时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:43 The Mystery on Stage


英语课

On stage, Benny was having trouble controlling Watch. The dog kept running to Jessie who stood in the wings waiting for her cue to come on. Watch wouldn’t pay any attention to Sarah.



Jim was shaking his head. “This may not work,” he told Benny. “Take him off the stage so we can get on with this.” He looked at his watch. “Maybe, if we finish rehearsing early, you can take him outside with Sarah so he can get used to her.”



Benny nodded and grabbed his dog’s collar. As he walked Watch backstage, Benny did a little dance similar to the one he’d just seen the Munchkins rehearse. He didn’t know that Jim was watching, smiling.



“Okay,” Jim said, turning to the Munchkins on stage. “Why don’t you start again from the beginning?”



The Munchkins began their little dance welcoming Dorothy to their country. Jim watched them for a few moments. “No, stop. You’re not in step with one another.” The director shook his head and climbed up on stage.



“Look,” he said taking one of the Munchkins by the hand. “You need to start by raising your left foot, then the right. Now, start again.”



The Munchkins obeyed. Jim seemed deep in thought. “Stop,” he called again. “We need another Munchkin to fill out this middle row. Benny, where are you?” Jim looked around.



Benny stood in the wings holding Watch by the collar. “Sit, boy,” he said before he went on stage.



“You seem to catch on quickly,” Jim said, smiling at Benny. “I’d like to give you a small role as a Munchkin. Would you like that?”



Benny nodded, pleased.



“Okay,” Jim said. “Stand here, Benny. Now take it from the top,” Jim called to the others.



“What?” Benny whispered to the Munchkin girl next to him.



“That means start at the beginning,” she whispered back.



Just then Nancy came out to talk to Jim. She looked terribly upset.



“What?” Jim almost shouted after Nancy said a few sentences. “Ask everybody to come out on stage!”



Jim paced until all the cast and crew members had assembled. He told them about the missing props 1, the ripped costume, and the note written on the board yesterday.



“Are you suggesting one of us is responsible?” Richard asked.



“I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this.” Jim sounded very angry. “I will not have the show ruined by a lot of nonsense!” Jim did not look at Melody when he spoke 2, but several others did.



“We’re not blaming anyone,” Nancy said. “But if you have any idea who might be responsible, please come talk to Jim.”



“Yes, please,” Jim pleaded. “I’ll keep whatever you tell me in confidence.”



“What does that mean?” Soo Lee tapped Violet on the arm.



“That means he won’t tell anyone,” Violet answered.



“All right. Go back to your jobs backstage. Rehearsal’s over for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll have a piano player here. I want you to have your lines memorized by the end of the week.” Jim sounded very tired.



As the cast and crew scrambled 3 off the stage, Jim suggested that Benny and Jessie take Watch out with Sarah. “Get Watch used to her,” he advised.



The sun was setting when Watch led Sarah, Jessie, and Benny to the stone benches near the school. “He wants to chase squirrels,” Jessie explained to Sarah. Sarah laughed and stooped down to pet Watch who was straining his leash 4. Jessie looked at Sarah in surprise. It sounded good to hear her laugh for a change. She usually looked so serious.



“Let’s find a stick before we let him loose,” Jessie suggested, running ahead.



“Good idea,” Benny said, hurrying to keep up with the dog. “Maybe he’ll play catch with us.”



Sarah threw her big shoulder bag on one of the benches and raced after the Aldens. They played with Watch until it became dark. Jessie and Benny had Sarah give Watch commands so he would become used to her voice.



“I think we’re ready to go inside and tell Jim you two are getting along fine.” Jessie smiled at the sight of Watch obediently trailing Sarah.



“Yes, it’s getting cold out here,” Sarah said as she stooped down to pick up her big shoulder bag from the bench. The bag was on its side and when Sarah reached for it, a large manila folder 5 fell out.



Benny started to pick it up, but Sarah quickly snatched it from him. “Don’t touch that,” she said.



“What is it?” Benny asked, pointing at the folder as Sarah quickly shoved it in her purse.



“Oh, nothing, nothing at all,” she said quickly. Without another word, she turned and hurried toward the Playhouse.



Jessie and Benny exchanged glances and followed Sarah inside. Jim was waiting for them on stage. “How did Watch do?” he asked, patting the dog on the head.



“He’s really getting used to Sarah,” Benny said, smiling proudly at his dog. As if in response, Watch went over to Sarah and wiggled his body. Sarah forced a smile and stooped down to pet him.



“Good,” Jim said. “Watch, it looks like you still have a job.”



Watch sat down by Jim’s feet and wagged his tail. “He’s happy,” Benny said, translating for his dog.



“I’m glad someone is,” Jim said. “See you tomorrow. By the way, the rest of your family has already gone home. Better hurry to be in time for your dinner.” Jim actually smiled.



“Would you like to come to our house for dinner?” Jessie asked Sarah as they were all walking out the door with Watch.



Sarah looked down at the ground and played with the purple belt on her wool coat. “No, thank you,” she mumbled 6, shaking her head. “I have to go.”



Jessie was very puzzled by Sarah’s behavior. She’d seemed so friendly only a few minutes ago.



“I wonder what Sarah has in that envelope,” Jessie said thoughtfully as she hurried home with Benny. She wrapped her red scarf more tightly around her neck.



“Maybe it was the missing script,” Jessie said. “Maybe Sarah hadn’t really lost it.”



“I don’t know,” Benny said. “But whatever it was, it was addressed to New York City and she sure didn’t want us to see it.”



1 props
小道具; 支柱( prop的名词复数 ); 支持者; 道具; (橄榄球中的)支柱前锋
  • Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
  • The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。
2 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。
3 scrambled
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
  • Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 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。
5 folder
n.纸夹,文件夹
  • Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
  • He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。
6 mumbled
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
  • He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话,可我没太听清楚。
  • George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。
学英语单词
acid curd
active sintered bar
al haniyah
al qadarif (gedaref )
ammonium vanadium sulfate
amplitude-modulated
annular seal
armourists
aryl sulfatase
associating input
automatic replacer
Bundeswehr
burn-out indicator
comite international des poids et mesures (cipm)
computation laboratory
confidence allowance
Congo Canyon
crystallinity by density measurement
cyclotropin
declare type and size
defuze
dentography
dramatic arts
Durlach
emperished
ex-gi
excursionizing
faba-
fastusinine
forward momentum
fresh water mud
friction-twist draw-texturing machine
fris
fuel tanker
gastro-enteritis
giltest
glass film plate
high-energy-rate forming
hydrazine injection
hydrogen intake from air gap
injector torch
installment payment
isobaric heat(ing) effect
isorhamnonose
jackarse
lecanorchis subpelorica
linear restriction
macropterous
mammooda
marine zoology
meijes
mirror
multifunction peripheral
multiroll crusher
naked truth
net cash investment
nient
noncompact
oblique cleft
Ochiishi-misaki
oncootic
other long-term investments
Pearlweed
performings
phraortes formosanus
process map
pseudowax
pterocarpuss
put it baldly
real part condition
receiver of remote-control sytem
repingtons
rib of piston
ridge lines
rural credit association
Self-Employment Tax
sensor glove
setipafant
significant others
single sheave metal block
skillicorn
sleeper respacing
slope of ways
Southwest Indian
special analog system
spilters
split tax
stamps
stemmaticss
stomping ground
streamhandling
submersibles
syntonise
theoretical point of frag
tongue-tying
transition current
travel and entertainment
unstudious
Verdalsφra
wagon static load
yes-man, yesmen
Zernez