【正文】 i m of f the mai n st r eet . The pol ice had a dif fi cul t ti me, but they wer e most am used. 39。s cl osest f ri ends asked hi m to m ake a speech at a wedding r ecepti on. Thi s is t he sor t of t hing t hat Geof fr ey loves. He pr epar ed the speech car ef ul l y and went to the wedding wi th Jenny. He had i ncl uded a large number of funny stor ies in the speech and, of cour se, i t was a great success. As soon as he had fi nished, Jenny t old hi m she wanted t o go home. Geof fr ey was a li t le di sappointed by this but he did as hi s daughter asked. On the way home, he asked Jenny if she had enj oyed t he speech. To hi s sur pr ise, she said she hadn39。 she asked i mpat ientl y. 39。 if he pi cks a l eaf , he wil l die. Many vil lagers beli eve t hat t he tr e has alr eady cl aimed a number of victi ms. The vi car has been asked to have the t ree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has point ed out t hat t he tr e is a usef ul sour ce of i ne as t ouri st s have been ing f rom al part s of the count ry t o see it . I n spit e of al l that has been sai d, t he touri sts have been pi cki ng leaves and cutt ing t hei r nam es on the t reet runk. So far , not one of them has been st ruck down by sudden death! Leson59 In or out ？ 進(jìn)來(lái)還是出去？ Our dog, Rex, used to si t out si de our f ront gate and bark. Ever y t ime he want ed to e into the garden he would bar k until s omeone opened the gate. As t he nei ghbours pl ai ned of the noise, m y husband spent weeks t rai ni ng him to pres hi s paw on t he latch t o let him sel f i n. Rex soon becam e an expert at openi ng the gate. However , when I was goi ng out shoppi ng last week, I noti ced hi m i n t he gar den near the gate. This t ime he was bar king so that som eone woul d let him out ! Si nce then, he has devel oped anothe r bad habit . As soon as he opens t he gate f rom the outside, he es into the garden and wait s unt il t he gat e shut s. Then he sits and bar ks unt il someone l et s him out. Af ter thi s he immedi at ely l ets himsel f in and begi ns bar king again. Yest erday my husband r emoved the gate and Rex got so annoyed we have not seen hi m si nce. Lesson60 The fut ure 卜算未來(lái) At a vil age fair , I deci ded t o visit a f ort une tel ler cal led Madam Bel li nsky. I went i nto her tent and she t old m e to si t down. Af ter I had given her some m oney, she l ooked i nto a cr yst al bal and sai d: 39。hi de gol d. The pir ates would of ten bur y gold i n the cave and then f ai l to coll ect i t. Ar med wi th t he new machine, a search part y went he did not li ke it . She enjoyed herself making the asist ant bri ng almost ever ything i n t he window befor e f inaly buyi ng the dr ess she had fi rst asked for . Lesson58 A blessi ng i n disguise? 是因禍得福嗎？ The t iny vi l age of Fr inley i s sai d to possess a 39。A relat ion of your s is i ng to see you. She wi l l be ar ri ving t hi s eveni ng and i ntends to st ay for a f ew days. The moment you leave this t ent , you wil l get a bi g sur pri se. A woman you know wel wi l r ush t owards you. She wi l l speak to you and t hen she wi l lead you away f rom this pl ace. That i s al .39。Your si st er wil l be her e in les than an hour and we must be at the stati on to meet her. We are late al ready. 39。t . Geoff rey asked her why t his was so and she told hi m that she did not l ike t o se so m any people l aughing at him ! Lesson64 The Channel Tunnel 海峽隧道 I n l858, a French engi neer , Aim e Thom e de Gamond, ar ri ved in England wi th a plan f or a twenty one m il e tunnel across the Engl ish Channel. He sai d that it would be possible t o buil d a plat for m i n t he centr e of the Channel . Thi s plat form would ser ve as a por t and a rail way stati on. The t unnel would be wel vent il ated if t al chimneys were bui lt above sea level. I n 1860, a bet er pl an was put f orwar d by an Engli shman, Wi l iam Low. He suggest ed that a doubl e rai lway t unnel should be bui lt . Thi s woul d sol ve the pr obl em of ventil ati on, f or i f a tr ain ent er ed thi s tunnel , it would dr aw i n f resh air behi nd it . For ty two year s later a t unnel was act ual ly begun. I f, at the t im e, t he Bri ti sh had not f ear ed invasi on, it woul d have been pleted. Recentl y, there has agai n been gr eat i nterest in t he idea of a Channel Tunnel . I f it i s built , it wi l connect Bri tain to Eur ope for the f ir st ti me in history. Leson65 Jumbo versus t he poli ce 小象對(duì)警察 Last Chri stmas, the cir cus owner , Jim my Gat es, deci ded to t ake some pr esents t o a chil dr en39。Jum bo must wei gh a f ew tons,39。 Lesson66 Sweet as honey! 像蜜一樣甜！ The Hatheld Puf f in i s a modern aer o plane, but it s desi gner , Mr John Wim penny, is f inding i t dif fi cul t o get it off t he ground. The r eason f or t his i s that thi s pl ane is also a bi cycle. I ts pil ot has t o pedal hard t o get it int o the ai r. Af ter Mr Wim penny had the pl ane bui lt, i t was test ed thor oughly. I n 1961, i t was t he fi rst manpower ed ai rcr af t to f ly hal f a mi le. Whi le being f lown by a champi on amateur cycli st i n 1963, t he plane cr ashed on an ai rf ield. Since t hen, Mr Wim penny has had i t rebuil t. He has had the l engt h of the wi ngs increased so t hat t hey now measure 93 feetalmost as long as t hose of a Dakota. Many peopl e have shown i nt erest i n t hi s new and unusual sport . But though ai r cycl ists may lear n how to f ly over shor t di st ances, and may, eventual y, even get across the Engli sh Channel, i t is doubt ful whether they wi l ever cycle across the At l ant ic. Lesson67 Vol canoes 火山 Har oun Tazi ef f the Pol ish sci ent ist, has spent his l if e ti me studying acti ve volcanoes and deep caves i n al part s of the wor ld. In 1948, he went t o l ake Ki vu i n the Congo t o observe a new vol cano which he lat er named Ki tur o. Taz