新概念英语第2册课文版上课讲义

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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

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in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and

has 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

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a meal and a glass of beer. In return for this, the

beggar stood on 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!

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Lesson 8 The best and the worst

最好的和最差的

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

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two minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped!' I

looked at my watch. It was true. The big clock refused

to welcome 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

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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 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.

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They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be

coming by train and most of the young

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!

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Lesson 15 Good news

佳音

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

you pay attention to our street signs. This note is

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

you cannot fail to obey it!

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

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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.'

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

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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

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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

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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？

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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

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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!

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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!

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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

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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

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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-

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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.'

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' 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!

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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.

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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.

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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

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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？

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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,

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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.

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' 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

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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

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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.

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

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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

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

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