《神奇树屋》 第三十五册 Night of the New Magicians 08 Secrets
时间:2018-12-10 作者:英语课 分类:汪培珽儿童英文分级书单《神奇树屋》
Jack 1 could see the Paris sky through the iron rails ofthe tower. At first, climbing was easy. The stepsweren't very steep, and Jack counted each one as theyclimbed. "Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight ...""I wonder what's going on at the top now," saidAnnie.
"Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three," breathed Jack.
"I wonder if the sorcerer is there with the others,"said Annie. "What will he do when he81finds out those guys aren't the kind of magicians hethinks they are?""Don't know," breathed Jack. "Forty-nine, fifty.""I'll bet he won't believe them!" said Annie. "Hemight kidnap them-andforcethem to tell their secrets.""Sixty-one, sixty-two . . . ," said Jack. "Faster,faster," said Annie.
8283By the time Jack had counted the 360 steps to thetower's first-story platform, they were both panting.
Jack's feet felt like lead.
"That's a lot of steps!" said Annie, out of breath.
"No ... no kidding," said Jack, gasping 2 betweenwords. "But we ... we have to keep going!"They kept going-but a little more slowly. Jackpicked up the count: "Three hundred sixty-one ...
three hundred sixty-two...""You can see how he might have thoughtAlexander Graham Bell was a new magician," saidAnnie, panting.
"Three hundred ninety-two ... three hundredninety-three ... ," said Jack.
"Think about it!" said Annie. "You've never used aphone in your life ... then one day you pick up thisthing ... hear a voice talking ... the voice of someone ...
who lives far away ... you'd think..."84"Magic!" breathed Jack. "Four hundred forty-four ...
four hundred forty-five...""And Thomas Edison!" said Annie. "Think about it!
Thousands of years ... you depend on fire for light ...
then one day ... you flip 3 a switch ...
presto 4! ...
a glass bulb lights up....""Magic!" gasped 5 Jack. "Five hundred ten ... fivehundred eleven...""And Louis Pasteur ... think about it!" said Annie.
"There are all these diseases ... nobody knows what'scausing them ... then one day ... this guy discoversgerms ... and he figures out a way ... to wipe out thebad ones!""Magic!" said Jack. "Six hundred two ... six hundredthree ... six hundred four...""I can't believe the sorcerer would do anythingmean to these guys!" said Annie. "Even if he is...""Evil ... ," said Jack. "Six hundred twenty ... sixhundred twenty-one . . ." His leg muscles burned, buthe moved like a machine up the85mountain of steps. Finally they reached the secondplatform.
"Seven hundred!" breathed Jack.
"We have ... to keep going," said Annie.
"Keep going ... and let's get ... our rhyme ready,"said Jack. "As soon as we see ... the sorcerer ... wehave to say it ... make him disappear!""Right," breathed Annie. "That's our mission!
Protect ... the new magicians... and find out ... theirsecrets ... for Merlin....""Don't talk ... save breath ... ," said Jack. Jack andAnnie kept climbing and counting. Drawing closer tothe top of the tower, Jack heard piano music. As theyclimbed higher, the music grew louder.
Finally, Jack and Annie climbed onto a thirdplatform. "One thousand six hundred and fifty-two!"gasped Jack. They were almost at the very top of thetower. A spiral staircase led from the platform up to aterrace.
Jack's leg muscles ached, his head hurt,86his heart pounded. "But we have to keep ... going.. .
," he whispered. He and Annie dragged themselves upthe spiral staircase that led to the terrace.
They both collapsed 6 and sat on the top step, tryingto breathe. A flag overhead flapped noisily. Dampwith sweat, Jack felt chilled by the wind.
The piano music was coming from a smallapartment on the terrace.
"I wonder who's ... playing," said Annie, stillgasping for breath.
"Maybe one of the ... magicians," said Jack. "Or the... the sorcerer," said Annie.
Jack felt a surge of fear. It almost took away histiredness. "We have to ... make him disappear," hesaid. He stood up shakily.
"Let's look through the window," said Annie. Thetwo of them struggled against the wind as theystaggered to the window of the apartment. Whenthey peeked 7 in, they saw a cozy 8 room with leatherchairs and glowing lamps. A87man with a trim, pointed 9 beard was playing thepiano. Behind him stood an elderly man with agraying beard, a big man with a bushy white beard,and a friendly-looking man with no beard.
All of them were smiling and nodding their headsin time to the music.
"There're four of them in there," whispered Jack.
8889"Is the fourth one the sorcerer?" said Annie. "Or ishe the fourth new magician?""I don't think any of them are the sorcerer,"whispered Jack. "None of them look evil. They alllook pretty nice.""What is this place, anyway?" said Annie. "Let'scheck the book," said Jack. He pulled out the guidebook and looked upEiffel Tower.
He found a drawing of the tower. Each platformwas labeled. The area at the top read:
At the very top of the tower is the apartment ofGustave Eiffel.
A picture showed Gustave Eiffel sitting in hisapartment.
"Look, he's the guy playing the piano!" said Jack. Heread on:
Gustave Eiffel is one of the world's masterengineers. He built the Eiffel Tower with glass andiron, the world's newest building materials. Sincethese materials are lighter 10 than stone or brick,structures can be built very tall.
90The tower's open design and its iron beams keep itstable in strong winds.
"He's the fourth magician!" whispered Jack. "TheMagician of Iron-hebends the metals of earth and triumphs over thewind!""They're all together now," said Annie. "AlexanderGraham Bell, Thomas Edison, Louis Pasteur, andGustave Eiffel-the four new magicians.""And the evil sorcerer hasn't shown up yet," saidJack.
"Come on," said Annie. "We have to warn themabout him!""And find out their secrets beforehedoes!" said Jack. He and Annie walked to the doorof the apartment. Annie knocked.
The night fell silent as the piano music stopped.
Oh, brother,thought Jack. How would they explain such a weirdsituation to these famous men? The door of theapartment opened. Gustave Eiffel looked out. "Yes?"he said.
91"Hello. Can we come in?" asked Annie.
Mr. Eiffel looked startled. "Goodness, I seem to behaving many unexpected guests tonight. How didyou get up here, little girl? I thought the elevatorswere closed.""My brother and I climbed the stairs," said Annie.
"Oh, my! That's a very long climb for two children!"said Mr. Eiffel. "Or anyone else, for that matter! Didsomeone invite you to a party here, too?""Not exactly," said Annie.
"Well, come in anyway. The more the merrier!" Mr.
Eiffel stepped back to let Annie and Jack inside. Thenhe closed the door behind them.
The four men looked curiously 11 at Jack and Annie.
"Before you tell us about yourselves, allow me tointroduce my other unexpected guests," said Mr.
Eiffel. "This is Dr. Louis Pasteur." He pointed to theelderly man with the graying92beard. "And Mr. Alexander Graham Bell." The bigman with the white beard nodded. "And Mr. ThomasAlva Edison."The friendly-looking man reached out and shookboth of their hands, first Annie's, then Jack's. "Youcan call me Alva," Mr. Edison said.
"Hi, Alva," Jack murmured shyly. He couldn'tbelieve he was shaking hands with Thomas AlvaEdison.
"You can call us Jack and Annie," said Annie.
"So, Jack and Annie, how did you learn about thisgathering?" Mr. Eiffel asked. "You have nothing to dowith the invitations these gentlemen received, doyou?""We ... um..." Annie smiled a goofy grin, as if shedidn't know what to say next. She took a deep breath.
"Well, no," she said. "But we know who sent them.""Who?" asked Mr. Eiffel.
"An evil sorcerer who wants to steal the secrets ofyour magic," said Annie.
93"An evil sorcerer?" said Mr. Eiffel.
"Yes," said Annie. "We can make him disappear, butwe need you to tell us your secrets before he getshere."The four men just stared at her.
"What did she say?" asked Mr. Edison, as if he werea little hard of hearing.
"She says an evil sorcerer wants to steal the secretsof our magic," Mr. Eiffel said loudly. "And that wemust tell them our secrets before the sorcerer arrives."Mr. Edison laughed. So did the others. Jack felt hisface grow red.
"The secrets of our magic, eh?" said Mr. Eiffel.
"That's really a very good question. Let's think.... Ibelieve the secret ofmymagic is actually quite simple. I have a taste foradventure and a love of work and responsibility. Sothe challenge of building the tallest structure in theworld was greatly appealing to me.""Very good," said Annie. "Taste for adven94ture, love of work and responsibility." She turned toDr. Pasteur. "Doctor, what's your secret?""My secret?" said Dr. Pasteur. He looked down atthe floor for a long moment. Then he looked up andsaid, "I believe my secret is this: Chance favors theprepared mind."The other men nodded. "Hmm," said Mr. Bell. "Ah,"said Mr. Eiffel. "Indeed," said Mr. Edison.
"Um . . . what does that mean?" said Annie.
"Chancemeansluck,"explained Dr. Pasteur. "I daresay we all hope for abit of luck in our work. But I find the more I studyand prepare, the luckier I become.""Oh, that makes good sense," said Annie. "Studyingmakes you luckier." She turned to Mr. Edison. "Alva,what's your secret?"Mr. Edison smiled modestly. "Well, let me see." Hiseyes were bright and twinkling. "I95suppose my secret is this: Genius is one percentinspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration 12."The other men laughed.
"That's right," said Mr. Eiffel. "Sweat! Hard work!
Thousands of experiments fail-then finally oneworks!"The other men clapped.
"I get it!" said Annie. "Genius is mostly sweat."Everyone then turned to the last magician. "Oh,my," said Mr. Bell. He stroked his bushy white beard.
"How shall I say it?" He closed his eyes. "When onedoor closes, another door opens."Everyone started to applaud.
"Wait, there's more!" Keeping his eyes closed, Mr.
Bell continued. "We often look so long and soregretfully upon the closed door that we do not seethe 13 new ones which open for us." He looked ateveryone and smiled. The other men clapped again.
96"Yes, yes!" said Mr. Eiffel. "There's always anotherdoor.""Never give up hope!" said Annie. "Got it!"Mr. Eiffel smiled at Annie. "So, do you think oursecrets would satisfy your evil sorcerer?"Before Annie could answer, there was a loudknocking on the door.
- I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
- He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
- I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书,看来似乎很有趣。
- Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。
- With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上,你想挥动一下指挥棒,转眼就变过来,办不到!
- I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧,嘿,那门就开了。
- 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》
- Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
- The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
- 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
- I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯,因为他们是舒适的。
- We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
- 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。
- The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
- The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
- He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
- He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
- It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了,我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
- The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。