《棚车少年》系列是由一个美国女教师用500个基本英语单词写成的探索励志故事，让孩子学会笑着面对生活。
第一册概要：
亨利、杰茜、维奥利特、班尼四兄妹是孤儿。为了不被人发现，能够四兄妹一直在一起，他们小心翼翼地四处流浪。虽然他们知道自己有一个爷爷在绿野镇，但是他们害怕他。在逃亡的路上，孩子们在树林发现了一个破旧的棚车，并在此安了家，开始相依为命的生活。他们积极向上，阳光开朗，不惧生活的挫折。他们还遇到了善良的一家人——摩尔医生一家。在树林里，在医生家，孩子们度过了许多美好的时光……最后爷爷找到了他们，原来爷爷很年轻、慈祥，很爱他们。最后他们跟爷爷一起回家，过上了幸福快乐的日子。
explorer
noun [ C ]
UK /ɪkˈsplɔː.rər/ US /ɪkˈsplɔːr.ɚ/
someone who travels to places where no one has ever been in order to find out what is there:
●Magellan was a famous 16th-century explorer.
treasure
noun [ U ] (VALUABLE THINGS)
UK /ˈtreʒ.ər/ US /ˈtreʒ.ɚ/
very valuable things, usually in the form of a store of precious metals, precious stones, or money:
●Stories about pirates often include a search for buried treasure.
housekeeper
noun [ C ]
UK /ˈhaʊsˌkiː.pər/ US /ˈhaʊsˌkiː.pɚ/
a person, especially a woman, whose job is to organize another person's house and deal with cooking, cleaning, etc.
refrigerator
noun [ C ] US or formal UK
UK /rɪˈfrɪdʒ.ər.eɪ.tər/ US /rɪˈfrɪdʒ.ə.reɪ.t̬ɚ/
(UK usually fridge)
apiece of kitchen equipment that uses electricity to preserve food at a cold temperature:
●Store fruit juice in the refrigerator.
explore
verb [ I or T ]
UK /ɪkˈsplɔːr/ US /ɪkˈsplɔːr/
to search a place and discover things about it:
●The best way to explore the countryside is on foot.
dump
noun [ C ]
UK /dʌmp/ US /dʌmp/
(UK also rubbish dump); (US also garbage dump)
a place where people are allowed to leave their rubbish:
●I'm going to clean out the basement and take everything I don't want to the dump.
tin can
noun [ C ]
a tin
pitcher
noun [ C ] (CONTAINER)
UK /ˈpɪtʃ.ər/ US /ˈpɪtʃ.ɚ/
UK
(USjug)
a large, round container for liquids that has a flat base, a handle, and a very narrow raised opening at the top for pouring:
●an earthenware pitcher
teapot
noun [ C ]
UK /ˈtiː.pɒt/ US /ˈtiː.pɑːt/
a container for making and serving tea with a handle and a shaped opening for pouring
kettle
noun [ C ] (EQUIPMENT)
UK /ˈket.əl/ US /ˈket̬.əl/
a container for boiling water, that has a lid, handle, and spout and is made from plastic or metal
