【正文】 looki ng at the cl ock on the wal agai n) Wel l, I see i t’s two o’cl ock. ( he opens the envelope and holds a m il li on pound bank N orelco in hi s hands H enry i s very surpri sed but the owner and wai ter are shocked) I’m sory. But…I…I don’t have anythi ng sm al l er. O wner: (stil l shocked and nervous) Wel …er…just on m om ent. Maggi e, l ook! ( the hostes scream s, the other customers l ok at her and she puts a hand to her mouth) Do you thin i t’s genui ne? H ostess: O h, dear, I don’t know. I sim pl y don’t know . O wner : Wel , I di d hear that the Bank of Engl and had i ssued two notes i n thi s amount… Anyway, I don’t thi nk it can be a fake. Peopl e would pay to nuch attenti on to a bank note of this amount. N o thi ef woul d want that to happen. Hostess: But he’s i n rags! O wner: Perhaps he’s a very strange, ri ch m an. ( as i f he has discovered som ething for the fi rst time) Why,yes! That must be i t! Hostess: (hi ts her husband’s arm ) And you put him in the back of the restaurant! Go an see him at one. O wner: ( to H enry) I’m sorry, si r, so sorry, but I cannot change thi s bank note. Henry: But i t’s al l I have on m e. Owner: O h, pl ease, don’t worry, si r. Doesn39。t fear jai l. Dressed i n the finest cl othes, he drove by the brothers’ house i n Portl and Place and, seeing they were back, went to get Portia at her friend’s home. Henry: My dear, the way you l ok today, i t woul d be a crime not to ask for a good sal ary for the job they’l l gi ve to me. Porti a: Oh, please remember that if we ask for too much we may get no salary at al 。s right. (sees the l ok on the waiter’s face) Anythi ng wrong? Waiter: No, not at al l. (to the owner) He’s asked for m ore of the sam e. O wner: It’s wel lknown that am eri cans l ike to eat a l ot. Wel, we’l have to take a chance. Go ahead and l et him have it. Waiter: (readi ng the bil after the meal) Al right. That39。t thank the gentl emen properl y. May I do it for you? H enry: Let m e see you try. (Portia walks over to Roderi ck and gives him a hug. Then she si ts i n O li ver’s lap, puts her arms around his nevk and ki sses him on the chek. Oli ver begins laughi ng.) Portia: Papa, he says he doesn39。s very knd of you. O wner: Ki nd, si r? N o, i t’s ki nd of you. You m ust e whenever you want and have whatever you like. Just having you si t here is a great honour! As for the bil l, sir, please fet it. Henry: Fet it? Wel l… thank you very much. That39。 ( after sitti ng down and putti ng the l etter on the tabl e) I’d l i ke som e ham and eggs and a nice big steak. Make it extra thi ck. Wai ter: Ri ght, si r. I’m afrai d i t’l l cost a large amount of money. H enry: I understand. And I’l l have a l arge gl as of beer. Waiter: O K. ( The waiter l eaves and soon returns wi th al the fod.) H ostess: My goodnes! Why, l ok at him . H e eats li ke a wol f. O wner: We’l l see i f he’s cel ver as a wol f, eh? H enry: ( havi ng just fi ni shed every bi t of fod ) Ah, waiter. ( wai ter returns) Same thi ng again, pl ease. O h, and another ber. Wai ter: Again? Everythi ng ? H enry: Yes, that39。t want anythi ng el se from you. H enry: (shocked) My dear, i s that your papa? Portia: H e’s m y step father, and the dearest one that ever was. H enry: O h, m y dearest dear si r, I regret what I sai d. You have got a job open that I want. Oli ver: N am e i t. H enry: Sonin l aw. Oli ver: Wel, wel ,wel! But you’ve never had such a job before. H ow can i t be sure you can do it sucesful y? H enry: Try m e… oh, do, I beg of you! Gi ve m e 30 or 40 years , and … O li ver: O h, wel l, al ri ght. N arator: Are Porti a and H enry happy? There are not enough word i n the bi ggest di cti onary to descri be it. Di d the peopl e of London have a good tim e with thi s bit of news? Yes. Porti a’s stepfather took that bank note back to the Bank of Engl and and cashed it. The bank note was then useless for money but was hi s wedding gi ft to the young couple. Yes, the bank note was worth mil li ons of dol lars, but not worth on tenthe as much as how Henry felt about Portia . Uni t 4 H ow li fe began on the earth N o one knows exactl y how the earth began, as it happened so l ong ago. However, accordi ng to a wi del y accepted theory, the uni verse began wi th a “ Bi g Bang “ that threw m atter i n al l di recti ons. After that, atoms began to form and bi ng to create stars and other bodi es. For several bi l ion years after the “ Big Bang “, the earth was stil l just a cl oud of dust. What i t was to bee was uncertai n until betwen and 3. 8 bil li on years ago when the dust settl ed i nto a soli d gl obe. The earthenware becam e so vi ol ent that i t was not cl ear whether the shape would l ast or not. It expl oded l oudly wi th fire and rock. They were i n tim e to produce carbon, ni trogen , water vapour and other gases , whi ch were to m ake the earth’s atm osphere. What i s even more im prtant i s that as the earth col ed down, water began to apear on i ts surface. Water had al so appeared on other pl as li ke Mars but, unl i ke the earth, it had disapeared later. It was not imm edi ately obvi ous that water was to be fundamental to the developm ent of li fe. What m any sci entists beli eve i s that the conti nued persence of water al owed the earth to di solve harm ful gases and acids i nto the oceans and seas. Thi s produced a chai n reacti on, whi ch m ade i t possi bl e for l ife to devel op. Many m il ions of years l ater, the fi rst extrem el y sm al plants began to appear on the surface of the water. They multi pli ed and fil led the oceans and seas wi th oxygen, whi ch encouraged the later devel opm ent of earl y shel fi sh and al l sorts of fish. N ext, green plants began to grow on l and. They were fol owed i n tim e by l and animals. Some were insects. Others, cal ed amphi bians, were able to li ve on l and as wel l as i n the water. Later when the pl ants grew