【正文】 but ver y unusual . A bi r d had snatc hed up t he snake f r om t he gr ound and t hen dr opped it on t o t he wir es. The snake t hen wound i tself r ound t he wi res. When it di d so, it sent spar ks down t o t he gr ound and t hese i mm edi at el y start ed a f ir e. Lesson54 Sti cky fi ngers 粘糊的手指 Aft er br eakf ast, I sent t he chi l dr en t o school and t hen I went t o mar ket. I t was st il l ear ly when I r etur ned hom e. The chi l dr en wer e at school, m y husband was at wor k and t he house was qui et. So I deci ded t o m ake som e t art s f or t ea. I n a shor t tim e I was busy m i xi ng but t er and fl our and m y hands wer e soon covered wi t h st icky past ry. At exactl y t hat m om ent, t he tel ephone rang. Not hi ng coul d have been m or e annoyi ng. I pi cked up t he r eceiver bet ween t wo st icky fi nger s and was dismayed when I recogni zed t he voi ce of Mr s Bates. I t t ook m e ten mi nut es t o per sua de her t o r ing back lat er . At last I hung up t he recei ver . What a m ess! Ther e was pastr y on m y fi nger s, on t he tel ephone, and on t he door knobs. I had no sooner got back t o t he kit chen t han the door bel l rang l oud enough to wake t he dead. This t im e i t was t he postm an and he want ed m e t o si gn f or a r egi ster ed l et t er ! Lesson55 Not a gol d mi ne 并非金礦 Dr eam s of fi ndi ng l ost tr easure alm ost cam e t rue r ecentl y. A new m achi ne cal ed 39。. Because t he tr ee was menti oned i n a newspaper, t he num ber of visit ors t o Fri nley has now i ncr eased. The t ree was planted near a chur ch fi ft y year s ago, but it i s onl y i n recent years t hat i t has gained an evil reputati on. I t is said t hat i f anyone t ouches the tr ee, he wi l have bad luck。t need, 39。 my wi f e answered.39。 I sai d. 39。 39。dance39。but t hey di d not st eal anyt hing.39。 Two months l at er, some mor e money was sent to Sam wi th another not e:39。 I am 100 per cent honest now! 39。 eggs and asked me whether my col lection was gr owing. He t hen asked me how my brot her was and whether I li ked my new j ob in London. In answer to t hese quest ions I either nodded or made str ange noi ses. Meanwhi le, my t ongue was busy searching out t he hol e where t he tooth had been. I suddenl y fel t ver y worr ied, but could not say anyt hi ng. When the denti st at last r emoved the cott on wool fr om my mouth, I was abl e t o tel hi m t hat he had pull ed out t he wrong t oot h. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Tir ed of sl eepi ng on the f loor , a young man i n Teher an saved up f or year s to buy a r eal bed. For t he fi rst t i m e i n his l if e, he became the pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spri ngs and a mat ress. Because the weat her was very hot , he car i ed t he bed on to the r oof of his house. He sl ept very wel l for the f ir st two ni ght s, but on the t hir d night, a st or m bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed off t he roof and sent it crashing i nt o t he cour tyard below. The young man did not wake up unti l the bed had st ruck t he ground. Al though the bed was smashed t o pieces, t he man was mi raculousl y unhur t. When he woke up, he was sti l on t he matr es. Gl ancing at t he bi ts of wood and met al t hat l ay ar ound hi m, the m an sadly picked up the mat tr ess and car ri ed it i nto hi s house. Af t er he had put i t on the f loor , he pr omptl y went to sleep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ride 乘車兜風 I love t raveli ng in the count ry, but I don39。 I said to t he conduct or as I got on t he bus,39。l t el you where t o get of f, 39。 the conduct or said. 39。 I asked. 39。 I t doesn39。l l get off here. 39。 I answered. Lesson51 Reward f or virt ue 對美德的獎賞 My f ri end, Her ber t, has al ways been f at , but t hings got so bad r ecentl y that he deci ded t o go on a di et . He began hi s diet a week ago. Fir st of al l, he wr ot e out a long l ist of al l t he foods whi ch wer e f orbidden. The l ist included most of the thi ngs Her bert loves: but ter, potatoes, r i ce, beer , mil k, chocol ate, and sweets. Yest erday I pai d him a vi si t. I r ang t he bel l and was not surpr ised to see that Herbert was sti l as f at as ever . He l ed m e int o his r oom and hurr iedly hi d a l arge parcel under his desk. I t was obvi ous that he was ver y embar assed. When I asked him what he was doi ng, he smil ed guilt il y and then put the parcel on the desk. He explai ned t hat hi s di et was so st ri ct t hat he had to reward hi mself occasional y. Then he showed me the contents of t he par cel . It cont ained fi ve lar ge bar s of chocolate and t hree bags of sweets! Lesson52 A pret t y carpet 漂亮的地毯 We have j ust moved int o a new house and I have been working har d al mor ni ng. I have been tr yi ng to get my new room in or der . This has not been easy because I own over a thousand books. To m ake m at ter s worse, t he room is r ather sm al l, so I have temporar ily put m y books on t he fl oor . At the m oment , they cover ever y i nch of f loor space and I act ual ly have t o walk on them t o get i n or out of t he room. A shor t whi le ago, my sist er helped me to car y one of my ol d bookcases up t he st air s. She went into my r oom and got a bi g surpr ise when she saw al l those books on the f loor . 39。t need bookcases at al . You can si t her e in your spar e ti me and r ead the car pet! 39。 she sai d. She gazed at i t for some ti me t hen added, 39。 said the conductor . 39。 I said. 39。 sai d the conduct or suddenl y. 39。 39。 You39。t know wher e it i s. 39。 I 39。345 f or the cost of the t ri p. The nor mal pr i ce of a t icket i s amp。 I n ti me, al l Sam 39。A thi ef , yes, 39。The str ap needs mendi ng,39。t have too many hats,39。The Reveal er39。 39。You needn39。 We m ust n39。 has been i nvent ed and it has been used t o det ect gold whi ch has been bur i ed i n the gr ound. The machi