【正文】 r elati ves. Though t hey ar e r unni ng out of f ood and dr ink, the m en ar e cheer ful and conf ident t hat t hey wil l get out soon. They have been told that r escue operati ons ar e progr essing smoothly. I f they knew how di f icult i t was t o dri l t hrough the hard rock, they would l ose heart . Leson89 A sl ip of t he tongue 口誤 Peopl e wil l do anyt hing t o see a fr e showeven if i t is a bad one. When the news got r ound that a var iet y show would be pr esented at our l ocal cinema by t he P. and U. Bi r d Seed Com pany, we al r ushed t o see i t. We had to queue for hours t o get i n and ther e must have been sever al hundr ed people pr esent just be f or e t he show began. Unf ort unat el y, t he show was one of t he dullest we have ever sen. Those who fail ed to get in need not have f elt disappoi nt ed as many of the art istes who should have appeared di d not e. The onl y f unny t hi ngs we hear d t hat eveni ng cam e fr om t he adver ti ser at the begi nni ng of the pr ogr amme. He was obviousl y very ner vous and f or some m inutes stood awkwardl y bef ore the mi cr ophone. As soon as he opened hi s mouth, ever yone bur st out laughing. We al l know what t he poor man should have sai d, but what he actual y said was: 39。This i s the Poo and Ee Seed Bi rd Com pany. Good ladies, evening and ge ntlemen ! 39。 leson90 What s for supper ？ 晚餐吃什么？ Though Br azi l i s one of the r ichest count ri es i n t he worl d, m uch of i t has not yet been developed. I t was mainl y for t his r eason that the Br azi li an gover nm ent deci ded to have a new ci ty buil t 600 mil es nor th west of Ri o de Janeir o. Designed by t he great ar chi tect Luci o Cost a, the new cit y, Br asil a, r eplaced Rio de Janei ro as t he c api tal of Brazif i n 1960. Br asil ia has been car efull y planned for modern li vi ng. I ts wi de r oads, which can take f our teen lanes of tr af fi c, have been kept away fr om l ivi ng areas. Chil dren do not have t o cross busy st reets t o go to school. Housewi ves can vi si t shopping cent res on f oot, for i n these special y desi gned l ivi ng areas, cars are unnecessar y. At fi rst, t he governm ent had great di f icult y i n per suadi ng people t o l eave Ri o and to set le i n Br asi l i a. Since 1960, however , the populati on has been growi ng al t he tim e. Br asi li a has qui ckl y est abl ished it sel f as t he capi tal of t he count ry. The idea t o have t he capi tal moved so f ar inl and wi l have a great ef ect on t he futur e of Brazil . Lesson91 Three m en in a basket 三人同籃 A pi lot noticed a bal oon which seem ed to be m aki ng for a Royal Air For ce St ati on near by. He i nfor med the stat ion at once, but no one t her e was able t o expl ain t he myst ery. The off icer in t he cont rol t ower was very angr y when he hear d the news, because bal oons can be a gr eat danger to ai rcr aft . He sai d that som eone mi ght by spying on t he stati on and the pil ot was or der ed to keep t rack of the str ange obj ect . The pi lot managed t o cir cle t he bal loon f or some t im e. He could make out t hr ee men i n a basket under it and one of them was hol di ng f ield gl ases. When the baloon was over the stat ion, t he pil ot saw one of t he m en taking photogr aphs. Soon af terwar ds, t he bal loon began t o descend and it l anded near an air fi eld. The pol ice wer e cal led i n, but they could not ar est anyone, for t he basket contained t wo Mem ber s of Par li am ent and the Commandi ng Of fi cer of the st at ion! As t he Commandi ng Of fi cer explained l at er, one hal f of the stati on did not know what t he ot her half was doing ! Lesson92 Aski ng for t roubl e 自找麻煩 I t must have been about t wo i n t he morni ng when I retur ned hom e. I t ri ed to wake up m y wif e by r inging the door bel l, but she was f ast asl ep, so I got a l adder f rom the shed in t he gar den, put it agai nst t he wal, and began cl im bi ng towar ds the bedr oom wi ndow. I was al most her e when a sarcast ic voi ce bel ow sai d,39。 I don39。t t hink t he windows need cl eani ng at his t ime of t he night. 39。 I l ooked down and nearl y fel l of f the l adder when I saw a poli ceman. I im medi ately regret ed answer ing i n the way I di d, but I sai d, 39。I enj oy cleani ng wi ndows at night. 39。 39。So do I ,39。 answered t he poli ceman i n the same t one. 39。Excuse my i nt er upt ing you. I hat e to inter rupt a man when he39。s busy worki ng, but woul d you mi nd ing wi th me t o the stat ion ?39。 39。Wel , I 39。d pr efer to st ay her e,39。 I sai d. 39。You see, I39。ve for got ten my key. 39。 Your what ?39。 he cal ed. 39。My key,39。 I shouted.39。 For tunately, t he shouti ng woke up my wi f e who opened t he window j ust as t he pol iceman had st art ed to cli mb t owards me. Leson93 A nobl e gif t 崇高的禮物 One of t he most f amous monument s in the wor ld, the St at ue of Libert y, was pr esented t o the Uni ted St at es of Ameri ca in t he nieenth century by the peopl e of France. The great st atue, whi ch was desi gned by t he scul pt or Auguste Bar thol di , took t en years to plet e. The actual fi gur e was made of copper support ed by a metal f ramewor k which had been especi aly constr uct ed by Eif f el . Bef ore i t coul d be tr ansport ed to the Uni ted Stat es, a sit e had t o be f ound f or it and a pedestal had to be bui lt . The si te chosen was an i sl and at t he ent rance of New Yor k Harbour . By 1884, a statue whi ch was 151 feet tal , had been erected i n Pari s. The f ol lowi ng year , it was t aken t o pieces and se nt t o Amer ica. By the end of October 1886, the st at ue had been put toget her again and i t was off icial ly pr esented to the Am er ican peopl e by Bar tholdi. Ever si nce then, t he great monum ent has been a symbol of liber ty f or the mi l ions of peopl e who have passed t hrough New York Har bour t o make t hei r hom es i n Am er ica. Lesson94