第179期：福尔摩斯帽子之谜

想成为我们的主播，欢迎加微信 xdfbook 投稿。 一段美文，一首英文歌，或是一点生活感想，全由你做主。 《福尔摩斯帽子之谜》 The Tanner Mystery "What are you staring at, pipsqueak1)?" Tanner yelled from across the classroom, crammed2) into a desk too small for his large frame. I quickly looked down and pretended to work on the math problem I had finished five minutes ago. I hadn't really been staring at Tanner, at least not on purpose. I was just looking at his hat—the same hat he'd worn every day since he moved here three weeks ago. It reminded me of Sherlock Holmes's detective cap. "No talking!" hissed3) Mrs. Peabody, glaring at us over the top of her glasses. "And Tanner, I told you to remove your hat. No hats in school." Tanner sighed loudly and scowled4) in my direction. After school, Tanner was waiting for me in the hallway. His hat was back on his head. "I asked what you were looking at, runt5)," he said gruffly6), staring down at me. The top of my head barely came to his shoulders, even with my hair spiked7). "I wasn't looking at anything," I responded nervously, glancing around to see who would witness the coming fight. Tanner already had a reputation for fighting. "Well, I mean, I was looking at your hat," I said finally. I pointed at the checkered8) hat with front and back brims and side flaps tied to the top. "It's a Sherlock Holmes hat," I said. "A what?" Tanner demanded, pushing me up against the water fountain9). I gulped. "Sherlock Holmes, you know, the great detective. He wears a hat just like that. It's called a deer-stalker10) hat. Have you ever read any Sherlock Holmes mysteries?" "Reading is for nerds," Tanner announced, letting go of my shoulders. Just then the bell rang. Saved by the bell! I thought as I ducked into the crowd of kids racing down the hall. Later that day, I was at home making a peanut butter sandwich when the phone rang. "Sanchez residence, Josh speaking," I said. "Hey, shrimp11)," a gruff12) voice responded. It took me a minute to figure out who it was. "Uh, hi, Tanner," I stammered13), my heart racing. There was a long pause. Then finally he said, "Tell me more about that detective." "Uh, sure," I said. "Well, Sherlock Holmes solves mysteries that no one else can solve by using his, uh, intellectual abilities and astute14) skills of observation." "Huh?" was Tanner's reply. "I mean, he's smart, and he can tell things about people just by looking at them. And," I added, "his friend Dr. Watson helps him. They solve mysteries together." I took a deep breath. "So, uh, where did you get that hat?" "None of your business!" he roared, and hung up on me. I couldn't sleep that night, so many things were swirling around in my head. Was Tanner going to pick on15) me tomorrow? Why did he wear that hat every day? And why did he act so tough? I sighed. What would Sherlock Holmes do? I sat up, switched on my bed-side lamp, and grabbed my favorite pen and notebook. It was time to solve the mystery of Tanner. "Why do you think some kids act tough at school?" I asked my mom the next morning at breakfast. I had written down everything I could think of last night, but I needed another opinion. "Well, maybe they're jealous," she said as she slid two fried eggs onto my plate. "Or they feel awkward and insecure about something, so they try to act tough to make up for it." "H'm," I replied, poking at my egg yolks to make them runny16). "Like being the biggest kid in class?" "Possibly," she said, sipping17) her coffee. "Being different can be hard for people." I pulled out my notebook and scribbled a few notes. "Thanks, Mom." She smiled and ruffled18) my hair. "Now eat your eggs, detective." That morning, Tanner was waiting for me outside the classroom with his arms crossed, wearing his hat. I groaned. "Give me your lunch money," he hissed, and held out his hand. I had to think fast. I spotted his open backpack on the floor. "Why do you need lunch money when you brought a tuna19) sandwich for lunch?" I asked, then stepped back and looked up at Tanner nervously. "Hey, how did you know that?" he demanded. "Well, I can smell the tuna, so I deduced that you have a tuna sandwich in your backpack." Tanner scowled. "Big deal, you can smell. Now give me your money, runt." He leaned over me menacingly20). "Uh ... I can also tell that you had powdered doughnuts for breakfast, and that you took the shortcut to school this morning," I stammered. Tanner's jaw dropped. "How could you know all that?" he asked in disbelief. "Well, for starters, you have white powder on your lips." Tanner wiped his face with the back of his hand. "But how did you know I took the shortcut today?" He clenched his fists. "If you were spying on me—" "No! There's red clay on your shoes," I explained. "The only place around here with red clay is the path that cuts through the park." Tanner looked down at his white sneakers, caked21) with red mud. I pulled a napkin from my lunch box and handed it to him. "Here." "Thanks," Tanner mumbled, wiping off his shoes. I thought back to what my mom had said at breakfast, about people feeling different. "You know, Sherlock Holmes was over six feet tall," I said. "He was?" Tanner replied, standing up straight. "Yeah." I paused. "So, I really like your hat." He took it off. "It was my grandfather's," he said. "When he died I got to pick out something to remember him by. He used to wear this hat all the time." I nodded. I didn't know what to say. "Hey," Tanner said, "you may be a runt, but you're not a bad detective." He put his grandfather's hat on my head. It was so big that it almost covered my eyes. Tanner smiled for the first time since I'd met him. Just then Mrs. Peabody stepped out into the hallway. "Boys, it's time for class," she announced. She glared down at me over the top of her glasses. "No hats in school, Josh!" Tanner and I looked at each other, then burst out laughing. I tried to give the hat back to him, but he shook his head. "You can borrow the hat, if I can borrow one of your detective books," Tanner said. "Deal," I replied with a grin. Case closed. “你在盯着看什么，小东西？”坦纳从教室那头冲我大喊道，然后挤进了座位，那座位对于他的大块头来说太小了。我迅速低头看，假装在做我五分钟前已经做完了的数学题。 我并没有真的在盯着坦纳看，至少不是故意的。我只是在看他的帽子——自从三周前他转学到这儿之后，他每天都戴着这顶帽子。它让我想起夏洛克·福尔摩斯的侦探帽。 “不要说话！”皮博迪夫人从眼镜上方瞪着我们，厉声说道，“坦纳，我告诉过你要脱掉帽子的。学校里不许戴帽子。”坦纳大声叹了一口气，冲着我的方向皱眉怒视。 放学后，坦纳在走廊里等着我，他的帽子反戴在头上。“我刚才问你在看什么呢，小矮子。”他粗声说道，低头瞪着我。即便算上我竖起的头发，我的头顶也刚刚到他的肩膀。 “我刚才什么也没看，”我紧张地回答道，四下环顾，看有没有谁能为即将发生的打架作证。坦纳已经因为打架而出名了。“呃，我是说，我当时在看你的帽子。”我最后说道。我指着坦纳那顶前后都有帽檐、两侧的护耳系在帽顶的方格图案帽子说：“那是一顶夏洛克·福尔摩斯式的帽子。” “一顶什么？”坦纳逼问道，边问还边上前推搡我，把我推到了饮水器上。我喘不过气来。“夏洛克·福尔摩斯，你知道，那个大侦探。他就戴着一顶那样的帽子，叫做猎鹿帽。你读过任何关于夏洛克·福尔摩斯的探案故事吗？”“傻子才读书呢。”坦纳大声说道，松开了我的肩膀。就在这时，铃声响了。我赶紧躲进顺着走廊疾行的学生堆里，心想：这救命的铃声啊！ 那天晚些时候，我正在家做花生酱三明治，这时电话铃响了。 “这是桑切斯家，我是乔希。”我说道。“嗨，小东西。”一个粗哑的嗓音回答道。我用了一分钟才弄明白他是谁。 “啊，嗨，坦纳。”我结结巴巴地说，心狂跳不已。很长时间的停顿之后，他最后说道：“多跟我说说那个侦探的事儿吧。” “嗯，当然，”我说道，“呃，夏洛克·福尔摩斯能破解其他人无法解开的谜团，他用的是他的，嗯，聪明才智和敏锐的观察力。”“啊哈？”坦纳这样回答。 “我是说，他很聪明，他仅仅通过观察别人，就能知道跟他们有关的事情。并且，”我补充道，“他的朋友华生医生会帮助他。他们共同解开了很多谜团。”我深深地吸了一口气。“那么，嗯，你是从哪儿得到那顶帽子的呢？”“关你什么事！”他大吼一声就挂了我的电话。 那天晚上我睡不着，太多的事情在我脑子里打转。坦纳明天会找我茬儿吗？他为什么每天都戴那顶帽子？他的举止为什么那么粗暴？ 我叹了口气。夏洛克·福尔摩斯会怎么做呢？我坐起身，打开床头灯，抓起我最喜欢的钢笔和笔记本。是时候来破解坦纳之谜了。 “你觉得为什么有些孩子在学校会举止粗暴呢？”第二天早上吃早饭时我问妈妈。头天夜里我已经把我能想到的都写了下来，但是我需要听听其他意见。 “哦，可能是他们嫉妒别人吧，”她一边把两个煎鸡蛋放进我的盘子里，一边说道，“或者是他们对什么事情感到尴尬或缺乏安全感，因此想表现得粗暴一点来弥补。” “唔，”我回答道，把两个蛋黄戳破好让它们流出来，“比如成了班里块头最大的人？”“有可能，”她呷着咖啡，说道，“一个人跟别人不一样会很艰难。”我取出笔记本，草草写了几条笔记。“谢谢，妈妈。”她笑了笑，拨弄着我的头发。“现在吃鸡蛋吧，侦探。” 那天早上，坦纳戴着帽子在教室外等着我，双臂抱在胸前。我暗暗叫苦。 “把你的午饭钱给我，”他尖声说道，并把手伸了过来。我必须快速思考。我发现他的背包打开着放在地上。 “你午饭带了金枪鱼肉三明治，为什么还需要午饭钱？”我问道，然后退后，抬头紧张地看着坦纳。“嘿，你是怎么知道的？”他逼问我。“哦，我闻到了金枪鱼肉味，所以我推断你的背包里有一个金枪鱼肉三明治。” 坦纳沉下脸。“了不得啊，你还能闻出来呢。现在把你的钱给我，小矮子。”他恶狠狠地向我压过来。 “嗯……我还知道，你早饭吃了撒了糖粉的甜甜圈，而且你早上来学校抄了近道。”我结结巴巴地说。坦纳惊得下巴都快掉下来了。“你是怎么知道所有这些的？”他怀疑地问道。“哦，首先，你的嘴唇上有白色粉末。”坦纳用手背擦了一下脸。 “但是你怎么知道我今天抄了近道呢？”他紧握双拳，“如果你在监视我的话——”“没有！你的鞋子上有红色泥巴，”我解释说，“这附近唯一有红色泥巴的地方就是横穿公园的那条路。”坦纳低头看看他的白色运动鞋，上面有红色泥块。我从午餐盒里抽出一张纸巾递给了他。“给你。”“谢谢。”坦纳一边擦着鞋，一边咕哝着。 我回想起早饭时妈妈说的关于人们觉得自己不一样的话。“你知道，夏洛克·福尔摩斯身高超过六英尺(编注：约1米82 文章摘自：《新东方英语·中学生》杂志2016年12月号