【正文】 pi ece of paper wit h her nam e and addr ess on i t i nt o a bot tl e. She t hrew t he bottl e i nt o t he sea. She never thought of it again, but t en m onths l at er , she recei ved a let er fr om a gi rl i n Holl and. Bot h gi rl s wr it e t o each ot her r egul ar ly now. However, t hey have deci ded t o use t he post of fi ce. Let ers wil cost a li t 1e m ore, but t hey wil l cer tai nl y tr avel f ast er . Lesson23 A new house 新居 I had a l et er f r om m y si st er yester day. She li ves i n Ni ger ia. I n her l et ter, she sai d t hat she woul d e t o England next year. If she es, she wil l get a sur pr ise. We ar e now li ving i n a beaut if ul new house i n t he count r y. Wor k on i t had begun bef or e m y sist er l ef t. The house was pl et ed fi ve months ago. I n m y let er, I t ol d her t hat she coul d stay wi t h us. The house has many l ar ge r ooms and t her e is a l ovel y gar den. It i s a ver y m oder n house, so i t l ooks st range t o some people. It m ust be t he onl y m oder n house i n t he di st ri ct. Leson24 It coul d be worse 不幸中之萬(wàn)幸 I ent er ed the hotel manager39。 I t39。I mi ght as wel have t hem,39。Cer t ai nl y, 39。Cer t ainl y,39。excl aim ed. Just t hen, a m an hur ri ed to t he ti cket off i ce. 39。 t he gir l sai d. 39。t he gi rl sai d, 39。 I said sadly. Leson20 O ne m an i n a boat 獨(dú)坐孤舟 Fishi ng i s m y f avouri t e sport . I oft en fi sh f or hour s wi thout cat chi ng anyt hi ng. But t hi s does not worr y m e. Some f isherm en ar e unl ucky. I nst ead of catching f ish, t hey cat ch ol d boots and r ubbi sh. I am even l ess l ucky. I never cat ch anyt hi ng not even ol d boot s. Af ter havi ng spent whole m or ni ngs on t he ri ver , I al ways go hom e wit h an empt y bag. 39。s a wast e of ti me.39。s off i ce and sat down. I had just l ost amp。and it39。s l osi ng m oney t hese days, 39。s r oom39。t her e is sti l som e honest y in t his wor l d !39。 I said. Then he spoke slowl y, but I coul d not underst and him . My t eacher never spoke Engli sh l i ke t hat ! The port er and I l ooked at each ot her and sm il ed. Then he sai d som ethi ng and I underst ood i t. 39。t under st and them ! Do t hey speak Engl ish ? l esson26 The best art crit i cs 最佳美術(shù)評(píng)論家 I am an art st udent and I pai nt a l ot of pi ct ures. Many peopl e pr etend t hat t hey under st and m oder n art . They al ways tel you what a pict ur e i s 39。 anyt hi ng. They ar e just pr et t y pat ter ns. We li ke t hem i n t he same way t hat we li ke prett y curt ai n m at er i al. I t hink t hat young chi l dr en oft en appr eci at e modern pi ct ures bet er t han anyone el se. They noti ce m ore. My si st er i s only seven, but she al ways t el l s m e whet her my pi ct ures ar e good or not. She cam e i nt o m y room yester day. 39。m hangi ng t hi s pict ur e on t he wal l,39。 She l ooked at i t cri ti cal y f or a m oment.39。but i sn39。 si gns outsi de hi s gat e, but t hese have not had any ef f ect. Now he has put an ugly st one head over t he gat e. I t is one of t he ugli est f aces I have ever sen. I asked him what i t was and he t old m e t hat it was Medusa, t he Gor gon. Jasper hopes t hat she wi l t ur n m ot ori st s t o st one. But none of t hem has been t ur ned to st one yet! Lesson29 Taxi! 出租汽車(chē)！ Capt ai n Ben Fawcet has bought an unusual t axi and has begun a new ser vi ce. The 39。. Thi s wonder f ul pl ane can car r y seven pasenger s. The m ost sur pri si ng t hi ng about it , however, i s tha t i t can land anywher e: on snow, water, or even on a ploughed f i el d. Capt ai n Fawcet t39。 gave39。Cer tai nl y,39。Cer tainl y, 39。I m ight as wel l have t hem ,39。 It 39。m not real y i nt erested i n fi shi ng. I am onl y int erest ed in si t ing i n a boat and doing not hi ng at al l ! Lesson21 Mad or not? 是不是瘋了？ Aeroplanes ar e slowl y dri ving me mad. I l ive near an ai rport and pasing pl anes can be hear d night and day. The ai r por t was built dur ing t he war , but f or som e reason i t coul d not be used then. Last year , however, i t came i nto use. Over a hundred people must have been dri ven away fr om t hei r hom es by the noise. I am one of t he few people left . Som et im es I t hink t his house wi l l be knocked down by a passing pl ane. I have been off er ed a l ar ge sum of money to go away, but I am determ ined to st ay her e. Ever ybody says I m ust be mad and t hey ar e probabl y r ight. Lesson22 A gl ass envelope 玻璃信封 My daught er, Jane, never dreamed of receiving a let er f r om a gi rl of her own age i n Hol land. Last year, we were t ravel ing across the Channel and Jane put a piece of paper wi th her name and addr ess on i t i nto a bot tl e. She t hr ew t he bot tl e int o t he sea. She never t hought of it agai n, but t en months lat er , she r ecei ved a let er f rom a gir l in Holl and. Both gi rl s wr it e to each other regularl y now. However , they have decided t o use the post of fi ce. Let ers wi l cost a l it t1e mor e, but t hey wi l cert ainly tr avel faster. Leson23 A new house 新居 I had a l et ter fr om m y sister yest er day. She l ives in Ni geri a. I n her let er , she said that she would e to Engl and next year . I f she es, she wi l get a sur pri se. We ar e now l iving in a beauti ful new house i n the countr y. Work on it had begun befor e my si st er l eft . The house wa s pleted f ive mont hs ago. In my l et ter , I t old her that she could st ay wit h us. The house has m any l arge r oom s and there i s a lovely gar den. It i s a very m oder n house, so it looks str ange t o som e people. I t must be t he onl y modern house in t he dis tr ict . Lesson24 It coul d be worse 不幸中之萬(wàn)幸 I ent er ed the hot el manager 39。 I said, 39。Ever yone39。I found t hi s outside t hi s gent leman39。 I said t o the m anager, 39。I am a for eigner ,39。 he sai d. I wonder. I n England, each man speaks a dif f er ent l anguage. The E