《神奇树屋》 第二十册 Dingoes at Dinnertime 02 Sleepyhead

　　Jack¹ opened his eyes. Glaring hot sunlight floodedinto the tree house.

"Neat hats," said Annie.

She and Jack were both wearing hats.

"I think they will protect us from the sun" said Jack.

He and Annie looked out the window. Teddylooked out, too.

The tree house had landed in a scrubby forest filledwith droopy plants and dry brown trees.

"Man, this place needs rain," said Jack.

He sat back on his heels and looked at the picture ofwhere they had landed in the Australia book.

He read:

Australia's forests go through times of drought (sayDROWT). A drought is a long period of time withoutany rain. The same forest can be flooded by heavyrains at other times of the year.

Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

Drought = no rain"Hey, Jack," said Annie. "Doesn't it smell like acookout?"Jack sniffed² the air. It did smell like a cookout.

Jack looked out the window. A wisp of smokefloated above some trees in the distance.

"Maybe people are camping over there," Jack said.

"Let's go see," said Annie.

Jack put his notebook and the Australia book intohis backpack.

"Put Teddy in there, too," said Annie.

Jack slipped the little dog into the pack. Then hefollowed Annie down the ladder.

When they stepped onto the ground, the hot windnearly blew their hats off.

"The campers must be over there," said Annie.

She pointed³ at the smoke in the blue sky. Theystarted walking across a sun-baked clearing.

They passed bushes and scrawny trees. Lizards⁴ ranover the dry, cracked ground.

Arf! Arf! Teddy barked from Jack's pack.

"Whoa!" said Jack.

A pair of huge, funny-looking birds walked outfrom behind a bush.

They were taller than Jack. They had fat bodies,long, skinny legs, and long, skinny necks.

"Who are you?" Annie asked the strange pair.

Jack opened his pack and took out the Australiabook. He found a picture of the birds.

"They're emus," he said. He read aloud:

The emu (say EE-myoo) is a large bird that doesn'tfly. It can run as fast as thirty miles per hour"Wow, that's fast," said Annie.

Arf Teddy jumped out of Jack's backpack andbarked at the strange birds.

The emus gave the little dog a haughty⁵ look. Thenthey turned and walked proudly away.

Jack wrote in his notebook:

EmusProud birdsDon't fly"Look, a live teddy bear!" said Annie.

Jack looked up.

Annie ran to a tree at the edge of the clearing.

The "live teddy bear" was nestled in the fork of thetree.

"Aww, it's so cute!" whispered Annie.

The creature was fast asleep. He had large roundears, a black nose, and a furry⁶ body. His feet had long,curved claws.

"It's a koala bear" said Jack.

"Hi, sleepyhead," Annie said to the koala.

She patted his soft fur. He opened his big eyes andlooked calmly at her.

Jack found a koala picture in the Australia book. Heread:

The koala is actually not a bear at all. It's amarsupial (say mar-SOUP-ce-ul), like a kangaroo. Amarsupial mother carries her babies in a stomachpouch.

"That's neat," said Annie.

Jack kept reading:

Koalas mostly eat the leaves of gum frees, socutting down gum trees to clear land has hurt them.

Wildfires are also a threat. Koalas are slow-movingand can't escape the smoke and flames.

Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

Wildfire are a threat to koalas"What's wrong, sleepyhead?" Annie asked thekoala. "Don't you feel well?""Don't worry," said Jack. "Listen to this--" He readmore from the book:

Koalas, like kangaroos, are active at night and sleepduring the day, when the sun is hot. The name"koala" means "no drink," because koalas rarely drinkwater. They get moisture from the leaves they eat.

Jack licked his lips. His mouth felt dry. "Speaking ofwater," he said, "I'm thirsty.

"Me, too," said Annie.

Teddy was panting, as if he was thirsty, also.

"Let's find those campers," said Jack, sighing.

"Maybe they can give us some water."Jack put Teddy back into his pack. He tucked thebook under his arm, in case he needed to looksomething up.

They began walking again. Suddenly, there was aloud, harsh cackle.

"Yikes," said Annie.

"What was that?" said Jack.

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 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

5 haughty   

adj.傲慢的，高傲的

参考例句：

• He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
• They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。

6 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。