《神奇树屋》 第二十册 Dingoes at Dinnertime 03 Big Foot

　　The loud cry rang again through the dry air.

Teddy barked.

Jack¹ and Annie turned around in the clearing. Itwas hard to tell where the sound was coming from.

The terrible cackle came again.

"There!" said Annie. She pointed² at a bird in a gumtree. The bird had brown feathers and a large headwith a long beak³.

It stared down at Jack and Annie. Then it let outanother cackle.

"Weird⁴," said Jack.

He found the bird in his book and read:

The kookaburra (say KOOK-uk-burr. uk) is the bestknown bird of Australia. There is even a popular songabout it. The kookaburra is also called the "laughingdonkey." This is because the strange sound it makesreminds people of a braying⁵ donkey.

"I know that song!" said Annie. She began singing:

"Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree-ee. Merry,merry king of the bush is he-ee..."Jack wrote in his notebook:

Kookaburra - a big kookAnnie stopped singing. "Hey," she said. "There'sanother weird thing.""Where?" said Jack.

Annie pointed to a big bluish tan lump lying in ashallow, dusty hole.

"Is it alive?" said Jack.

They stepped closer to the big lump.

"It looks like it's breathing," said Annie.

The lump was an animal lying on it back. Its pawswere crossed over its chest.

It had huge feet, large ears, a face like a deer's, anda very long tail. It also had a very fat stomach.

Just then, a small head peered out of its stomach.

"Whoa!" said Jack.

"Oh, wow! It's a kangaroo with her baby in herpouch!" said Annie.

"Great!" said Jack. "Remember we have to get a giftfrom a kangaroo!"Their voices woke the kangaroo. The animalJumped up from her shallow bed.

She glared at Jack and Annie. Her baby peeked⁷ outof her pouch⁶.

The mother kangaroo gave an angry stamp.

"Oh, we're sorry!" Annie said. "We didn't mean towake you up."The kangaroo eyed Annie curiously⁸. Then she tooka giant hop⁹ toward her.

Copying the kangaroo, Annie hopped¹⁰ toward thebig animal.

The kangaroo hopped again.

Annie hopped.

The kangaroo and Annie began hopping¹¹ aroundeach other. They looked as if they were dancing.

Jack couldn't believe how graceful¹² the kangaroowas. She seemed to fly through the air, then land assoftly as a butterfly.

He looked up "kangaroo" in his book and read:

The kangaroo is the most famous of the marsupials.

The female carries her baby, known as a "joey," in herpouch. Scientists call the kangaroo a "macro-pod,"which means "big foot." And big feet help a kangaroohop higher than any other animal in the world. With a running leap, a large kangaroo can jump over aschool bus.

"Forget the hopping contest, Annie," Jack called.

"She can out-hop you by a mile."He pulled out his notebook and wrote:

Kangaroo"big foot"can jump over a school bus!

The kangaroo began stamping her feet again.

"What's wrong?" said Annie.

The kangaroo froze.

Grrrr! Teddy growled¹³ from Jack's backpack.

Some nearby bushes moved.

A moment later, three dogs crept silently into theclearing.

They were sand-colored and mean looking.

Teddy growled once more.

But the dogs crept toward the kangaroo.

Suddenly, the mother kangaroo Sprang into the air,away from the dogs. The dogs chased after her.

"Stop!" cried Annie. "Stop! Leave her alone!"As the kangaroo jumped, she turned in midair andlanded facing a different direction. She thenzigzagged over rocks and bushes.

Howling, the wild dogs raced after the kangarooand her baby.

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 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。

3 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

4 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

5 braying   

v.发出驴叫似的声音( bray的现在分词 )；发嘟嘟声；粗声粗气地讲话（或大笑）；猛击

参考例句：

• A donkey was braying on the hill behind the house. 房子后面的山上传来驴叫声。 来自互联网
• What's the use of her braying out such words? 她粗声粗气地说这种话有什么用呢？ 来自互联网

6 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

7 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

8 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

9 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

10 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

11 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

12 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• 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。

13 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》