【正文】 and whet her I l i ked m y new j ob i n London. I n answer t o t hese questi ons I eit her nodded or m ade st r ange noises. Meanwhil e, m y t ongue was busy searching out t he hol e wher e t he t ooth had been. I suddenl y felt ver y worr ie d, but coul d not say anyt hi ng. When t he dent ist at l ast r em oved t he cot t on wool f r om m y m outh, I was abl e t o tel him t hat he had pull ed out t he wr ong t oot h. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Ti red of sl eepi ng on t he f l oor , a young m an i n Teheran saved up f or year s t o buy a real bed. For t he fi r st ti me i n hi s l if e, he becam e t he pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spr ings and a mat r ess. Because t he weat her was ver y hot , he car ri ed t he bed on t o t he r oof of hi s house. He sl ept ver y wel f or t he fi r st t wo nights , but on the t hi r d ni ght, a storm bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed of f t he r oof and sent i t crashi ng i nt o t he court yar d below. The young m an did not wake up unti l t he bed had st r uck t he gr ound. Al t hough t he bed was smashed t o pi eces, t he m an was mi ra cul ousl y unhur t. When he woke up, he was sti l on t he m at tr es. Gl anci ng at t he bi ts of wood and m et al t hat l ay ar ound hi m, t he m an sadl y picked up the m at tr es and car ri ed it i nto hi s house. Aft er he had put it on t he fl oor , he pr omptl y went t o sl eep again. Leson50 Taken for a ri de 乘車兜風 I l ove t r avel ing i n t he countr y, but I don39。t l i ke l osi ng m y way. I went on an excur si on r ecent l y, but m y t ri p t ook m e longer t han I expect ed. 39。 I39。m goi ng to Woodfor d Gr en,39。 I sai d t o the conduct or as I got on the bus, 39。 but I don39。t know where i t is.39。 39。 I39。l l t el l you wher e t o get off ,39。 answer ed t he conduct or . I sat i n the f ront of t he bus t o get a good view of t he count rysi de. Aft er some t im e, t he bus st opped. Looki ng r ound, I r eali zed wit h a shock that I was t he only passenger l eft on t he bus. 39。 You39。l l have t o get of f her e,39。 t he conduct or sai d. 39。Thi s is as f ar as we go.39。 39。 I s thi s Woodfor d Gr en ?39。 I asked. 39。Oh dear ,39。 said t he conductor suddenly.39。 I f or got t o put you off .39。 39。I t doesn39。t m at er ,39。 I sai d. 39。I 39。l l get of f here.39。 39。We ar e goi ng back now,39。 sai d t he conduct or . 39。Wel l, i n that case, I pr ef er to st ay on the bus, 39。 I answered. Lesson51 Reward for vi rt ue 對美德的獎賞 My fr iend, Her ber t, has al ways been fat, but thi ngs got so bad recent ly t hat he decided t o go on a di et. He began hi s di et a week ago. Fir st of al , he wr ot e out a long li st of al l t he f oods whi ch were f or bi dden. The li st i ncl uded m ost of t he t hi ngs Her bert l oves: but t er, pot at oes, ri ce, beer, mi lk, chocolat e, and sweet s. Yester day I pai d hi m a visit . I rang t he bel and was not sur pri sed t o see that Herbert was sti l as f at as ever . He l ed m e i nt o his r oom and hurr i edl y hid a l ar ge pa r cel under his desk. I t was obvi ous t hat he was ver y em bar r assed. When I asked hi m what he was doi ng, he sm il ed guilt il y and t hen put t he par cel on t he desk. He expl ai ned t hat hi s di et was so str ict that he had t o r ewar d him sel f occasi onal ly. Then he showed m e the cont ent s of t he par cel. I t cont ai ned fi ve lar ge bar s of chocol ate and t hr ee bags of sweet s! Lesson52 A pret t y carpet 漂亮的地毯 We have j ust m oved i nt o a new house and I have been worki ng har d al m or ning. I have been tr yi ng t o get m y new r oom i n order. Thi s has not been easy because I own over a t housand books. To make mat er s wor se, t he r oom i s r at her smal , so I have t em por ari ly put my books on t he f l oor . At the m om ent, t hey cover ever y i nch of f loor space and I act ual ly have t o walk on t hem t o get i n or out of t he r oom. A shor t whi l e ago, my si st er hel ped m e to car y one of m y ol d bookcases up t he st air s. She went i nt o my r oom and got a bi g sur pr ise when she saw al t hose books on t he fl oor. 39。Thi s is t he pret iest car pet I have ever sen,39。 she sa i d. She gazed at it f or som e tim e t hen added, 39。You don39。t need bookcases at al . You can si t her e i n your spar e ti me and r ead the carpet!39。 Lesson53 H ot snake 觸電的蛇 At l ast f ir em en have put out a bi g f or est f ir e i n Cal if or ni a. Si nce t hen, t hey have been t r yi ng t o fi nd out how t he f ir e began. For est f ir e are of ten caused by br oken gl ass or by cigaret e ends which peopl e car elessl y t hr ow away. Yest er day the f ir em en exami ned the gr ound caref ul l y, but were not abl e t o fi nd any br oken gl as. They were al so quit e sure t hat a ci gar et t e end di d not st ar t t he f ir e. Thi s mor ni ng, however , a fi r em an aci dental y discover ed the cause. He noti ced t he r em ai ns of a snake which was wound r ound t he electr ic wi r es of a 16, 000 volt power li ne. I n t hi s way, he was abl e t o sol ve t he myster y. The expl anat ion was sim pl e but ver y unusual. A bi r d had snat ched up t he snake fr om t he ground and then dr opped it on t o t he wir es. The snake t hen wound i tself r ound t he wi res. When it di d so, it sent spar ks down t o t he gr ound and t hese im medi at el y start ed a fi r e. Lesson54 Sti cky fi ngers 粘糊的手指 Aft er br eakf ast, I sent t he chi l dr en to school and t hen I went t o mar ket. I t was st il l ear ly when I r etur ned home. The chi l dr en were at school, m y husband was at wor k and t he house was qui et. So I deci ded to m ake some t art s f or t ea. I n a shor t im e I was busy m i xi ng but ter and fl our and m y hands wer e soon cover ed wi th sti cky pastr y. At exactl y t hat mom ent, t he tel ephone rang. Not hing could have been m ore annoyi ng. I pi cked up t