【正文】 d got into the car , I sai d good morni ng to hi m i n Fr ench and he r epl ied i n the same l anguage. Apart f rom a few words, I do not know any Fr ench at al . Nei the r of us spoke duri ng the j our ney. I had near ly r eached the t own, when the young man suddenly said, ver y sl owl y, 39。Do you speak Engli sh?39。 As I soon lear nt, he was Engli sh hi mself ! Lesson 15 Good news 佳音 The secr etary told me that Mr . Harm swor th woul d se me. I f elt very ner vous when. I went i nto hi s of f ice. He did not look up f rom his desk when I ent ered. Af t er I had sat down, he sai d t hat busi ness was very bad. He t ol d me that he fi rm could not afford t o pay such l arge sal ari es. Twenty people had alr eady l eft . I knew t hat m y tur n had e. 39。Mr . Har mswort h,39。 I sai d in a we ak voi ce. 39。Don39。t inter rupt, 39。 he Sai d. Then he smil ed and told me I would receive an extr a amp。100 a year ! Leson 16 A polit e request 彬彬有禮的要求 I f you par k your car i n the wr ong place, a t raf fi c poli ceman wi l soon fi nd it . You wi l be very l ucky if he let s you go wit hout a t icket. However , thi s does not al ways happen. Tr af ic pol ice are someti mes ver y poli te. Duri ng a holi day in Sweden, I f ound this not e on my car: 39。 Sir , we wele you t o our ci ty. This i s a No Parking ar ea. You wi l enjoy your st ay her e i f you pay at ention to our str et signs. This not e is only a remi nder .39。 I f you r ecei ve a request l ike thi s, you cannot f ai l to obey it ! Leson 17 Al ways young 青年常駐 My aunt Jenni fer is an actr es. She must be at least hir ty fi ve years ol d. I n spit e of this, she of ten appear s on the st age as a young gir l. Jennif er wil l have t o take part i n a new pl ay soon. Thi s ti me, she wi l be a gi rl of seventeen. I n t he play, she must appear in a br ight red dr ess and long bl ack st ockings. Last year i n anot her pl ay, she had t o wear shor t socks and a br ight , or angecol our ed dress. I f anyone ever asked her how old she i s, she always answer s, 39。My dear , it must be ter ri bl e to be grown up! 39。 l esson18 He oft en does this! 他經(jīng)常干這種事！ Af t er I had had lunch at a vil lage inn, I looked for my bag. I had left i t on a chai r beside t he door and now i t wasn39。t t her e ! As I was l ooki ng for it , the i n keeper cam e in. 39。Di d you have a good m eal ?39。 he asked. 39。Yes, thank you, 39。 I answered, 39。but I can39。t pay the bi l. I haven39。t got my bag.39。 The i n keeper sm iled and i mmediat el y went out . In a few minutes he r eturned wi th my bag and gave i t back t o me. 39。I 39。m ver y sorr y, 39。 he said 39。 My dog had taken it i nto t he gar den. He of ten does this. 39。 Lesson19 Sold out 票已售完 39。The pl ay may begi n at any m om ent ,39。 I sai d. 39。I t m ay have begun al r eady,39。 Susan answer ed. 39。I hur r i ed t o the t icket of f ice. 39。May I have two ti ckets pl ease ?39。 I asked. 39。I 39。m sor ry, we39。ve sold out ,39。 the gi rl sai d. 39。What a pit y!39。 Susan exclaim ed. Just then, a man hurr ied t o the t icket off ice. 39。Can I ret ur n t hese two ti cket s?39。 he asked. 39。Cer t ai nly,39。 the gi rl said. 39。Could I have those two ti cket s pl ease ?39。 I asked. 39。Cer tai nl y, 39。the gi rl sai d, 39。but t hey ar e f or next Wednesday39。s perf or mance. 39。I m ight as wel have t hem ,39。 I sai d sadl y. Lesson20 One man i n a boat 獨(dú)坐孤舟 Fi shi ng is my favouri te spor t. I of ten f ish f or hours wit hout catching anyt hing. But this does not wor r y me. Som e fi sher men a re unl ucky. Instead of cat chi ng fi sh, t hey catch ol d boot s and rubbish. I am even l es l ucky. I never cat ch anyt hingnot even ol d boot s. Af t er having spent whol e morni ngs on the r iver, I always go home wi th an em pt y bag. 39。You must gi ve up f ishi ng!39。 my f r iends say.39。 It 39。s a waste of t im e. 39。 But t hey don39。t r eal ize one im por tant thi ng. I 39。m not r eal ly i nterested i n f ishi ng. I am only i nterested i n sit ing i n a boat and doi ng not hing at al l ! Lesson21 Mad or not ? 是不是瘋了？ Aeroplanes are slowl y dri ving me mad. I l ive near an ai rpor t and passi ng planes can be hear d ni ght and day. The ai r por t was built dur ing t he war , but f or som e reason i t coul d not be used then. Last year , however, i t came i nto use. Over a hundred people must have been dri ven away fr om t hei r hom es by the noise. I am one of t he few people left . Som et im es I t hink t his house wi l l be knocked down by a passing pl ane. I have been off er ed a l ar ge sum of money to go away, but I am determ ined to st ay her e. Ever ybody says I m ust be mad and t hey ar e probabl y r ight. Lesson22 A gl ass envelope 玻璃信封 My daught er, Jane, never dreamed of receiving a let er f r om a gi rl of her own age i n Hol land. Last year, we were t ravel ing across the Channel and Jane put a piece of paper wi th her nam e and addr ess on i t i nto a bot tl e. She t hr ew t he bot tl e int o t he sea. She never t hought of it agai n, but t en months lat er , she r ecei ved a let er f rom a gir l in Holl and. Both gi rl s wr it e to each other regularl y now. However , they have decided t o use the post of fi ce. Let ers wi l cost a l it t1e mor e, but t hey wi l cert ainly tr avel faster. Leson23 A new house 新居 I had a let er f rom my si st er yesterday. She li ves i n Ni ger ia. In her l et ter, she sai d t hat she woul d e t o England next year . If she es, she wil l get a surpr ise. We are now li ving i n a beaut if ul new house in t he count ry. Wor k on i t had begun bef ore m y sister lef t. The house was plet ed fi ve months ago. I n my let er , I tol d her t hat she coul d stay wi th us. The house has many lar ge rooms and ther e is a l ovel y garden. I t is a ver y modern house, so it l ooks st range to some people. It must be the only m oder n house i n the di st ri ct. Les