-
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
convers
ation!
’
.
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.
’
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
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 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
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 vegetab
les, 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
waite
d,
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
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 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,
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
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
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
!
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
c
an’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.’
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.
< br>’
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 under
stand 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 Birmingha
m 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
“
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 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
n
ow,’ 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 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 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 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. 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.
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