9 Grandpa Joe Takes a Gamble

9 Grandpa Joe Takes a Gamble
The next day, when Charlie came home from school and went in to see his grandparents,
he found that only Grandpa Joe was awake. The other three were all snoring loudly.
‘Ssshh!’ whispered Grandpa Joe, and he beckoned¹ Charlie to come closer. Charlie
tiptoed over and stood beside the bed. The old man gave Charlie a sly grin, and then he
started rummaging² under his pillow with one hand; and when the hand came out again,
there was an ancient leather purse clutched in the fingers. Under cover of the
bedclothes, the old man opened the purse and tipped it upside down. Out fell a single
silver sixpence. ‘It’s my secret hoard,’ he whispered. ‘The others don’t know I’ve got it.
And now, you and I are going to have one more fling at finding that last ticket. How
about it, eh? But you’ll have to help me.’
‘Are you sure you want to spend your money on that, Grandpa?’ Charlie whispered.
‘Of course I’m sure!’ spluttered the old man excitedly. ‘Don’t stand there arguing! I’m
as keen as you are to find that ticket! Here – take the money and run down the street to
the nearest shop and buy the first Wonka bar you see and bring it straight back to me,
and we’ll open it together.’
Charlie took the little silver coin, and slipped quickly out of the room. In five minutes,
he was back.
‘Have you got it?’ whispered Grandpa Joe, his eyes shining with excitement.
Charlie nodded and held out the bar of chocolate. WONKA’S NUTTY CRUNCH³
SURPRISE, it said on the wrapper.
‘Good!’ the old man whispered, sitting up in the bed and rubbing his hands. ‘Now –
come over here and sit close to me and we’ll open it together. Are you ready?’
‘Yes,’ Charlie said. ‘I’m ready.’
‘All right. You tear off the first bit.’
‘No,’ Charlie said, ‘you paid for it. You do it all.’
The old man’s fingers were trembling most terribly as they fumbled⁴ with the wrapper.
‘We don’t have a hope, really,’ he whispered, giggling⁵ a bit. ‘You do know we don’t have
a hope, don’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Charlie said. ‘I know that.’
They looked at each other, and both started giggling nervously⁶.
‘Mind you,’ said Grandpa Joe, ‘there is just that tiny chance that it might be the one,
don’t you agree?’
‘Yes,’ Charlie said. ‘Of course. Why don’t you open it, Grandpa?’
‘All in good time, my boy, all in good time. Which end do you think I ought to open
first?’
‘That corner. The one furthest from you. Just tear off a tiny bit, but not quite enough
for us to see anything.’
‘Like that?’ said the old man.
‘Yes. Now a little bit more.’
‘You finish it,’ said Grandpa Joe. ‘I’m too nervous.’
‘No, Grandpa. You must do it yourself.’
‘Very well, then. Here goes.’ He tore off the wrapper.
They both stared at what lay underneath⁷. It was a bar of chocolate – nothing more.
All at once, they both saw the funny side of the whole thing, and they burst into peals⁸
of laughter.
‘What on earth’s going on!’ cried Grandma Josephine, waking up suddenly.
‘Nothing,’ said Grandpa Joe. ‘You go on back to sleep.’

1 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rummaging   

翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查

参考例句：

• She was rummaging around in her bag for her keys. 她在自己的包里翻来翻去找钥匙。
• Who's been rummaging through my papers? 谁乱翻我的文件来着？

3 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

4 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

5 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

7 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

8 peals   

n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She burst into peals of laughter. 她忽然哈哈大笑起来。
• She went into fits/peals of laughter. 她发出阵阵笑声。 来自辞典例句