We moved in our new house. The house has cathedral ceilings up and down, and the only attic1 space was in the adjoining wall from my son”s room, which is above the kitchen. It is about twelve feet long, and its highest point is about five feet, and then it tapers2 down from the angle of the roof...
The first thing I noticed that was odd was that it had been nailed shut. Not just with a few nails but about twelve long ominous3 ones…The former occupant was either attempting to stop someone getting in….Or out.
The house is in a very nice neighborhood with a creek4 nearby, the mountains nicely within view and a multitude of parks… It was upon the third night that we first heard something out of sorts…A scratching noise above the kitchen. I told my wife and son that we must have a trapped animal in the attic space, perhaps a rat. Yet, for some unexplainable reason my imagination kept considering a far more sinister5 prospect6... Whatever the course I was going to have to investigate… <a hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNiFoRm.html>蘇州中考語文培訓(xùn)</a>
That Saturday my wife went off shoe shopping and left me and my son to attend to a variety of 'honey do's". Towards the top of the list was investigating the attic.
It was the last task I completed that day. Finally I could no longer procrastinate7, and retrieved9 my tool box from the garage and, with Jonathan eagerly at my heel we slowly marched upstairs. My dog Tasha was as usual also by my side…
We went into Jonathan's room and into the corner where the wood panel is nailed into place. The angle from the attic continues up in my son's room, so there is only five- foot height outside the panel...
I sighed and set my tool box down, and banged my head in the process. This entertained my son but only irritated me further. I pulled my hammer from the box and with much effort I eventually pulled out the first nail…It was six inches long. The strange thing was after that first nail got out, Tasha started whining10 and licking my hand…Eventually she was so much of a distraction11 that I had to ask Jonathan to take her downstairs… <a hReF=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNiform.html>蘇州作文培訓(xùn)哪里好</a>
It must have taken three quarters of an hour to get the first eleven nails out…It was a warm afternoon, and my salty sweat was starting to drip down my forehead and burn my eyes…I was just drying off my eyes when I thought I heard something from inside the space… A rustling12 noise and the noise however slight, was a noise nonetheless, this could only mean one thing that something was moving in there, just a few feet from where I was now sitting. The look on my son”s face was transformed to a bored look, to one of slight fear. Perhaps he was somehow in tune13 to my thoughts, or maybe he could also sense that things were not quiet right with this attic. I considered simply nailing the board back into place…Yet part of me could not do that. I simply had to know…
So I took a deep breath and worked on the last nail. As it slipped from the place it had obviously been situated14 in years, the board came free. The first thing that we became aware of was the smell…It reminded me of rotting meat. As there were no lights put into the space, I sent Jonathan back down to the garage to retrieve8 the most powerful flashlight I own…He raced down with the exuberance15 of a ten year old and was back moments later. <A hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/MiNifoRm.html>蘇州中小學(xué)生作文培訓(xùn)班</a>
Jonathan looked at me.
I looked at Jonathan.
"Well," he said, "are you going in or not?"
Now surely I could not disappoint the only person who considered me afraid of nothing? I edged into the space and fired up the flashlight…I was completely taken aback by the sight that met my eyes…And quickly exited. I had noticed three things…a baby”s rattle16, an old-fashioned teddy bear and what looked to be a baby…
As I re-entered the attic, with a more rational mind, and discovered what had appeared to be a baby was only in fact a doll. I sent Jonathan to get my camera and we took this photograph. I chuckled17 to myself at how my mind had twisted the situation…We left the door unnailed, just resting against the gaping18 hole, and continued on with the day. We did not think much more of it until that evening whilst we were watching television; we once more heard the noise. But this time it was significantly louder.
That morning, I once again stuck my head in to the attic, and this time I almost screamed…Not from what I saw, but from what I did not see. The doll had vanished.
I quickly nailed up the panel again…And to this day I have never again ventured inside our attic…And yes, on occasion, we still do hear strange noises coming from that space.
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1 attic
n.頂樓，屋頂室
參考例句：
Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使頂樓潮濕。 What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?頂樓上的材料怎么處理？
2 tapers
（長(zhǎng)形物體的）逐漸變窄( taper的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )； 微弱的光； 極細(xì)的蠟燭
參考例句：
The pencil tapers to a sharp point. 鉛筆的一段細(xì)成筆尖。 She put five tapers on the cake. 她在蛋糕上放了五只小蠟燭。
3 ominous
adj.不祥的，不吉的，預(yù)兆的，預(yù)示的
參考例句：
Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些烏云對(duì)我們的野餐來說是個(gè)不祥之兆。 There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.電話那頭出現(xiàn)了不祥的沉默。
4 creek
n.小溪，小河，小灣
參考例句：
He sprang through the creek.他跳過小河。 People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人們?cè)诼冻鲂∠膸r石上裸體曬日光浴。
5 sinister
adj.不吉利的，兇惡的，左邊的
參考例句：
There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在這一系列罪行背后有險(xiǎn)惡的陰謀。 Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他們的建議不僅一錢不值，而且包藏禍心。
6 prospect
n.前景，前途；景色，視野
參考例句：
This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事態(tài)呈現(xiàn)出可喜的前景。 The prospect became more evident.前景變得更加明朗了。
7 procrastinate
v.耽擱，拖延
參考例句：
Most often we procrastinate when faced with something we do not want to do.面對(duì)不想做的事情，我們經(jīng)常拖延。 It's easy to procrastinate when the deadline seems infinitely far away.當(dāng)最終期限總是遙遙無期時(shí)是很容易延期的。
8 retrieve
vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，補(bǔ)救；檢索
參考例句：
He was determined to retrieve his honor.他決心恢復(fù)名譽(yù)。 The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵們正試圖找回軍隊(duì)從該島撤退時(shí)留下的武器。
9 retrieved
v.取回( retrieve的過去式和過去分詞 )；恢復(fù)；尋回；檢索（儲(chǔ)存的信息）
參考例句：
Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遺留在火車上的包。 來自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》 He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手從后座上取回了自己的夾克。 來自辭典例句
10 whining
n. 抱怨，牢騷v. 哭訴，發(fā)牢騷
參考例句：
That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你們這種又愛哭、又軟弱、又可憐的賭棍就是這樣。 The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那條狗坐在門外狺狺叫著（要進(jìn)來）。
11 distraction
n.精神渙散，精神不集中，消遣，娛樂
參考例句：
Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神貫注，不能有絲毫分神。 Their national distraction is going to the disco.他們的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。
12 rustling
n. 瑟瑟聲，沙沙聲adj. 發(fā)沙沙聲的
參考例句：
the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 樹木在微風(fēng)中發(fā)出的沙沙聲 the soft rustling of leaves 樹葉柔和的沙沙聲
13 tune
n.調(diào)子；和諧，協(xié)調(diào)；v.調(diào)音，調(diào)節(jié)，調(diào)整
參考例句：
He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他寫了一段曲子，并在鋼琴上彈給我們聽。 The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
14 situated
adj.坐落在...的，處于某種境地的
參考例句：
The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的邊緣。 She is awkwardly situated.她的處境困難。
15 exuberance
n.豐富；繁榮
參考例句：
Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃發(fā)的熱情和陽光的性格征服了我。 The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表現(xiàn)出的勃勃生機(jī)讓人振奮。
16 rattle
v.飛奔，碰響；激怒；n.碰撞聲；撥浪鼓
參考例句：
The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是搖著撥浪鼓，笑著叫著。 She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她聽見茶具叮當(dāng)響。
17 chuckled
輕聲地笑( chuckle的過去式和過去分詞 )
參考例句：
She chuckled at the memory. 想起這件事她就暗自發(fā)笑。 She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那驚訝的表情，她就輕輕地暗自發(fā)笑。
18 gaping
adj.口的；張口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝視( gape的現(xiàn)在分詞 )；張開，張大
參考例句：
Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他們前面是一個(gè)巨大的深淵。 The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊無法從鱷魚張開的大口中逃脫。 來自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》
19 sordid
adj.骯臟的，不干凈的，卑鄙的，暗淡的
參考例句：
He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively.他只描寫人生骯臟和庸俗的一面。 They lived in a sordid apartment.他們住在骯臟的公寓房子里。
《我家的閣樓》添加時(shí)間：2024-12-14；更新時(shí)間：2025-03-09
