《神奇树屋》 第十七册 Tonight On The Titanic 04 Put on your Lifebelts!

　　Jack¹ and Annie slipped through a door off the boatdeck. Teddy was at their heals.

"WOW" breathed Annie.

"Arf Arf!"Teddy barkedThey were at the top of the empty guard stairway.

It was beautiful. It was made of dark glossy² wood. Ahuge dome³ with lights hung above it.

At the top of the stairs was a fancy clock. Thehands of the clock were at 12:20.

31"Oh, man, it's twenty minutes after midnight!" saidJack. "The ship's going down in two hours!"They hurried down the carpeted steps and into thefirst-class hallway. Teddy followed along.

Jack looked at the map in the book. "These are thestaterooms," he said. "This hall will take us to thethird-class open deck.""Hey, look," said Annie. "The floor's slantingdown."Jack caught his breath. She was right. "That meansthe front of the ship is already sinking," he said.

Just then, a man in a white uniform came down thehall.

He knocked on the doors.

"Put on your life belts at once and come up to theboat deck!" he called.

Men and women stumbled out of their rooms. Theywore elegant robes made of shiny cloth and velvet⁵.

"What's going on?" a woman asked. "There's been alittle accident," the man in the uniform saidcheerfully.

"Oh, how silly," said the woman.

"It's not silly!" said Annie. "Do what he says!""Arf Arf"Teddy barked, as if he agreed with Annie.

"Shhh, Teddy!" said Jack.

He picked up the little dog. Then he and Anniehurried down the hall. They crossed the third-classopen deck, where more people were standing⁶.

These people were not dressed in fancy clothes.

They mostly wore plain, dark coats. They didn't seemworried either. They were all joking and laughing.

Jack and Annie slipped through the crowd. Theywent into a big smoky room.

Four men were playing cards.

A woman played the piano. A young couple dancedto the music.

"Put on your life belts and go up to the boat deck!"Annie shouted.

The people looked at Annie in surprise. The cardplayers smiled at her.

She opened her mouth to yell again, but Jack pulledher out the door.

"Come on," he said. "We have to get down to thethird-class cabins before it's too late."They hurried down another hall. Thenthey climbed down another stairway. Jack carriedTeddy the whole way.

At the bottom of the stairs, they rounded a corner,and they both gasped⁷.

The floor was really slanting⁴ down here, and watersloshed at the end of a hallway. "The Titanic⁸ issinking," said Jack.

"But no one understands!" said Annie.

"I know," said Jack. It made him feel terribly sad.

Teddy whined⁹. Jack buried his face in the littledog's fur.

"Come on!" said Annie.

She began banging on the cabin doors. The doorsswung open. The cabins were all empty.

"The people from this hallway must be the ones upnear the lounge," said Jack. "Maybe we should godown to a lower deck."He started to walk back to the stairs. ButTeddy began barking furiously"What's wrong with him?" said Jack. "I don't know,"said Annie.

Suddenly, the dog leaped out of Jack's arms. Hecharged down the hall.

He was running straight toward the, water!

"Watch out!" cried Jack.

He and Annie ran after Teddy.

The dog began barking at a closed door. The dooropened.

A very small boy peeked¹⁰ out.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• 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。

2 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• 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。

3 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

4 slanting   

倾斜的，歪斜的

参考例句：

• The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
• The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。

5 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

6 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。

7 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• 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》

8 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

9 whined   

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

10 peeked   

v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• 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