儿童英语读物 The Ghost Ship Mystery CHAPTER 1 All Aboard!

Four shivering children stood next to a big black stove. They were all wrapped up in white towels.

“I think my hat blew a-w-w-w-a-y,” six-year-old Benny Alden said through chattering¹ teeth. “I hope it didn’t land in the ocean!”

James Alden, the children’s grandfather, gave Benny a hug. “Not to worry, Benny. Mr. Pease got all our things from the car nice and dry. See?”

Just then, a man with a jolly face stepped into the kitchen of the Black Dog Inn. He was carrying several suitcases and wearing a bright yellow rain slicker. On his head was Benny’s missing sailor cap. “All hands on deck!” the man said with a smile.

Benny grinned and saluted². “That’s my hat on your head,” he told the man.

Everyone laughed. “Mr. Pease, these are my grandchildren,” James Alden said. “The boy who belongs to that sailor cap is the youngest, Benny. And those three shivering children are Violet, Jessie, and Henry. You’ll be able to tell them apart when they’re not all dressed up in towels. Mrs. Pease thought they might like to dry themselves in your warm kitchen. Why, that wind and rain just soaked through us in no time at all.”

“Indeed!” Mr. Pease said. “That’s a gale³ blowing up. Yessir. First one of the season. Ragged⁴ Cove⁵ is about to be hit by a storm. A big one, too. You folks are in for an adventure.”

“Adventures are what we like!” announced Henry, who was fourteen.

“Your grandfather told me you’d say that!” Mr. Pease said. He put the sailor cap on Benny’s head. “And he said nobody’s better in an emergency than his grandchildren. I don’t know if you mind being guests who help instead of guests who get help. With this storm coming up so fast, I could use a few extra hands.”

“I’m a good worker,” Benny said.

“And a good eater,” Mrs. Pease added as she came into the big cheery kitchen. “Benny has already eaten one of the johnnycakes I finished frying up on the griddle. I’ll have to start calling them Bennycakes. How about another one, Benny?”

“Yum,” Benny said.

“First I’ll take you up to your room so you can put on some dry clothes,” Mrs. Pease said. She led the children up the creaky stairs of the old whaling captain’s house that was now an inn. The Aldens were staying there while Mr. Alden did business in the old seaport⁶ town of Ragged Cove, Massachusetts.

“I had to send the staff home early because of the storm,” Mrs. Pease told the children. “I’m so glad you don’t mind pitching in.”

“We can be your junior staff,” twelve-year-old Jessie said. “We like to help out.”

“Mr. Pease and I are glad to have some young people at the Black Dog. Our own grandchildren live a long way off. We don’t see nearly enough of them,” Mrs. Pease said. “Now here’s your room. It’s called the Crow’s Nest. It’s taller than the rest of the inn and looks out over everything, just like the crow’s nest on a ship.”

Mrs. Pease opened a narrow wooden door to reveal a snug⁷ room with tidy bunk⁸ beds and chests built into the walls.

“Oh, look, a little porch right outside our room!” cried ten-year-old Violet. “I can go out there to paint seascapes when the weather gets better.”

“That’s called a widow’s walk, Violet,” Mrs. Pease explained. “Back in the whaling days of Ragged Cove, the wives of sailors could stand there and watch for their husbands’ ships to return.”

“Then why isn’t it called a wife’s walk?” Benny asked.

Jessie Alden, who loved history, answered. “Well, Benny, so many of the husbands died at sea, these lookouts⁹ got to be called widows’ walks.”

“That’s so sad,” Violet said in a quiet voice.

“I bet a lot of ships were lost on days like this,” Henry added.

“Quite a lot,” Mrs. Pease told the children. “My mind is at ease now that Mr. Pease has retired¹⁰ from his fishing boat. I don’t have to come up here to look out for him on these stormy days. He’s a lot safer helping¹¹ me run the Black Dog Inn than piloting the Sea Dog.”

Benny finished drying his hair with his towel, and put on his sailor cap. “We have a dog Watch, but he had to stay home. He’s not a sea dog, though—he’s a plain old house dog. But before we came to live with Grandfather, he was a watchdog in our boxcar in the woods. We fixed¹² up the boxcar all by ourselves after our parents died. We lived there until Grandfather found us.”

Mrs. Pease helped Benny straighten out his cap so it looked like a real sailor’s hat. “Well, you’ll have to meet Blackie, our watchdog. You can’t run an inn called the Black Dog and not have a black dog, right?”

“Right!” the children agreed.

The Aldens changed into dry clothes in the tiny boat-sized bathroom just off their room. It felt good to put on dry shirts and pants.

Mr. Pease knocked on the door of the Crow’s Nest. “I’m needing a first mate and some cabin boys and girls,” he announced. “Even green hands will do!”

Benny raised both hands. “What about these? They’re not green, but they’re clean.”

Mr. Pease laughed. “So they are. ‘Green hands’ are what we sailors like to call newcomers.”

The Aldens lined up to hear what Mr. Pease wanted them to do.

“Now,” Mr. Pease began, “I just heard on the radio that the worst of the gale is going to hit in a few hours. They’ll be needing me down at the docks to secure the boats. If you mates can help my wife pull in all the shutters¹⁴ and deliver emergency supplies to the guests, that would make everything shipshape.”

“Let’s get started,” Henry said.

Mr. Pease showed the children how to pull in the shutters. The Aldens went around to all the windows and did the same. Henry was about to pull down the last latch¹⁵ when Benny said, “Hey, look out that way!” He pointed¹⁶ toward the ocean. “There are lights flashing over there.”

The other children raced to the window and looked out. Sure enough, they could see wavy¹⁷ fingers of light shining on and off in the distance.

“What are those lights, Mr. Pease?” Henry asked. “A lighthouse? It couldn’t be a fire since it’s raining so hard.”

Mr. Pease seemed to know right away what the boys were talking about. “Well, it might be lightning. But some folks around here believe those are the lights from a ghost ship, the Flying Cloud. Sank in 1869, less than a mile from here, out by Howling Cliffs. Yessir, that’s what folks believe.”

For once Benny Alden didn’t have anything to say. His mouth formed a little circle of surprise, but no words came out.

Violet couldn’t take her eyes off the swirling¹⁸ lights. “A gh—ghost ship?” she said in a small voice.

“Now, now, it’s probably just lightning,” Mr. Pease told Violet when he saw how scared she looked. “The only time we see the lights is when there’s a big storm like this. Probably just our mixed-up weather. Who knows?”

Violet clicked down the shutter¹³ latch. She didn’t want to see those strange lights anymore. The room was dim now.

“Your grandfather told me you children always have flashlights handy,” Mr. Pease said. “Well, bring ’em along. Never know when the power might go out in a gale like this.”

Benny liked this thought almost as much as the idea of a ghost ship. He found his nice yellow flashlight and stuck it in his pocket.

There were twelve guest rooms in the Black Dog Inn, so the Aldens were very busy for the next few hours. They delivered emergency flashlights and bottled water to every room and helped Grandfather build a roaring fire in the sitting room downstairs.

Soon the storm was howling against the building.

“It’s nice to be inside on a day like this,” Mr. Alden said. He looked around the cozy¹⁹ sitting room. The Black Dog Inn was snug as could be.

Also snug as could be was Blackie, the Peases’ black Labrador. He thumped²⁰ his tail a few times when the Aldens patted him. Then he went right back to his afternoon nap by the fireplace.

“Blackie spent the last couple of hours with Mr. Pease down at the docks,” Mrs. Pease explained. “Everybody with a boat is bringing it in or anchoring it extra tight. The poor dog is tired from all the excitement.”

“We’re not!” Benny said. “We’re having fun!”

“That’s good,” said Mrs. Pease. “I’m getting all my evening cooking underway now, in case the electricity goes out later. Why don’t you children relax and curl up by the fire like Blackie?”

Now curling up by a fire wasn’t Benny Alden’s idea of excitement. Instead he followed Mrs. Pease into the kitchen.

“May I help make something?” Benny asked. “Mrs. McGregor, our housekeeper²¹, likes us to help her cook.”

“I certainly like a good helper myself,” Mrs. Pease said. She handed Benny a long wooden spoon. “You can stir this cornmeal batter²² until you don’t see any dry spots.”

Benny boosted himself up on a stool and stood over a big bowl of yellow batter. He stirred and stirred. “What is this anyway?” he asked Mrs. Pease.

“Cornmeal batter for Bennycakes!” she answered with a laugh. “At breakfast we have them with sausages and maple²³ syrup²⁴. At tea-time, we eat them with jam or good, sweet butter. The Black Dog Inn is famous for them.”

When the other children came into the kitchen to check on Benny they found him watching Mrs. Pease drop spoonfuls of the yellow batter onto a sizzling griddle on the big black stove.

“Violet and I can flip²⁵ them,” Jessie said. “Henry and Grandfather are outside tying down the lawn and porch furniture.”

Soon, the three Aldens had a golden pile of warm cakes stacked and ready to take out to the sitting room. The guests had just gathered around the tea table when a huge gust²⁶ of wind rattled²⁷ the windows and shutters. The lights dimmed a few times, went back on, then went dark for good.

Everyone gasped²⁸, but the firelight and the Aldens’ flashlights made everyone feel safe. Mrs. Pease brought in some battery-powered lights so their guests could go on reading and playing games.

Mrs. Pease opened a big wooden chest. “Here are some nice thick blankets if anyone feels chilly,” she said. “We’ll be losing heat soon, so anyone who wants to sleep down here should feel free. Henry Alden has volunteered to keep the fires roaring until we get power back.”

“Let’s get our sleeping bags,” Jessie whispered to Violet. “We can snuggle by the fire with Blackie. Then it won’t matter a bit that the heat is off.”

A few minutes later the girls had laid out all the sleeping bags in the sitting room.

Benny was the first one to get inside his. “It’s time for stories,” he announced.

“Here! Here!” several guests who were also in the sitting room agreed.

An older man held up a green book. “How about a story from this collection of sea tales? I just started to read a ghost story called ‘Watery Grave: The Wreck²⁹ of the Flying Cloud.’ It’s about a ship that went down right near Ragged Cove.”

“Oooh,” Violet and Benny said. They pulled their sleeping bags up to their chins.

The man with the book turned to Jessie. “My old eyes aren’t the best in this dim light. Now young lady, I’ve noticed you have a nice clear voice and sharp eyes. How about reading us the tale?”

Benny looked up at Jessie with hopeful eyes. “Would you, Jessie? Please? Read us something scary.”

Jessie opened the faded old book and began to read.

1 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

2 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

4 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

5 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

6 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

7 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

8 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

9 lookouts   

n.寻找（ 某人/某物）( lookout的名词复数 )；是某人（自己）的问题；警戒；瞭望台

参考例句：

• Lookouts were spotted all along the coast. 沿海岸都布置了监视哨。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Lookouts and leadsmen in bulky life jackets stumbled and slipped after him. 监视哨和测深员穿着饱鼓鼓的救生衣，跌跌撞撞地跟在他后面。 来自辞典例句

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

13 shutter   

n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置

参考例句：

• The camera has a shutter speed of one-sixtieth of a second.这架照像机的快门速度达六十分之一秒。
• The shutter rattled in the wind.百叶窗在风中发出嘎嘎声。

14 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

15 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

16 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。

17 wavy   

adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• She drew a wavy line under the word.她在这个词的下面画了一条波纹线。
• His wavy hair was too long and flopped just beneath his brow.他的波浪式头发太长了，正好垂在他的眉毛下。

18 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

19 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

20 thumped   

v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Dave thumped the table in frustration . 戴夫懊恼得捶打桌子。
• He thumped the table angrily. 他愤怒地用拳捶击桌子。

21 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

22 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

23 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。

24 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

25 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

26 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

27 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

28 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》

29 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。