关键词不能为空

当前您在: 主页 > 英语 >

典范英语 9 sing for your supper

作者:高考题库网
来源:https://www.bjmy2z.cn/gaokao
2021-02-01 16:41
tags:

-

2021年2月1日发(作者:hospital是什么意思)


典范英语



9


Sing for your Supper


Nick Warburton



Red Beard


The smell of mutton pies woke Jamie up. His nose twitched before his eyes opened.




Jamie’s


mother


was


dead.



His


father


had


gone


to


sea


and


not


come


back.


He


remembered the big round sails as the little galleon moved out of Plymouth harbour,


but he’d forg


otten what his father looked like.


For two years he’d lived on the streets


and begged for his food, so he got used to sniffing out pies.




He’d been dozing on a pile of straw beside the horse trough when the man walked


by with his tray.




Pies, Jamie thought at once. Fat warm pies.




He didn’t have a coin to his name, but he jumped up and followed the man.


He was


heading


for The Boar’s Head.





Jamie saw him push his tray into the crowd at the door and disappear.




‘After him,’ Jamie said to himself.





He dropped to his knees and crawled through a forest of sturdy legs. Jamie could


tell by a sniff that the pie man had stopped by a table in the corner. Keeping an eye


open for the innkeeper, he crawled on. The pie man had set two steaming pies on the


table. He was counting a handful of coins into his purse.




His


customers


weren’t


ordinary


sailors.



They


wore


stiff


ruffs


and


a


line


of


fancy


buttons down the front of their tunics. Jamie had seen one of them around Plymouth


before



the one with the red curly hair and the pointed beard.




He


must


be


important,


Jamie


thought.


Whenever


he


goes


there’s


bustle


and


talk.



But he looks like a man who might share his pie with a hungry boy.






Jamie saw him push his tray into the crowd at the door and disappear






‘After him



’Jamie said to himself






He dropped to his knees and crawled through a forest of sturdy legs



Jamie could


tell by a sniff that the pie man had stopped by a table in the corner



Keeping an eye


open for the innkeeper, he crawled on



The pie man had set two steaming pies on the


table



He was counting a handful of coins into his purse






His customers weren’t ordinary sailors



They wore stiff ruffs and a line of fancy


CHAPTER 1


buttons down the front of their tunics



Jamie had seen one of them around Plymouth


before--the one with the red curly hair and the pointed beard






He must be important



Jamie thought.


Wherever he goes there’


s bustle and talk .But


he looks like a man who might share his pie with a hungry boy.



‘No mutton pies afte


r we set sai1,' the man with the red bead was saying to his friend.


'Ship's biscuits and hard cheese and not much else. '





But may be some Spanish gold to spend when we get back, eh, Francis?' his friend


said.




Francis. So that was his name. And Spanish gold. That meant sea-fights, didn't it?


Maybe they were pirates.



'Well, Master Francis,' Jamie said to himself, 'I can't wait for your gold but I'd like to


share a bit of your pie.'




And he popped up from behind the table as the redheaded man was about to eat.




'Can I sing you a song, Master Francis?' Jamie asked him. Francis blinked at him


with his mouth stil1 open.




'Please, Master,' Jamie said.' A song for a mouthful of pie.'




The man laughed and asked him if he had a good voice.




'A wonderful voice, sir. Sweet as the birds, I promise.'


‘If you want to earn the Price of a Pie,' said Francis's friend, 'you can go down to


the harbour and help load our Ship.'


what ship is that, sir?' Jamie asked.


'


The Pelican.


And it's being


loaded for a voyage to…'



But before he could say another word, Francis held up a hand to stop him.


'Quiet, Wi11,' he said. 'A busy inn is not the place to talk about our plans.'


Will


shut


his


mouth


and


looked


round


the


noisy


room.


Jamie


looked


round,


too.


And sure enough- or so


he thought- there was a thin man at the next table, leaning


towards them as if to catch every word. For a second Jamie's eye met his, and the man


scowled.


A face to sour the milk, Jamie thought. And full of trouble, too. After two years on


the streets, Jamie knew trouble when he saw it.


A shiver of fear ran up his spine. But Francis was speaking to him again.


'Come on then, lad,' he said. 'Sing up.'


Jamie opened his mouth to Sing, but a broad hand took hold of his neck and he felt


himself jerked to his feet.


'I've told you before,' boomed a voice. 'You leave my gentlemen in peace.'


It


was


the


innkeeper.


He


crooked


an


arm


round


Jamie's


throat


and


crushed


him


against his greasy apron.


Jamie kicked out and flailed his arms but it was no use. The innkeeper hauled him


backwards to the door and swung him out into the night.


He twisted through the air and landed with a thud in the street. Instead of the smell


of


mutton,


his


nose


was


fi1led


with


the


stench of


straw


and


horse


dung.


It


was


the


second time he had been thrown out of The Boar's Head that night.


He stood up and shook himself. Across the street he saw the g1ow of candle-light


from The Swan. The hum of voices inside tempted him to try his luck there, but he'd


been thrown out of The Swan, too. He didn't feel like being dumped in horse muck a


fourth time.


'Oh well,' he mumbled as he wiped himself down, 'maybe I should go down to the


harbour. If they're loading for a voyage, maybe I can pick up some scraps.'


Soon


he


heard


the


lap


of


water


against


wooden


hulls


and


ropes


slapping


in


the


breeze. He saw masts


swaying against


the blue- black sky. The ship


in


front of him


was The Pelican. There were others, too, lined up behind it.


The


harbour


was


busy


for


the


time


of


night.


Dark


figures


with


sacks


on


their


shoulders hurried backwards and


forwards.


Some


dumped


their


loads


on


the


harbour


wall


and


others


tottered


up


planks onto the ships.


He stopped one of the sailors and asked if he could help.


'Clear off, little 'un,' the sailor growled. You'll only get under our feet.'


Jamie


sighed


and


sat


down


in


the


shadow


of


a wall.


His


stomach


grumbled


with


hunger in the dark. His head hurt. He watched the men loading their stores. He'd seen


ships being loaded many times. Once he'd seen a sack drop and split open, sending


cheeses rolling over the cobbles.


A good round cheese would do nicely now, he thought. Maybe someone'll drop a


few sacks tonight. Sack after sack he saw carried onto the ships. But no one stumbled.


Nothing


spilled.


At


last


the


men


stopped


work


and


went


off


together,


laughing


and


joking.


For a while Jamie watched the moon climb s1owly in the sky. Then he stood up and


stretched.


'Nothing doing here,' he said softly to himself. He was about to wander back into


Plymouth Town when something caught his eye.


Two of the men came back.



r were they the same men? It was too dark to see


properly and they were wrapped in long cloaks.


They moved like the men who'd loaded the ships, trotting along with their heads


bowed, but there was something different about them.


At first Jamie couldn't think what it was. Then it came to him. They had no sacks


on their backs. They were running up the plank onto The Pelican but they carried no


stores. He saw them drop into the ship and disappear in shadow. Jamie sat down again


and waited.


A man with a lantern on a pole came wandering along- the watchman, keeping his


eye on the ships with their load of fresh stores. He walked steadily a1ong the harbour


wa1l


until


he


reached


the


ship


furthest


from


The


Pelican.


Then


he


paused


for


a


moment before turning round. It was then that the two men came scuttling down the


plank again.


One was tall with pale hands which fluttered in the dark. Jamie knew him. It was


the sour-faced man from The Boar's Head. The other man was short and thick-set.


They moved nimbly and silently, and this time they were carrying some-thing, At


least, the short one was. It was more like a black bag than a sack and the short man


carried it on his shoulder like a barrel.



Jamie Shrank back into the shadow of a wa11. He saw the men look round and spot


the Watchman. The tall man stooped and picked up a stone in his pale hands.



He hurled it high over the masts of me Pelican and Jamie heard it drop into the sea


with a deep splash.


Along the harbour wall the watchman heard it too. He spun round and held himself


still. Then he lifted his lantern and peered between the ships, trying to see where the


sound had come from.






While he was still staring at the sea, the men hurried away in the opposite direction,


their cloaks flapping behind them as they ran.




Pale hands


CHAPTER 2


Jamie's


mind


was


racing.


He


knew


that


something


odd


was


going


on.


He


waited


until the men were almost out of sight, then set off after them. When they turned into


a side street, he forced himself to run faster. Mustn't lose them now, he thought as he


pounded along. They'll disappear down some dark alley. I must keep up.


Jamie had seen plenty of thieves on the streets, but these two were different- and he


was sure they were dangerous



Common sense told him to stay out of it. But he was curious. And maybe there was


the chance of pleasing Red Beard and earning some pie. Maybe even something better


than pie.


'Mustn't lose them,' he said to himself over and over.



'Mustn't lose them.'


As


soon


as


the


men


reached


the


safety


of


a


side


street,


they


stopped


running


to


catch their breath.



They were bending down to examine the thing in the black bag, when Jamie hurtled


round the corner and ran straight into them.




He fell over one and ro1led onto the



other. There were rough shouts, the rustle of


cloaks and a waving of arms.




Jamie's struggle didn't last long.


Soon he felt a knee on his chest and long fingers tightening on his arm. He twisted


his head and saw the same pale hand that had thrown the stone




There was a silver


ring on the middle finger. A face came close and spoke to him in a harsh voice.


And where do you think you're going?'


It


was


the


broad


man,


the


one


who


was


kneeling


on


him,


and


the


Stench


of


his


breath made Jamie flinch.


' I'm sorry, master,' he said. 'I'm Sorry.'


Then the tall man spoke and his voice was a thin whisper.


'He's following us, Tom. I saw him talking to Red Beard in The Boar's Head.'


No,


sir,'


said


Jamie.


Tm


not


following


you,


I'm


running


away,


sir.


Honest.


The


watchman's after me.'


The fingers loosened on Jamie's arm and the men darted a look at each other. They


glanced nervously back at the corner of the street.


They only looked away for a second but it was enough for Jamie. He wriggled from


under Tom's knee and scrambled to his feet.


The men grabbed at him, missed, and he was charging off into the darkness.


'Hey! Come back here!' the man called Tom shouted after him.


Jamie


dived


into


an


alley


and


barked


his


shin


against


something


he


couldn't


see.


From


the


way


it


clattered


against


the


wall


behind


him


he


guessed


it


was


an


empty


barrel. The men came lumbering after him and one of them kicked the barrel too.


Jamie came to a gap between two houses and ran blindly into it, hoping there



d be


nothing in his way this time. There wasn



t.


He groped along a wall until he found a low fence. he swung himself over it and


dropped into a little garden.


His


fingers


touched


damp


cabbage


leaves


and


a


fish


head.


He


crouched


there


wide-eyed, trying to still his gasping breath.


Heavy feet thudded by him, only yards away. The sound disappeared into the night


and


then


there


was


silence.


He


waited.


A


dog


barked


in


the


distance.


A


sharp


pain


began to throb in his leg. He hadn't noticed it when he was running.


After two or three more minutes he let out a long sigh and climbed painfully out of


the garden.



You should save your nose for sniffing out pies, Jamie,



he told himself.



And keep


it clear of bad men in long cloaks,




He


imagined


what


the


men


might


do


if


they


caught


him.


The


thought


made


him


shudder.


Maybe


he


should


look


for


Red


Beard-Master


Francis.


And


then


what?


Tell


him


what


he



d


seen?


No.


Men


like


him


didn



t


believe


beggar


boys


like


Jamie.


Still,


he


thought, it



ll be sager in the warm glow from busy inns than alone here in the dark.


So he rubbed his leg and started slowly through back streets and alleyways towards


the heart of the town. After a while he found himself outside The Boar



s Head again.



Well, here I am again,



Jamie said out loud,



And I



m worse off than I was before. Still, I



ll be safe and warm in here, as long as


I keep my head down.




He slid in at the door and looked cautiously around.


The place was full, and noisy with talk and laughter. The pie seller had gone but he


thought he might be able to scrounge a scrap of bread. He squeezed onto the nearest


bench and made himself as small as he could.


The men next to him kept their backs turned and talked in low voices. Jamie could


see two beakers of ale on the table in front of them. There was no bread, though, so he


soon lost interest in them.


He was looking round for more promising customers when one of the men reached


out to pick up his beaker.


Jamie turned and looked, then looked again and his heart gave a sudden jump.

-


-


-


-


-


-


-


-



本文更新与2021-02-01 16:41,由作者提供,不代表本网站立场,转载请注明出处:https://www.bjmy2z.cn/gaokao/593736.html

典范英语 9 sing for your supper的相关文章