This excerpt is one of the Tiger Team supernatural mystery novels for adolescents. The Tiger Team series was originally created in German by author Thomas C. Brezina, and features a band of young detectives: Jupiter Katz, son of a supernatural researcher Erasmus Katz, Jupiter’s cousin Vicky and Vicky’s little brother Nick. This is listed as […]
那栋房子是木质结构的， 看起来就像是婚礼蛋糕。 它总共有四层，越向上越狭窄，所以最高的那层就只是一座带有小小玻璃穹顶的尖塔了。
灰蒙蒙的木头外墙已经腐朽不堪， 黑色的穹顶上好像也被戳了好几个窟窿。
窗户都是拱形，数目远远大于实际需要，上面还钉了好多木条。
这栋房子从1911年起就矗立在这座孤零零的山丘上。有时候，附近的农民发现这栋房子会像磁铁一样，吸引着乌云，雷电，冰雹和风雨。
如果谁在夏天的时候走近这栋房子，就会发现这里奇特现象：房子周围为数不多的那几棵树都是光秃秃的。 树枝如同黝黑的手臂， 高高地指向天空。
这块地被低矮的木栅栏圈在当中， 有几处已经被人损坏， 木条都不知下落了。 甚至， 有的地方已经完全被杂草所掩埋。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 栋 | dǒng | classifier for houses or buildings |
| 房子 | fáng zi | house; building (single- or two-story); apartment; room; CL:棟|栋[dong4],幢[zhuang4],座[zuo4],套[tao4],間|间[jian1] |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 木 | Mù | surname Mu |
| 质 | zhǐ | character; quality; to pawn; hostage; Taiwan pr. [zhi2] |
| 结 | jiē | (of a plant) to produce (fruit or seeds); Taiwan pr. [jie2] |
| 构 | gǒu | to reach by stretching |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 婚礼 | hūn lǐ | wedding ceremony; wedding; CL:場|场[chang3] |
| 蛋糕 | dàn gāo | cake; CL:塊|块[kuai4],個|个[ge4] |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 总 | zǒng | (bound form) general; overall; to sum up; in every case; always; invariably; anyway; after all; eventually; sooner or later; surely; (after a person's name) abbr. for 總經理|总经理[zong3… |
| 共有 | gòng yǒu | in total there are ...; to own jointly |
| 四 | sì | four; 4 |
| 层 | céng | to pile on top of one another; layer; stratum; floor (of a building); story; (math.) sheaf; classifier for layers |
| 越 | Yuè | generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods; abbr. for Vietnam 越南 |
| 向上 | xiàng shàng | upward; up; to advance; to try to improve oneself; to make progress |
| 狭 | xiā | narrow |
| 窄 | zhái | narrow; badly off |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 最高 | zuì gāo | tallest; highest; supreme (court etc) |
| 只是 | zhǐ shì | merely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 座 | zuò | seat; base; stand; (bound form) constellation; (archaic) suffix used in a respectful form of address (e.g. 師座|师座[shi1 zuo4]); classifier for large immovable objects such as buildin… |
| 带有 | dài yǒu | to have as a feature or characteristic; to have an element of (confidence, sweetness, malevolence etc); to carry (a pathogen, connotation etc) |
| 小小 | xiǎo xiǎo | very small; very few; very minor |
| 玻 | bo | see 玻璃[bo1 li5] |
| 璃 | lī | (phonetic character used in transliteration of foreign names) |
| 穹 | ||
| 顶 | dǐng | apex; crown of the head; top; roof; most; to carry on the head; to push to the top; to go against; to replace; to substitute; to be subjected to (an aerial bombing, hailstorm etc);… |
| 尖塔 | jiān tǎ | spire; minaret |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 灰 | huī | ash; dust; lime; gray; discouraged; dejected |
| 蒙 | mēng | (literary) sincere; honest; genuine |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 外 | wài | outside; in addition; foreign; external |
| 墙 | qiáng | variant of 牆|墙[qiang2]; wall (CL:面[mian4],堵[du3]); (slang) to block (a website) (usu. in the passive: 被牆|被墙[bei4 qiang2]) |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 腐 | fǔ | decay; rotten |
| 朽 | ||
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 堪 | kan | (bound form) may; can; (in 堪輿|堪舆[kan1 yu2]) heaven (contrasted with earth 輿|舆[yu2]) |
| 黑色 | hēi sè | black |
| 顶上 | dǐng shàng | on top of; at the summit |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 戳 | ||
| 好几 | hǎo jǐ | several; quite a few |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 窟 | kū | cave; hole |
| 窿 | ||
| 窗户 | chuāng hu | window; CL:個|个[ge4],扇[shan4] |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 拱 | ||
| 形 | xíng | to appear; to look; form; shape |
| 数目 | shù mù | amount; number |
| 远远 | yuǎn yuǎn | distant; by far |
| 大于 | dà yú | greater than; bigger than; more than |
| 实 | shí | real; true; honest; really; solid; fruit; seed; definitely |
| 际 | jǐ | border; boundary; between; to meet; occasion |
| 需要 | xū yào | to need; to want; to demand; to require; needs |
| 上面 | shàng miàn | on top of; above-mentioned; also pr. [shang4 mian5] |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 钉 | dīng | nail; to follow closely; to keep at sb (to do sth); variant of 盯[ding1] |
| 好多 | hǎo duō | many; quite a lot; much better |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 矗 | ||
| 立 | Lì | surname Li |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 孤零零 | gū líng líng | lone; isolated and without help; all alone; solitary |
| 山 | Shān | surname Shan |
| 丘 | qiu | mound; hillock; grave; surname Qiu |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 有时 | yǒu shí | sometimes; now and then |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 附近 | fù jìn | nearby; neighboring; (in the) vicinity (of); neighborhood |
| 农民 | nóng mín | peasant; farmer |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 磁铁 | cí tiě | magnet |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 吸 | xi | to breathe; to absorb |
| 引着 | yǐn zháo | to ignite; to kindle |
| 乌 | wu | abbr. for country names that begin with 烏|乌[wu1]: Ukraine 烏克蘭|乌克兰[Wu1 ke4 lan2], Uzbekistan 烏茲別克斯坦|乌兹别克斯坦[Wu1 zi1 bie2 ke4 si1 tan3] etc |
| 云 | yún | (classical) to say; surname Yun; short name for Yunnan 雲南|云南[Yun2 nan2] |
| 雷 | Léi | surname Lei |
| 电 | diàn | lightning; electricity; electric (bound form); to get (or give) an electric shock; phone call or telegram etc; to send via telephone or telegram etc |
| 冰 | bīng | ice; CL:塊|块[kuai4]; to chill sth; (of an object or substance) to feel cold; (of a person) cold; unfriendly; (slang) methamphetamine; variant of 冰[bing1] |
| 雹 | ||
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 风雨 | fēng yǔ | wind and rain; the elements; (fig.) trials and hardships |
| 如 | rú | as; as if; such as |
| 果 | guǒ | fruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really |
| 谁 | shéi | who; also pr. [shui2] |
| 夏天 | xià tiān | summer; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 走近 | zǒu jìn | to approach; to draw near to |
| 这里 | zhè lǐ | variant of 這裡|这里[zhe4 li3] |
| 奇特 | qí tè | peculiar; unusual; queer |
| 现象 | xiàn xiàng | phenomenon; CL:個|个[ge4],種|种[zhong3]; appearance |
| 周围 | zhōu wéi | environs; surroundings; periphery |
| 为数 | wéi shù | (used before 不少[bu4 shao3] or 不多[bu4 duo1]) in terms of quantity; (before a number) numbering; amounting to |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 棵 | kē | classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc |
| 树 | shù | tree; CL:棵[ke1]; to cultivate; to set up |
| 光 | guāng | light; ray (CL:道[dao4]); bright; shiny; only; merely; used up; finished; to leave (a part of the body) uncovered |
| 秃 | ||
| 树枝 | shù zhī | branch; twig |
| 如同 | rú tóng | like; as |
| 黝 | ||
| 黑 | Hēi | short name for Heilongjiang 黑龍江|黑龙江[Hei1 long2 jiang1] |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 臂 | bǐ | arm |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 高地 | gāo dì | highland; upland |
| 指向 | zhǐ xiàng | to point towards; aimed at; facing; the direction indicated |
| 天空 | tiān kōng | sky |
| 块 | kuài | lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc; (coll.) classifier for money and currency units |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 低矮 | dī ǎi | short; low |
| 栅 | ||
| 栏 | lān | fence; hurdle |
| 圈 | quan | to confine; to pen in |
| 当中 | dāng zhōng | among; in the middle; in the center |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 处 | chǔ | to reside; to live; to dwell; to be in; to be situated at; to stay; to get along with; to be in a position of; to deal with; to discipline; to punish |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 损 | sún | (bound form) to decrease; to diminish; (coll.) to ridicule; to deride |
| 坏 | huài | bad; spoiled; broken; to break down; (suffix) to the utmost |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 下落 | xià luò | whereabouts; to drop; to fall |
| 甚至 | shèn zhì | even; so much so that |
| 有的 | yǒu de | (there are) some (who are...); some (exist) |
| 地方 | dì fāng | region; regional (away from the central administration); local |
| 完全 | wán quán | complete; whole; totally; entirely |
| 杂 | zá | variant of 雜|杂[za2]; mixed; miscellaneous; various; to mix |
| 草 | cǎo | variant of 草[cao3]; grass; straw; manuscript; draft (of a document); careless; rough; CL:棵[ke1],撮[zuo3],株[zhu1],根[gen1] |
| 所 | suǒ | actually; place; classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc; that which; particle introducing a relative clause or passive; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 掩 | yán | to cover up; to conceal; (coll.) to get (one's fingers etc) caught when closing a door or lid |
| 埋 | mái | to bury |
The building was constructed of wood, and looked like a wedding cake. Altogether, it had four floors, each narrower than the one below, so the topmost floor was just a small minaret topped with a glass dome.
The gloomy outer wall was already in a state of extreme disrepair, and the dark and the vaulted roof looked as if it had been stabbed full of holes.
The windows were all arched, there were far more of them than actually necessary, and they had wooden boards nailed over them.
The house had towered atop this isolated hill since 1911. Sometimes, the nearby villagers would find that the building was like a magnet, attracting dark clouds, lightening, hail, wind and rain.
If anyone walked near the house during summer, they would discover a strange phenomenon: the few surrounding trees were all bare. The tree branches were like dark arms, pointing tall towards the sky.
The land was encircled by a low fence, which had been broken in several places, and the wooden slats were missing. It was in such a state that some parts of it had even been completely buried by weeds.