1 No governess, thank you!

　　‘Do you know, it’s May the fifth already!’ said Jack¹, in a very gloomy voice. ‘All the fellows willbe back at school today’
　　‘What a pity, what a pity!’ said Kiki the parrot, in just as gloomy a voice as Jack’s.
　　‘This awful measles²!’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘First Philip had it as soon as he came home for the hols,then Dinah, then she gave it to me, and then you had it!’
　　‘Well, we’re all out of quarantine now,’ said Dinah, from her corner of the room. ‘It’s just sillyof the doctor to say we ought to go away and have a change before we go back to school. Isn’t itenough change to go back to school? I do so love the summer term too.’
　　‘Yes – and I bet I’d have been in the first eleven,’ said Philip, pushing back the tuft of hair hehad in front. ‘Golly, I’ll be glad to get my hair cut again! It feels tickly, now it’s grown so long!’
　　The four children had all had a bad attack of measles in the holidays. Jack especially had had avery nasty time, and Dinah’s eyes had given her a lot of trouble. This was partly her own fault, forshe had been forbidden to read, and had disobeyed the doctor’s orders. Now her eyes keptwatering, and she blinked in any bright light.
　　‘Certainly no school work for Dinah yet,’ the doctor had said sternly. ‘I suppose you thoughtyou knew better than I did, young lady, when you disobeyed orders. Think yourself lucky if youdon’t have to wear glasses a little later on!’
　　‘I hope Mother won’t send us away to some awful boarding-house by the sea,’ said Dinah. ‘Shecan’t come with us herself, because she’s taken on some kind of important job for the summer. Ihope she doesn’t get us a governess or something to take us away.’
　　‘A governess!’ said Philip in scorn. ‘I jolly well wouldn’t go. And anyway she wouldn’t staynow that I’m training young rats.’
　　His sister Dinah looked at him in disgust. Philip always had some kind of creature about him,for he had a great love of animals. He could do anything he liked with them, and Lucy-Annsecretly thought that if he met a roaring tiger in a jungle, he would simply hold out his hand, andthe tiger would lick it like a dog, and purr happily like a cat.
　　‘I’ve told you, Philip, that if you so much as let me see one of your young rats I’ll scream!’
　　Dinah said.
　　‘All right, then scream!’ said Philip obligingly. ‘Hey, Squeaker, where are you?’
　　Squeaker appeared above the neck of Philip’s jersey³ collar, and true to his name squeakedloudly. Dinah screamed.
　　‘You beast, Philip! How many of those things have you got down your neck? If we had a cat I’dgive them all to her.’
　　‘Well, we haven’t,’ said Philip, and poked⁴ Squeaker’s head down his collar again.
　　‘Three blind mice,’ remarked Kiki the parrot, with great interest, cocking her head on one sideand watching for Squeaker to appear again.
　　‘Wrong, Kiki, old bird,’ said Jack, lazily putting out a hand and pulling at his parrot’s tailfeathers. ‘Far from being three blind mice, it’s one very wide-awake rat. I say, Kiki, why didn’tyou catch measles from us?’
　　Kiki was quite prepared to have a conversation with Jack. She gave a loud cackle, and then puther head down to be scratched. ‘How many times have I told you to shut the door?’ she cried.
　　‘How many times have I told you to wipe your feet? Wipe the door, shut your feet, wipe the . . .’
　　‘Hey, you’re getting muddled⁵!’ said Jack and the others laughed. It was always comical whenKiki mixed up the things she loved to say. The parrot liked to make people laugh. She raised herhead, put up her crest⁶, and made a noise like a mowing-machine outside in the garden.
　　‘That’s enough,’ said Jack, tapping her on the beak⁷. ‘Now stop it, Kiki!’
　　But Kiki, pleased with the noise, flew up to the top of the curtains, and went on being amowing-machine, one that wanted oiling.
　　Mrs Mannering put her head in at the door. ‘Children! Don’t let Kiki make such a noise. I’minterviewing someone, and it’s very annoying.’
　　‘Who’s come for an interview?’ said Philip at once. ‘Mother! You haven’t gone and got agoverness or something awful to take us away for a change, have you? Is she here?’
　　‘Yes, she is,’ said Mrs Mannering. All the children groaned⁸. ‘Well, dears, you know I can’tspare the time to take you myself,’ she went on. ‘I’ve taken on this new job, though, of course, ifI’d known you were going to be measly for so long, and then be so peaky afterwards . . .’
　　‘We’re not peaky!’ said Philip indignantly. ‘What an awful word!’
　　‘Peaky Squeaky,’ said Kiki at once, and cackled with laughter. She loved putting the same-sounding words together. ‘Peaky Squeaky!’
　　‘Shut up, Kiki!’ called Jack, and threw a cushion at her. ‘Aunt Allie – we can quite well goaway by ourselves. We’re old enough to look after ourselves perfectly⁹.’
　　‘Jack, as soon as I let you out of my sight in the holidays, you plunge¹⁰ into the middle of themost hair-raising adventures,’ said Mrs Mannering. ‘I shan’t forget what happened in the lastsummer holidays – going off in the wrong aeroplane and being lost for ages in a strange valley.’
　　‘Oh, that was a marvellous adventure!’ cried Philip. ‘I wish we could have another. I’m fed upwith being measly so long. Do, do let us go away by ourselves, Mother, there’s a darling!’
　　‘No,’ said his mother. ‘You’re going to a perfectly safe seaside spot with a perfectly safegoverness for a perfectly safe holiday.’
　　‘Safe, safe, safe!’ shrieked¹¹ Kiki. ‘Sound and safe, sound and safe!’
　　‘Other way round, Kiki,’ said Jack. Mrs Mannering put her fingers to her ears.
　　‘That bird! I suppose I’m tired with nursing you all, but honestly Kiki gets dreadfully on mynerves just now. I shall be glad when she’s gone with you.’
　　‘I bet no governess will like Kiki,’ said Jack. ‘Aunt Allie, have you told her about Kiki?’
　　‘Not yet,’ admitted Mrs Mannering. ‘But I suppose I’d better bring her in and introduce her toyou all and to Kiki too.’
　　She went out. The children scowled¹² at one another. ‘I knew it would happen. Instead of havingfun at school we shall mope about with somebody we can’t bear,’ said Dinah gloomily. ‘Phil –can’t you do something with those awful rats of yours when she comes in? If she knew you werethe kind of boy that likes mice and rats and beetles¹³ and hedgehogs living down his neck and in hispockets, she’d probably run for miles.’
　　‘Jolly good idea, Dinah!’ said everyone at once, and Philip beamed at her. ‘It’s not often youget a brainwave,’ he said, ‘but that’s one all right. Hey, Squeaker! Come along out. Woffles, whereare you? Nosey, come out of my pocket!’
　　Dinah retreated to the furthest corner of the room, watching the young white rats in horror.
　　However many had Philip got? She determined¹⁴ not to go near him if she could possibly help it.
　　‘I think Kiki might perform also,’ said Jack, grinning. ‘Kiki – puff-puff-puff!’
　　That was the signal for the parrot to do her famous imitation of a railway engine screeching¹⁵ in atunnel. She opened her beak and swelled¹⁷ out her throat in delight. It wasn’t often that she wasbegged to make this fearful noise. Lucy-Ann put her hands to her ears.
　　The door opened and Mrs Mannering came in with a tall, rather stern-looking woman. It wasquite plain that no adventure, nothing unusual, would ever be allowed to happen anywhere nearMiss Lawson. ‘Perfectly safe’ was written all over her.
　　‘Children, this is Miss Lawson,’ began Mrs Mannering, and then her voice was drowned inKiki’s railway-engine screech¹⁶. It was an even better imitation than usual, and longer drawn-out.
　　Kiki was really letting herself go.
　　Miss Lawson gave a gasp¹⁸ and took a step backwards¹⁹. At first she did not see Kiki, but looked atthe children, thinking that one of them must be making the terrible noise.
　　‘KIKI!’ thundered Mrs Mannering, really angry. ‘Children, how could you let her? I’mashamed of you!’
　　Kiki stopped. She put her head on one side and looked cheekily at Miss Lawson. ‘Wipe yourfeet!’ she commanded. ‘Shut the door! Where’s your handkerchief? How many times have I toldyou to . . .’
　　‘Take Kiki out, Jack,’ said Mrs Mannering, red with annoyance²⁰. ‘I’m so sorry, Miss Lawson.
　　Kiki belongs to Jack, and she isn’t usually so badly behaved.’
　　‘I see,’ said Miss Lawson, looking very doubtful. ‘I’m not very much used to parrots, MrsMannering. I suppose, of course, that this bird will not come away with us? I could not beresponsible for pets of that kind – and I don’t think that a boarding-house . . .’
　　‘Well, we can discuss that later,’ said Mrs Mannering hastily. ‘Jack, did you hear what I said?
　　Take Kiki out.’
　　‘Polly, put the kettle on,’ said Kiki to Miss Lawson, who took absolutely no notice at all. Kikigrowled like a very fierce dog, and Miss Lawson looked startled. Jack caught the parrot, winked²¹ atthe others and took Kiki out of the room.
　　‘What a pity, what a pity!’ mourned Kiki as the door shut behind them. Mrs Mannering gave asigh of relief.
　　‘Jack and Lucy-Ann Trent are not my own children,’ she said to Miss Lawson. ‘Lucy-Ann,shake hands with Miss Lawson. Lucy-Ann and her brother are great friends of my own children,and they live with us, and all go off to boarding-school together,’ she explained.
　　Miss Lawson looked at the green-eyed, red-haired little girl and liked her. She was very like herbrother, she thought. Then she looked at Philip and Dinah, each dark-eyed and dark-haired, with aqueer tuft that stuck up in front. She would make them brush it down properly, thought MissLawson.
　　Dinah came forward politely and shook hands. She thought that Miss Lawson would be veryproper, very strict and very dull – but oh, so safe!
　　Then Philip came forward, but before he could shake hands, he clutched at his neck. Then heclutched at one leg of his shorts. Then he clapped a hand over his middle. Miss Lawson stared athim in amazement²².
　　‘Excuse me – it’s only my rats,’ explained Philip, and to Miss Lawson’s enormous horror shesaw Squeaker running round his collar, Nosey making a lump here and there over his tummy, andWoffles coming out of his sleeve. Goodness, how many more had the awful boy got!
　　‘I’m sorry,’ said Miss Lawson faintly. ‘I’m very sorry – but I can’t take this post, MrsMannering. I really can’t.’

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 muddled   

adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
• I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

7 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

8 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

11 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

12 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

13 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

15 screeching   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
• the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景

16 screech   

n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
• The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。

17 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

18 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

19 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

20 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

21 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。