《神奇树屋》 第三十六册 Blizzard of the Blue Moon 08 Back to Life

       Jack¹ clung to Annie. Dianthus cleared the driveway of theCloisters and began to run with ease down the street. His longstrides were so light and graceful², Jack could hardly feel themovement.

As the unicorn³ ran, he held his head high. His long, spiraledhorn pierced the raging storm, seeming to calm the winds andsnow. Jack realized he could feel his fingers and toes again. Hiswhole body began to feel warm.

Dianthus headed down a deserted⁴ parkway along thewaterfront, past an empty bridge. The87bridge's towers and cables formed a silver arc over a wideriver. Whitecaps swept across the water's surface. As the unicorntrotted past the river, the water became still.

Dianthus left the riverside and headed down a city street. Thewind whistled between tall buildings, blowing the snow intogreat drifts. But the unicorn's horn turned the howling wind intoa soft breeze. The wild blowing snow became floating, star-shaped flakes⁷, like the snowflakes on Christmas cards.

As the unicorn trotted⁶ down the street, snowbound taxis andstreetcars started moving again. Lights came on in cafes and jazzclubs. Jack heard happy music coming from inside.

With a calm, steady trot⁵, the unicorn pranced⁸ on through thecity. As he moved past old mansions⁹, broken-down tenements,and shabby hotels, people peeked¹⁰ out of doorways¹¹ and windowsto see why the sounds of the storm had died away. When theycaught sight of Dianthus, with his horn shining in the windlessair, they broke88into joyful¹² smiles. Church bells started ringing through thewhite silence.

Finally Dianthus came to a stone wall bordering Central Park.

He jumped over the wall and landed knee-deep in a heap ofsnow. The unicorn leapt effortlessly out of the drift and canteredover a field and down a slope.

Slowly the clouds parted, and light from the setting sunpoured down.

"Hot corn!" a peddler shouted, plowing¹³ his pushcart¹⁴ throughthe snow.

"Roasted chestnuts¹⁵!" shouted another.

The good smells of the corn and nuts filled the89crisp golden air of the park. The unicorn trotted pastBelvedere Castle. Bill Perkins stood outside, staring up at theclear blue sky.

"Hey, Mr. Perkins, the monster storm's not coming!" shoutedAnnie.

The weatherman saw Jack and Annie on the back of the whiteunicorn. His jaw¹⁶ dropped. Then he smiled and waved.

Jack and Annie rode on. When they passed the statue of thewinged angel, Jack thought he saw her move her great wings.

"Did you see that?" he cried.

"Yes!" said Annie.

When they passed the statue of Balto, Jack heard the sled dogbark.

When they rode past the merry-go-round, Jack heard a chorusof neighs and whinnies accompanied by lively carousel¹⁷ music.

Dianthus pranced down a shimmering¹⁸ pathway. He leapt overa stone wall and cantered over another field.

90The unicorn's horn glistened¹⁹, and the snowy field reflectedgold and copper²⁰ light. Not until the unicorn came to the tree thatheld the tree house did he stop.

Annie hugged the unicorn's long, graceful neck. "Thank you,thank you!" she whispered, and kissed him.

"Yeah, wow," breathed Jack.

Annie looked at Jack over her shoulder. "What now?" sheasked.

"I guess we climb off," said Jack.

"But then what?" Annie asked sadly. "Where does he go?""That's a good question," said Jack.

"He comes with us, of course,"someone said. Jack and Annie gasped²¹.

Balor and Grinda slunk out from behind the tree. Balor carriedthe black rope.

Jack was stunned²². "How-how did you get here so fast?" heasked.

"We took the A train," said Balor. "'Tis actually91a bit faster than riding a unicorn." The boy laughed meanly.

"Shut up, Balor," said Grinda. Then she turned to Jack andAnnie. "I am glad you had a happy little ride. But you can saygood-bye to Dianthus now. We will take him from here.""No, you won't!" said Annie. "Stay away from us!" said Jack.

"Come on, Dianthus, let's go!" said Annie. Before Dianthuscould move, Grinda rushed forward and grabbed his collar withboth hands. The unicorn snorted and shook his head. Grindaclung fiercely to the collar. "Get the rope over his head, Balor!"she yelled. "Now!"Balor looped the black rope into a noose²³ again. The unicorntwisted and turned his head.

Jack kicked at Balor. "Stop!" he yelled. "Get away from us!"Jack felt stupid just yelling and kicking, but he didn't know whatelse to do.

As Balor and Grinda struggled to get the noose over theunicorn's head, Annie pointed²⁴ at them. In a loud voice, sheshouted:

92Fowl of air, appear now here!

Aka-aka-aka-mere!

The black rope fell to the snow. Balor and Grinda started tospin around. They spun²⁵ like two spinning tops. As they spun,they grew smaller and smaller. Jack saw a blur²⁶ of colors: grayand brown, green and white, a dash of orange, a dash of yellow.

The spinning slowly came to a stop. The two scary teenagerswere gone. In their place were two small mallard ducks.

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 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。

3 unicorn   

n.(传说中的)独角兽

参考例句：

• The unicorn is an imaginary beast.独角兽是幻想出来的动物。
• I believe unicorn was once living in the world.我相信独角兽曾经生活在这个世界。

4 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

5 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

6 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

7 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

8 pranced   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• 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

9 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

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

11 doorways   

n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The houses belched people; the doorways spewed out children. 从各家茅屋里涌出一堆一堆的人群，从门口蹦出一群一群小孩。 来自辞典例句
• He rambled under the walls and doorways. 他就顺着墙根和门楼遛跶。 来自辞典例句

12 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

13 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句

14 pushcart   

n.手推车

参考例句：

• He peddled fish from a pushcart.他推着手推车沿街卖鱼。
• Children of slum dwellers play under a pushcart in New Delhi,India.印度新德里，贫民窟的孩子们在一辆手推车下玩耍。

15 chestnuts   

n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马

参考例句：

• A man in the street was selling bags of hot chestnuts. 街上有个男人在卖一包包热栗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Talk of chestnuts loosened the tongue of this inarticulate young man. 因为栗子，正苦无话可说的年青人，得到同情他的人了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

16 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

17 carousel   

n.旋转式行李输送带

参考例句：

• Riding on a carousel makes you feel dizzy.乘旋转木马使你头晕。
• We looked like a bunch of awkward kids riding a slow-moving carousel.我们看起来就像一群骑在旋转木马上的笨拙的孩子。

18 shimmering   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
• The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句

19 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

21 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》

22 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

23 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

24 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。

25 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

26 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。