CHAPTER VIII THE SKATING RACE

 Daddy Blake and the two children glided¹ to and fro over the ice of the frozen² lake on their sharp steel skates. Soon all their cheeks were red and rosy³, and they felt as warm inside as though they had taken some hot chocolate at the corner drug store.

 

"Daddy," asked Hal, "what makes you warm when you run fast, or skate?"

 

"It is because your heart pumps so much more blood up inside your body," explained Daddy Blake. "Our blood is just the same to our bodies as coal is to a steam engine. The more coal the fireman puts under the boiler⁴ (that is if it all burn well, and there is a good draft) the hotter the fire is, and the more steam there is made."

 

"Is our blood like steam?" asked Mab, as she tried to peep down at her red nose and cheeks. But she could not see them very well so she looked at Hal's.

 

"Well, our blood is something like steam," said Daddy Blake, with a laugh. "That is if we didn't have any blood we could not move around, and live and breathe, any more than an engine could move if it had no steam.

 

"You see we eat food, which is fuel, or, just what coal and wood are to an engine. The food is changed into blood inside our bodies, and our heart pumps this blood through our arteries⁵, which are like steam pipes. Our heart is really a pump, you know; a very wonderful pump."

 

"My heart is pumping hard," said Hal, putting his hand over his thumping⁶ chest.

 

"Well," went on his father, "the reason for that is, that when we run, or skate fast, our body uses more blood, just as an engine which is going fast uses more steam than one going slowly. The heart has to pump faster to send more blood to our arms and legs, and all over, and whenever anything goes fast, it is warmer than when it goes slowly.

 

"If you rub your finger slowly over the window-pane, your finger will not be very warm, but if you rub it back and forth⁷ as fast as you can, your finger-tip will soon be almost warm enough to burn you.

 

"That is something like what happens when you run quickly. The blood goes through your body so much faster, and your heart beats so much harder, trying to keep up, that you are soon warm. And it is a good thing to exercise that way, for it makes the blood move faster, and thus by using up the old blood, you make room for new, and fresh.

 

"But I guess we've had enough talk about our hearts now," spoke⁸ Daddy Blake with a laugh. "We'll eat some lunch and then take home our fish."

 

Daddy Blake built a little fire on the shore, near the frozen lake, and over this blaze⁹, when the flames were leaping up, and cracking, he heated the chocolate he had brought. Then it was poured out into cups, and nice chicken sandwiches were passed on little wooden plates.

 

"Isn't this fun!" cried Mab as she sipped¹⁰ the last of her chocolate.

 

"Indeed it is," agreed Hal. "I'm coming skating over to this lake every day!"

 

"Well, I guess not every day," spoke Daddy Blake with a smile. "But we'll come as often as we can, for I want you to learn to be good skaters. And besides, there may be snow soon, and that will spoil the ice for us."

 

"Oh, I hope it doesn't snow for a long time," sighed Mab.

 

"So do I!" echoed¹¹ her brother. "But, if it does, we can have some other fun. Daddy will take us coasting; won't you?"

 

"I guess so," answered Mr. Blake.

 

The lunch things were packed in the basket, and then Hal and Mab went back to where the pickerel fish they had caught were left lying on the ice.

 

"Why, they're frozen stiff¹²!" Hal cried, as he picked up one fish, which was like a stick of wood.

 

"That shows you how cold it is," said Mr. Blake. "But mamma can thaw¹³ out the fish by putting them in water, and we can have them for dinner to-morrow."

 

"When are we coming skating again?" asked Hal as they were on their way home.

 

"Oh, in a few days," his father promised. "Meanwhile you and Mab can practice on the pond near home, and then you can have a race."

 

"Oh, good!" cried Mab. "And I'll win!"

 

"Huh! I guess not!" exclaimed Hal. "Boys always win races; don't they,

Daddy."

"Well, not always," said Mr. Blake. "And Mab is becoming a good little skater."

 

"Well, I'll win!" declared Hal. "You see if I don't!"

 

The next day was too cold for the children to go skating with their Daddy, but a little later in the week it was warmer, and one afternoon, coming home early from the office Mr. Blake said:

 

"Come on now. I hear you two youngsters¹⁴ have been practicing skating on the pond, so we'll go over there and have a race."

 

"Hurray!" cried Hal.

 

"Oh, I do hope I win!" exclaimed Mab.

 

There were not many other skaters on the ice when the children and their father reached it Mr. Blake marked off a place, by drawing two lines on the ice with his skate. The space between them was about as long as from the Blake's front gate to their back fence.

 

"Now, Hal and Mab," said Daddy Blake, "take your places on this first line. And when I call 'Go!' start off. The one who reaches the other line first will win."

 

Hal and Mab took their places. They were so eager to start that they stepped over the line, before it was time.

 

"Go back," said Daddy Blake, smiling. Finally they were both evenly on the line. The other skaters came up to watch.

 

"Go!" suddenly cried Daddy Blake.

1 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

3 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

4 boiler   

n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等)

参考例句：

• That boiler will not hold up under pressure.那种锅炉受不住压力。
• This new boiler generates more heat than the old one.这个新锅炉产生的热量比旧锅炉多。

5 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 thumping   

adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持

参考例句：

• Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 blaze   

n.火焰，火堆，火光，火灾；vi.燃烧，着火

参考例句：

• In a blaze of anger he shouted at them.他怒火中烧，对着他们大吼起来。
• Dry wood makes a good blaze.干木燃起夺目的光焰。

10 sipped   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
• I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句

11 echoed   

重复，随声附和( echo的过去式和过去分词 )； 类似； 发射（声音等）； 发出回声

参考例句：

• Their shouts re-echoed through the darkness. 他们的喊声回荡在黑暗中。
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。

12 stiff   

adj.严厉的，激烈的，硬的，僵直的，不灵活的

参考例句：

• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。
• You have to push on the handle to turn it,becanse it's very stiff.手柄很不灵活，你必须用力推才能转动它。

13 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

14 youngsters   

n.孩子( youngster的名词复数 )；少年；青年；年轻人

参考例句：

• We followed the youngsters at a more sedate pace. 我们跟在年轻人后面，步子稍慢一点。
• The camp is for youngsters aged 8 to 14. 这次夏令营是为8至14岁的少年儿童安排的。