Chapter 4 BERTA

Chapter 4 BERTA
George sat up in bed and stared at Berta. She looked very peculiar¹ indeed. For one thing she was sobundled up in coats and wraps that it was difficult to see if she was fat or thin, tall or short, and foranother thing she was crying so bitterly that her face was all screwed up.
Anne didn't wake up. Timmy was so astonished that, like George, he simply sat and stared.
'Tell Timmy not to make a sound,' whispered George's mother, afraid that the dog might bark thehouse down, once he began.
George laid a warning hand on Timmy. Her mother gave Berta a little push farther into the room.
'She's been terribly seasick², poor child,' she told George. 'And she's scared and upset. I want her toget into bed as soon as possible.'
Berta was still sobbing³, but the sobs⁴ grew quieter as she began to feel less sick. George's mother wasso kind and sensible that she felt comforted.
'Let's take these things off,' she said to Berta. 'My word, you are bundled up! But if you came in anopen motorboat I expect you needed them.'
'What am I to call you?' asked Berta, with one last sniff⁵.
'You'd better call me Aunt Fanny, as the others do, I think,' said George's mother. 'I expect you knowwhy you've come to stay with us for a while, don't you?'
'Yes,' said Berta. 'I didn't want to come. I wanted to stay with my father. I'm not afraid of beingkidnapped. I've got Sally to look after me.'
'Who's Sally, dear?' asked Aunt Fanny, taking a coat or two off Berta.
'My dog,' said Berta. 'She's downstairs in the basket I was carrying.'
George pricked⁶ up her ears at that bit of news! 'A dog!' she said. 'We can't have a dog here. Minewould never allow that. Would you, Timmy?'
Timmy gave a small wuff. He was watching this night arrival with great interest. Who was she?
He was longing⁷ to get down from George's bed and go to sniff at her, but George had her hand on hiscollar.
'Well, I've brought my dog, and I just reckon she'll have to stay now,' said Berta. 'The boat's goneback. Anyway, I wouldn't go anywhere without Sally. I told my father that, and he said all right then,take her with you! So I did.'
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'Mother, tell her how fierce Timmy is and that he would fight any other dog who came here,' saidGeorge, urgently. 'I won't have anybody else's dog at Kirrin Cottage.'
To George's annoyance⁸ her mother took not the slightest notice. She went on helping⁹ Berta take offscarves and leggings and goodness knows what. George wondered how anyone could possibly existin all those clothes on a warm summer's night.
At last Berta stood in a simple jersey¹⁰ and skirt, a slim, pretty little girl with large blue eyes and wavygolden hair. She shook back her hair and rubbed her face with a hanky.
'Thank you,' she said. 'Can I get Sally my dog now?'
'Not tonight,' said Aunt Fanny. 'You see, you are to sleep in that little camp-bed over in the corner -and I can't let you have your dog here too, because she and Timmy might fight unless we introducethem to one another properly. And there is no time to bother about that tonight. Do you feel hungrynow? Would you like some tomato soup and biscuits?'
'Yes, please. I do feel a bit hungry,' said Berta. 'I've been so sick on that awful bumpy¹¹ boat that I don'texpect there's anything left inside me at all!'
'Well, look - you unpack¹² your little night-case, and have a wash in the bathroom if you want to, andthen get into your pyjamas¹³,' said Aunt Fanny. 'Then hop¹⁴ into bed and I'll bring you up some soup.'
But one look at the scowling¹⁵ George made her change her mind. Better not leave poor Berta with anangry George on her very first night!
'I think perhaps I won't get the soup myself,' she said. 'George, you go and get it, will you? It'swarming up in the saucepan on the stove downstairs. You'll see the little soup-cup on the table, andsome biscuits too.'
George got out of bed, still looking very mutinous¹⁶. She watched Berta shake out a nightdress fromher night-case and pursed up her lips.
'She doesn't even wear pyjamas!' she thought. 'What a ninny! And she's had the sauce to bring herown dog, too - spoilt little thing! I wonder where it is? I've a good mind to have a look at it when I'mdownstairs.'
But her mother had an idea that George might do that and she went to the door after her.
'George!' she said, warningly, 'I don't want you to open the dog's basket downstairs. I'm not havingany dog-fights tonight. I shall put him in Timmy's kennel¹⁷ outside before I go to bed.'
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George said nothing but went on downstairs. The soup was just about to boil and she whipped it offthe stove at once. She poured it into the little soup-cup, placed it on the saucer, and put some biscuitson the side.
She heard a small whimpering sound, and turned round. It came from a fairly large basket over in thecorner. George was terribly tempted¹⁸ to go and undo¹⁹ it - but she knew perfectly²⁰ well that if the newdog ran upstairs to find its mistress, Timmy would bark and wake everybody up! It wasn't worthrisking.
She took up the soup. Berta was now in the camp-bed and looked very cosy²¹. Anne was still sleepingpeacefully, quite undisturbed by all that was going on. Timmy had taken the opportunity of jumpingoff George's bed and had gone to examine this newcomer. He sniffed²² her delicately, and Berta put outher hand and stroked his head.
'What lovely eyes he's got,' she said. 'But he's a mongrel, isn't he? A sort of mixture-dog.'
'Don't you say anything like that to George,' said Aunt Fanny. 'She adores Timmy. Now - do you feelbetter? I hope you'll be happy with us, Berta, dear - I am sure you didn't want to come - but yourfather was so worried. And it will be nice for you to get to know Anne and Georgina before you go totheir school next term.'
'Oh - was that Georgina - the one you called George?' said Berta in surprise. 'I wasn't really sure ifshe was a boy or not. My father told me there were three boys here and one girl - and that's the girl,isn't it - in bed there?'
She pointed²³ to Anne. Aunt Fanny nodded. 'Yes, that's Anne. Your father thought George was a boy,that's why he told you there were three boys and only one girl here, I suppose. The two boys are inthe next room.'
'I don't like George very much,' said Berta. 'She doesn't want me here, does she - or my dog?'
'Oh, you'll find George great fun when you get to know her,' said Aunt Fanny. 'Here she comes nowwith your soup.'
George came in with the soup, and was not at all pleased to see Timmy standing²⁴ by the camp-bed,being petted by Berta. She set the soup down sharply, and pushed Timmy away.
'Thank you,' said Berta, and took the soup-cup eagerly into her hands. 'What lovely soup!' she said.
George got into bed and turned over on her side. She knew she was behaving badly, but the thoughtof someone daring to bring another dog to live at Kirrin Cottage was more than she could bear.
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Timmy leapt up to lie at her feet as usual. Berta looked at this with much approval.
'I'll have Sally on my feet tomorrow!' she said. 'That's an awfully²⁵ good idea. Pops - that's my father -always let me have Sally in my room, but she had to be in her basket, not on my bed.
Tomorrow night she can sleep on my feet, like Timmy does on George's.'
'She will not,' said George, in a fierce voice. 'No dog sleeps in my bedroom except Timmy.'
'Now don't talk any more,' said Aunt Fanny, hurriedly. 'We can settle everything tomorrow whenyou're not so tired. I'll look after Sally tonight for you, I promise. Lie down now and go to sleep.
You look as if you're half asleep already!'
Berta was suddenly overcome with sleep and flopped²⁶ down into bed. Her eyes closed, but shemanaged to force them open and look up at George's mother.
'Good night, Aunt Fanny,' she said, sleepily. 'That's what I was to call you, wasn't it? Thank you forbeing so kind to me.'
She was asleep almost before she had finished speaking. Aunt Fanny took up the soup-cup and wentto the door. 'Are you awake, George?' she said.
George lay absolutely still. She knew that her mother was not pleased with her. It would be better topretend to be fast asleep!
'I am sure you are awake,' said her mother. 'And I hope you are ashamed of yourself. I shall expectyou to make up for this silly behaviour in the morning. It is a pity to behave in such a childishmanner!'
She went out of the room, closing the door softly. George put out her hand to Timmy. She wasashamed of herself, but she wasn't at all certain that she would behave better in the morning.
That silly, soppy girl! Her dog would be as silly as herself, she was sure! And Timmy would simplyhate having another dog in the house. He would probably growl²⁷ and snarl²⁸ to such a degree that Bertawould be forced to send her dog away.
'And a good thing too,' murmured George, as Timmy licked her fingers lovingly. 'You don't wantanother girl in the house or another dog either, do you Timmy? Especially a girl like that!'
Aunt Fanny saw to Berta's dog, and put her safely into Timmy's kennel outside. It had a little door toit, which could be shut, so the dog was safe there, and would not be able to run out.
She went back into the house, cleared up Berta's belongings²⁹ a little, for they had been thrownhiggledy-piggledy into the room, and then turned out the light.
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She went upstairs to bed. Her husband had slept soundly all through Berta's late arrival. He had beenvery sure that he would wake up and welcome the girl as well as his wife, but he hadn't even stirred!
Aunt Fanny was glad. It was much easier for her to deal with a seasick, frightened girl by herself.
She climbed thankfully into bed and lay down with a sigh.
'Oh dear - I don't look forward to the morning! What will happen then, with George in this mood, andtwo dogs to sort out? Berta seems a nice little thing. Well - perhaps they will all get on better than Ithink!'
Yes - things wouldn't be too easy in the morning. That was quite certain!

1 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

2 seasick   

adj.晕船的

参考例句：

• When I get seasick,I throw up my food.我一晕船就呕吐。
• He got seasick during the voyage.在航行中他晕船。

3 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

4 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

5 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

6 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。

7 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

8 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。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 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。

11 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

12 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。

13 pyjamas   

n.（宽大的）睡衣裤

参考例句：

• This pyjamas has many repairs.这件睡衣有许多修补过的地方。
• Martin was in his pyjamas.马丁穿着睡衣。

14 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

15 scowling   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里，穿着灰色的衣服，漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

16 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。

17 kennel   

n.狗舍，狗窝

参考例句：

• Sporting dogs should be kept out of doors in a kennel.猎狗应该养在户外的狗窝中。
• Rescued dogs are housed in a standard kennel block.获救的狗被装在一个标准的犬舍里。

18 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

19 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

20 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。

21 cosy   

adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的

参考例句：

• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
• It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

22 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》

23 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

24 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。

25 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。

26 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

28 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

29 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。