【正文】 . Lesson24 It could be worse 不幸中之萬幸 I entered the hotel manager39。 It39。I might as well have them,39。Certainly, 39。Certainly,39。What a pity!39。I39。 Susan answered. 39。 Lesson19 Sold out 票已售完 39。I39。but I can39。Did you have a good meal ?39。 If you receive a request like this, you cannot fail to obey it! Lesson 17 Always young 青年常駐 My aunt Jennifer is an actress. She must be at least thirtyfive years old. In spite of this, she often appears on the stage as a young girl. Jennifer will have to take part in a new play soon. This time, she will be a girl of seventeen. In the play, she must appear in a bright red dress and long black stockings. Last year in another play, she had to wear short socks and a bright, orangecoloured dress. If anyone ever asked her how old she is, she always answers, 39。t interrupt,39。 As I soon learnt, he was English himself! Lesson 15 Good news 佳音 The secretary told me that Mr. Harmsworth would see me. I felt very nervous when. I went into his office. He did not look up from his desk when I entered. After I had sat down, he said that business was very bad. He told me that the firm could not afford to pay such large salaries. Twenty people had already left. I knew that my turn had e. 39。 Lesson 12 Goodbye and good luck 再見，一路順風(fēng) Our ncighbour, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from Portsmouth tomorrow. We shall meet him at the harbour early in the morning. He will be in his small boat, is a famous little boat. It has sailed across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will set out at eight o39。2. To my surprise, he gave me the money immediately. 39。s two minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped!39。s. Bill works harder than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but Joe39。s garden is more interesting. He has made neat paths and has built a wooden bridge over a pool. I like gardens too, but I do not like hard work. Every year I enter for the garden petition too, and I always win a little prize for the worst garden in the town! Lesson 9 A cold wele 冷遇 On Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall. It was the last day of the year and a large crowd of people had gathered under the Town Hall clock. It would strike twelve in twenty minutes39。 I looked at my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to wele the New Year. At that moment everybody began to laugh and sing. Lesson 10 Not for jazz 不適于演奏爵士樂 We have an old musical instrument. It is called a clavichord(翼琴 ). It was made in Germany in 1681. Our clavichord is kept in the livingroom. It has belong to our family for a long time. The instrument was bought by my grandfather many years ago. Recently it was damaged by a visitor. She tried to play jazz on it! She struck the keys too hard and two of the strings were broken. My father was shocked. Now we are not allowed to touch it. It is being repaired by a friend of my father39。I have never borrowed any money from you,39。clock so we shall have plenty of time. We shall see his boat and then we shall say goodbye to him. He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him. He will take part in an important race across the Atlantic. Lesson 13 The Greenwood Boys 綠林少年 The Greenwood Boys are a group of popular singers. At present, they are visiting all parts of the country. They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be ing by train and most of the young people in the town will be meeting them at the station. Tomorrow evening they will be singing at the Workers39。Mr. Harmsworth,39。 he Said. Then he smiled and told me I would receive an extra amp。My dear, it must be terrible to be grown up!39。 he asked. 39。t pay the bill. I haven39。m very sorry,39。The play may begin at any moment,39。I hurried to the ticketoffice. 39。m sorry, we39。 Susan exclaimed. Just then, a man hurried to the ticketoffice. 39。 the girl said. 39。the girl said, 39。 I said sadly. Lesson20 One man in a boat 獨坐孤舟 Fishing is my favourite sport. I often fish for hours without catching anything. But this does not worry me. Some fishermen are unlucky. Instead of catching fish, they catch old boots and rubbish. I am even less lucky. I never catch anythingnot even old boots. After having spent whole mornings on the river, I always go home with an empty bag. 39。s a waste of time.39。s office and sat down. I had just lost amp。and it39。s losing money these days,39。s room39。there is still some honesty in this world !39。 I said. Then he spoke slowly, but I could not understand him. My teacher never spoke English like that! The porter and I looked at each other and smiled. Then he said something and I understood it. 39。t understand them ! Do they speak English ? lesson26 The best art critics 最佳美術(shù)評論家 I am an art student and I paint a lot of pictures. Many people pretend that they understand modern art. They always tell you what a picture is 39。 anything. They are just pretty patterns. We like them in the same way that we like pretty curtain material. I think that young children often appreciate modern pictures better than anyone else. They notice more. My sister is only seven, but she always tells me whether my pictures are good or not. She came into my room yesterday. 39。m hanging this picture on the wall,39。 She looked at it critically for a moment.39。but isn39。 signs outside his gate, but these have not had any effect. Now he has put an ugly stone head over the gate. It is one of the ugliest faces I have ever seen. I asked him what it wasgarden is larger than Joe39。It39。s office years ago, but he is now working at a bank. He gets a good salary, but he always borrows money from his friends and never pays it back. Harry saw me and came and sat at the same table. He has never borrowed money from me. While he was eating, I asked him to lend me amp。so now you can pay for my dinner!39。Do you speak English?39。Don39。 Sir, we wele you to our city. This is a No Parking area. You will enjoy your stay here if you pay attention to our street signs. This note is only a reminder.39。t there ! As I was looking for it, the innkeeper came in. 39。 I answered, 39。 The innkeeper smiled a