Tiptoe
Jack and Annie crouched in the tall grass.There was a big lion,three lionesses,and a bunch of cubs.
"I think they're sleeping,"whispered Annie."Yeah,"said Jack."But for how long?"
He pulled the Africa book from his pack and opened it.He found a picture of lions sleeping under a tree.
He read in a whispery voice:
After a pride of lions has eaten,they rest for a few hours.The other—“What did they have for lunch?”Annie broke in."Don't ask,"said Jack.He kept reading:
Sensing that the lions are not hunting at the moment,the other animals graze nearby.
"If they can graze,then we're safe,"said Annie.She started to stand.
"Wait!"Jack pulled her down."Not so fast."
He peered around.The words in the book seemedtrue:the zebras and giraffes didn't seem to be bothered by the lions at all.
1. tiptoe：v. 踮着脚走；蹑手蹑脚地走 ；n. 脚尖；adj. 踮着脚走的；偷偷摸摸的 ；adv. 踮着脚地
- 例句：She tiptoed across the room so as not to wake the baby.（她踮着脚穿过房间，以免吵醒婴儿。）
2. crouch：v. 蹲下，蹲伏 ；n. 蹲伏（姿势）
- 例句：The cat crouched down, ready to pounce on the mouse.（那只猫蹲下来，准备猛扑向老鼠。 ）
3. lioness：n. 母狮
- 例句：The lioness is a fierce hunter.（母狮是凶猛的猎手。 ）
4. cub：n. 幼兽；幼崽
- 例句：The bear cub played near its mother.（小熊崽在它妈妈附近玩耍。 ）
5. whispery：adj. 低声的；轻柔的；像耳语的
- 例句：She spoke in a whispery voice.（她用轻柔的声音说话。 ）
6. pride：n. （狮子的）一群
- 例句：A pride of lions was resting in the shade.（一群狮子在阴凉处休息。 ）
7. sensing：v. 感觉到；觉察出（sense 的现在分词形式）
- 例句：Sensing danger, the deer ran away quickly.（感觉到危险，鹿迅速跑开了。 ）
8. graze：v. （牛、羊等）吃青草；放牧；擦伤；n. 擦伤（处）；放牧
- 例句：The sheep were grazing in the field.（羊在田野里吃草。 ）
9. peer：v. 凝视；费力地看；仔细看；n. 同龄人；同辈；同事
- 例句：He peered into the dark room, trying to see what was inside.（他凝视着黑暗的房间，试图看清里面有什么。 ）
10. bothered：adj. 烦恼的；担心的；v. 打扰；使烦恼（bother 的过去式和过去分词形式）
- 例句：She wasn't bothered by the noise outside.（她没有被外面的噪音打扰。 ）
"They might be safe.But I'm not sure about us,"said Jack."We need a plan."
"What if we wait till they leave?"said Annie.
“That could take hours,"said Jack."Plus they might be hungry again by then."
"Oh,right,"said Annie.
“So here's the plan—we tiptoe,”said Jack."Tiptoe?""Yeah?"
"That's your whole plan?"said Annie.
"Yeah,tiptoe to the rope ladder,"said Jack."Very quietly."
"Good plan,"Annie teased.
"Just do it,"said Jack.He stood up slowly.Annie stood with him
They began tiptoeing through the grass very slowly.The lion flicked his tail.Jack and Annie froze.When his tail was still again,they moved again.
Suddenly,high-pitched laughter split the air.
Jack and Annie stopped.
The hyenas were back!They were standing off to the side,watching Jack and Annie.
Jack and Annie made silent monster faces and shook their fists.But the hyenas only laughed some more.
1. hungry：adj. 饥饿的；渴望的
- 例句：I'm really hungry. Let's have dinner.（我很饿。咱们吃晚饭吧。）
2. tiptoe：v. 踮着脚走；蹑手蹑脚地走（上文中已有详细词性介绍，此处为动词用法）
- 例句：She tiptoed to the door so as not to wake her roommate.（她踮着脚走到门口，以免吵醒室友。）
3. quietly：adv. 安静地；悄悄地；平静地
- 例句：The baby is sleeping, so please speak quietly.（宝宝在睡觉，请轻声说话。）
4. flicked：v. 轻弹；轻拂；快速移动（flick 的过去式和过去分词形式）
- 例句：He flicked the ash off his cigarette.（他弹掉香烟上的烟灰。）
5. high - pitched：adj. 声调高的；尖声的
- 例句：The little girl let out a high - pitched scream.（小女孩发出一声尖锐的尖叫。）
6. hyenas：n. 鬣狗（hyena 的复数形式）
- 例句：Hyenas are known for their distinctive laughter - like sounds.（鬣狗以其独特的类似笑声的声音而闻名。）
7. silent：adj. 沉默的；寂静的；无声的
- 例句：The room was silent after she finished speaking.（她讲完后，房间里一片寂静。）
8. fists：n. 拳头（fist 的复数形式）
- 例句：He clenched his fists in anger.（他愤怒地握紧拳头。 ）
The big lion stirred lazily.He opened his golden eyes.
Jack felt the hair rise on the back of his neck.But he didn't move an inch.
The lion lifted his head and yawned.His giant teethgleamed in the sunlight.The lion turned his head as he looked around sleepily.
Jack held his breath as the lion's gaze rested on him.The lion sat straight up.His piercing yellow eyes met Jack's.
Jack's heart raced.His mind raced.He remembered something he'd read—lions avoid giraffes.
Jack looked around.There was a giraffe walkingtoward the tree that the magic tree house was in.
Suddenly,he had a new plan
"Get under that giraffe,"he whispered.
"Now you're the one who's nuts,"Annie whispered back.
But Jack grabbed her hand.He pulled her over to the giraffe and underneath it.
1. stirred：v. 搅动；搅拌；（使）微动；（使）行动起来（stir的过去式和过去分词形式 ）
- 例句：The wind stirred the leaves on the trees.（风吹动了树上的叶子。）
2. golden：adj. 金色的；金的；珍贵的；极好的
- 例句：The sun was setting, and the sky turned golden.（太阳正在落山，天空变成了金色。）
3. inch：n. 英寸；少量；短距离 ；v. 谨慎移动
- 例句：He moved an inch closer to the edge to see better.（他向边缘凑近了一点儿以便看得更清楚。）
4. yawned：v. 打哈欠；（开口处）豁开，裂开（yawn的过去式和过去分词形式 ）
- 例句：She yawned widely because she was so tired.（她因为太累而大大地打了个哈欠。）
5. gleamed：v. 闪烁；隐约闪光；流露（gleam的过去式和过去分词形式 ）
- 例句：His eyes gleamed with excitement when he saw the gift.（当他看到礼物时，眼睛闪烁着兴奋的光芒。）
6. sleepily：adv. 困倦地；昏昏欲睡地
- 例句：The child rubbed his eyes sleepily and got out of bed.（孩子睡眼惺忪地揉了揉眼睛，然后下了床。）
7. rested：v. 休息；（使）倚靠；取决于；被搁置（rest的过去式和过去分词形式 ）
- 例句：His head rested on his hand as he listened to the teacher.（他听老师讲课时头靠在手上。）
8. piercing：adj. 锐利的；尖厉的；有穿透力的
- 例句：She has a piercing gaze that can see through people.（她有锐利的目光，能看穿人。）
9. giraffes：n. 长颈鹿（giraffe的复数形式 ）
- 例句：There are several giraffes in the zoo.（动物园里有几只长颈鹿。）
10. grabbed：v. 抓住；攫取；匆忙地做（grab的过去式和过去分词形式 ）
- 例句：He grabbed his bag and ran out of the house.（他抓起包就跑出了房子。）
11. underneath：prep. 在……下面；在……底下 ；adv. 在下面；在底下 ；n. 底部；下面
- 例句：The cat is hiding underneath the table.（猫藏在桌子下面。）
The giraffe's legs were so long,Jack and Annie could stand up under it.Jack's head barely brushed the giraffe's golden belly.
The tall creature froze for a few seconds.Then she moved slowly toward the tree.
Jack and Annie walked in the same rhythm as the giraffe.
They got closer and closer to the tree house—and closer and closer to the pride of lions.
The big lion had stood up.He watched them moving under the giraffe.
When the rope ladder was just a few feet away,Jack and Annie dashed out from under the giraffe to the ropeladder.
Annie scrambled up first.Jack followed right behind her.
As they climbed,the lion growled and leaped at the ladder.
The hyenas laughed.
Jack climbed faster than he'd ever climbed.He leaped after Annie into the tree house.
1. brushed：v. 轻擦，掠过；刷，梳理（brush的过去式和过去分词形式）
- 例句：The wind - blown grass brushed his legs as he walked.（他走路时，被风吹动的草轻擦着他的腿。）
2. belly：n. 腹部，肚子；胃；腹腔
- 例句：The cat lay on its back, showing its soft belly.（猫仰卧着，露出柔软的肚子。）
3. froze：v. （使）冻结；冻僵；呆住，不动（freeze的过去式 ）
- 例句：When she heard the strange noise, she froze in fear.（当她听到奇怪的声音时，吓得呆住了。）
4. rhythm：n. 节奏，韵律；节律
- 例句：The dancers moved in perfect rhythm with the music.（舞者们随着音乐的节奏完美地舞动。）
5. dashed：v. 猛冲，飞奔；猛掷；使破灭（dash的过去式和过去分词形式 ）
- 例句：He dashed into the room to answer the phone.（他冲进房间去接电话。）
6. scrambled：v. 攀登，爬行；匆忙移动；仓促完成（scramble的过去式和过去分词形式 ）
- 例句：The children scrambled up the hill to get a better view.（孩子们爬上小山以便看得更清楚。）
7. behind：prep. 在……后面；落后于；支持 ；adv. 在后面；向后；在幕后 ；n. （物体的）后部
- 例句：She hid behind the door to surprise her friend.（她躲在门后想给朋友一个惊喜。）
8. leaped：v. 跳，跳跃；迅速移动（leap的过去式和过去分词形式 ）
- 例句：The frog leaped from one lily - pad to another.（青蛙从一片荷叶跳到另一片荷叶上。）
Annie had already unrolled the scroll.The riddle was gone.In its place was one shimmering word:
HONEY
Jack grabbed the Pennsylvania book.He opened it and found the picture of the Frog Creek woods.
"I wish wecould go there!"he said.
Just then,the giraffe stuck her head through the window.
"Bye,honey!"said Annie,and she kissed the giraffe on the nose.
The wind started to blow.The tree house started to spin.It spun faster and faster.Then everything was still.Absolutely still.
1. unrolled：v. 展开；铺开；摊开（unroll的过去式和过去分词形式）
- 例句：She unrolled the map on the table to find the location.（她把地图在桌上展开，以便找到那个地点。）
2. scroll：n. 卷轴；（石刻或木雕的）涡卷形装饰；（电脑屏幕上的）滚动；v. 滚动（屏幕）；（使）成卷状
- 例句：The ancient scroll was carefully preserved in the museum.（这份古代卷轴在博物馆里被精心保存着。）
3. shimmering：adj. 闪烁的；微微发亮的；v. 闪烁；发微光（shimmer的现在分词形式）
- 例句：The shimmering water in the lake looked very beautiful in the sunlight.（阳光下，湖面上闪烁的水看起来很美。）
4. Pennsylvania：宾夕法尼亚（美国州名）
- 例句：He lives in a small town in Pennsylvania.（他住在宾夕法尼亚州的一个小镇上。）
5. stuck：v. 插入；粘贴；卡住；困住（stick的过去式和过去分词形式）
- 例句：She stuck her head out of the window to see what was happening.（她把头伸出窗外看发生了什么事。）
6. giraffe：n. 长颈鹿
- 例句：The giraffe stretched its long neck to eat the leaves on the tree.（长颈鹿伸长它的长脖子去吃树上的叶子。 ）
