Planning Ahead

Half an hour before daybreak, three of the boy met, as agreed, near the old bridge. The fourth, a boy by the name of Brian, had not turned up. No one was surprised that he wasn’t there because they knew that his mother did not want him to come on this camping trip to the woods.

Frank, who was the oldest and the group’s leader, waded downstream to the place where their boat was tied up in the shelter of some overhanging bushes. Then he rowed the boat back to the shallow water near the bridge, where the boys loaded it with food, blankets and other things they were talking on their trip.

Dawn was just breaking as they climbed into the boat and push off from bank. A swift current carried them downstream, so there was no need to row. They took turns keeping the boat toward the middle of the river. Three hours later they entered the woods where they planned to spend the next few days.

“Let’s go ashore now and prepare some lunch”, suggested Frank. “This looks like a good spot.”

While Frank tied up the boat, the other two boys started gathered wood for a fire. When they came back, each with a little kindling and an armload of wood, they found Frank looking very worried.

“We don’t have any matches,” he announced sadly. “Brian was supposed to bring them.”

This was bad news. They were miles away from home now.

Vocabulary:

l   half an hour before daybreak破曉前的半小時

l   daybreak[tgTueqTh](n.)黎明,破曉

l   as agreed按照約定

l   turn up出現

l   wade[rTg][waded-waded-wading](v.)蹚,涉水而行;蹚過,涉過

l   downstream[tgANntkfq`m](ad.)順流地;在下游

l   tied up擱死的,不能挪作他用的

l   tie[fAa][tied-tied-tying](v.)繫,拴,捆,紮

l   shelter[tXUpfR](n.)遮蓋物;躲避處;避難所;掩蔽,遮蔽;庇護,保護;避難

l   overhang[tcjRto@V][overhung-overhung-overhanging](vt.)懸於...之上;突出於...之上(vi.)伸出;突出

l   shallow[tX@pc](n.)淺水處,淺灘(a.)淺的

l   dawn[gOn](n.)黎明,拂曉

l   swift current急流

l   swift[kraif](a.)快速的,快捷的;

l   take turns輪流

l   go ashore離船上岸

l   ashore[QtXcq](ad.)向岸;上岸;在岸上;向陸地;上陸地;在陸地

l   spot[kdFf](n.)場所,地點

l   Kindle[kindled-kindled-kindling][thangx] (vt.)點燃;燃起; 激起(熱情等);煽動;照亮,使明亮(vi.)著火,燃起;(人,感情等)激動起來;發亮,明亮起來

l   kindling[thangpaV](n.)興奮

l   armload[tFqmupcg](n.)(單臂或雙臂)一抱之最大量

l   matches[m@fX](n.)火柴;導火線,火繩