新概念第二冊

第二冊新概念英語 Lesson 1 A private conversation 私人談話 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did the writer complain to the people behind him? 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!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語private adj. 私人的conversation n. 談話theatre n. 劇場，戲院seat n. 座位play n. 戲loudly adv. 大聲地angry adj. 生氣的angrily adv. 生氣地attention n. 注意bear v. 容忍business n. 事rudely adv. 無禮地，粗魯地參考譯文 上星期我去看戲。我的座位很好，戲很有意思，但我卻無法欣賞。一青年男子與一青年女子坐在我的身後，大聲地說著話。我非常生氣，因為我聽不見演員在說什麼。我回過頭去怒視著那一男一女，他們卻毫不理會。最後，我忍不住了，又一次回過頭去，生氣地說：「我一個字也聽不見了！」 「不關你的事，」那男的毫不客氣地說，「這是私人間的談話！」 Lesson 2 Breakfast or lunch? 早餐還是午餐？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why was the writer"s aunt surprised? It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays. I sometimes stay in bed until lunchtime. 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!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語until prep. 直到outside adv. 外面ring v. （鈴、電話等）響aunt n. 姑，姨，嬸，舅母repeat v. 重複參考譯文 那是個星期天，而在星期天我是從來不早起的，有時我要一直躺到吃午飯的時候。上個星期天，我起得很晚。我望望窗外，外面一片昏暗。「鬼天氣！」我想，「又下雨了。」正在這時，電話鈴響了。是我姑母露西打來的。「我剛下火車，」她說，「我這就來看你。」 「但我還在吃早飯，」我說。 「你在幹什麼？」她問道。 「我正在吃早飯，」我又說了一遍。 「天啊，」她說，「你總是起得這麼晚嗎？現在已經1點鐘了！」 Lesson 3 Please send me a card 請給我寄一張明信片 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How many cards did the writer send? 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. Everyday I thought about postcards. My holidays passed quickly, but I did not send 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語send v. 寄，送postcard n. 明信片spoil v. 使索然無味，損壞museum n. 博物館public adj. 公共的friendly adj. 友好的waiter n. 服務員，招待員lend v. 借給decision n. 決定whole adj. 整個的single adj. 唯一的，單一的參考譯文 明信片總攪得我假日不得安寧。去年夏天，我去了義大利。我參觀了博物館，還去了公園。一位好客的服務員教了我幾句義大利語，之後還借給我一本書。我讀了幾行，但一個字也不懂。我每天都想著明信片的事。假期過得真快，可我還沒有給我的朋友們寄過一張明信片。到了最後一天，我作出了一項重大決定。我早早起了床，買來了37張明信片。我在房間里關了整整一天。然而竟連一張明信片也沒寫成！ Lesson 4 An exciting trip 激動人心的旅行 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why is Tim finding this trip exciting? 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 fending this trip very exciting.New words and expressions 生詞和短語exciting adj. 令人興奮的receive v. 接受，收到firm n. 商行，公司different adj. 不同的centre n. 中心abroad adv. 在國外參考譯文 我剛剛收到弟弟蒂姆的來信，他正在澳大利亞。他在那兒已經住了6個月了。蒂姆是個工程師，正在一家大公司工作，並且已經去過澳大利亞的不少地方了。他剛買了一輛澳大利亞小汽車，現在去了澳大利亞中部的小鎮艾利斯斯普林斯。他不久還將到達達爾文去，從那裡，他再飛往珀斯。我弟弟以前從未出過國，因此，他覺得這次旅行非常激動人心。 Lesson 5 No wrong numbers 無錯號之虞 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What does "No wrong numbers" mean? 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語pigeon n. 鴿子message n. 信息cover v. 越過distance n. 距離request n. 要求，請求spare part 備件service n. 業務，服務參考譯文 詹姆斯.斯科特先生在錫爾伯里有一個汽車修理部，現在他剛在平赫斯特買了另一個汽車修理部。平赫特離錫爾伯里只有5英里，但詹姆斯.斯科特先生未能為他新的汽車修理部搞到一部電話機，所以他買了只鴿子。昨天，一隻鴿子把第一封信從平赫特帶到錫爾伯里。這隻鳥只用了3分鐘就飛完了全程。到目前為止，斯科特先生從一個汽車修理部向另一個發送了大量索取備件的信件和其他緊急函件。就這樣，他開始自己的私人「電話」業務。 Lesson 6 Percy Buttons 珀西.巴頓斯 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Who is Percy Buttons? 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語beggar n. 乞丐food n. 食物pocket n. 衣服口袋call v. 拜訪，光顧參考譯文 我剛剛搬進了大橋街的一所房子。昨天一個乞丐來敲我的門，問我要一頓飯和一杯啤酒。作為回報，那乞丐頭頂地倒立起來，嘴裡還唱著歌。我給了他一頓飯。他把食物吃完，又喝了酒。然後把一塊乳酪裝進衣袋裡走了。後來，一位鄰居告訴了我他的情況。大家都認識他，他叫珀西.巴頓斯。他每月對這條街上的每戶人家光顧一次，總是請求給他一頓飯和一杯啤酒。 Lesson 7 Too late 為時太晚 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Did the detectives save the diamonds? The plane was late and detectives were waiting at the airport all morning. They were expecting a valuable parcel of diamonds 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語detective n. 偵探airport n. 機場expect v. 期待，等待valuable adj. 貴重的parcel n. 包裹diamond n. 鑽石steal v. 偷main adj. 主要的airfield n. 飛機起落的場地guard n. 警戒，守衛precious adj. 珍貴的stone n. 石子sand n. 沙子參考譯文 飛機誤點了，偵探們在機場等了整整一上午。他們正期待從南非來的一個裝著鑽石的貴重包裹。數小時以前，有人向警方報告，說有人企圖偷走這些鑽石。當飛機到達時，一些偵探等候在主樓內，另一些偵探則守候在停機坪上。有兩個人把包裹拿下飛機，進了海關。這時兩個偵探把住門口，另外兩個偵探打開了包裹。令他們吃驚的是，那珍貴的包裹裡面裝的全是石頭和沙子！ Lesson 8 The best and the worst 最好的和最差的 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why is Joe"s garden the most beautiful one in the town? 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語competition n. 比賽，競賽neat adj. 整齊的，整潔的path n. 小路，小徑wooden adj. 木頭的pool n. 水池參考譯文 喬.桑德斯擁有我們鎮上最漂亮的花園。幾乎每個人都參加每年舉辦的「最佳花園競賽」，而每次都是喬獲勝。比爾.弗里斯的花園比喬的花園大，他比喬也更為勤奮，種植的花卉和蔬菜也更多，但喬的花園更富有情趣。他修築了一條條整潔的小路，並在一個池塘上架了一座小木橋。我也喜歡花園，但我卻不願意辛勤勞動。每年的花園競賽我也參加，但總因是鎮上最劣的花園而獲得一個小獎！ Lesson 9 A cold welcome 冷遇 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What does "a cold welcome" refer to? 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語welcome n. 歡迎；v. 歡迎crowd n. 人群gather v. 聚集hand n. （表或機器的）指針shout v. 喊叫refuse v. 拒絕laugh v. 笑參考譯文 星期三的晚上，我們去了市政廳。 那是一年的最後一天，一大群人聚集在市政廳的大鐘下面。再過20分鐘，大鐘將敲響12下。15分鐘過去了，而就在11點55分時，大鐘停了。那根巨大的分針不動了。 我們等啊等啊，可情況沒有變化。突然有人喊道：「已經12點零2分了！那鍾已經停了！」我看了一下我的手錶，果真如此。那座大鐘不願意迎接新年。此時，大家已經笑了起來，同時唱起了歌。 Lesson 10 Not for jazz 不適於演奏爵士樂 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What happened to the clavichord? We have an old musical instrument. It is called a clavichord. 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語jazz n. 爵士音樂musical adj. 音樂的instrument n. 樂器clavichord n. 古鋼琴recently adv. 最近damage v. 損壞key n. 琴鍵string n. （樂器的）弦shock v. 使不悅或生氣，震驚allow v. 允許，讓touch v. 觸摸參考譯文 我家有件古樂器，被稱作古鋼琴，是1681年德國造的。我們的這架古鋼琴存放在起居室里。我們家有這件樂器已經很久了， 是我祖父在很多年以前買的。可它最近被一個客人弄壞了，因為她用它來彈奏爵士樂。她在擊琴鍵時用力過猛，損壞了兩根琴弦。我父親大為吃驚，不許我們再動它。父親的一個朋友正在修理這件樂器。 Lesson 11 One good turn deserves another 禮尚往來 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Who paid for Tony"s dinner? I was having dinner at a restaurant when Tony Steele came in. Tony 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. Tony 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," Tony said, "so now you can pay for my dinner!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語turn n. 行為，舉止deserve v. 應得到，值得lawyer n. 律師bank n. 銀行salary n. 工資immediately adv. 立刻參考譯文 我正在一家飯館吃飯，托尼.斯蒂爾走了進來。托尼曾在一家律師事務所工作，而現在正在一家銀行上班。他的薪水很高，但他卻總是向朋友借錢，並且從來不還。托尼看見了我，就走過來和我坐到一張桌子前。他從未向我借過錢。當他吃飯時，我提出向他借20英鎊。令我驚奇的是，他立刻把錢給了我。「我還從未向你借過錢，」托尼說道，「所以現在你可以替我付飯錢了！」 Lesson 12 Goodbye and good luck 再見，一路順風 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Where is Captain Alison going and how? Our neighbour, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from Portsmouth tomorrow. We"ll meet him at the harbour early in the morning. He will be in his small boat, Topsail. Topsail is a famous little boat. It has sailed across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will set out at eight o"clock, so we"ll have plenty of time. We"ll see his boat and then we"ll say goodbye 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語luck n. 運氣，幸運captain n. 船長sail v. 航行harbour n. 港口proud adj. 自豪important adj. 重要的參考譯文 我們的鄰居查爾斯.艾利森船長明天就要從朴次茅斯啟航了。明天一大早我們將在碼頭為他送行。他將乘坐他的「濤波賽」號小艇。「濤波賽」號是艘有名的小艇，它已經多次橫渡大西洋。艾利森船長將於8點鐘啟航，因此我們有充裕的時間。我們將參觀他的船，然後和他告別。他要離開兩個月，我們真為他感到自豪，他將參加一次重大的橫渡大西洋的比賽。 Lesson 13 The Greenwood Boys 綠林少年 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why will the police have a difficult time? The Greenwood Boys are a group of pop 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語group n. 小組，團體pop singer 流行歌手club n. 俱樂部performance n. 演出occasion n. 場合參考譯文 「綠林少年」是一個流行歌曲演唱團。目前他們正在全國各地巡迴演出，明天就要到達此地。他們將乘火車來，鎮上的大部分青年人將到車站迎接他們。明晚他們將在工人俱樂部演出。「綠林少年」準備在此逗留5天。在此期間，他們將演出5場。同往常一樣，警察的日子將不好過，他們將設法維持秩序。每逢這種場合，情況都是這樣。 Lesson 14 Do you speak English? 你會講英語嗎？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Did the young man speak English? 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!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語amusing adj. 好笑的，有趣的experience n. 經歷wave v. 招手lift n. 搭便車reply v. 回答language n. 語言journey n. 旅行參考譯文 去年我有過一次有趣的經歷。在離開法國南部的一個小村莊後，我繼續駛往下一個城鎮。途中，一個青年人向我招手。我把車停下，他向我提出要求搭車。他一上車，我就用法語向他問早上好，他也同樣用法語回答我。除了個別幾個單詞外，我根本不會法語。旅途中我們誰也沒講話。就要到達那個鎮時，那青年突然開了口，慢慢地說道：「你會講英語嗎？」 我很快了解到，他自己就是個英國人！ Lesson 15 Good news 佳音 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What was the good news? 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 thousand pounds a year!New words and expressions 生詞和短語secretary n. 秘書nervous adj. 精神緊張的afford v. 負擔得起weak adj. 弱的interrupt v. 插話，打斷參考譯文 秘書告訴我說哈姆斯沃斯先生要見我。我走進他的辦公室，感到非常緊張。我進去的時候，他連頭也沒抬。待我坐下後，他說生意非常不景氣。他還告訴我，公司支付不起這麼龐大的工資開支，有20個人已經離去。我知道這次該輪到我了。 「哈姆斯沃斯先生，」我無力地說。 「不要打斷我的話，」他說。 然後他微笑了一下告訴我說，我每年將得到1,000 英鎊的額外收入。 Lesson 16 A polite request 彬彬有禮的要求 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What was the polite request? 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語park v. 停放（汽車）traffic n. 交通ticket) n. 交通違規罰款單note n. 便條area n. 地段sign n. 指示牌reminder n. 提示fail v. 無視，忘記obey v. 服從參考譯文 一旦你把汽車停錯了地方，交通警很快就會發現。如果他沒給你罰單就放你走了，算你走運。然而，情況並不都是這樣，交通警有時也很客氣。有一次在瑞典度假，我發現我的車上有這樣一個字條：「先生，歡迎您光臨我們的城市。此處是『禁止停車』區。如果您對我們街上的標牌稍加註意，您在此會過得很愉快的。謹此提請注意。」如果你收到這樣的懇求，你是不會不遵照執行的！ Lesson 17 Always young 青春常駐 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why doesn"t Aunt Jennifer tell anyone how old she is? 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 asks her how old she is, she always answers, "Darling, it must be terrible to be grown up!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語appear v. 登場，扮演stage n. 舞台bright adj. 鮮艷的stocking n. （女用）長筒襪sock n. 短襪參考譯文 我的姑姑詹妮弗是位演員，她至少也有35歲了。儘管如此，她卻常在舞台上扮演小姑娘。詹妮弗很快又要參加一個新劇的演出。這一次，她將扮演一個17歲的少女。演出時她必須穿一條鮮紅色的裙子和黑色的長筒襪。去年在演另一個劇時，她不得不穿短襪和一件鮮艷的橘紅色的衣服。一旦有人問起她有多大年紀，她總是回答：「親愛的，長成大人真可怕啊！」 Lesson 18 He often does this! 他經常幹這種事！ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What had happened to the writer"s bag? After I had had lunch at a village pub, 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 landlord 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 landlord 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 in into the garden. He often does this!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語pub n. 小酒店landlord n. 店主bill n. 帳單參考譯文 我在一家鄉村小酒店吃過午飯後，就找我的提包。我曾把它放在門邊的椅子上，可這會兒不見了！當我正在尋找時，酒店老闆走了進來。 「您吃得好嗎？」他問。 「很好，謝謝。」我回答，「但我付不了帳，我的提包沒有了。」 酒店老闆笑了笑，馬上走了出去。一會兒工夫他拿著我的提包回來了，把它還給了我。 「實在抱歉，」他說，「我的狗把它弄到花園裡去了，他常幹這種事！」 Lesson 19 Sold out 票已售完 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 When will the writer see the play? "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. I went back to the ticket office at once. "Could I have those two tickets please?" I asked. "Certainly," the girl said, "but they"re for next Wednesday"s performance. Do you still want them?" "I might as well have them," I said sadly.New words and expressions 生詞和短語hurry v. 匆忙ticket office 售票處pity n. 令人遺憾的事exclaim v. 大聲說return v. 退回sadly adv. 悲哀地，喪氣地參考譯文 「劇馬上就要開演了，」我說。 「也許已經開演了呢，」蘇珊回答說。 我匆匆趕到售票處，問：「我可以買兩張票嗎？」 「對不起，票已售完。」那位姑娘說。 「真可惜！」蘇珊大聲說。 正在這時，一個男子匆匆奔向售票處。 「我可以退掉這兩張票嗎？」他問。 「當然可以，」那姑娘說。 我馬上又回到售票處。 「我可以買那兩張票嗎？」我問。 「當然可以，不過這兩張票是下星期三的，您是否還要呢？」 「我還是買下的好，」我垂頭喪氣地說。 Lesson 20 One man in a boat 獨坐孤舟 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why is fishing the writer"s favourite sport? 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語catch v. 抓到fisherman n. 釣魚人，漁民boot n. 靴子waste n. 浪費realize v. 意識到參考譯文 釣魚是我特別喜愛的一項運動。我經常一釣數小時卻一無所獲，但我從不為此煩惱。有些垂釣者就是不走運，他們往往魚釣不到，卻釣上來些舊靴子和垃圾。我的運氣甚至還不及他們。我什麼東西也未釣到過 -- 就連舊靴子也沒有。我總是在河上呆上整整一上午，然後空著袋子回家。「你可別再釣魚了！」我的朋友們說，「這是浪費時間。」然而他們沒有認識到重要的一點，我並不是真的對釣魚有興趣，我感興趣的只是獨坐孤舟，無所事事！ Lesson 21 Mad or not? 是不是瘋了 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why do people think the writer is mad? Aeroplanes are slowly driving me mad. I live near an airport and passing planes can be heard night and day. The airport was built years ago, 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語mad adj. 發瘋reason n. 原因sum n. 量determined adj. 堅定的，下決心的參考譯文 飛機正在逐漸把我逼瘋。我住在一個機場附近，過往飛機日夜不絕於耳。機場是許多年前建的，但由於某種原因當時未能啟用。然而去年機場開始使用了。有100多人肯定是被噪音逼得已經棄家遠去，我是少數留下來的人中的一個。有時我覺得這房子就要被一架飛過的飛機撞倒。他們曾向我提供一大筆錢讓我搬走，但我決定留在這兒。大家都說我肯定是瘋了，也許他們說的是對的。 Lesson 22 A glass envelope 玻璃信封 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How did Jane receive a letter from a stranger? 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 little more, but they will certainly travel faster.New words and expressions 生詞和短語dream v. 做夢，夢想age n. 年齡channel n. 海峽throw v. 扔，拋參考譯文 我的女兒簡從未想過會接到荷蘭一位同齡姑娘的來信。去年，當我們橫渡英吉利海峽時，簡把寫有她姓名和住址的一張紙條裝進了一隻瓶子，又將瓶子扔進了大海。此後她就再沒去想那隻瓶子。但10個月以後，她收到了荷蘭一位姑娘的來信。現在這兩位姑娘定期通信了。然而她們還是決定利用郵局。這樣會稍微多花點錢，但肯定是快得多了。 Lesson 23 A new house 新居 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why is the new house special? 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語complete v. 完成modern adj. 新式的，與以往不同的strange adj. 奇怪的district n. 地區參考譯文 昨天我收到了姐姐的一封信，她住在奈及利亞。在信中她說她明年將到英國來。如果她來了，她會感到非常驚奇了。我們現在住在鄉間的一棟漂亮的新住宅里。這棟房子在我姐姐離開之前就已動工了，是在5個月以前竣工的。我在信中告訴她，她可以和我們住在一起。這棟房子里有許多房間，還有一個漂亮的花園。它是一棟非常現代化的住宅，因此在有些人看來很古怪。它肯定是這個地區唯一的一棟現代化住宅。 Lesson 24 If could be worse 不幸中之萬幸 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Had the writer"s money been stolen? 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 $50. "I found this outside this gentleman"s room," she said. "Well," I said to the manager, "there is still some honesty in this world!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語manager n. 經理upset adj. 不安sympathetic adj. 表示同情的complain v. 抱怨wicked adj. 很壞的，邪惡的contain v. 包含，內裝honesty n. 誠實參考譯文 我走進飯店經理的辦公室，坐了下來。我剛剛丟了50英鎊，感到非常煩惱。「我把錢放在房間里，」我說，「可現在沒有了。」經理深表同情，但卻無能為力。「現在大家都在丟錢，」他說。他開始抱怨起這個邪惡的世道來，卻被一陣敲門聲打斷了。一個姑娘走了進來，把一個信封放在了他桌上。它裡面裝著50英鎊。「這是我在這位先生的房門外撿到的，」她說。「是啊，」我對那位經理說，「這世界上還是有誠實可言的！」 Lesson 25 Do the English speak English? 英國人講的是英語嗎？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why does the writer not understand the porter? 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 person speaks a different language. The English understand each other, but I don"t understand them! Do they speak English?New words and expressions 生詞和短語railway n. 鐵路porter n. 搬運工several quantifier 幾個foreigner n. 外國人wonder v. 感到奇怪參考譯文 我終於到了倫敦。火車站很大，又黑又暗。我不知道去飯店的路該怎麼走，於是向一個搬運工打聽。我的英語講得不但非常認真，而且咬字也非常清楚。然而搬運工卻不明白我的話。我把問話重複了很多遍。他終於聽懂了。他回答了，但他講得既不慢也不清楚。「我是個外國人，」我說。於是他說得慢了，可我還是聽不懂。我的老師從來不那樣講英語！我和搬運工相視一笑。接著，他說了點什麼，這回我聽懂了。「您會很快學會英語的！」他說。我感到奇怪。在英國，人們各自說著一種不同的語言。英國人之間相互聽得懂，可我卻不懂他們的話！他們說的是英語嗎？ Lesson 26 The best art critics 最佳藝術評論家 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Who is the student"s best critic? 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 are 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語art n. 藝術critic n. 評論家paint v. 畫pretend v. 假裝pattern n. 圖案curtain n. 窗帘，幕布material n. 材料appreciate v. 鑒賞notice v. 注意到whether conj. 是否hang v. 懸掛，吊critically adv. 批評地upside down 上下顛倒地參考譯文 我是個學藝術的學生，畫了很多畫。有很多人裝成很懂現代藝術的樣子，總是告訴你一幅畫的「意思」是什麼。當然，有很多畫是什麼「意思」也沒有的。它們就是些好看的圖案，我們喜愛它們就像我們喜歡漂亮的窗帘布一樣。我覺得小孩子們往往比任何人都更能欣賞現代繪畫，他們觀察到的東西更多。我的妹妹只有7歲，但她總能說出我的畫是好還是壞。昨天她到我房裡來了。 Lesson 27 A wet night 雨夜 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What happened to the boys in the night? 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 smelled good. After a wonderful meal, they told stories and sang songs by the campfire. But some time later it began to rain. The boys felt tired so they put 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語tent n. 帳篷field n. 田地，田野smell v. 聞起來wonderful adj. 極好的campfire n. 營火，篝火creep v. 爬行sleeping bag 睡袋comfortable adj. 舒適的，安逸的soundly adv. 香甜地leap v. 跳躍，跳起heavily adv. 大量地stream n. 小溪form v. 形成wind v. 蜿蜒right adv. 正好參考譯文 傍晚時分，孩子們在田野中央搭起了帳篷。這件事剛剛做完，他們就在篝火上燒起了飯。他們全都餓了，飯菜散發出陣陣香味。他們美美地吃了一頓飯後，就圍在營火旁講起了故事，唱起了歌。但過了一陣子。天下起雨來，於是他們撲滅了篝火，鑽進了帳篷。睡袋既暖和又舒服，所以，他們都睡得很香。午夜前後，有兩個孩子醒了，大聲叫了起來。原來帳篷里到處都是水！他們全都跳出睡袋，跑到外面。雨下得很大，他們發現地上已經形成了一條小溪。那小溪彎彎曲曲穿過田野，然後正好從他們的帳篷底下流過去。 Lesson 28 No parking 禁止停車 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What is Jasper White"s problem? 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 cars and their owners. 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 cars and their owners to stone. But none of them has been turned to stone yet!New words and expressions 生詞和短語rare adj. 罕見的ancient adj. 古代的，古老的myth n. 神話故事trouble n. 麻煩effect n. 結果，效果Medusa n. 美杜莎（古希臘神話中3位蛇發女怪這一）Gorgon n. （古希臘神話中的）3位蛇發女怪這一（凡見其貌者都會變成石頭）參考譯文 賈斯珀.懷特是少有的相信古代神話的人之一。他剛在城裡買下一所新房子，但自從搬進去後，就和汽車及車主們發生了磨擦。當他夜裡回到家時，總是發現有人把車停在他家大門外。為此，他甚至一次也沒能把自己的車開進車庫。賈斯珀曾把幾塊「禁止停車」的牌子掛在大門外邊，但沒有任何效果。現在他把一個醜陋的石雕頭像放在了大門上邊，這是我見過的最醜陋的頭像之一。我問他那是什麼？他告訴我那是蛇發女怪美杜莎。賈斯珀希望她把汽車和車主們都變成石頭。但到目前為止還沒有一個變成石頭呢！ Lesson 29 Taxi! 出租汽車 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Does Captain Fawcett think any trip is too dangerous? 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語taxi n. Pilatus Porter land v. plough v. lonely adj. Welsh adj. roof n. block n. flat n. desert v. 參考譯文 本.弗西特機長買了一輛不同尋常的出租汽車，並開始了一項新的業務。這輛「出租汽車」是一架小型瑞士飛機，叫「皮勒特斯.波特「號。這架奇妙的飛機可以載7名乘客。然而，最令人驚奇的是它能夠在任何地方降落：雪地上，水面上，甚至剛耕過的田裡。弗西特機長的第一名乘客是位醫生，他從伯明翰飛往威爾士山區一個偏僻的村莊。從那時開始，弗西特機長已經載送乘客到過許多不尋常的地方。一次，他把飛機降落在了一棟公寓樓的屋頂上；還有一次，降落在了一個廢棄的停車場上。弗西特機長剛剛拒絕了一位商人的奇怪要求。這個人想要飛往大西洋上的一個孤島 -- 羅卡爾島，弗西特機長之所以不送他去，是因為那段飛行太危險了。 Lesson 30 Football or polo? 足球還是水球？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What happened to the man in the boat? 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語polo n. 水球Wayle n. 威爾（河名）cut v. 穿過row v. 劃（船）kick v. 踢towards prep. 朝，向nearly adv. 幾乎sight n. 眼界，視域參考譯文 威爾河是橫穿過我家附近公園的一條小河。我喜歡在天氣晴朗的下午到河邊坐坐。上星期日天氣很暖和。於是我和往常一樣，又去河邊坐著。河岸上有些孩子正在玩耍，河面上有些人正在划船。突然，一個孩子狠狠地踢了一腳球，球便向著一隻划過來的小船飛去。岸上的一些人對著小船上的人高喊，但他沒有聽見。球重重地打在他身上，使他差點兒落入水中。我轉過頭去看那些孩子，但一個也不見，全都跑了！當那個人明白了發生的事情時，笑了起來。他大聲叫著那些孩子，把球扔回到岸上。 Lesson 31 Success story 成功者的故事 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What was Frank"s first job? Yesterday afternoon Frank Hawkins was telling me about his experiences as a young man. Before he retired, Frank was 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 1958 he bought a small workshop of his own. In his twenties Frank used to make spare parts for aeroplanes. At that time he had two helpers. In a few years the small workshop 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 grandson"s bicycle!New words and expressions 生詞和短語retire v. 退休company n. 公司bicycle n. 自行車save v. 積蓄workshop n. 車間helper n. 幫手，助手employ v. 僱傭grandson n. 孫子參考譯文 昨天下午弗蘭克.霍金斯向我講述了他年輕時的經歷。在退休前，弗蘭克是一家非常大的商業公司的經理，但他小時候卻在一家小鋪里做工。他那時的工作是修理自行車，並且通常是一天工作14個小時。他靠多年積蓄，於1958年買下了自己的一個小鋪子。20多歲的時候，弗蘭克曾生產飛機零配件。那時他有兩個幫手。幾年之後，小鋪子已經發展成了一個雇有728人的大工廠。弗蘭克回想著他早年的艱難經歷和走過的漫長的成功之路，微笑了。他正笑著的時候門開了，他的妻子走了進來。她叫他去修理孫子的自行車。 Lesson 32 Shopping made easy 購物變得很方便 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Who was the thief? 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語once adv. 曾經，以前temptation n. 誘惑article n. 物品，東西wrap v. 包裹simply adv. 僅僅arrest v. 逮捕參考譯文 人們不再像以前那樣誠實了。偷竊的誘惑力比以往任何時候都更強烈 -- 特別是在大的商店裡。一名偵探最近注意上了一位穿著講究的婦女，她總是在星期一上午進入一家大商場。有一個星期一，當這位婦女走進這家商場時，裡面的人比往常少，因此，偵探比較容易監視她。這位婦女先是買了幾樣小商品。過了一會兒，她又選了商場里最昂貴的一件衣服，把它遞給了售貨員。那售貨員以最快的速度為她包好了衣服。然後，那婦女拿過包就走出了商場，根本沒有付錢。她被逮捕後。偵探發現原來那售貨員是她的女兒。那姑娘每星期「送」她母親一件免費的衣服！ Lesson 33 Out of the darkness 衝出黑暗 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why was the girl in hospital? 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語darkness n. explain v. coast n. storm n. towards prep. rock n. shore n. light n. ahead adv. cliff n. struggle v. hospital n. 參考譯文 幾乎過了一個星期，那姑娘才能講述自己的遭遇。一天下午，她乘小船從海岸出發，遇上了風暴。天將黑時，小船撞在了一塊礁石上，姑娘跳進了海里。她在海里遊了整整一夜才游到岸邊。在那段時間裡，她遊了8英里。第二天凌晨，她看到前方有燈光，知道自己已經接近岸邊了，因為那燈光是在高高的峭壁上。到達岸邊後，姑娘朝著她看到的燈光方向掙扎著往峭壁上爬去。她所記得的就是這些。第二天她醒來時，發現自己躺在醫院裡。 Lesson 34 Quick work 破案「神速」 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How long had the police taken to find his bicycle? Dan Robinson has been worried all week. Last Tuesday he received a letter from the local police. In the letter he was asked to call at the station. Dan wondered why he was wanted by the police, but he went to the station yesterday and now he is not worried anymore. 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. Dan 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 Dan was a boy of fifteen!New words and expressions 生詞和短語station n. （警察）局most adv. 相當，非常參考譯文 丹.魯賓遜焦慮了整整一個星期。上星期二他收到當地警察局的一封信，要他到警察局去一趟。丹奇怪警察為什麼找他，但昨天還是去了，結果他一再擔心了。在警察局裡，一位面帶笑容的警察告訴他，他的自行車找到了。那位警察對他說，那輛自行車是5天前在400英里外的一個小村裡發現的，現在正用火車給他運回家來。丹聽到這個消息後，驚奇萬分，但又感到非常好笑，因為他從未指望那輛自行車還能找到。這是20年前丹還是一個15歲的孩子時被人偷走的！ Lesson 35 Stop thief! 捉賊！ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How did Roy stop the thieves? Roy Trenton used to drive a taxi. A short while ago, however, he became a bus driver and he has 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語while n. 一段時間regret v. 後悔far adv. 非常rush v. 沖act v. 行動straight adv. 徑直fright n. 害怕battered adj. 撞壞的shortly adv. 很快，不久afterwards adv. 以後參考譯文 羅伊.特雷頓原是開出租汽車的，然而就在前不久，他開上了公共汽車，也並不為此而感到後悔。他發覺自己的新工作令人興奮得多。最近，當他正開車在凱特福德街上行駛時，看到有兩個小偷從一家商店裡衝出來，奔向等在那裡的一輛汽車，其中一個提著一隻裝滿鈔票的提包。羅伊行動迅速，開車直衝竊賊而去。拿錢的那個小偷嚇得把提包都扔了。當那兩個小偷企圖乘車逃跑時，羅伊駕駛他的公共汽車撞在了那輛車的後尾上。當那輛被撞壞的車開走後，羅伊停下車，給警察掛了電話。小偷的車損壞嚴重，很容易辨認。沒過多久，警察就截住了那輛車，兩個小偷都被抓住了。 Lesson 36 Across the Channel 橫渡海峽 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What is Debbie going to try to do? Debbie 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. Debbie is only eleven years old and she hopes to set up a new world record. She is a strong swimmer and many people feel that she is sure to succeed. Debbie"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. Debbie intends to take short rests every two hours. She will have something to drink but she will not eat any solid food. Most of Debbie"s school friends will be waiting for her on the English coast. Among them will be Debbie"s mother, who swam the Channel herself when she was a girl.New words and expressions 生詞和短語record n. 記錄strong adj. 強壯的swimmer n. 游泳運動員succeed v. 成功train v. 訓練anxiously adv. 焦急地intend v. 打算solid adj. 固體的，硬的參考譯文 黛比.哈特準備明天橫渡英吉利海峽。她打算早上5點鐘從法國海岸出發。黛比只有11歲，她希望創一項新的世界紀錄。她是一個游泳能手，很多人認為她一定能成功。黛比的父親將乘一條小船同她一道出發。哈特先生訓練她的女兒已經多年了，明天他將焦急地注視著女兒游過這段漫長的距離到達英國。黛比計劃每兩小時休息一下。她將喝些飲料，但不吃固體食物。黛比的大部分同學將在英國海岸等候她。他們當中還會有黛比的母親，她本人還是個姑娘時，也曾橫渡過英吉利海峽！ Lesson 37 The Olympic Games 奧林匹克運動會 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 When was the last time this country hosted the Olympic Games? 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 new Olympic-standard 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 fantastic 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語Olympic adj. 奧林匹克的hold v. 召開government n. 政府immense adj. 巨大的stadium n. 露天體育場standard n. 標準capital n. 首都fantastic adj. 巨大的design v. 設計參考譯文 4年以後，奧林匹克運動會將在我們國家舉行。由於將有大批的人到我們國家來，所以政府準備建造一些新的飯店、一個大型體育場和一個新的奧運會標準游泳池。他們還將修築一些新的道路和一條鐵路專線。奧運會就在首都市郊舉辦，整個地區將被稱作「奧林匹克城」。工人們將在今年年底前把新路鋪好；到明年年底，他們將把新體育場建成。這些巨大的現代化建築是由庫爾特.岡特設計的。大家都將急切地注視著新建築的建成。我們都非常激動，盼望著奧運會的到來，因為在這個國家裡還從未舉辦過奧運會。 Lesson 38 Everything except the weather 唯獨沒有考慮到天氣 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did Harrison sell his house so quickly? 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 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語except prep. 除了Mediterranean n. 地中海complain v. 抱怨continually adv. 不斷地bitterly adv. 刺骨地sunshine n. 陽光參考譯文 我的老朋友哈里森在回到英國以前曾多年居住在地中海地區。過去他常幻想退休後到英國，並計劃在鄉間安頓下來。他剛一回到英國便買下了一幢房子住了進去。但緊接著他就開始抱怨那裡的天氣了。因為即使那時仍為夏季，但雨總是下個不停，而且常常冷得厲害。在陽光下生活了那麼多年的哈里森對此感到驚奇。他的舉動就好像他從未在英國生活過一樣。最後，他再也忍受不住，還沒等安頓下來就賣掉了房子，離開了這個國家。他多年來的幻想從此破滅。哈里森把每件事情都考慮到了，唯獨沒想到天氣。 Lesson 39 Am I all right? 我是否痊癒？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did Mr. Gilbert telephone Dr. Millington? 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 hosptial 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."New words and expressions 生詞和短語operation n. 手術successful adj. 成功的following adj. 下一個patient n. 病人alone adj. 獨自的exchange n. （電話的）交換台inquire v. 詢問，打聽certain adj. 某個caller n. 打電話的人relative n. 親戚參考譯文 當約翰.吉爾伯特住院的時候，他問醫生他的手術是否成功，但醫生拒絕告訴他。第二天，這位病人要了一部床頭電話。當房裡只剩他一個人時，他掛通了醫院的交換台，要求與米靈頓醫生講話。當這位醫生接過電話時，吉爾伯特先生說他想詢問一個病人的情況，是一位名叫約翰.吉爾伯特的先生。他問吉爾伯特先生的手術中否成功，醫生告訴他手術很成功。然後他又問吉爾伯特先生什麼時候可以回家，醫生說他在醫院還必須再住上兩個星期。之後，米靈頓醫生問打電話的人是否是病人的親屬。「不是，」病人回答說，「我就是約翰.吉爾伯特先生。」 Lesson 40 Food and talk 進餐與交談 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Was Mrs. Rumbold a good companion at dinner? 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!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語hostess n. 女主人unsmiling adj. 不笑的，嚴肅的tight adj. 緊身的fix v. 凝視globe n. 地球despair n. 絕望參考譯文 在上星期的一次宴會上，女主人安排我坐在蘭伯爾德夫人的身旁。蘭伯爾德夫人是一位身材高大、表情嚴肅的女人，穿一件緊身的黑衣服。當我在她身旁坐下來的時候，她甚至連頭都沒有抬一下。她的眼睛盯著自己的盤子，不一會兒就忙著吃起來了。我試圖找個話題和她聊聊。 「一出新劇要來『環球劇場』上演了，」我說，「您去看嗎？」 「不，」她回答。 「您今年去國外度假嗎？」我又問。 「不，」她回答。 「您就呆在英國嗎？」我問。 「不，」她回答。 失望之中我問她飯是否吃得滿意。 「年輕人，」她回答說，「如果你多吃點，少說點，我們兩個都會吃得好的！」 Lesson 41 Do you call that a hat? 你把那個叫帽子嗎？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What kind of shopping does the writer enjoy, do you think? "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 needn"t 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語rude adj. 無禮的mirror n. 鏡子hole n. 孔remark v. 評說remind v. 提醒lighthouse n. 燈塔參考譯文 「你把那個叫帽子嗎？」我對妻子說。 「你說話沒必要這樣不客氣，」我的妻子邊回答邊照著鏡子。 我坐在一個新式的滿是網眼兒的椅子上，等待著。我們在這家帽店已經呆了半個小時了，而我的妻子仍在鏡子面前。 「我們不應該買我們不需要的東西，」我突然發表意見說，但馬上又後悔說了這話。 「你沒必要這麼說，」我妻子回答說，「我也不必提醒你昨天買的那條糟糕透了的領帶。」 「我覺得它好看，」我說，「男人有多少領帶也不會嫌多。」 「女人有多少帽子也不嫌多。」她回答。 10分鐘以後，我們一道走出了商店。我妻子戴著一頂像燈塔一樣的帽子。 Lesson 42 Not very musical 並非很懂音樂 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What happened when the snake charmer began to play jazz? 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 and modern pop songs. The snake, however, continued to "dance" slowly. It obviously could not tell the difference between Indian music and jazz!New words and expressions 生詞和短語musical adj. 精通音樂的market n. 市場，集市snake charmer 玩蛇者（通常借音樂控制）pipe n. （吹奏的）管樂器tune n. 曲調glimpse n. 一瞥snake n. 蛇movement n. 動作continue v. 繼續dance v. 跳舞obviously adv. 顯然difference n. 差別Indian adj. 印度的參考譯文 當我們穿過舊德里的市場時走了很長一段路，我們在一個廣場上停下來休息。過了一會兒，我們注意到廣場的那一邊有一個帶著兩個大筐的耍蛇人，於是就走過去看看。他一見我們，就拿起了一個長長的上面鑲有硬幣的管樂器，並掀開了一個筐的蓋子。當他開始吹奏一支曲子時，我們才第一次看到那條蛇。它從筐里探出身子，隨著樂器的擺動而扭動。當耍蛇人突然又吹奏起爵士樂和現代流行樂曲時，我們感到非常驚奇。然而那蛇卻還是緩慢地「舞動」著。顯然，它分辨不出印度音樂和爵士樂！ Lesson 43 Over the South Pole 飛越南極 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How was the plane able to clear the mountains? 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. New words and expressions 生詞和短語pole n. （地球的）極flight n. 飛行explorer n. 探險家lie v. 處於serious adj. 嚴重的point n. 地點seem v. 似乎crash v. 墜毀sack n. 袋子clear v. 越過aircraft n. 飛機endless adj. 無盡的plain n. 平原參考譯文 美國探險家 R.E. 伯德在飛越北極3年之後，於1929年第一次飛越了南極。雖然開始時伯德和他的助手們拍下了飛機下面連綿群山的大量照片，但他們很快就陷入了困境。在有個地方，飛機似乎肯定要墜毀了。只有在飛至10,000英尺的高度時，它才能飛過這些山頭。伯德馬上命令他的助手們把兩個沉重的食物袋扔掉，於是飛機可以上升了，它在離山頭400英尺的高度飛越了過去。伯德這時知道他能夠順利飛抵300英里以外的南極了，因為前面再沒有山了。飛機可以毫無困難地飛過這片茫茫無際的白色原野！ Lesson 44 Through the forest 穿過森林 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How did Mrs. Sterling get her bag back? 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."New words and expressions 生詞和短語forest n. 森林risk n. 危險，冒險picnic n. 野餐edge n. 邊緣strap n. 帶，皮帶possession n. 所有breath n. 呼吸contents n. （常用複數）內有的物品mend v. 修理參考譯文 安.斯特林夫人在穿過森林追趕兩個男人時，她並沒有考慮到所冒的風險。剛才，當她和孩子們正在森林邊上野餐的時候，這兩個人衝到她跟前，企圖搶走她的手提包。在爭搶中，手提包的帶斷了，包落入這兩個人手裡，他們拔腿跑進了樹林。斯特林夫人非常氣憤，向著他們追了過去。只追了一會兒便上氣不接下氣了，但她還是繼續追趕。當她趕上他們時，發現他們已經坐了下來，正翻著包里的東西。於是她直衝過去。這兩個人嚇了一跳，扔下提包逃跑了。「這提包帶需要修理，」斯特林夫人事後說道，「不過他們什麼也沒偷走。」 Lesson 45 A clear conscience 問心無愧 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How did Sam get his money back? 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 50 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!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語clear adj. 無罪的，不虧心的conscience n. 良心，道德心wallet n. 皮夾，錢夾savings n. 存款villager n. 村民per cent 百分之......參考譯文 整個村子很快知道，有一大筆錢丟失了。當地的屠戶薩姆.本頓在把存款送往郵局的途中把錢包丟了。薩姆確信那錢包一定是被某個村民撿到了，可是卻不見有人來送還給他。3個月過去了，後來在一天早晨，薩姆在自己的大門外發現了他的錢包。錢包是用報紙包著的，裡面有他丟失的錢的一半，而且還附著一張紙條，上面寫著：「一個小偷，是的，但只是一個50%的小偷！」又過了兩個月，又有一些錢送還給了薩姆，又附了一張字條：「這回只是25%的小偷了！」很快，薩姆全部的錢都用同樣的方式還了回來。最後的那張字條上寫道：「我現在是一個100%的誠實人了！」 Lesson 46 Expensive and uncomfortable 既昂貴又受罪 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What did the man in this story do? 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 woolen 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 eighteen hours. The man was ordered to pay $3,500 for the cost of the trip. The normal price of a ticket is $2,000!New words and expressions 生詞和短語unload v. 卸（貨）wooden adj. 木製的extremely adv. 非常，極其occur v. 發生astonish v. 使驚訝pile n. 堆woollen n. 羊毛的goods n. （常用複數）貨物，商品discover v. 發現admit v. 承認confine v. 關在（一個狹小的空間里）normal adj. 正常的，通常的參考譯文 當一架來自倫敦的飛機抵達悉尼機場時，工人們開始卸下裝有服裝的一批木箱。其中有隻箱子特別重，可誰也弄不清是怎麼回事。突然一個工人想到打開箱子看看。看到的情景使吃驚，箱內有一個人正躺在一堆毛織品之上。他由於被人發現而感到非常吃驚，甚至都沒有企圖逃跑。此人被逮捕後，承認他是在飛機離開倫敦前躲進箱里的。他經歷了一次漫長而又難受的旅程，因為他在那木箱里悶了18個多小時。此人被責令交付旅費3,500英鎊，而正常票價是2,000英鎊！ Lesson 47 A thirsty ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What evidence is there of a ghost? 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 pub even if he gives it away.New words and expressions 生詞和短語thirsty adj. 貪杯的ghost n. 鬼魂haunt v. （鬼）來訪，鬧鬼block v. 堵furniture n. 傢具whisky n. 威士忌酒suggest v. 暗示shake v. 搖動accept v. 接受參考譯文 伊恩.湯普森先生最近才買的一個小酒店現在又要賣出去。湯普森先生之所以想賣它，是因為那裡常鬧鬼。他告訴我有天夜裡他怎麼也睡不著，因為他聽到酒吧里傳來一陣奇怪的響聲。第二天早上，他發現酒吧間的門被椅子堵上了，傢具也被挪動過。雖然湯普森臨睡覺時把燈關了，但早晨燈卻都亮著。他還說他發現了5隻空的威士忌瓶子，肯定是鬼魂昨天晚上喝的。當我暗示說一定是村裡有些人來喝不花錢的酒時，湯普森先生搖了搖頭。村裡的人已經告訴他，即使他把小酒店白送人，他們也不要。 Lesson 48 Did you want to tell me something? 你想對我說什麼嗎？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did the writer become very worried? 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 match boxes 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語pull v. 拔cotton wool 藥棉collect v. 搜集collection n. 收藏品，收集品nod v. 點頭meanwhile adv. 同時參考譯文 牙科醫生們總是在你無法作出回答的時候向你提出問題。我的牙科醫生剛剛給我拔掉了一顆牙，叫我休息一會兒。我想說點什麼，但我嘴裡塞滿了藥棉。他知道我收集火柴盒，於是問我收藏的米柴盒是否在增加。接著他又問我的兄弟近來如何，問我是否喜歡倫敦的新工作。作為對這些問題的回答，我不是點頭，就是發出奇怪的聲音。與此同時，我的舌頭正在忙著尋找剛拔掉的那顆牙的傷口。我突然非常著急起來，但卻什麼也說不出來。當那位牙醫最後將藥棉從我嘴中取出時，我總算有可能告訴他，他拔錯了牙。 Lesson 49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How did the dream end? 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語tired adj. 厭煩的real adj. 真正的owner n. 主人spring n. 彈簧mattress n. 床墊gust n. 一陣風sweep v. 掃，刮courtyard n. 院子smash v. 碰碎，摔碎miraculously adv. 奇蹟般地unhurt adj. 沒有受傷的glance v. 掃視promptly adv. 迅速地參考譯文 德黑蘭的一個人年輕人由於對睡地板感到厭倦，於是積蓄多年買了一張真正的床。他平生第一次自豪地擁有了一張既有彈簧又帶床墊的床。由於天氣很熱，他便把床搬到了他的屋頂上。頭兩天晚上，他睡得非常好。但第三天晚上起了風暴。一陣大風把床從屋頂上颳了下來，把它摔碎在下面的院子里。那年輕人直到床撞到地上才醒了過來。儘管床摔成了碎片，但年輕人卻奇蹟地沒有受傷。他醒來時，仍然躺在床墊上。年輕人看了一眼周圍的碎木片和碎金屬片，傷心地撿起了床墊，把它拿進了屋。他把床墊往地板上一放，很快又睡著了。 Lesson 50 Taken for a ride 乘車兜風 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did the writer not get off the bus at Woodford Green? 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"re going back now," said the conductor. "Well, in that case, I prefer to stay on the bus," I answered.New words and expressions 生詞和短語ride n. 旅行excursion n. 遠足conductor n. 售票員view n. 景色參考譯文 我喜歡在鄉間旅行，但卻不願意迷路。最近我作了一次短途旅行，但這次旅行所花費的時間比我預計的要長。 「我要去伍德福德草地，」我一上車就對售票員說，「但我不知道它在那兒。」 「我來告訴您在哪兒下車，」售票員回答說。 我坐在汽車的前部，以便飽覽農村風光。過了一些時候，車停了。我環視了一下身旁，驚奇地發現車裡就只剩我一個乘客了。 「您得在這裡下車，」售票員說，「我們的車就到此為止了。」 「這裡是伍德福德草地嗎？」我問道。 「哎呀，」售票員突然說，「我忘了讓您下車了。」 「沒關係，」我說，「我就在這兒下吧。」 「我們現在要返回去，」售票員說。 「好吧，既然如此，我還是留在車上吧。」我回答說。 Lesson 51 Reward for virtue 對美德的獎賞 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did Hugh"s diet not work? My friend, Hugh, 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 Hugh 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 Hugh 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!New words and expressions 生詞和短語reward n. 報償virtue n. 美德diet n. 節食forbid v. 禁止hurriedly adv. 匆忙地embarrass v. 使尷尬guiltily adv. 內疚地strict adj. 嚴格的reward v. 給獎賞occasionally adv. 偶爾地參考譯文 我的朋友休一直很胖，但是近來情況變得越發糟糕，以致他決定節食。他是一星期前開始節食的。首先，他開列了一張長長的單子，上面列了所有禁吃的食物。這張單子上的大多數食物都是休喜歡吃的：黃油、土豆、米飯、啤酒、牛奶、巧克力和糖果。昨天我去看望了他。我按響了門鈴，當看到休仍和往常一樣胖時，我並不感到驚奇。他把我領進屋，慌忙把一個大包藏到了桌子下面。顯然他感到很尷尬。當我問他正幹什麼時，他內疚地笑了，然後把那個大包拿到了桌上。他解釋說，他的飲食控制得太嚴格了，以致不得不偶爾獎賞自己一下。接著他給我看了包里的東西。裡面裝了5大塊巧克力和3袋糖果！ Lesson 52 A pretty carpet 漂亮的地毯 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What is the writer"s carpet made of? 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!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語temporarily adv. 暫時地inch n. 英寸（度量單位）space n. 空間actually adv. 實際上參考譯文 我們剛剛搬進一所新房子，我辛辛苦苦地幹了整整一個上午。我試圖把我的新房間收拾整齊，但這並不容易，因為我有1,000多本書。更糟糕的是房間還非常小，所以我暫時把書放在了地板上。這會兒，書把地板的每一點空隙都佔據了，我實際上是踩著這些書進出房間的。幾分鐘前，我妹妹幫我把一個舊書櫥抬上了樓。她走進我的房間，當她看到地板上的那些書時，大吃一驚。「這是我見過的最漂亮的地毯，」她說。她盯著「地毯」看了一會兒，又說：「你根本用不著書櫥，空閑時你可以坐在這兒讀地毯！」 Lesson 53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What caused the fire? 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 fires 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 firemen 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語hot adj. 帶電的，充電的fireman n. 消防隊員cause v. 引起； n. 原因examine v. 檢查accidentally adv. 意外地，偶然地remains n. 屍體，殘骸wire n. 電線volt n. 伏特（電壓單位）power line 電力線solve v. 解決mystery n. 謎snatch v. 抓住spark n. 電火花參考譯文 消防隊員們終於撲滅了加利福尼亞的一場森林大火。從那時起，他們一直試圖找出起火的原因。森林火災時常由破碎的玻璃或人們隨手扔掉的香煙頭引起。昨天，消防隊員仔細查看了地面，但未能發現碎玻璃。他們還十分肯定火災也不是由煙頭引起的。然而今天上午，一個消防隊員偶然發現了起火的原因。他發現了纏繞在16,000伏高壓線上的一條死蛇。就這樣，他解開了起火之謎。解釋很簡單，卻異乎尋常。一隻鳥把蛇從地上抓起來，然後把它扔到了電線上。於是蛇就纏住了幾根電線。當它這樣做時，把火花送到了地面，這些火花立刻引起了一場大火。 Lesson 54 Sticky fingers 粘糊的手指 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What two interruptions did the writer have? After breakfast, I sent the children to school and then I went to the shops. 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 meat pies. 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 Helen 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 doorknobs. I had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead. This time it was the postman and he wanted me to sign for a registered letter!New words and expressions 生詞和短語sticky adj. 粘的finger n. 手指pie n. 餡餅mix v. 混合，拌和pastry n. 麵糊annoying adj. 惱人的receiver n. 電話的話筒dismay v. 失望，泄氣recognize v. 認出，聽出persuade v. 說服，勸說mess n. 亂七八糟doorknob n. 門把手sign v. 簽字register v. 挂號郵寄參考譯文 早飯後，我送孩子們上學，然後就去了商店。我回到家時，時間還早。孩子們在上學，我丈夫在上班，家裡清靜得很。於是我決定做些肉餡餅。不一會兒我就忙著調拌起了黃油和麵粉，很快我的手上就沾滿了粘粘的麵糊。恰恰在此時，電話鈴響了。沒有什麼能比這更煩人了。我用兩個沾滿麵糊的手指捏起了話筒。當聽出是海倫.貝茨的聲音時，非常喪氣。我用了10分鐘的時間才說服她過會兒再來電話。我終於掛上了話筒。真是糟糕透了！我的手指上、電話機上以及門的把手上，都沾上了麵糊。我剛回到廚房，門鈴又響了起來，響聲足以把死人喚醒。這次是郵遞員，他要我簽收一封挂號信！ Lesson 55 Not a gold mine 並非金礦 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What did the team find? 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 feel 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語gold n. 金子mine n. 礦treasure n. 財寶revealer n. 探測器invent v. 發明detect v. 探測bury v. 埋藏cave n. 山洞seashore n. 海岸pirate n. 海盜arm v. 武裝soil n. 泥土entrance n. 入口finally adv. 最後worthless adj. 毫無價值的thoroughly adv. 徹底地trunk n. 行李箱confident adj. 有信心的value n. 價值參考譯文 最近，找到失蹤寶藏的夢想差一點兒變成現實。一種叫「探寶器」的新機器已經發明出來，並被人們用來探測地下埋藏的金子。在靠近海邊的一個據說過去海盜常在裡面藏金子的岩洞里，這種機器被派上了用場。海盜們過去常把金子埋藏在那個洞里，可後來卻沒能取走。一支用這種新機器裝備起來的探寶隊進入了這個岩洞，希望找到埋藏著的金子。當這個隊的隊長正在檢查洞口附近的土壤時，那台機器顯示出它的下面埋有金子。隊員們異常激動，就地挖了一個兩英尺深的坑，但最後找到的是一枚幾乎一錢不值的小金幣。隊員們接著又把整個洞徹底搜尋了一遍，但除了一隻空鐵皮箱外什麼也沒找到。儘管如此，很多人仍然相信「探寶器」很快就會探出值錢的東西來。 Lesson 56 Faster than sound! 比聲音還快！ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How fast did the winning car go? 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.New words and expressions 生詞和短語sound n. 聲音excitement n. 激動，興奮handsome adj. 漂亮的；美觀的Rolls-Royce 羅爾斯--羅伊斯Benz n. 賓士wheel n. 輪子explosion n. 爆炸，轟響course n. 跑道；行程rival n. 對手speed v. 疾駛downhill adv. 下坡參考譯文 舊式汽車的比賽每年舉行一次。去年有很多汽車參加了這項比賽。比賽開始之前，人們異常激動。最漂亮的汽車之一是羅爾斯--羅伊斯生產的銀鬼汽車，而最不尋常的一輛則要屬只有3隻輪子的賓士牌汽車了。該車造於1885年，是參賽車中最老的一輛。在好一陣喧鬧的爆炸聲之後，比賽開始了。很多汽車在途中就拋了錨，而有些駕駛員花在汽車底下的時間比坐在汽車裡面的時間還長。然而還是有幾輛汽車跑完了全程。獲勝的那輛車達到了時速40英里--遠遠超過任何對手。它在接近終點時，衝下了山坡，駕駛員費了好大勁才把車停下來。這次比賽使每個人都挺開心。它雖然與現代汽車比賽大不相同，但激動人心的程度並不亞於現代化汽車大賽。 Lesson 57 Can I help you, madam? 您要買什麼，夫人？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Did the woman get what she wanted? A woman in jeans stood at the window of an expensive shop. Though she hesitated for a moment, she finally went in and asked to see a dress that was in the window. The assistant who served her did not like the way she was dressed. Glancing at her scornfully, he told her that the dress was sold. The woman walked out of the shop angrily and decided to punish the assistant next day. She returned to the shop the following morning dressed in a fur coat, with a handbag in one hand and a long umbrella in the other. After seeking out the rude assistant, she asked for the same dress. Not realizing who she was, the assistant was eager to serve her this time. With great difficulty, he climbed into the shop window to get the dress. As soon as she saw it, the woman said she did not like it. She enjoyed herself making the assistant bring almost everything in the window before finally buying the dress she had first asked for.New words and expressions 生詞和短語madam n. （對婦女的尊稱）太太，夫人jeans n. 牛仔褲hesitate v. 猶豫，遲緩serve v. 接待（顧客）scornfully adv. 輕蔑地punish v. 懲罰fur n. 裘皮eager adj. 熱切的，熱情的參考譯文 一位穿著牛仔褲的婦女站在一家高檔商店的櫥窗前。她雖然猶豫了片刻，但終於還是走進了商店，要求把陳列在櫥窗里的一件衣服拿給她看。接待她的售貨員不喜歡她的那副打扮，輕蔑地看了她一眼後，便告訴她那件衣服已經賣出去了。這位婦女怒氣沖沖地走出了商店，決定第二天教訓一下那個售貨員。第二天上午，她又來到這家商店，穿了一件裘皮大衣，一隻手拎著一隻手提包，另一隻手拿著一把長柄傘。找到那個無禮的售貨員後，她還要看昨天的那件衣服。那個售貨員沒有認出她是誰，這一回接待她的態度非常殷勤。費了好大勁兒，他爬進櫥窗去取那件衣服。這位婦女對那件衣服只看一眼，就說不喜歡。她開心地迫使那位售貨員把櫥窗里幾乎所有的東西都拿了出來，最後才買下了她最先要看的那一件。 Lesson 58 A blessing in disguise? 是因禍得福嗎？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why does the vicar refuse to cut down the tree? The tiny village of Frinley is said to possess a "cursed tree". Because the tree was mentioned in a newspaper, the number of visitors to Frinley has now increased. The tree was planted near the church fifty years ago, but it is only in recent years that it has gained an evil reputation. It is said that if anyone touches the tree, he will have bad luck; if he picks a leaf, he will die. Many villagers believe that the tree has already claimed a number of victims. The vicar has been asked to have the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has pointed out that the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has pointed out that the tree is a useful source of income, as tourists have been coming from all parts of the country to see it. In spite of all that has been said, the tourists have been picking leaves and cutting their names on the tree-trunk. So far, not one of them has been struck down by sudden death!New words and expressions 生詞和短語blessing n. 福分，福氣disguise n. 偽裝tiny adj. 極小的possess v. 擁有cursed adj. 可恨的increase v. 增加plant v. 種植church n. 教堂evil adj. 壞的reputation n. 名聲claim v. 以......為其後果victim n. 受害者，犧牲品vicar n. 教區牧師source n. 來源income n. 收入trunk n. 樹榦參考譯文 據說弗林利這個小村裡有一棵「該詛咒的樹」。就因為報上提到過這棵樹，所以現在來弗林利參觀的人越來越多。該樹是50年前栽在教堂附近的，但只是近幾年才得到了一個壞名聲。據說，誰要是觸摸了這棵樹，誰就會交上惡運；如果誰摘了一片樹葉，誰就會死去。很多村民相信此樹已經害了不少人。人們曾請求教區的牧師叫人把樹砍掉，但他直到現在也沒有同意。他指出，由於人們從全國各地紛紛前來參觀這棵樹，它成了一個有用的財源。儘管有上述種種說法，但遊客們還是照常摘樹葉和把他們的名字刻在樹榦上。然而到目前為止，還沒有一個人暴死呢！ Lesson 59 In or out? 進來還是出去？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did Rex run away? Our dog, Rex, used to sit outside our front gate and dark. Every time he wanted to come into the garden he would bark until someone opened the gate. As the neighbours complained of the noise, my husband spent weeks training him to press his paw on the latch to let himself in. Rex soon became an expert at opening the gate. However, when I was going out shopping last week, I noticed him in the garden near the gate. This time he was barking so that someone would let him out! Since then, he has developed another bad habit. As soon as he opens the gate from the outside, he comes into the garden and waits until the gate shuts. Then he sits and barks until someone lets him out. After this he immediately lets himself in and begins barking again. Yesterday my husband removed the gate and Rex got so annoyed we have not seen him since.New words and expressions 生詞和短語bark v. 狗叫press v. 按，壓paw n. 腳爪latch n. 門閂expert n. 專家develop v. 養成habit n. 習慣remove v. 拆掉，取下參考譯文 我家的狗雷克斯，過去常坐在大門外面叫。每當它想到花園裡來時，便汪汪叫個不停，直到有人把門打開。由於鄰居們對狗叫很有意見，所以我丈夫花了幾個星期的時間訓練它用腳爪按住門閂把自己放進來。雷克斯很快成了開門的專家。然而上星期我正要出去買東西時，發現它正呆在花園裡邊靠門的地方。這次它叫著讓人把它放出去！從那以後，它養成了另外一種壞習慣。它從外面把門一打開，就走進花園，等著門自動關上。這之後他就坐下汪汪叫起來，直到有人來把它放出去。出去之後，它又馬上把自己放進來，接著再開始叫。昨天，我丈夫把門卸了下來，雷克斯很生氣，此後我們便再也沒有見到它。 Lesson 60 The future 卜算未來 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Does what Madam Bellinsky said come true? At a village fair, I decided to visit a fortune-teller called Madam Bellinsky. I went into her tent and she told me to sit down. After I had given her some money, she looked into a crystal ball and said: "A relation of yours is coming to see you. She will be arriving this evening and intends to stay for a few days. The moment you leave this tent, you will get a big surprise. A woman you know well will rush towards you. She will speak to you and then she will lead you away from this place. That is all." As soon as I went outside, I forgot all about Madam Bellinsky because my wife hurried towards me. "Where have you been hiding?" she asked impatiently. "Your sister will be here in less than an hour and we must be at the station to meet her. We are late already." As she walked away, I followed her out of the fair.New words and expressions 生詞和短語future n. 未來，前途fair n. 集市fortune-teller n. 算命人crystal n. 水晶relation n. 親屬impatiently adv. 不耐煩地參考譯文 在一個鄉村集市上，我決定去拜訪一位稱作別林斯夫人的算命人。我走進她的帳篷，她叫我坐下。我給了她一些錢後，她便查看著一個水晶球說道：「您的一個親戚就要來看您了。她將於今天傍晚到達，並準備住上幾天。您一走出這個帳篷，就會大吃一驚。一位您很熟悉的女人將向您衝來。她會對您說點什麼，然後帶您離開這個地方。就是這些。」 我一走出帳篷，就把別林斯基夫人給算卦的事忘得一乾二淨了，因為我的妻子正匆匆向我跑來。「你躲到哪兒去了？」她不耐煩地問，「再有不到一個小時你姐姐就要到這兒了，我們得去車站接她。現在就已經晚了。」當她走開時，我也跟著她出了集市。 Lesson 61 Trouble with the Hubble 哈勃望遠鏡的困境 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What is the special importance of a telescope in space? The Hubble telescope was launched into space by NASA on April 20,1990 at a cost of over a billion dollars. Right from the start there was trouble with the Hubble. The pictures it sent us were very disappointing because its main mirror was faulty! NASA is now going to put the telescope right, so it will soon be sending up four astronauts to repair it. The shuttle Endeavour will be taking the astronauts to the Hubble. A robot-arm from the Endeavour will grab the telescope and hold it while the astronauts make the necessary repairs. Of course, the Hubble is above the earth"s atmosphere, so it will soon be sending us the clearest pictures of the stars and distant galaxies that we have ever seen. The Hubble will tell us a great deal about the age and size of the universe. By the time you read this, the Hubble"s eagle eye will have sent us thousands and thousands of wonderful pictures.New words and expressions 生詞和短語Hubble n. 哈勃telescope n. 望遠鏡launch v. 發射space n. 空間NASA n.(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) 國家航空和航天局billion n. 10億faulty adj. 有錯誤的astronaut n. 宇航員shuttle n. 太空梭Endeavour n. 「奮進」號robot-arm n. 機器手grab v. 抓atmosphere n. 大氣層distant adj. 遙遠的galaxy n. 星系universe n. 宇宙eagle eye 鷹眼參考譯文 哈勃望遠鏡於1990年4月20日由國家航空航天局發射升空，耗資10多億美元。從最開始哈勃望遠鏡就有問題。它傳送給我們的圖像很令人失望，因為它的主要鏡子有誤差。國家航天局準備糾正這一錯誤，為此將把4名宇航員送入太空修復望遠鏡。「奮進」號太空梭將把宇航員送上哈勃。當宇航員進行必要的修復工作時，「奮進」號上的一隻機器手將抓住望遠鏡並托住它。當然，哈勃位於地球的大氣層之外，因此，它很快就會給我們傳送我們所見到過的、有關行星和遠距離星系的最清晰的照片。哈勃將告訴我們有關宇宙的年齡和大小的許多事情。等到你讀到這篇文章時，敏銳的哈勃望遠鏡已經為我們送來了成千上萬張精彩的照片。 Lesson 62 After the fire 大火之後 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What was the danger to the villages after the fire? Firemen had been fighting the forest for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well. When the fire had at last been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes. The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.New words and expressions 生詞和短語control n. 控制smoke n. 煙desolate adj. 荒涼的threaten v. 威脅surrounding adj. 周圍的destruction n. 破壞，毀滅flood n. 洪水，水災authority n. （常用複數）當局grass-seed n. 草籽spray v. 噴撒quantity n. 量root n. 根century n. 世紀patch n. 小片blacken v. 變黑，發暗參考譯文 消防隊員們同那場森林大火搏鬥了將近3個星期才最後把火勢控制住。就在不久之前，參天大樹還覆蓋著方圓數英里的土地。而現在，發熱的地面上仍然升騰著煙霧，瀰漫在荒涼的山丘上。冬季即將來臨，這些山丘對周圍的村莊具有毀滅性的威脅，因為大雨不僅會沖走土壤，而且還會引起嚴重的水災。在大火最後被撲滅後，森林管理當局訂購了好幾噸一種生長迅速的特殊類型的草籽。飛機把這種草籽大量地撒播在地上。飛機撒播近一個月後，開始下起雨來。然而到那時，很多地方的草已經生了根。一片片的綠草開始出現在這片燒焦的土地上，代替了多少世紀以來一直生長在那裡的參天大樹。 Lesson 63 She was not amused 她並不覺得好笑 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did Jenny want to leave the wedding reception? Jeremy Hampden has a large circle of friends and if very popular at parties. Everybody admires him for his great sense of humour -- everybody, that is, except his six-year-old daughter, Jenny. Recently, one of Jeremy"s closest friends asked him to make a speech at a wedding reception. This is the sort of thing that Jeremy loves. He prepared the speech carefully and went to the wedding with Jenny. he had included a large number of funny stories in the speech and, of course, it was a great success. As soon as he had finished, Jenny told him she wanted to go home. Jeremy was a little disappointed by this but he did as his daughter asked. On the way home, he asked Jenny if she had enjoyed the speech. To his surprise, she said she hadn"t. Jeremy asked her why this was so and she told him that she did not like to see so many people laughing at him!New words and expressions 生詞和短語circle n. 圈子admire v. 讚美，欽佩close adj. 親密的wedding n. 婚禮reception n. 招待會sort n. 種類參考譯文 傑里米.漢普登交際甚廣，是各種聚會上深受大家歡迎的人。人人都欽佩他那絕妙的幽默感 -- 人人，就是說，除他6歲的女兒珍妮之外的每一個人。最近，傑里米的一個最親密的朋友請他在一個婚禮上祝詞。這正是傑里米喜歡做的事情。他認真準備了講稿，帶著珍妮一道去參加了婚禮。他的祝詞裡面加進了大量逗人的故事，自然大獲成功。他剛一講完，珍妮就對他說她要回家。這不免使傑里米有點掃興，但他還是按照女兒的要求做了。在回家的路上，他問珍妮是否喜歡他的祝詞。使他吃驚的是，她說她不喜歡。傑里米問他為何不喜歡，她說她不願意看到那麼多的人嘲笑他！ Lesson 64 The Channel Tunnel 海峽隧道 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why was the first tunnel not completed? In 1858, a French engineer, Aime Thome de Gamond, arrived in England with a plan for a twenty-one-mile tunnel under the English Channel. He said that it would be possible to build a platform in the centre of the Channel. This platform would serve as a port and a railway station. The tunnel would be well-ventilated if tall chimneys were built above sea level. In 1860, a better plan was put forward by an Englishman, William Low. He suggested that a double railway-tunnel should be built. This would solve the problem of ventilation, for if a train entered this tunnel, it would draw in fresh air behind it. Forty-two years later a tunnel was actually begun. If, at the time, the British had not feared invasion, it would have been completed. The world had to wait almost another 100 years for the Channel Tunnel. It was officially opened on March 7,1994, finally connecting Britain to the European continent.New words and expressions 生詞和短語tunnel n. 隧道port n. 港口ventilate v. 通風chimney n. 煙囪sea level 海平面double adj. 雙的ventilation n. 通風fear v. 害怕invasion n. 入侵，侵略officially adv. 正式地connect v. 連接European adj. 歐洲的continent n. 大陸參考譯文 1858年，一位名叫埃梅.托梅.德.干蒙的法國工程師帶著建造一條長21英里、穿越英吉利海陝的隧道計划到了英國。他說，可以在隧道中央建造一座平台，這座平台將用作碼頭和火車站。如果再建些伸出海面的高大的煙囪狀通風管，隧道就具備了良好的通風條件。1860年，一位名叫威廉.洛的英國人提出了一項更好的計劃。他提議建一條雙軌隧道，這樣就解決了通風問題。因為如果有列火車開進隧道，它就把新鮮空氣隨之抽進了隧道。42年以後，隧道實際已經開始建了。如果不是因為那時英國人害怕入侵，隧道早已建成了。世界不得不再等將近100年才看到海峽隧道竣工。它於1994年3月7日正式開通，將英國與歐洲大陸連到了一起。 Lesson 65 Jumbo versus the police 小象對警察 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did the police have to push Jumbo off the main street? Last Christmas, the circus owner, Jimmy Gates, decided to take some presents to a children"s hospital. Dressed up as Father Christmas and accompanied by a "guard of honour" of six pretty girls, he set off down the main street of the city riding a baby elephant called Jumbo. He should have known that the police would never allow this sort of thing. A policeman approached Jimmy and told him he ought to have gone along a side street as Jumbo was holding up the traffic. Though Jimmy agreed to go at once, Jumbo refused to move. Fifteen policemen had to push very hard to get him off the main street. The police had a difficult time, but they were most amused. "Jumbo must weigh a few tons," said a policeman afterwards, "so it was fortunate that we didn"t have to carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, but as he has a good record, we shall let him off this time."New words and expressions 生詞和短語versus prep. Christmas n. circus n. present n. accompany v. approach v. ought modal verb. weigh v. fortunate adj. 參考譯文 去年聖誕節，馬戲團老闆吉米.蓋茨決定送些禮物給兒童醫院。他打扮成聖誕老人，在由6個漂亮姑娘組成的「儀仗隊」的陪同下，騎上一頭名叫江伯的小象，沿著城裡的主要街道出發了。他本該知道警察絕不會允許這類事情發生。一個警察走過來告訴吉米，他應該走一條小路，因為江泊阻礙了交通。雖然吉米同意馬上就走，但江伯卻拒絕移動。15個警察不得不用很大的力氣把它推離主要街道。警察雖然吃了苦頭，但他們還是感到很有趣。「江伯一定有好幾噸重，」一個警察事後這樣說，「值得慶幸的是它沒讓我們抬它走。當然，我們應該逮捕它，但由於它一貫表現很好，這次我們饒了它。」 Lesson 66 Sweet as honey! 像蜜一樣甜！ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What was "sweet as honey" and why? In 1963 a Lancaster bomber crashed on Wallis Island, a remote place in the South Pacific, a long way west of Samoa. The plane wasn"t too badly damaged, but over the years, the crash was forgotten and the wreck remained undisturbed. Then in 1989, twenty-six years after the crash, the plane was accidentally rediscovered in an aerial survey of the island. By this time, a Lancaster bomber in reasonable condition was rare and worth rescuing. The French authorities had the plane packaged and moved in parts back to France. Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. It has four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, but the group will need to have only three of them rebuilt. Imagine their surprise and delight when they broke open the packing cases and found that the fourth engine was sweet as honey -- still in perfect condition. A colony of bees had turned the engine into a hive and it was totally preserved in beeswax!New words and expressions 生詞和短語Lancaster n. 蘭開斯特bomber n. 轟炸機remote adj. 偏僻的Pacific n. 太平洋damage v. 毀壞wreck n. 殘骸rediscover v. 重新發現aerial adj. 航空的survey n. 調查rescue v. 營救package v. 把......打包enthusiast n. 熱心人restore v. 修復imagine v. 想像packing case 包裝箱colony n. 群bee n. 蜂hive n. 蜂房preserve v. 保護beeswax n. 蜂蠟參考譯文 1963年，一架蘭開斯特轟炸機在瓦立斯島毀。那是南太洋中一個很偏僻的小島，位於薩摩亞群島以西，距離群島還有很長一段距離。飛機損壞的程度並不嚴重，但是，多年來這起飛機失事已被遺忘，飛機殘骸也沒受到破壞。於是，到了1989年，飛機失事26年後，在對小島的一次航空勘查中那架飛機被意外地發現了。到了那個時候，狀況良好的蘭開斯特轟炸機實屬罕見，值得搶救。法國政府讓人把飛機包裝起來，一部分一部分地搬回法國。一群熱心人計劃修復這架飛機。該飛機裝裝配有4台羅爾斯-羅伊斯的默林發動機，但是他們只需要修復其中的3台。想一想他們所感受到的驚奇和興奮 —— 當他們拆開包裝箱時，他們發現第4台發動機就像蜂蜜一樣甜 —— 發動機完好無損。一群蜜蜂把發動機當作了蜂房，發動機在蜂蠟中被完整地保存了下來。 Lesson 67 Volcanoes 火山 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why does Tazieff risk his life like this? Haroun Tazieff, the Polish scientist, has spent his lifetime studying active volcanoes and deep caves in all parts of the world. In 1948, he went to Lake Kivu in the Congo to observe a new volcano which he later named Kituro. Tazieff was able to set up his camp very close to the volcano while it was erupting violently. Though he managed to take a number of brilliant photographs, he could not stay near the volcano for very long. He noticed that a river of liquid rock was coming towards him. It threatened to surround him completely, but Tazieff managed to escape just in time. He waited until the volcano became quiet and he was able to return two days later. This time, he managed to climb into the mouth of Kituro so that he could take photographs and measure temperatures. Tazieff has often risked his life in this way. He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive.New words and expressions 生詞和短語volcano n. 火山active adj. 活動的Kivu n. 基伍湖Congo n. 剛果Kituro n. 基圖羅erupt v. （火山）噴發violently adv. 猛烈地，劇烈地manage v. 設法brilliant adj. 精彩的liquid adj. 液態的escape v. 逃脫alive adj. 活著的參考譯文 波蘭科學家哈羅恩.塔捷耶夫花了畢生的精力來研究世界各地的活火山和探洞。1948年他去了剛果的基伍湖，對一座後來被他命名為基圖羅的新火山進行觀察。當火山正在猛烈地噴發時，塔捷耶夫有辦法把帳篷搭在離它非常近的地方。儘管他設法拍了一些十分精彩的照片，但他卻不能在火山附近停留太長的時間。他發現有一股岩漿正向他流過來，眼看就要將他團團圍住，但塔捷耶夫還是設法及時逃離了。他等到火山平靜下來，兩天以後又返回去。這次他設法爬進了基圖羅火山口，以便能拍攝照片和測試溫度。塔捷耶夫經常冒這樣的生命危險。他能告訴我們的有關活火山的情況比任何在世的人都要多。 Lesson 68 Persistent 糾纏不休 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did Elizabeth tell Nigel that she was going to the dentist? I crossed the street to avoid meeting him, but he saw me and came running towards me. It was no use pretending that I had not seen him, so I waved to him. I never enjoy meeting Nigel Dykes. He never has anything to do. No matter how busy you are, he always insists on coming with you. I had to think of a way of preventing him from following me around all morning. "Hello, Nigel," I said. "Fancy meeting you here!" "Hi, Elizabeth," Nigel answered. "I was just wondering how to spend the morning -- until I saw you. You"re not busy doing anything, are you?" "No, not at all," I answered. "I"m going to..." "Would you mind my coming with you?" he asked, before I had finished speaking. "Not at all," I lied, "but I"m going to the dentist." "Then I"ll come with you," he answered. "There"s always plenty to read in the waiting room!New words and expressions 生詞和短語persistent adj. 堅持的，固執的avoid v. 避開insist v. 堅持做參考譯文 我穿過馬路以便避開他，但他看到我並朝我跑過來。若再裝作沒看見他已是沒有用了，我只好向他招手。我就怕遇到奈傑爾.戴克斯。他從來都是無事可做，不管你多忙，他總是堅持要跟你去。我得想辦法不讓他整個上午纏著我。 「你好，奈傑爾，想不到在這兒見到你。」我說。 「你好，伊麗莎白，」奈傑爾回答說，「我正不知道怎麼消磨這一上午呢，正好見到好。你不忙，是嗎？」 「不，不忙，我打算去......」我回答。 「我跟你一道去行嗎？」沒等我說完話他就問道。 「沒關係，但我準備去牙醫那裡。」我說了個謊。 「那我也跟你去，候診室里總有很多東西可供閱讀！」他回答。 Lesson 69 But not murder! 並非謀殺！ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Do you think that the writer passed his driving test? Why? I was being tested for a driving licence for the third time. I had been asked to drive in heavy traffic and had done so successfully. After having been instructed to drive out of town, I began to acquire confidence. Sure that I had passed, I was almost beginning to enjoy my test. The examiner must have been pleased with my performance, for he smiled and said. "Just one more thing, Mr.Eames. Let us suppose that a child suddenly crosses the road in front of you. As soon as I tap on the window, you must stop within five feet." I continued driving and after some time, the examiner tapped loudly, Though the sound could be heard clearly, it took me a long time to react. I suddenly pressed the brake pedal and we were both thrown forward. The examiner looked at me sadly. "Mr.Eames," he said, in a mournful voice, "you have just killed that child!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語murder n. 謀殺instruct v. 命令，指示acquire v. 取得，獲得confidence n. 信心examiner n. 主考人suppose v. 假設tap v. 輕敲react v. 反應brake n. 剎車pedal n. 踏板mournful adj. 悲哀的參考譯文 我第3次接受駕駛執照考試。按照要求在車輛擁擠的路上駕駛，我圓滿地完成了。在接到把車開出城的指令後，我開始有了信心。確信我已通過考試，所以我幾乎開始喜歡起這次考試。主考人對我的駕駛想必是滿意的，因為他微笑著說：「埃姆斯先生，只剩1項了。讓我們假設一個小孩子突然在你前面穿過馬路。我一敲車窗，你必須把車停在5英尺之內。」我繼續往前開著。過了一會兒，主考人砰砰地敲了起來。雖然聲音聽得很清楚，但我過了好一會兒才作出反應。我突然用力踩緊剎車踏板，結果我倆的身體都向前衝去。主考人傷心地看著我。「埃姆斯先生，」他以悲傷的聲調說，「你剛剛把那個小孩壓死了！」 Lesson 70 Red for danger 危險的紅色 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How was the drunk removed from the ring? During a bullfight, a drunk suddenly wandered into the middle of the ring. The crowd began to shout, but the drunk was unaware of the danger. The bull was busy with the matador at the time, but it suddenly caught sight of the drunk who was shouting rude remarks and waving a red cap. Apparently sensitive to criticism, the bull forgot all about the matador and charged at the drunk. The crowd suddenly grew quiet. The drunk, however, seemed quite sure of himself. When the bull got close to him, he clumsily stepped aside to let it pass. The crowd broke into cheers and the drunk bowed. By this time, however, three men had come into the ring and they quickly dragged the drunk to safety. Even the bull seemed to feel sorry for him, for it looked on sympathetically until the drunk was out of the way before once more turning its attention to the matador.New words and expressions 生詞和短語bullfight n. 鬥牛drunk n. 醉漢wander v. 溜達，亂走ring n. 圓形競技場地unaware adj. 不知道的，未覺察的bull n. 公牛matador n. 鬥牛士remark n. 評論；言語apparently adv. 明顯地sensitive adj. 敏感的criticism n. 批評charge v. 衝上去clumsily adv. 笨拙地bow v. 鞠躬safety n. 安全地帶sympathetically adv. 同情地參考譯文 在一次鬥牛時，一個醉漢突然溜達到鬥牛場中間，人們開始大叫起來，但醉漢卻沒有意識到危險。當時那公牛正忙於對付鬥牛士，但突然它看見了醉漢，只見他正大聲說著粗魯的話，手裡揮動著一頂紅帽子。對挑釁顯然非常敏感的公牛完全撇開鬥牛士，直奔醉漢而來。觀眾突然靜了下來，可這醉漢像是很有把握似的。當公牛逼近他時，他踉蹌地住旁邊一閃，牛撲空了。觀眾歡呼起來，醉漢向人們鞠躬致謝。然而，此時已有3個人進入鬥牛場，迅速把醉漢拉到安全的地方。好像連牛也在為他感到遺憾，因為它一直同情地看著醉漢，直到他的背影消逝，才重新將注意力轉向鬥牛士。 Lesson 71 A famous clock 一個著名的大鐘 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Has Big Ben ever gone wrong? When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C. If the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected. Big Ben takes its name from Sir Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the making of the clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built. It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well. Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day. On the B.B.C. you can hear the clock when it is actually striking because microphones are connected to the clock tower. Big Ben has rarely gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give the correct time. A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down!New words and expressions 生詞和短語parliament n. 議會，國會erect v. 建起accurate adj. 準確的official n. 官員，行政人員Greenwich n. 格林尼治observatory n. 天文台check v. 檢查microphone n. 擴音器，麥克風tower n. 塔參考譯文 當你遊覽倫敦時，首先看到的東西之一就是「大本」鍾，即那座從英國廣播公司的廣播中全世界都可以聽到它的聲音的著名大鐘。如果不是國會大廈在1834年被焚毀的話，這座大鐘永遠也不會建造。「大本」鍾得名於本傑明.霍爾爵士，因為當建造新的國會大廈時，他負責建造大鐘。此鐘不僅外型巨大，而且走時也非常準確。格林尼治天文台的官員們每天兩次派人矯正此鍾。當大鐘打點的時候，你可以從英國廣播公司的廣播中聽到，因為鐘塔上接了麥克風。「大本」鍾很多出差錯。然而有一次，它卻把時間報錯。在鐘塔上幹活的一位油漆工把一隻油漆桶掛在了一根指針上，把鍾弄慢了！ Lesson 72 A car called bluebird 「藍鳥」汽車 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What mistake was made? The great racing driver, Sir Malcolm Campbell, was the first man to drive at over 300 miles per hour. He set up a new world record in September 1935 at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Bluebird, the car he was driving, had been specially built for him. It was over 30 feet in length and had a 2,500-horsepower engine. Although Campbell reached a speed of over 304 miles per hour, he had great difficulty in controlling the car because a tyre burst during the first run. After his attempt, Campbell was disappointed to learn that his average speed had been 299 miles per hour. However, a few days later, he was told that a mistake had been made. His average speed had been 301 miles per hour. Since that time, racing drivers have reached speeds over 600 miles an hour. Following in his father"s footsteps many years later, Sir Malcolm"s son, Donald, also set up a world record. Like his father, he was driving a car called Bluebird.New words and expressions 生詞和短語racing n. 競賽per prep. 每Utah n. 猶他（美國州名）horsepower n. 馬力burst v. 爆裂average adj. 平均的footstep n. 足跡參考譯文 傑出的賽車選手馬爾科姆.坎貝爾爵士是第一個以每小時超過300英里的速度駕車的人。他於1935年9月在猶他州的邦納維爾鹽灘創造了一項新的世界紀錄。他駕駛的「藍鳥」牌汽車是專門為他製造的。它的車身長30英尺，有一個2,500 馬力的發動機。儘管坎貝爾達到了每小時超過304英里的速度，但他很難把汽車控制住，因為在開始的行程中爆了一隻輪胎。比賽結束後，坎貝爾非常失望地得知他的平均時速是299英里。然而，幾天之後，有人告訴他說弄錯了。他的平均時速實際是301英里。從那時以來，賽車選手已達到每小時600英里的速度。很多年之後，馬爾科姆爵士的兒子唐納德踏著父親的足跡，也創造了一項世界紀錄。同他父親一樣，他也駕駛著一輛名叫「藍鳥」的汽車。 Lesson 73 The record-holder 紀錄保持著 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Did the boy go where he wanted to? Children who play truant from school are unimaginative. A quiet day"s fishing, or eight hours in a cinema seeing the same film over and over again, is usually as far as they get. They have all been put to shame by a boy who, while playing truant, travelled 1,600 miles. He hitchhiked to Dover and, towards evening, went into a boat to find somewhere to sleep. When he woke up next morning, he discovered that the boat had, in the meantime, travelled to Calais. No one noticed the boy as he crept off. From there, he hitchhiked to Paris in a lorry. The driver gave him a few biscuits and a cup of coffee and left him just outside the city. The next car the boy stopped did not take him into the centre of Paris as he hoped it would, but to Perpignan on the French-Spanish border. There he was picked up by a policeman and sent back to England by the local authorities. He has surely set up a record for the thousands of children who dream of evading school.New words and expressions 生詞和短語record-holder 紀錄保持者truant n. 逃學的孩子unimaginative adj. 缺乏想像力的shame n. 慚愧，羞恥hitchhike v. 搭便車旅行meantime n. 其間lorry n. 卡車border n. 邊界evade v. 逃避，逃離參考譯文 逃學的孩子們都缺乏想像力。他們通常能夠做到的，至多也就是安靜地釣上一天魚，或在電影院里坐上8個小時，一遍遍地看同一部電影。而有那麼一個小男孩，他在逃學期間旅行了1,600英里，從而使上述所有逃學的孩子們都相形見絀了。他搭便車到了多佛，天快黑時鑽進了一條船，想找個地方睡覺。第二天早上他醒來時，發現船在這段時間已經到了加。當男孩從船里爬出來時，誰也沒有發現他。從那裡他又搭上卡車到了巴黎。司機給了他幾塊餅乾和一杯咖啡，就把他丟在了城外。男孩截住的下一輛車，沒有像他希望的那樣把他帶到巴黎市中心，而是把他帶到了法國和西班牙邊界上的佩皮尼昂。他在那兒被一個警察抓住了，之後被當局送回了英國。他無疑為成千上萬夢想逃避上學的孩子們創造了一項紀錄。 Lesson 74 Out of the limelight 舞台之外 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why was their disguise "too perfect"? An ancient bus stopped by a dry river bed and a party of famous actors and actresses got off. Dressed in dark glasses and old clothes, they had taken special precautions so that no one should recognize them. But as they soon discovered, disguises can sometimes be too perfect. "This is a wonderful place for a picnic," said Gloria Gleam. "It couldn"t be better, Gloria," Brinksley Meers agreed. "No newspaper men, no film fans! Why don"t we come more often?" Meanwhile, two other actors, Rockwall Slinger and Merlin Greeves, had carried two large food baskets to a shady spot under some trees. When they had all made themselves comfortable, a stranger appeared. He looked very angry. "Now you get out of here, all of you!" he shouted. "I"m sheriff here. Do you see that notice? It says "No Camping" -- in case you can"t read!" "Look, sheriff," said Rockwall, "don"t be too hard on us. I"m Rockwall Slinger and this is Merlin Greeves." "Oh, is it?" said the sheriff with a sneer. "Well, I"m Brinksley Meers, and my other name is Gloria Gleam. Now you get out of here fast!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語limelight n. 舞檯燈光precaution n. 預防措施fan n. 狂熱者，迷shady adj. 遮蔭的sheriff n. 司法長官notice n. 告示sneer n. 冷笑參考譯文 一輛古舊的汽車停在一條幹涸的河床邊，一群著名男女演員下了車。他們戴著墨鏡，穿著舊衣裳，特別小心以防別人認出他們。但他們很快就發覺，化裝的效果有時過分完美了。 「在這個地方野餐簡直太妙了，」格格利亞.格利姆說。　　「是再好不過的了，格格利亞。」布林克斯利.米爾斯表示同意，「沒有記者，沒有影迷！我們為什麼不經常來這裡呢？」　　「此時，另外兩位演員，羅克沃爾.斯林格和默林.格里夫斯，已經把兩個大食品籃子提到了一片樹蔭下。當他們都已安排舒適時，一個陌生人出現了。他看上去非常氣憤。「你們都從這裡走開，全都走開！」他大叫著，「我是這裡的司法長官。你們看到那個布告牌了嗎？上面寫著『禁止野營』－－除非你們不識字！」　　「好了，好了，司法官，」羅克沃爾說，「別使我們難堪。我是羅克沃爾.斯林格，這位是默林.格里夫斯。」　　「噢，是嗎？」那位司法長官冷笑一聲說道，「好，我就是布林克斯利.米爾斯。我還有一個名字叫格格利亞.格利姆。現在你們趕快滾吧！」 Lesson 75 SOS 呼救信號 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How did the woman get help? When a light passenger plane flew off course some time ago, it crashed in the mountains and its pilot was killed. The only passengers, a young woman and her two baby daughters, were unhurt. It was the middle of winter. Snow lay thick on the ground. The woman knew that the nearest village was miles away. When it grew dark, she turned a suitcase into a bed and put the children inside it, covering them with all the clothes she could find. During the night, it got terribly cold. The woman kept as near as she could to the children and even tried to get into the case herself, but it was too small. Early next morning, she heard planes passing overhead and wondered how she could send a signal. Then she had an idea. She stamped out the letters "SOS" in the snow. Fortunately, a pilot saw the signal and sent a message by radio to the nearest town. It was not long before a helicopter arrived on the scene to rescue the survivors of the plane crash.New words and expressions 生詞和短語thick adj. 厚的signal n. 信號stamp v. 跺，踩helicopter n. 直升飛機scene n. 現場survivor n. 倖存者參考譯文 不久前，一架輕型客機偏離了航線，在山區墜毀，飛行員喪生。機上僅有的乘客，一位年輕的婦女和她的兩個女嬰卻平安無事。此時正值隆冬季節，地上積著厚厚的雪。這位婦女知道，即使最近的村莊也有數英里遠。天黑下來的時候，她把提箱當作小床，把兩個孩子放了進去，又把所有能找到的衣服都蓋在了孩子們身上。夜裡，天冷得厲害。這位婦女儘可能地靠近孩子，甚至自己也想鑽進箱子里去，只是箱子太小了。第二天一大早，她聽到頭頂上有飛機飛過，但不知道怎樣才能發個信號。後來她有了一個主意。她在雪地上踩出了「SOS」這3個字母。幸運得很，一位飛行員看到這個信號，用無線電給最近的城鎮發了報。不久，一架直升飛機飛抵飛機失事現場，來搭救這幾個倖存者。 Lesson 76 April Fools" Day 愚人節 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What was the joke? "To end our special news bulletin," said the voice of the television announcer, "we"re going over to the macaroni fields of Calabria. Macaroni has been grown in this area for over six hundred years. Two of the leading growers, Giuseppe Moldova and Riccardo Brabante, tell me that they have been expecting a splendid crop this year and harvesting has begun earlier than usual. Here you can see two workers who, between them, have just finished cutting three cartloads of golden brown macaroni stalks. The whole village has been working day and night gathering and threshing this year"s crop before the September rains. On the right, you can see Mrs. Brabante herself. She has been helping her husband for thirty years now. Mrs. Brabante is talking to the manager of the local factory where the crop is processed. This last scene shows you what will happen at the end of the harvest: the famous Calabrian macaroni-eating competition! Signor Fratelli, the present champion, has won it every year since 1991. And that ends our special bulletin for today, Thursday, April lst. We"re now going back to the studio."New words and expressions 生詞和短語fool n. 傻瓜bulletin n. 新聞簡報announcer n. （電視、電台）播音員macaroni n. 通心麵，空心麵條leading adj. 主要的grower n. 種植者splendid adj. 極好的stalk n. 梗gather v. 收莊稼thresh v. 打（莊稼）process v. 加工Signor n. （義大利語）先生present adj. 目前的champion n. 冠軍studio n. 播音室參考譯文 「作為我們專題新聞節目的結尾，」電視廣播員說，「我們現在到克拉布利亞的通心粉田裡。通心粉在這個地區已經種植了600多年了。兩個主要種植者，朱塞皮.莫爾道瓦和里卡多.布拉班特告訴我，他們一直期待著今年獲得一個大豐收，收割工作比往年開始要早些。這裡您可以看到兩個工人，他們協力割下了3車金黃色的通心粉秸。全村的人都日夜奮戰，要趕在9月的雨季之前把今年的莊稼收穫上來，打完場。在屏幕的右側，您可以看到布拉班特太太本人，她已經幫了她的丈夫30年了。布拉班特太太現在正和負責通心粉加工的當地加工廠的經理交談。這最後一個鏡頭向您展示了收穫之後將發生的事情：著名的克拉布利亞人吃通心粉大賽！目前的冠軍弗拉特里先生，自1991年以來，年年獲勝。今天 -- 4月1日，星期四--的專題新聞節目到此結束。現在我們回到電視演播室。」 Lesson 77 A successful operation 一例成功的手術 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Did the doctors find out how the woman died? The mummy of an Egyptian woman who died in 800 B.C. has just had an operation. The mummy is that of Shepenmut who was once a singer in the Temple of Thebes. As there were strange marks on the X-ray plates taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease. The only way to do this was to operate. The operation, which lasted for over four hours, proved to be very difficult because of the hard resin which covered the skin. The doctors removed a section of the mummy and sent it to a laboratory. They also found something which the X-ray plates did not show: a small wax figure of the god Duamutef. This god which has the head of a cow was normally placed inside a mummy. The doctors have not yet decided how the woman died. They feared that the mummy would fall to pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has not happened. The mummy successfully survived the operation.New words and expressions 生詞和短語mummy n. 木乃伊Egyptian adj. 埃及的temple n. 廟mark n. 斑點plate n. （照相）底片disease n. 疾病last v. 持續prove v. 顯示出resin n. 樹脂skin n. 皮膚section n. 切片figure n. （人的）體形；人像normally adv. 通常地survive v. 倖免於參考譯文 死於公元前800年的一位埃及婦女的木乃伊剛剛接受了一次手術。這是曾在底比斯神殿里當過歌手的賽潘姆特的木乃伊。由於在給這個木乃伊拍攝的X光片子上有點奇怪的斑點，所以，醫生們一直試圖搞清這位婦女是否死於一種罕見的疾病。搞清的唯一辦法就是手術。手術持續了4個多小時，非常難做，因為皮膚上覆蓋著一層硬硬的樹脂。醫生們從木乃伊身上取下一個切片，送去化驗。他們還發現了X光片所沒有顯示的東西：一個蠟制的杜瓦木特夫神小塑像。這種牛頭人身的神像通常被放在木乃伊體內。醫生們至今還未確定這位婦女的死因。他們曾擔心在把木乃伊切開後，它會散成碎片，但幸運得很，這種情況並未發生。這具木乃伊成功地經受了這次手術。 Lesson 78 The last one? 最後一枝嗎？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 For how long did the writer give up smoking? After reading an article entitled "Cigarette Smoking and Your Health" I lit a cigarette to calm my nerves. I smoked with concentration and pleasure as I was sure that this would be my last cigarette. For a whole week I did not smoke at all and during this time, my wife suffered terribly. I had all the usual symptoms of someone giving up smoking: a bad temper and an enormous appetite. My friends kept on offering me cigarettes and cigars. They made no effort to hide their amusement whenever I produced a packet of sweets from my pocket. After seven days of this I went to a party. Everybody around me was smoking and I felt extremely uncomfortable. When my old friend Brian urged me to accept a cigarette, it was more than I could bear. I took one guiltily, lit it and smoked with satisfaction. My wife was delighted that things had returned to normal once more. Anyway, as Brian pointed out, it is the easiest thing in the world to give up smoking. He himself has done it lots of times!New words and expressions 生詞和短語entitle v. 以......為名calm v. 使鎮定nerve n. 神經concentration n. 集中，專心suffer v. 受苦，受害symptom n. 癥狀temper n. 脾氣appetite n. 胃口，食慾produce v. 拿出urge v. 力勸，慫恿satisfaction n. 滿意，滿足delighted adj. 欣喜的參考譯文 讀完一篇題為《吸煙與健康》的文章之後，我點上了一枝香煙，來鎮定一下自己緊張的神經。我聚精會神而又愉快地吸著這枝煙。因為我確信這是我最後一枝煙了。整整一個星期我根本沒有吸煙。在此期間，我妻子吃盡了苦頭。我具備了戒煙者通常表現出來的所有癥狀：脾氣暴躁和食慾旺盛。我的朋友們不斷地向我遞香煙和雪茄。每當我從口袋裡掏出一包糖果時，他們都毫不掩飾地表現出他們對此感到非常好笑。這樣過了7天以後，我去參加一次聚會。我周圍的每個人都在吸煙，我感到非常不自在。當我的老朋友布賴恩極力勸我接受一枝香煙時，我再也忍不住了。我內疚地接過一枝點上，心滿意足地抽起來。一切又都恢復了正常，為此我妻子十分高興。不管怎麼說，正如布賴恩指出的那樣，戒煙是世界上最容易的事情，他自己就已戒了很多次了！ Lesson 79 By air 乘飛機 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did the plane turn back? I used to travel by air a great deal when I was a boy. My parents used to live in South America and I used to fly there from Europe in the holidays. A flight attendant would take charge of me and I never had an unpleasant experience. I am used to traveling by air and only on one occasion have I ever felt frightened. After taking off, we were flying low over the city and slowly gaining height, when the plane suddenly turned round and flew back to the airport. While we were waiting to land, a flight attendant told us to keep calm and to get off the plane quietly as soon as it had touched down. Everybody on board was worried and we were curious to find out what had happened. Later we learnt that there was a very important person on board. The police had been told that a bomb had been planted on the plane. After we had landed, the plane was searched thoroughly. Fortunately, nothing was found and five hours later we were able to take off again.New words and expressions 生詞和短語parent n. 父（母）親flight attendant 空中乘務員frightened adj. 害怕，擔驚curious adj. 急於了解，好奇的bomb n. 炸彈plant v. 安放參考譯文 我在幼年的時候，曾多次乘飛機旅行。我的父母曾經住在南美洲，所以假期里我常從歐洲乘飛機到他們那裡。我總是由一位空中乘務員照管，從未遇到過不愉快的經歷。我習慣了乘飛機旅行，只是有一次把我嚇壞了。起飛之後，我們在城市上空低低地飛行，然後慢慢爬高。這時飛機突然調轉頭來，飛回了機場。在我們等待降落時，一位空中乘務員告訴我們要保持鎮靜，待飛機一著陸，就馬上不聲不響地離開飛機。飛機上的人都很著急，大家都急於想知道究竟出了什麼事。後來我們才得知，飛機上坐了一位非常重要的人物。有人報告警察，說飛機上安放了一枚炸彈。我們降落之後，飛機被徹底搜查了一遍。幸運的是，什麼也沒有找到。5個小時後，我們又起飛了。 Lesson 80 The Crystal Palace 水晶宮 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How many people visited the Great Exhibition of 1851? Perhaps the most extraordinary building of the nineteeth century was the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace was different from all other buildings in the world, for it was made of iron and glass. It was one of the biggest buildings of all time and a lot of people from many countries came to see it. A great many goods were sent to the exhibition from various parts of the world. There was also a great deal of machinery on display. The most wonderful piece of machinery on show was Nasmyth"s steam hammer. Though in those days, traveling was not as easy as it is today, steam boats carried thousands of visitors across the Channel from Europe. On arriving in England, they were taken to the Crystal Palace by train. There were six million visitors in all, and the profits from the exhibition were used to build museums and colleges. Later, the Crystal Palace was moved to South London. It remained one of the most famous buildings in the world until it was burnt down in 1936.New words and expressions 生詞和短語palace n. 宮殿extraordinary adj. 不平常的，非凡的exhibition n. 展覽iron n. 鐵various adj. 各種各樣的machinery n. 機器display n. 展覽steam n. 蒸汽profit n. 利潤college n. 學院參考譯文 19世紀最不尋常的建築也許要數水晶宮了，它是為1851年的「世界博覽會」而建在海德公園的。這座水晶宮不同於世界上所有的其他建築，因為它是用鋼和玻璃建成的。它是有史以來最高大的建築物之一，因此，人們從各個國家紛紛前來參觀。大量的商品從世界各地運送到了博覽會，參展的還有很多機器，其中最奇妙的是內史密斯的蒸汽錘。儘管在當時旅行不像現在這麼容易，但汽船還是把成千上萬的參觀者從歐洲大陸送過了英吉利海峽。一到英國，火車就把他們送到了水晶宮。參觀的人數總共是600萬。博覽會的贏利用來建造博物館和高等學校。後來，「水晶宮」被移到了倫敦南部。在1936年被焚毀之前，它一直是世界上最著名的建築物之一。 Lesson 81 Escape 脫逃 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did the prisoner attack the driver? When he had killed the guard, the prisoner of war quickly dragged him into the bushes. Working rapidly in the darkness, he soon changed into the dead man"s clothes. Now, dressed in a blue uniform and with a rifle over his shoulder, the prisoner marched boldly up and down in front of the camp. He could hear shouting in the camp itself. Lights were blazing and men were running here and there: they had just discovered that a prisoner had escaped. At that moment, a large black car with four officers inside it, stopped at the camp gates. The officers got out and the prisoner stood to attention and saluted as they passed. When they had gone, the driver of the car came towards him. The man obviously wanted to talk. He was rather elderly with grey hair and clear blue eyes. The prisoner felt sorry for him, but there was nothing else he could do. As the man came near, the prisoner knocked him to the ground with a sharp blow. Then, jumping into the car, he drove off as quickly as he could.New words and expressions 生詞和短語prisoner n. 囚犯bush n. 灌木叢rapidly adv. 迅速地uniform n. 制服rifle n. 來福槍，步槍shoulder n. 肩march v. 行進boldly adv. 大膽地blaze v. 閃耀salute v. 行禮elderly adj. 上了年紀的grey adj. 灰白的sharp adj. 猛烈的blow n. 打擊參考譯文 那個戰俘殺死衛兵以後，迅速地把屍體拖進了灌木叢。他在黑暗中忙活了一陣兒，很快就換上了死者的衣服。現在他身穿藍軍裝，肩扛步槍，在軍營門前大膽地來回走看。他聽得軍營裡面的喧鬧聲。那裡燈米通明，人們在東奔西跑：他們剛剛發現有一個俘虜跑了。正在此時，一輛黑色大轎車在軍營門口停了下來。裡面坐了4個軍官。軍官們下了車，戰俘立正站好，並在他們從他面前經過時敬了禮。他們走後，汽車司機向他走來，這人顯然是想聊天。他上了年紀，有著灰白的頭髮和明亮的藍眼睛。戰俘為他感到惋惜，但卻沒有別的選擇。當這個人走近時，戰俘一拳把他打倒在地，然後跳進車裡，以最快的速度把車開走了。 Lesson 82 Monster or fish? 是妖還是魚？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What was the monster called? Fishermen and sailors sometimes claim to have seen monsters in the sea. Though people have often laughed at stories told by seamen, it is now known that many of these "monsters" which have at times been sighted are simply strange fish. Occasionally, unusual creatures are washed to the shore, but they are rarely caught out at sea. Some time ago, however, a peculiar fish was caught near Madagascar. A small fishing boat was carried miles out to sea by the powerful fish as it pulled on the line. Realizing that this was no ordinary fish, the fisherman made every effort not to damage it in any way. When it was eventually brought to shore, it was found to be over thirteen feet long. It had a head like a horse, big blue eyes, shining silver skin, and a bright red tail. The fish, which has since been sent to a museum where it is being examined by a scientist, is called an oarfish. Such creatures have rarely been seen alive by man as they live at a depth of six hundred feet.New words and expressions 生詞和短語monster n. 怪物sailor n. 海員sight v. 見到creature n. 動物，生物peculiar adj. 奇怪的，不尋常的shining adj. 閃閃發光的oarfish n. 槳魚參考譯文 漁夫和水手們有時聲稱自己看到過海里的妖怪。雖然人們常常對水手們講的故事付諸一笑，但現在看來，人們有時看到的這些「妖怪」很多不過是些奇怪的魚。一些異常的生物偶爾會被衝到岸上來，但它們在海上卻極少能被捕到。然而不久前，在馬達加斯加附近的海里卻捕到了一條奇怪的魚。一條小漁船被一條咬住鉤的強壯的大魚拖到了幾英里以外的海面上。那位漁民意識到這根本不是一條普通的魚，於是千方百計不讓它受到絲毫傷害。當終於把它弄上岸後，人們發現它身長超過了13英尺。它長著一個像馬一樣的頭，有著大的藍眼睛和閃閃發光的銀色皮膚，還有一條鮮紅色的尾巴。此魚叫槳魚，被送進了博物館，現正接受一位科學家的檢查。人們很少能看到活著的這類動物，因為它們生活在600英尺深的水下。 Lesson 83 After the elections 大選之後 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did Patrick keep on asking the same question? The former Prime Minister, Mr. Wentworth Lane, was defeated in the recent elections. He is now retiring from political life and has gone abroad. My friend, Patrick, has always been a fanatical opponent of Mr. Lane"s Radical Progressive Party. After the elections, Patrick went to the former Prime Minister"s house. When he asked if Mr. Lane lived there, the policeman on duty told him that since his defeat, the ex-Prime Minister had gone abroad. On the following day, Patrick went to the house again. The same policeman was just walking slowly past the entrance, when Patrick asked the same question. Though a little suspicious this time, the policeman gave him the same answer. The day after, Patrick went to the house once more and asked exactly the same question. This time, the policeman lost his temper. "I told you yesterday and the day before yesterday," he shouted, "Mr. Lane was defeated in the elections. He has retired from political life and gone to live abroad!" "I know," answered Patrick, "but I love to hear you say it!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語election n. 選舉former adj. 從前的defeat v. 打敗fanatical adj. 狂熱的opponent n. 反對者，對手radical adj. 激進的progressive adj. 進步的ex- prefix （前綴，用於名詞前）前......suspicious adj. 懷疑的參考譯文 前首相溫特沃茲.萊恩先生在最近的大選中被擊敗。他現在退出了政界，到國外去了。我的朋友帕特里克一直是萊恩先生的激進黨的強烈反對者。大選結束後，帕特里克來到了前首相的住處。當他詢問萊恩先生是否住在那裡時，值班的警察告訴他這位前首相落選後出國去了。第二天，帕特里克再次來到首相的住處。昨天的那位警察正從門口慢慢走過，帕特里克上前問了和昨天同樣的問題。雖然那位警察這次有點疑心，但還是對他作了同樣的回答。第三天，帕特里克又去了，提出了同前兩天完全一樣的問題。這一次警察火了。「我昨天和前天都告訴過您了，」他大叫著，「萊恩先生在大選中被擊敗了，他已經退出了政界去國外了！」 「這我都知道，」帕特里克說，「可我就是喜歡聽你說出這此！」 Lesson 84 On strike 罷工 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Who will be driving the buses next week? Busmen have decided to go on strike next week. The strike is due to begin on Tuesday. No one knows how long it will last. The busmen have stated that the strike will continue until general agreement is reached about pay and working conditions. Most people believe that the strike will last for at least a week. Many owners of private cars are going to offer "free rides" to people on their way to work. This will relieve pressure on the trains to some extent. Meanwhile, a number of university students have volunteered to drive buses while the strike lasts. All the students are expert drivers, but before they drive any of the buses, they will have to pass a special test. The students are going to take the test in two days" time. Even so, people are going to find it difficult to get to work. But so far, the public has expressed its gratitude to the students in letters to the Press. Only one or two people have objected that the students will drive too fast!New words and expressions 生詞和短語strike n. 罷工busman n. 公共汽車司機state v. 正式提出，宣布agreement n. 協議relieve v. 減輕pressure n. 壓力，麻煩extent n. 程度volunteer v. 自動提出，自願gratitude n. 感激Press n. 新聞界object v. 不贊成，反對參考譯文 公共汽車司機決定下星期罷工。罷工定於星期二開始，誰也不知道會持續多久。司機們聲稱此次罷工將一直持續到就工資和工作條件問題達成全面協議的時候為止。多數人認為此次罷工至少會持續一個星期。很多私人汽車的車主正準備為乘車上班的人們提供「免費乘車」的服務，這將在某種程度上減輕對火車的壓力。與此同時，有一部分大學生自願在罷工期間駕駛公共汽車。所有的學生都是開車的能手，但在駕駛公共汽車之前，他們必須通過一項專門測驗。學生們準備在兩天後就接受測驗。即使這樣，人們仍會感到上班有困難。但到目前為止，公眾已經向新聞界寫信表達他們對學生們的感激之情了。只有一兩個人提出反對意見，說學生們會把車開得太快！ Lesson 85 Never too old to learn 活到老學到老 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 How long has Mr. Page been teaching? I have just received a letter from my old school, informing me that my former headmaster, Mr. Stuart Page, will be retiring next week. Pupils of the school, old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the occasion. All those who have contributed towards the gift will sign their names in a large album which will be sent to the headmaster"s home. We shall all remember Mr. Page for his patience and understanding and for the kindly encouragement he gave us when we went so unwillingly to school. A great many former pupils will be attending a farewell dinner in his honour next Thursday. It is a curious coincidence that the day before his retirement, Mr. Page will have been teaching for a total of forty years. After he has retired, he will devote himself to gardening. For him, this will be an entirely new hobby. But this does not matter, for, as he has often remarked, one is never too old to learn.New words and expressions 生詞和短語inform v. 告訴，通知headmaster n. 校長contribute v. 捐助，援助gift n. 禮物，贈品album n. 簽名簿，相冊patience n. 耐心encouragement n. 鼓勵farewell n. 告別honour n. 敬意coincidence n. 巧合total n. 總數devote v. 致力於gardening n. 園藝hobby n. 愛好，嗜好參考譯文 我剛剛收到母校的一封信，通知我說以前的校長斯圖亞特.佩奇先生下星期就退休了。為了紀念這個日子，學校的學生——無論老同學還是新同學——將送他一件禮物。所有湊錢買此禮品的人都將自己的名字簽在一本大簽名簿上，簽名簿將被送到校長的家裡。我們不會忘記佩奇先生對我們既有耐心又充滿理解，也不會忘記在我們不願去上學時他給予我們的親切鼓勵。很多老同學都準備參加下星期四為他舉行的告別宴會。佩奇先生退休的前一天正好是他執教滿40年的日子，這真是奇妙的巧合。他退休後，將致力於園藝。對於他來說，這將是一種全新的愛好。但這沒有關係，因為正如他常說的那樣，人要活到老學到老。 Lesson 86 Out of control 失控 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What was the danger? As the man tried to swing the speedboat round, the steering wheel came away in his hands. He waved desperately to his companion, who had been water skiing for the last fifteen minutes. Both men had hardly had time to realize what was happening when they were thrown violently into the sea. The speedboat had struck a buoy, but it continued to move very quickly across the water. Both men had just begun to swim towards the shore, when they noticed with dismay that the speedboat was moving in a circle. It now came straight towards them at tremendous speed. In less than a minute, it roared past them only a few feet away. After it had passed, they swam on as quickly as they could because they knew that the boat would soon return. They had just had enough time to swim out of danger when the boat again completed a circle. On this occasion, however, it had slowed down considerably. The petrol had nearly all been used up. Before long, the noise dropped completely and the boat began to drift gently across the water.New words and expressions 生詞和短語swing v. 轉向speedboat n. 快艇desperately adv. 絕望地companion n. 同夥，夥伴water ski （由快艇牽引水橇）滑水buoy n. 浮標dismay n. 沮喪tremendous adj. 巨大的petrol n. 汽油drift v. 漂動，漂流gently adv. 緩慢地，輕輕地參考譯文 當那人試圖讓快艇轉彎時，方向盤脫手了。他絕望地向他的夥伴揮手，他的夥伴在過去的15分鐘里一直在滑水。他們兩個還沒來得及意識到究竟發生了什麼事情，就被猛地拋入了海里。快艇撞上了一個浮標，但它仍在水面上快速行駛著。兩個人剛開始向岸邊游去，就突然驚愕地發現快艇正在轉著圈行駛，它現在正以驚人的速度直衝他們駛來。不到1分鐘的工夫，它從離他們只有幾英尺遠的地方呼嘯著駛了過去。快艇過去之後，他們以最快的速度向前游去，因為他們知道快艇馬上就要轉回來。他們剛剛來得及游出危險區，快艇就又轉完了一圈。然而這一次它的速度慢多了。汽油幾乎已經用光。沒過多久，噪音便徹底消失，快艇開始在水面上慢悠悠地漂流。 Lesson 87 A perfect alibi 極好的不在犯罪現場的證據 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What was wrong with the man"s story? "At the time the murder was committed, I was travelling on the 8 o"clock train to London," said the man. "Do you always catch such an early train?" asked the inspector. "Of course I do," answered the man. "I must be at work at 10 o"clock. My employer will confirm that I was there on time." "Would a later train get you to work on time?" asked the inspector. "I suppose it would, but I never catch a later train." "At what time did you arrive at the station?" "At ten to eight. I bought a paper and waited for the train." "And you didn"t notice anything unusual?" "Of course not." "I suggest," said the inspector, "that you are not telling the truth. I suggest that you did not catch the 8 o"clock train, but that you caught the 8.25 which would still get you to work on time. You see, on the morning of the murder, the 8 o"clock train did not run at all. It broke down at Ferngreen station and was taken off the line."New words and expressions 生詞和短語alibi n. 不在犯罪現場commit v. 犯（罪、錯）inspector n. 探長employer n. 僱主confirm v. 確認，證實suggest v. 提醒truth n. 真相參考譯文 「在兇殺發生的時候，我正坐在8點鐘開往倫敦的火車上。」那人說。 「您總是趕這樣早的火車？」探長問。 「當然是的，」那人回答。「我必須在10點鐘上班，我的僱主會證明我是按時到了那兒的。」 「晚一點兒的車也能送您按時上班嗎？」 「我認為可以，但我從來不乘晚一點兒的車。」 「您幾點鐘到的火車站？」 「7點50分。我買了張報紙，等著車來。」 「您沒有注意到有什麼異常情況發生嗎？」 「當然沒有。」 「我提醒您，」探長說，「您講的不是實話。您乘的不是8點鐘的火車，而是8點25分的，這次車同樣能使您按時上班。您看，在兇殺發生的那天早晨，8點鐘的那次車根本沒有發。它在芬格林車站出了故障而被取消了。」 Lesson 88 Trapped in a mine 困在礦井裡 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why is the rescue taking so long? Six men have been trapped in a mine for seventeen hours. If they are not brought to the surface soon they may lose their lives. However, rescue operations are proving difficult. If explosives are used, vibrations will cause the roof of the mine to collapse. Rescue workers are therefore drilling a hole on the north side of the mine. They intend to bring the men up in a special capsule. If there had not been a hard layer of rock beneath the soil, they would have completed the job in a few hours. As it is, they have been drilling for sixteen hours and they still have a long way to go. Meanwhile, a microphone, which was lowered into the mine two hours ago, has enabled the men to keep in touch with their closest relatives. Though they are running out of food and drink, the men are cheerful and confident that they will get out soon. They have been told that rescue operations are progressing smoothly. If they knew how difficult it was to drill through the hard rock, they would lose heart.New words and expressions 生詞和短語trap v. 陷入，使陷於困境surface n. 地面，表面explosive n. 炸藥vibration n. 震動collapse v. 坍塌drill v. 鑽孔capsule n. 容器layer n. 層beneath prep. 在......之下lower v. 放下，降低progress v. 進展，進行smoothly adv. 順利地參考譯文 6個人被困在礦井裡已有17個小時了。如果不把他們儘快救到地面上來，他們就有可能喪生。然而，事實證明營救工作非常困難。如果用炸藥爆破，震動會引起礦頂塌落。因此，營救人員在礦井的北側鑽了一個洞。他們準備用一種特製的容器把這6個人救上來。如果不是因為土壤下面有一層堅硬的岩石，他們的營救工作僅用幾個小時就可以完成了。實際情況是，他們已連續鑽了16個小時了，但離鑽透還早著呢。與此同時，兩個小時以前放下井去的一隻麥克風使井下的人可以與其親屬保持聯繫。雖然他們的食物和飲料都快消耗盡了，但這些人的心情很好，堅信他們很快就會出去。他們一直被告知營救工作進行得非常順利。如果他們知道了鑽透那堅硬的岩石有多麼困難，他們會喪失信心的。 Lesson 89 A slip of the tongue 口誤 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Who made the only funny joke that evening and why? People will do anything to see a free show -- even if it is a bad one. When the news got round that a comedy show would be presented at our local cinema by the P. and U. Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it. We had to queue for hours to get in and there must have been several hundred people present just before the show began. Unfortunately, the show was one of the dullest we have ever seen. Those who failed to get in need not have felt disappointed, as many of the artistes who should have appeared did not come. The only funny things we heard that evening came from the advertiser at the beginning of the programme. He was obviously very nervous and for some minutes stood awkwardly before the microphone. As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone burst out laughing. We all know what the poor man should have said, but what he actually said was: "This is the Poo and Ee Seed Bird Company. Good ladies, evening and gentlemen!"New words and expressions 生詞和短語slip n. 小錯誤comedy n. 喜劇present v. 演出；adj. 出席，到場的queue v. 排隊dull adj. 枯燥，無味artiste n. 藝人advertiser n. 報幕員參考譯文 人們總要想盡辦法看不花錢的演出——哪怕是拙劣的演出。當「皮尤」鳥食公司將在我們當地影院演出喜劇節目的消息傳開後，我們都趕緊跑去觀看。我們不得不排了好幾個小時才進得場去。在演出開始前場內肯定已有好幾百人了。不幸的是，這次演出是我們看過的最乏味的演出了。那些沒能進到場內的人沒有必要感到失望，因為很多應該出場的專業演員都沒有來。那天晚上唯一有趣的事情是節目開始時那個報幕員的開場白。他顯然非常緊張，局促不安地在麥克風前站了好幾分鐘。但他剛一開口說話，人們便哄堂大笑起來。我們都明白那個可憐的人應該說些什麼，而他實際說的卻是：「這是『浦伊』鳥食公司，好女士們，晚上和先生們！」 Lesson 90 What"s for supper? 晚餐吃什麼？ First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What kind of fish are they? Fish and chips has always been a favourite dish in Britain, but as the oceans have been overfished, fish has become more and more expensive. So it comes as a surprise to learn that giant fish are terrifying the divers on North Sea oil rigs. Oil rigs have to be repaired frequently and divers, who often have to work in darkness a hundred feet under water, have been frightened out of their wits by giant fish bumping into them as they work. Now they have had special cages made to protect them from these monsters. The fish are not sharks or killer whales, but favourite eating varieties like cod and skate which grow to unnatural sizes, sometimes as much as twelve feet in length. Three factors have caused these fish to grow so large: the warm water round the hot oil pipes under the sea; the plentiful supply of food thrown overboard by the crews on the rigs; the total absence of fishing boats around the oil rigs. As a result, the fish just eat and eat and grow and grow in the lovely warm water. Who eats who?New words and expressions 生詞和短語chip n. 油煎土豆片overfish v. 過度捕撈giant adj. 巨大的terrify v. 嚇，使恐怖diver n. 潛小員oil rig 石油鑽塔wit n. （複數）理智，頭腦cage n. 籠shark n. 鯊魚whale n. 鯨variety n. 品種cod n. 鱈skate n. 鰩factor n. 因素crew n. 全體工作人員參考譯文 油煎魚加炸土豆片一直是英國人喜愛的一道菜，但是隨著海洋里的濫捕濫撈，魚已經變得越來越昂貴。因此，聽說北海石油鑽井平台上的潛水員受到巨型魚類的恐嚇，確實很讓人吃驚。鑽井平台需要經常修理，潛水員常常要在水面100英尺以下摸黑工作，他們曾在工作時被撞到他們身上的大魚嚇得驚惶失措。現在他們有了特製的籠子，用來保護他們免受大魚的侵襲。這些魚並不是鯊魚或逆戟鯨，而是深受人們喜愛的食用魚品種，如鱈魚和鰩魚，只不過它們長得出奇地大，有時長達12英尺。這些魚能長得這麼大是由3個因素造成的：海底熱的輸油管道附近的溫暖的海水；鑽井平台工作人員拋到海里充足的食物；鑽井平台周圍根本沒有捕魚船隻。結果是，這些魚就在可愛的溫暖的水流中吃呀吃，長呀長。究竟誰吃誰呢？ Lesson 91 Three men in a basket 三人同籃 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Where was the station"s Commanding Officer? A pilot noticed a balloon which seemed to be making for a Royal Air Force Station nearby. He informed the station at once, but no one there was able to explain the mystery. The officer in the control tower was very angry when he heard the news, because balloons can be a great danger to aircraft. He said that someone might be spying on the station and the pilot was ordered to keep track of the strange object. The pilot managed to circle the balloon for some time. He could make out three men in a basket under it and one of them was holding a pair of binoculars. When the balloon was over the station, the pilot saw one of the men taking photographs. Soon afterwards, the balloon began to descend and it landed near an airfield. The police were called in, but they could not arrest anyone, for the basket contained two Members of Parliament and the Commanding Officer of the station! As the Commanding Officer explained later, one half of the station did not know what the other half was doing!New words and expressions 生詞和短語balloon n. 氣球royal adj. 皇家spy v. 偵察track n. 軌跡，蹤跡binoculars n. 望遠鐿參考譯文 一個飛行員發現了一隻氣球，它像是正飛往附近的一個皇家空軍基地。他馬上把情況報告了該基地，但那裡的人沒有一個能解釋這到底是怎麼回事。控制塔上的官員得知這一消息後，非常氣憤，因為氣球有可能給飛機造成極大的危險。他說可能有人正對基地進行偵察，因此命令那個飛行員跟蹤那個奇怪的飛行物。飛行員設法繞著氣球飛了一陣。他看清了氣球下面有3個人呆在一隻筐里，其中一個舉著望遠鏡。當氣球飛臨基地上空時，飛行員看見有一個人在拍照。不久，氣球開始降落，在一個停機坪附近著了陸。警察被召來了，但他們卻不能逮捕任何人，因為筐里是兩名國會議員和一名基地的指揮官！正如指揮官後來解釋的那樣，基地的這半邊不知道那半邊正在幹什麼！ Lesson 92 Asking for trouble 自找麻煩 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why did the policeman ask the writer to come to the police station? It must have been about two in the morning when I returned home. I tried to wake up my wife by ringing the doorbell, but she was fast asleep, so I got a ladder from the shed in the garden, put it against the wall, and began climbing towards the bedroom window. I was almost there when a sarcastic voice below said, "I don"t think the windows need cleaning at this time of the night." I looked down and nearly fell off the ladder when I saw a policeman. I immediately regretted answering in the way I did, but I said, "I enjoy cleaning windows at night." "So do I," answered the policeman in the same tone. "Excuse my interrupting you. I hate to interrupt a man when he"s busy working, but would you mind coming with me to the station?" "Well, I"d prefer to stay here," I said. "You see. I"ve forgotten my key." "Your what?" he called. "My key," I shouted. Fortunately, the shouting woke up my wife who opened the window just as the policeman had started to climb towards me.New words and expressions 生詞和短語fast adv. 熟（睡）ladder n. 梯子shed n. 棚子sarcastic adj. 諷刺的，譏笑的tone n. 語氣，腔調參考譯文 我回到家時，肯定已是凌晨兩點左右了。我按響了門鈴，試圖喚醒我的妻子，但她睡得很熟。於是，我從花園的小棚里搬來了一個梯子，把它靠在牆邊，開始向卧室的窗口爬去。快要爬到窗口時，下面一個人用諷刺的口吻說：「我看不必在夜裡這個時候擦窗子吧。」我向下面看去。當我看清是一個警察時，差一點兒從梯子上掉下去。我回答了他的話，但馬上又後悔不該那樣說，我是這樣說的：「我喜歡在夜裡擦窗子。」 「我也是的，」警察用同樣的聲調回答，「請原諒我打斷了您。當一個人在忙著幹活時，我是不願意去打斷他的，但請您跟我到警察局去一趟好嗎？」 「可我更願意呆在這兒，」我說，「您瞧，我忘帶鑰匙了。」 「什麼？」他大聲問。 「鑰匙！」我喊道。 幸運得很，這喊聲驚醒了我的妻子。就在警察開始向我爬上來時，她打開了窗子。 Lesson 93 A noble gift 崇高的禮物 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Where was the Statue of Liberty made? One of the most famous monuments in the world, the Statue of Liberty, was presented to the United States of America in the nineteenth century by the people of France. The great statue, which was designed by the sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, took ten years to complete. The actual figure was made of copper supported by a metal framework which had been especially constructed by Eiffel. Before it could be transported to the United States, a site had to be found for it and a pedestal had to be built. The site chosen was an island at the entrance of New York Harbour. By 1884, a statue which was 151 feet tall had been erected in Paris. The following year, it was taken to pieces and sent to America. By the end of October 1886, the statue had been put together again and it was officially presented to the American people by Bartholdi. Ever since then, the great monument has been a symbol of liberty for the millions of people who have passed through New York Harbour to make their homes in America.New words and expressions 生詞和短語noble adj. 高尚的，壯麗的monument n. 紀念碑statue n. 雕像liberty n. 自由present v. 贈送sculptor n. 雕刻家actual adj. 實際的，真實的copper n. 銅support v. 支持，支撐framework n. 構架，框架transport v. 運送site n. 場地pedestal n. 底座參考譯文 世界上最著名的紀念碑之一的自由女神雕像是在19世紀時由法國人民贈送給美國的。這座由雕像家奧古斯特.巴索爾地設計的巨大雕像是用10年時間雕像刻成的。這座雕像的主體是用銅製成的，由艾菲爾特製的金屬框架支撐著。在雕像被運往美國之前，必須為它選好一塊場地，同時必須建造一個基座。場地選在了紐約港入口處的一個鳥上。到1884年，一座高度達151英尺的雕像在巴黎豎立起來了。第二年，它被拆成若干小塊，運到美國。到1886年10月底，這座雕像被重新組裝起來，由巴索爾地正式贈送給美國人民。從那時起，這座偉大的紀念碑對通過紐約港進入美國定居的千百萬人來說就一直是自由的象徵。 Lesson 94 Future champions 未來的冠軍 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What kind of race do the children compete in? Experiments have proved that children can be instructed in swimming at a very early age. At a special swimming pool in Los Angeles, children become expert at holding their breath under water even before they can walk. Babies of two months old do not appear to be reluctant to enter the water. It is not long before they are so accustomed to swimming that they can pick up weights from the floor of the pool. A game that is very popular with these young swimmers is the underwater tricycle race. Tricycles are lined up on the floor of the pool seven feet under water. The children compete against each other to reach the other end of the pool. Many pedal their tricycles, but most of them prefer to push or drag them. Some children can cover the whole length of the pool without coming up for breath even once. Whether they will ever become future Olympic champions, only time will tell. Meanwhile, they should encourage those among us who cannot swim five yards before they are gasping for air.New words and expressions 生詞和短語instruct v. 指導，傳授Los Angeles 洛杉磯reluctant adj. 勉強的，不願意的weight n. 重物underwater adj. 水下的tricycle n. 三輪車compete v. 比賽，對抗yard n. 碼gasp v. 喘氣參考譯文 實驗證明，兒童在很小的時候就可以開始學習游泳。在洛杉磯的一個特設的游泳池裡，孩子們甚至在還沒有學會走路時就已經能熟練地在水下屏住呼吸了。兩個月的嬰兒並未顯得不願意入水。他們很快便適應了游泳，以致能撿起池底的物品。這些幼小的游泳運動員非常喜愛的一種遊戲是水下三輪車比賽。三輪車並排放在7英尺深的游泳池底上。孩子們比賽看誰先到達游泳池的另一端。很多孩子用腳蹬車，但多數孩子更願意推或是拉著三輪車。有些孩子能夠跑完游泳池的全長而不用露出水面換氣。他們將來是否能成為奧林匹克的冠軍，這隻能由時間來作出回答。與此同時，他們對我們中的那些游不了5碼就已喘不過氣來的人應該是種鼓舞。 Lesson 95 A fantasy 純屬虛構 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 Why was the Ambassador particularly lucky? When the Ambassador or Escalopia returned home for lunch, his wife got a shock. He looked pale and his clothes were in a frightful state. "What has happened?" she asked. "How did your clothes get into such a mess?" "A fire extinguisher, my dear," answered the Ambassador drily. "University students set the Embassy on fire this morning." "Good heavens!" exclaimed his wife. "And where were you at the time?" "I was in my office as usual," answered the Ambassador. "The fire broke out in the basement. I went down immediately, of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a fire extinguisher at me. He thought I was on fire. I must definitely get that fellow posted." The Ambassador"s wife went on asking questions, when she suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband"s hat. "And how can you explain that?" she asked. "Oh, that," said the Ambassador. "Someone fired a shot through my office window. Accurate, don"t you think? Fortunately, I wasn"t wearing it at the time. If I had been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch."New words and expressions 生詞和短語fantasy n. 幻想故事ambassador n. 大使Escalopia n. 艾斯卡羅比亞（虛構的國名）frightful adj. 可怕的，令人吃驚的fire extinguisher 滅火器drily adv. 冷淡地，枯燥無味地embassy n. 大使館heaven n. 天，天堂basement n. 地下室definitely adv. 肯定地post v. 派任shot n. 子彈參考譯文 當艾斯卡羅比亞國的大使回到家吃午飯時，把他的夫人嚇了一跳。他面色蒼白，衣服也搞得不成樣子。 「發生了什麼事？」她問，「你的衣服怎麼搞得一塌糊塗？」 「滅火器弄的，親愛的，」大使冷冷地回答，「今天上午大學生們放火點著了大使館。」 「天啊！」他的夫人驚叫，「那你當時在什麼地方？」 「我和往常一樣，在辦公室里，」大使回答說。「地下室突然著火，我當然馬上下去了。但那個傻瓜霍斯特把滅火器對準了我。他認為是我著火了。我一定要把那個傢伙打發走。」 大使夫人繼續提出問題，她突然又發現丈夫的帽子上有個洞。 「那麼你對那又作何解釋呢？」她問。 「那個嘛，」大使說，「有人向我辦公室窗戶開了一槍。真夠準的，是不是？幸虧我當時沒戴帽子。如果真戴著它，我現在就不能回家來吃午飯了。」 Lesson 96 The dead return 亡靈返鄉 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。 What happens to the lanterns at the end of the festival? A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan. This festival is a cheerful occasion, for on this day, the dead are said to return to their homes and they are welcomed by the living. As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them. Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find their way. All night long, people dance and sing. In the early morning, the food that had been laid out for the dead is thrown into a river or into the sea as it is considered unlucky for anyone living to eat it. In towns that are near the sea, the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the night before, are placed into the water when the festival is over. Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world. This is a moving spectacle, for crowds of people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can be seen no more.New words and expressions 生詞和短語festival n. 節日lantern n. 燈籠spectacle n. 景象，壯觀，場面參考譯文 日本每年過一次「亡靈節」。這個節日是個歡樂的日子，因為在這一天，據說死去的人要回到他們的家裡來，活著的人則對他們表示歡迎。因為預料到他們在經過長途旅行之後會感到飢餓，所以為他們擺放好了食品。特製的燈籠掛在各家的門外，為的是幫助亡靈看清道路。整個夜晚人們載歌載舞。一大早，人們便把為死者擺放的食品扔進河中或海里，因為人們認為活著的人吃了這些東西是不吉利的。在靠海的城鎮中，頭天夜裡掛在大街小巷的小燈籠在節後就放在了水裡。成千上萬隻燈籠慢慢漂向大海，指引著亡靈返回另一個世界。這是一個感人的場面，人們成群地佇立在海岸上，注視著燈籠遠去，直到再也看不見為止。
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