【正文】 les ar ound. Now, sm oke st il l r ose up fr om t he warm ground over the desol at e hil ls. Winter was i ng on and t he hil ls threat ened the surr oundi ng vil lages wit h dest r uct i on, f or heavy rain woul d not onl y wash away the soil but woul d cause ser ious f loods as wel . When the fi re had at last been put out, t he f or est author it ies or dered sever al t ons of a speci al t ype of gras seed which woul d gr ow quickl y. The seed was sprayed over the gr ound i n huge quanti ties by aeropl anes. The planes had been plant ing sed for near ly a mont h when it began to r ai n. By then, however, i n many pl aces t he gr ass had al ready taken r oot. I n pl ace of t he great tr ees which had been gr owi ng t her e for centuri es, patches of green had begun t o appear in the blackened soil . Lesson63 She was not amused 她并不覺得好笑 Geof fr ey Hampden has a large ci rcle of f ri ends and is ver y popul ar at parti es. Everybody admir es him for hi s fine sense of humoreverybody, t hat is, except his si x year ol d daughter, Jenny. Recentl y, one of Geof frey39。Wher e have you been hi di ng ?39。. Because the tr e was m enti oned i n a newspaper, t he num ber of visi tors t o Fr inley has now i ncr eased. The tr e was pl anted near a chur ch f ift y years ago, but it is onl y in r ecent year s that it has gai ned an evil r eput at ion. It i s said t hat i f anyone touches t he tr ee, he wi l have bad luck。 Lesson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At last fi remen have put out a bi g forest fi re i n Cali fornia. Si nce then, they have been t rying to f ind out how t he f ir e began. Forest fi re are oft en caused by broken glas or by cigar et te ends whi ch peopl e carel esl y t hr ow away. Yester day the fir em en exami ned the gr ound caref ul y, but were not abl e to fi nd any br oken gl as. They were also quit e sure t hat a ci garet e end di d not st ar t he f ir e. Thi s m or ni ng, however, a fi rem an acci dental y discover ed t he cause. He not iced t he r emains of a snake whi ch was wound r ound t he el ectr ic wi res of a 16, 000 vol t power li ne. In t hi s way, he was abl e to sol ve t he m yst ery. The explanati on was sim pl e but ver y unusual. A bi rd had snat ched up t he snake f rom t he gr ound and t hen dr opped it on to t he wir es. The snake t hen wound it self r ound t he wi res. When i t di d so, i t sent sparks down t o t he gr ound and these immediat el y st ar ted a fi re. Lesson54 St icky f i ngers 粘糊的手指 Aft er breakf ast, I sent t he chi ldren to school and t hen I went t o market . I t was st il ear ly when I r et ur ned hom e. The chi ldren wer e at school, my husband was at wor k and t he house was qui et. So I decided t o m ake some t art s for t ea. In a short tim e I was busy mi xi ng but ter and fl our and my hands wer e soon covered wit h sti cky pastr y. At exactl y that moment, t he t el ephone rang. Not hi ng coul d have been m or e annoying. I picked up the receiver bet ween t wo sti cky fi ngers and was di smayed when I r ecognized t he voice of Mr s Bat es. I t ook me t en mi nutes t o per suade her t o r i ng back later. At last I hung up t he r ecei ver. What a m ess! Ther e was past r y on my fi ngers, on t he t el ephone, and on t he door knobs. I had no sooner got back t o the ki tchen than t he door bel rang l oud enough t o wake t he dead. This tim e it was t he postm an and he want ed me t o si gn f or a regist er ed l et ter ! Leson55 Not a gol d mi ne 并非金礦 Dr eam s of fi ndi ng l ost reasure almost came tr ue recent ly. A new m achi ne cal led 39。Thi s i s the pr et ti est carpet I have ever s een,39。 We are goi ng back now, 39。t m at er ,39。 said t he conduct or suddenl y. 39。 39。of f here,39。 Is this Woodf ord Gr en ?39。 I f or got to put you of f.39。 I said. 39。 sai d the conductor. 39。 she said. She gazed at it for som e time t hen added, 39。The Revealer39。 if he pi cks a leaf , he wil l die. Many vil agers bel ieve t hat he t ree has al ready claimed a number of vi ctim s. The vi car has been asked to have t he tr ee cut down, but so far he has r ef used. He has poi nt ed out t hat he t ree is a useful sour ce of ine as t ouri st s have been ing fr om al par ts of the count ry t o see i t. In spi te of al t hat has been said, t he t ouri st s have been pi cking leaves and cutt ing thei r nam es on the tr et runk. So far, not one of t hem has been str uck down by sudden death! Leson59 In or out ？ 進(jìn)來還是出去？ Our dog, Rex, used t o sit out si de our f ront gat e and bar k. Ever y tim e he want ed t o e into t he gar den he woul d bark unt il s omeone opened t he gat e. As the nei ghbours plained of t he noi se, my husband spent weks tr ai ni ng him t o pr ess hi s paw on the l at ch t o let him self i n. Rex soon becam e an expert at opening the gate. However, when I was going out shoppi ng l ast week, I noti ced him i n the gar den near t he gat e. This tim e he was bar ki ng so that someone woul d let him out ! Si nce t hen, he has devel oped anot her bad habit . As soon as he opens the gate f rom t he out si de, he es i nt o t he garden and wait s unti l t he gate shuts. Then he sit s and bar ks unti l som eone lets him out. Aft er this he immedi at el y lets himsel f i n and begins bar ki ng agai n. Yesterday m y husband r em oved t he gate and Rex got so annoyed we have not sen him since. Lesson60 The fut ure 卜算未來 At a vil lage f ai r, I deci ded t o visit af ort unet el er cal led Madam Beli nsky. I went into her t ent and she t ol d m e t o si t down. Aft er I had given her som e m oney, she l ooked i nt o a cr ystal bal and sai d: 39。 she asked im pati entl y. 39。s cl osest fr iends asked him to make a speech at a weddi ng r ecepti on. of f her e, 39。 I s t hi s Woodford Gr en ?39。 I fot t o put you off .39。 I sai d. 39。We are going back now,39。Thi s is the pr et ti est carpet I have ever sen,39。 Leson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At l ast fi