Lesson

11

The Great Elevator Adventure

When I was 11, my parents sent me for a week’s vacation at my grandparents’ place in Wildrose, North Dakota. I suspect it was more for their benefit than mine.

I enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa’s company, of course. But after two days of playing cards, mowing their lawn and helping Grandma bake, I began to get restless. So I started to explore the abandoned farmhouses on the outskirts of town, places full of old bottles, books and magazines. I spent many happy hours imagining what it must’ve been like to live there.

About midweek, though, I made the mistake of mentioning my adventures to Grandma, who promptly told me to stay out of those houses because the floors could cave in. As far as I was concerned, that was part of the adventure, but I told her I’d stay out of old houses.

Besides, I had a much bigger adventure in mind. On the railroad tracks at the far end of Main Street, past Elmer’s grocery store and the post office, loomed① a forbidding 200-foot giant, daring me to conquer it.

The next morning I ran down the tracks and began searching the shadows for a way into the town’s abandoned grain elevator. Finally, I found a chained sliding door that slipped open just far enough for an 11-year-old boy to fit through.

Inside, a musty② dead-mouse odor③ hung heavily in the gloom. After my eyes adjusted, I found myself standing on a sloping concrete drive with a large grate at the top. On the right was a door, probably to the office. To my dismay, it was locked, and it looked as if my adventure would be a short one.

Then I noticed light filtering through an opening across the driveway. I poked my head in and looked up a shaft④ that rose all the way to the top of the elevator. On one side, attached to a long rope and pulley, was a one-man elevator.

I stepped onto the platform and tugged the rope. Nothing happened. Then I found a lever. I pushed it forward and gave the rope another tug, and the elevator began gliding up the shaft. This was better than I’d ever imagined—20 feet, 30 feet, 50 feet! Then the elevator shuddered to a halt—and so, it seemed, did my heart.

I was stranded⑤ halfway up the shaft. After a brief panic attack, I noticed holes in the wall at regular intervals, forming a ladder. For reasons known only to an 11-year-old, I decided it would be better to go up than down. So, with shaking hands, I began climbing the wall.

There was about an inch of fine dust on each “rung” of the ladder, most of which fell down in my face as I climbed. After what seemed like forever, I reached the top of the shaft. I stood up, dusted myself off and found…absolutely nothing of interest.

It was just an empty room with a ladder leading up to the roof. I climbed all the way up here for this? Then I noticed a canister⑥ tucked away in a dark corner. It was a fire extinguisher! Things were starting to look up.

I’d always wanted to shoot off one of these things, but I was afraid some grown-up would catch me. So this was the chance of a lifetime. I read the instructions, squeezed the trigger, and, much to my surprise, the thing worked! Also to my surprise, it shot out a thick cloud of powder that instantly filled the room. I couldn’t breathe. I was going to suffocate, and they’d probably never even find my body.

Luckily, I remembered the ladder to the roof. I clambered up, popped the hatch and poked my head into a shockingly bright blue prairie sky. It looked as though this adventure would have a happy ending after all.

I suddenly realized the dust and powder pouring out of the top could draw suspicion, and I was sparked with a sense of urgency. So when the fire extinguisher dust had settled, I climbed down the shaft to the elevator. Several good stomps released the platform, and I lowered myself to the ground level and slipped out the chained door into the sun. I’m not sure if I was more excited about being alive or about not being caught, but I ran all the way back to my grandparents’ house.

I thought I’d really gotten away with something, right up to the moment I walked through the front door. Grandma took one look at me, coated in layers of elevator dust and fire extinguisher powder, and the jig was up. I couldn’t begin to think of an excuse, so I confessed. That earned me a long bath and several days’ hard labor around the house.

When my parents picked me up at the end of the week, Grandma and Grandpa never said a word about the elevator. But as they praised me for being so helpful, their smiles said, Watch it, kid. We’ve got one on you.

They kept my secret for 13 years, until I finally told my parents about the elevator. Judging by my mother’s reaction, I probably should have waited 13 more.

(870 words)

①loom [lu:m] vi. 隐现

②musty [ˑmʌstɪ] adj. 发霉的

③odor [ˑəʊdə] n. 气味，臭味

④shaft [ʃɑ:ft] n. 轴，杆状物

⑤strand [strænd] vi. 搁浅

⑥canister [ˑkænɪstə(r)] n. 小罐，筒

I. How well did you read?

1. [Note the fact] When the author got inside the barn, he___________.

A. found a shaft leading to the top

B. opened the chained sliding door

C. saw many dead mice in the dark

2. [Grasp the main idea] Which of the following is the right order of the author’s adventure?

a. The elevator stopped halfway.

b. He entered the round grain barn.

c. He climbed to the top of the shaft.

d. He found a fire extinguisher and shot it off.

A. b-a-c-d B. a-c-b-d C. b-c-a-d

3. [Evaluate the information] After getting out of the chained door, the author might feel___________.

A. inspired B. relieved C. surprised

4. [Draw a conclusion] Before leaving, my grandparent’ smiles indicate that___________.

A. they would keep my secret forever

B. I was encouraged to go to the elevator again

C. I had to behave well, if not they might tell my parents

5. [Infer] What might be my mother’s reaction?

A. Angry. B. Relaxed. C. Amused.

6. [Evaluate the information] From the passage, we can learn that the author was probably a boy full of___________.

A. passions B. imagination C. curiosity

II. Read for words.

1. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

(1) Then the elevator shuddered to a halt—and so, it seemed, did my heart.

A. trembled B. broke C. stopped

(2) I clambered up, popped the hatch and poked my head into a shockingly bright blue prairie sky.

A. exploded with the fire extinguisher B. threw away

C. pushed with my head

(3) I couldn’t begin to think of an excuse, so I confessed.

A. 否认 B. 承认 C. 沉默

2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.

(1) Grandma promptly told me to stay out of those houses because the floors could cave in.

A. hurt B. hold up C. collapse

(2) Things were starting to look up.

A. get better B. hunt for C. get worse

(3) I suddenly realized the dust and powder pouring out of the top could draw suspicion.

A. make me unable to breathe

B. attract people’s attention

C. be dangerous