Chapter 4 RICHARD

　　Chapter 4 RICHARD
　　Anne was astonished to find three boys in the Green Pool instead of two. She stood by the water withher sponge and flannel¹, staring. Who was the third boy?
　　The three came back to the side of the pool where Anne stood. She looked at the strange boy shyly.
　　He was not much older than she was, and not as big as Julian or Dick, but he was sturdily made, andhad laughing blue eyes she liked. He smoothed back his dripping hair.
　　'This your sister?' he said to Julian and Dick. 'Hallo there!'
　　'Hallo,' said Anne and smiled. 'What's your name?'
　　'Richard,' he said. 'Richard Kent. What's yours?'
　　'Anne,' said Anne. 'We're on a biking tour.'
　　The boys had had no time to introduce themselves. They were still panting from their swim.
　　'I'm Julian and he's Dick, my brother,' said Julian, out of breath. 'I say - I hope we're not trespassingon your land as well as on your water!'
　　Richard grinned. 'Well, you are as a matter of fact. But I give you free permission! You can borrowmy pool and my land as much as you like!'
　　'Oh thanks,' said Anne. 'I suppose it's your father's property? It didn't say "Private" or anything, so wedidn't know. Would you like to come and have breakfast with us? If you'll dress with the othersthey'll bring you to where we camped last night.'
　　She sponged her face and washed her hands in the pool, hearing the boys chattering² behind thebushes where they had left their clothes. Then she sped back to their sleeping-place, meaning to tidyup the bags they had slept in, and put out breakfast neatly³. But George was still fast asleep in her bag,her head showing at the top with its mass of short curls that made her look like a boy.
　　'George! Do wake up. Somebody's coming to breakfast,' said Anne, shaking her.
　　George shrugged⁴ away crossly, not believing her. It was just a trick to make her get up and help withthe breakfast! Anne left her. All right - let her be found in her sleeping-bag if she liked!
　　She began to unpack⁵ the food and set it out neatly. What a good thing they had brought two extrabottles of lime-juice. Now they could offer Richard one.
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　　The three boys came up, their wet hair plastered down. Richard spotted⁶ George in the bag as Timmycame over to meet him. He fondled Timmy who, smelling that other dogs had been round Richard athome, sniffed⁷ him over with great interest.
　　'Who's that still asleep?' asked Richard.
　　'That's George,' said Anne. 'Too sleepy to wake up! Come on - I've got breakfast ready. Would youlike to start off with rolls and anchovy⁸ and lettuce⁹? And there's lime-juice if you want it.'
　　George heard Richard's voice, as he sat talking with the others and was astonished. Who was that?
　　She sat up, blinking, her hair tousled and short. Richard honestly thought she was a boy.
　　She looked like one and she was called George!
　　'Top of the morning to you, George,' he said. 'Hope I'm not eating your share of the breakfast.'
　　'Who are you?' demanded George. The boys told her.
　　'I live about three miles away,' said the boy. 'I biked over here this morning for a swim. I say -that reminds me - I'd better bring my bike up here and put it where I can see it. I've had two stolenalready through not having them under my eye.'
　　He shot off to get his bike. George took the opportunity of getting out of her sleeping-bag and rushedoff to dress. She was back before Richard was, eating her breakfast. He wheeled his bicycle as hecame.
　　'Got it all right,' he said, and flung it down beside him. 'Don't want to have to tell my father this one'sgone, like the others. He's pretty fierce.'
　　'My father's a bit fierce too,' said George.
　　'Does he whip you?' asked Richard, giving Timmy a nice little tit bit of roll and anchovy paste.
　　'Of course not,' said George. 'He's just got a temper, that's all.'
　　'Mine's got tempers and rages and furies, and if anyone offends him or does him a wrong he's like anelephant - never forgets,' said Richard. 'He's made plenty of enemies in his lifetime.
　　Sometimes he's had his life threatened, and he's had to take a bodyguard¹⁰ about with him.'
　　This all sounded extremely thrilling. Dick half-wished he had a father like that. I would be nice totalk to the other boys at school about his father's 'bodyguard'.
　　'What's his bodyguard like?' asked Anne, full of curiosity.
　　'Oh, they vary. But they're all big hefty fellows - they look like ruffians, and probably are,' saidRichard, enjoying the interest the others were taking in him. 'One he had last year was awful - he 16had the thickest lips you ever saw, and such a big nose that when you saw him sideways you reallythought he'd put a false one on just for fun.'
　　'Gracious!' said Anne. 'He sounds horrible. Has your father still got him?'
　　'No. He did something that annoyed Dad - I don't know what - and after a perfectly¹¹ furious row myfather chucked him out,' said Richard. That was the end of him. Jolly good thing too. I hated him. Heused to kick the dogs around terribly.'
　　'Oh! What a beast!' said George, horrified¹². She put her arm round Timmy as if she was afraidsomebody might suddenly kick him around too.
　　Julian and Dick wondered whether to believe all this. They came to the conclusion that the talesRichard told were very much exaggerated, and they listened with amusement, but not with suchhorror as the two girls, who hung on every word that Richard said.
　　'Where's your father now?' said Anne. 'Has he got a special bodyguard this very moment?'
　　'Rather! He's in America this week, but he's flying home soon - plus bodyguard,' said Richard,drinking the last of his lime-juice from the bottle. 'Ummm, that's good. I say, aren't you lucky to beallowed to go off alone like this on your bikes - and sleep where you like. My mother never will letme - she's always afraid something will happen to me.'
　　'Perhaps you'd better have a bodyguard too,' suggested Julian, slyly.
　　'I'd soon give him the slip,' said Richard. 'As a matter of fact I have got a kind of a bodyguard.'
　　'Who? Where?' asked Anne, looking all round as if she expected some enormous ruffian suddenly toappear.
　　'Well - he's supposed to be my holiday tutor,' said Richard, tickling¹³ Timmy round the ears. 'He'scalled Lomax and he's pretty awful. I'm supposed to tell him every time I go out - just as if I was akid like Anne here.'
　　Anne was indignant. 'I don't have to tell anybody when I want to go off on my own,' she said.
　　'Actually I don't think we'd be allowed to rush off completely on our own unless we had old Timmy,'
　　said Dick, honestly. 'He's better than any ruffianly bodyguard or holiday tutor. I wonder you don'thave a dog.'
　　'Oh, I've got about five,' said Richard, airily.
　　'What are their names?' asked George, disbelievingly.
　　'Er - Bunter, Biscuit, Brownie, Bones - and er - Bonzo,' said Richard, with a grin.
　　'Silly names,' said George, scornfully. 'Fancy calling a dog Biscuit. You must be cracked.'
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　　'You shut up,' said Richard, with a sudden scowl¹⁴. 'I don't stand people telling me I'm cracked.'
　　'Well, you'll have to stand me telling you,' said George. 'I do think it's cracked to call a dog, a nice,decent dog, by a name like Biscuit!'
　　'I'll fight you then,' said Richard, surprisingly, and stood up. 'Come on - you stand up.'
　　George leapt to her feet. Julian shot out a hand and pulled her down again.
　　'None of that,' he said to Richard. 'You ought to be ashamed of yourself.'
　　'Why?' flared¹⁵ out Richard, whose face had gone very red. Evidently he and his father shared the samefierceness of temper!
　　'Well, you don't fight girls,' said Julian, scornfully. 'Or do you? Correct me if I'm wrong.'
　　Richard stared at him in amazement¹⁶. 'What do you mean?' he said. 'Girls? Of course I don't fightgirls. No decent boy hits a girl - but it's this boy here I want to fight - what do you call him? -George.'
　　To his great surprise Julian, Dick and Anne roared with laughter. Timmy barked madly too, pleasedat the sudden ending of the quarrel. Only George looked mutinous¹⁷ and cross.
　　'What's up now?' asked Richard, aggressively. 'What's all the fun and games about?'
　　'Richard, George isn't a boy - she's a girl,' explained Dick at last. 'My goodness - she was just about toaccept your challenge and fight you, too - two fierce little fox-terriers having a scrap¹⁸!'
　　Richard's mouth fell open in an even greater astonishment¹⁹. He blushed redder than ever. He lookedsheepishly at George.
　　'Are you really a girl?' he said. 'You behave so like a boy - and you look like one too. Sorry, George.
　　Is your name really George?'
　　'No - Georgina,' said George, thawing²⁰ a little at Richard's awkward apology, and pleased that he hadhonestly thought her a boy. She did so badly want to be a boy and not a girl.
　　'Good thing I didn't fight you,' said Richard, fervently²¹. 'I should have knocked you flat!'
　　'Well, I like that,' said George, flaring²² up all over again. Julian pushed her back with his hand.
　　'Now shut up, you two, and don't behave like idiots. Where's the map? It's time we had a squint²³ at itand decided²⁴ what we are going to do for today - how far we're going to ride, and where we're makingfor by the evening.'
　　Fortunately George and Richard both gave in with a good grace. Soon all six heads - Timmy's too -were bent²⁵ over the map. Julian made his decision.
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　　'We'll make for Middlecombe Woods - see, there they are on the map. That's decided then - it'll be ajolly nice ride.'
　　It might be a nice ride - but it was going to be something very much more than that!

1 flannel   

n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服

参考例句：

• She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
• She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

2 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

3 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

4 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 unpack   

vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货

参考例句：

• I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。
• She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

6 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

7 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 anchovy   

n.凤尾鱼

参考例句：

• Waters off the Peruvian coast become unusually warm,destroying the local anchovy fishing industry.由于异常的高温，秘鲁海岸的海水温度变化异常，影响了当地的凤尾鱼捕捞业。
• Anchovy together with sweet-peppergarlic,milk,chicken stock,and add cheese toasted.奶油状的搅打鸡蛋，放在涂有凤尾鱼糊的吐司面包上。

9 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

10 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

11 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。

12 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

13 tickling   

反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法

参考例句：

• Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢？
• Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说，笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。

14 scowl   

vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
• The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

15 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

16 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。

17 mutinous   

adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变

参考例句：

• The mutinous sailors took control of the ship.反叛的水手们接管了那艘船。
• His own army,stung by defeats,is mutinous.经历失败的痛楚后，他所率军队出现反叛情绪。

18 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

19 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。

20 thawing   

n.熔化，融化v.（气候）解冻( thaw的现在分词 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化

参考例句：

• The ice is thawing. 冰在融化。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• It had been snowing and thawing and the streets were sloppy. 天一直在下雪，雪又一直在融化，街上泥泞不堪。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

21 fervently   

adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地

参考例句：

• "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

22 flaring   

a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的

参考例句：

• A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。
• Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。

23 squint   

v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的

参考例句：

• A squint can sometimes be corrected by an eyepatch. 斜视有时候可以通过戴眼罩来纠正。
• The sun was shinning straight in her eyes which made her squint. 太阳直射着她的眼睛,使她眯起了眼睛。

24 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。

25 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。