Chapter 8 A TRANSFORMATION

Chapter 8 A TRANSFORMATION¹
Berta stood in the middle of the floor, blinking her tears away. Anne gave a gasp².
'You know - it's very odd - but she does look rather like a boy - a very, very good-looking boy!'
'An angelic boy,' said Dick. 'A choirboy or something. She looks smashing! Who would have thoughtit?'
Aunt Fanny was very struck with Berta's appearance too. 'It's certainly very odd,' she said. 'But there'sno doubt about it - when she's - I mean he's - dressed in boy's clothes, he'll make a fine boy. Betterthan George, actually, because her hair's really too curly for a boy.'
Berta went to the looking-glass on the wall. She gave a wail³. 'I look awful! I don't know myself!
Nobody would EVER recognize me!'
'Splendid!' said Dick, at once. 'You've hit the nail right on the head. Nobody would recognize younow. Your father was quite right to say, cut your hair off and dress up as a boy. Any prowlingkidnapper would never think you were Berta, the pretty little girl.'
'I'd rather be kidnapped than look like this,' wept Berta. 'What will the girls at your school say, Anne,when they see me?'
'They don't say anything to George about her short hair, and they won't say anything to you,' saidAnne.
'Stop crying, Bert - er - Lesley,' said Aunt Fanny. 'You make me feel quite miserable⁴. You've beenvery good to stand so still all that time. Now I really must think of a little reward for you.'
Berta stopped crying at once. 'Please,' she said, 'there's only one thing I want now. I want Sally-dog tosleep with me.'
'Oh dear, Ber - er Lesley - I really can't have another dog in that little bedroom,' said poor AuntFanny. 'And George would make things most unpleasant if I did.'
'Aunt Fanny - Sally is a very very good guard for me,' said Berta. 'She barks at the very slightestsound. I'd feel safe with her in the bedroom.'
'I'd like you to have her,' said Aunt Fanny, 'but...'
Joan had come into the room to put away some things and had heard the conversation. She stared inadmiration at Berta's neat golden head, and then made a suggestion. 'If you'll excuse me, Mam,' shesaid, 'Miss Berta could have her camp-bed in my room. I don't mind the dog a bit, she 34can have her and welcome, he's a pet, that little poodle. It's very crowded in the girls' room now, withthree beds in it, and my room's a nice big one. So, if Miss Berta doesn't mind sharing it, she'swelcome.'
'Oh Joan - that's good of you,' said Aunt Fanny, relieved at such a simple solution. 'Also, your roomis up in the attic⁶ - it would be very difficult for kidnappers⁷ to find their way there - and nobody wouldthink of looking into your room for one of the children.'
'Thank you, Joan, you're just wunnerful!' said Berta, in delight. 'Sally, do you hear that? You'll besleeping on my feet tonight, like Timmy does on George's.'
'I don't really approve of that, you know, Berta,' said Aunt Fanny. 'Oh dear - I called you Berta again.
Lesley, I mean. What a muddle⁸ I'm going to get into! Anne, get the dustpan and sweep up the hair onthe floor.'
When Julian and George came back there was no sign of the golden hair on the floor. They put theirparcels down on the table and shouted for Aunt Fanny. 'Mother!' called George. 'Aunt Fanny!'
shouted Julian.
She came running downstairs with Berta and Anne and Dick. Julian and George looked at Berta,thunderstruck. 'Gosh - is it really you, Berta?' said Julian. 'I simply don't recognize you!'
'Why - you do look like a boy!' said George. 'I never thought you would.'
'A jolly good-looking boy,' said Julian. 'Well, your father was right. It's the best disguise you couldhave!'
'Where are the clothes?' asked Berta, rather pleased at all the interest in her looks. They opened theparcels and pulled out the things.
They were not really very exciting - a boy's blazer in navy blue, two pairs of boy's jeans, two greyjerseys, a few shirts, a tie and a pull-over without sleeves.
'And shoes and socks,' said George. 'But we decided⁹ you'd got plenty of socks that would do, so weonly bought one pair of those. Oh - and here's a boy's grey felt hat in case the sun's too hot -and a cap!'
Berta put on the cap at once. There were squeals¹⁰ of laughter from everyone. 'It suits her! She's got iton at just the right angle. She looks a real boy!'
'You put it on, George,' said Berta, and George took it, eager to share in the admiration⁵. But it lookedridiculous on her curls, and wouldn't sit down flat as it should. Everyone hooted¹¹.
'It makes you look a girl! Take it off!'
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George took it off in disappointment. How very aggravating¹² that this girl Berta should make a betterboy than she did! She threw the cap on the table, half-cross that they had bought it.
'Go upstairs and put some of the things on,' said Aunt Fanny, amused at all these goings-on. Up wentBerta obediently, and soon came down again, neatly¹³ arrayed in jeans, grey shirt and blue tie.
Everyone roared with laughter. Berta was now quite enjoying herself and paraded round the room,her cap tilted¹⁴ on one side of her head.
'She looks like a very tidy, neat little boy, a good and most angelic child!' said Julian. 'Dear Lesley,you must get yourself just a little dirty - you look too good to be true.'
'I don't like getting dirty,' said Berta. 'I think...'
But what she thought nobody knew because at that moment the door opened and Uncle Quentin cameinto the room.
'I'd like to know how you think I can do my work with all this hooting¹⁵ and cackling going on,' hebegan, and then he suddenly saw Berta, and stopped.
'Who's this?' he said, looking Berta up and down.
'Don't you know, Father?' said George.
'Of course not. Never seen him in my life before!' said her father. 'Don't tell me it's somebody elsecome to stay.'
'It's Berta,' said Anne, with a giggle¹⁶.
'Berta - now who's Berta?' said Uncle Quentin, frowning. 'I seem to have heard that name before.'
'The girl you thought might be kidnapped,' explained Dick.
'Oh Berta - Elbur's girl!' said Uncle Quentin, 'I remember her all right. But who's this? This boy?
I've never seen him before. What's your name, boy?'
'Lesley,' said Berta. 'But I was Berta when you saw me at breakfast.'
'Good heavens!' said Uncle Quentin amazed. 'What a - what a transformation! Why, your own fatherwouldn't know you. I hope I remember who you are. Keep reminding me, if I don't.'
Off he went, back to his study. The children laughed, and Aunt Fanny had to laugh too.
'By the way,' she said, 'I want you all to have lunch at home today, because it's really too late now tostart making sandwiches for a picnic; it's only cold ham and salad, so don't get too hungry, will you?'
'Is there time for a bathe?' asked Julian, looking at his watch.
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'Yes - if you'll come in about twelve o'clock and pick the fruit for a pudding for lunch,' said his aunt.
'It takes ages to pick enough for eight people, and Joan and I have a lot to do today.'
'Right. We'll go for a bathe now, and then we'll ALL pick fruit,' said Julian. 'Bags I pick the plums.
The raspberries are such fiddley little things.'
'Have you a swim-suit, Berta, I mean Lesley?' asked George.
'Yes. It's an absolutely plain one, like a boy's, so I'll be all right in it,' said Berta. 'Hurray, I shan'tneed to wear a cap. Boys never do.'
Berta's cases were now all in Joan's big room and she ran to get into her swim-suit.
'Bring your blazer and a towel,' yelled George, and went into her own room with Anne.
'I bet Berta can't swim,' she said. 'That will be a pity, because most boys swim well. We'll have toteach her.'
'Well, don't duck her too often!' said Anne, seeing a look in George's eye that was not too kindly¹⁷.
'Blow - my swim-suit isn't here - I'm sure I brought it in from the clothes-line.'
It took quite a while to find it, and the boys and Berta had already gone down to the beach with Sallyby the time Anne and George were ready to follow with the impatient Timmy.
They were down on the beach at last, and there was Sally-dog guarding the blazers belonging toJulian, Dick and Berta. She was lying on them, and she even dared to growl¹⁸ at Timmy when he camenear.
George laughed. 'Growl back, Timmy! Don't let a little snippet like that cheek you. Growl back!'
But Timmy wouldn't. He just sat down out of reach of Sally, and looked at her sadly. Wasn't shefriends with him any more?
'Where are the others?' said Anne, shading her eyes from the glare of the sun and looking out to sea.
'Goodness, how far out they've swum! That can't be Berta with them, surely!'
George looked out over the stretch of blue sea at once. She saw three heads bobbing. Yes, Berta wasout there!
'She must be a jolly good swimmer,' said Anne, admiringly. 'I couldn't swim out as far as that.
We were wrong about Berta. She swims like a fish!'
George said nothing. She ran to the waves, plunged¹⁹ through a big one just as it was curling over, andswam out strongly. She couldn't believe that it was Berta out there! And if it was, the boys must behelping her!
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But it was Berta. Her golden head glistened²⁰ wet in the water, and she shouted in glee as she swam.
'This is great! This is wunnerful! Gee²¹, I'm enjoying this! Hi there, George - isn't the water warm?'
Julian and Dick grinned round at the panting George. 'Lesley's a fine swimmer,' said Dick. 'Gosh, Ithought she was going to race me at one time. She'd beat you, George!'
'She wouldn't,' said George, but all the same she didn't challenge Berta to race!
It was fun to be five, fun to chase one another in the sea, to swim under the water and grabsomebody's leg. And Anne laughed till she choked when she saw somebody heave themselves out ofthe water right on to George's back, and duck her well and truly.
It was Berta! And what was more, the angry George couldn't catch her afterwards. Berta could swimmuch too fast!

1 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

2 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

3 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

4 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

5 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

6 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

7 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。

9 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。

10 squeals   

n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
• There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句

11 hooted   

（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• An owl hooted nearby. 一只猫头鹰在附近啼叫。
• The crowd hooted and jeered at the speaker. 群众向那演讲人发出轻蔑的叫嚣和嘲笑。

12 aggravating   

adj.恼人的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• How aggravating to be interrupted! 被打扰，多令人生气呀！
• Diesel exhaust is particularly aggravating to many susceptible individuals. 许多体质敏感的人尤其反感柴油废气。

13 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。

14 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

15 hooting   

（使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩

参考例句：

• He had the audience hooting with laughter . 他令观众哄堂大笑。
• The owl was hooting. 猫头鹰在叫。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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。

19 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

20 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！