CHAPTER XX SOME NOISE

 It was good to see the familiar faces once again, to hear Roy’s banter¹ and Pee-wee’s vociferous² talk. And now that he was back among them, the summer did indeed seem like a nightmare, a thing to be forgotten. It was not hard for Westy to forget his disgrace (or at least to put it out of his thoughts) in the merry, bustling³ troop atmosphere.

 

NOW THAT HE WAS BACK AMONG THEM, THE SUMMER SEEMED LIKE A NIGHTMARE.

They met in the barn at Roy’s house up on Blakeley’s Hill, where a fine troop meeting room had been fixed⁴ up, with electric lights and a radio that never worked.

“Allow me to introduce the honorable Westy Martin,” shouted Roy, standing⁵ on the old kitchen table which his mother had donated to the cause of scouting⁶; “Silver Fox in good standing except when he’s sitting down. Hey, Westy, we’re going to have refreshments⁸ on account of all being so fresh, that’s what my father says—I should worry. Hey, Westy, Pee-wee says next summer you’re going to take your rifle to Coney Island and shoot the chutes—he’s so dumb he thinks chutes are wild animals.”

“Next summer I’m going away with the troop,” said Westy.

“The pleasure is ours,” Roy shouted. “We can stand it if you can. Temple Camp wasn’t like the same place without you—it was better. Did you hear about Warde, how he’s going to get his head in the fly-paper, I mean his face in the newspaper? He’s already rejected by an overwhelming majority.”

“I don’t know anything but what Pee-wee told me,” said Westy, speaking as much to Warde as to Roy, “but I’m for you all right.”

“And you ought to be proud of your patrol,” said the genial⁹, familiar voice of Mr. Ellsworth, their scoutmaster, trying to reach Westy with his hand.

“Hurrah for the Silver-plated Foxes,” shouted Roy.

“If the leader of the Silver-plated Foxes will give me the floor for a few minutes,” laughed Mr. Ellsworth, “we can get down to business and then——”

“Have the refreshments,” shouted Pee-wee. “Everybody sit down.”

“Also shut up,” shouted Roy.

“Also listen,” said Mr. Ellsworth.

“Absolutely, positively,” said Roy. “First let’s give three cheers on account of Westy being back, I mean three groans¹⁰.”

“Then,” said Mr. Ellsworth, “as our sprightly¹¹ leader of the Silver Foxes would say, let’s have a large chunk¹² of silence——”

“And very little of that,” shouted Roy.

“You’re crazy,” shouted Pee-wee.

“We’re proud of it,” shouted Roy.

“Shut up, everybody,” shouted Doc Carson.

“How can I shut up when I wasn’t saying anything?” thundered Pee-wee.

“Shut up, anyway,” shouted Roy. “Three cheers for Westy Martin down off the farm. How are the pigs, Westy?”

“Pretty well, how are all your folks?” Westy was inspired to answer.

“No sooner said than stung,” said Roy. “If I said anything I’m sorry for I’m glad of it.”

“Suppose you say nothing at all,” laughed Mr. Ellsworth.

“The pleasure is mine,” said Roy, subsiding¹³.

“Scouts¹⁴,” said Mr. Ellsworth, having gained the floor at last. “This is a special meeting for a purpose which you all know about except Westy——”

“I told him!” shouted Pee-wee.

“And he will become familiar with the matter as we proceed,” Mr. Ellsworth continued. “As all of us know, the Rotary¹⁵ Club of Bridgeboro has done a very splendid and public-spirited thing. This organization has offered a reward to the scout⁷ of Rockvale County who shall be selected as the one who has done the most conspicuous¹⁶ good turn during the summer. This award, as we know, is a free trip to the Yellowstone National Park, where a national jamboree for Boy Scouts is to be held.

“Special stress was laid upon one or two requirements which would lift the good turn out of the class of simple every-day kindness and helpfulness to others. That is, as I understand it, the winning good turn must have something in the way of heroism¹⁷ in it. I don’t mean simply physical heroism, of course, but heroism of soul, if I might put it so. Sacrifice, courage—I think we all know what is meant.

“According to the printed letter received by our troop (and by every troop in the county, I suppose) it is our privilege to select by vote the scout among us who has done the most conspicuous good turn. On last Monday, Labor¹⁸ Day, the period for performance of such good turn closed. In accordance with the printed letter received we had an informal vote and decided¹⁹ that Warde Hollister of the Silver Fox Patrol is entitled to the award, so far as our troop is concerned. There was only one absent member and that was Westy Martin. This, of course, we all know and I’m just running over the matter so that our action may be thoroughly²⁰ understood and deliberate.

“In accordance with requirements I, as scoutmaster of a contesting troop, have written a report embodying²¹ the deed or exploit which Warde did and which we purpose to present to these gentlemen for their consideration. I am now going to read this for the approval of all of you and when I have finished I shall ask all of you to sign it. Your signatures will be your votes, and in this sense they will be perfunctory, as we have already had an unanimous vote. If any of you scouts want to criticize or add anything to my description of the exploit, sing out and don’t hesitate.”

“I will,” shouted Pee-wee at the top of his voice.

1 banter   

n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑

参考例句：

• The actress exchanged banter with reporters.女演员与记者相互开玩笑。
• She engages in friendly banter with her customers.她常和顾客逗乐。

2 vociferous   

adj.喧哗的，大叫大嚷的

参考例句：

• They are holding a vociferous debate.他们在吵吵嚷嚷地辩论。
• He was a vociferous opponent of Conservatism.他高声反对保守主义。

3 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

4 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。

5 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。

6 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

7 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

8 refreshments   

n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待

参考例句：

• We have to make a small charge for refreshments. 我们得收取少量茶点费。
• Light refreshments will be served during the break. 中间休息时有点心供应。

9 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

10 groans   

n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• There were loud groans when he started to sing. 他刚开始歌唱时有人发出了很大的嘘声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was a weird old house, full of creaks and groans. 这是所神秘而可怕的旧宅，到处嘎吱嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 sprightly   

adj.愉快的，活泼的

参考例句：

• She is as sprightly as a woman half her age.她跟比她年轻一半的妇女一样活泼。
• He's surprisingly sprightly for an old man.他这把年纪了，还这么精神，真了不起。

12 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

13 subsiding   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• The flooded river was subsiding rapidly. 泛滥的河水正在迅速退落。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gradually the tension was subsiding, gradually the governor was relenting. 风潮渐渐地平息了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

14 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

15 rotary   

adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的

参考例句：

• The central unit is a rotary drum.核心设备是一个旋转的滚筒。
• A rotary table helps to optimize the beam incidence angle.一张旋转的桌子有助于将光线影响之方式角最佳化。

16 conspicuous   

adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的

参考例句：

• It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。
• Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。

17 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

19 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

20 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

21 embodying   

v.表现( embody的现在分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• Every instrument constitutes an independent contract embodying a payment obligation. 每张票据都构成一份独立的体现支付义务的合同。 来自口语例句
• Fowth, The aesthetical transcendency and the beauty embodying the man's liberty. \" 第四部分：审美的超越和作为人类自由最终体现的“美”。 来自互联网