儿童英语读物《神奇树屋》 第七册 Afternoon on the Amazon 02

2 Bones

Jack，Annie，and Peanut looked outside.

Snow was falling from a gray sky.

The tree house was in the tallest tree in a grove of tall，bare trees.

The grove was on a wide，white plain.Beyond the plain were high，rocky cliffs.

“I’m c-cold，”said Annie.Her teeth chattered.She wrapped her towel tightly around her.

Sq-squeak.Peanut sounded cold，too.

“Poor mouse，”said Annie.“I’ll put you into Jack’s pack.You’ll be warmer there.”

Annie slipped Peanut into the pocked of the backpack.

“We have to go home，”said Jack.“We need warmer clothes.”

“We can’t go home，”said Annie.“We can’t find the Pennsylvania book.Not until our mission is complete.Remember?That’s the way the magic works.”

“Oh...right，”said Jack.He looked around.There was no sign of the Pennsylvania book that always took them home.

Annie peered out the window again.“Where are we，anyway?”she asked.

“I’ll find out，”said Jack.He picked up the open book and read the title on the cover.“Life in the Ice Age.”

“Ice Age?”said Annie.“No wonder we’re cold.”

“We better find the third M thing soon，”said Jack.“Before we freeze to death.”

“Look，”whispered Annie，“people.”She pointed out the window.

Jack saw them，too:four figures on a cliff.Two big figures and two little ones—all holding long spears.

“Who are they?”said Annie.

“I’ll look in the book，”said Jack.

He found a picture of some people.He read the caption to Annie:

Early modern humans were called Cro- Magnons.During the late Ice Age in Europe，they sometimes lived in caves beneath cliffs.

“Why are they carrying spears?”said Annie.

Jack turned the page.He found another picture of the Cro-Magnons.He read aloud:

The Cro-Magnon family often hunted together.They covered deep pits with branches.Then they drove reindeer and mammoths into the traps.

“Oh，trapping the animals—that’s sad，”said Annie.

“No，it’s not，”said Jack.“They couldn’t live without hunting.They didn’t have supermarkets，you know.”

They watched the family disappear over the other side of the cliff.

“Come on，I’m freezing，”said Jack.“Let’s hurry and find the M thing while the Cro-Magnons are hunting.”

“But I want to meet them，”said Annie.

“Forget it，”said Jack.“They don’　t have books that tell them about us.They’ll think we’re some enemy and hurl their spears.”

“Yikes，”said Annie.

Jack put his book away.

Squeak.Peanut peeked out of the backpack.

“Stay in there，”said Annie.

Jack pulled on his pack and started down the rope ladder.

Annie followed.

On the icy ground，they huddled together.

The wind was biting.Jack put his towel over his head.Snow blew against his glasses.

“Hey，Jack，”said Annie.“Look at me.”

Annie had put on her swimming goggles.“Now I can see，”she said.

“Good thinking，”said Jack.“Now cover your head with your towel.Most of your body heat is lost through your head.”

Annie wrapped her towel around her head.

“We should find a cave or someplace warmer，”said Jack.

“I bet there are caves in those cliffs，”said Annie.

She and Jack started across the white plain.The snow wasn’t deep yet.

But the wind was blowing hard.

“I told you!”Annie pointed to an opening in the rocks—a cave.

They ran to it.

“Careful，”said Jack.They stepped carefully into the shadowy cave.　It was only slightly warmer inside.But at least the wind wasn’t blowing.

In the gray light，they stamped the snow off their sneakers.

Annie took off her goggles.

“It smells in here，”said Jack.

“Yeah，like a wet dog，”said Annie.

“Let me see what I can find out，”said Jack.

He pulled out the Ice Age book.

“I’ll look around，”said Annie.“Maybe the M thing is here.Then we can go home and get warm.”

Jack stood by the entrance so he could read the book.

“This cave is filled with sticks，”Annie said.

“What?”said Jack.He didn’t look up from the book.

“No，wait.I think they’re bones，”said Annie.

“Bones?”echoed Jack.

“Yeah.Lots of them back here.All over the floor.”

Jack turned the pages of his book.He found a picture of a cave filled with bones.

“I hear something，”said Annie.

Jack read the writing below the picture of the cave.It said:

The great cave bears of the Ice Age

were over eight feet tall.These bears

were larger and fiercer than today’s

grizzlies.Their caves were filled with

the bones of their ancestors.

“Annie!”whispered Jack.“Get back here now!”

They were in the cave of a great cave bear!

2一地骨头

杰克、安妮和花生一同向外望去。

雪花从灰蒙蒙的天空飘下。

在一片光秃秃的树林里，树屋挂在了最高的一棵树上。

这片林子在一片广阔的白皑皑的平原上。平原的尽头是高耸的岩石峭壁。

“我冷……冷。”安妮说。她的牙齿格格作响。她用浴巾把自己紧紧地裹了起来。

吱……吱吱。花生似乎也很冷。

“可怜的小老鼠。”安妮说，“我把你放进杰克的背包里，在那里你会暖和一点的。”

安妮把花生塞进杰克的背包里。

“我们得回家去。”杰克说，“我们需要暖和些的衣服。”

“我们回不了家。”安妮说，“你忘了?不完成使命的话，我们是找不到那本宾夕法尼亚的书的。魔法就是这样进行的。”

“啊……没错。”杰克说。他看了看周围，没看见那本宾夕法尼亚的书，那本每次总是在最后把他们送回家去的书。

安妮又瞅着窗外。“我们究竟在什么地方呢?”她问道。

“我会弄明白的。”杰克说。他拾起那本打开的书，读着封面上的书名：《冰河时代的生命》。

“冰河时代?”安妮说，“难怪我们这么冷。”

“我们顶好尽快找到第三样带M的东西。”杰克说，“赶在我们冻成冰棍之前。”

“看!”安妮低声说，“有人。”她指着窗户外面。

杰克也看见了：四个人影在悬崖上。两个大块头，两个小个子——手里都握着长矛。

“他们是谁?”安妮说。

“我在书里找找看。”杰克说。

他找到一幅图，上面画着一些人。他把图上的文字读给安妮：

早期新人被称作克罗马农人。在冰河时代晚期的欧洲，他们有时住在悬崖下面的洞穴里。

“他们为什么手持长矛呢?”安妮说。

杰克翻了一页，看到另一幅画有克罗马农人的画。他高声读道：

克罗马农人经常以家庭为单位狩猎。他们用树枝覆盖着深深的坑。然后他们再把驯鹿和猛犸赶进陷阱里。

“啊，围捕动物——这够悲哀的。”安妮说。

“不，不能这么说。”杰克说，“他们不狩猎就无法活下去呀。你要知道，他们可没有超市。”

他们注视着这家人消失在悬崖的另一边。

“来吧，我快冻僵了。”杰克说，“克罗马农人忙着狩猎的时候，让我们也抓紧去找带M的东西吧。”

“不过我想去见见他们。”安妮说。

“算了吧。”杰克说，“他们可不像我们，他们手里可没有什么书能告诉他们我们是谁。他们会把我们当成敌人，向我们投长矛呢。”

“噢，是的。”安妮说。

杰克把书收了起来。

吱吱。花生从背包里探出脑袋。

“待在里面。”安妮说。

杰克背起背包，顺着绳梯开始往下爬。

安妮紧跟其后。

在冰天雪地里，他们蜷缩在一起。

寒风刺骨。杰克用浴巾裹住头。雪片敲击着眼镜。

“喂，杰克。”安妮说，“瞧瞧我。”

安妮戴上了游泳护目镜。“现在我可以看东西了。”她说。

“好主意。”杰克说，“现在用你的浴巾包住自己的头。身体热量多半是从头上散失的。”

安妮用浴巾包住自己的头。

“我们应该找个洞穴或找个暖和些的地方。”杰克说。

“我敢打赌悬崖那里有洞穴。”安妮说。

她和杰克动身穿越白雪皑皑的平原。雪还不怎么深，但是风刮得很猛。

“我说对了吧!”安妮指着岩石间的一个孔——一个洞穴。

他们向它奔去。

“小心点。”杰克说。他们小心翼翼地爬进昏暗的洞穴。

里面暖和不了多少，不过至少吹不到风了。

在昏暗的光线下，他们跺掉粘在球鞋上的雪。

安妮摘下她的护目镜。

“这儿有股气味。”杰克说。

“对，像是湿漉漉的小狗的气味。”安妮说。

“让我看看能不能发现什么。”杰克说。

他拿出冰河时代那本书。

“我去看看周围。”安妮说，“那个带M的东西也许就在这儿。如果是这样，我们就可以回家暖暖和和的了。”

杰克站在洞穴的入口处，这样他就可以借着光线看书了。

“这个洞穴堆满了棍棍棒棒。”安妮说。

“你说什么?”杰克说，可他的头仍埋在书里。

“不，等等，我想它们是骨头。”安妮说。

“骨头?”杰克应声答道。

“对。这后面有好多的骨头，满地都是。”

杰克翻着书页，找到一幅画，上面画着堆满骨头的洞穴。

“我听到了什么声音。”安妮说。

杰克读着洞穴画下的文字：

冰河时代的大洞穴熊身高超过八英尺 。这些熊比今天的大灰熊大得多，凶猛得多。它们的洞穴里堆满了它们祖先的骨头。

“安妮!”杰克低声叫着，“快回到这儿来!”

他们正待在大洞穴熊的窝儿里呢!