25 The Great Glass Lift

25 The Great Glass Lift
‘I’ve never seen anything like it!’ cried Mr Wonka. ‘The children are disappearing like
rabbits! But you mustn’t worry about it! They’ll all come out in the wash!’
Mr Wonka looked at the little group that stood beside him in the corridor. There were
only two children left now – Mike Teavee and Charlie Bucket. And there were three
grown-ups, Mr and Mrs Teavee and Grandpa Joe. ‘Shall we move on?’ Mr Wonka asked.
‘Oh, yes!’ cried Charlie and Grandpa Joe, both together.
‘My feet are getting tired,’ said Mike Teavee. ‘I want to watch television.’
‘If you’re tired then we’d better take the lift,’ said Mr Wonka. ‘It’s over here. Come on!
In we go!’ He skipped across the passage to a pair of double doors. The doors slid open.
The two children and the grown-ups went in.
‘Now then,’ cried Mr Wonka, ‘which button shall we press first? Take your pick!’
Charlie Bucket stared around him in astonishment¹. This was the craziest lift he had
ever seen. There were buttons everywhere! The walls, and even the ceiling, were covered
all over with rows and rows and rows of small, black push buttons! There must have
been a thousand of them on each wall, and another thousand on the ceiling! And now
Charlie noticed that every single button had a tiny printed label beside it telling you
which room you would be taken to if you pressed it.
‘This isn’t just an ordinary up-and-down lift!’ announced Mr Wonka proudly. ‘This lift
can go sideways and longways and slantways and any other way you can think of! It can
visit any single room in the whole factory, no matter where it is! You simply press the
button… and zing!… you’re off!’
‘Fantastic!’ murmured Grandpa Joe. His eyes were shining with excitement as he
stared at the rows of buttons.
‘The whole lift is made of thick, clear glass!’ Mr Wonka declared. ‘Walls, doors,
ceiling, floor, everything is made of glass so that you can see out!’
‘But there’s nothing to see,’ said Mike Teavee.
‘Choose a button!’ said Mr Wonka. ‘The two children may press one button each. So
take your pick! Hurry up! In every room, something delicious and wonderful is being
made.’
Quickly, Charlie started reading some of the labels alongside the buttons.
THE ROCK-CANDY MINE – 10,000 FEET DEEP, it said on one.
COKERNUT-ICE SKATING RINKS, it said on another.
Then… STRAWBERRY-JUICE WATER PISTOLS.
TOFFEE-APPLE TREES FOR PLANTING OUT IN YOUR GARDEN – ALL SIZES.
EXPLODING SWEETS FOR YOUR ENEMIES.
LUMINOUS² LOLLIES FOR EATING IN BED AT NIGHT.
MINT JUJUBES FOR THE BOY NEXT DOOR – THEY’LL GIVE HIM GREEN TEETH FOR
A MONTH.
CAVITY-FILLING CARAMELS – NO MORE DENTISTS.
STICKJAW FOR TALKATIVE PARENTS.
WRIGGLE³- SWEETS THAT WRIGGLE DELIGHTFULLY⁴ IN YOUR TUMMY AFTER
SWALLOWING.
INVISIBLE CHOCOLATE BARS FOR EATING IN CLASS.
SUGAR-COATED PENCILS FOR SUCKING.
FIZZY LEMONADE SWIMMING POOLS.
MAGIC HAND-FUDGE – WHEN YOU HOLD IT IN YOUR HAND, YOU TASTE IT IN
YOUR MOUTH.
RAINBOW DROPS – SUCK THEM AND YOU CAN SPIT IN SIX DIFFERENT COLOURS.
‘Come on, come on!’ cried Mr Wonka. ‘We can’t wait all day!’
‘Isn’t there a Television Room in all this lot?’ asked Mike Teavee.
‘Certainly there’s a television room,’ Mr Wonka said. ‘That button over there.’ He
pointed⁵ with his finger. Everybody looked. TELEVISION CHOCOLATE, it said on the tiny
label beside the button.
‘Whoopee!’ shouted Mike Teavee. ‘That’s for me!’ He stuck out his thumb and pressed
the button. Instantly, there was a tremendous whizzing noise. The doors clanged shut
and the lift leaped away as though it had been stung by a wasp⁶. But it leapt sideways!
And all the passengers (except Mr Wonka, who was holding on to a strap⁷ from the
ceiling) were flung off their feet on to the floor.
‘Get up, get up!’ cried Mr Wonka, roaring with laughter. But just as they were
staggering to their feet, the lift changed direction and swerved⁸ violently round a corner.
And over they went once more.
‘Help!’ shouted Mrs Teavee.
‘Take my hand, madam,’ said Mr Wonka gallantly⁹. ‘There you are! Now grab this
strap! Everybody grab a strap. The journey’s not over yet!’
Old Grandpa Joe staggered to his feet and caught hold of a strap. Little Charlie, who
couldn’t possibly reach as high as that, put his arms around Grandpa Joe’s legs and hung
on tight.
The lift rushed on at the speed of a rocket. Now it was beginning to climb. It was
shooting up and up and up on a steep slanty course as if it were climbing a very steep
hill. Then suddenly, as though it had come to the top of the hill and gone over a
precipice¹⁰, it dropped like a stone and Charlie felt his tummy coming right up into his
throat, and
Grandpa Joe shouted, ‘Yippee! Here we go!’ and Mrs Teavee cried out, ‘The rope has
broken! We’re going to crash!’ And Mr Wonka said, ‘Calm yourself, my dear lady,’ and
patted her comfortingly on the arm. And then Grandpa Joe looked down at Charlie who
was clinging to his legs, and he said, ‘Are you all right, Charlie?’ Charlie shouted, ‘I love
it! It’s like being on a roller coaster!’ And through the glass walls of the lift, as it rushed
along, they caught sudden glimpses of strange and wonderful things going on in some of
the other rooms:
An enormous spout¹¹ with brown sticky stuff oozing¹² out of it on to the floor…
A great, craggy mountain made entirely¹³ of fudge, with Oompa-Loompas (all roped
together for safety) hacking¹⁴ huge hunks of fudge out of its sides…
A machine with white powder spraying out of it like a snowstorm…
A lake of hot caramel with steam coming off it…
A village of Oompa-Loompas, with tiny houses and streets and hundreds of Oompa-
Loompa children no more than four inches high playing in the streets…
And now the lift began flattening¹⁵ out again, but it seemed to be going faster than
ever, and Charlie could hear the scream of the wind outside as it hurtled forward… and
it twisted… and it turned… and it went up… and it went down… and…
‘I’m going to be sick!’ yelled Mrs Teavee, turning green in the face.
‘Please don’t be sick,’ said Mr Wonka.
‘Try and stop me!’ said Mrs Teavee.
‘Then you’d better take this,’ said Mr Wonka, and he swept his magnificent black top
hat off his head, and held it out, upside down, in front of Mrs Teavee’s mouth.
‘Make this awful thing stop!’ ordered Mr Teavee.
‘Can’t do that,’ said Mr Wonka. ‘It won’t stop till we get there. I only hope no one’s
using the other lift at this moment.’
‘What other lift?’ screamed Mrs Teavee.
‘The one that goes the opposite way on the same track as this one,’ said Mr Wonka.
‘Holy mackerel!’ cried Mr Teavee. ‘You mean we might have a collision?’
‘I’ve always been lucky so far,’ said Mr Wonka.
‘Now I am going to be sick!’ yelled Mrs Teavee.
‘No, no!’ said Mr Wonka. ‘Not now! We’re nearly there! Don’t spoil my hat!’
The next moment, there was a screaming of brakes, and the lift began to slow down.
Then it stopped altogether.
‘Some ride!’ said Mr Teavee, wiping his great sweaty face with a handkerchief.
‘Never again!’ gasped¹⁶ Mrs Teavee. And then the doors of the lift slid open and Mr
Wonka said, ‘Just a minute now! Listen to me! I want everybody to be very careful in
this room. There is dangerous stuff around in here and you must not tamper¹⁷ with it.’

1 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

2 luminous   

adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的

参考例句：

• There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
• Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。

3 wriggle   

v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒

参考例句：

• I've got an appointment I can't wriggle out of.我有个推脱不掉的约会。
• Children wriggle themselves when they are bored.小孩子感到厌烦时就会扭动他们的身体。

4 delightfully   

大喜，欣然

参考例句：

• The room is delightfully appointed. 这房子的设备令人舒适愉快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The evening is delightfully cool. 晚间凉爽宜人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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。

6 wasp   

n.黄蜂，蚂蜂

参考例句：

• A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
• Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。

7 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

8 swerved   

v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She swerved sharply to avoid a cyclist. 她猛地急转弯，以躲开一个骑自行车的人。
• The driver has swerved on a sudden to avoid a file of geese. 为了躲避一队鹅，司机突然来个急转弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gallantly   

adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地

参考例句：

• He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
• The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。

10 precipice   

n.悬崖，危急的处境

参考例句：

• The hut hung half over the edge of the precipice.那间小屋有一半悬在峭壁边上。
• A slight carelessness on this precipice could cost a man his life.在这悬崖上稍一疏忽就会使人丧生。

11 spout   

v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱

参考例句：

• Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蕴藏于民间的财富创造力和创业活力喷涌而出。
• This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴风雨季，这东西被用作喷管来排水。

12 oozing   

v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出

参考例句：

• Blood was oozing out of the wound on his leg. 血正从他腿上的伤口渗出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wound had not healed properly and was oozing pus. 伤口未真正痊瘉，还在流脓。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

15 flattening   

n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词

参考例句：

• Flattening of the right atrial border is also seen in constrictive pericarditis. 右心房缘变平亦见于缩窄性心包炎。
• He busied his fingers with flattening the leaves of the book. 他手指忙着抚平书页。

16 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》

17 tamper   

v.干预，玩弄，贿赂，窜改，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• Do not tamper with other's business.不要干预别人的事。
• They had strict orders not to tamper with the customs of the minorities.他们得到命令严禁干涉少数民族的风俗习惯。