out front.



Henry said, “I think you’re on to something, Violet.”



Benny was quick to agree. “I bet that’s where we’ll find cats at play!”



“And it’s open to tourists,” Violet informed them.



“We can walk to it from here,” Jessie told them, after a quick look at the map. “Chestnut 8 Street isn’t far.”



Benny broke into a run. “Let’s find that gold coin!”



“That can’t be the Betsy Ross House,” Violet said a little later. “It’s too big.”



For a long moment, the four Aldens stared in puzzled silence. The two-story brick building set back from Chestnut Street didn’t look anything like the picture in the brochure.



While Andy filmed from a distance, Jessie sat down on a nearby bench. She unfolded the map to take another look. “Where did I go wrong?” she asked.



The other Aldens looked at each other in bewilderment. How could Jessie get the directions mixed up again?



Henry sat down beside his sister. “Maybe we can figure it out together.”



That seemed like a good idea. As Violet looked over her sister’s shoulder, she noticed something strange. The landmark picture of the Betsy Ross House was peeling away from the map. On a hunch 9, she reached over and pulled on one corner of the picture. Sure enough, it was just a sticker. And it was hiding another landmark underneath 10!



The Aldens looked at one another. For a moment, they were too stunned 11 to speak.



“We’re at Carpenter’s Hall!” Violet said at last.



Jessie pulled off more stickers. The Philadelphia zoo had been switched with Washington Square!



“Somebody covered up the real landmark pictures with stickers,” Henry realized.



“You mean, somebody tried to fool us?” A frown crossed Benny’s round face.



“It sure looks that way,” said Henry. “I guess he—or she—wanted to throw us off track.”



Jessie let out a sigh. “We wasted a lot of time trying to find our way around.”



“It’s not very nice to trick people,” Benny said in a small voice.



“No, it’s not,” said Jessie, who couldn’t help noticing that Andy had stopped filming.



“But who would do such a thing?” Violet wondered.



“I’m not sure who tampered 12 with the map,” Henry said. “But I think we should concentrate on one mystery at a time.”



“Good idea,” said Jessie, who was bending over the map again. “We’ve still got time to get to the Betsy Ross House. It’s only a few blocks away.”



Henry jumped to his feet. “Then let’s go,” he said. “We’re not giving up that easily, are we?”



“No!” the others shouted.



With that, the Aldens set off lickety-split.



1 landmark
n.陆标,划时代的事,地界标
  • The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
  • The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。
2 pointed
adj.尖的,直截了当的
  • 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。
3 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • 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。
4 spools
n.(绕线、铁线、照相软片等的)管( spool的名词复数 );络纱;纺纱机;绕圈轴工人v.把…绕到线轴上(或从线轴上绕下来)( spool的第三人称单数 );假脱机(输出或输入)
  • I bought three spools of thread at the store. 我在这个店里买了三轴线。 来自辞典例句
  • How many spools of thread did you use? 你用了几轴线? 来自辞典例句
5 racing
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
6 flipping
讨厌之极的
  • I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆!
  • Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。
7 thumping
adj.重大的,巨大的;重击的;尺码大的;极好的adv.极端地;非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词);狠打;怦怦地跳;全力支持
  • Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
8 chestnut
n.栗树,栗子
  • We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
  • In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。
9 hunch
n.预感,直觉
  • I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉,他并不真正想去。
  • I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。
10 underneath
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
11 stunned
v.窜改( tamper的过去式 );篡改;(用不正当手段)影响;瞎摆弄
  • The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句
  • The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句
学英语单词
-pagus
Adelphane
amidala
amphiuma
amplitudinous
Apodacea
Baja Midnight
bantries
begonia lucerna hort.
Beloomut
beneficiary of a transferable credit
benzoxazoles
Beohari
bitangent quadrics
blowable
Bol'shoye, Ozero
brew a plot
calls over
chaos structure
collat
communication control character
continuous pickling
core of vortex
courtesy phones
dedenda
density indicator
depth control unit
discharge funnel for sludge
distribution diagram
dry nurse
duplex wind tunnel
East Las Vegas
ends of top
enter on business
ethnic group
fairy-talelike
ferro-silico-nickel
fibre spectrum
fish berry
flutter simulation
forecooler
formal announcement
fuel allowance
fuzzbox
gap coeffient
governmentally
grass stagger
hair cruces
half-cooling time
heel side
home-shopping
hotgas
in ... element
inact
latex cells
long-term management
luteinizing-hormone releasing hormone
mahmudul
marriage registration office
Middlemarsh
moisture resistance
non-wettable
oqair (al uqayr)
Oued Fodda, Barrage de l'
Oxford accent
oxymel urgineae
paddled conveyor chain
pasture ground
Pernambuco, Estado de
pietrus
positive assurance
power booster fuel
propensed
pseudoblastoderm
Rashida
reference your telegram
regression design
rhabdovirus
rhododendron kanehirai
rip tide
schoolrooms
share of the market
Sinofranchetia
strata album profnndum
tee off current
terminal strong component
textile labor standards
thermocoupled pyrometer
tiphicolous
tubera radii
uncas
urban servitude
uredo dioscoreicola
usage life
Valeriana fedtschenkoi
variable range hopping
vegetable mucilage
Verkhnekolymsk
vestibule (l. vestibulum)
waverlys
yeast-like colony
zweifel