Chapter 6 A FEW UPSETS

Chapter 6 A FEW UPSETS
Berta looked so upset that Aunt Fanny acted quickly and firmly. 'Don't bother about that letter now,Quentin,' she said. 'We'll go through it afterwards and decide what to do. Let's have our breakfast inpeace.'
'I won't have my hair cut off,' said Berta, again. Uncle Quentin was not used to being defied openlylike this, and he scowled¹. He looked at his wife.
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'Surely you are not going to let this - er what's her name now - Bertha...'
'Berta,' said everyone automatically.
'I said that we would not discuss this till after breakfast,' said Aunt Fanny, in the kind of voice thatmade everyone, including Uncle Quentin, quite certain that she meant what she said. Her husbandfolded up the letter and opened the next one, frowning. The children looked at one another.
Berta to be a boy! Goodness! If ever anyone looked less like a boy it was Berta! George was mostannoyed. She loved to dress like a boy, but she didn't feel inclined to urge anyone else to!
She looked at Berta, who was eating her breakfast with tears in her eyes. What a baby! She wouldn'teven look like a boy, if she was dressed in boys' clothes. She would just look absolutely silly.
Julian began a conversation with his aunt about the garden. She was grateful to him for breaking upthe sudden awkwardness caused by the letter. She was very fond of Julian. 'I can always depend onhim,' she thought, and talked gladly of the garden fruit, and who would pick the raspberries for lunchand whether the wasps³ would eat all the plums or not!
Dick joined in, and Anne, and soon Berta did too. Only George and her father remained gloomy.
They both looked so exactly alike in solemn, rather frowning expressions that Julian nudged Dickand nodded towards them.
Dick grinned. 'Like father, like daughter!' he said. 'Cheer up, George. Don't you like your breakfast?'
George was just about to answer crossly when Anne gave an exclamation⁴. 'Oh, look at UncleQuentin! He's putting mustard on his toast - Aunt Fanny, stop him - he's just going to eat it!'
Everyone roared with laughter. Aunt Fanny managed to smack⁵ her husband's hand down from hismouth, just as he was putting his toast and mustard up to it, reading a letter at the same time.
'Hey - what's the matter?' he said, startled.
'Quentin - that's the second time this month you've spread your toast with mustard instead of withmarmalade,' said his wife. 'Do have a little sense.'
After that everyone became very cheerful. Uncle Quentin laughed at himself, and George saw thefunny side and laughed loudly too, which made Timmy bark, and Berta giggled⁶. Aunt Fanny wasquite relieved that her husband had done such a silly thing.
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'Do you remember when Father poured custard all over his fried fish once?' George said, entering intothe talk for the first time. 'And he said it was the best egg-sauce he had ever tasted?'
The conversation was very animated⁷ after that, and Aunt Fanny felt happier. 'You girls can clearaway and wash up the breakfast things for Joan,' she said. 'Or two of you can and the other can makethe beds with me.'
'What about my little dog?' said Berta, suddenly remembering her again. 'I haven't seen her yet,because I was only just in time for breakfast. Where is she?'
'You can go and get her now,' said Aunt Fanny. 'We've all finished. Are you going to start your work,Quentin?'
'Yes, I am,' said her husband. 'So I don't want any yelling or shouting or barking outside my studydoor.'
He got up and went out of the room. Berta stood up too. 'Where's the kennel⁸?' she said.
'I'll show you,' said Anne. 'We'll go and get your dog and introduce it to Timmy. Coming, George?'
'You can bring the dog in here, and we'll see what Timmy says,' said George, going all gloomy again.
'If he doesn't like the dog - and he won't - it will have to live out in the kennel.'
'Oh no,' said Berta, at once.
'Well, you don't want Timmy to eat it, do you?' said George. 'He's very jealous of other dogs in thehouse. He might go for yours and savage⁹ it.'
'Oh no!' said Berta, again, looking upset. 'Timmy's nice. He's not a fierce dog.'
'That's all you know!' said George. 'Well, I've warned you.'
'Come on,' said Anne, pulling at Berta's sleeve. 'Let's go and fetch Sally. She must be wondering whynobody bothers about her. I bet Timmy won't mind terribly.'
As soon as the two had gone out, George spoke¹⁰ in Timmy's ear. 'You don't like strange dogs whowant to come and live here, do you, Tim? You'll growl¹¹ and snarl¹² like anything, won't you?
Growl your very fiercest! I know you won't bite but if you could just growl your loudest, that will beenough. Berta will make that Sally-dog live out of doors then!'
Soon she heard footsteps returning, and Anne's voice exclaiming in delight.
'Oh, she's sweet! Oh, what a darling! Sally, you're a pet! Julian, Dick, Aunt Fanny - do come and seeBerta's dog!'
Everyone came into the room, led by Berta and Anne. Berta held the dog in her arms.
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It was a tiny black poodle, whose woolly fur was cut away here and there to give it a very fashionablelook. Sally was certainly an attractive little thing! Her sharp little nose sniffed¹³ all the time she wascarried into the room, and her quick little eyes looked everywhere.
Berta put her down, and the little poodle stood there, poised¹⁴ on her dainty feet like a ballet dancerabout to perform. Everyone but George exclaimed in delight.
'She's a poppet!'
'Sally! Sally, you're a pet!'
'Oh, a poodle! I do love poodles! They look so knowing.'
Timmy stood by George, sniffing¹⁵ hard to get the smell of this new dog. George had her hand on hiscollar in case he sprang. His tail was as stiff as a ramrod.
The poodle suddenly saw him. She stared at him out of bright little eyes, quite unafraid. Then shepulled away from Berta's hand and trotted¹⁶ right over to Timmy, her funny little tail wagging merrily.
Timmy backed a little in surprise. The poodle danced all round him on her toes, and a littlewhimpering bark, which said as plainly as possible, I want to play with you!
Timmy sprang. He leapt in the air and came down with a thud on his big paws, and the little poodledodged. Timmy's tail began to wag wildly. He sprang again in play, and almost knocked the littlepoodle over. He barked as if to say 'Sorry, I didn't mean that!'
Then he and the poodle played a most ridiculous game of dodge¹⁷ and run, and although one or twochairs went flying nobody minded - they were all laughing so much at the sight of the quick littlepoodle leading Timmy such a dance.
At last Sally was tired and sat down in a corner. Timmy pranced¹⁸ about in front of her, showing off.
Then he went up to her and sniffed her nose. He licked it gently, and then lay down in front of her,gazing at her adoringly.
Anne gave a little squeal¹⁹ of laughter. 'He's gazing at Sally exactly as he gazes at you, George!'
she cried.
But George was not at all pleased. In fact she was quite astounded²⁰. To think that Timmy shouldwelcome another dog! To think that he should behave like this when she had told him to do theopposite!
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'Aren't they sweet together?' said Berta, pleased. 'I thought Timmy would like Sally. Of course Sallyis a pedigree dog, and cost a lot of money - and Timmy's only a mongrel. I expect he thinks she'swunnerful.'
'Oh, Tim may be a mongrel, but he's absolutely wunnerful too,' said Dick, hastily, pronouncing theword like Berta, to try and get a laugh. He saw George's scowl², and knew how cross she felt athearing her beloved Timmy compared with a pedigree dog. 'He's a magnificent fellow, aren't you,Timmy?' went on Dick. 'Sally may be a darling, but you're worth more than a hundred darlings, aren'tyou?'
'I think he's beautiful,' said Berta, looking down at Timmy. 'He's got the loveliest eyes I ever did see.'
George began to feel a little better. She called Timmy. 'You're making rather a fool of yourself,'
she said to him.
'Now that Timmy and Sally are going to be friends, can I have Sally to sleep on my bed at night, likeGeorge has Timmy?' said Berta. 'Please say yes, Aunt Fanny.'
'No,' said George at once. 'Mother, I won't have that. I won't!'
'Well, we'll see what we can do about it,' said her mother. 'Sally was quite happy in the kennel lastnight, I must say.'
'I'm going to have her sleep with me,' said Berta, scowling²¹ at George. 'My father will pay you a lot ofmoney to make me happy. He told me he would.'
'Don't be silly, Berta,' said Aunt Fanny, firmly. 'This isn't a question of money. Now, leave this for alittle while, please, and go and do your jobs, all of you. And then we must consider your father'sletter, Berta, and see exactly what he wants done. We must certainly try to follow his advice aboutyou.'
'But I don't want to...' began Berta, and then felt a firm hand on her arm. It was Julian.
'Come on, kid,' he said. 'Be your age! Remember you're a guest here and put on a few of your bestmanners. We like American children - but not spoilt ones!'
Berta had quite a shock to hear Julian speaking like this. She looked up at him and he grinned downat her. She felt near tears, but she smiled back.
'You haven't any brothers to keep you in your place,' said Julian, linking his arm in hers. 'Well, fromnow on, while you're here, Dick and I are your brothers, and you've got to toe the line, just like Anne.
See? What about it?'
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Berta felt that there was nothing in the world she would like better than having Julian for a brother!
He was big and tall and had twinkling kindly²² eyes that made Berta feel he was as responsible andtrustable as her father.
Aunt Fanny smiled to herself. Julian always knew the best thing to say and do. Now he would takeBerta in hand and see that she didn't upset the household too much. She was glad. It wasn't easy torun a big family like this, with a scientist husband to cope with, unless everyone pulled together!
'You go and help Aunt Fanny with the beds,' said Julian to Berta. 'And take your Sally-dog with you.
She's great! But so is Timmy, and don't you forget it!'

1 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。

2 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。

3 wasps   

黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人

参考例句：

• There's a wasps' nest in that old tree. 那棵老树上有一个黄蜂巢。
• We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless ones like moths. 我们不仅生活在对象蜘蛛或黄蜂这样的小虫的惧怕中，而且生活在对诸如飞蛾这样无害昆虫的惧怕中

4 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

5 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

6 giggled   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

8 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。

9 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 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》

14 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

15 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；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：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

17 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

18 pranced   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their horses pranced and whinnied. 他们的马奔腾着、嘶鸣着。 来自辞典例句
• The little girl pranced about the room in her new clothes. 小女孩穿着新衣在屋里雀跃。 来自辞典例句

19 squeal   

v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音

参考例句：

• The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
• There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时，车闸发出尖叫声。

20 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

21 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）

22 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。