1

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?

2

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

3

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

4

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

5

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

neighbor told me about him. Everybody knows

6

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,

7

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 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

8

garden in the town!

Lesson 9 Acold welcome 冷遇

On Wednesday evening, we went to the

Town Hall. It was the last day of the year and a

large crowd of people had gathered under the

Town Hall clock. It would strike twelve in twenty

minutes' time. Fifteen minutes passed and then,

at five to twelve, the clock stopped. The big

minute hand did not move. We waited and

waited, but nothing happened. Suddenly

someone shouted, 'It's two minutes past twelve!

The clock has stopped!' I looked at my watch. It

was true. The big clock refused to welcome the

New Year. At that moment everybody began to

laugh and sing.

9

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 belonged 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

10

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 twenty pounds. To my surprise, he

gave me the money immediately. 'I have never

borrowed any money from you,' Harry said, 'so

now you canpay for my dinner!'

Lesson 12 Goodbye and good luck 再见，

一路顺风

Our neighbor, Captain Charles Alison, will

sail from Portsmouth tomorrow. We shall meet

11

him at the harbour early in the morning. He will

be in his small boat; Topsail.Tapsail 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

12

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

13

the car, I said good morning to him in French

and he replied in the samelanguage. 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.

14

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

thousand pounds 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

15

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!'

16

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.'

Lesson19 Sold out 票已售完

'The play may begin at any moment,' I

17

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 favorite sport. I often fish for

hours without catching anything. But this does

not worry me. Some fishermen are unlucky.

18

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

19

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

20

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

21

her that she could stay with us. The house has

many large rooms and there isa 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

22

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,

23

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

24

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 itagain. She was

right! It was!

Lesson27 A wet night 雨夜

Late in the afternoon, the boys put up their

25

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

26

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,

27

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.

28

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

29

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 allrun 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

30

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!

31

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.

32

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

33

light ahead. She knew she was near the shore

because the light was highup 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

34

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 amusedtoo, 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

35

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

36

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

37

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

38

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

39

was often bitterly cold. After so many years of

sunshine, Harrison got a shock. Heacted 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

40

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

41

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 seeingit ?' ' 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

42

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 wasstill 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

43

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

44

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

45

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

46

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

47

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

48

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

49

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,

50

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?

Dentistsalways ask questions when it is

impossible for you to answer. My dentist had