时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:54 The Hurricane Mystery


英语课

Mr. Farrier said the gate was mostly wrought 1 iron, remember?” said Jessie. “But it’s not. It’s cast iron. See all these molds? That’s how Mr. Farrier said cast iron was made — by pouring molten iron into molds.”



“Like cake batter 2 into a cake pan,” remembered Benny.



“Right,” said Jessie.



“How could Mr. Farrier make a mistake like that?” asked Violet.



“He didn’t,” said Henry, who’d been studying the gate design intently. “He just didn’t want to tell us that he’d discovered the secret of the gate.” He pointed 3 to the design. “Old Mr. Fitzhugh made cast-iron molds — hollow ones — and filled them up with gold. It says so right here.”



“Where?” asked Benny. “Where does it say gold?”



“It doesn’t say gold, Benny,” explained Jessie. “But look. It does say, ‘Molds received and filled by F. Fitzhugh.’ ”



“Why would Mr. Fitzhugh want hollow molds? Why would he want to fill them himself unless he had something to hide?”



“That’s exactly it,” said Jessie. “And the only parts of the gate that weren’t cast iron were the outer decorations and parts. Look what it says above the design: Fill and hang.’ ”



“Fill the hollow gate and hang it,” translated Violet in an awed 4 voice. “He poured it full of molten gold, just like we saw Mr. Farrier do with the cast-iron molds at his studio.”



“Pirate’s treasure!” cried Benny. “Pirate’s gold!”



“The gold, the gold, we found the gold!” said Violet. Watch barked and pranced 5 around.



“Let’s go get the gate,” said Benny.



“And tell Mrs. Ashleigh,” said Jessie.



“Wait!” Henry cried.



They all looked at him in surprise.



“We’ve solved the mystery of the Pirate’s Gate,” said Henry. “But we haven’t solved the mystery of who else knows that the gate is the key to the treasure.”



“Mr. Farrier knows. That’s why he didn’t hang the gate back up,” said Violet. “He must have discovered it when he was fixing it. That’s what made it so important for him to talk to Mrs. Ashleigh. So he could tell her.”



“And whoever tried to break into Mr. Farrier’s shop knows, too,” said Jessie. “Remember? That’s why he was making iron grills 6 for his windows. Because someone had tried to break in.”



Henry said, “Of course! And that’s why he asked us so many questions. He wanted to know if we knew.”



“If we hang it up, I think whoever is after the gate will come back for it,” said Jessie. “I think they’ve been following us, watching us. They’ll see us put the gate up. They’ll think we haven’t figured out its secret.”



“Yes. We’ll hang the gate. We’ll set a trap and catch the thief,” said Henry.



The Boxcar Children hurried downstairs. They discovered that Mr. Farrier had opened the kitchen door and leaned the gate against the wall inside.



They looked at the gate with new eyes. It was hard to believe it was made of gold. The cast iron was pretty and graceful 7. No sign of gold or treasure showed anywhere.



Very carefully, the four Aldens lifted the gate up and carried it out to the fence. It was heavy, so they had to stop and rest twice. But at last the gate was mounted on its hinges.



“There,” said Jessie in a satisfied voice. “Now the trap is set. All we have to do is watch and wait.”



“It’s getting late,” said Henry. “Almost nighttime. I think the thief will come tonight.”



Just then thunder rumbled 9 overhead. They looked up to see the sky filling with clouds. A gust 10 of wind blew, and then another, stronger gust. With the third gust, the wind was blowing steadily 11. Lightning flashed across the ominous 13 clouds.



Mrs. Ashleigh drove up to the house and got out. Grandfather was with her.



“We have good news,” Jessie began.



“Not now, Jessie,” said Mrs. Ashleigh. She didn’t even seem to notice the gate. Her face was worried. “Hurry into the house. We have to get ready. Another hurricane may be on its way!”



“We have a lot of work to do to get ready for it in case it does come,” added Grandfather. “And not much time!”



After that, they didn’t stop moving for a minute. Mrs. Ashleigh checked her supplies to make sure she had plenty of fresh water and flashlight batteries. She told the Aldens to pack up their things, in case they had to evacuate 14 the island. Then they went around closing shutters 15 over the windows and moving things from outside into the house.



Meanwhile, the wind grew louder and stronger. It howled across the narrow, flat island. Rain began to fall in sheets.



“My hat!” cried Henry as the wind blew it away. The hat flew into the air and whirled out of sight before Henry could even chase it.



“The shutters are all up,” said Grandfather. “Time to go inside.”



They gathered around the kitchen table to eat dinner and watch the weather news on the small television that Mrs. Ashleigh kept there.



“What began as a minor 17 storm in the Caribbean has been growing steadily stronger as it moves up the coast,” the weather announcer said. She was standing 18 at the foot of a pier 19, wearing a raincoat. Behind her, angry waves lashed 12 the pilings and sent spray high into the air. “It has now crossed Florida and reached Georgia. Winds of over a hundred miles per hour have been reported. Residents along the coast of Georgia are being evacuated 20.” The picture changed to show cars creeping down an interstate highway. Along the edges of the highway, trees whipped back and forth 21 in the wind.



“Are we going to have to evacuate like that?” asked Benny, his eyes huge.



“We’ll know in another hour or two,” said Mrs. Ashleigh calmly. “Now let’s make sure all of our flashlights are working. Here are extra batteries in case we need them. There’s a flashlight for everyone.”



Something banged hard against the side of the house. Watch began to bark and Benny jumped. “W-what is that?” he asked. “Is it the hurricane?”



“It sounds as if a shutter 16 has come loose,” said Grandfather. “Henry, will you come help me fasten it down?”



Hearing how calm his grandfather sounded, Benny was a little less worried about the storm. When Watch whimpered, he said, “Don’t worry, Watch. I won’t let anything happen to you. If the storm gets too bad, we will leave. Won’t we, Mrs. Ashleigh?”



“Of course, dear,” answered Mrs. Ashleigh.



Even though they wore raincoats and hats and boots, Grandfather and Henry were soaking wet when they came back inside.



On the television, the announcer appeared in front of a map showing where the hurricane was.



“It looks awfully 22 close to us,” said Violet.



“The hurricane is moving closer to the South Carolina coast,” said the announcer. “Residents may have to begin evacuation procedures. Stay tuned 23 — ”



Just then the lights all flickered 24 and went out.



“Oh, no!” cried Benny. Then he hugged Watch and said, “Don’t worry, boy. We have flashlights.”



Even as Benny spoke 25, Mrs. Ashleigh turned her flashlight on. Then she lit candles and set them in the middle of the table. She gave flashlights to Henry and Grandfather Alden so they could go to their bedrooms and change into dry clothes.



“When you come back down,” Mrs. Ashleigh said, “we’ll get a puzzle out of the closet and put it together at the kitchen table by candlelight.”



“Sort of like camping out and sitting around a campfire,” said Jessie bravely.



“May I pick out the puzzle?” asked Benny.



Mrs. Ashleigh nodded. “Take a flashlight to the den 8. The puzzles are in the cabinet there.”



“I know where they are,” said Violet. “Jessie and I brought them back downstairs and put them there.”



“You can come help me and Watch pick out a puzzle, then,” said Benny. The walk from the kitchen to the den in the dark, with the storm roaring outside, was a little scary. But now that Violet was coming with him, Benny wasn’t worried. He turned on his flashlight and pointed it down the hallway. “Just follow me.”



When Benny and Violet returned to the kitchen, Henry and Grandfather were sitting at the kitchen table.



“We picked out a good puzzle,” said Benny. “With five hundred pieces.”



“It’s a picture of a garden,” added Violet, thinking of the Pirate’s Gate on the fence by the garden outside.



Jessie, who was standing near the kitchen window, leaned over to look out. But the shutters had been closed and she couldn’t see anything. She began to worry. What if the thief came and stole the gate in the middle of the hurricane? They wouldn’t even be able to hear it.



As if reading her thoughts, Henry said, “No one could be out in weather like this, could they, Grandfather? The wind is blowing too hard.”



“I don’t think so,” said Grandfather.



Jessie didn’t think so, either. But still, she decided 26 to listen very, very carefully for the thief, just in case.



Mrs. Ashleigh finished putting batteries in the radio and set it on the kitchen counter. They listened as the announcer said, “Still no decision to evacuate . . .”



Then Mrs. Ashleigh turned the puzzle upside down on the table. “Let’s get to work on this puzzle,” she said.



Outside, the storm screamed and howled. Rain battered 27 the house and rattled 28 against the shutters. But inside the house, in the flickering 29 light of the candles, the Boxcar Children were able to stay calm and brave. As the hours passed, even Watch settled down, curling up beneath Benny’s feet as Benny sorted out pieces of the puzzle and fit them into place.



Then suddenly Watch raised his head.



Henry looked up. “Do you hear that?” he asked.



Violet looked up, too. She cocked her head. “It’s not as noisy,” she said. “Is the storm going away?”



“I think it is,” said Grandfather.



Mrs. Ashleigh reached over and fiddled 30 with the dials of the radio. Static crackled through the air. Then the announcer’s voice said, “The hurricane has veered 31 away from the coast. It is going out to sea. Evacuation will not be necessary. Stay tuned for further details.”



Benny dropped the puzzle piece he was holding. “Is the hurricane gone?” he said.



“Almost,” said Jessie.



“Hooray!” said Benny. “Hooray! Do you hear that, Watch? We don’t have to worry anymore.”



But Watch didn’t agree. He ran out from under the table and leaped at the kitchen door and began to bark with all his might.



1 wrought
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的
  • Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
  • It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。
2 batter
v.接连重击;磨损;n.牛奶面糊;击球员
  • The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
  • Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。
3 pointed
adj.尖的,直截了当的
  • 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。
4 awed
adj.充满敬畏的,表示敬畏的v.使敬畏,使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )
  • The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声,人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 pranced
v.(马)腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 )
  • Their horses pranced and whinnied. 他们的马奔腾着、嘶鸣着。 来自辞典例句
  • The little girl pranced about the room in her new clothes. 小女孩穿着新衣在屋里雀跃。 来自辞典例句
6 grills
n.烤架( grill的名词复数 );(一盘)烤肉;格板;烧烤餐馆v.烧烤( grill的第三人称单数 );拷问,盘问
  • Backyard barbecue grills could be proscribed. 里弄烤肉店会被勒令停业的。 来自辞典例句
  • Both side inlets have horizontal grills and incorporate impressive fog lamps. 两侧进气口的水平烤架并纳入令人印象深刻的雾灯。 来自互联网
7 graceful
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的
  • His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
  • The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。
8 den
n.兽穴;秘密地方;安静的小房间,私室
  • There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
  • The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。
9 rumbled
发出隆隆声,发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 轰鸣着缓慢行进; 发现…的真相; 看穿(阴谋)
  • The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
  • Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了,然而,在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声,持续不断。
10 gust
n.阵风,突然一阵(雨、烟等),(感情的)迸发
  • A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来,把前门关上了。
  • A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。
11 steadily
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
12 lashed
adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 );煽动;紧系;怒斥
  • The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
  • The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 ominous
adj.不祥的,不吉的,预兆的,预示的
  • Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
  • There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。
14 evacuate
v.遣送;搬空;抽出;排泄;大(小)便
  • We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵!
  • They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。
15 shutters
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门
  • The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
  • The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。
16 shutter
n.百叶窗;(照相机)快门;关闭装置
  • The camera has a shutter speed of one-sixtieth of a second.这架照像机的快门速度达六十分之一秒。
  • The shutter rattled in the wind.百叶窗在风中发出嘎嘎声。
17 minor
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
18 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
19 pier
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱
  • The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害,专家担心它已不能负重。
  • The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。
20 evacuated
撤退者的
  • Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
  • The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。
21 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。
22 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。
23 tuned
adj.调谐的,已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调
  • The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味,老少皆宜。
  • The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》
24 flickered
(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )
  • The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
  • These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。
25 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。
26 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。
27 battered
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损
  • He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
  • The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。
28 rattled
慌乱的,恼火的
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
29 flickering
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的
  • The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
  • The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。
30 fiddled
v.伪造( fiddle的过去式和过去分词 );篡改;骗取;修理或稍作改动
  • He fiddled the company's accounts. 他篡改了公司的账目。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He began with Palestrina, and fiddled all the way through Bartok. 他从帕勒斯春纳的作品一直演奏到巴塔克的作品。 来自辞典例句
31 veered
v.(尤指交通工具)改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 );(指谈话内容、人的行为或观点)突然改变;(指风) (在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向)逐渐转向;风向顺时针转
  • The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
  • The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
a hundred
acceptable quality limit
accrease
Acopiara
air truck
anti-migration
arthropathia neurotica
axis of ordinates
axoaxonic synapse
background survey
beauticians
bouffant
butanones
centre collector ring
Chuaesan
coast lining
combined type air filter
core barrel cent(e)ring pad on internals support ledge
courants
cyrillas
deltoid ridge
diametical
dithiosemicarbazone
dranse (la drance riviere)
dwte
Escherichia aurescens
exigua
fearnow
fec (forward error correction)
flat stitching
foodgrains
Fort Wellington
gives play to
have a cow
heat-transfer reactor experiment
higgs phenomenon
homeworking
Hämeen Lääni
incubate
invisible rails
Jalostotitlan
juvenilized
kjp
kurarua chujoi
laser plummet
lattice parameter method
leather and prunella
length of buoyancy tank
like the donkey between two bundles of hay
linear depreciation
loop bracket
lucids
mauri
metrographs
Mirikpur
MODOR
Mokulu
moving part
multi-headeds
neuropatic joint disease
nixon
nondefinitive
oncology
order anacanthinis
pattern digitizer
penetration turn
phalium areola
plexiform spindle cell nevus
Polyalthia cheliensis
polypodium polypodioidess
precision cookie
pretermitted
primest
pues
pure aluminum wire
Roquetas
saloonkeeper
SAW device
shaft enclosure
sheward
shoving rake
signal, status
solid solution heat treatment
staphylococcal enterotoxin bs
steel plates for boiler and pressure vessels
stereo cassette player
stove
student personnel file
Sumisu-jima
taenia coefficient
tahtawi
temporary hearing defect
transient neutron slowing down
tribromo-acetyl chloride
trisulpho-
twooshes
typhoid nodule
undefinable
unmodified radiation
unrecalled
voidless
weidemann