【正文】 t he police wil have a dif ficult t im e. They wil be t r ying t o keep or der. I t is always t he sam e on t hese occasions. Lesson 14 Do you speak English? 你會(huì)講英語(yǔ)嗎？ I had an amusing experience last year. Af t er I had lef t a sm al vilage in t he sout h of France, Idr ove on t o t he next own. On t he way, a young m an waved t o m e. I st opped and he asked m e f or a lif t . As soon as he had got int o t he car, Isaid good m or ni g t o him in Fr ench and he r eplied in t he same language. Apart f rom a f ew wor ds, I do not know any Fr ench at al. Neit her of us spoke dur ing t he jour ney. I had nearly r eached t he t own, when t he young m an suddenly said, very slowly, 39。Do you speak English?39。 As I soon lear nt , he was English him self ! Lesson 15 Good news 佳音 The secr et ary t old m e t hat Mr. Harmswor t h would see m e. I f elt very ner vous when. I went int o his of fice. He did not look up f r om his desk when I entered. Aft er I had sat down, he said t hat business was ver y bad. He t old m e t hat he f irm could not af ford t o pay such lar ge sal r ies. Twent y people had alr eady lef t. I knew t hat my t ur n had e. 39。M r. Harmswor t h,39。 I said in a weak voice. 39。Don39。t int er upt, 39。 he Said. Then he smiled and t old me I would r eceive an extr a amp。100 a year! Lesson 16 A polit e r equest 彬彬有禮的要求 I f you par k your car in t he wr ong place, a t r af fic policem an wil soon f ind it . You wil be ver y lucky if he let s you go wit hout a t icket. However, t his does not always hapen. Tr af fic police are som etim es very polit e. Dur ing a holiday in Sweden, If ound t his not e on my car :39。 Sir , we wel e you t o ur cit y. This a No Parking ar ea. You wil enjoy your st ay here if you pay at tention t o ur st reet signs. This not e is only a r em inder. 39。 I f you r eceive a r equest like t his, you cannot f ail t o obey it ! Lesson 17 Always young 青年常駐 M y aunt J ennif er is an act ress. She m ust be at least hir tyfive year s old. I n spit e of t his, she of ten appear s on t he stage as a young ir l. J ennif er wil have t o t ake part in a new play soon. This t ime, she wil be a gir l of sevent een. I n t he play, she m ust appear in a br ight r ed dr ess and long black st ockings. Last year in anot her play, she had t o wear shor t socks and a bright, or angecol ur ed dr ess. I f anyone ever asked her how old she is, she always answer s, 39。M y dear , it m ust be t er rible t o be gr own up!39。 lesson18 He oft en does t his! 他經(jīng)常干這種事！ Aft er Ihad had lunch at a vilage inn, Ilooked f or m y bag. Ihad lef t i on a chair beside t he door and now it wasn39。t here !As I was looking f or it , t he innkeeper cam e in. 39。Did you have a good m eal ?39。 he asked. 39。Yes, t hank you, 39。 I answered, 39。but I can39。t pay t he bil. I haven39。t got m y bag.39。 The inn keeper sm iled and imm ediat ely went out. I n a f ew minut es he r et ur ned wit h m y bag and gave it back t o m e. 39。I 39。m ver y sor y, 39。 he said 39。M y dog had t aken it int o t he gar den. He oft en does t his.39。 Lesson19 Sold out 票已售完 39。The play may begin at any m om ent, 39。 I said. 39。I t may have begun alr eady, 39。 Susan answer ed. 39。I hur ried t o t he t icket ofice. 39。M ay I have t wo t icket s please ?39。 I asked. 39。I 39。m sor ry, we39。ve sold out, 39。 t he gir l said. 39。What pit y! 39。 Susan exclaimed. J ust hen, a m an hur ied t o t he t icket of fice. 39。Can Ir et ur n t hese t wo tickets?39。 he asked. 39。Cert ainly, 39。 t he gir l said. 39。Could Ihave t hose t wo t icket s please ?39。 Iasked. 39。Cer tainly, 39。t he gir l said, 39。but t hey ar e f or next Wednesday39。s per f orm ance. 39。I m ight as well have t hem ,39。 I said sadly. Lesson20 One man in a boat 獨(dú)坐孤舟 Fishing is my f avour it e spor t. I of ten f ish f or hour s wit hout cat ching anything. But t his does not wor ry me. Som e f isherm en ar e unlucky. I nst ead of cat ching fish, t hey catch old boots and r ubish. Iam even less lucky. I never catch anything not even old boot s. Af t er having spent whole m or ni gs on t he r iver, Ialways go hom e wit h an em pt y bag. 39。You must give up f ishing!39。 m y f r iends say.39。 I t39。s a waste of t im e.39。 But t hey don39。t r ealize one im port ant t hing. I 39。m not r ealy int er ested in f ishing. I am only int erest ed in sit ting in a boat and oing nothing at al ! Lesson21 M ad or not ? 是不是瘋了？ Aeroplanes ar e slowly dr ivng m e m ad. I live near an air port and pasing planes can be hear d night and ay. The air port was built during t he war, but f or some r eason it could not be used t hen. Last year, however , it cam e int o use. Over a hundred people m ust have been dr iven away f r om t heir homes by t he noise. Iam one of t he f ew people left . Sometim es I t hink t his house wil be knocked down by a pasing plane. I have been of er ed a lar ge sum of m oney t o go away, but I am det er mined t o stay her e. Every body says I must be m ad and t hey ar e pr obably right. Lesson22 A glass envelope 玻璃信封 M y daught er , J ane, never dream ed of r eceiving a let t er f rom a girl of her own age in Holand. Last year , we wer e t r aveling acr oss t he Channel and J ane put a piece of paper wit h her name and address on it int o a botle. She t hrew t he botle int o t he sea. She never t hought of it again, but en m ont hs lat er , she r eceived a let t er f r om a gir l in Holand. Bot h gir ls wr it e t o each other r egularly now. However, t hey have decided t o use t he post ofice. Lett er s wil cost a lit t 1e m or e, but hey wil cer t ainly t ravel f ast er. Lesson23 A new house 新居 I had a let t er f rom my si t er yest er day. She lives in Nigeria. I n her let t er , she said t hat she would e t o England next year. I f she es, she wil get a sur prise. We are now l iving in a beautif ul new house in t he countr y. Work on it had begun bef or e m y sist er left . The house was plet ed five m ont hs ago. I