Chapter 1 AT KIRRIN COTTAGE

Chapter 1 AT KIRRIN COTTAGE
'I feel as if we've been at Kirrin for about a month already!' said Anne, stretching herself out on thewarm sand, and digging her toes in. 'And we've only just come!'
'Yes - it's funny how we settle down at Kirrin so quickly,' said Dick. 'We only came yesterday, and Iagree with you, Anne - it seems as if we've been here ages. I love Kirrin.'
'I hope this weather lasts out the three weeks we've got left of the holiday,' said Julian, rolling awayfrom Timmy, who was pawing at him, trying to make him play. 'Go away, Timmy. You're tooenergetic. We've bathed, had a run, played ball - and that's quite enough for a little while. Go andplay with the crabs¹!'
'Woof!' said Timmy, disgusted. Then he pricked² up his ears as he heard a tinkling³ noise from thepromenade. He barked again.
'Trust old Timmy to hear the ice-cream man,' said Dick. 'Anyone want an ice-cream?'
Everyone did, so Anne collected the money and went off to get the ice-creams, Timmy close at herheels. She came back with five cartons of ice-cream, Timmy jumping up at her all the way.
'I can't think of anything nicer than lying down on hot sand with the sun on every part of my body,eating an ice-cream, and knowing there are still three weeks' holiday in front of us - at Kirrin too!'
said Dick.
'Yes. It's heaven,' said Anne. 'It's a pity your father has visitors today, George. Who are they?
Have we got to dress up for them?'
'I don't think so,' said George. 'Timmy, you've eaten your ice-cream in one gulp⁴. What a frightfulwaste!'
'When are these people coming?' asked Dick.
'About half past twelve,' said George. 'They're coming to lunch - but thank goodness Father toldMother he didn't want a pack of children gobbling all round him and his friends at lunch, so Mothersaid we could go in at half past twelve, say how-do-you-do and then clear off again with a picnicbasket.'
'I must say I think your father has some good ideas at times,' said Dick. 'I suppose they are somescientist friends of his?'
2'Yes. Father's working on some great scheme with these two men,' said George. 'One of them's agenius, apparently⁵, and has hit on an idea that's too wonderful for words.'
'What kind of modern idea is it?' said Julian, lazily, holding out his finger-tips for Timmy to lick offsmears of ice-cream. 'Some space-ship to take us on day-trips to the moon - or some new bomb to setoff - or...'
'No, I think it's something that will give us heat, light and power for almost nothing!' said George. 'Iheard Father say that it's the simplest and best idea anyone had ever worked out, and he's awfullyexcited about it. He called it a 'gift to mankind' and said he was proud to have anything to do with it.'
'Uncle quentin is very clever, isn't he?' said Anne. George's father was the uncle of Julian, Dick andAnne, and they were cousins to George - short for Georgina. Once more they had all come down toKirrin for part of their holiday, the last three weeks.
George's father was certainly clever. All the same, George sometimes wished that he was a moreordinary parent, one who would play cricket or tennis with children, and not be so horrified⁷ atshouting and laughter and silly jokes. He always made a fuss when George's mother insisted thatGeorge should have her cousins to stay.
'Noisy, rowdy, yelling kids!' he said. 'I shall lock myself in my study and stay there!'
'All right, dear,' said his wife. 'You do that. But you know perfectly⁸ well that they will be outpractically all day long. George must have other children to stay sometimes, and her three cousins arethe nicest ones I know. George loves having them here.'
The four cousins were very careful not to upset George's father. He had a very hot temper andshouted at the top of his voice when he was angry. Still, as Julian said, he really couldn't help being agenius, and geniuses weren't ordinary people.
'Especially scientific geniuses who might easily blow up the whole world in a fit of temper,' saidJulian, solemnly.
'Well, I wish he wouldn't keep blowing me up if I let a door bang, or set Timmy barking,' saidGeorge.
'That's only to keep his hand in,' said Dick. 'Just a bit of practice at blowing up!'
'Don't be an ass,' said George. 'Does anyone feel like another bathe?'
'No. But I don't mind going and lying in the very edge of the sea, and letting the waves there just curlover me,' said Dick. 'I'm absolutely baked lying here.'
3'It sounds lovely,' said Anne. 'But the hotter you are the colder the water feels.'
'Come on!' said Dick, getting up. 'I shall hang my tongue out and pant like Timmy soon.'
They all went down to the edge of the water and lay down flat in the tiny curling waves there.
Anne gave a little shriek¹⁰.
'It feels icy! I knew it would. I can't lie down in it yet - I can only sit up!'
However they were soon all lying full-length in the shallow waves at the edge of the sea, slidingdown the sand a little every now and again as the tide ebbed¹¹ farther from them. It was lovely to feelthe cool fingers of the sea on every part of them.
Suddenly Timmy barked. He was not in the water with them, but was just at the edge. He thought thatlying down in the sea was quite unnecessary! George raised her head.
'What's the matter?' she said. 'There's nobody coming.'
But Dick had heard something too. He sat up hurriedly. 'Gosh, I believe that's someone ringing a bellfor us. It sounds like the bell from Kirrin Cottage!'
'But it can't be dinner-time yet!' said Anne in dismay.
'It must be,' said Julian, leaping up. 'Blow! This is what comes of leaving my watch in my blazerpocket! I ought to have remembered that time at Kirrin goes more quickly than anywhere else!'
He ran up the beach to his blazer and took his wristwatch from the pocket. 'It's one o'clock!' heyelled. 'In fact, it's a minute past. Buck¹² up, we'll be awfully⁶ late!'
'Blow!' said George. 'Mother won't be at all pleased with us, because those two scientist people willbe there!'
They collected their blazers and tore up the beach. It was not very far to Kirrin Cottage, fortunately,and they were soon running in at the front gate. There was a very large car outside, one of the latestAmerican models. But there was no time to examine it!
They trailed in quietly at the garden door. George's mother met them, looking rather cross.
'Sorry, Aunt Fanny,' said Julian. 'Please forgive us. It was my fault entirely¹³. I'm the only one with awatch.'
'Are we awfully late?' asked Anne. 'Have you begun lunch yet? Would you like us just to take ourpicnic basket and slip off without interrupting?'
'No,' said her aunt. 'Fortunately your uncle is still shut up in his study with his friends. I've soundedthe gong once but I don't expect they've even heard it! I rang the bell for you because I 4thought that any moment they might come out, and your uncle would be cross if you weren't therejust to say how-do-you-do!'
'But Father's friends don't usually want to see us,' said George, surprised.
'Well, one of them has a girl a bit younger than you, George - younger than Anne too, I think,'
said her mother. 'And he specially⁹ asked to see you all, because his daughter is going to your schoolnext term.'
'We'd better buck up and have a bit of a wash then,' said Julian - but at that very moment the studydoor opened, and his Uncle Quentin came out with two men.
'Hallo - are these your kids?' said one of the men, stopping.
'They've just come in from the beach,' said Aunt Fanny hurriedly. 'I'm afraid they are not really fit tobe seen. I...'
'Great snakes!' said the man, 'don't you dare to apologise for kids like these! I never saw such a finelot in my life - they're wunnerful!'
He spoke¹⁴ with an American accent, and beamed all over his face. The children warmed to him atonce. He turned to George's father. 'These all yours?' he asked. 'I bet you're proud of them! How didthey get that tan - they look like Red Indians! My, my - wish my Berta looked like that!'
'They're not all mine,' said Uncle Quentin, looking quite horrified at the thought. 'Only this one ismine,' and he put his hand on George's shoulder. 'The others are nephews and a niece.'
'Well, I must say you've got a fine boy,' said the American, ruffling¹⁵ George's short curls. As a rule shehated people who did that, but because he mistook her for a boy, she grinned happily!
'My girl's going to your school,' he said to Anne. 'Give her a bit of help, will you? She'll be scaredstiff at first.'
'Of course I will,' said Anne, taking a liking¹⁶ to the huge loud-voiced American. He didn't look a bitlike a scientist. The other man did, though. He was round-shouldered and wore owl-like glasses, and,as Uncle Quentin often did, he stared into the distance as if he was not hearing a single word thatanyone said.
Uncle Quentin thought this gossiping had lasted long enough. He waved the children away.
'Come and have lunch,' he said to the other men. The second man followed him at once, but the bigAmerican stayed behind. He thrust his hands into his pocket and brought out a pound note.
He gave it to Anne.
'Spend that on yourselves,' he said. 'And be kind to my Berta, won't you?'
5He disappeared into the dining-room and shut the door with a loud bang. 'Goodness - what willFather say to a bang like that!' said George, with a sudden giggle¹⁷. 'I like him, don't you? That must behis car outside. I can't imagine the other man even riding a bicycle, let alone driving a car!'
'Children - take your picnic basket and go!' said Aunt Fanny, urgently. 'I must run and see thateverything is all right!'
She thrust a big basket into Julian's hands, and disappeared into the dining-room. Julian grinned as hefelt the weight of the basket.
'Come along,' he said. 'This feels good! Back to the beach, everyone!'

1 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

3 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学

4 gulp   

vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽

参考例句：

• She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
• Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽，要嚼碎了再咽下去。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

7 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。

8 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。

9 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

10 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

11 ebbed   

（指潮水）退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• But the pain had ebbed away and the trembling had stopped. 不过这次痛已减退，寒战也停止了。
• But gradually his interest in good causes ebbed away. 不过后来他对这类事业兴趣也逐渐淡薄了。

12 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 ruffling   

弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱

参考例句：

• A cool breeze brushed his face, ruffling his hair. 一阵凉风迎面拂来，吹乱了他的头发。
• "Indeed, they do not,'said Pitty, ruffling. "说真的，那倒不一定。" 皮蒂皱皱眉头，表示异议。

16 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

17 giggle   

n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说

参考例句：

• Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。
• All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。