新概念英语第2册课文

岁的女孩，

在这部剧中，

她出现时必须穿着亮红色的裙子和黑色的长袜，

去年在另外一个剧中，

她不得不穿短袜和亮色的橘黄色的裙子，假如有人问她多大年龄，她总会回答说，亲爱的，变老肯定会 非常可怕。

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 ' My dog

had taken it into the garden. He often does this.'

在我在乡村小站吃完午餐后，我找了找我的包，我把它放在了 靠在门边的椅子上，现在它不见了，当我在找的时候，小站的

老板来了，食物还满意吗< /p>

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, 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.

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

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 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 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!

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

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 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

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

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 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

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 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 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.'

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

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 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 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 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

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 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 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

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.

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 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

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