Jack And Jill - Chapter 11

"Down Brakes", ,The greatest people have their weak points, and the best-behaved boys now and then yield to temptation and get into trouble, as everybody knows. Frank was considered a remarkably ¹ well-bred and proper lad, and rather prided himself on his good reputation, for he never got into scrapes like the other fellows. Well, hardly ever, for we must confess that at rare intervals ² his besetting ³ sin overcame his prudence ⁴, and he proved himself an erring ⁵, human boy. Steam-engines had been his idols ⁶ for years, and they alone could lure ⁷ him from the path of virtue ⁸. Once, in trying to investigate the mechanism ⁹ of a toy specimen ¹⁰, which had its little boiler ¹¹ and ran about whistling and puffing ¹³ in the most delightful ¹⁴ way, he nearly set the house afire by the sparks that dropped on the straw carpet. Another time, in trying experiments with the kitchen tea-kettle, he blew himself up, and the scars of that explosion he still carried on his hands., ,He was long past such childish amusements now, but his favorite haunt was the engine-house of the new railroad, where he observed the habits of his pets with never-failing interest, and cultivated the good-will of stokers and brakemen till they allowed him many liberties, and were rather flattered by the admiration ¹⁵ expressed for their iron horses by a young gentleman who liked them better even than his Greek and Latin., , ,Gus took less interest than his friend in the study of steam, but usually accompanied him when he went over after school to disport¹⁸（娱乐 ，玩耍） himself in the engine-house, interview the stoker, or see if there was anything new in the way of brakes., ,One afternoon they found No. 11 on the side-track, puffing away as if enjoying a quiet smoke before starting. No cars were attached, and no driver was to be seen, for Bill was off with the other men behind the station-house, helping ¹⁹ the expressman, whose horse had backed down a bank and upset the wagon ²⁰., ,He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快 。,The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴
，有阵雨
。