儿童英语读物 The Camp-Out Mystery CHAPTER 4 Making Camp

The Aldens put down their burdens and stared at the mess.

“Why would anyone leave a campsite like this?” Violet asked.

“Thoughtlessness,” Mr. Alden answered. “People don’t think about the effect they have on the environment.”

Henry slid off his backpack and set it on the ground. Then, he leaned over and picked up a soda¹ can. Following his lead, everyone chose a spot to clean up. Before long, the campsite was cleared of debris², and the garbage pail under the maple³ tree was nearly filled.

“Now, we can make camp,” Henry said.

“The first thing to do is decide where the cooking and dining areas will be,” Mr. Alden said.

Jessie walked over to a circle of large stones. Charred⁴ wood lay inside. Nearby, there was a picnic table. “How’s this?” she asked.

“Perfect,” Mr. Alden said.

Henry and Benny unrolled a flat piece of canvas to protect their supplies from the weather. While it was spread on the ground, they fastened the six tent poles, four to the ends and two in the middle. Next, Henry found a large stone and pounded six pegs⁶ into the ground. Then, he tied a line that extended from the top of each pole to a peg⁵.

“Okay,” he said. “Time to put up the tent.”

The children raised the first two corner poles.

“Hold them steady,” Henry directed as he tightened⁷ the lines.

They moved to the opposite corner and did the same. When the middle two poles were standing⁸, the job was finished.

“Good job,” Mr. Alden said, “but not quite right.”

“What’s wrong with it, Grandfather?” Benny asked.

“It’s flat,” Mr. Alden pointed⁹ out. “What will happen if it rains?”

“The water will pool on top,” Henry said.

“And probably leak through,” Jessie added.

“I know what to do,” Henry said. He picked up his pounding rock and began driving a corner peg deeper into the ground. He did the same to three other corner pegs but not to the center two poles. When he had finished, the canvas sloped down from the middle. Now, water would run off of it.

Next, they had to choose a spot for their sleeping tent.

“How about under that tree?” Benny asked. “It’ll be nice and shady.”

“It would be cool there,” Grandfather agreed, “but if it storms—”

“Lightning,” Violet said.

“How about right here where I’m standing?” Mr. Alden asked.

The children examined the spot. It was clear—no rocks or roots or poison ivy¹⁰ beds—and it sloped just enough so that rain would run down and not pool.

“It’s a good place for our tent,” Henry said.

Watch pawed the ground. Benny squatted¹¹ beside him. He saw a mound¹² of earth with small holes in it.

“The ants thought it was a good place, too,” he said. “I don’t want to spoil their home.”

They decided¹³ on another location nearer the brook¹⁴. While Mr. Alden and the boys pitched the tent, Jessie and Violet began unpacking¹⁵ supplies under the canvas covering the cooking area.

“We can’t just put things on the ground,” Violet said.

“No,” Jessie agreed. “Everything will get damp and ruined.”

They gathered big rocks and made two stacks several feet apart. These they bridged with the old park building board. It was a perfect table for the supply boxes and the first aid kit¹⁶. The cooler fit underneath¹⁷ with room to open the lid.

The boys had done a good job, too. The sleeping tent was up and the backpacks and sleeping bags were inside.

“Now can we eat?” Benny asked.

“First we have to collect wood for a fire,” Henry said.

Benny ran over to the cooking pit. “There’s wood here.” He pointed to a small woodpile nearby.

“I suppose that’s enough for tonight,” Henry said. “We’ll gather more in the morning.”

“You make the fire,” Jessie said to Henry and Mr. Alden. “We’ll find some long sticks for the hot dogs.” She, Benny, and Violet ran off into the woods.

Henry made a wood teepee in the center of the pit and stuffed some newspaper inside. Mr. Alden got the matches from the tin box in the kitchen tent.

By the time the girls and Benny returned, the fire was burning nicely, and Henry had made a salad of lettuce¹⁸, tomatoes, and shredded¹⁹ cheese, and set the picnic table.

The Aldens roasted their hot dogs.

“I’m going to put my salad on mine,” Benny said. He tore some lettuce into small pieces and cut up a tomato slice. He piled them and a spoonful of cheese on his bun.

“That’s a good idea,” Grandfather said, doing the same.

“Save room for Mrs. McGregor’s cookies,” Jessie reminded everyone.

“I always have room for those!” Benny assured her.

After supper, everyone cleaned up.

“We can burn the paper plates and napkins in the fire,” Henry said.

“And if we put the wet garbage at the outer edge of the fire,” Jessie said, “we can burn it when it dries.”

Finished with the cleanup, they sat around the fire.

“Let’s tell ghost stories,” Henry suggested but everyone was too tired to think of one.

Benny felt something whiz past him. He ducked. “What was that?” he asked.

“I think it was a bat,” Henry said. He pointed upward where small dark shapes swooped²⁰.

“They’re out catching²¹ insects for their supper,” Mr. Alden said. “They’ll be gone soon.”

“It almost hit me!” Benny said.

“Oh, it wouldn’t do that,” Grandfather assured him. “Bats have a very good sense of direction.”

“They have a kind of radar,” Violet told him. “They bounce sound off objects to locate them.”

“Just so they don’t bounce off me!” Benny said.

They all laughed.

Bright stars filled the sky. Everyone leaned back to admire them.

Using his jacket for a pillow, Benny settled against a tree trunk. “I think I’ll stay up all night and look at the stars,” he decided. But he had no sooner said that than his eyes closed, and in a minute he was asleep.

1 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

2 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

3 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

4 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

6 pegs   

n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• She hung up the shirt with two (clothes) pegs. 她用两只衣夹挂上衬衫。 来自辞典例句
• The vice-presidents were all square pegs in round holes. 各位副总裁也都安排得不得其所。 来自辞典例句

7 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• 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。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• 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。

10 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

11 squatted   

v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• He squatted down beside the footprints and examined them closely. 他蹲在脚印旁仔细地观察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He squatted in the grass discussing with someone. 他蹲在草地上与一个人谈话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• 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。

14 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

15 unpacking   

n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• Joe sat on the bed while Martin was unpacking. 马丁打开箱子取东西的时候，乔坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They are unpacking a trunk. 他们正在打开衣箱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

17 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

18 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

19 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 swooped   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。

21 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。