Chapter 2 ALL TOGETHER AGAIN

Chapter 2 ALL TOGETHER AGAIN
　　NEXT morning, on a dewy hillside a good distance from Kirrin, where George lived, two boys leaptdown the steps of a caravan¹, and went to one nearby. They rapped on the door.
　　'Anne! Are you awake? It's a heavenly day!'
　　'Of course I'm awake!' cried a voice. 'The door's unlocked. Come in. I'm getting breakfast.'
　　Julian and Dick pushed open the blue-painted door. Anne was standing² at a little stove at one end ofher caravan, boiling eggs in a saucepan.
　　'I can't look round,' she said. 'I'm timing³ them by my watch. One minute more to go.'
　　'The postman has just brought a card from George,' said Julian. 'She says her tail and Timmy's areboth well up! I'm glad she's coming at last - and old Timmy too.'
　　'We'll all go and meet her,' said Anne, still with her eyes on her watch. 'Twenty seconds more.'
　　'We only came here ourselves three days ago,' said Dick. 'So she hasn't really missed much.
　　Surely those eggs will be hard-boiled, Anne!'
　　Anne stopped looking at her watch. 'No, they won't. They'll be just right.' She scooped⁴ them out ofthe little saucepan with a big spoon. 'Put them in the egg-cups, Dick. There they are-just under yournose.'
　　Dick picked an egg up from the plate on which Anne had placed them. It was so hot that he 6dropped it with a yell, and it broke its shell. Yolk⁵ flowed out of it.
　　'DICK! You saw me take it out of boiling water!' said Anne. 'Now I've got to do another. It's a pityold Timmy isn't here. He'd soon have licked that broken egg up from the floor and saved me clearingup the mess.'
　　'We'll eat our breakfast sitting on the steps of your caravan, Anne,' said Julian. 'The sun's so lovely.'
　　So they all sat there, eating boiled eggs, well-buttered bread, with chunky, home-made marmaladeafterwards, and then juicy apples. The sun shone down and Julian took off his coat.
　　Their two caravans⁶ were set on a sloping, grassy⁷ hillside. A tall hedge grew behind, and kept off thewind. Primroses⁸ ran in a pale gold streak⁹ under the hedge, and brilliant celandines shone in the sun,turning their polished faces towards it.
　　Not far off were three more caravans, but they were modern ones. The people staying in those werenot yet up, and the doors were fast shut. The three children had had no chance of making friends withthem.
　　On the opposite hill rose an old, ruined castle, whose great walls still defied the gales¹⁰ that sometimesblew over the hills. It had four towers. Three were very much broken, but the fourth looked almostcomplete. The windows were slitholes, made centuries back when archers¹¹ shot their arrows fromthem.
　　A very steep pathway led up to the castle. At the top of it was a gateway¹², enormously strong, built ofbig white blocks of stone. The gateway was now filled by a great screen of wrought-iron to preventanyone entering, and the only entrance was by a small tower in which was a narrow door. Here therewas a turnstile through which visitors might go to see the old castle.
　　A high, strong wall ran all round the castle, still standing after so many years. Bits of the top of it hadfallen down the hill and lay half-buried in grass and weeds. It had once been a magnificent old castle,built on the high, steep hill for safety, a place from which the castle guards might see the countryeasily for miles around.
　　As Julian said, anyone up in one of the towers, or even on the wall, would be able to see enemiesapproaching from seven counties. There would be plenty of time to shut the great gate, man the walls,and get ready to withstand quite a long siege if necessary.
　　The three of them sat on the steps, lazing in the sun, when they had finished their breakfast. Theylooked at the ruined old castle, and watched the jackdaws circling round the four towers.
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　　'There must be about a thousand jackdaws there,' said Dick. 'I wish we had field-glasses so that wecould watch them. It would be as good as a circus. I love the way they all fly up together, and circleround and round and yet never bump into one another.'
　　'Do they nest in that old castle?' asked Anne.
　　'Oh, yes - they fill up the towers with big sticks,' said Dick, 'and put their nests on the top. I bet we'dfind the ground beneath the towers strewn ankle-deep in sticks if we went to see.'
　　'Well, let's go one day when George is here,' said Anne. 'It only costs five pence to go in. I like oldcastles. I like the feel of old places.'
　　'So do I,' said Julian. 'I hope George brings the field-glasses she had for her birthday. We could takethem up into the castle with us and see all round the countryside for miles and miles. We could countthe seven counties!'
　　'I must wash up,' said Anne, getting up. 'I must tidy the caravans too before George comes.'
　　'You don't really think old George will notice if they're tidy or not, do you?' said Dick. 'It will be awaste of your time, Anne!'
　　But Anne always enjoyed tidying things and putting them away in cupboards or on shelves. She likedhaving the two caravans to look after. She had just got used to them nicely and was looking forwardto showing George round them.
　　She skipped over to the hedge and picked a great bunch of primroses. Back she went and dividedthem into two. She stuffed half into one little blue bowl, set their green crinkled leaves round them,and then put the other half into a second bowl.
　　'There - you go with the green and yellow curtains!' she said. She was soon very busy sweeping¹³ anddusting. She debated whether to send Dick to the stream to wash the breakfast things, and decided¹⁴ notto. Dick wasn't too good with crockery, and it was not theirs to break - it belonged to the owner of thecaravans.
　　By the time it was half-past eleven the caravans were spick and span. George's sheets and blanketswere on the shelf above her bunk¹⁵, which, in the daytime, let down neatly¹⁶ against the wall to makemore room. Anne had a bunk on the opposite side.
　　'This is the kind of holiday I like,' said Anne to herself. 'Somewhere small to live, fields and hills justoutside, picnicky meals - and not too much adventure!'
　　'What are you murmuring about, Anne?' said Dick, peeping in at the window. 'Did I hear somethingabout adventure? Are you looking for one already?'
　　8
　　'Good gracious no!' said Anne. 'It's the last thing I want! And the last thing we'll get too, in this quietlittle place, thank goodness.'
　　Dick grinned. 'Well, you never know,' he said. 'Are you ready to come and meet George, Anne?
　　It's about time we went.'
　　Anne went down the steps and joined Dick and Julian. 'Better lock the door,' said Dick. 'We've lockedours.' He locked Anne's door and the three set off down the grassy hillside to the stile that led into thelane below. The old castle on the opposite hill seemed to tower up higher and higher as they wentdown and down towards the village.
　　'It will be lovely to see Timmy again,' said Anne. 'And I'll be jolly glad to have George too, in mycaravan. I didn't really mind being alone at night - but it's always nice to have George near me, andTimmy grunting¹⁸ in his sleep.'
　　'You want to sleep with Dick if you like grunts¹⁹ and snorts and moans,' said Julian. 'What do youdream about, Dick? You must have more nightmares than anyone else in the kingdom!'
　　'I never grunt¹⁷ or snort or moan,' said Dick indignantly. 'You want to hear yourself! Why...'
　　'Look - isn't that the train coming in - isn't that it curving round the line in the distance?' said Anne. 'Itmust be! There's only one train in the morning here! We'd better run!'
　　They ran at top speed. The train drew in at the station just as they raced on to the platform. A head ofshort curly hair looked out from a window - and then another dark brown head just below it.
　　'George - and Timmy!' yelled Anne.
　　'Hallo!' shouted George, almost falling out of the door.
　　'WOOF!' barked Timmy, and leapt down to the platform almost on top of Dick. Down jumpedGeorge, her eyes shining. She hugged Anne, and gave Julian and Dick a punch each. 'I'm here!'
　　she said. 'I felt awful knowing you were away camping without me. I gave poor old Mother adreadful time.'
　　'I bet you did,' said Julian, and linked his arm in hers. 'Let me take that suit-case. We'll just slip intothe village first and have a few ice-creams to celebrate. There's a shop here that has some jolly decentones.'
　　'Good. I feel exactly like ice-creams,' said George, happily. 'Look, Timmy knows what you said.
　　His tongue is hanging out for an ice-cream already. Timmy, aren't you pleased we're all togetheragain?'
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　　'Woof,' said Timmy, and licked Anne's hand for the twentieth time.
　　'I really ought to bring a towel with me when I meet Timmy,' said Anne. 'His licks are so very wet.
　　Oh no, not again, Timmy - go and use your tongue on Julian!'
　　'I say, look - George has brought her field-glasses with her!' said Dick, suddenly noticing that thebrown strap²⁰ over George's shoulder did not belong to a camera but to a very fine leather case thatheld the new field-glasses. 'Good! We wanted to watch the jackdaws with them and there are someherons down on the marsh²¹ too.'
　　'Well, I thought I must bring them,' said George. 'It's the first hols I've had a chance to use them.
　　Mother wouldn't let me take them to school. I say - how much further is this ice-cream shop?'
　　'In the dairy here,' said Julian, marching her in. 'And I advise you to start off with vanilla²², go on tostrawberry and finish up with chocolate.'
　　'You do have good ideas!' said George. 'I hope you've got some money as well, if we're going to eatice-creams at this rate. Mother didn't give me very much to spend.'
　　They sat down and ordered ice-creams. The plump little shop-woman smiled at them. She knew themby now. 'This is very good weather for you,' she said. 'Are there many caravanners up on FaynightsField?'
　　'No, not many,' said Julian, beginning his ice.
　　'Well, you're going to have a few more,' said the little plump lady. 'I hear there's some fair-folkcoming - they usually camp up in your field. You'll have some fun if so.'
　　'Oh, good!' said Dick. 'We'll really be able to make a few friends then. We like fair-folk, don't we,Timmy?'

1 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

4 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 yolk   

n.蛋黄，卵黄

参考例句：

• This dish would be more delicious with some yolk powder.加点蛋黄粉，这道菜就会更好吃。
• Egg yolk serves as the emulsifying agent in salad dressing.在色拉调味时，蛋黄能作为乳化剂。

6 caravans   

（可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队）

参考例句：

• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles that are pulled by horses. 旧式的吉卜赛大篷车是由马拉的涂了颜色的木质车辆。
• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles. 旧时的吉普赛大篷车是涂了颜色的木质车辆。

7 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

8 primroses   

n.报春花( primrose的名词复数 )；淡黄色；追求享乐（招至恶果）

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The primroses were bollming; spring was in evidence. 迎春花开了，春天显然已经到了。 来自互联网

9 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

10 gales   

龙猫

参考例句：

• I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
• This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。

11 archers   

n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The next evening old Mr. Sillerton Jackson came to dine with the Archers. 第二天晚上，西勒顿？杰克逊老先生来和阿切尔家人一起吃饭。 来自辞典例句
• Week of Archer: Double growth for Archers and Marksmen. 射手周：弓箭手与弩手（人类）产量加倍。 来自互联网

12 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

13 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

14 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。

15 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

16 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。

17 grunt   

v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝

参考例句：

• He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
• I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。

18 grunting   

咕哝的，呼噜的

参考例句：

• He pulled harder on the rope, grunting with the effort. 他边用力边哼声，使出更大的力气拉绳子。
• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。

19 grunts   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈

参考例句：

• With grunts of anguish Ogilvie eased his bulk to a sitting position. 奥格尔维苦恼地哼着，伸个懒腰坐了起来。
• Linda fired twice A trio of Grunts assembling one mortar fell. 琳达击发两次。三个正在组装迫击炮的咕噜人倒下了。

20 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。

21 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

22 vanilla   

n.香子兰，香草

参考例句：

• He used to love milk flavoured with vanilla.他过去常爱喝带香草味的牛奶。
• I added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to the pie.我在馅饼里加了一块香草冰激凌。