【正文】 gr ound over t he desolate hi l s. Wint er was i ng on and t he hil ls t hreatened the surr oundi ng vi l ages wi t h destr uct i on, f or heavy rai n woul d not onl y wash away t he soil but would cause seri ous fl oods as wel . When t he fi re had at last been put out , t he f or est aut hori ti es ordered sever al t ons of a speci al t ype of grass seed whi ch woul d gr ow quickly. The sed was sprayed over t he gr ound i n huge quant it ies by aeropl anes. The pl anes had been pl a nti ng seed f or near ly a m ont h when i t began t o r ai n. By t hen, however , i n m any pl aces t he grass had al ready taken r oot. I n pl ace of t he gr eat t rees which had been gr owi ng t here f or cent ur ies, pat ches of green had begun t o appear in t he blackened soi l. Lesson63 She was not amused 她并不覺得好笑 Ge of fr ey Ham pden has a l arge cir cle of f ri ends and i s ver y popul ar at part ies. Ever ybody adm ir es him f or hi s fi ne sense of hum or ever ybody, that is, except hi s si xyear ol d daught er , Jenny. Recentl y, one of Geoff r ey39。s cl osest f ri ends asked hi m to m ake a speech at a weddi ng r ecepti on. Thi s is t he sor t of t hi ng t hat Geof fr ey l oves. He pr epar ed the speech caref ul l y and went t o the weddi ng wi t h Jenny. He had included a l ar ge num ber of f unny st or ies i n t he speech and, of cour se, i t was a great success. As soon as he had fi nished, Jenny t old him she wanted t o go hom e. Geof fr ey was a l it tl e di sappoi nt ed by thi s but he di d as hi s daught er asked. On t he way hom e, he asked Jenny if she had enj oyed t he speech. To hi s sur pri se, she sai d she hadn39。t . Geof fr ey asked he r why t hi s was so and she t ol d him t hat she di d not li ke to see so many peopl e l aughi ng at hi m! Lesson64 The Channel Tunnel 海峽隧道 I n l858, a French engi neer, Ai me Thom e de Gam ond, ar i ved i n England wit h a pl an f or a t went y one mi l e t unnel across the Engli sh Channel. He sai d t hat i t would be possi ble t o buil d a pl at form i n t he centr e of the Channel . Thi s platf orm woul d ser ve as a por t and a rail way stati on. The t unnel woul d be wel l vent il at ed if t al chim neys wer e bui lt above sea l evel. I n 1860, a bet er pl an was put f or war d by an Engli shm an, Wi l i am Low. He suggested t hat a doubl e r ai l way t unnel shoul d be built . This woul d sol ve t he pr obl em of vent il ati on, f or i f a tr ain ent er ed t hi s tunnel , it woul d dr aw i n f resh ai r behi nd it . For t y t wo year s lat er a t unnel was act ual l y begun. I f, at t he t im e, t he Bri ti sh had not f ear ed invasi on, i t woul d have been pl et ed. Recent ly, t here has agai n been gr eat i nt er est in t he idea of a Channel Tunnel. I f it i s bui lt , it wi l connect Bri tai n to Eur ope for t he f ir st im e i n hi stor y. Lesson65 Jumbo versus t he poli ce 小象對警察 Last Chri st mas, t he cir cus owner, Jim my Gat es, deci ded t o t ake some pr esents t o a chil dr en39。s hospit al. Dr esed up as Fat her Chr istm as and ac pani ed by a 39。guard of honour 39。 of si x pret y gir ls, he set of f down the m ai n st r et of the cit y ri di ng a baby el ephant cal ed Jum bo. He, shoul d have known t hat t he poli ce woul d never al l ow t hi s sor t of t hing. A poli cem an appr oached Jim m y and t old him he ought to have gone al ong a si de str eet as Jum bo was hol ding up t he tr af ic. Though Jimm y agr ed t o go at once, Jum bo r ef used to m ove. Fif t en poli cem en had t o push ver y hard t o get hi m of f t he m ai n str eet . The pol ice had a dif fi cul t tim e, but t hey wer e m ost am used. 39。Jum bo must wei gh a f ew t ons,39。 sai d a poli cem an af te r wards, 39。so i t was f or t unate t hat we di dn39。t have t o car y him. Of cour se, we shoul d ar est him, but as he has a good r ecor d, we sha l l et him of f t hi s tim e. 39。 Lesson66 Sweet as honey! 像蜜一樣甜！ The Hat hel d Puff in i s a m oder n aer o plane, but it s desi gner, Mr John Wim penny, is f i ndi ng i t di f i cult t o get i t off t he gr ound. The r eason f or t his i s that this pl ane i s also a bi cycle. It s pil ot has t o pedal har d t o get i t int o the air . Aft er Mr Wim penny had t he pl ane buil t, i t was t est ed t hor oughl y. I n 1961, it was t he fi rst man power ed ai rcr af t to f l y hal f a mil e. Whil e being f lown by a cham pi on am at eur cycli st i n 1963, t he pl ane cr ashed on an air fi eld. Since t hen, Mr Wim penny has had i t rebuil t. He has had the l engt h of t he wi ngs i ncr eased so t hat t hey now m easur e 93 fee talm ost as l ong as t hose of a Dakot a. Many peopl e have shown i nt erest i n t hi s new and unusual sport . But t hough ai r cycli sts m ay l ear n how t o f ly over shor t di st ances, and m ay, event ual ly, even get acr oss t he Engl i sh Channel , it i s doubtf ul whet her t hey wil l ever cycl e acr oss t he At lanti c. Lesson67 Vol canoes 火山 Har oun Tazief f t he Poli sh sci enti st , has spent hi s li fet im e st udyi ng act i ve vol canoes and deep caves i n al l par t s of t he worl d. I n 1948, he went t o lake Ki vu in t he Congo t o observe a new vol cano whi ch he later nam ed Kit ur o. Tazi ef was able t o set up hi s cam p ver y cl ose t o t he vol cano whil e it was er upt i ng vi ol ent l y. Though he managed t o t ake a number of br il li ant phot ogr aphs, he could not stay near t he vol cano f or ver y l ong. He noti ced t hat a ri ver of li quid r ock was ing t owar ds him. I t thr eat ened t o sur r ound him pl et el y, but Tazi ef m anaged to escape j ust i n ti me. He wait ed unt il t he vol cano becam e quiet and he was abl e t o ret ur n t wo days l ater. Thi s tim e, he m anaged t o cl im b i nt o t he m out h of Kit ur o so t hat he coul d t ake phot ogr aphs and m easur e t em per at ures. Tazi ef f has of ten r isked hi s li f e in t his way. He has been