第四章 秘密花园
作者：***
来源：《疯狂英语·新阅版》2020年第10期
在象征著幸运的知更鸟的引领下，玛丽无意间发现了打开秘密花园的钥匙和进入的通道。当她满心欢喜地走进花园时，迎接她的是一派生机盎然，还是满目衰败和凋零呢？
1. beady /bidi/ adj. 小圆珠般而亮晶晶的;机警的
2. fumble /fmbl/ v. 胡乱摸找（某物）
3. gallop /ɡlp/ v. （马等）飞奔;疾驰
4. tread /tred/ v. 行走;踩
5. thorny /θni/ adj. 有刺的;棘手的
6. muffle /mfl/ v. 压低 （声音）;使听不清
7. prod /prd/ v. 戳;杵;捅资金分配
8. vegetation /ved？廾ten/ n. （统称）植物
9. sprinkle /sprkl/ v. 洒;撒
The next morning Mary was already buttoning up her coat when Martha arrived. “Youre an early bird！” Martha said.
“Well， I do like birds！” Mary grinned.
“Its nice to e you so cheerful， Miss，” Martha told her. “Have a nice time.”
Mary felt the key deep in her coat pocket. “I will，” she said.
A few minutes later she was staring at the ivycovered wall. If only she could find the door. She had spent all yesterday looking for it but had given up when it became too dark to e anything.
What she needed was the robin to bring her luck.
Sure enough she soon heard his cheery call and there he was， staring down at her with tho black， beady eyes.
知己知彼百战不殆
“Robin，” she said， her voice soft， “yesterday you showed me the key. Can you s
侧腰疼how me the door today？”
What happened next was pure magic. A strong gust of wind lifted the ivy， parting it like a curtain. The gust blew only for a cond but long enough for Mary to e a doorknob. Beneath the doorknob was a metal square with a hole in it.
She fumbled for the key， her heart beating faster than a galloping hor. Nearby， the robin continued to sing as she put the key in the keyhole and turned. Taking a deep breath， Mary pushed the door open and stepped inside.
She found herlf surrounded by four high walls. They made her feel she was in her own private kingdom. Slowly she began to walk， treading softly on the overgrown pathways.
Ro trees had taken over the garden. They had climbed over urns， arbours and other trees， spreading thorny tendrils across to each other， as if holding hands. The branches were all either grey or brown. Mary wasnt sure if they were dead or alive.
Onwards she explored. Everything was so still. The grass and moss beneath her feet muffled her footsteps. She kept her eyes to the ground. It must have been a beautiful place once but now everything was overgrown.
我要大声告诉你 Picking up a sharp stick， Mary began prodding in the earth. She was amazed to find tiny green shoots beneath the dead vegetation. Could they be spring flowers like tho Ben Weatherstaff had shown her？ She began to dig away until the shoots were showing.
“There！ You can breathe now！” she whispered.
For the rest of that week Mary tended the garden. It was such a peaceful place. There was nothing within its walls to make her feel angry or cross or unwanted. There was only a calm feeling that made her feel she was wrapped in a warm blanket. If only she could do more！ The sticks she ud to clear the ground kept breaking. She wished she had tools like a proper gardener. She also wished she knew more about gardening.
“Martha？” she asked the girl one lunchtime. “Do you know where I can get a small spade to dig with？”
“Well， theres a shop in Thwaite that lls things like that. Why？”
“I...” Mary hesitated. She couldnt tell Martha about the cret garden. “I... Ive found a patch of ground in one of the gardens. I thought it would be nice to dig in it.”
“Oh， thats a lovely idea. You could plant some eds， too.”
“Seeds？”
“Aye， eds. You sprinkle them in the ground and flowers grow.”
Marys eyes lit up. Flowers growing again in the cret garden！ Imagine！
“Our Dickon could get them for you.”
“Could he？ That would be wonderful！”
愚公的住处 Activity A Reading for comprehension
Ⅰ. Understanding the main idea
Write a summary of Chapter Four with about 60 words. Remember to leave out unnecessary details.
江西特色小吃
退休生活
Ⅱ. Understanding the structures
Plea fill in the blanks according to the text. （Every big blank carries two small blanks. The left one indicates Marys feelings， and the right one indicates her personalities.）
Marys magic discovery of the cret garden
Ⅲ. Understanding the details
1. In your opinion， why did the author describe Marys discovery as “pure magic”？
2. Why did Mary undergo a change of feelings after she entered the cret garden？
Activity B Reading for writing
Ⅰ. Uful expressions for creating a novel
1. expressions for describing appearance
black， beady eyes 烏黑发亮的眼睛
2. expressions for describing feelings
her heart beats faster than a galloping hor 她的心跳得比驰骋的骏马还快
