时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:124 The Pumpkin Head Mystery


英语课

Violet could not stop laughing. Benny had found a scary skull 1 mask. He was running around the barn making ghostly noises. Jessie pretended to be scared, but she was smiling at her little brother.



“Here you go,” said Jason, walking toward them with a bundle. “These are the rest of the costumes. You can each choose whichever ones you want.”



Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were in the barn. Jason was helping 2 them to get ready for the haunted hayride. He laid all the costumes out on top of some bales of hay.



“Do I look scary enough, Jason?” Benny asked from behind his mask. “Do you think the people on the haunted hayride will be afraid of me?”



Jason frowned. “I suppose,” he said. “But that’s not what I’m worried about.”



“What do you mean?” asked Henry, trying on a long, black cape 3.



Jason leaned against the tractor. He took a deep breath. “Don’t you know? There is something haunting the fields of the Beckett farm. I’m worried it will come back tonight when you children are out there in the dark. It’s very frightening. You shouldn’t be here. You should go home.”



Benny took off his mask. He stood close to Jessie.



“But that’s crazy,” said Henry. “There’s no such thing as a real haunting. It is all pretend. That’s why we are dressing 4 up in costumes.”



“At first, I didn’t believe it either,” Jason said. “But you will see what I mean. Whatever it is, it wants people to stay away from this farm. There was even a story in the paper about it.”



“We heard that,” Jessie said. “But we still don’t believe in haunted farms.”



“Suit yourself,” said Jason. “But remember that I warned you.”



After Jason left the barn, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny went through all the costumes. Henry chose to be a pirate with a long, shiny sword. He put a black patch over one eye. He wore the long, black cape. Jessie was a ghostly bride with a big white veil. Benny liked the mask he had been wearing earlier. He found a skeleton outfit 5 to wear with it.



“Can’t you find anything, Violet?” asked Benny.



Violet sat on a bale of hay. “I am a little nervous about tonight,” she admitted.



“You don’t have to work at the haunted hayride,” Henry said. “You could help Bessie with the tickets instead.”



“No, I want to do it,” Violet said. “I know it’s silly, but Jason’s talk frightened me a little.”



“It’s not silly,” Jessie said. “Someone is trying to scare everyone around here. We are all a little nervous.”



“Let’s go out and walk the route of the haunted hayride,” Henry said. “That way we will know what everything looks like before it gets dark.”



“That’s a great idea,” said Jessie.



The sun was getting low. Shadows crept across the fields. The children stayed close together. They followed the tractor path through the cornfields. The wind whistled through the dry stalks.



“Look at that!” Benny cried.



Scary scenes were set up in places along the path. Benny ran toward a small haunted house. A ghost swayed on the front porch.



“It’s just a sheet hanging on a rope.” Benny pulled the sheet over his head. “Whoooo!” he called.



Violet laughed. “Look at this,” she said. “This is not a real house after all. It has no walls.”



“You’re right,” Henry said. “It is a fake house. It only has a front that is held up by wooden posts in the back.”



“I see another scary scene,” Benny called. He ran up the path.



Four scarecrows sat around a table having tea. One scarecrow had no head.



“That scarecrow sure is fat,” Violet said. “He must have had too many cakes with his tea.”



“How could he eat?” Benny asked. “He doesn’t have a head!”



Henry took a closer look at the scarecrow. “I used to have a shirt just like that,” he said. “I wonder…”



Just then there was a loud rustling 6 in the corn. Something was stomping 7 around! The children stood close together.



“I’m sure it’s nothing,” said Jessie. “But maybe we should go back now. It is getting dark.”



Before she finished talking, a large goat burst out of the cornfield. It almost knocked over the scarecrow tea table!



Henry caught the goat by its collar. “Looks like someone escaped from his pen!” “I’ll help you, Henry,” said Benny.



The goat did not want to be caught. It struggled, but Henry and Benny led it back home.



Darkness now covered the fields. Warm, yellow lights filled the windows of the farmhouse 8.



Mrs. Beckett stood in the kitchen. “You’re just in time!” she said when she saw the children. “I’ve just finished baking the cookies for tonight. You can try a few for me to see if they turned out okay.”



Benny lifted a warm cookie from the tray. He popped it into his mouth. “These are more than okay!” he said. “They are great!”



“I’m glad you like them,” Mrs. Beckett said. She filled a small bag with cookies. She handed it to Benny. “You might need a snack tonight while you are outside scaring our customers.”



Jessie and Violet helped to put the warm cookies into baskets. Henry lifted the big jugs 9 of apple cider. Two long tables were set up outside the barn. Mrs. Beckett covered them with orange cloths and the children set down the cookies and juice. Benny brought the cups and napkins.



Mr. Beckett and Jason were lighting 10 a bonfire in a clearing across from the barn. Sally and Bessie straightened up the farm stand and turned on the lights in the booth. Soon cars and buses began to fill up the gravel 11 parking lot and the big grass field.



“Looks like a big crowd is coming!” Sally called.



Mrs. Beckett smiled at Violet. “I think your fliers worked. I’ve never seen so many cars!”



While Bessie was selling the tickets, the children hurried into the barn to change into their costumes. They heard Jason starting up the tractor.



Henry looked all around the barn. “I can’t find my black cape,” he said. “I was sure that I left it here right next to the sword.”



“You still look scary,” Benny said. “I don’t think you need the cape.”



“Thanks, Benny.” Henry handed each of them a flashlight. “Let’s stick together,” he said. “Ready?”



Violet had chosen a scarecrow costume. She stuck a few last pieces of straw in her hat. Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny hurried through the dark fields. They stopped at the little haunted house. The ghost on the rope creaked back and forth 12 in the wind.



Henry shone his flashlight on a red switch. “This turns on the spotlight,” he said. “We’ll hide behind the fake house. When the hayride comes by, I’ll turn on the light.”



“And I will jump out,” Jessie said. “Do I look scary?”



Violet shivered. “Yes, you do! You look like a ghost bride.”



“What can I do?” asked Benny. “I want to scare people, too.”



Henry handed Benny an old tape recorder. “Mr. Beckett gave me this. There are screams and scary sounds on here. When Jessie jumps out, you push the play button.”



Soon, they heard the tractor rumbling 13 up the path between the cornstalks. When the hayride came to the old house, Jason stopped the tractor. Henry hit the switch and suddenly the haunted house lit up. Benny pushed the play button on the recorder. The ghost hanging from the porch seemed to shriek 14 as it swayed back and forth.



Jessie glided 15 from behind the house in her costume. She raised her arms and pretended to grab at the people on the hayride. Many of them screamed and hugged each other. Then the tractor pulled away and the children could hear the people laughing.



“That was fun!” Benny said. “Let’s go scare them again!”



The children took a shortcut 16 through the cornfield. They came out next to the scarecrows having tea.



Violet shined her flashlight around the table. “Weren’t there four scarecrows here earlier? Now there are only three.”



“The fat one is gone,” said Benny. “Maybe it went to look for its head!”



“I will sit in that chair,” Violet said. “I will pretend to be a stuffed scarecrow. When the tractor comes by, I will jump up and scare everyone.”



The hayride was soon there. Henry turned on the light and Violet sat very still. Suddenly, she jumped from the table, waving her straw arms in the air. Benny turned the recorder on and ghostly sounds filled the night. People screamed again and laughed as the tractor moved on.



“Finally, it’s my turn,” Benny said. The next scene was a pretend cemetery 17. Benny decided 18 to lie on the ground and jump up when the tractor stopped. “I’ll be a spooky skeleton,” he said. “And you don’t have to turn on the recorder. I can make lots of scary noises all by myself.”



When the tractor pulled up, the motor turned off. “Sorry, folks,” Jason called. “The tractor seems to be broken!”



Just then, Benny leaped to his feet. He growled 19 and snarled 20 at the people in his skeleton costume. There were lots of screams and plenty of nervous giggles 21 from the hayride. Benny’s hollered so much, his voice began to get hoarse 22. Benny finally lay back down on the ground. But still the tractor did not move on to the next scene.



“What’s happening?” whispered Violet. “Why are they still here?”



“I don’t know,” Henry said. “I will go check with Jason to see if everything is all right.”



But when Henry shone his light up on the tractor, it was empty! Jason was nowhere to be found.



1 skull
n.头骨;颅骨
  • The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
  • He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去,跌裂了颅骨。
2 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
3 cape
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
4 dressing
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料
  • Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
  • The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
5 outfit
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装
  • Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
  • His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
6 rustling
v.跺脚,践踏,重踏( stomp的现在分词 )
  • He looked funny stomping round the dance floor. 他在舞池里跺着舞步,样子很可笑。 来自辞典例句
  • Chelsea substitution Wright-Phillips for Robben. Wrighty back on his old stomping to a mixed reception. 77分–切尔西换人:赖特.菲利普斯入替罗本。小赖特在主场球迷混杂的欢迎下,重返他的老地方。 来自互联网
7 farmhouse
n.农场住宅(尤指主要住房)
  • We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
  • We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。
8 jugs
(有柄及小口的)水壶( jug的名词复数 )
  • Two china jugs held steaming gravy. 两个瓷罐子装着热气腾腾的肉卤。
  • Jugs-Big wall lingo for Jumars or any other type of ascenders. 大岩壁术语,祝玛式上升器或其它种类的上升器。
9 lighting
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
10 gravel
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石
  • We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
  • More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
11 forth
adv.向前;向外,往外
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
12 rumbling
v./n.尖叫,叫喊
  • Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
  • People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧,气愤或疼痛而尖叫。
13 glided
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 );掠过;(鸟或飞机 ) 滑翔
  • The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
  • They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 shortcut
n.近路,捷径
  • He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
  • If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。
15 cemetery
n.坟墓,墓地,坟场
  • He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
  • His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。
16 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。
17 growled
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说
  • \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道:“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 snarled
v.(指狗)吠,嗥叫, (人)咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 );咆哮着说,厉声地说
  • The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
  • As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时,它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 giggles
n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 );傻笑;玩笑;the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 )
  • Her nervous giggles annoyed me. 她神经质的傻笑把我惹火了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I had to rush to the loo to avoid an attack of hysterical giggles. 我不得不冲向卫生间,以免遭到别人的疯狂嘲笑。 来自辞典例句
20 hoarse
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的
  • He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
  • He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动,嗓子都喊哑了。
学英语单词
a-c bias
artificial transition
ascogenous
bacterial plant disease
be meat and drink for someone
be symptomatic of
bird-arm
bivariate function generator
breise
buttfuck
by-passage
cellulose film
chandly
choke up with
column with constant cross-section
control diode
corpsing
creep crack
cross-bred
cruising horse-power
crural sarcoma
CubeSat
curli
dalin
differential receiver statics
din-dins
dire
Draw Sample
eases up
ex-users
fresh infusion of senna
gaitas
George Sandism
golfingia margaritacea margaritacea
gravity segregation
independent sample design
indicator pressure
indirect gap semicondutor
infighting
interfacial angle
invoice outward
keeners
Kuznets cycle
laparocystectomy
Lummus cracking process
Maakel Region
mabrouk
Masubia
Mazak alloys
medium-temperature salt bath rectifier
milliken conductor
miracle cure
monocolous
Moral de Calatrava
nanoresistor
non-homing-type rotary switch
nuisance values
optical-discs
penicillium janczewskii
persistent pesticide
plagueful
plagueship
practical esthetics
prior equity
produce a play
programming language extension
quarterline
quickbreads
re-advances
recueil
regular-season
repairing base
resilient drive
retiered
retirement table
revhead
Rhodo phyceae
right-front
rigid-tine rotary cultivator
riparias riparias
sack tap
Salsola tragus
sericite in powder
sex-conditioned inheritance
sham eating
silk gauze
socket cover
solidago spathulatas
spare wire
spheric scale
stereoblastula
stream flow routing
superintendent engineer
swizzles
thermal denaturation
Troyish
trufan
type ahead
ubundu (ponthierville)
venae hypogastrica
Xenoantibodies
Zonabris