【正文】 Lat er a nei ghbour t ol d me about hi m. Everybody knows hi m. Hi s nam e is Per cy But t ons. He cal ls at ever y house i n t he st r et once a m ont h and al ways asks f or a m eal and a gl as of beer. Leson 7 Too lat e 為時太晚 The pl ane was l at e and det ect i ves wer e wai ti ng at the air port al m or ning. They wer e expecti ng a val uable par cel of di am ond f rom Sout h Af ri ca. A few hour s ear li e r, som eone had t ol d t he pol ice t hat t hi eves woul d tr y t o st eal t he diamonds. When t he pl ane ar i ved, som e of t he det ect i ves wer e wait ng i nsi de t he mai n bui l di ng whil e others wer e wait i ng on the air fi eld. Two m en t ook t he par cel off t he plane and car ri ed it i nt o t he Cust om s House. Whi l e t wo det ecti ves were keepi ng guar d at t he door, t wo ot her s opened the par cel. To t hei r sur pri se, t he pr eci ous par cel was f ul l of st ones and sand! Lesson 8 The best and t he worst 最好的和最差的 Joe Sanders has t he m ost beaut if ul gar den i n our t own. Nearl y ever ybody ent er s f or 39。The Nicest Gar den Com pet it i on39。 each year , but Joe wi ns ever y tim e. Bil l Fr it h39。s gar den i s l ar ger t han Joe39。s. Bi l wor ks har der t han Joe and gr ows m ore f l ower s and vegetables, but Joe39。s gar den i s m or e i nt er est i ng. He has made neat paths and has buil t a wooden bri dge over a pool . I li ke gar dens t oo, but I do not l i ke har d wor k. Every year I ent er f or the gar den peti i on t oo, and I al ways wi n a l it tl e pri ze for t he worst gar den i n t he town! Leson 9 A cold wel e 冷遇 On Wednesday eveni ng, we went t o the Town Hal l. I t was t he l ast day of t he year and a l ar ge crowd of peopl e had gat hered under t he Town Hal cl ock. It woul d st ri ke t wel ve i n t went y m i nut es39。 t im e. Fi ft een m inut es pased and t hen, at f ive t o t wel ve, t he cl ock st opped. The bi g mi nute hand di d not m ove. We wai ted and wait ed, but not hi ng happened. Suddenl y someone shouted, 39。I t 39。s t wo mi nutes past t wel ve! The cl ock has st opped! 39。 I looked at m y watch. It was tr ue. The bi g clock r ef used t o wel e t he New Year . At that m om ent ever ybody began t o l augh and sing. Lesson 10 Not f or j azz 不適于演奏爵士樂 We have an ol d musi cal i nst r um ent. I t is cal ed a cl avi chor d(翼琴 ). I t was m ade i n Ger many i n 1681. Our cl avichor d i s kept i n t he l i vi ng r oom. I t has bel ong t o our fami ly f or a l ong t im e. The i nst rument was bought by my gr andf at her m any year s ago. Recentl y i t wa s dam aged by a vi si tor. She t ri ed t o pl ay j azz on it ! She st r uck t he keys t oo har d and t wo of t he str i ngs wer e br oken. My f at her was shocked. Now we are not al l owed t o t ouch i t. I t is being r epai red by a f ri end of m y f at her39。s. Leson 11 O ne good t urn deserves anot her 禮尚往來 I was havi ng di nner at a r est aur ant when Har r y Steele came i n. Har r y wor ked i n a l awyer39。s off i ce years ago, but he i s now wor ki ng at a bank. He gets a good sal ar y, but he al ways bor r ows m oney f r om hi s f r iends and never pays it back. Har r y saw m e and cam e and sat at the sam e t abl e. He has never borr owed m oney f rom m e. Whil e he was eati ng, I asked him t o l end m e amp。2. To m y sur pr i se, he gave m e the m oney im mediat el y. 39。I have never bor rowed any m oney f rom you,39。 Har r y sai d, 39。so now you can pay f or m y di nner! 39。 Lesson 12 Goodbye and good l uck 再見，一路順風 Our nci ghbour, Capt ai n Charl es Ali son, wil l sail f r om Port sm out h t om orr ow. We shal l meet hi m at t he har bour earl y i n the m or ning. He wi l be i n hi s sm al boat , Topsail . Tapsai l i s a f am ous l it tl e boat . It has sai led across the At lanti c many ti mes. Capt ai n Al ison wil l set out at ei ght o39。cl ock so we shal have pl ent y of ti me. We shal see hi s boat and t hen we s hal say good bye to him . He wi l be away f or t wo m ont hs. We are ver y pr oud of him. He wil l t ake par t i n an i m port ant r ace acr oss t he Atl ant ic. Leson 13 The G reenwood Boys 綠林少年 The Gr eenwood Boys ar e a gr oup of popul ar si nger s. At pr esent , t hey ar e vi si ti ng al part s of t he count ry. They wil l be ar ri vi ng her e tom or row. They wil l be ing by t r ai n and m ost of t he young peopl e i n the t own wi l be meeti ng them at t he st at i on. Tom orr ow eveni ng t hey wi l be si ngi ng at t he Wor ker s39。 Cl ub. The Gr eenwood Boys wi l be st ayi ng for fi ve days. Duri ng t hi s tim e, t hey wil l give f ive perf orm ances. As usual , the poli ce wil l have a di f icult ti me. They wi l l be t r yi ng t o keep or der . It i s al ways t he sam e on t hese occasi ons. Lesson 14 Do you speak Engl ish? 你會講英語嗎？ I had an am usi ng exper i ence l ast year. Af t er I had l ef t a sm al l vi l age in t he sout h of France, I dr ove on t o t he next t own. On t he way, a young m an waved t o me. I st opped and he asked m e f or a l if t. As soon as he had got i nt o t he car , I sai d good m or ni ng t o him i n French and he repli ed in t he sam e language. Apar t fr om a few words, I do not know any Fr ench at al l. Neit her of us spoke dur ing t he jour ney. I had nearl y r eached the t own, when t he young m an suddenl y sai d, ver y sl owl y, 39。Do you speak Engli sh?39。 As I soon l ear nt, he was Engli sh hi msel f ! Lesson 15 G ood news 佳音 The secr et ary t old m e t hat Mr . Harm swor th woul d see m e. I f elt very ner vous when. I went i nt o hi s of fi ce. He di d not look up f r om his desk when I ent er ed. Aft er I had sat down, he sai d t hat busi nes s was very bad. He t ol d me t hat t he fi rm coul d not af f or d t o pay such l ar ge sal ari es. Twent y peopl e had alr eady l ef t. I knew t hat m y t ur n had e. 39。Mr. Harm swort h, 39。 I sai d i n a weak voi ce. 39。Don39。t i nter upt,39。 he Sai d. Then he sm il ed and tol d m e I wo