30 Charlie’s Chocolate Factory

30 Charlie’s Chocolate Factory
The great glass lift was now hovering¹ high over the town. Inside the lift stood Mr
Wonka, Grandpa Joe, and little Charlie.
‘How I love my chocolate factory,’ said Mr Wonka, gazing down. Then he paused, and
he turned around and looked at Charlie with a most serious expression on his face. ‘Do
you love it too, Charlie?’ he asked.
‘Oh, yes,’ cried Charlie, T think it’s the most wonderful place in the whole world!’
‘I am very pleased to hear you say that,’ said Mr Wonka, looking more serious than
ever. He went on staring at Charlie. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I am very pleased indeed to hear you
say that. And now I shall tell you why.’ Mr Wonka cocked his head to one side and all at
once the tiny twinkling wrinkles² of a smile appeared around the corners of his eyes, and
he said, ‘You see, my dear boy, I have decided³ to make you a present of the whole place.
As soon as you are old enough to run it, the entire factory will become yours.’
Charlie stared at Mr Wonka. Grandpa Joe opened his mouth to speak, but no words
came out.
‘It’s quite true,’ Mr Wonka said, smiling broadly now. ‘I really am giving it to you.
That’s all right, isn’t it?’
‘Giving it to him?’ gasped⁴ Grandpa Joe. ‘You must be joking.’
‘I’m not joking, sir. I’m deadly serious.’
‘But… but… why should you want to give your factory to little Charlie?’
‘Listen,’ Mr Wonka said, ‘I’m an old man. I’m much older than you think. I can’t go on
for ever. I’ve got no children of my own, no family at all. So who is going to run the
factory when I get too old to do it myself? Someone’s got to keep it going – if only for the
sake of the Oompa-Loompas. Mind you, there are thousands of clever men who would
give anything for the chance to come in and take over from me, but I don’t want that
sort of person. I don’t want a grown-up person at all. A grown-up won’t listen to me; he
won’t learn. He will try to do things his own way and not mine. So I have to have a
child. I want a good sensible loving child, one to whom I can tell all my most precious
sweet-making secrets – while I am still alive.’
‘So that is why you sent out the Golden Tickets!’ cried Charlie.
‘Exactly!’ said Mr Wonka. ‘I decided to invite five children to the factory, and the one
I liked best at the end of the day would be the winner!’
‘But Mr Wonka,’ stammered⁵ Grandpa Joe, ‘do you really and truly mean that you are
giving the whole of this enormous factory to little Charlie? After all…’
‘There’s no time for arguments!’ cried Mr Wonka. ‘We must go at once and fetch the
rest of the family – Charlie’s father and his mother and anyone else that’s around! They
can all live in the factory from now on! They can all help to run it until Charlie is old
enough to do it by himself! Where do you live, Charlie?’
Charlie peered⁶ down through the glass floor at the snow- covered houses that lay
below. ‘It’s over there,’ he said, pointing. ‘It’s that little cottage right on the edge of the
town, the tiny little one…’
‘I see it!’ cried Mr Wonka, and he pressed some more buttons and the lift shot down
towards Charlie’s house.
‘I’m afraid my mother won’t come with us,’ Charlie said sadly.
‘Why ever not?’
‘Because she won’t leave Grandma Josephine and Grandma Georgina and Grandpa
George.’
‘But they must come too.’
‘They can’t,’ Charlie said. ‘They’re very old and they haven’t been out of bed for
twenty years.’
‘Then we’ll take the bed along as well, with them in it,’ said Mr Wonka. ‘There’s
plenty of room in this lift for a bed.’
‘You couldn’t get the bed out of the house,’ said Grandpa Joe. ‘It won’t go through the
door.’
‘You mustn’t despair!’ cried Mr Wonka. ‘Nothing is impossible! You watch!’
The lift was now hovering over the roof of the Buckets’ little house.
‘What are you going to do?’ cried Charlie.
‘I’m going right on in to fetch them,’ said Mr Wonka.
‘How?’ asked Grandpa Joe.
‘Through the roof,’ said Mr Wonka, pressing another button.
‘No!’ shouted Charlie.
‘Stop!’ shouted Grandpa Joe.
CRASH went the lift, right down through the roof of the house into the old people’s
bedroom. Showers of dust and broken tiles⁷ and bits of wood and cockroaches⁸ and
spiders and bricks and cement went raining down on the three old ones who were lying
in bed, and each of them thought that the end of the world was come. Grandma
Georgina fainted, Grandma Josephine dropped her false teeth, Grandpa George put his
head under the blanket, and Mr and Mrs Bucket came rushing in from the next room.
‘Save us!’ cried Grandma Josephine.
‘Calm yourself, my darling wife,’ said Grandpa Joe, stepping out of the lift. ‘It’s only
us.’
‘Mother!’ cried Charlie, rushing into Mrs Bucket’s arms. ‘Mother! Mother! Listen to
what’s happened! We’re all going back to live in Mr Wonka’s factory and we’re going to
help him to run it and he’s given it all to me and… and… and… and…’
‘What are you talking about?’ said Mrs Bucket.
‘Just look at our house!’ cried poor Mr Bucket. ‘It’s in ruins!’
‘My dear sir,’ said Mr Wonka, jumping forward and shaking Mr Bucket warmly by the
hand, ‘I’m so very glad to meet you. You mustn’t worry about your house. From now on,
you’re never going to need it again, anyway.’
‘Who is this crazy man?’ screamed Grandma Josephine. ‘He could have killed us all.’
‘This,’ said Grandpa Joe, ‘is Mr Willy Wonka himself
It took quite a time for Grandpa Joe and Charlie to explain to everyone exactly what
had been happening to them all day. And even then they all refused to ride back to the
factory in the lift.
‘I’d rather die in my bed!’ shouted Grandma Josephine.
‘So would I!’ cried Grandma Georgina.
‘I refuse to go!’ announced Grandpa George.
So Mr Wonka and Grandpa Joe and Charlie, taking no notice of their screams, simply
pushed the bed into the lift. They pushed Mr and Mrs Bucket in after it. Then they got in
themselves. Mr Wonka pressed a button. The doors closed. Grandma Georgina screamed.
And the lift rose up off the floor and shot through the hole in the roof, out into the open
sky.
Charlie climbed on to the bed and tried to calm the three old people who were still
petrified⁹ with fear. ‘Please don’t be frightened,’ he said. ‘It’s quite safe. And we’re going
to the most wonderful place in the world!’
‘Charlie’s right,’ said Grandpa Joe.
‘Will there be anything to eat when we get there?’ asked Grandma Josephine. ‘I’m
starving! The whole family is starving!’
‘Anything to eat?’ cried Charlie laughing. ‘Oh, you just wait and see!’

1 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

2 wrinkles   

n.（尤指皮肤上的）皱纹( wrinkle的名词复数 )；皱褶；有用的建议；妙计v.使起皱纹( wrinkle的第三人称单数 )；（尤指皮肤）起皱纹

参考例句：

• There were fine wrinkles around her eyes. 她眼角上出现了鱼尾纹。
• His face was lined with wrinkles. 他的脸上都是皱纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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》

5 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

6 peered   

去皮的

参考例句：

• He peeled away the plastic wrapping. 他去掉塑料包装。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The paint on the wall has peeled off. 墙上涂料已剥落了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 tiles   

n.瓦片，瓷砖( tile的名词复数 )；扁平的小棋子

参考例句：

• The wind dislodged one or two tiles from the roof. 大风从屋顶上刮下了一两片瓦来。
• On both slopes of the roof there are broken tiles. 屋顶的两面斜面都有破瓦片。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cockroaches   

n.蟑螂( cockroach的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At night, the cockroaches filled the house with their rustlings. 夜里，屋里尽是蟑螂窸窸瑟瑟的声音。 来自辞典例句
• It loves cockroaches, and can keep a house clear of these hated insects. 它们好食蟑螂，可以使住宅免除这些讨厌昆虫的骚扰。 来自百科语句

9 petrified   

adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
• The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》