2 Mr Willy Wonka’s Factory

2 Mr Willy Wonka’s Factory
In the evenings, after he had finished his supper of watery¹ cabbage soup, Charlie always
went into the room of his four grandparents to listen to their stories, and then afterwards
to say good night.
Every one of these old people was over ninety. They were as shrivelled as prunes², and
as bony as skeletons³, and throughout the day, until Charlie made his appearance, they
lay huddled⁴ in their one bed, two at either end, with nightcaps on to keep their heads
warm, dozing⁵ the time away with nothing to do. But as soon as they heard the door
opening, and heard Charlie’s voice saying, ‘Good evening, Grandpa Joe and Grandma
Josephine, and Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina,’ then all four of them would
suddenly sit up, and their old wrinkled⁶ faces would light up with smiles of pleasure –
and the talking would begin. For they loved this little boy. He was the only bright thing
in their lives, and his evening visits were something that they looked forward to all day
long. Often, Charlie’s mother and father would come in as well, and stand by the door,
listening to the stories that the old people told; and thus, for perhaps half an hour every
night, this room would become a happy place, and the whole family would forget that it
was hungry and poor.
One evening, when Charlie went in to see his grandparents, he said to them, ‘Is it
really true that Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is the biggest in the world?’
‘True?’ cried all four of them at once. ‘Of course it’s true! Good heavens, didn’t you
know that? It’s about fifty times as big as any other!’
‘And is Mr Willy Wonka really the cleverest chocolate maker⁷ in the world?’
‘My dear boy,’ said Grandpa Joe, raising himself up a little higher on his pillow, ‘Mr
Willy Wonka is the most amazing, the most fantastic, the most extraordinary chocolate
maker the world has ever seen! I thought everybody knew that!’
‘I knew he was famous, Grandpa Joe, and I knew he was very clever…’
‘Clever!’ cried the old man. ‘He’s more than that! He’s a magician⁸ with chocolate! He
can make anything – anything he wants! Isn’t that a fact, my dears?’
The other three old people nodded their heads slowly up and down, and said,
‘Absolutely true. Just as true as can be.’
And Grandpa Joe said, ‘You mean to say I’ve never told you about Mr Willy Wonka
and his factory?’
‘Never,’ answered little Charlie.
‘Good heavens above! I don’t know what’s the matter with me!’
‘Will you tell me now, Grandpa Joe, please?’
‘I certainly will. Sit down beside me on the bed, my dear, and listen carefully.’
Grandpa Joe was the oldest of the four grandparents. He was ninety-six and a half,
and that is just about as old as anybody can be. Like all extremely old people, he was
delicate and weak, and throughout the day he spoke⁹ very little. But in the evenings,
when Charlie, his beloved grandson, was in the room, he seemed in some marvellous
way to grow quite young again. All his tiredness fell away from him, and he became as
eager and excited as a young boy.
‘Oh, what a man he is, this Mr Willy Wonka!’ cried Grandpa Joe. ‘Did you know, for
example, that he has himself invented more than two hundred new kinds of chocolate
bars, each with a different centre, each far sweeter and creamier and more delicious
than anything the other chocolate factories can make!’
‘Perfectly true!’ cried Grandma Josephine. ‘And he sends them to all the four corners
of the earth! Isn’t that so, Grandpa Joe?’
‘It is, my dear, it is. And to all the kings and presidents of the world as well. But it
isn’t only chocolate bars that he makes. Oh, dear me, no! He has some really fantastic
inventions up his sleeve, Mr Willy Wonka has! Did you know that he’s invented a way of
making chocolate ice cream so that it stays cold for hours and hours without being in
the refrigerator? You can even leave it lying in the sun all morning on a hot day and it
won’t go runny!’
‘But that’s impossible!’ said little Charlie, staring at his grandfather.
‘Of course it’s impossible!’ cried Grandpa Joe. ‘It’s completely absurd¹⁰! But Mr Willy
Wonka has done it!’
‘Quite right!’ the others agreed, nodding their heads. ‘Mr Wonka has done it.’
‘And then again,’ Grandpa Joe went on speaking very slowly now so that Charlie
wouldn’t miss a word, ‘Mr Willy Wonka can make marshmallows that taste of violets,
and rich caramels that change colour every ten seconds as you suck them, and little
feathery sweets that melt away deliriously¹¹ the moment you put them between your lips.
He can make chewing-gum that never loses its taste, and sugar balloons that you can
blow up to enormous sizes before you pop them with a pin and gobble them up. And, by
a most secret method, he can make lovely blue birds’ eggs with black spots on them, and
when you put one of these in your mouth, it gradually gets smaller and smaller until
suddenly there is nothing left except a tiny little pink sugary baby bird sitting on the tip
of your tongue.’
Grandpa Joe paused and ran the point of his tongue slowly over his lips. ‘It makes my
mouth water just thinking about it,’ he said.
‘Mine, too,’ said little Charlie. ‘But please go on.’
While they were talking, Mr and Mrs Bucket, Charlie’s mother and father, had come
quietly into the room, and now both were standing¹² just inside the door, listening.
‘Tell Charlie about that crazy Indian prince,’ said Grandma Josephine. ‘He’d like to
hear that.’
‘You mean Prince Pondicherry?’ said Grandpa Joe, and he began chuckling¹³ with
laughter.
‘Completely dotty!’ said Grandpa George.
‘But very rich,’ said Grandma Georgina.
‘What did he do?’ asked Charlie eagerly.
‘Listen,’ said Grandpa Joe, ‘and I’ll tell you.’

1 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

2 prunes   

n.西梅脯，西梅干( prune的名词复数 )v.修剪（树木等）( prune的第三人称单数 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• Dried fruits such as prunes, pears, and peaches, are stewed. 梅干、梨脯、桃脯等干果，都是炖过的。 来自辞典例句
• We had stewed prunes for breakfast. 我们早饭吃炖梅干。 来自辞典例句

3 skeletons   

n.（建筑物等的）骨架( skeleton的名词复数 )；骨骼；梗概；骨瘦如柴的人（或动物）

参考例句：

• Only skeletons of buildings remained. 只剩下了建筑物的框架。 来自辞典例句
• It looks like six skeletons in front of that stone door! 在这石头门前看上去就象有六副骨骼！ 来自辞典例句

4 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

5 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

6 wrinkled   

adj.有皱纹的v.使起皱纹( wrinkle的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指皮肤）起皱纹

参考例句：

• She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth. 她把起皱的桌布熨平了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A wrinkled purse,a wrinkled face. 手中无钱，愁容满面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

8 magician   

n.魔术师，变戏法的人，术士

参考例句：

• With a wave of his hand,the magician made the rabbit vanish.魔术师手一挥兔子便不见了。
• The magician transformed the man into a rabbit.魔术师把那个人变成了兔子。

9 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。

10 absurd   

adj.荒谬的，荒诞的，荒唐可笑的，不合理的

参考例句：

• It is ridiculously absurd to believe that the number 13 is unlucky.相信数字13是个不吉祥的数字是荒唐可笑的。
• It was absurd of you to do such a thing.你做那样的事是愚蠢的。

11 deliriously   

adv.谵妄（性）；发狂；极度兴奋/亢奋；说胡话

参考例句：

• He was talking deliriously. 他胡说一通。 来自互联网
• Her answer made him deliriously happy. 她的回答令他高兴得神魂颠倒。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 chuckling   

轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I could hear him chuckling to himself as he read his book. 他看书时，我能听见他的轻声发笑。
• He couldn't help chuckling aloud. 他忍不住的笑了出来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子