【正文】 我說什么嗎？ Dent ists al ways ask quest ions when it i s impossi ble f or you to answer . My denti st had j ust pull ed out one of my t eet h and had told me t o rest for a whi le. I tr ied t o say somet hi ng, but my m out h was f ul l of cot tonwool . He knew I col lected bi rds39。s money was paid back in this way. The l ast note said:39。but onl y 5o per cent a t hi ef! 39。 sai d Mr s Ster li ng later , 39。s cl osest fr iends asked him to make a speech at a weddi ng recept ion. Thi s is the sor t of thing t hat opened one of the basket s. When he began to pl ay a tune, we had our f i rst gl im pse of t he snake. I t rose out of t he basket and began t o f oll ow the m ovements of t he pipe. We wer e ver y m uch surpr ised when the snake charm er suddenl y began t o play j azz t unes and modern pop songs. The snake, however , conti nued t o 39。 she asked i mpati ent ly. 39。 if he picks a l ea f , he wi l l di e. Many vi l ager s bel ieve that the t ree has alr eady clai med a number of vi ct im s. The vicar has been asked t o have the tr ee cut down, but so f ar he has r efused. He has pointed out that the t ree i s a usef ul source of ine as t our ists have been i ng f r om al part s of the count ry to see it . In spit e of al l that has been sai d, t he tour ists have been pi cki ng leaves and cutt ing t hei r nam es on the tr eet runk. So far, not one of t hem has been st ruck down by sudden death! Leson59 In or out ？ 進(jìn)來還是出去？ Our dog, Rex, used to si t out si de our f ront gate and bark. Ever y t ime he want ed to e i nto t he garden he would bar k until someone opened the gate. As t he nei ghbours pl ai ned of t he noise, m y husband spent weeks t rai ni ng him to pr es hi s paw on t he la tch t o let him self i n. Rex soon becam e an expert at openi ng the gate. However , when I was goi ng out shoppi ng last week, I noti ced hi m i n t he gar den near the gate. This t ime he was bar king so that som eone woul d let him out ! Si nce then, he has developed another bad habit . As soon as he opens t he gat e f rom the outside, he es i nto t he garden and wait s unt il t he gat e shut s. Then he sits and barks unti l som eone l et s him out. Af ter thi s he imm edi at ely l ets himsel f i n and begi ns bar king again. Yest erday my hus band r emoved the gate and Rex got so annoyed we have not sen hi m since. Lesson60 The f uture 卜算未來 At a vil lage fai r, I deci ded to vi si t a for tune tel ler cal led Madam Bel insky. I went into her t ent and she told me to si t down. Af ter I had given her some money, she looked into a cr yst al bal l and said: 39。The Revealer 39。 she sai d. She gazed at i t for some t ime t hen added, 39。 said the conductor . 39。 I said. 39。 sai d the conduct or suddenl y. 39。 39。 You39。 39。m going t o Woodf ord Gr een, 39。230 ! Lesson47 A thi rst y ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂 A publ ic house which was r ecentl y bought by Mr Ian Thompson is up f or sale. Mr Thompson is goi ng to sel i t because i t is haunt ed. He told me t hat he coul d not go to sl ep one night because he heard a str ange noise ing f r om t he bar . The next morni ng, he f ound that he door s had been bl ocked by chair s and t he fur nit ur e had been moved. Though Mr Thompson had t urned the l ights of f bef ore he went t o bed, t hey wer e on i n the m or ning. He also said t hat he had f ound f ive empt y whisky bott les whi ch the ghost must have dr unk the night bef ore. When I suggested t hat some vil lagers must have e in f or a fr ee dri nk, Mr Thom pson shook hi s head. The vil ager s have t old hi m t hat hey wil l not accept the i nn even i f he gives it away. Lesson48 Di d you want t o tel l me somethi ng? 你想對(duì)我說什么嗎？ Dent ists al ways ask quest ions when it i s impossi ble f or you to answer . My denti st had j ust pull ed out one of my t eet h and had told me t o rest for a whi le. I tr ied t o say somet hi ng, but my m out h was f ul l of cot tonwool . He knew I col lected bi rds39。s money was paid back in this way. The l ast note said:39。but onl y 5o per cent a t hi ef! 39。 sai d Mr s Ster li ng later , 39。opened one of the basket s. When he began to pl ay a tune, we had our f i rst gl im pse of t he snake. I t rose out of t he basket and began t o f oll ow the m ovements of t he pipe. We wer e ver y m uch surpr ised when the snake charm er suddenl y began t o play j azz t unes and modern pop songs. The snake, however , conti nued t o 39。The str ap needs mendi ng,39。A thi ef, yes, 39。 I n ti me, al l Sam 39。345 f or the cost of the t ri p. The nor mal pri ce of a t ic ket is amp。 I39。t know wher e it i s. 39。 answer ed t he conduct or . I sat in t he fr ont of t he bus t o get a good vi ew of the countr ysi de. Af ter som e ti me, the bus st opped. Looki ng round, I reali zed wi th a shock t hat I was the onl y passenger lef t on the bus. 39。Thi s is as far as we go.39。Oh dear ,39。t mat ter, 39。 We ar e goi ng back now, 39。This i s the pr et ti est carpet I have ever seen, 39。 Leson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At l ast fi remen have put out a bi g for est f ir e in Cal if ornia. Since t hen, they have been t ryi ng to f ind out how t he fi re bega n. For est fi re ar e oft en caused by broken glass or by ci gar et e ends whi ch people car el esly throw away. Yester day t he fi remen exami ned t he ground car eful ly, but wer e not able to f ind any br oken gl ass. They wer e also quit e sur e that a cigaret te end did not star t he fi re. This m orning, however , a fi reman acci dent al ly di scovered t he cause. He not iced the r emains of a s nake whi ch was wound round the el ect ri c wir es of a 16, 000 volt power line. In this way, he was able t o sol ve the m yst er y. The explanati on was si mple but very unusual . A bir d had snat c hed up t he snake f rom the gr ound and t hen dr opped i t on to t he wi res. The snake then wound it sel f round the wi r es. When i t di d so, i t sent spar