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》


英语课

      One duck was gray with black and white markings. The otherhad a glossy 1 green head and a rust-colored chest. Both hadorange webbed feet and long yellow bills.



Quack 2, quack,they said.



Annie looked over her shoulder at Jack 3. "I memorized theduck rhyme a while ago," she said with a grin. "I knew it wouldcome in handy someday."Jack laughed. "Good work," he said.



The two ducks waddled 4 around on their bright orange feet,quacking. Answering cries94came from overhead. A flock of ducks was flying through theclear November sky.



"Go on, Balor and Grinda!" Annie shouted to the twomallards. "Go with them now!"The mallards quacked 5 at Annie.



"Go on!" Jack chimed in. "Fly south for the winter! You'll havefun! We promise!"The two mallards quacked and flapped their wings. First oneand then the other rose off the ground. They flew high into thesky. Jack held his breath as he watched the mallards soar away,flying south over New York City.



Annie put her arms around the unicorn 6's neck. Then sherested her head on his silky white mane. "You're safe now," shesaid. "But you have to leave us. I have to show you the way toCamelot. The problem is, I don't know how to do that."AH-U-GA! AH-U-GA!



Jack looked over at an avenue that bordered the park. A bigyellow taxi was parked by the95curb. The driver was honking 8 his horn. He waved through thewindow.



"What's that guy want?" said Annie, sitting up.



"I don't know," said Jack.



The driver jumped out of the car. He wore a cap and a plaidscarf. "Hey, it's the same driver who deserted 9 us outside theCloisters," said Annie.



The passenger door of the taxi opened, and a girl stepped out.



She was wearing a purple shawl. "And that's the girl who told usto get off at the wrong subway stop," said Jack.



The taxi driver and the girl in the shawl both waved at Jackand Annie. Then the driver lifted his cap and pulled down hisscarf. He had red curly hair and a wonderfully familiar grin.



The girl pulled the shawl off her head. Beautiful long blackcurls fell down to her waist.



"It'sthem!"said Jack.



"Teddy! Kathleen!" Annie shouted.



Jack and Annie slid off the unicorn's back onto96the snowy ground. The young enchanters ran across the snowto them. Annie threw her arms around Teddy. Kathleen threwher arms around Jack. The four of them laughed and talked atthe same time.



"That wasyou!""That wasus!""I'm sorry I told you to get off at the wrong stop," saidKathleen. "But Teddy was waiting for you there!"97"And I'm sorry I left you stranded 11 in the storm," said Teddy.



"But I knew you'd find your way to the Cloisters 10!""We thought you guys were these two kids following us,Balor and Grinda!" said Annie.



"Yes, we just saw you turn them into ducks!" said Kathleen.



"Brilliant!""Who were they?" asked Jack.



"Apprentices 12 of the Dark Wizard," said Kathleen. "We didn'tknow they were following you! EvenMerlindidn't know.""They were pretty creepy," said Jack.



"Yeah, but they actually helped us without meaning to," saidAnnie. "They knew the unicorn's name.""We thought it wasDivine Flower of Rome,"said Jack.



"I told Merlin that clue might be a bit difficult," said Teddy.



"Divine Flower isdianthusin Latin, the language of old Rome.""So do Grinda and Balor know Latin?" asked Annie.



98"Hardly," said Teddy. "The unicorn's name is famousthroughout the Otherworld. He is known for his great magic.""And for his goodness," added Kathleen.



"We know about his goodness," said Annie. "When he ranthrough the streets with his horn in the air, the blizzard 13 ended.



And everyone we passed cheered up and seemed to get morehopeful.""The Dark Wizard was trying to capture Dianthus so he couldkeep the unicorn's good magic from the rest of the world," saidKathleen. "Merlin will be very pleased that you have foiled thewizard's plan.""In truth, I believe he would like to thank you himself," saidTeddy. He turned toward the yellow taxi parked by the curb 7.



The back door of the car opened, and two grown-ups steppedout: a tall, elegant woman wearing a wine-colored cloak and aman in a dark blue robe. The man had a long white beard. Thewoman had long white hair.



"Morgan! Merlin!" whispered Jack.



99As the wizard and magical librarian of Camelot walked acrossthe snow, Dianthus stepped forward to greet them. He bowedhis head. Merlin tenderly stroked the unicorn's white neck.



Morgan le Fay turned to Jack and Annie. "Hello," she said,smiling. "It is good to see you both." Her lovely voice washedover Jack like music.



"You too," said Annie, hugging the enchantress.



"What are you and Merlin doing here?" Jack asked.



"I have always wanted to visit New York City," said Morgan.



"Teddy has just given us quite a ride in that taxi. Merlin had totell him to slow down several times." Morgan laughed andturned toward Merlin.



"Quite a ride indeed," said Merlin. "Greetings to you both,Jack and Annie.""Greetings," they said.



"Thank you for saving my beloved Dianthus," said Merlin.



"Long ago, he was stolen from Camelot by evildoers. He wasrescued by magic weavers 14 in the Netherlands. To keep him safe,they used their art to hide him in their tapestries 15. I knew I couldentrust you two to set him free on the day the spell was to end.



But your mission turned out to be more dangerous than Iintended. I did not know the Dark Wizard had sent hisapprentices to follow you and capture the unicorn.""Poor Grinda and Balor," said Annie. "Now they're ducks.""Oh, do not worry," said Teddy. "The spell will wear off in afew days, and they'll find their way home.""Yes," said Kathleen, "and I am sure the Dark Wizard willhave some other wicked plan for them.""Aye," said Merlin, "but they will no longer have the use oftheir black rope." He picked the rope up from the ground andhanded it to Teddy.



"Take this back to Camelot and see that it is destroyed.""Gladly," said Teddy.



"It must be terrible to work for the Dark Wizard," said Annie.



She looked at Merlin. "I'mglad we work for you instead."Merlin smiled. "And so am I," he said. "On your last fourmissions, you and Jack have proved you know how to use magicwisely. And102for that, I now entrust 16 you with one of Camelot's greatesttreasures."Merlin pulled a spiraled wand from his robe. "I give you theWand of Dianthus," he said. "As you can see, the wand is madein the shape of the unicorn's horn. It has a bit of his magic in it."Merlin held the silver wand out to Jack and Annie.



Jack took the wand from Merlin. It burned in his hand-withcold or warmth, he couldn't tell which.



"With the help of the wand, you can make your own magic,"said Merlin.



"But you can only use it after you have tried your hardest,"said Morgan, "and remember that it can only be used foranother's good.""We'll remember," breathed Annie.



"Thank you," said Jack. He unbuckled his briefcase 17 andcarefully placed the silver wand inside.



"We must leave you now," said Merlin. He turned to Teddyand Kathleen. "You may ride Dianthus home to Camelot. I willbe along shortly. But first, I would like to drive that taxi aroundNew York City myself. Morgan, will you join me?""Indeed," said Morgan. "But drive a bit more slowly thanTeddy, please.""I promise nothing," said Merlin. He looked104at Jack and Annie. "Good evening to you, my friends. I willcall for you again soon.""Bye," said Annie and Jack.



Merlin took Morgan's arm, and the two walked back to thetaxi and climbed into the front seat. The big yellow car sputteredand then took off wildly. As it careened up the avenue, Merlinblew its horn.



AH-U-GA! AH-U-GA!



1 glossy
adj.平滑的;有光泽的
  • I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
  • She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。
2 quack
n.庸医;江湖医生;冒充内行的人;骗子
  • He describes himself as a doctor,but I feel he is a quack.他自称是医生,可是我感觉他是个江湖骗子。
  • The quack was stormed with questions.江湖骗子受到了猛烈的质问。
3 jack
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
  • 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。
4 waddled
v.(像鸭子一样)摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的过去式和过去分词 )
  • A family of ducks waddled along the river bank. 一群鸭子沿河岸摇摇摆摆地走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The stout old man waddled across the road. 那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 quacked
v.(鸭子)发出嘎嘎声( quack的过去式和过去分词 )
6 unicorn
n.(传说中的)独角兽
  • The unicorn is an imaginary beast.独角兽是幻想出来的动物。
  • I believe unicorn was once living in the world.我相信独角兽曾经生活在这个世界。
7 curb
n.场外证券市场,场外交易;vt.制止,抑制
  • I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
  • You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。
8 honking
v.(使)发出雁叫似的声音,鸣(喇叭),按(喇叭)( honk的现在分词 )
  • Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停,喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Flocks of honking geese flew past. 雁群嗷嗷地飞过。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 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。
10 cloisters
n.(学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的)走廊( cloister的名词复数 );回廊;修道院的生活;隐居v.隐退,使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 )
  • The thirteenth-century cloisters are amongst the most beautiful in central Italy. 这些13世纪的回廊是意大利中部最美的建筑。 来自辞典例句
  • Some lovely Christian Science ladies had invited her to a concert at the cloisters. 有几位要好的基督教科学社的女士请她去修道院音乐厅听一个音乐会。 来自辞典例句
11 stranded
a.搁浅的,进退两难的
  • He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里, 身无分文,一筹莫展。
  • I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市,既没有钱,又没有朋友。
12 apprentices
学徒,徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 )
  • They were mere apprentices to piracy. 他们干海盗仅仅是嫩角儿。
  • He has two good apprentices working with him. 他身边有两个好徒弟。
13 blizzard
n.暴风雪
  • The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
  • You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。
14 weavers
织工,编织者( weaver的名词复数 )
  • The Navajo are noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths. 纳瓦霍人以豢养家禽,技术熟练的纺织者,制陶者和银匠而著名。
  • They made out they were weavers. 他们假装是织布工人。
15 tapestries
n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 );绣帷,织锦v.用挂毯(或绣帷)装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 )
  • The wall of the banqueting hall were hung with tapestries. 宴会厅的墙上挂有壁毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The rooms were hung with tapestries. 房间里都装饰着挂毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 entrust
v.信赖,信托,交托
  • I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
  • They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。
17 briefcase
n.手提箱,公事皮包
  • He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
  • He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。