2024年4月10日发(作者：曲静娴)

Lesson 1 A private conversation 私人谈话

Last week I went to the theatre. I had a very good

seat. The play was very interesting. I did not enjoy

it. A young man and a young woman were sitting behind

me. They were talking loudly. I got very angry. I could

not hear the actors. I turned round. I looked at the man

and the woman angrily. They did not pay any attention.

In the end, I could not bear it. I turned round again.

'I can't hear a word!' I said angrily. ' It's none of

your business,' the young man said rudely. 'This is a

private conversation!'.

Lesson 2 Breakfast or lunch? 早餐还是午餐？

It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays. I

sometimes stay in bed until lunch time.

Last Sunday I got up very late. I looked out of the

window. It was dark outside.

'What a day!' I thought. 'It's raining again.' Just then,

the telephone rang. It was my aunt Lucy.' I've just

arrived by train,' she said. 'I'm coming to see you.'

'But I'm still having breakfast,' I said.

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'What are you doing ?' she asked. ' I'm having

breakfast,' I repeated.

'Dear me,' she said. 'Do you always get up so late ?

It's one o'clock!''

Lesson 3 Please send me a card 请给我寄一张明信片

Postcards always spoil my holidays. Last summer, I went

to Italy. I visited museums and sat in public gardens. A

friendly waiter taught me a few words of Italian. 'Then

he lent me a book. I read a few lines, but I did not

understand a word. Every day I thought about postcards.

My holidays passed quickly, but I did not send any cards

to my friends. On the last day I made a big decision. I

got up early and bought thirty-seven cards. I spent the

whole day in my room, but I did not write a single card !

Lesson 4 An exciting trip 激动人心的旅行

I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He

is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim

is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has

already visited a great number of different places in

Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has

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gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of

Australia. He will soon visit Darwin. From there, he

will fly to Perth.

My brother has never been abroad before, so he is

finding this trip very exciting.

Lesson 5 No wrong numbers 无错号之虞

Mr James Scott has a garage in Silbury and now he has

just bought another garage in Pinhurst. Pinhurst is only

five miles from Silbury, but Mr Scott cannot get a

telephone for his new garage, so he has just bought

twelve pigeons. Yesterday, a pigeon carried the first

message from Pinhurst to Silbury. The bird covered the

distance in three minutes. Up to now, Mr Scott has sent

a great many requests for spare parts and other urgent

messages from one garage to the other. In this way, he

has begun his own private telephone service.

Lesson 6 Percy Buttons 珀西·巴顿斯

I have just moved to a house in Bridge Street. Yesterday

a beggar knocked at my door. He asked me for a meal and

a glass of beer. In return for this, the beggar stood on

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his head and sang songs. I gave him a meal. He ate the

food and drank the beer. Then he put a piece of cheese

in his pocket and went away. Later a neighbour told me

about him. Everybody knows him. His name is Percy

Buttons. He calls at every house in the street once a

month and always asks for a meal and a glass of beer.

Lesson 7 Too late 为时太晚

The plane was late and detectives were waiting at the

airport all morning. They were expecting a valuable

parcel of diamond from South Africa. A few hours earlier,

someone had told the police that thieves would try to

steal the diamonds. When the plane arrived, some of the

detectives were waiting inside the main building while

others were waiting on the airfield. Two men took the

parcel off the plane and carried it into the Customs

House. While two detectives were keeping guard at the

door, two others opened the parcel. To their surprise,

the precious parcel was full of stones and sand!

Lesson 8 The best and the worst 最好的和最差的

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Joe Sanders has the most beautiful garden in our town.

Nearly everybody enters for 'The Nicest Garden

Competition' each year, but Joe wins every time. Bill

Frith's garden is larger than Joe's. Bill works harder

than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but

Joe's garden is more interesting. He has made neat paths

and has built a wooden bridge over a pool. I like

gardens too, but I do not like hard work. Every year I

enter for the garden competition too, and I always win a

little prize for the worst garden in the town!

Lesson 9 A cold welcome 冷遇

On Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall. It was

the last day of the year and a large crowd of people had

gathered under the Town Hall clock. It would strike

twelve in twenty minutes' time. Fifteen minutes passed

and then, at five to twelve, the clock stopped. The big

minute hand did not move. We waited and waited, but

nothing happened. Suddenly someone shouted, 'It's two

minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped!' I looked at

my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to welcome

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the New Year. At that moment everybody began to laugh

and sing.

Lesson 10 Not for jazz 不适于演奏爵士乐

We have an old musical instrument. It is called a

clavichord(翼琴). It was made in Germany in 1681. Our

clavichord is kept in the living-room. It has belong to

our family for a long time. The instrument was bought by

my grandfather many years ago. Recently it was damaged

by a visitor. She tried to play jazz on it! She struck

the keys too hard and two of the strings were broken. My

father was shocked. Now we are not allowed to touch it.

It is being repaired by a friend of my father's.

Lesson 11 One good turn deserves another 礼尚往来

I was having dinner at a restaurant when Harry Steele

came in. Harry worked in a lawyer's office years ago,

but he is now working at a bank. He gets a good salary,

but he always borrows money from his friends and never

pays it back. Harry saw me and came and sat at the same

table. He has never borrowed money from me. While he was

eating, I asked him to lend me &2. To my surprise, he

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gave me the money immediately. 'I have never borrowed

any money from you,' Harry said, 'so now you can pay for

my dinner!'

Lesson 12 Goodbye and good luck 再见，一路顺风

Our ncighbour, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from

Portsmouth tomorrow. We shall meet him at the harbour

early in the morning. He will be in his small boat,

l is a famous little boat. It has sailed

across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will set

out at eight o'clock so we shall have plenty of time. We

shall see his boat and then we shall say good-bye to him.

He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him.

He will take part in an important race across the

Atlantic.

Lesson 13 The Greenwood Boys 绿林少年

The Greenwood Boys are a group of popular singers. At

present, they are visiting all parts of the country.

They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be coming

by train and most of the young

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people in the town will be meeting them at the station.

Tomorrow evening they will be singing at the Workers'

Club. The Greenwood Boys will be staying for five days.

During this time, they will give five performances. As

usual, the police will have a difficult time. They will

be trying to keep order. It is always the same on these

occasions.

Lesson 14 Do you speak English? 你会讲英语吗？

I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left

a small village in the south of France, I drove on to

the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I

stopped and he asked me for a lift. As soon as he had

got into the car, I said good morning to him in French

and he replied in the same language. Apart from a few

words, I do not know any French at all. Neither of us

spoke during the journey. I had nearly reached the town,

when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, 'Do you

speak English?' As I soon learnt, he was English himself!

Lesson 15 Good news 佳音

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The secretary told me that Mr. Harmsworth would see me.

I felt very nervous when. I went into his office. He did

not look up from his desk when I entered. After I had

sat down, he said that business was very bad. He told me

that the firm could not afford to pay such large

salaries. Twenty people had already left. I knew that my

turn had come. 'Mr. Harmsworth,' I said in a weak voice.

'Don't interrupt,' he Said. Then he smiled and told me I

would receive an extra &100 a year!

Lesson 16 A polite request 彬彬有礼的要求

If you park your car in the wrong place, a traffic

policeman will soon find it. You will be very lucky if

he lets you go without a ticket. However, this does not

always happen. Traffic police are sometimes very polite.

During a holiday in Sweden, I found this note on my

car:' Sir, we welcome you to our city. This is a "No

Parking" area. You will enjoy your stay here if you pay

attention to our street signs. This note is only a

reminder.' If you receive a request like this, you

cannot fail to obey it!

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Lesson 17 Always young 青年常驻

My aunt Jennifer is an actress. She must be at least

thirty-five years old. In spite of this, she often

appears on the stage as a young girl. Jennifer will have

to take part in a new play soon. This time, she will be

a girl of seventeen. In the play, she must appear in a

bright red dress and long black stockings. Last year in

another play, she had to wear short socks and a bright,

orange-coloured dress. If anyone ever asked her how old

she is, she always answers, 'My dear, it must be

terrible to be grown up!'

lesson18 He often does this! 他经常干这种事！

After I had had lunch at a village inn, I looked for my

bag. I had left it on a chair beside the door and now it

wasn't there ! As I was looking for it, the inn-keeper

came in. 'Did you have a good meal ?' he asked. 'Yes,

thank you,' I answered, 'but I can't pay the bill. I

haven't got my bag.' The inn-keeper smiled and

immediately went out. In a few minutes he returned with

my bag and gave it back to me. 'I'm very sorry,' he said

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' My dog had taken it into the garden. He often does

this.'

Lesson19 Sold out 票已售完

'The play may begin at any moment,' I said.

'It may have begun already,' Susan answered.

'I hurried to the ticket-office. 'May I have two tickets

please ?' I asked.

'I'm sorry, we've sold out,' the girl said.

'What a pity!' Susan exclaimed.

Just then, a man hurried to the ticket-office.

'Can I return these two tickets?' he asked.

'Certainly,' the girl said.

'Could I have those two tickets please ?' I asked.

'Certainly, 'the girl said, 'but they are for next

Wednesday's performance.

'I might as well have them,' I said sadly.

Lesson20 One man in a boat 独坐孤舟

Fishing is my favourite sport. I often fish for hours

without catching anything. But this does not worry me.

Some fishermen are unlucky. Instead of catching fish,

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they catch old boots and rubbish. I am even less lucky.

I never catch anything-not even old boots. After having

spent whole mornings on the river, I always go home with

an empty bag. 'You must give up fishing!' my friends

say.' It's a waste of time.' But they don't realize one

important thing. I'm not really interested in fishing. I

am only interested in sitting in a boat and doing

nothing at all !

Lesson21 Mad or not? 是不是疯了？

Aeroplanes are slowly driving me mad. I live near an

airport and passing planes can be heard night and day.

The airport was built during the war, but for some

reason it could not be used then. Last year, however, it

came into use. Over a hundred people must have been

driven away from their homes by the noise. I am one of

the few people left. Sometimes I think this house will

be knocked down by a passing plane. I have been offered

a large sum of money to go away, but I am determined to

stay here. Everybody says I must be mad and they are

probably right.

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Lesson22 A glass envelope 玻璃信封

My daughter, Jane, never dreamed of receiving a letter

from a girl of her own age in Holland. Last year, we

were travelling across the Channel and Jane put a piece

of paper with her name and address on it into a bottle.

She threw the bottle into the sea. She never thought of

it again, but ten months later, she received a letter

from a girl in Holland. Both girls write to each other

regularly now. However, they have decided to use the

post-office. Letters will cost a litt1e more, but they

will certainly travel faster.

Lesson23 A new house 新居

I had a letter from my sister yesterday. She lives in

Nigeria. In her letter, she said that she would come to

England next year. If she comes, she will get a surprise.

We are now living in a beautiful new house in the

country. Work on it had begun before my sister left. The

house was completed five months ago. In my letter, I

told her that she could stay with us. The house has many

large rooms and there is a lovely garden. It is a very

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modern house, so it looks strange to some people. It

must be the only modern house in the district.

Lesson24 It could be worse 不幸中之万幸

I entered the hotel manager's office and sat down. I had

just lost &50 and I felt very upset.' I left the money

in my room,' I said, 'and it's not there now.' The

manager was sympathetic, but he could do nothing.

'Everyone's losing money these days,' he said. He

started to complain about this wicked world but was

interrupted by a knock at the door. A girl came in and

put an envelope on his desk. It contained &5o. 'I found

this outside this gentleman's room' she said. 'Well,' I

said to the manager, 'there is still some honesty in

this world !'

lesson25 Do the English speak English? 英国人讲的是英语

吗？

I arrived in London at last. The railway station was big,

black and dark. I did not know the way to my hotel, so I

asked a porter. I not only spoke English very carefully,

but very clearly as well. The porter, however, could not

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understand me; I repeated my question several times and

at last he understood. He answered me, but he spoke

neither slowly nor clearly. 'I am a foreigner,' I said.

Then he spoke slowly, but I could not understand him. My

teacher never spoke English like that! The porter and I

looked at each other and smiled. Then he said something

and I understood it. 'You'll soon learn English!' he

said. I wonder. In England, each man speaks a different

language. The English understand each other, but I don't

understand them ! Do they speak English ?

lesson26 The best art critics 最佳美术评论家

I am an art student and I paint a lot of pictures. Many

people pretend that they understand modern art. They

always tell you what a picture is 'about'. Of course,

many pictures arc not 'about' anything. They are just

pretty patterns. We like them in the same way that we

like pretty curtain material. I think that young

children often appreciate modern pictures better than

anyone else. They notice more. My sister is only seven,

but she always tells me whether my pictures are good or

not. She came into my room yesterday. ' What are you

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doing ?' she asked. ' I'm hanging this picture on the

wall,' I answered. 'It's a new one. Do you like it ?'

She looked at it critically for a moment.' It's all

right,' she said, 'but isn't it upside-down ?' I looked

at it again. She was right! It was!

Lesson27 A wet night 雨夜

Late in the afternoon, the boys put up their tent in the

middle of a field. As soon as this was done, they cooked

a meal over an open fire. They were all hungry and the

food smelt good. After a wonderful meal, they told

stories and sang songs by the camp fire. But some time

later it began to rain. The boys felt tired so they pet

out the fire and crept into their tent. Their sleeping-

bags were warm and comfortable, so they all slept

soundly. In the middle of the night, two boys woke up

and began shouting. The tent was full of water! They all

leapt out of their sleeping-bags and hurried outside. It

was raining heavily and they found that a stream had

formed in the field. The stream wound its way across the

field and then flowed right under their tent!

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Lesson28 No parking 禁止停车

Jasper White is one of those rare people who believes in

ancient myths. He has just bought a new house in the

city, but ever since he moved in, he has had trouble

with motorists. when he returns home at night, he always

finds that someone has parked a car outside his gate.

Because of this, he has not been able to get his own car

into his garage even once. Jasper has put up' No

Parking' signs outside his gate, but these have not had

any effect. Now he has put an ugly stone head over the

gate. It is one of the ugliest faces I have ever seen. I

asked him what it was and he told me that it was Medusa,

the Gorgon. Jasper hopes that she will turn motorists to

stone. But none of them has been turned to stone yet!

Lesson29 Taxi! 出租汽车！

Captain Ben Fawcett has bought an unusual taxi and has

begun a new service. The 'taxi' is a small Swiss

aeroplane called a 'Pilatus Porter'. This wonderful

plane can carry seven passengers. The most surprising

thing about it, however, is that it can land anywhere:

on snow, water, or even on a ploughed field. Captain

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Fawcett's first passenger was a doctor who flew from

Birmingham to a lonely village in the Welsh mountains.

Since then, Captain Fawcett has flown passengers to many

unusual places. Once he landed on the roof of a block of

flats and on another occasion, he landed in a deserted

car park. Captain Fawcett has just refused a strange

request from a businessman. The man wanted to fly to

Rockall, a lonely island in the Atlantic Ocean, but

Captain Fawcett did not take him because the trip was

too dangerous.

Lesson30 Football or polo? 足球还是水球？

The Wayle is a small river that cuts across the park

near my home. I like sitting by the Wayle on fine

afternoons. It was warm last Sunday, so I went and sat

on the river bank as usual. Some children were playing

games on the bank and there were some people rowing on

the river. Suddenly, one of the children kicked a ball

very hard and it went towards a passing boat. Some

people on the bank called out to the man in the boat,

but he did not hear them. The ball struck him so hard

that he nearly fell into the water. I turned to look at

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the children, but there weren't any in sight: they had

all run away! The man laughed when he realized what had

happened. He called out to the children and threw the

ball back to the bank.

Lesson31 Success story 成功者的故事

Yesterday afternoon Frank Hawkins was telling me about

his experiences as a young man. Frank is now the head of

a very large business company, but as a boy he used to

work in a small shop. It was his job to repair bicycles

and at that time he used to work fourteen hours a day.

He saved money for years and in 1938 he bought a small

work-shop of his own. During the war Frank used to make

spare parts for aeroplanes. At that time he had two

helpers. By the end of the war, the small work-shop had

become a large factory which employed seven hundred and

twenty-eight people. Frank smiled when he remembered his

hard early years and the long road to success. He was

still smiling when the door opened and his wife came in.

She wanted him to repair their son's bicycle!

Lesson32 Shopping made easy 购物变得很方便

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People are not so honest as they once were. The

temptation to steal is greater than ever before--

especially in large shops. A detective recently watched

a well-dressed woman who always went into a large store

on Monday mornings. One Monday, there were fewer people

in the shop than usual when the woman came in, so it was

easier for the detective to watch her. The woman first

bought a few small articles. After a little time, she

chose one of the most expensive dresses in the shop and

handed it to an assistant who wrapped it up for her as

quickly as possible. Then the woman simply took the

parcel and walked out of the shop without paying. When

she was arrested, the detective found out that the shop-

assistant was her daughter. The girl' gave' her mother a

free dress once a week !

lesson33 Out of the darkness 冲出黑暗

Nearly a week passed before the girl was able to explain

what had happened to her. One afternoon she set out from

the coast in a small boat and was caught in a storm.

Towards evening, the boat struck a rock and the girl

jumped into the sea. Then she swam to the shore after

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spending the whole night in the water. During that time

she covered a distance of eight miles. Early next

morning, she saw a light ahead. She knew she was near

the shore because the light was high up on the cliffs.

On arriving at the shore, the girl struggled up the

cliff towards the light she had seen. That was all she

remembered. When she woke up a day later, she found

herself in hospital.

Lesson34 Quick work 破案“神速”

Ted Robinson has been worried all the week. Last Tuesday

he received a letter from the local police. In the

letter he was asked to call at the station. Ted

wondered why he was wanted by the police, but he went

to the station yesterday and now he is not worried any

more. At the station, he was told by a smiling policeman

that his bicycle had been found. Five days ago, the

policeman told him, the bicycle was picked up in a small

village four hundred miles away. It is now being sent to

his home by train. Ted was most surprised when he heard

the news. He was amused too, because he never expected

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the bicycle to be found. It was stolen twenty years ago

when Ted was a boy of fifteen !

Lesson35 Stop thief! 捉贼！

Rov Trenton used to drive a taxi. A short while ago,

however, he became a bus-driver and he was not regretted

it. He is finding his new work far more exciting. When

he was driving along Catford Street recently, he saw two

thieves rush out of a shop and run towards a waiting car.

One of them was carrying a bag full of money. Roy acted

quickly and drove the bus straight at the thieves. The

one with the money got such a fright that he dropped the

bag. As the thieves were trying to get away in their car,

Roy drove his bus into the back of it. While the

battered car was moving away, Roy stopped his bus and

telephoned the police. The thieves' car was badly

damaged and easy to recognize. Shortly afterwards, the

police stopped the car and both men were arrested.

Lesson36 Across the Channel 横渡海峡

Erna Hart is going to swim across the English Channel

tomorrow. She is going to set out from the French coast

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at five o'clock in the morning. Erna is only fourteen

years old and she hopes lo set up a new world record.

She is a strong swimmer and many people feel that she is

sure to succeed. Erna's father will set out with her in

a small boat. Mr Hart has trained his daughter for years.

Tomorrow he will be watching her anxiously as she swims

the long distance to England. Erna intends to take short

rests every two hours. She will have something to drink

but she will not eat any solid food. Most of Erna's

school friends will be waiting for her on the English

coast. Among them will be Erna's mother, who swam the

Channel herself when she was a girl.

Lesson37 The Olympic Games 奥林匹克运动会

The Olympic Games will be held in our country in four

years' time. As a great many people will be visiting the

country, the government will be building new hotels, an

immense stadium, and a fine new swimming pool. 'They

will also be building new roads and a special railway-

line. The Games will be held just outside the capital

and the whole area will be called 'Olympic City'.

Workers will have completed the new roads by the end of

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this year. By the end of next year, they will have

finished work on the new stadium. The fine modern

buildings have been designed by Kurt Gunter. Everybody

will be watching anxiously as the new buildings go up.

We are all very excited and are looking forward to the

Olympic Games because they have never been held before

in this country.

Lesson38 Everything except the weather 惟独没有考虑到天

气

My old friend, Harrison, had lived in the Mediterranean

for many years before he returned to England. He had

often dreamed of retiring in England and had planned to

settle down in the country. He had no sooner returned

than he bought a fine house and went to live there.

Almost immediately he began to complain about the

weather, for even though it was still summer, it rained

continually and it was often bitterly cold. After so

many years of sunshine, Harrison got a shock. He acted

as if he had never lived in England before. In the end,

it was more than he could bear. He had hardly had time

to settle down when he sold the house and left the

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country. The dream he had had for so many years ended

there. Harrison had thought of everything except the

weather.

Lesson39 Am I all right? 我是否痊愈？

While John Gilbert was in hospital, he asked his doctor

to tell him whether his operation had been successful,

but the doctor refused to do so. The following day, the

patient asked for a bedside telephone. When he was

alone, he telephoned the hospital exchange and asked for

Doctor Millington. When the doctor answered the phone,

Mr Gilbert said he was inquiring about a certain patient,

a Mr John Gilbert. He asked if Mr Gilbert's operation

had been successful and the doctor told him that it had

been. He then asked when Mr Gilbert would be allowed to

go home and the doctor told him that he would have to

stay in hospital for another two weeks. Then Dr

Millington asked the caller if he was a relative of the

patient.' No,' the patient answered,' I am Mr John

Gilbert.'

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Lesson40 Food and talk 进餐与交谈

Last week at a dinner-party, the hostess asked me to sit

next to Mrs Rumbold. Mrs Rumbold was a large, unsmiling

lady in a tight black dress. She did not even look up

when I took my seat beside her. Her eyes were fixed on

her plate and in a short time, she was busy eating. I

tried to make conversation.

' A new play is coming to" The Globe" soon,' I said.

'Will you be seeing it ?' ' No,' she answered. 'Will you

be spending your holidays abroad this year ?' I asked. '

No,' she answered.

' Will you be staying in England?' I asked. ' No,' she

answered.

In despair, I asked her whether she was enjoying her

dinner.

' Young man,' she answered,' if you ate more and talked

less, we would both enjoy our dinner !'

lesson41 Do you call that a hat? 你把那个叫帽子吗？

'Do you call that a hat ?' I said to my wife. 'You

needn't be so rude about it,' my wife answered as she

looked at herself in the mirror. I sat down on one of

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those modern chairs with holes in it and waited. We had

been in the hat shop for half an hour and my wife was

still in front of the mirror.

' We mustn't buy things we don't need,' I remarked

suddenly. I regretted saying it almost at once.

'You needn't have said that,' my wife answered.' I need

not remind you of that terrible tie you bought

yesterday.'

' I find it beautiful,' I said. 'A man can never have

too many ties.'

'And a woman can't have too many hats,' she answered.

Ten minutes later we walked out of the shop together. My

wife was wearing a hat that looked like a lighthouse !

Lesson42 Not very musical 并非很懂音乐

As we had had a long walk through one of the markets of

Old Delhi, we stopped at a square to have a rest. After

a time, we noticed a snake-charmer with two large

baskets at the other side of the square, so we went to

have a look at him. As soon as he saw us, he picked up a

long pipe which was covered with coins and opened one of

the baskets. When he began to play a tune, we had our

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first glimpse of the snake. It rose out of the basket

and began to follow the movements of the pipe. We were

very much surprised when the snake charmer suddenly

began to play jazz tunes and modern pop songs. The snake,

however, continued to 'dance' slowly. It obviously could

not tell the difference between Indian music and jazz!

Lesson43 Over the South Pole 飞越南极

In 1929, three years after his flight over the North

Pole, the American explorer, R. E. Byrd, successfully

flew over the South Pole for the first time. Though, at

first, Byrd and his men were able to take a great many

photographs of the mountains that lay below, they soon

ran into serious trouble. At one point, it seemed

certain that their plane would crash. It could only get

over the mountains if it rose to 10,000 feet. Byrd at

once ordered his men to throw out two heavy food sacks.

The plane was then able to rise and it cleared the

mountains by 400 feet. Byrd now knew that he would be

able to reach the South Pole which was 300 miles away,

for there were no more mountains in sight. The aircraft

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was able to fly over the endless white plains without

difficulty.

Lesson44 Through the forest 穿过森林

Mrs Anne Sterling did not think of the risk she was

taking when she ran through a forest after two men. They

had rushed up to her while she was having a picnic at

the edge of a forest with her children and tried to

steal her handbag. In the struggle, the strap broke and,

with the bag in their possession, both men started

running through the trees. Mrs Sterling got so angry

that she ran after them. She was soon out of breath, but

she continued to run. When she caught up with them, she

saw that they had sat down and were going through the

contents of the bag, so she ran straight at them. The

men got such a fright that they dropped the bag and ran

away. 'The strap needs mending,' said Mrs Sterling

later, 'but they did not steal anything.'

Lesson45 A clear conscience 问心无愧

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The whole village soon learnt that a large sum of money

had been lost. Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost

his wallet while taking his savings to the post-office.

Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one

of the villagers, but it was not returned to him. Three

months passed, and then one morning, Sam found his

wallet outside his front door. It had been wrapped up in

newspaper and it contained half the money he had lost,

together with a note which said: 'A thief, yes, 'but

only 5o per cent a thief!' Two months later, some more

money was sent to Sam with another note:' Only 25 per

cent a thief now!' In time, all Sam's money was paid

back in this way. The last note said:' I am 100 per cent

honest now!'

lesson46 Expensive and uncomfortable 既昂贵又受罪

When a plane from London arrived at Sydney airport,

workers began to unload a number of wooden boxes which

contained clothing. No one could account for the fact

that one of the boxes was extremely heavy. It suddenly

occurred to one of the workers to open up the box. He

was astonished at what he found. A man was lying in the

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box on top of a pile of woollen goods. He was so

surprised at being discovered that he did not even try

to run away. After he was arrested, the man admitted

hiding in the box before the plane left London. He had

had a long and uncomfortable trip, for he had been

confined to the wooden box for over ten hours. The man

was ordered to pay &345 for the cost of the trip. The

normal price of a ticket is &230 !

Lesson47 A thirsty ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂

A public house which was recently bought by Mr Ian

Thompson is up for sale. Mr Thompson is going to sell it

because it is haunted. He told me that he could not go

to sleep one night because he heard a strange noise

coming from the bar. The next morning, he found that the

doors had been blocked by chairs and the furniture had

been moved. Though Mr Thompson had turned the lights off

before he went to bed, they were on in the morning. He

also said that he had found five empty whisky bottles

which the ghost must have drunk the night before. When I

suggested that some villagers must have come in for a

free drink, Mr Thompson shook his head. The villagers

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have told him that they will not accept the inn even if

he gives it away.

Lesson48 Did you want to tell me something? 你想对我说什

么吗？

Dentists always ask questions when it is impossible for

you to answer. My dentist had just pulled out one of my

teeth and had told me to rest for a while. I tried to

say something, but my mouth was full of cotton-wool. He

knew I collected birds' eggs and asked me whether my

collection was growing. He then asked me how my brother

was and whether I liked my new job in London. In answer

to these questions I either nodded or made strange

noises. Meanwhile, my tongue was busy searching out the

hole where the tooth had been. I suddenly felt very

worried, but could not say anything. When the dentist at

last removed the cotton-wool from my mouth, I was able

to tell him that he had pulled out the wrong tooth.

Lesson49 The end of a dream 美梦告终

Tired of sleeping on the floor, a young man in Teheran

saved up for years to buy a real bed. For the first time

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in his life, he became the proud owner of a bed which

had springs and a mattress. Because the weather was very

hot, he carried the bed on to the roof of his house. He

slept very well for the first two nights, but on the

third night, a storm blew up. A gust of wind swept the

bed off the roof and sent it crashing into the courtyard

below. The young man did not wake up until the bed had

struck the ground. Although the bed was smashed to

pieces, the man was miraculously unhurt. When he woke up,

he was still on the mattress. Glancing at the bits of

wood and metal that lay around him, the man sadly picked

up the mattress and carried it into his house. After

he had put it on the floor, he promptly went to sleep

again.

Lesson50 Taken for a ride 乘车兜风

I love travelling in the country, but I don't like

losing my way. I went on an excursion recently, but my

trip took me longer than I expected. ' I'm going to

Woodford Green,' I said to the conductor as I got on the

bus,' but I don't know where it is.' ' I'll tell you

where to get off,' answered the conductor.

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I sat in the front of the bus to get a good view of the

countryside. After some time, the bus stopped. Looking

round, I realized with a shock that I was the only

passenger left on the bus.

' You'll have to get off here,' the conductor said.

'This is as far as we go.' ' Is this Woodford Green ?' I

asked. 'Oh dear,' said the conductor suddenly.' I forgot

to put you off.' 'It doesn't matter,' I said. 'I'll get

off here.' 'We are going back now,' said the conductor.

'Well, in that case, I prefer to stay on the bus,' I

answered.

Lesson51 Reward for virtue 对美德的奖赏

My friend, Herbert, has always been fat, but things got

so bad recently that he decided to go on a diet. He

began his diet a week ago. First of all, he wrote out a

long list of all the foods which were forbidden. The

list included most of the things Herbert loves: butter,

potatoes, rice, beer, milk, chocolate, and sweets.

Yesterday I paid him a visit. I rang the bell and was

not surprised to see that Herbert was still as fat as

ever. He led me into his room and hurriedly hid a large

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parcel under his desk. It was obvious that he was very

embarrassed. When I asked him what he was doing, he

smiled guiltily and then put the parcel on the desk. He

explained that his diet was so strict that he had to

reward himself occasionally. Then he showed me the

contents of the parcel. It contained five large bars of

chocolate and three bags of sweets!

Lesson52 A pretty carpet 漂亮的地毯

We have just moved into a new house and I have been

working hard all morning. I have been trying to get my

new room in order. This has not been easy because I own

over a thousand books. To make matters worse, the room

is rather small, so I have temporarily put my books on

the floor. At the moment, they cover every inch of floor

space and I actually have to walk on them to get in or

out of the room. A short while ago, my sister helped me

to carry one of my old bookcases up the stairs. She went

into my room and got a big surprise when she saw all

those books on the floor. 'This is the prettiest carpet

I have ever seen,' she said. She gazed at it for some

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time then added, 'You don't need bookcases at all. You

can sit here in your spare time and read the carpet!'

Lesson53 Hot snake 触电的蛇

At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in

California. Since then, they have been trying to find

out how the fire began. Forest fire are often caused by

broken glass or by cigarette ends which people

carelessly throw away. Yesterday the firemen examined

the ground carefully, but were not able to find any

broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette

end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a

fireman accidentally discovered the cause. He noticed

the remains of a snake which was wound round the

electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line. In this way,

he was able to solve the mystery. The explanation was

simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the

snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the

wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires. When

it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these

immediately started a fire.

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Lesson54 Sticky fingers 粘糊的手指

After breakfast, I sent the children to school and then

I went to market. It was still early when I returned

home. The children were at school, my husband was at

work and the house was quiet. So I decided to make some

tarts for tea. In a short time I was busy mixing butter

and flour and my hands were soon covered with sticky

pastry. At exactly that moment, the telephone rang.

Nothing could have been more annoying. I picked up the

receiver between two sticky fingers and was dismayed

when I recognized the voice of Mrs Bates. It took me ten

minutes to persuade her to ring back later. At last I

hung up the receiver. What a mess! There was pastry on

my fingers, on the telephone, and on the door-knobs. I

had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the door-bell

rang loud enough to wake the dead. This time it was the

postman and he wanted me to sign for a registered

letter !

Lesson55 Not a gold mine 并非金矿

Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true

recently. A new machine called 'The Revealer' has been

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invented and it has been used to detect gold which has

been buried in the ground. The machine was used in a

cave near the seashore where--it is said--pirates used

to hide gold. The pirates would often bury gold in the

cave and then fail to collect it. Armed with the new

machine, a search party went into the cave hoping to

find buried treasure. The leader of the party was

examining the soil near the entrance to the cave when

the machine showed that there was gold under the ground.

Very excited, the party dug a hole two feet deep. They

finally found a small gold coin which was almost

worthless. The party then searched the whole cave

thoroughly but did not find anything except an empty tin

trunk. In spite of this, many people are confident that

'The Revealer' may reveal something of value fairly soon.

Lesson56 Faster than sound! 比声音还快！

Once a year a race is held for old cars. A lot of cars

entered for this race last year and there was a great

deal of excitement just before it began. One of the most

handsome cars was a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. The most

unusual car was a Benz which had only three wheels.

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Built in 1885, it was the oldest car taking part. After

a great many loud explosions, the race began. Many of

the cars broke down on the course and some drivers spent

more time under their cars than in them ! A few cars,

however, completed the race. The winning car reached a

speed of forty miles an hour--much faster than any of

its rivals. It sped downhill at the end of the race and

its driver had a lot of trouble trying to stop it. The

race gave everyone a great deal of pleasure. It was very

different from modern car races but no less exciting.

Lesson57 Can I help you, madam? 你要买什么，夫人？

A woman in blue jeans stood at the window of an

expensive shop. Though she hesitated for a moment, she

finally went in and asked to see a dress that was in the

window. The assistant who served her did not like the

way she was dressed. Glancing at her scornfully, he told

her that the dress was sold. The woman walked out of the

shop angrily and decided to punish the assistant next

day. She returned to the shop the following morning

dressed in a fur coat, with a handbag in one hand and a

long umbrella in the other. After seeking out the rude

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assistant she asked for the same dress. Not realizing

who she was, the assistant was eager to serve her this

time with great difficulty, he climbed into the shop

window to get the dress. As soon as she saw it, the

woman said she did not like it. She enjoyed herself

making the assistant bring almost everything in the

window before finally buying the dress she had first

asked for.

Lesson58 A blessing in disguise? 是因祸得福吗？

The tiny village of Frinley is said to possess a 'cursed

tree'. Because the tree was mentioned in a newspaper,

the number of visitors to Frinley has now increased. The

tree was planted near a church fifty years ago, but it

is only in recent years that it has gained an evil

reputation. It is said that if anyone touches the tree,

he will have bad luck; if he picks a leaf, he will die.

Many villagers believe that the tree has already claimed

a number of victims. The vicar has been asked to have

the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has

pointed out that the tree is a useful source of income

as tourists have been coming from all parts of the

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country to see it. In spite of all that has been said,

the tourists-have been picking leaves and cutting their

names on the tree-trunk. So far, not one of them has

been struck down by sudden death!

Lesson59 In or out ？ 进来还是出去？

Our dog, Rex, used to sit outside our front gate and

bark. Every time he wanted to come into the garden he

would bark until someone opened the gate. As the

neighbours complained of the noise, my husband spent

weeks training him to press his paw on the latch to let

himself in. Rex soon became an expert at opening the

gate. However, when I was going out shopping last week,

I noticed him in the garden near the gate. This time he

was barking so that someone would let him out ! Since

then, he has developed another bad habit. As soon as he

opens the gate from the outside, he comes into the

garden and waits until the gate shuts. Then he sits and

barks until someone lets him out. After this he

immediately lets himself in and begins barking again.

Yesterday my husband removed the gate and Rex got so

annoyed we have not seen him since.

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Lesson60 The future 卜算未来

At a village fair, I decided to visit a fortune-teller

called Madam Bellinsky. I went into her tent and she

told me to sit down. After I had given her some money,

she looked into a crystal ball and said: 'A relation of

yours is coming to see you. She will be arriving this

evening and intends to stay for a few days. The moment

you leave this tent, you will get a big surprise. A

woman you know well will rush towards you. She will

speak to you and then she will lead you away from this

place. That is all.' As soon as I went outside, I forgot

all about Madam Bellinsky because my wife hurried

towards me. 'Where have you been hiding ?' she asked

impatiently. 'Your sister will be here in less than an

hour and we must be at the station to meet her. We are

late already.' As she walked away, I followed her out of

the fair.

Lesson61 Trouble with the Hubble 哈勃望远镜的困境

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In future, astronauts will be required to descend from a

spaceship while it is still in space and to return to it.

The ability to do this will be necessary in future

flights to distant planets. Scientists are now trying to

discover if this is possible. The spaceship Astra which

left the earth a short time ago, will be travelling

three hundred miles into space. At a certain point, the

Astra will stop for a short time and an astronaut will

attempt to leave the stationary spaceship and then

return to it. We shall not know whether the experiment

has been successful until we have received a radio

message. The first message is expected to arrive at 7

o'clock this evening. By that time, the Astra will have

been flying through space for seventeen hours and will

have circled the earth a great many times. When the

first radio messages have been received, the results of

the trip will be announced immediately.

Lesson62 After the fire 大火之后

Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly

three weeks before they could get it under control. A

short time before, great trees had covered the

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countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up

from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winter was

coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding

villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only

wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as

well. When the fire had at last been put out, the forest

authorities ordered several tons of a special type of

grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was

sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes.

The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month

when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places

the grass had already taken root. In place of the great

trees which had been growing there for centuries,

patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened

soil.

Lesson63 She was not amused 她并不觉得好笑

Geoffrey Hampden has a large circle of friends and is

very popular at parties. Everybody admires him for his

fine sense of humor--everybody, that is, except his six-

year-old daughter, Jenny. Recently, one of Geoffrey's

closest friends asked him to make a speech at a wedding

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reception. This is the sort of thing that Geoffrey loves.

He prepared the speech carefully and went to the wedding

with Jenny. He had included a large number of funny

stories in the speech and, of course, it was a great

success. As soon as he had finished, Jenny told him she

wanted to go home. Geoffrey was a little disappointed by

this but he did as his daughter asked. On the way home,

he asked Jenny if she had enjoyed the speech. To his

surprise, she said she hadn't. Geoffrey asked her why

this was so and she told him that she did not like to

see so many people laughing at him!

Lesson64 The Channel Tunnel 海峡隧道

In l858, a French engineer, Aime Thome de Gamond,

arrived in England with a plan for a twenty-one mile

tunnel across the English Channel. He said that it would

be possible to build a platform in the centre of the

Channel. This platform would serve as a port and a

railway station. The tunnel would be well-ventilated if

tall chimneys were built above sea-level. In 1860, a

better plan was put forward by an Englishman, William

Low. He suggested that a double railway tunnel should be

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built. This would solve the problem of ventilation, for

if a train entered this tunnel, it would draw in fresh

air behind it. Forty-two years later a tunnel was

actually begun. If, at the time, the British had not

feared invasion, it would have been completed. Recently,

there has again been great interest in the idea of a

Channel Tunnel. If it is built, it will connect Britain

to Europe for the first time in history.

Lesson65 Jumbo versus the police 小象对警察

Last Christmas, the circus owner, Jimmy Gates, decided

to take some presents to a children's hospital. Dressed

up as Father Christmas and accompanied by a 'guard of

honour' of six pretty girls, he set off down the main

street of the city riding a baby elephant called Jumbo.

He, should have known that the police would never allow

this sort of thing. A policeman approached Jimmy and

told him he ought to have gone along a side-street as

Jumbo was holding up the traffic. Though Jimmy agreed to

go at once, Jumbo refused to move. Fifteen policemen had

to push very hard to get him off the main street. The

police had a difficult time, but they were most amused.

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'Jumbo must weigh a few tons,' said a policeman

afterwards, 'so it was fortunate that we didn't have to

carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, but as he

has a good record, we shall let him off this time.'

Lesson66 Sweet as honey! 像蜜一样甜！

The Hatheld Puffin is a modern aero-plane, but its

designer, Mr John Wimpenny, is finding it difficult to

get it off the ground. The reason for this is that this

plane is also a bicycle. Its pilot has to pedal hard to

get it into the air. After Mr Wimpenny had the plane

built, it was tested thoroughly. In 1961, it was the

first man-powered aircraft to fly half a mile. While

being flown by a champion amateur cyclist in 1963, the

plane crashed on an airfield. Since then, Mr Wimpenny

has had it rebuilt. He has had the length of the wings

increased so that they now measure 93 feet--almost as

long as those of a Dakota. Many people have shown

interest in this new and unusual sport. But though air

cyclists may learn how to fly over short distances, and

may, eventually, even get across the English Channel, it

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is doubtful whether they will ever cycle across the

Atlantic.

Lesson67 Volcanoes 火山

Haroun Tazieff the Polish scientist, has spent his life-

time studying active volcanoes and deep caves in all

parts of the world. In 1948, he went to lake Kivu in the

Congo to observe a new volcano which he later named

Kituro. Tazieff was able to set up his camp very close

to the volcano while it was erupting violently. Though

he managed to take a number of brilliant photographs, he

could not stay near the volcano for very long. He

noticed that a river of liquid rock was coming towards

him. It threatened to surround him completely, but

Tazieff managed to escape just in time. He waited until

the volcano became quiet and he was able to return two

days later. This time, he managed to climb into the

mouth of Kituro so that he could take photographs and

measure temperatures. Tazieff has often risked his life

in this way. He has been able to tell us more about

active volcanoes than any man alive.

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Lesson68 Persistent 纠缠不休

I crossed the street to avoid meeting him, but he saw me

and came running towards me. It was no use pretending

that I had not seen him, so I waved to him. I never

enjoy meeting Bert Dykes. He never has anything to do.

No matter how busy you are, he always insists on coming

with you. I had to think of a way of preventing him from

following me around all morning.

'Hullo, Bert,' I said. 'Fancy meeting you here !'

'Hullo, Elizabeth,' Bert answered. ' I was just

wondering how to spend the morning--until I saw you.

You're not busy doing anything, are you ?'

' No, not at all,' I answered.' I'm going to.. .'

'Would you mind my coming with you ?' he asked, before I

had finished speaking.

‘ Not at all,' I lied, 'but I'm going to the dentist.'

' Then I'll come with you,' he answered.' There's always

plenty to read in the 'waiting room !'

lesson69 But not murder! 并非谋杀！

I was being tested for a driving licence for the third

time. I had been asked to drive in heavy traffic and had

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done so successfully. After having been instructed to

drive out of town, I began to acquire confidence. Sure

that I had passed, I was almost beginning to enjoy my

test. The examiner must have been pleased with my

performance, for he smiled and said, 'Just one more

thing, Mr Eames. Let us suppose that a child suddenly

crosses the road in front of you. As soon as I tap on

the window, I want the car to be stopped immediately.' I

continued driving and after some time, the examiner

tapped loudly. Though the sound could be heard clearly,

it took me a long time to react. I suddenly pressed the

brake pedal hard and we were both thrown forward. The

examiner looked at me sadly. 'Mr Eames,' he said, in a

mournful voice,' you have just killed that child !'

lesson70 Red for danger 危险的红色

During a bullfight, a drunk suddenly wandered into the

middle of the ring. The crowd began to shout, but the

drunk was unaware of the danger. The bull was busy with

the matador at the time, but it suddenly caught sight of

the drunk who was shouting rude remarks and waving a red

cap. Apparently sensitive to criticism, the bull forgot

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all about the matador and charged at the drunk. The

crowd suddenly grew quiet. The drunk, however, seemed

quite sure of himself. When the bull got close to him,

he clumsily stepped aside to let it pass. The crowd

broke into cheers and the drunk bowed. By this time,

however, three men had come into the ring and they

quickly dragged the drunk to safety. Even the bull

seemed to feel sorry for him, for it looked on

sympathetically until the drunk was out of the way

before once more turning its attention to the matador.

Lesson71 A famous clock 一个著名的大钟

When you visit London, one of the first things you will

see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be heard all

over the world on the B.B.C. If the Houses of Parliament

had hot been burned down in 1834, the great clock would

never have been erected. Big Ben takes its name from Sir

Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the making of the

clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built.

It is not only of immense size, but is extremely

accurate as well. Officials from Greenwich Observatory

have the clock checked twice a day. On the B.B.C. you

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can hear the clock when it is actually striking because

microphones are connected to the clock tower. Big Ben

has rarely gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give

the correct time. A painter who had been working on the

tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed

it down !

Lesson72 A car called Bluebird “蓝鸟”汽车

The great racing driver, Sir Malcolm Campbell, was the

first man to drive at over 300 miles per hour. He set up

a new world record in September 1935 at Bonneville Salt

Flats, Utah. Bluebird, the car he was driving, had been

specially built for him. It was over 30 feet in length

and had a 2500 horse-power engine. Although Campbell

reached a speed of over 304 miles per hour, he had great

difficulty in controlling the car because a tyre burst

during the first run. After his attempt, Campbell was

disappointed to learn that his average speed had been

299 miles per hour. However, a few days later, he was

told that a mistake had been made. His average speed had

been 301 miles per hour. Since that time, racing drivers

have reached speeds of over 400 miles an hour.

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Following his father's footsteps many years later, Sir

Malcolm's son, Donald, also set up a world record. Like

his father, he was driving a car called Bluebird.

Lesson73 The record-holder 纪录保持者

Little boys who play truant from school are

unimaginative. A quiet day's fishing, or eight hours in

a cinema seeing the same film over and over again, is

usually as far as they get. They have all been put to

shame by a boy who, while playing truant, travelled 1600

miles. He hitch- hiked to Dover and, towards evening,

went into a boat to find somewhere to sleep. When he

woke up next morning, he discovered that the boat had,

in the meantime, travelled to Calais. No one noticed the

boy as he crept off. From there, he hitch-hiked to Paris

in a lorry. The driver gave him a few biscuits and a cup

of coffee and left him just outside the city. The next

car the boy stopped did not take him into the centre of

Paris as he hoped it would, but to Perpignan on the

French-Spanish border. There he was picked up by a

policeman and sent back to England by the local

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authorities. He has surely set up a record for the

thousands of boys who dream of evading school.

Lesson74 Out of the limelight 舞台之外

An ancient bus stopped by a dry river bed and a party of

famous actors and actresses got off. Dressed in dark

glasses and old clothes, they had taken special

precautions so that no one should recognize them. But as

they soon discovered, disguises can sometimes be too

perfect.

'This is a wonderful place for a picnic,' said Gloria

Gleam.

' It couldn't be better, Gloria,' Brinksley Meers agreed.

'No newspaper men, no film fans! Why don't we come more

often ?'

Meanwhile, two other actors, Rockwall Slinger and Merlin

Greeves, had carried two large food baskets to a shady

spot under some trees. When they had all made themselves

comfortable, a stranger appeared. He looked very angry.

'Now you gut out of here, all of you!' he shouted: ' I'm

sheriff here. Do you see that notice ? It says" No

Camping"-in case you can't read !'

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' Look, sheriff, 'said Rockwall,' don't be too hard on

us. I'm Rockwall Slinger and this is Merlin Greeves.'

' Oh, is it ?' said the sheriff with a sneer. 'Well, I'm

Brinksley Meers, and my other name is Gloria Gleam. Now

you get out of here fast !'

lesson75 SOS 呼救信号

When a light passenger plane flew off course some time

ago, it crashed in the mountains and its pilot was

killed. The only passengers, a young woman and her two

baby daughters, were unhurt. It was the middle of winter.

Snow lay thick on the ground. The woman knew that the

nearest village was miles away. When it grew dark. she

turned a suitcase into a bed and put the children inside

it, covering them with all the clothes she could find.

During the night, it got terribly cold. The woman kept

as near as she could to the children and even tried to

get into the case herself, but it was too small.

Early ,next morning she heard planes passing overhead

and wondered how she could send a signal. Then she had

an idea. She stamped out the letters' SOS' in the snow.

Fortunately, a pilot saw the signal and sent a message

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by radio to the nearest town. It was not long before a

helicopter arrived on the scene to rescue the survivors

of the plane crash.

Lesson76 April Fools Day 愚人节

'To end our special news bulletin,' said the voice of

the television announcer,' we are taking you to the

macaroni fields of Calabria. Macaroni has been grown in

this area for over six hundred years. Two of the leading

growers, Giuseppe Moldova and Ricardo Brabante, tell me

that they have been expecting a splendid crop this year

and harvesting has begun earlier than usual. Here you

can see two workers who, between them, have just

finished cutting three cart-loads of golden brown

macaroni stalks. The whole village has been working day

and night gathering and threshing this year's crop

before the September rains. On the right, you can see

Mrs Brabante herself. She has been helping her husband

for thirty years now. Mrs Brabante is talking to the

manager of the local factory where the crop is

processed. This last scene shows you what will happen at

the end of the harvest : the famous Calabrian macaroni-

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eating competition ! Signor Fratelli, the present

champion, has won it every year since 1961. And that

ends our special bulletin for today, Thursday, April 1st.

We are now returning you to the studio.'

Lesson77 A successful operation 一例成功的手术

The mummy of an Egyptian woman who died in 800 B.C. has

just had an operation. The mummy is that of Shepenmut

who was once a singer in the Temple of Thebes. As there

were strange marks on the X-ray plates taken of the

mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the

woman died of a rare disease. The only way to do this

was to operate. The operation, which lasted for over

four hours, proved to be very difficult because of the

hard resin which covered the skin. The doctors removed a

section of the mummy and sent it to a laboratory. They

also found something which the X-ray of the god Duamutef.

This god which has the head of a cow was normally placed

inside a mummy. The doctors have not yet decided how the

woman died. They feared that the mummy would fall to

pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has

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not happened. The mummy successfully survived the

operation.

Lesson78 The last one? 最后一枝吗？

After reading an article entitled 'Cigarette Smoking and

Your Health' I lit a cigarette to calm my nerves. I

smoked with concentration and pleasure as I was sure

that this would be my last cigarette. For a whole week I

did not smoke at all and during this time, my wife

suffered terribly. I had all the usual symptoms of

someone giving up smoking: a bad temper and an enormous

appetite. My friends kept on offering me cigarettes and

cigars. They made no effort to hide their amusement

whenever I produced a packet of sweets from my pocket.

After seven days of this I went to a party. Everybody

around me was smoking and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

When my old friend Brian urged me to accept a cigarette,

it was more than I could bear. I took one guiltily, lit

it and smoked with satisfaction. My wife was delighted

that things had returned to normal once more. Anyway, as

Brian pointed out, it is the easiest thing in the world

to give up smoking. He himself has done it lots of times!

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Lesson79 By air 乘飞机

I used to travel by air a great deal when I was a boy.

My parents, used to live in South America and I used to

fly there from Europe in the holidays. An airhostess

would take charge of me and I never had an unpleasant

experience. I am used to travelling by air and only on

one occasion have I ever felt frightened. After taking

off, we were flying low over the city and slowly gaining

height, when the plane suddenly turned round and flew

back to the airport. While we were waiting to land, an

air-hostess told us to keep calm and to get off the

plane quietly as soon as it had touched down. Everybody

on board was worried and we were curious to find out

what had happened. Later we learnt that there was a very

important person on board. The police had been told that

a bomb had been planted on the plane. After we had

landed, the plane was searched thoroughly. Fortunately,

nothing was found and five hours later we were able to

take off again.

Lesson80 The Crystal Palace 水晶宫

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Perhaps the most extraordinary building of the

nineteenth century was the Crystal Palace, which was

built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The

Crystal Palace was different from all other buildings in

the world, for it was made of iron and glass. It was one

of the biggest buildings of all time and a lot of people

from many countries came to see it. A great many goods

were sent to the exhibition from various parts of the

world. There was also a great deal of machinery on

display. The most wonderful piece of machinery on show

was Nasmyth's steam hammer. Though in those days,

travelling was not as easy as it is today, steam boats

carried thousands of visitors across the Channel from

Europe. On arriving in England, they were taken to the

Crystal Palace by train. There were six million visitors

in all, and the profits from the exhibition were used to

build museums and colleges. Later, the Crystal Palace

was moved to South London. It remained one of the most

famous buildings in the world until it was burnt down in

1936.

Lesson81 Escape 脱逃

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When he had killed the guard, the prisoner of war

quickly dragged him into the bushes. Working rapidly in

the darkness, he soon changed into the dead man's

clothes. Now, dressed in a blue uniform and with a rifle

over his shoulder, the prisoner marched boldly up and

down in front of the camp. He could hear shouting in the

camp itself. Lights were blazing and men were running

here and there: they had just discovered that a prisoner

had escaped. At that moment, a large black car with four

officers inside it, stopped at the camp gates. The

officers got out and the prisoner stood to attention and

saluted as they passed. When they had gone, the driver

of the car came towards him. The man obviously wanted to

talk. He was rather elderly with grey hair and clear

blue eyes. The prisoner felt sorry for him, but there

was nothing else he could do. As the man came near, the

prisoner knocked him to the ground with a sharp blow.

Then, jumping into the car, he drove off as quickly as

he could.

Lesson82 Monster or fish? 是妖还是鱼？

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Fishermen and sailors sometimes claim to have seen

monsters in the sea. Though people have often laughed at

stories told by seamen, it is now known that many of

these 'monsters' which have at times been sighted are

simply strange fish. Occasionally, unusual

creatures are washed to the shore, but they are rarely

caught out at sea. Some time ago, however, a peculiar

fish was caught near Madagascar. A small fishing-boat

was carried miles out to sea by the powerful fish as it

pulled on the line. Realizing that this was no ordinary

fish, the fisherman made every effort not to damage it

in any way. When it was eventually brought to shore, it

was found to be over thirteen feet long. It had a head

like a horse, big blue eyes, shining silver skin, and a

bright red tail, The fish, which has since been sent to

a museum where it is being examined by a scientist, is

called an oarfish. Such creatures have rarely been seen

alive by man as they live at a depth of six hundred feet.

Lesson83 After the elections 大选之后

The former Prime Minister, Mr Wentworth Lane, was

defeated in the recent elections. He is now retiring

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from political life and has gone abroad. My friend,

Crawley, has always been a fanatical opponent of Mr

Lane's Radical Progressive Party. After the elections,

Crawley went to the former Prime Minister's house. When

he asked if Mr Lane lived there, the policeman on duty

told him that since his defeat, the ex-Prime Minister

had gone abroad. On the following day, Crawley went to

the house again. The same policeman was just walking

slowly past the entrance, when Crawley asked the same

question. Though a little suspicious this time, the

policeman gave him the same answer. The day after,

Crawley went to the house once more and asked exactly

the same question. This time, the policeman lost his

temper.' I told you yesterday and the day before

yesterday,' he shouted, 'Mr Lane was defeated in the

elections. He has retired from political life and gone

to live abroad !' ' I know,' answered Crawley,' but I

love to hear you say it !'

Lesson84 On strike 罢工

Busmen have decided to go on strike next week. The

strike is due to begin on Tuesday. No one knows how long

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it will last. The busmen have stated that the strike

will continue until general agreement is reached about

pay and working conditions. Most people believe that the

strike will last for at least a week. Many owners of

private cars are going to offer 'free rides' to people

on their way to work. This will relieve pressure on the

trains to some extent. Meanwhile, a number of university

students have volunteered to drive buses while the

strike lasts. All the young men are expert drivers, but

before they drive any of the buses, they will have to

pass a special test. The students are going to take the

test in two days' time. Even so, people are going to

find it difficult to get to work. But so far, the public

has expressed its gratitude to the students in letters

to the Press. Only one or two people have objected that

the students will drive too fast!

Lesson85 Never too old to learn 活到老学到老

I have just received a letter from my old school

informing me that my former head- master, Mr Regmald

Page, will be retiring next week. Pupils of the school,

old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the

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occasion. All those who have contributed towards the

gift will sign their names in a large album which will

be sent to the headmaster's home. We shall all remember

Mr Page for his patience and understanding and for the

kindly encouragement he gave us when we went so

unwillingly to school. A great many former pupils will

be attending a farewell dinner in his honour next

Thursday. It is a curious coincidence that the day

before his retirement, Mr Page will have been teaching

for a total of forty years. After he has retired, he

will devote himself to gardening. For him, this will be

an entirely new hobby. But this does not matter, for, as

he has often remarked, one is never too old to learn.

Lesson86 Out of control 失控

As the man tried to swing the speed-boat round, the

steering-wheel came away in his hands. He waved

desperately to his companion, who had been water-skiing

for the last fifteen minutes. Both men had hardly had

time to realize what was happening when they were thrown

violent1y into the sea. The speed-boat had struck a buoy,

but it continued to move very quickly across the water.

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Both men had just begun to swim towards the shore. when

they noticed with dismay that the speed-boat was moving

in a circle. It now came straight towards them at

tremendous speed. In less than a minute, it roared past

them only a few feet away. After it had passed, they

swam on as quickly as they could because they knew that

the boat would soon return. They had just had enough

time to swim out of danger when the boat again completed

a circle. On this occasion, however, it had slowed down

considerably. The petrol had nearly all been used up.

Before long, the noise dropped completely and the boat

began to drift gently across the water.

Lesson87 A perfect alibi 极好的不在犯罪现场的证据

'At the time the murder was committed, I was travelling

on the 8.0 o'clock train to London,' said the man.

'Do you always catch such an early train ?' asked the

inspector.

'Of course I do,' answered the man.' I must be at work

at 10.0 o'clock. My employer will confirm that I was

there on time.'

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' Would a later train get you to work on time ?' asked

the inspector.

' I suppose it would, but I never catch a later train.'

'At what time did you arrive at the station ?'

'At ten to eight. I bought a paper and waited for the

train.'

'And you didn't notice anything unusual ?'

' Of course not.'

'I suggest,' said the inspector, 'that you are not

telling the truth. I suggest that you did not catch the

8.0 o'clock train, but that you caught the 8.25 which

would still get you to work on time. You see, on the

morning of the murder, the 8.0 o'clock train did not run

at all. It broke down at Ferngreen station and was taken

off the line.'

Lesson88 Trapped in a mine 困在矿井里

Six men have been trapped in a mine for seventeen hours.

If they are not brought to the surface soon they may

lose their lives. However, rescue operations are proving

difficult. If explosives are used, vibrations will cause

the roof of the mine to collapse. Rescue workers are

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therefore drilling a hole on the north side of the mine.

They intend to bring the men up in a special capsule. If

there had not been a hard layer of rock beneath the soil,

they would have completed the job in a few hours. As it

is, they have been drilling for sixteen hours and they

still have a long way to go. Meanwhile, a microphone,

which was lowered into the mine two hours ago, has

enabled the men to keep in touch with the closest

relatives. Though they are running out of food and drink,

the men are cheerful and confident that they will get

out soon. They have been told that rescue operations are

progressing smoothly. If they knew how difficult it was

to drill through the hard rock, they would lose heart.

Lesson89 A slip of the tongue 口误

People will do anything to see a free show--even if it

is a bad one. When the news got round that a variety

show would be presented at our local cinema by the P.

and U. Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it. We

had to queue for hours to get in and there must have

been several hundred people present just be- fore the

show began. Unfortunately, the show was one of the

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dullest we have ever seen. Those who failed to get in

need not have felt disappointed as many of the artistes

who should have appeared did not come. The only funny

things we heard that evening came from the advertiser at

the beginning of the programme. He was obviously very

nervous and for some minutes stood awkwardly before the

microphone. As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone

burst out laughing. We all know what the poor man should

have said, but what he actually said was: 'This is the

Poo and Ee Seed Bird Company. Good ladies, evening and

gentlemen !'

lesson90 Whats for supper ？ 晚餐吃什么？

Though Brazil is one of the richest countries in the

world, much of it has not yet been developed. It was

mainly for this reason that the Brazilian government

decided to have a new city built 600 miles north-west of

Rio de Janeiro. Designed by the great architect Lucio

Costa, the new city, Brasilia, replaced Rio de Janeiro

as the capital of Brazif in 1960. Brasilia has been

carefully planned for modern living. Its wide roads,

which can take fourteen lanes of traffic, have been kept

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away from living areas. Children do not have to cross

busy streets to go to school. Housewives can visit-

shopping centres on foot, for in these specially

designed living areas, cars are unnecessary. At first,

the government had great difficulty in persuading people

to leave Rio and to settle in Brasilia. Since 1960,

however, the population has been growing all the time.

Brasilia has quickly established itself as the capital

of the country. The idea to have the capital moved so

far inland will have a great effect on the future of

Brazil.

Lesson91 Three men in a basket 三人同篮

A pilot noticed a balloon which seemed to be making for

a Royal Air Force Station nearby. He informed the

station at once, but no one there was able to explain

the mystery. The officer in the control tower was very

angry when he heard the news, because balloons can be a

great danger to aircraft. He said that someone might by

spying on the station and the pilot was ordered to keep

track of the strange object. The pilot managed to circle

the balloon for some time. He could make out three men

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in a basket under it and one of them was holding field-

glasses. When the balloon was over the station, the

pilot saw one of the men taking photographs. Soon

afterwards, the balloon began to descend and it landed

near an airfield. The police were called in, but they

could not arrest anyone, for the basket contained two

Members of Parliament and the Commanding Officer of the

station! As the Commanding Officer explained later, one

half of the station did not know what the other half was

doing !

Lesson92 Asking for trouble 自找麻烦

It must have been about two in the morning when I

returned home. I tried to wake up my wife by ringing the

door-bell, but she was fast asleep, so I got a ladder

from the shed in the garden, put it against the wall,

and began climbing towards the bedroom window. I was

almost there when a sarcastic voice below said,' I don't

think the windows need cleaning at this time of the

night.'

I looked down and nearly fell off the ladder when I saw

a policeman. I immediately regretted answering in the

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way I did, but I said, 'I enjoy cleaning windows at

night.'

'So do I,' answered the policeman in the same tone.

'Excuse my interrupting you. I hate to interrupt a man

when he's busy working, but would you mind coming with

me to the station ?'

'Well, I'd prefer to stay here,' I said. 'You see, I've

forgotten my key.'

'Your what ?' he called.

'My key,' I shouted.'

Fortunately, the shouting woke up my wife who opened the

window just as the policeman had started to climb

towards me.

Lesson93 A noble gift 崇高的礼物

One of the most famous monuments in the world, the

Statue of Liberty, was presented to the United States of

America in the nineteenth century by the people of

France. The great statue, which was designed by the

sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, took ten years to complete.

The actual figure was made of copper supported by a

metal framework which had been especially constructed by

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Eiffel. Before it could be transported to the United

States, a site had to be found for it and a pedestal had

to be built. The site chosen was an island at the

entrance of New York Harbour. By 1884, a statue which

was 151 feet tall, had been erected in Paris. The

following year, it was taken to pieces and sent to

America. By the end of October 1886, the statue had been

put together again and it was officially presented to

the American people by Bartholdi. Ever since then, the

great monument has been a symbol of liberty for the

millions of people who have passed through New York

Harbour to make their homes in America.

Lesson94 Future champions 未来的冠军

Experiments have proved that children can be instructed

in swimming at a very early age. At a special swimming

pool in Los Angeles, children become expert at holding

their breath under water even before they can walk.

Babies of two months old do not appear to be reluctant

to enter the water, It is not long before they are so

accustomed to swimming that they can pick up weights

from the floor of the pool. A game that is very popular

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with these young swimmers is the underwater tricycle

race. Tricycles are lined up on the floor of the pool

seven feet under water. The children compete against

each other to reach the other end of the pool. Many

pedal their tricycles, but most of them prefer to push

or drag them. Some children can cover the whole length

of the pool without coming up for breath even once.

Whether they will ever become future Olympic champions,

only time will tell. Meanwhile, they should encourage

those among us who cannot swim five yards before they

are gasping for air.

Lesson95 A fantasy 纯属虚构

When the Ambassador of Escalopia returned home for lunch,

his wife got a shock. He looked pale and his clothes

were in a frightful state.

'What has happened ?' she asked.

'How did your clothes get into such a mess ?'

'A fire-extinguisher, my dear,' answered the Ambassador

drily. 'University students set the Embassy on fire this

morning.'

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'Good heavens!' exclaimed his wife. 'And where were you

at the time ?'

'I was in my office as usual,' answered the Ambassador.

'The fire broke out in the basement. I went down

immediately. of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a

fire-extinguisher at me. He thought I was on fire. I

must definitely get that fellow posted.'

The Ambassador's wife went on asking questions, when she

suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband's hat. 'And

how can you explain that ?' she asked.

'Oh, that,' said the Ambassador. 'Someone fired a shot

through my office window. Accurate, don't you think ?

Fortunately, I wasn't wearing it at the time. If I had

been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.'

Lesson96 The dead return 亡灵返乡

A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan.

This festival is a cheerful occasion, for on this day,

the dead are said to return to their homes and they are

welcomed by the living. As they are expected to be

hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for

them. Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each

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house to help the dead to find their way. All night long,

people dance and sing. In the early morning, the food

that had been laid out for the dead is thrown into a

river or into the sea as it is considered unlucky for

anyone living to eat it. In towns that are near the sea,

the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the

night before, are placed into the water when the

festival is over. Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out

to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the

other world. This is a moving spectacle, for crowds of

people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting

away until they can be seen no more.

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2024年4月10日发(作者：曲静娴)

Lesson 1 A private conversation 私人谈话

Last week I went to the theatre. I had a very good

seat. The play was very interesting. I did not enjoy

it. A young man and a young woman were sitting behind

me. They were talking loudly. I got very angry. I could

not hear the actors. I turned round. I looked at the man

and the woman angrily. They did not pay any attention.

In the end, I could not bear it. I turned round again.

'I can't hear a word!' I said angrily. ' It's none of

your business,' the young man said rudely. 'This is a

private conversation!'.

Lesson 2 Breakfast or lunch? 早餐还是午餐？

It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays. I

sometimes stay in bed until lunch time.

Last Sunday I got up very late. I looked out of the

window. It was dark outside.

'What a day!' I thought. 'It's raining again.' Just then,

the telephone rang. It was my aunt Lucy.' I've just

arrived by train,' she said. 'I'm coming to see you.'

'But I'm still having breakfast,' I said.

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'What are you doing ?' she asked. ' I'm having

breakfast,' I repeated.

'Dear me,' she said. 'Do you always get up so late ?

It's one o'clock!''

Lesson 3 Please send me a card 请给我寄一张明信片

Postcards always spoil my holidays. Last summer, I went

to Italy. I visited museums and sat in public gardens. A

friendly waiter taught me a few words of Italian. 'Then

he lent me a book. I read a few lines, but I did not

understand a word. Every day I thought about postcards.

My holidays passed quickly, but I did not send any cards

to my friends. On the last day I made a big decision. I

got up early and bought thirty-seven cards. I spent the

whole day in my room, but I did not write a single card !

Lesson 4 An exciting trip 激动人心的旅行

I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He

is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim

is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has

already visited a great number of different places in

Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has

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gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of

Australia. He will soon visit Darwin. From there, he

will fly to Perth.

My brother has never been abroad before, so he is

finding this trip very exciting.

Lesson 5 No wrong numbers 无错号之虞

Mr James Scott has a garage in Silbury and now he has

just bought another garage in Pinhurst. Pinhurst is only

five miles from Silbury, but Mr Scott cannot get a

telephone for his new garage, so he has just bought

twelve pigeons. Yesterday, a pigeon carried the first

message from Pinhurst to Silbury. The bird covered the

distance in three minutes. Up to now, Mr Scott has sent

a great many requests for spare parts and other urgent

messages from one garage to the other. In this way, he

has begun his own private telephone service.

Lesson 6 Percy Buttons 珀西·巴顿斯

I have just moved to a house in Bridge Street. Yesterday

a beggar knocked at my door. He asked me for a meal and

a glass of beer. In return for this, the beggar stood on

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his head and sang songs. I gave him a meal. He ate the

food and drank the beer. Then he put a piece of cheese

in his pocket and went away. Later a neighbour told me

about him. Everybody knows him. His name is Percy

Buttons. He calls at every house in the street once a

month and always asks for a meal and a glass of beer.

Lesson 7 Too late 为时太晚

The plane was late and detectives were waiting at the

airport all morning. They were expecting a valuable

parcel of diamond from South Africa. A few hours earlier,

someone had told the police that thieves would try to

steal the diamonds. When the plane arrived, some of the

detectives were waiting inside the main building while

others were waiting on the airfield. Two men took the

parcel off the plane and carried it into the Customs

House. While two detectives were keeping guard at the

door, two others opened the parcel. To their surprise,

the precious parcel was full of stones and sand!

Lesson 8 The best and the worst 最好的和最差的

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Joe Sanders has the most beautiful garden in our town.

Nearly everybody enters for 'The Nicest Garden

Competition' each year, but Joe wins every time. Bill

Frith's garden is larger than Joe's. Bill works harder

than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but

Joe's garden is more interesting. He has made neat paths

and has built a wooden bridge over a pool. I like

gardens too, but I do not like hard work. Every year I

enter for the garden competition too, and I always win a

little prize for the worst garden in the town!

Lesson 9 A cold welcome 冷遇

On Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall. It was

the last day of the year and a large crowd of people had

gathered under the Town Hall clock. It would strike

twelve in twenty minutes' time. Fifteen minutes passed

and then, at five to twelve, the clock stopped. The big

minute hand did not move. We waited and waited, but

nothing happened. Suddenly someone shouted, 'It's two

minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped!' I looked at

my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to welcome

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the New Year. At that moment everybody began to laugh

and sing.

Lesson 10 Not for jazz 不适于演奏爵士乐

We have an old musical instrument. It is called a

clavichord(翼琴). It was made in Germany in 1681. Our

clavichord is kept in the living-room. It has belong to

our family for a long time. The instrument was bought by

my grandfather many years ago. Recently it was damaged

by a visitor. She tried to play jazz on it! She struck

the keys too hard and two of the strings were broken. My

father was shocked. Now we are not allowed to touch it.

It is being repaired by a friend of my father's.

Lesson 11 One good turn deserves another 礼尚往来

I was having dinner at a restaurant when Harry Steele

came in. Harry worked in a lawyer's office years ago,

but he is now working at a bank. He gets a good salary,

but he always borrows money from his friends and never

pays it back. Harry saw me and came and sat at the same

table. He has never borrowed money from me. While he was

eating, I asked him to lend me &2. To my surprise, he

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gave me the money immediately. 'I have never borrowed

any money from you,' Harry said, 'so now you can pay for

my dinner!'

Lesson 12 Goodbye and good luck 再见，一路顺风

Our ncighbour, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from

Portsmouth tomorrow. We shall meet him at the harbour

early in the morning. He will be in his small boat,

l is a famous little boat. It has sailed

across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will set

out at eight o'clock so we shall have plenty of time. We

shall see his boat and then we shall say good-bye to him.

He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him.

He will take part in an important race across the

Atlantic.

Lesson 13 The Greenwood Boys 绿林少年

The Greenwood Boys are a group of popular singers. At

present, they are visiting all parts of the country.

They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be coming

by train and most of the young

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people in the town will be meeting them at the station.

Tomorrow evening they will be singing at the Workers'

Club. The Greenwood Boys will be staying for five days.

During this time, they will give five performances. As

usual, the police will have a difficult time. They will

be trying to keep order. It is always the same on these

occasions.

Lesson 14 Do you speak English? 你会讲英语吗？

I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left

a small village in the south of France, I drove on to

the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I

stopped and he asked me for a lift. As soon as he had

got into the car, I said good morning to him in French

and he replied in the same language. Apart from a few

words, I do not know any French at all. Neither of us

spoke during the journey. I had nearly reached the town,

when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, 'Do you

speak English?' As I soon learnt, he was English himself!

Lesson 15 Good news 佳音

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The secretary told me that Mr. Harmsworth would see me.

I felt very nervous when. I went into his office. He did

not look up from his desk when I entered. After I had

sat down, he said that business was very bad. He told me

that the firm could not afford to pay such large

salaries. Twenty people had already left. I knew that my

turn had come. 'Mr. Harmsworth,' I said in a weak voice.

'Don't interrupt,' he Said. Then he smiled and told me I

would receive an extra &100 a year!

Lesson 16 A polite request 彬彬有礼的要求

If you park your car in the wrong place, a traffic

policeman will soon find it. You will be very lucky if

he lets you go without a ticket. However, this does not

always happen. Traffic police are sometimes very polite.

During a holiday in Sweden, I found this note on my

car:' Sir, we welcome you to our city. This is a "No

Parking" area. You will enjoy your stay here if you pay

attention to our street signs. This note is only a

reminder.' If you receive a request like this, you

cannot fail to obey it!

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Lesson 17 Always young 青年常驻

My aunt Jennifer is an actress. She must be at least

thirty-five years old. In spite of this, she often

appears on the stage as a young girl. Jennifer will have

to take part in a new play soon. This time, she will be

a girl of seventeen. In the play, she must appear in a

bright red dress and long black stockings. Last year in

another play, she had to wear short socks and a bright,

orange-coloured dress. If anyone ever asked her how old

she is, she always answers, 'My dear, it must be

terrible to be grown up!'

lesson18 He often does this! 他经常干这种事！

After I had had lunch at a village inn, I looked for my

bag. I had left it on a chair beside the door and now it

wasn't there ! As I was looking for it, the inn-keeper

came in. 'Did you have a good meal ?' he asked. 'Yes,

thank you,' I answered, 'but I can't pay the bill. I

haven't got my bag.' The inn-keeper smiled and

immediately went out. In a few minutes he returned with

my bag and gave it back to me. 'I'm very sorry,' he said

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' My dog had taken it into the garden. He often does

this.'

Lesson19 Sold out 票已售完

'The play may begin at any moment,' I said.

'It may have begun already,' Susan answered.

'I hurried to the ticket-office. 'May I have two tickets

please ?' I asked.

'I'm sorry, we've sold out,' the girl said.

'What a pity!' Susan exclaimed.

Just then, a man hurried to the ticket-office.

'Can I return these two tickets?' he asked.

'Certainly,' the girl said.

'Could I have those two tickets please ?' I asked.

'Certainly, 'the girl said, 'but they are for next

Wednesday's performance.

'I might as well have them,' I said sadly.

Lesson20 One man in a boat 独坐孤舟

Fishing is my favourite sport. I often fish for hours

without catching anything. But this does not worry me.

Some fishermen are unlucky. Instead of catching fish,

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they catch old boots and rubbish. I am even less lucky.

I never catch anything-not even old boots. After having

spent whole mornings on the river, I always go home with

an empty bag. 'You must give up fishing!' my friends

say.' It's a waste of time.' But they don't realize one

important thing. I'm not really interested in fishing. I

am only interested in sitting in a boat and doing

nothing at all !

Lesson21 Mad or not? 是不是疯了？

Aeroplanes are slowly driving me mad. I live near an

airport and passing planes can be heard night and day.

The airport was built during the war, but for some

reason it could not be used then. Last year, however, it

came into use. Over a hundred people must have been

driven away from their homes by the noise. I am one of

the few people left. Sometimes I think this house will

be knocked down by a passing plane. I have been offered

a large sum of money to go away, but I am determined to

stay here. Everybody says I must be mad and they are

probably right.

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Lesson22 A glass envelope 玻璃信封

My daughter, Jane, never dreamed of receiving a letter

from a girl of her own age in Holland. Last year, we

were travelling across the Channel and Jane put a piece

of paper with her name and address on it into a bottle.

She threw the bottle into the sea. She never thought of

it again, but ten months later, she received a letter

from a girl in Holland. Both girls write to each other

regularly now. However, they have decided to use the

post-office. Letters will cost a litt1e more, but they

will certainly travel faster.

Lesson23 A new house 新居

I had a letter from my sister yesterday. She lives in

Nigeria. In her letter, she said that she would come to

England next year. If she comes, she will get a surprise.

We are now living in a beautiful new house in the

country. Work on it had begun before my sister left. The

house was completed five months ago. In my letter, I

told her that she could stay with us. The house has many

large rooms and there is a lovely garden. It is a very

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modern house, so it looks strange to some people. It

must be the only modern house in the district.

Lesson24 It could be worse 不幸中之万幸

I entered the hotel manager's office and sat down. I had

just lost &50 and I felt very upset.' I left the money

in my room,' I said, 'and it's not there now.' The

manager was sympathetic, but he could do nothing.

'Everyone's losing money these days,' he said. He

started to complain about this wicked world but was

interrupted by a knock at the door. A girl came in and

put an envelope on his desk. It contained &5o. 'I found

this outside this gentleman's room' she said. 'Well,' I

said to the manager, 'there is still some honesty in

this world !'

lesson25 Do the English speak English? 英国人讲的是英语

吗？

I arrived in London at last. The railway station was big,

black and dark. I did not know the way to my hotel, so I

asked a porter. I not only spoke English very carefully,

but very clearly as well. The porter, however, could not

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understand me; I repeated my question several times and

at last he understood. He answered me, but he spoke

neither slowly nor clearly. 'I am a foreigner,' I said.

Then he spoke slowly, but I could not understand him. My

teacher never spoke English like that! The porter and I

looked at each other and smiled. Then he said something

and I understood it. 'You'll soon learn English!' he

said. I wonder. In England, each man speaks a different

language. The English understand each other, but I don't

understand them ! Do they speak English ?

lesson26 The best art critics 最佳美术评论家

I am an art student and I paint a lot of pictures. Many

people pretend that they understand modern art. They

always tell you what a picture is 'about'. Of course,

many pictures arc not 'about' anything. They are just

pretty patterns. We like them in the same way that we

like pretty curtain material. I think that young

children often appreciate modern pictures better than

anyone else. They notice more. My sister is only seven,

but she always tells me whether my pictures are good or

not. She came into my room yesterday. ' What are you

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doing ?' she asked. ' I'm hanging this picture on the

wall,' I answered. 'It's a new one. Do you like it ?'

She looked at it critically for a moment.' It's all

right,' she said, 'but isn't it upside-down ?' I looked

at it again. She was right! It was!

Lesson27 A wet night 雨夜

Late in the afternoon, the boys put up their tent in the

middle of a field. As soon as this was done, they cooked

a meal over an open fire. They were all hungry and the

food smelt good. After a wonderful meal, they told

stories and sang songs by the camp fire. But some time

later it began to rain. The boys felt tired so they pet

out the fire and crept into their tent. Their sleeping-

bags were warm and comfortable, so they all slept

soundly. In the middle of the night, two boys woke up

and began shouting. The tent was full of water! They all

leapt out of their sleeping-bags and hurried outside. It

was raining heavily and they found that a stream had

formed in the field. The stream wound its way across the

field and then flowed right under their tent!

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Lesson28 No parking 禁止停车

Jasper White is one of those rare people who believes in

ancient myths. He has just bought a new house in the

city, but ever since he moved in, he has had trouble

with motorists. when he returns home at night, he always

finds that someone has parked a car outside his gate.

Because of this, he has not been able to get his own car

into his garage even once. Jasper has put up' No

Parking' signs outside his gate, but these have not had

any effect. Now he has put an ugly stone head over the

gate. It is one of the ugliest faces I have ever seen. I

asked him what it was and he told me that it was Medusa,

the Gorgon. Jasper hopes that she will turn motorists to

stone. But none of them has been turned to stone yet!

Lesson29 Taxi! 出租汽车！

Captain Ben Fawcett has bought an unusual taxi and has

begun a new service. The 'taxi' is a small Swiss

aeroplane called a 'Pilatus Porter'. This wonderful

plane can carry seven passengers. The most surprising

thing about it, however, is that it can land anywhere:

on snow, water, or even on a ploughed field. Captain

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Fawcett's first passenger was a doctor who flew from

Birmingham to a lonely village in the Welsh mountains.

Since then, Captain Fawcett has flown passengers to many

unusual places. Once he landed on the roof of a block of

flats and on another occasion, he landed in a deserted

car park. Captain Fawcett has just refused a strange

request from a businessman. The man wanted to fly to

Rockall, a lonely island in the Atlantic Ocean, but

Captain Fawcett did not take him because the trip was

too dangerous.

Lesson30 Football or polo? 足球还是水球？

The Wayle is a small river that cuts across the park

near my home. I like sitting by the Wayle on fine

afternoons. It was warm last Sunday, so I went and sat

on the river bank as usual. Some children were playing

games on the bank and there were some people rowing on

the river. Suddenly, one of the children kicked a ball

very hard and it went towards a passing boat. Some

people on the bank called out to the man in the boat,

but he did not hear them. The ball struck him so hard

that he nearly fell into the water. I turned to look at

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the children, but there weren't any in sight: they had

all run away! The man laughed when he realized what had

happened. He called out to the children and threw the

ball back to the bank.

Lesson31 Success story 成功者的故事

Yesterday afternoon Frank Hawkins was telling me about

his experiences as a young man. Frank is now the head of

a very large business company, but as a boy he used to

work in a small shop. It was his job to repair bicycles

and at that time he used to work fourteen hours a day.

He saved money for years and in 1938 he bought a small

work-shop of his own. During the war Frank used to make

spare parts for aeroplanes. At that time he had two

helpers. By the end of the war, the small work-shop had

become a large factory which employed seven hundred and

twenty-eight people. Frank smiled when he remembered his

hard early years and the long road to success. He was

still smiling when the door opened and his wife came in.

She wanted him to repair their son's bicycle!

Lesson32 Shopping made easy 购物变得很方便

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People are not so honest as they once were. The

temptation to steal is greater than ever before--

especially in large shops. A detective recently watched

a well-dressed woman who always went into a large store

on Monday mornings. One Monday, there were fewer people

in the shop than usual when the woman came in, so it was

easier for the detective to watch her. The woman first

bought a few small articles. After a little time, she

chose one of the most expensive dresses in the shop and

handed it to an assistant who wrapped it up for her as

quickly as possible. Then the woman simply took the

parcel and walked out of the shop without paying. When

she was arrested, the detective found out that the shop-

assistant was her daughter. The girl' gave' her mother a

free dress once a week !

lesson33 Out of the darkness 冲出黑暗

Nearly a week passed before the girl was able to explain

what had happened to her. One afternoon she set out from

the coast in a small boat and was caught in a storm.

Towards evening, the boat struck a rock and the girl

jumped into the sea. Then she swam to the shore after

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spending the whole night in the water. During that time

she covered a distance of eight miles. Early next

morning, she saw a light ahead. She knew she was near

the shore because the light was high up on the cliffs.

On arriving at the shore, the girl struggled up the

cliff towards the light she had seen. That was all she

remembered. When she woke up a day later, she found

herself in hospital.

Lesson34 Quick work 破案“神速”

Ted Robinson has been worried all the week. Last Tuesday

he received a letter from the local police. In the

letter he was asked to call at the station. Ted

wondered why he was wanted by the police, but he went

to the station yesterday and now he is not worried any

more. At the station, he was told by a smiling policeman

that his bicycle had been found. Five days ago, the

policeman told him, the bicycle was picked up in a small

village four hundred miles away. It is now being sent to

his home by train. Ted was most surprised when he heard

the news. He was amused too, because he never expected

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the bicycle to be found. It was stolen twenty years ago

when Ted was a boy of fifteen !

Lesson35 Stop thief! 捉贼！

Rov Trenton used to drive a taxi. A short while ago,

however, he became a bus-driver and he was not regretted

it. He is finding his new work far more exciting. When

he was driving along Catford Street recently, he saw two

thieves rush out of a shop and run towards a waiting car.

One of them was carrying a bag full of money. Roy acted

quickly and drove the bus straight at the thieves. The

one with the money got such a fright that he dropped the

bag. As the thieves were trying to get away in their car,

Roy drove his bus into the back of it. While the

battered car was moving away, Roy stopped his bus and

telephoned the police. The thieves' car was badly

damaged and easy to recognize. Shortly afterwards, the

police stopped the car and both men were arrested.

Lesson36 Across the Channel 横渡海峡

Erna Hart is going to swim across the English Channel

tomorrow. She is going to set out from the French coast

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at five o'clock in the morning. Erna is only fourteen

years old and she hopes lo set up a new world record.

She is a strong swimmer and many people feel that she is

sure to succeed. Erna's father will set out with her in

a small boat. Mr Hart has trained his daughter for years.

Tomorrow he will be watching her anxiously as she swims

the long distance to England. Erna intends to take short

rests every two hours. She will have something to drink

but she will not eat any solid food. Most of Erna's

school friends will be waiting for her on the English

coast. Among them will be Erna's mother, who swam the

Channel herself when she was a girl.

Lesson37 The Olympic Games 奥林匹克运动会

The Olympic Games will be held in our country in four

years' time. As a great many people will be visiting the

country, the government will be building new hotels, an

immense stadium, and a fine new swimming pool. 'They

will also be building new roads and a special railway-

line. The Games will be held just outside the capital

and the whole area will be called 'Olympic City'.

Workers will have completed the new roads by the end of

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this year. By the end of next year, they will have

finished work on the new stadium. The fine modern

buildings have been designed by Kurt Gunter. Everybody

will be watching anxiously as the new buildings go up.

We are all very excited and are looking forward to the

Olympic Games because they have never been held before

in this country.

Lesson38 Everything except the weather 惟独没有考虑到天

气

My old friend, Harrison, had lived in the Mediterranean

for many years before he returned to England. He had

often dreamed of retiring in England and had planned to

settle down in the country. He had no sooner returned

than he bought a fine house and went to live there.

Almost immediately he began to complain about the

weather, for even though it was still summer, it rained

continually and it was often bitterly cold. After so

many years of sunshine, Harrison got a shock. He acted

as if he had never lived in England before. In the end,

it was more than he could bear. He had hardly had time

to settle down when he sold the house and left the

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country. The dream he had had for so many years ended

there. Harrison had thought of everything except the

weather.

Lesson39 Am I all right? 我是否痊愈？

While John Gilbert was in hospital, he asked his doctor

to tell him whether his operation had been successful,

but the doctor refused to do so. The following day, the

patient asked for a bedside telephone. When he was

alone, he telephoned the hospital exchange and asked for

Doctor Millington. When the doctor answered the phone,

Mr Gilbert said he was inquiring about a certain patient,

a Mr John Gilbert. He asked if Mr Gilbert's operation

had been successful and the doctor told him that it had

been. He then asked when Mr Gilbert would be allowed to

go home and the doctor told him that he would have to

stay in hospital for another two weeks. Then Dr

Millington asked the caller if he was a relative of the

patient.' No,' the patient answered,' I am Mr John

Gilbert.'

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Lesson40 Food and talk 进餐与交谈

Last week at a dinner-party, the hostess asked me to sit

next to Mrs Rumbold. Mrs Rumbold was a large, unsmiling

lady in a tight black dress. She did not even look up

when I took my seat beside her. Her eyes were fixed on

her plate and in a short time, she was busy eating. I

tried to make conversation.

' A new play is coming to" The Globe" soon,' I said.

'Will you be seeing it ?' ' No,' she answered. 'Will you

be spending your holidays abroad this year ?' I asked. '

No,' she answered.

' Will you be staying in England?' I asked. ' No,' she

answered.

In despair, I asked her whether she was enjoying her

dinner.

' Young man,' she answered,' if you ate more and talked

less, we would both enjoy our dinner !'

lesson41 Do you call that a hat? 你把那个叫帽子吗？

'Do you call that a hat ?' I said to my wife. 'You

needn't be so rude about it,' my wife answered as she

looked at herself in the mirror. I sat down on one of

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those modern chairs with holes in it and waited. We had

been in the hat shop for half an hour and my wife was

still in front of the mirror.

' We mustn't buy things we don't need,' I remarked

suddenly. I regretted saying it almost at once.

'You needn't have said that,' my wife answered.' I need

not remind you of that terrible tie you bought

yesterday.'

' I find it beautiful,' I said. 'A man can never have

too many ties.'

'And a woman can't have too many hats,' she answered.

Ten minutes later we walked out of the shop together. My

wife was wearing a hat that looked like a lighthouse !

Lesson42 Not very musical 并非很懂音乐

As we had had a long walk through one of the markets of

Old Delhi, we stopped at a square to have a rest. After

a time, we noticed a snake-charmer with two large

baskets at the other side of the square, so we went to

have a look at him. As soon as he saw us, he picked up a

long pipe which was covered with coins and opened one of

the baskets. When he began to play a tune, we had our

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first glimpse of the snake. It rose out of the basket

and began to follow the movements of the pipe. We were

very much surprised when the snake charmer suddenly

began to play jazz tunes and modern pop songs. The snake,

however, continued to 'dance' slowly. It obviously could

not tell the difference between Indian music and jazz!

Lesson43 Over the South Pole 飞越南极

In 1929, three years after his flight over the North

Pole, the American explorer, R. E. Byrd, successfully

flew over the South Pole for the first time. Though, at

first, Byrd and his men were able to take a great many

photographs of the mountains that lay below, they soon

ran into serious trouble. At one point, it seemed

certain that their plane would crash. It could only get

over the mountains if it rose to 10,000 feet. Byrd at

once ordered his men to throw out two heavy food sacks.

The plane was then able to rise and it cleared the

mountains by 400 feet. Byrd now knew that he would be

able to reach the South Pole which was 300 miles away,

for there were no more mountains in sight. The aircraft

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was able to fly over the endless white plains without

difficulty.

Lesson44 Through the forest 穿过森林

Mrs Anne Sterling did not think of the risk she was

taking when she ran through a forest after two men. They

had rushed up to her while she was having a picnic at

the edge of a forest with her children and tried to

steal her handbag. In the struggle, the strap broke and,

with the bag in their possession, both men started

running through the trees. Mrs Sterling got so angry

that she ran after them. She was soon out of breath, but

she continued to run. When she caught up with them, she

saw that they had sat down and were going through the

contents of the bag, so she ran straight at them. The

men got such a fright that they dropped the bag and ran

away. 'The strap needs mending,' said Mrs Sterling

later, 'but they did not steal anything.'

Lesson45 A clear conscience 问心无愧

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The whole village soon learnt that a large sum of money

had been lost. Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost

his wallet while taking his savings to the post-office.

Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one

of the villagers, but it was not returned to him. Three

months passed, and then one morning, Sam found his

wallet outside his front door. It had been wrapped up in

newspaper and it contained half the money he had lost,

together with a note which said: 'A thief, yes, 'but

only 5o per cent a thief!' Two months later, some more

money was sent to Sam with another note:' Only 25 per

cent a thief now!' In time, all Sam's money was paid

back in this way. The last note said:' I am 100 per cent

honest now!'

lesson46 Expensive and uncomfortable 既昂贵又受罪

When a plane from London arrived at Sydney airport,

workers began to unload a number of wooden boxes which

contained clothing. No one could account for the fact

that one of the boxes was extremely heavy. It suddenly

occurred to one of the workers to open up the box. He

was astonished at what he found. A man was lying in the

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box on top of a pile of woollen goods. He was so

surprised at being discovered that he did not even try

to run away. After he was arrested, the man admitted

hiding in the box before the plane left London. He had

had a long and uncomfortable trip, for he had been

confined to the wooden box for over ten hours. The man

was ordered to pay &345 for the cost of the trip. The

normal price of a ticket is &230 !

Lesson47 A thirsty ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂

A public house which was recently bought by Mr Ian

Thompson is up for sale. Mr Thompson is going to sell it

because it is haunted. He told me that he could not go

to sleep one night because he heard a strange noise

coming from the bar. The next morning, he found that the

doors had been blocked by chairs and the furniture had

been moved. Though Mr Thompson had turned the lights off

before he went to bed, they were on in the morning. He

also said that he had found five empty whisky bottles

which the ghost must have drunk the night before. When I

suggested that some villagers must have come in for a

free drink, Mr Thompson shook his head. The villagers

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have told him that they will not accept the inn even if

he gives it away.

Lesson48 Did you want to tell me something? 你想对我说什

么吗？

Dentists always ask questions when it is impossible for

you to answer. My dentist had just pulled out one of my

teeth and had told me to rest for a while. I tried to

say something, but my mouth was full of cotton-wool. He

knew I collected birds' eggs and asked me whether my

collection was growing. He then asked me how my brother

was and whether I liked my new job in London. In answer

to these questions I either nodded or made strange

noises. Meanwhile, my tongue was busy searching out the

hole where the tooth had been. I suddenly felt very

worried, but could not say anything. When the dentist at

last removed the cotton-wool from my mouth, I was able

to tell him that he had pulled out the wrong tooth.

Lesson49 The end of a dream 美梦告终

Tired of sleeping on the floor, a young man in Teheran

saved up for years to buy a real bed. For the first time

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in his life, he became the proud owner of a bed which

had springs and a mattress. Because the weather was very

hot, he carried the bed on to the roof of his house. He

slept very well for the first two nights, but on the

third night, a storm blew up. A gust of wind swept the

bed off the roof and sent it crashing into the courtyard

below. The young man did not wake up until the bed had

struck the ground. Although the bed was smashed to

pieces, the man was miraculously unhurt. When he woke up,

he was still on the mattress. Glancing at the bits of

wood and metal that lay around him, the man sadly picked

up the mattress and carried it into his house. After

he had put it on the floor, he promptly went to sleep

again.

Lesson50 Taken for a ride 乘车兜风

I love travelling in the country, but I don't like

losing my way. I went on an excursion recently, but my

trip took me longer than I expected. ' I'm going to

Woodford Green,' I said to the conductor as I got on the

bus,' but I don't know where it is.' ' I'll tell you

where to get off,' answered the conductor.

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I sat in the front of the bus to get a good view of the

countryside. After some time, the bus stopped. Looking

round, I realized with a shock that I was the only

passenger left on the bus.

' You'll have to get off here,' the conductor said.

'This is as far as we go.' ' Is this Woodford Green ?' I

asked. 'Oh dear,' said the conductor suddenly.' I forgot

to put you off.' 'It doesn't matter,' I said. 'I'll get

off here.' 'We are going back now,' said the conductor.

'Well, in that case, I prefer to stay on the bus,' I

answered.

Lesson51 Reward for virtue 对美德的奖赏

My friend, Herbert, has always been fat, but things got

so bad recently that he decided to go on a diet. He

began his diet a week ago. First of all, he wrote out a

long list of all the foods which were forbidden. The

list included most of the things Herbert loves: butter,

potatoes, rice, beer, milk, chocolate, and sweets.

Yesterday I paid him a visit. I rang the bell and was

not surprised to see that Herbert was still as fat as

ever. He led me into his room and hurriedly hid a large

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parcel under his desk. It was obvious that he was very

embarrassed. When I asked him what he was doing, he

smiled guiltily and then put the parcel on the desk. He

explained that his diet was so strict that he had to

reward himself occasionally. Then he showed me the

contents of the parcel. It contained five large bars of

chocolate and three bags of sweets!

Lesson52 A pretty carpet 漂亮的地毯

We have just moved into a new house and I have been

working hard all morning. I have been trying to get my

new room in order. This has not been easy because I own

over a thousand books. To make matters worse, the room

is rather small, so I have temporarily put my books on

the floor. At the moment, they cover every inch of floor

space and I actually have to walk on them to get in or

out of the room. A short while ago, my sister helped me

to carry one of my old bookcases up the stairs. She went

into my room and got a big surprise when she saw all

those books on the floor. 'This is the prettiest carpet

I have ever seen,' she said. She gazed at it for some

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time then added, 'You don't need bookcases at all. You

can sit here in your spare time and read the carpet!'

Lesson53 Hot snake 触电的蛇

At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in

California. Since then, they have been trying to find

out how the fire began. Forest fire are often caused by

broken glass or by cigarette ends which people

carelessly throw away. Yesterday the firemen examined

the ground carefully, but were not able to find any

broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette

end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a

fireman accidentally discovered the cause. He noticed

the remains of a snake which was wound round the

electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line. In this way,

he was able to solve the mystery. The explanation was

simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the

snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the

wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires. When

it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these

immediately started a fire.

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Lesson54 Sticky fingers 粘糊的手指

After breakfast, I sent the children to school and then

I went to market. It was still early when I returned

home. The children were at school, my husband was at

work and the house was quiet. So I decided to make some

tarts for tea. In a short time I was busy mixing butter

and flour and my hands were soon covered with sticky

pastry. At exactly that moment, the telephone rang.

Nothing could have been more annoying. I picked up the

receiver between two sticky fingers and was dismayed

when I recognized the voice of Mrs Bates. It took me ten

minutes to persuade her to ring back later. At last I

hung up the receiver. What a mess! There was pastry on

my fingers, on the telephone, and on the door-knobs. I

had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the door-bell

rang loud enough to wake the dead. This time it was the

postman and he wanted me to sign for a registered

letter !

Lesson55 Not a gold mine 并非金矿

Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true

recently. A new machine called 'The Revealer' has been

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invented and it has been used to detect gold which has

been buried in the ground. The machine was used in a

cave near the seashore where--it is said--pirates used

to hide gold. The pirates would often bury gold in the

cave and then fail to collect it. Armed with the new

machine, a search party went into the cave hoping to

find buried treasure. The leader of the party was

examining the soil near the entrance to the cave when

the machine showed that there was gold under the ground.

Very excited, the party dug a hole two feet deep. They

finally found a small gold coin which was almost

worthless. The party then searched the whole cave

thoroughly but did not find anything except an empty tin

trunk. In spite of this, many people are confident that

'The Revealer' may reveal something of value fairly soon.

Lesson56 Faster than sound! 比声音还快！

Once a year a race is held for old cars. A lot of cars

entered for this race last year and there was a great

deal of excitement just before it began. One of the most

handsome cars was a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. The most

unusual car was a Benz which had only three wheels.

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Built in 1885, it was the oldest car taking part. After

a great many loud explosions, the race began. Many of

the cars broke down on the course and some drivers spent

more time under their cars than in them ! A few cars,

however, completed the race. The winning car reached a

speed of forty miles an hour--much faster than any of

its rivals. It sped downhill at the end of the race and

its driver had a lot of trouble trying to stop it. The

race gave everyone a great deal of pleasure. It was very

different from modern car races but no less exciting.

Lesson57 Can I help you, madam? 你要买什么，夫人？

A woman in blue jeans stood at the window of an

expensive shop. Though she hesitated for a moment, she

finally went in and asked to see a dress that was in the

window. The assistant who served her did not like the

way she was dressed. Glancing at her scornfully, he told

her that the dress was sold. The woman walked out of the

shop angrily and decided to punish the assistant next

day. She returned to the shop the following morning

dressed in a fur coat, with a handbag in one hand and a

long umbrella in the other. After seeking out the rude

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assistant she asked for the same dress. Not realizing

who she was, the assistant was eager to serve her this

time with great difficulty, he climbed into the shop

window to get the dress. As soon as she saw it, the

woman said she did not like it. She enjoyed herself

making the assistant bring almost everything in the

window before finally buying the dress she had first

asked for.

Lesson58 A blessing in disguise? 是因祸得福吗？

The tiny village of Frinley is said to possess a 'cursed

tree'. Because the tree was mentioned in a newspaper,

the number of visitors to Frinley has now increased. The

tree was planted near a church fifty years ago, but it

is only in recent years that it has gained an evil

reputation. It is said that if anyone touches the tree,

he will have bad luck; if he picks a leaf, he will die.

Many villagers believe that the tree has already claimed

a number of victims. The vicar has been asked to have

the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has

pointed out that the tree is a useful source of income

as tourists have been coming from all parts of the

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country to see it. In spite of all that has been said,

the tourists-have been picking leaves and cutting their

names on the tree-trunk. So far, not one of them has

been struck down by sudden death!

Lesson59 In or out ？ 进来还是出去？

Our dog, Rex, used to sit outside our front gate and

bark. Every time he wanted to come into the garden he

would bark until someone opened the gate. As the

neighbours complained of the noise, my husband spent

weeks training him to press his paw on the latch to let

himself in. Rex soon became an expert at opening the

gate. However, when I was going out shopping last week,

I noticed him in the garden near the gate. This time he

was barking so that someone would let him out ! Since

then, he has developed another bad habit. As soon as he

opens the gate from the outside, he comes into the

garden and waits until the gate shuts. Then he sits and

barks until someone lets him out. After this he

immediately lets himself in and begins barking again.

Yesterday my husband removed the gate and Rex got so

annoyed we have not seen him since.

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Lesson60 The future 卜算未来

At a village fair, I decided to visit a fortune-teller

called Madam Bellinsky. I went into her tent and she

told me to sit down. After I had given her some money,

she looked into a crystal ball and said: 'A relation of

yours is coming to see you. She will be arriving this

evening and intends to stay for a few days. The moment

you leave this tent, you will get a big surprise. A

woman you know well will rush towards you. She will

speak to you and then she will lead you away from this

place. That is all.' As soon as I went outside, I forgot

all about Madam Bellinsky because my wife hurried

towards me. 'Where have you been hiding ?' she asked

impatiently. 'Your sister will be here in less than an

hour and we must be at the station to meet her. We are

late already.' As she walked away, I followed her out of

the fair.

Lesson61 Trouble with the Hubble 哈勃望远镜的困境

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In future, astronauts will be required to descend from a

spaceship while it is still in space and to return to it.

The ability to do this will be necessary in future

flights to distant planets. Scientists are now trying to

discover if this is possible. The spaceship Astra which

left the earth a short time ago, will be travelling

three hundred miles into space. At a certain point, the

Astra will stop for a short time and an astronaut will

attempt to leave the stationary spaceship and then

return to it. We shall not know whether the experiment

has been successful until we have received a radio

message. The first message is expected to arrive at 7

o'clock this evening. By that time, the Astra will have

been flying through space for seventeen hours and will

have circled the earth a great many times. When the

first radio messages have been received, the results of

the trip will be announced immediately.

Lesson62 After the fire 大火之后

Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly

three weeks before they could get it under control. A

short time before, great trees had covered the

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countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up

from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winter was

coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding

villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only

wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as

well. When the fire had at last been put out, the forest

authorities ordered several tons of a special type of

grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was

sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes.

The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month

when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places

the grass had already taken root. In place of the great

trees which had been growing there for centuries,

patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened

soil.

Lesson63 She was not amused 她并不觉得好笑

Geoffrey Hampden has a large circle of friends and is

very popular at parties. Everybody admires him for his

fine sense of humor--everybody, that is, except his six-

year-old daughter, Jenny. Recently, one of Geoffrey's

closest friends asked him to make a speech at a wedding

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reception. This is the sort of thing that Geoffrey loves.

He prepared the speech carefully and went to the wedding

with Jenny. He had included a large number of funny

stories in the speech and, of course, it was a great

success. As soon as he had finished, Jenny told him she

wanted to go home. Geoffrey was a little disappointed by

this but he did as his daughter asked. On the way home,

he asked Jenny if she had enjoyed the speech. To his

surprise, she said she hadn't. Geoffrey asked her why

this was so and she told him that she did not like to

see so many people laughing at him!

Lesson64 The Channel Tunnel 海峡隧道

In l858, a French engineer, Aime Thome de Gamond,

arrived in England with a plan for a twenty-one mile

tunnel across the English Channel. He said that it would

be possible to build a platform in the centre of the

Channel. This platform would serve as a port and a

railway station. The tunnel would be well-ventilated if

tall chimneys were built above sea-level. In 1860, a

better plan was put forward by an Englishman, William

Low. He suggested that a double railway tunnel should be

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built. This would solve the problem of ventilation, for

if a train entered this tunnel, it would draw in fresh

air behind it. Forty-two years later a tunnel was

actually begun. If, at the time, the British had not

feared invasion, it would have been completed. Recently,

there has again been great interest in the idea of a

Channel Tunnel. If it is built, it will connect Britain

to Europe for the first time in history.

Lesson65 Jumbo versus the police 小象对警察

Last Christmas, the circus owner, Jimmy Gates, decided

to take some presents to a children's hospital. Dressed

up as Father Christmas and accompanied by a 'guard of

honour' of six pretty girls, he set off down the main

street of the city riding a baby elephant called Jumbo.

He, should have known that the police would never allow

this sort of thing. A policeman approached Jimmy and

told him he ought to have gone along a side-street as

Jumbo was holding up the traffic. Though Jimmy agreed to

go at once, Jumbo refused to move. Fifteen policemen had

to push very hard to get him off the main street. The

police had a difficult time, but they were most amused.

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'Jumbo must weigh a few tons,' said a policeman

afterwards, 'so it was fortunate that we didn't have to

carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, but as he

has a good record, we shall let him off this time.'

Lesson66 Sweet as honey! 像蜜一样甜！

The Hatheld Puffin is a modern aero-plane, but its

designer, Mr John Wimpenny, is finding it difficult to

get it off the ground. The reason for this is that this

plane is also a bicycle. Its pilot has to pedal hard to

get it into the air. After Mr Wimpenny had the plane

built, it was tested thoroughly. In 1961, it was the

first man-powered aircraft to fly half a mile. While

being flown by a champion amateur cyclist in 1963, the

plane crashed on an airfield. Since then, Mr Wimpenny

has had it rebuilt. He has had the length of the wings

increased so that they now measure 93 feet--almost as

long as those of a Dakota. Many people have shown

interest in this new and unusual sport. But though air

cyclists may learn how to fly over short distances, and

may, eventually, even get across the English Channel, it

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is doubtful whether they will ever cycle across the

Atlantic.

Lesson67 Volcanoes 火山

Haroun Tazieff the Polish scientist, has spent his life-

time studying active volcanoes and deep caves in all

parts of the world. In 1948, he went to lake Kivu in the

Congo to observe a new volcano which he later named

Kituro. Tazieff was able to set up his camp very close

to the volcano while it was erupting violently. Though

he managed to take a number of brilliant photographs, he

could not stay near the volcano for very long. He

noticed that a river of liquid rock was coming towards

him. It threatened to surround him completely, but

Tazieff managed to escape just in time. He waited until

the volcano became quiet and he was able to return two

days later. This time, he managed to climb into the

mouth of Kituro so that he could take photographs and

measure temperatures. Tazieff has often risked his life

in this way. He has been able to tell us more about

active volcanoes than any man alive.

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Lesson68 Persistent 纠缠不休

I crossed the street to avoid meeting him, but he saw me

and came running towards me. It was no use pretending

that I had not seen him, so I waved to him. I never

enjoy meeting Bert Dykes. He never has anything to do.

No matter how busy you are, he always insists on coming

with you. I had to think of a way of preventing him from

following me around all morning.

'Hullo, Bert,' I said. 'Fancy meeting you here !'

'Hullo, Elizabeth,' Bert answered. ' I was just

wondering how to spend the morning--until I saw you.

You're not busy doing anything, are you ?'

' No, not at all,' I answered.' I'm going to.. .'

'Would you mind my coming with you ?' he asked, before I

had finished speaking.

‘ Not at all,' I lied, 'but I'm going to the dentist.'

' Then I'll come with you,' he answered.' There's always

plenty to read in the 'waiting room !'

lesson69 But not murder! 并非谋杀！

I was being tested for a driving licence for the third

time. I had been asked to drive in heavy traffic and had

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done so successfully. After having been instructed to

drive out of town, I began to acquire confidence. Sure

that I had passed, I was almost beginning to enjoy my

test. The examiner must have been pleased with my

performance, for he smiled and said, 'Just one more

thing, Mr Eames. Let us suppose that a child suddenly

crosses the road in front of you. As soon as I tap on

the window, I want the car to be stopped immediately.' I

continued driving and after some time, the examiner

tapped loudly. Though the sound could be heard clearly,

it took me a long time to react. I suddenly pressed the

brake pedal hard and we were both thrown forward. The

examiner looked at me sadly. 'Mr Eames,' he said, in a

mournful voice,' you have just killed that child !'

lesson70 Red for danger 危险的红色

During a bullfight, a drunk suddenly wandered into the

middle of the ring. The crowd began to shout, but the

drunk was unaware of the danger. The bull was busy with

the matador at the time, but it suddenly caught sight of

the drunk who was shouting rude remarks and waving a red

cap. Apparently sensitive to criticism, the bull forgot

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all about the matador and charged at the drunk. The

crowd suddenly grew quiet. The drunk, however, seemed

quite sure of himself. When the bull got close to him,

he clumsily stepped aside to let it pass. The crowd

broke into cheers and the drunk bowed. By this time,

however, three men had come into the ring and they

quickly dragged the drunk to safety. Even the bull

seemed to feel sorry for him, for it looked on

sympathetically until the drunk was out of the way

before once more turning its attention to the matador.

Lesson71 A famous clock 一个著名的大钟

When you visit London, one of the first things you will

see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be heard all

over the world on the B.B.C. If the Houses of Parliament

had hot been burned down in 1834, the great clock would

never have been erected. Big Ben takes its name from Sir

Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the making of the

clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built.

It is not only of immense size, but is extremely

accurate as well. Officials from Greenwich Observatory

have the clock checked twice a day. On the B.B.C. you

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can hear the clock when it is actually striking because

microphones are connected to the clock tower. Big Ben

has rarely gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give

the correct time. A painter who had been working on the

tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed

it down !

Lesson72 A car called Bluebird “蓝鸟”汽车

The great racing driver, Sir Malcolm Campbell, was the

first man to drive at over 300 miles per hour. He set up

a new world record in September 1935 at Bonneville Salt

Flats, Utah. Bluebird, the car he was driving, had been

specially built for him. It was over 30 feet in length

and had a 2500 horse-power engine. Although Campbell

reached a speed of over 304 miles per hour, he had great

difficulty in controlling the car because a tyre burst

during the first run. After his attempt, Campbell was

disappointed to learn that his average speed had been

299 miles per hour. However, a few days later, he was

told that a mistake had been made. His average speed had

been 301 miles per hour. Since that time, racing drivers

have reached speeds of over 400 miles an hour.

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Following his father's footsteps many years later, Sir

Malcolm's son, Donald, also set up a world record. Like

his father, he was driving a car called Bluebird.

Lesson73 The record-holder 纪录保持者

Little boys who play truant from school are

unimaginative. A quiet day's fishing, or eight hours in

a cinema seeing the same film over and over again, is

usually as far as they get. They have all been put to

shame by a boy who, while playing truant, travelled 1600

miles. He hitch- hiked to Dover and, towards evening,

went into a boat to find somewhere to sleep. When he

woke up next morning, he discovered that the boat had,

in the meantime, travelled to Calais. No one noticed the

boy as he crept off. From there, he hitch-hiked to Paris

in a lorry. The driver gave him a few biscuits and a cup

of coffee and left him just outside the city. The next

car the boy stopped did not take him into the centre of

Paris as he hoped it would, but to Perpignan on the

French-Spanish border. There he was picked up by a

policeman and sent back to England by the local

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authorities. He has surely set up a record for the

thousands of boys who dream of evading school.

Lesson74 Out of the limelight 舞台之外

An ancient bus stopped by a dry river bed and a party of

famous actors and actresses got off. Dressed in dark

glasses and old clothes, they had taken special

precautions so that no one should recognize them. But as

they soon discovered, disguises can sometimes be too

perfect.

'This is a wonderful place for a picnic,' said Gloria

Gleam.

' It couldn't be better, Gloria,' Brinksley Meers agreed.

'No newspaper men, no film fans! Why don't we come more

often ?'

Meanwhile, two other actors, Rockwall Slinger and Merlin

Greeves, had carried two large food baskets to a shady

spot under some trees. When they had all made themselves

comfortable, a stranger appeared. He looked very angry.

'Now you gut out of here, all of you!' he shouted: ' I'm

sheriff here. Do you see that notice ? It says" No

Camping"-in case you can't read !'

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' Look, sheriff, 'said Rockwall,' don't be too hard on

us. I'm Rockwall Slinger and this is Merlin Greeves.'

' Oh, is it ?' said the sheriff with a sneer. 'Well, I'm

Brinksley Meers, and my other name is Gloria Gleam. Now

you get out of here fast !'

lesson75 SOS 呼救信号

When a light passenger plane flew off course some time

ago, it crashed in the mountains and its pilot was

killed. The only passengers, a young woman and her two

baby daughters, were unhurt. It was the middle of winter.

Snow lay thick on the ground. The woman knew that the

nearest village was miles away. When it grew dark. she

turned a suitcase into a bed and put the children inside

it, covering them with all the clothes she could find.

During the night, it got terribly cold. The woman kept

as near as she could to the children and even tried to

get into the case herself, but it was too small.

Early ,next morning she heard planes passing overhead

and wondered how she could send a signal. Then she had

an idea. She stamped out the letters' SOS' in the snow.

Fortunately, a pilot saw the signal and sent a message

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by radio to the nearest town. It was not long before a

helicopter arrived on the scene to rescue the survivors

of the plane crash.

Lesson76 April Fools Day 愚人节

'To end our special news bulletin,' said the voice of

the television announcer,' we are taking you to the

macaroni fields of Calabria. Macaroni has been grown in

this area for over six hundred years. Two of the leading

growers, Giuseppe Moldova and Ricardo Brabante, tell me

that they have been expecting a splendid crop this year

and harvesting has begun earlier than usual. Here you

can see two workers who, between them, have just

finished cutting three cart-loads of golden brown

macaroni stalks. The whole village has been working day

and night gathering and threshing this year's crop

before the September rains. On the right, you can see

Mrs Brabante herself. She has been helping her husband

for thirty years now. Mrs Brabante is talking to the

manager of the local factory where the crop is

processed. This last scene shows you what will happen at

the end of the harvest : the famous Calabrian macaroni-

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eating competition ! Signor Fratelli, the present

champion, has won it every year since 1961. And that

ends our special bulletin for today, Thursday, April 1st.

We are now returning you to the studio.'

Lesson77 A successful operation 一例成功的手术

The mummy of an Egyptian woman who died in 800 B.C. has

just had an operation. The mummy is that of Shepenmut

who was once a singer in the Temple of Thebes. As there

were strange marks on the X-ray plates taken of the

mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the

woman died of a rare disease. The only way to do this

was to operate. The operation, which lasted for over

four hours, proved to be very difficult because of the

hard resin which covered the skin. The doctors removed a

section of the mummy and sent it to a laboratory. They

also found something which the X-ray of the god Duamutef.

This god which has the head of a cow was normally placed

inside a mummy. The doctors have not yet decided how the

woman died. They feared that the mummy would fall to

pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has

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not happened. The mummy successfully survived the

operation.

Lesson78 The last one? 最后一枝吗？

After reading an article entitled 'Cigarette Smoking and

Your Health' I lit a cigarette to calm my nerves. I

smoked with concentration and pleasure as I was sure

that this would be my last cigarette. For a whole week I

did not smoke at all and during this time, my wife

suffered terribly. I had all the usual symptoms of

someone giving up smoking: a bad temper and an enormous

appetite. My friends kept on offering me cigarettes and

cigars. They made no effort to hide their amusement

whenever I produced a packet of sweets from my pocket.

After seven days of this I went to a party. Everybody

around me was smoking and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

When my old friend Brian urged me to accept a cigarette,

it was more than I could bear. I took one guiltily, lit

it and smoked with satisfaction. My wife was delighted

that things had returned to normal once more. Anyway, as

Brian pointed out, it is the easiest thing in the world

to give up smoking. He himself has done it lots of times!

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Lesson79 By air 乘飞机

I used to travel by air a great deal when I was a boy.

My parents, used to live in South America and I used to

fly there from Europe in the holidays. An airhostess

would take charge of me and I never had an unpleasant

experience. I am used to travelling by air and only on

one occasion have I ever felt frightened. After taking

off, we were flying low over the city and slowly gaining

height, when the plane suddenly turned round and flew

back to the airport. While we were waiting to land, an

air-hostess told us to keep calm and to get off the

plane quietly as soon as it had touched down. Everybody

on board was worried and we were curious to find out

what had happened. Later we learnt that there was a very

important person on board. The police had been told that

a bomb had been planted on the plane. After we had

landed, the plane was searched thoroughly. Fortunately,

nothing was found and five hours later we were able to

take off again.

Lesson80 The Crystal Palace 水晶宫

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Perhaps the most extraordinary building of the

nineteenth century was the Crystal Palace, which was

built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The

Crystal Palace was different from all other buildings in

the world, for it was made of iron and glass. It was one

of the biggest buildings of all time and a lot of people

from many countries came to see it. A great many goods

were sent to the exhibition from various parts of the

world. There was also a great deal of machinery on

display. The most wonderful piece of machinery on show

was Nasmyth's steam hammer. Though in those days,

travelling was not as easy as it is today, steam boats

carried thousands of visitors across the Channel from

Europe. On arriving in England, they were taken to the

Crystal Palace by train. There were six million visitors

in all, and the profits from the exhibition were used to

build museums and colleges. Later, the Crystal Palace

was moved to South London. It remained one of the most

famous buildings in the world until it was burnt down in

1936.

Lesson81 Escape 脱逃

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When he had killed the guard, the prisoner of war

quickly dragged him into the bushes. Working rapidly in

the darkness, he soon changed into the dead man's

clothes. Now, dressed in a blue uniform and with a rifle

over his shoulder, the prisoner marched boldly up and

down in front of the camp. He could hear shouting in the

camp itself. Lights were blazing and men were running

here and there: they had just discovered that a prisoner

had escaped. At that moment, a large black car with four

officers inside it, stopped at the camp gates. The

officers got out and the prisoner stood to attention and

saluted as they passed. When they had gone, the driver

of the car came towards him. The man obviously wanted to

talk. He was rather elderly with grey hair and clear

blue eyes. The prisoner felt sorry for him, but there

was nothing else he could do. As the man came near, the

prisoner knocked him to the ground with a sharp blow.

Then, jumping into the car, he drove off as quickly as

he could.

Lesson82 Monster or fish? 是妖还是鱼？

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Fishermen and sailors sometimes claim to have seen

monsters in the sea. Though people have often laughed at

stories told by seamen, it is now known that many of

these 'monsters' which have at times been sighted are

simply strange fish. Occasionally, unusual

creatures are washed to the shore, but they are rarely

caught out at sea. Some time ago, however, a peculiar

fish was caught near Madagascar. A small fishing-boat

was carried miles out to sea by the powerful fish as it

pulled on the line. Realizing that this was no ordinary

fish, the fisherman made every effort not to damage it

in any way. When it was eventually brought to shore, it

was found to be over thirteen feet long. It had a head

like a horse, big blue eyes, shining silver skin, and a

bright red tail, The fish, which has since been sent to

a museum where it is being examined by a scientist, is

called an oarfish. Such creatures have rarely been seen

alive by man as they live at a depth of six hundred feet.

Lesson83 After the elections 大选之后

The former Prime Minister, Mr Wentworth Lane, was

defeated in the recent elections. He is now retiring

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from political life and has gone abroad. My friend,

Crawley, has always been a fanatical opponent of Mr

Lane's Radical Progressive Party. After the elections,

Crawley went to the former Prime Minister's house. When

he asked if Mr Lane lived there, the policeman on duty

told him that since his defeat, the ex-Prime Minister

had gone abroad. On the following day, Crawley went to

the house again. The same policeman was just walking

slowly past the entrance, when Crawley asked the same

question. Though a little suspicious this time, the

policeman gave him the same answer. The day after,

Crawley went to the house once more and asked exactly

the same question. This time, the policeman lost his

temper.' I told you yesterday and the day before

yesterday,' he shouted, 'Mr Lane was defeated in the

elections. He has retired from political life and gone

to live abroad !' ' I know,' answered Crawley,' but I

love to hear you say it !'

Lesson84 On strike 罢工

Busmen have decided to go on strike next week. The

strike is due to begin on Tuesday. No one knows how long

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it will last. The busmen have stated that the strike

will continue until general agreement is reached about

pay and working conditions. Most people believe that the

strike will last for at least a week. Many owners of

private cars are going to offer 'free rides' to people

on their way to work. This will relieve pressure on the

trains to some extent. Meanwhile, a number of university

students have volunteered to drive buses while the

strike lasts. All the young men are expert drivers, but

before they drive any of the buses, they will have to

pass a special test. The students are going to take the

test in two days' time. Even so, people are going to

find it difficult to get to work. But so far, the public

has expressed its gratitude to the students in letters

to the Press. Only one or two people have objected that

the students will drive too fast!

Lesson85 Never too old to learn 活到老学到老

I have just received a letter from my old school

informing me that my former head- master, Mr Regmald

Page, will be retiring next week. Pupils of the school,

old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the

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occasion. All those who have contributed towards the

gift will sign their names in a large album which will

be sent to the headmaster's home. We shall all remember

Mr Page for his patience and understanding and for the

kindly encouragement he gave us when we went so

unwillingly to school. A great many former pupils will

be attending a farewell dinner in his honour next

Thursday. It is a curious coincidence that the day

before his retirement, Mr Page will have been teaching

for a total of forty years. After he has retired, he

will devote himself to gardening. For him, this will be

an entirely new hobby. But this does not matter, for, as

he has often remarked, one is never too old to learn.

Lesson86 Out of control 失控

As the man tried to swing the speed-boat round, the

steering-wheel came away in his hands. He waved

desperately to his companion, who had been water-skiing

for the last fifteen minutes. Both men had hardly had

time to realize what was happening when they were thrown

violent1y into the sea. The speed-boat had struck a buoy,

but it continued to move very quickly across the water.

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Both men had just begun to swim towards the shore. when

they noticed with dismay that the speed-boat was moving

in a circle. It now came straight towards them at

tremendous speed. In less than a minute, it roared past

them only a few feet away. After it had passed, they

swam on as quickly as they could because they knew that

the boat would soon return. They had just had enough

time to swim out of danger when the boat again completed

a circle. On this occasion, however, it had slowed down

considerably. The petrol had nearly all been used up.

Before long, the noise dropped completely and the boat

began to drift gently across the water.

Lesson87 A perfect alibi 极好的不在犯罪现场的证据

'At the time the murder was committed, I was travelling

on the 8.0 o'clock train to London,' said the man.

'Do you always catch such an early train ?' asked the

inspector.

'Of course I do,' answered the man.' I must be at work

at 10.0 o'clock. My employer will confirm that I was

there on time.'

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' Would a later train get you to work on time ?' asked

the inspector.

' I suppose it would, but I never catch a later train.'

'At what time did you arrive at the station ?'

'At ten to eight. I bought a paper and waited for the

train.'

'And you didn't notice anything unusual ?'

' Of course not.'

'I suggest,' said the inspector, 'that you are not

telling the truth. I suggest that you did not catch the

8.0 o'clock train, but that you caught the 8.25 which

would still get you to work on time. You see, on the

morning of the murder, the 8.0 o'clock train did not run

at all. It broke down at Ferngreen station and was taken

off the line.'

Lesson88 Trapped in a mine 困在矿井里

Six men have been trapped in a mine for seventeen hours.

If they are not brought to the surface soon they may

lose their lives. However, rescue operations are proving

difficult. If explosives are used, vibrations will cause

the roof of the mine to collapse. Rescue workers are

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therefore drilling a hole on the north side of the mine.

They intend to bring the men up in a special capsule. If

there had not been a hard layer of rock beneath the soil,

they would have completed the job in a few hours. As it

is, they have been drilling for sixteen hours and they

still have a long way to go. Meanwhile, a microphone,

which was lowered into the mine two hours ago, has

enabled the men to keep in touch with the closest

relatives. Though they are running out of food and drink,

the men are cheerful and confident that they will get

out soon. They have been told that rescue operations are

progressing smoothly. If they knew how difficult it was

to drill through the hard rock, they would lose heart.

Lesson89 A slip of the tongue 口误

People will do anything to see a free show--even if it

is a bad one. When the news got round that a variety

show would be presented at our local cinema by the P.

and U. Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it. We

had to queue for hours to get in and there must have

been several hundred people present just be- fore the

show began. Unfortunately, the show was one of the

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dullest we have ever seen. Those who failed to get in

need not have felt disappointed as many of the artistes

who should have appeared did not come. The only funny

things we heard that evening came from the advertiser at

the beginning of the programme. He was obviously very

nervous and for some minutes stood awkwardly before the

microphone. As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone

burst out laughing. We all know what the poor man should

have said, but what he actually said was: 'This is the

Poo and Ee Seed Bird Company. Good ladies, evening and

gentlemen !'

lesson90 Whats for supper ？ 晚餐吃什么？

Though Brazil is one of the richest countries in the

world, much of it has not yet been developed. It was

mainly for this reason that the Brazilian government

decided to have a new city built 600 miles north-west of

Rio de Janeiro. Designed by the great architect Lucio

Costa, the new city, Brasilia, replaced Rio de Janeiro

as the capital of Brazif in 1960. Brasilia has been

carefully planned for modern living. Its wide roads,

which can take fourteen lanes of traffic, have been kept

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away from living areas. Children do not have to cross

busy streets to go to school. Housewives can visit-

shopping centres on foot, for in these specially

designed living areas, cars are unnecessary. At first,

the government had great difficulty in persuading people

to leave Rio and to settle in Brasilia. Since 1960,

however, the population has been growing all the time.

Brasilia has quickly established itself as the capital

of the country. The idea to have the capital moved so

far inland will have a great effect on the future of

Brazil.

Lesson91 Three men in a basket 三人同篮

A pilot noticed a balloon which seemed to be making for

a Royal Air Force Station nearby. He informed the

station at once, but no one there was able to explain

the mystery. The officer in the control tower was very

angry when he heard the news, because balloons can be a

great danger to aircraft. He said that someone might by

spying on the station and the pilot was ordered to keep

track of the strange object. The pilot managed to circle

the balloon for some time. He could make out three men

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in a basket under it and one of them was holding field-

glasses. When the balloon was over the station, the

pilot saw one of the men taking photographs. Soon

afterwards, the balloon began to descend and it landed

near an airfield. The police were called in, but they

could not arrest anyone, for the basket contained two

Members of Parliament and the Commanding Officer of the

station! As the Commanding Officer explained later, one

half of the station did not know what the other half was

doing !

Lesson92 Asking for trouble 自找麻烦

It must have been about two in the morning when I

returned home. I tried to wake up my wife by ringing the

door-bell, but she was fast asleep, so I got a ladder

from the shed in the garden, put it against the wall,

and began climbing towards the bedroom window. I was

almost there when a sarcastic voice below said,' I don't

think the windows need cleaning at this time of the

night.'

I looked down and nearly fell off the ladder when I saw

a policeman. I immediately regretted answering in the

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way I did, but I said, 'I enjoy cleaning windows at

night.'

'So do I,' answered the policeman in the same tone.

'Excuse my interrupting you. I hate to interrupt a man

when he's busy working, but would you mind coming with

me to the station ?'

'Well, I'd prefer to stay here,' I said. 'You see, I've

forgotten my key.'

'Your what ?' he called.

'My key,' I shouted.'

Fortunately, the shouting woke up my wife who opened the

window just as the policeman had started to climb

towards me.

Lesson93 A noble gift 崇高的礼物

One of the most famous monuments in the world, the

Statue of Liberty, was presented to the United States of

America in the nineteenth century by the people of

France. The great statue, which was designed by the

sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, took ten years to complete.

The actual figure was made of copper supported by a

metal framework which had been especially constructed by

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Eiffel. Before it could be transported to the United

States, a site had to be found for it and a pedestal had

to be built. The site chosen was an island at the

entrance of New York Harbour. By 1884, a statue which

was 151 feet tall, had been erected in Paris. The

following year, it was taken to pieces and sent to

America. By the end of October 1886, the statue had been

put together again and it was officially presented to

the American people by Bartholdi. Ever since then, the

great monument has been a symbol of liberty for the

millions of people who have passed through New York

Harbour to make their homes in America.

Lesson94 Future champions 未来的冠军

Experiments have proved that children can be instructed

in swimming at a very early age. At a special swimming

pool in Los Angeles, children become expert at holding

their breath under water even before they can walk.

Babies of two months old do not appear to be reluctant

to enter the water, It is not long before they are so

accustomed to swimming that they can pick up weights

from the floor of the pool. A game that is very popular

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with these young swimmers is the underwater tricycle

race. Tricycles are lined up on the floor of the pool

seven feet under water. The children compete against

each other to reach the other end of the pool. Many

pedal their tricycles, but most of them prefer to push

or drag them. Some children can cover the whole length

of the pool without coming up for breath even once.

Whether they will ever become future Olympic champions,

only time will tell. Meanwhile, they should encourage

those among us who cannot swim five yards before they

are gasping for air.

Lesson95 A fantasy 纯属虚构

When the Ambassador of Escalopia returned home for lunch,

his wife got a shock. He looked pale and his clothes

were in a frightful state.

'What has happened ?' she asked.

'How did your clothes get into such a mess ?'

'A fire-extinguisher, my dear,' answered the Ambassador

drily. 'University students set the Embassy on fire this

morning.'

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'Good heavens!' exclaimed his wife. 'And where were you

at the time ?'

'I was in my office as usual,' answered the Ambassador.

'The fire broke out in the basement. I went down

immediately. of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a

fire-extinguisher at me. He thought I was on fire. I

must definitely get that fellow posted.'

The Ambassador's wife went on asking questions, when she

suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband's hat. 'And

how can you explain that ?' she asked.

'Oh, that,' said the Ambassador. 'Someone fired a shot

through my office window. Accurate, don't you think ?

Fortunately, I wasn't wearing it at the time. If I had

been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.'

Lesson96 The dead return 亡灵返乡

A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan.

This festival is a cheerful occasion, for on this day,

the dead are said to return to their homes and they are

welcomed by the living. As they are expected to be

hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for

them. Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each

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house to help the dead to find their way. All night long,

people dance and sing. In the early morning, the food

that had been laid out for the dead is thrown into a

river or into the sea as it is considered unlucky for

anyone living to eat it. In towns that are near the sea,

the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the

night before, are placed into the water when the

festival is over. Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out

to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the

other world. This is a moving spectacle, for crowds of

people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting

away until they can be seen no more.

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