【正文】 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(jìn)了大橋街的一所房子。昨天一個(gè)乞丐來敲我的門，問我要一頓飯和一杯啤酒。作為回報(bào)，那乞丐頭頂?shù)氐沽⑵饋?，嘴里還唱著歌。我給了他一頓飯。他把食物吃完，又喝了酒。然后把一塊乳酪裝進(jìn)衣袋里走了。后來，一位鄰居告訴了我他的情況。大家都認(rèn)識(shí)他，他叫珀西 .巴頓斯。他每月對(duì)這條街上的每戶人家光顧一次，總是請(qǐng)求給他一頓飯和一杯啤酒。 Lesson 7 Too late 為時(shí)太晚 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。 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(jī)場(chǎng) expect v. 期待，等待 valuable adj. 貴重的 parcel n. 包裹 diamond n. 鉆石 steal v. 偷 main adj. 主要的 airfield n. 飛機(jī)起落的場(chǎng)地 guard n. 警戒，守衛(wèi) precious adj. 珍貴的 stone n. 石子 sand n. 沙子 參考譯文 飛機(jī)誤點(diǎn)了，偵探們?cè)跈C(jī)場(chǎng)等了整整一上午。他們正期待從南非來的一個(gè)裝著鉆石的貴重包裹。數(shù)小時(shí)以前，有人向警方報(bào)告，說有人企圖偷走這些鉆石。當(dāng)飛機(jī)到達(dá)時(shí)，一些偵探等候在主樓內(nèi)，另一些偵探則守候在停機(jī)坪上。有兩個(gè)人把包裹拿下飛機(jī)，進(jìn)了海關(guān)。這時(shí)兩個(gè)偵探把住門口，另外兩個(gè)偵探打開了包裹。令他們吃驚的是，那珍貴的包裹里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，然后回答以下問題。 Why is Joe39。s garden the most beautiful one in the town? Joe Sanders has the most beautiful garden in our town. Nearly everybody enters for 39。The Nicest Garden Competition39。 each year, but Joe wins every time. Bill Frith39。s garden is larger than Joe39。s. Bill works harder than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but Joe39。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 petition too, and I always win a little prize for the worst garden in the town! New words and expressions 生詞和短語 petition 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(zhèn)上最漂亮的花園。幾乎每個(gè)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。他修筑了一條條整潔的小路，并在一個(gè)池塘上架了一座小木橋。我也喜歡花園，但我卻不愿意辛勤勞動(dòng)。每年的花園競賽我也參加，但總因是鎮(zhèn)上最劣的花園而獲得一個(gè)小獎(jiǎng)！ Lesson 9 A cold wele 冷遇 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。 What does 39。a cold wele39。 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 minutes39。 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. 39。It39。s two minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped!39。 I looked at my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to wele the New Year. At that moment, everybody began to laugh and sing. New words and expressions 生詞和短語 wele n. 歡迎； v. 歡迎 crowd n. 人群 gather v. 聚集 hand n. （表或機(jī)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?nèi)チ耸姓d。 那是一年的最后一天，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(diǎn) 55 分時(shí)，大鐘停了。那根巨大的分針不動(dòng)了。 我們等啊等啊，可情況沒有變化。突然有人喊道：“已經(jīng) 12 點(diǎn)零 2 分了！那鐘已經(jīng)停了！”我看了一下我的手表，果真如此。那座大鐘不愿意迎接新年。此時(shí)，大家已經(jīng)笑了起來，同時(shí)唱起了歌。 Lesson 10 Not for jazz 不適于演奏爵士樂 First listen and then answer the question. 聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。 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 father39。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(jīng)很久了， 是我祖父在很多年以前買的。可它最近被一個(gè)客人弄壞了，因?yàn)樗盟鼇韽椬嗑羰繕?。她在擊琴鍵時(shí)用力過猛，損壞了兩根琴弦。我父親大為吃驚，不許我們?cè)賱?dòng)它。父親的一個(gè)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，然后回答以下問題。 Who paid for Tony39。s dinner? I was having dinner at a restaurant when Tony Steele came in. Tony worked in a lawyer39。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. To