时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:91 The Mystery at Skeleton Poi


英语课

Henry and Jessie took the stone steps to the tower two at a time. Light on their feet, they didn’t make a sound until they reached a landing. There they stopped to catch their breath near a small window.



“We’re safe for now,” Henry whispered. “William is in the gardening shed. Hilda’s outside somewhere.”



Jessie leaned against the wall. “My heart is about to burst out of me,” she said. “We made it. Let’s find Benny and Violet. They were pretty brave getting up here so fast.”



Henry and Jessie climbed to the next floor.



“Here’s the door.” Jessie gave it a push.



She and Henry looked around the silent room. The long, narrow windows didn’t let in much light. All they could see were the large white shapes of old furniture covered in sheets. Cobwebs hung down from the tall ceiling.



Jessie brushed one aside so it wouldn’t get caught in her hair. “Where are Violet and Benny?”



“Down here,” a muffled 1 voice answered from under a lump in the corner.



Henry and Jessie walked over. The sheet moved, then two faces peeked 2 out.



“Hey, you two!” Henry helped his brother and Violet slide out from under a huge bed. “We thought you deserted 3 us.”



Benny dusted off his hair. “We thought you were William or Hilda or the Walking Skeleton, so we hid under there.”



The children tiptoed to the windows, which overlooked the property and Shady Lake as well.



“This is perfect,” Jessie said. “After William and Hilda leave for the day we’ll go back to get our sleeping bags and backpacks, then tidy up a little.”



Henry pulled out his binoculars 4 from under his jacket. “I’m glad I brought these. We can see all the way down to the lake and the driveway from the other side. If anything funny is going on, we’ll see it. Uh-oh, Hilda’s heading to the house with William.”



“Shhh,” Violet said when she heard something downstairs. She put her head near the old-fashioned heating vent 5 built into the floor. “Listen. They’re in the hallway outside the room below here.”



The words weren’t too clear, but the Aldens recognized William’s and Hilda’s voices.



“Now that you have all the measurements, how long do you think the job will take?” the Aldens heard William ask. “I need to get everything done fast.”



Hilda didn’t answer right away. Her voice was softer, so the Aldens had a harder time hearing her words. “...removing it, getting it to the foundry. Making a copy takes a long time. I wish I never told you about ... ”



The Aldens heard a hand bang against a table. “We don’t have a long time,” he said, so loudly he almost seemed to be in the same room.



Hilda sounded upset and spoke 6 quietly. The Aldens could catch only a few words. “...understand... need to... back... why can’t... Charlotte... now.”



“Look, I know what I’m doing,” William said plainly. “You don’t need to know all the details. Can you do what I asked or not?”



The front door slammed. When the children ran to the window, they saw Hilda run from the house and down the driveway. William left shortly afterward 7.



“What did she say?” Benny asked Violet.



“I couldn’t tell,” Violet answered softly. “She mentioned a foundry, so it must have something to do with the statues or something like that. Artists sometimes bring statues to a foundry to have molds made of their statues. After that, it’s pretty easy to make copies from the molds.”



Jessie opened the window. In the distance she heard one car start, then another. “I think they took the Clover Dodge 8 statue to copy it. But it doesn’t belong to them. It belongs to Charlotte. We have to tell her soon.”



Henry went from window to window aiming his binoculars down the driveway. “It’s probably safe to go out and bring our things up now. That’ll give us plenty of time to see what’s going on in this house while Hilda and William are gone.”



After the children aired the room out, they returned to the beach for their packs and sleeping bags.



That’s when Jessie heard a motorboat coming close. “Hide!” she told the other children. “Greeny’s boat is headed to the dock. He must be coming from the store. I sure hope Max doesn’t sniff 9 us out back here. I have the extra food we brought.”



“I’ve got a good idea,” Benny said. “I’ll throw one of our extra sandwiches way over there. If Max finds it, he won’t come looking for us.”



“Good thinking, buddy 10.” Henry and the other children scrunched 11 themselves behind a thick clump 12 of pine trees and bushes.



Soon they heard Greeny’s boat slow down, then stop. The children pushed away a branch ever so slightly. What was Greeny going to do next?



“Okay, Max,” Greeny said to his dog. “We’re safe for a while. Now’s our chance to really clear out a few things — a few crates 14’ worth, at least.”



The Aldens barely breathed. They heard Max yipping with excitement when he discovered the sandwich Benny had tossed away from the hideout.



“Maxilla!” Greeny yelled. “Don’t eat that! Ugh. Too late. You are nothing but a canine 15 garbage disposal. I just hope you don’t get sick. I’m putting you on the leash 16.”



Even on a leash, Max smelled food and came awfully 17 close to where the Aldens were hiding.



“Get up here, Max. I’m not letting you run off again.” Greeny led Max toward the steps. “I may not have a whole lot of time.”



The Aldens waited behind the pine trees for a very long minute.



“Let’s follow Greeny now instead of bringing back our things,” Jessie suggested. “He’s getting something to put in all those crates I see in the boat. I don’t know if it’s parts of statues or skeletons or what, but now’s our chance to follow him.”



The children wondered if Greeny would turn off on the secret path. But he didn’t stop at all until he reached the gardening shed. “Sorry, Max, but I can’t have you barking and running around. You have to stay in here for now. I’ll be back for you later.”



“Poor thing,” Violet whispered when Max began to whine 18 after Greeny shut the door. “He sounds just like Watch when we won’t let him play outside with us.”



With Max out of the way, the Aldens felt safer in following Greeny into the house. He unlocked the door to Dr. Tibbs’s study. Shutting the door, he locked it from inside the room.



“I know what we can do,” Henry whispered. “Let’s go upstairs. If we’re lucky, there may be a heating vent up there. Maybe we can see into the room.”



By now the Aldens knew where many of the creaky floorboards were and avoided them. They found the room above the study. A thick carpet covered most of it.



“Good, Greeny won’t be able to hear us walking around,” Jessie whispered. She found a corner where the carpet had been cut to let in the heat through a vent. She signaled the others to come over as quietly as possible and huddle 19 around the vent.



When they looked through the grille of the vent, the children saw the top of Greeny’s head directly below. They could see him placing skulls 21, skeletons, and other kinds of bones into his crates.



The Aldens didn’t need to discuss what to do next. In an instant, they ran from the room and down the stairs so fast, Greeny never had a chance to get away.



When Greeny opened the door, the Aldens stood there blocking him.



Greeny couldn’t move. In his arms was a milk crate 13 piled with skeleton bones. “I’m not even going to lie about what I’m doing,” he told the Aldens.



“Good,” Jessie said. “Then maybe you’d better explain what you’re doing and why. We already saw one skull 20 in your boat. Where are you going with the rest of them?”



Greeny stared at the children for a long time. “Okay, I might as well tell you the truth. You and your relatives can decide what to do about it. I noticed that after Charlotte hired Mason and that woman — ”



Henry had something to say. “Wait a minute. Charlotte didn’t hire Mr. Mason; he volunteered.”



“Hmmm,” Greeny said. “Well, maybe Charlotte should have wondered why an architect would volunteer to do something for free — not that I have any idea. All I care about is Dr. Tibbs’s collection. Some of it has disappeared, and I’d bet anything that those two are to blame.”



Henry stepped closer to Greeny. “How do you know that? Right now you’re the thief, not Mr. Mason and Hilda. Even Mister Bones was taken. He wasn’t yours to take, or anybody’s.”



Now it was Greeny’s turn to look upset. “I know, that’s why I’m here. After Mister Bones disappeared along with a wild horse skull from out West, I just knew I had to move the whole collection to a safe place — my cabin. I came in here this morning and installed a lock on the door so nothing else would disappear. There are rare skeletons that Dr. Tibbs collected on his travels around the world. Now I’m taking them for safekeeping. You can tell Charlotte that, too.”



“No,” Violet said. “If you took these things, you’ll need to tell Charlotte yourself — tomorrow when she gets back. We’re going to find Mister Bones.”



Greeny’s mouth opened. “Where?”



“We’ll let you know tomorrow,” Jessie answered. “Now please put those crates back and give us the keys. Both of them. We’re spending the night here.”



Though Greeny Owen was many years older than the Aldens, he obeyed them without any more protest. He carried the crate of skeletons back to the study, pulled the door shut, and locked it. Then he dropped both keys in Jessie’s waiting hand and went off to get Max.



The children didn’t have Mister Bones just yet, but they had discovered that Greeny Owen was one of their thieves. Now they just had to catch the others.



1 muffled
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己)
  • muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
  • There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 peeked
v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 );偷看;窥视;微露出
  • She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句
3 deserted
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
4 binoculars
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。
5 vent
n.通风口,排放口;开衩;vt.表达,发泄
  • He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
  • When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时,发动机就会停转。
6 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。
7 afterward
adv.后来;以后
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
8 dodge
v.闪开,躲开,避开;n.妙计,诡计
  • A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪,才没被车从身上辗过。
  • The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。
9 sniff
vi.嗅…味道;抽鼻涕;对嗤之以鼻,蔑视
  • The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
  • When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候,他们会彼此嗅一会儿。
10 buddy
n.(美口)密友,伙伴
  • Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气,老兄。有什么麻烦吗?
  • Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了,你这家伙!
11 scrunched
v.发出喀嚓声( scrunch的过去式和过去分词 );蜷缩;压;挤压
  • The snow scrunched underfoot. 雪在脚下发出嘎吱嘎吱的声音。
  • He scrunched up the piece of paper and threw it at me. 他把那张纸揉成一个小团,朝我扔过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 clump
n.树丛,草丛;vi.用沉重的脚步行走
  • A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
  • It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。
13 crate
vt.(up)把…装入箱中;n.板条箱,装货箱
  • We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
  • The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。
14 crates
adj.犬的,犬科的
  • The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
  • Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。
15 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。
16 awfully
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
17 whine
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。
18 huddle
vi.挤作一团;蜷缩;vt.聚集;n.挤在一起的人
  • They like living in a huddle.他们喜欢杂居在一起。
  • The cold wind made the boy huddle inside his coat.寒风使这个男孩卷缩在他的外衣里。
19 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。
20 skulls
颅骨( skull的名词复数 ); 脑袋; 脑子; 脑瓜
  • One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中,其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
  • We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白,遍布白色的骷髅!
学英语单词
action-logic
Active Client
all-rubber adsorbent
allopartic species
antimigration
apparent creep
architective
automatic data set
axial quantum number
block-busting
blow sb out
bo be no marked by clear anatomical change
brain accentuated
break sweat
Byrkjedal
cable recess
can tong
cap type
casinogen
catalyst deactivation
cathodal operning clonus
clip position
combine nuclear and gas turbine power plant
communications control console
commutator transformator
Corydalis meifolia
cross checks
crown wheel core
cystatins
diethyl-p-tlouidine
diphenylcarbazone
ficciones
Finkenbach
flash column
Fribourg (Freiburg)
gnosticize
guarantor relationship
hand pulling
have no forked tail
hemomanometer with stethoscope
Hob.
immobilizers
impolite
indirect utility
J'ouvert
kovochich
La Hacienda
lace beaming machine
land occupation of the plant area
launch reserve scheme
line disconnecting switch
Maple Peak
merchant accounts
microphotometric method
mid-stance
migration potential
Muroto-zaki
Nagero
narrationally
neat lime
nonfilamentous
nonnumeric calculation
nouke
operation signal
or model
oto-
paasche
plasmodiophora mori yendo
potamarcha congener congener
primary haulage
procollagens
production restriction
proper nounhood
pumping of the barometer
put something in motion
radiophotoscanning
re-incarnation
real hack
Regency point
reichensachsen
rock element
sendust
sensitivity of micro-phone
Sheratan
skew bevel gear pair
spina bifida cystica
St.Paul's
terraformed
the disabled
thermomoulds
transferring control responsibility
transitional flow
tympanotomy
typed memory name space
ultra ata/66
unusefully
upper-triangular matrix
vavoom
vesicohysteropexy
wave energy of sea floor
wife-battering
zaborski