1、een abroad before, so he is finding this trip very exciting.Lesson 5 No wrong numbers 无错号之虞 Mr James Scott has a garage in Silbury and now he has just bought another garage in Pinhurst. Pinhurst is only five miles from Silbury, but Mr Scott cannot get a telephone for his new garage, so he has just b
2、ought 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 p
3、rivate telephone service.Lesson 6 Percy Buttons 珀西巴顿斯I have just moved to a house in Bridge Street. Yesterday a beggar knocked at my door. He asked me for a meal and a glass of beer. In return for this, the beggar stood on his head and sang songs. I gave him a meal. He ate the food and drank the bee
4、r. Then he put a piece of cheese in his pocket and went away. Later a neighbour told me about him. Everybody knows him. His name is Percy Buttons. He calls at every house in the street once a month and always asks for a meal and a glass of beer.Lesson 7 Too late 为时太晚 The plane was late and detective
5、s were waiting at the airport all morning. They were expecting a valuable parcel of diamond from South Africa. A few hours earlier, someone had told the police that thieves would try to steal the diamonds. When the plane arrived, some of the detectives were waiting inside the main building while oth
6、ers were waiting on the airfield. Two men took the parcel off the plane and carried it into the Customs House. While two detectives were keeping guard at the door, two others opened the parcel. To their surprise, the precious parcel was full of stones and sand!Lesson 8 The best and the worst 最好的和最差的
7、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 Friths garden is larger than Joes. Bill works harder than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but Joes garden is more interesting. He has m
8、ade neat paths and has built a wooden bridge over a pool. I like gardens too, but I do not like hard work. Every year I enter for the garden competition too, and I always win a little prize for the worst garden in the town!Lesson 9 A cold welcome 冷遇On Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall. It
9、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. Suddenl
10、y someone shouted, Its two minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped! I looked at my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to welcome the New Year. At that moment everybody began to laugh and sing.Lesson 10 Not for jazz 不适于演奏爵士乐We have an old musical instrument. It is called a clavichord(翼琴). I
11、t was made in Germany in 1681. Our clavichord is kept in the living-room. It has belong to our family for a long time. The instrument was bought by my grandfather many years ago. Recently it was damaged by a visitor. She tried to play jazz on it! She struck the keys too hard and two of the strings w
12、ere broken. My father was shocked. Now we are not allowed to touch it. It is being repaired by a friend of my fathers.Lesson 11 One good turn deserves another 礼尚往来I was having dinner at a restaurant when Harry Steele came in. Harry worked in a lawyers office years ago, but he is now working at a ban
13、k. He gets a good salary, but he always borrows money from his friends and never pays it back. Harry saw me and came and sat at the same table. He has never borrowed money from me. While he was eating, I asked him to lend me &2. To my surprise, he gave me the money immediately. I have never borrowed
14、 any money from you, Harry said, so now you can pay for my dinner!Lesson 12 Goodbye and good luck 再见，一路顺风Our ncighbour, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from Portsmouth tomorrow. We shall meet him at the harbour early in the morning. He will be in his small boat, Topsail.Tapsail is a famous little
15、boat. It has sailed across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will set out at eight oclock so we shall have plenty of time. We shall see his boat and then we shall say good-bye to him. He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him. He will take part in an important race across the At
16、lantic.Lesson 13 The Greenwood Boys 绿林少年The Greenwood Boys are a group of popular singers. At present, they are visiting all parts of the country. They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be coming by train and most of the youngpeople in the town will be meeting them at the station. Tomorrow e
17、vening they will be singing at the Workers Club. The Greenwood Boys will be staying for five days. During this time, they will give five performances. As usual, the police will have a difficult time. They will be trying to keep order. It is always the same on these occasions.Lesson 14 Do you speak E
18、nglish? 你会讲英语吗？I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left a small village in the south of France, I drove on to the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I stopped and he asked me for a lift. As soon as he had got into the car, I said good morning to him in French and he repli
19、ed in the same language. Apart from a few words, I do not know any French at all. Neither of us spoke during the journey. I had nearly reached the town, when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, Do you speak English? As I soon learnt, he was English himself!Lesson 15 Good news 佳音 The secretary
20、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.
21、 I knew that my turn had come. Mr. Harmsworth, I said in a weak voice. Dont interrupt, he Said. Then he smiled and told me I would receive an extra &100 a year!Lesson 16 A polite request 彬彬有礼的要求If you park your car in the wrong place, a traffic policeman will soon find it. You will be very lucky if
22、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
23、. This note is only a reminder. If you receive a request like this, you cannot fail to obey it!Lesson 17 Always young 青年常驻My aunt Jennifer is an actress. She must be at least thirty-five years old. In spite of this, she often appears on the stage as a young girl. Jennifer will have to take part in a
24、 new play soon. This time, she will be a girl of seventeen. In the play, she must appear in a bright red dress and long black stockings. Last year in another play, she had to wear short socks and a bright, orange-coloured dress. If anyone ever asked her how old she is, she always answers, My dear, i
25、t must be terrible to be grown up!lesson18 He often does this! 他经常干这种事！After I had had lunch at a village inn, I looked for my bag. I had left it on a chair beside the door and now it wasnt there ! As I was looking for it, the inn-keeper came in. Did you have a good meal ? he asked. Yes, thank you,
26、I answered, but I cant pay the bill. I havent got my bag. The inn-keeper smiled and immediately went out. In a few minutes he returned with my bag and gave it back to me. Im very sorry, he said My dog had taken it into the garden. He often does this.Lesson19 Sold out 票已售完The play may begin at any mo
27、ment, I said. It may have begun already, Susan answered.I hurried to the ticket-office. May I have two tickets please ? I asked.Im sorry, weve 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 gi
28、rl said.Could I have those two tickets please ? I asked.Certainly, the girl said, but they are for next Wednesdays performance.I might as well have them, I said sadly.Lesson20 One man in a boat 独坐孤舟Fishing is my favourite sport. I often fish for hours without catching anything. But this does not wor
29、ry 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. Its a waste of
30、 time. But they dont realize one important thing. Im not really interested in fishing. I am only interested in sitting in a boat and doing nothing at all !Lesson21 Mad or not? 是不是疯了？Aeroplanes are slowly driving me mad. I live near an airport and passing planes can be heard night and day. The airpor
31、t was built during the war, but for some reason it could not be used then. Last year, however, it came into use. Over a hundred people must have been driven away from their homes by the noise. I am one of the few people left. Sometimes I think this house will be knocked down by a passing plane. I ha
32、ve been offered a large sum of money to go away, but I am determined to stay here. Everybody says I must be mad and they are probably right.Lesson22 A glass envelope 玻璃信封My daughter, Jane, never dreamed of receiving a letter from a girl of her own age in Holland. Last year, we were travelling across
33、 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
34、use the post-office. Letters will cost a litt1e more, but they will certainly travel faster. Lesson23 A new house 新居I had a letter from my sister yesterday. She lives in Nigeria. In her letter, she said that she would come to England next year. If she comes, she will get a surprise. We are now livin
35、g 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 pe
36、ople. It must be the only modern house in the district.Lesson24 It could be worse 不幸中之万幸I entered the hotel managers office and sat down. I had just lost &50 and I felt very upset. I left the money in my room, I said, and its not there now. The manager was sympathetic, but he could do nothing. Every
37、ones losing money these days, he said. He started to complain about this wicked world but was interrupted by a knock at the door. A girl came in and put an envelope on his desk. It contained &5o. I found this outside this gentlemans room she said. Well, I said to the manager, there is still some hon
38、esty in this world !lesson25 Do the English speak English? 英国人讲的是英语吗？I arrived in London at last. The railway station was big, black and dark. I did not know the way to my hotel, so I asked a porter. I not only spoke English very carefully, but very clearly as well. The porter, however, could not un
39、derstand 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 sm
40、iled. Then he said something and I understood it. Youll soon learn English! he said. I wonder. In England, each man speaks a different language. The English understand each other, but I dont understand them ! Do they speak English ?lesson26 The best art critics 最佳美术评论家I am an art student and I paint
41、 a lot of pictures. Many people pretend that they understand modern art. They always tell you what a picture is about. Of course, many pictures arc not about anything. They are just pretty patterns. We like them in the same way that we like pretty curtain material. I think that young children often
42、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. Im hanging this picture on the wall, I answered. Its a new one. Do you like it
43、? She looked at it critically for a moment. Its all right, she said, but isnt it upside-down ? I looked at it again. She was right! It was!Lesson27 A wet night 雨夜Late in the afternoon, the boys put up their tent in the middle of a field. As soon as this was done, they cooked a meal over an open fire
44、. They were all hungry and the food smelt good. After a wonderful meal, they told stories and sang songs by the camp fire. But some time later it began to rain. The boys felt tired so they pet out the fire and crept into their tent. Their sleeping-bags were warm and comfortable, so they all slept so
45、undly. 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 ri
46、ght under their tent!Lesson28 No parking 禁止停车Jasper White is one of those rare people who believes in ancient myths. He has just bought a new house in the city, but ever since he moved in, he has had trouble with motorists. when he returns home at night, he always finds that someone has parked a car
47、 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
48、 what it was and he told me that it was Medusa, the Gorgon. Jasper hopes that she will turn motorists to stone. But none of them has been turned to stone yet!Lesson29 Taxi! 出租汽车！Captain Ben Fawcett has bought an unusual taxi and has begun a new service. The taxi is a small Swiss aeroplane called a P
49、ilatus 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 Fawcetts 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 pl
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