Chapter 3 Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast（1）

Chapter 3 Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

‘What on earth–’ said Tommy.
He was used to finding Tuppence in unlikely spots when he returned tothe house, but on this occasion he was more startled than usual.
Inside the house there was no trace of her, although outside there was avery slight patter of rain. It occurred to him that she might be engrossedin some portion of the garden, and he went out to see if this might be thecase. And it was then that he remarked, ‘What on earth–’
‘Hullo, Tommy,’ said Tuppence, ‘you’re back a bit earlier than I thoughtyou would be.’
‘What is that thing?’
‘You mean Truelove?’
‘What did you say?’
‘I said Truelove,’ said Tuppence, ‘that’s the name of it.’
‘Are you trying to go for a ride on it–it’s much too small for you.’
‘Well, of course it is. It’s a child’s sort of thing–what you had, I suppose,before you had fairy-cycles, or whatever one had in my youth.’
‘It doesn’t really go, does it?’ asked Tommy.
‘Well, not exactly,’ said Tuppence, ‘but you see, you take it up to the topof the hill and then it–well, its wheels turn of their own accord, you see,and because of the hill you go down.’
‘And crash at the bottom, I suppose. Is that what you’ve been doing?’
‘Not at all,’ said Tuppence. ‘You brake it with your feet. Would you likeme to give you a demonstration¹?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Tommy. ‘It’s beginning to rain rather harder. I justwanted to know why you–well, why you’re doing it. I mean, it can’t bevery enjoyable, can it?’
‘Actually,’ said Tuppence, ‘it’s rather frightening. But you see I justwanted to find out and–’
‘And are you asking this tree? What is this tree, anyway? A monkeypuzzle, isn’t it?’
‘That’s right,’ said Tuppence. ‘How clever of you to know.’
‘Of course I know,’ said Tommy. ‘I know its other name, too.’
‘So do I,’ said Tuppence.
They looked at each other.
‘Only at the moment I’ve forgotten it,’ said Tommy. ‘Is it an arti–’
‘Well, it’s something very like that,’ said Tuppence. ‘I think that’s goodenough, don’t you?’
‘What are you doing inside a prickly thing like that?’
‘Well, because when you get to the end of the hill, I mean, if you didn’tput your feet down to stop completely you could be in the arti– orwhatever it is.’
‘Do I mean arti–? What about urticaria? No, that’s nettles², isn’t it? Ohwell,’ said Tommy, ‘everyone to their own kind of amusement.’
‘I was just doing a little investigation³, you know, of our latest problem.’
‘Your problem? My problem? Whose problem?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Tuppence. ‘Both our problems, I hope.’
‘But not one of Beatrice’s problems, or anything like that?’
‘Oh no. It’s just that I wondered what other things there might be hiddenin this house, so I went and looked at a lot of toys that seem to have beenshoved away in a sort of queer old greenhouse probably years and yearsago and there was this creature and there was Mathilde, which is a rock-ing-horse with a hole in its stomach.’
‘A hole in its stomach?’
‘Well, yes. People, I suppose, used to shove things in there. Children–forfun–and lots of old leave sand dirty papers and bits of sort of queer dust-ers and flannel⁴, oily stuff that had been used to clean things with.’
‘Come on, let’s go into the house,’ said Tommy.

1 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

2 nettles   

n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I tingle where I sat in the nettles. 我坐过在荨麻上的那个部位觉得刺痛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard. 那蔓草丛生的凄凉地方是教堂公墓。 来自辞典例句

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 flannel   

n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服

参考例句：

• She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
• She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。