【正文】 we had our fi r st gli mpse of t he snake. It r ose out of the basket and began t o f ol low t he m ovem ent s of t he pi pe. We wer e ver y much surpri sed when the snake charm er suddenl y bega n t o play j azz t unes and m odern pop songs. The snake, however, conti nued t o 39。The Revealer39。 39。You needn39。 We m ust n39。 I sai d t o my wif e. 39。 she answered,39。 I asked. 39。 I asked. 39。 39。 Lesson40 Food and t al k 進(jìn)餐與交談 Last week at a di nner par ty, t he host ess asked me t o sit next t o Mrs Rum bol d. Mrs Rum bol d was a l ar ge, unsmil i ng lady i n a ti ght bl ack dr es. She di d not even l ook up when I t ook m y seat besi de her . Her eyes wer e fi xed on her pl at e and i n a shor t im e, she was busy eat ing. I tr ied t o make conversat i on. 39。s oper ati on had been successf ul and t he doct or t ol d hi m that i t had been. He t hen asked when Mr Gi l bert woul d be al owed t o go hom e and the doct or t ol d him t hat he would have t o st ay i n hospit al f or anot her t wo weks. Then Dr Mil li ngt on asked t he cal er if he was a r elati ve of the pati ent .39。 No,39。 A new pl ay i s i ng t o The Gl obe soon,39。 No,39。 No, 39。 No,39。 if you at e m ore and t al ked less, we woul d both enj oy our di nner !39。You needn39。t buy t hi ngs we don39。t have sai d t hat ,39。 I fi nd it beaut if ul,39。 m ay r eveal som et hing of value f ai rl y soon. Leson56 Fast er t han sound! 比聲音還快！ Once a year a r ace i s held f or ol d cars. A l ot of cars ent er ed f or t hi s r ace l ast year and t her e was a grea t deal of excit em ent j ust bef or e it began. One of t he m ost handsome cars was a Rol l s Royce Si lver Ghost . The m ost unusual car was a Benz whi ch had onl y t hr ee wheel s. Buil t i n 1885, it was t he ol dest car t aki ng part. Aft er a gr eat m any l oud expl osi ons, the r ace began. Many of t he car s broke down on t he cour se and som e dri vers spent m or e ti me under t heir cars t han i n t hem ! A f ew cars, however, pl et ed t he r ace. The wi nni ng car r eached a speed of f or ty m il es an hourm uch faster t han any of it s ri val s. I t s ped downhil at t he end of t he race and it s dr i ver had a l ot of tr oubl e t ryi ng t o st op i t. The r ace gave ever yone a gr eat dea l of pl easure. It was ver y di f erent fr om m oder n car r aces but no less excit i ng. Leson57 Can I hel p you, m adam ? 你要買什么，夫人？ A wom an i n bl ue j eans st ood at t he wi ndow of an expensi ve shop. Though she hesi t at ed for a m om ent, she fi nal l y went i n and asked t o se a dr es t hat was i n t he window. The asistant who ser ved her di d not l i ke t he way she was dr essed. Glanci ng at her scor nf ul ly, he t ol d her t hat t he dress was sol d. The wom an wal ked out of t he shop angr il y and deci ded to punish t he assistant next day. She r et ur ned t o t he shop t he f oll owing m or ning dr esed in a fur coat , wit h a handbag i n one hand and a l ong um brel a i n the ot her. Aft er seeki ng out t he r ude assi st ant she asked f or t he sam e dress. Not r eali zing who she was, the assi st ant was eager t o ser ve her t hi s ti me wi t h gr eat di f icult y, he cl im bed i nt o t he shop wi ndow t o get t he dress. As soon as she saw i t, t he wom an sai d s m any t ies. 39。dance39。but t hey di d not st eal anyt hing.39。 Two m ont hs l ater, som e m or e m oney was sent t o Sam wi t h anot her note:39。 I am 100 per cent honest now!39。 eggs and asked m e whet her m y col l ecti on was gr owi ng. He then asked m e how m y br other was and whet her I l i ked m y new j ob i n London. I n answer t o t hese questi ons I ei ther nodded or made st r ange noises. Meanwhil e, m y t ongue was busy searchi ng out t he hol e where t he toot h had been. I suddenl y f el t ver y worr i ed, but coul d not say anyt hi ng. When t he denti st at l ast removed t he cott on wool fr om m y m out h, I was able t o t el l hi m that he had pul ed out the wr ong toot h. Leson49 The end of a dream 美夢(mèng)告終 Ti r ed of sl epi ng on t he fl oor, a young man i n Teher an saved up f or years t o buy a r eal bed. For t he fi rst tim e i n his l if e, he becam e t he pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spri ngs and a m at ress. Because t he weat her was ver y hot , he car ri ed t he bed on t o the r oof of hi s house. He sl ept ver y wel l f or t he fi rst t wo nights, but on t he t hi rd ni ght , a st or m bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept the bed of f the r oof and sent i t cr ashi ng into the court yar d bel ow. The young m an did not wake up unt il t he bed had str uck the gr ound. Al though the bed was sm ashed to pieces, the man was m ir acul ously unhurt . When he woke up, he was st il l on the mat tr ess. Gl anci ng at the bit s of wood and metal that lay around him , the man sadly pi cked up t he mat ress and car ied i t int o his house . Af ter he had put it on t he fl oor, he prompt ly went t o sleep again. Leson50 Taken for a ri de 乘車兜風(fēng) I l ove tr avel ling in t he countr y, but I don39。 I sai d t o the conduct or as I got on the bus,39。 I39。l l have to get oper at i on had been succesf ul , but t he doct or r efused to do so. The fol lowi ng day, the pati ent asked for a bedsi de tel ephone. When he was al one, he tel ephoned the hospi tal exchange and asked for Doctor Mil ington. When t he doct or answered t he phone, Mr Gi lbert said he was i nqui ri ng about a cert ai n pati ent , a Mr John Gil ber t. He asked if Mr Gil ber t39。 I am Mr John Gi lber t.39。Wil you be seei ng it ?39。Wi l you be spending your holidays abroad thi s year ?39。 Wil l you be st ayi ng in Engl and?39。 Young man,39。Do you cal t hat a hat ?39。 my wi fe answered as she looked at herself i n the m ir ror . I sat down on one of t hose m oder n chai rs wi th hol es in i t and wai ted. We had been in the hat shop f or half an hour and my wi fe was st il l in f ront of the mi r or.