【正文】 n I suggested t hat som e vil lagers m ust have e i n f or a fr ee dri nk, Mr Thom pson shook hi s head. The vil ager s have t ol d hi m t hat hey wil l not accept t he i nn even i f he gi ves it away. Lesson48 Di d you want t o t el l me somet hi ng? 你想對我說什么嗎？ Dent i st s al ways ask quest i ons when it i s im possibl e for you t o answer. My dent ist had j ust pul ed out one of m y teeth and had t ol d m e t o r est f or a whil e. I t ri ed t o say s om et hing, but m y mouth was f ull of cott on wool. He knew I coll ect ed bi r ds39。s m oney was pai d back i n t hi s way. The l ast not e sai d:39。but only 5o per cent a t hief !39。 sai d Mr s St er li ng lat er , 39。 she answer ed. Ten m inut es l at er we wal ked out of t he shop t oget her . My wif e was weari ng a hat t hat l ooked l ike a l i ght house ! Lesson42 Not very m usi cal 并非很懂音樂 As we had had a l ong walk t hrough one of t he m ar ket s of Old Del hi, we st opped at a squar e t o have a r est. Af t er a t im e, we not iced a snake charm er wi t h t wo l ar ge basket s at t he ot her si de of t he squar e, so we went t o have a l ook at hi m. As soon as he saw us, he picked up a l ong pi pe which was cover ed wit h coi ns and opened one of t he basket s. When he began t o pl ay a t une, we had our fi rst gl im pse of t he snake. I t r ose out of t he basket and began to f oll ow t he m ovem ent s of t he pi pe. We wer e ver y m uch s ur pri sed when t he snake charm er suddenl y began to pl ay jazz tunes and m oder n pop songs. The snake, however , cont inued t o 39。 m ay r eveal som et hing of value f ai rl y soon. Lesson56 Faster t han sound! 比聲音還快！ Once a year a r ace i s held f or old cars. A l ot of car s ent er ed f or t his r ace l ast year and t her e was a gr eat deal of exci teme nt j ust bef ore i t began. One of t he m ost handsom e car s was a Rol s Royce Sil ver Ghost. The m ost unusual car was a Benz whi ch had onl y thr ee wheel s. Buil t in 1885, it was t he ol dest car t aki ng part. Aft er a gr eat m a ny l oud expl osi ons, t he r ace began. Many of t he car s br oke down on t he cour se and som e dr i ver s spent m ore t im e under t hei r ca r s than i n them ! A f ew car s, however, plet ed t he r ace. The wi nni ng car r eached a speed of f or ty m il es an hour m uch f ast er than any of it s ri val s. I t sped downhil l at t he end of t he r ace and it s dri ver had a l ot of t r oubl e t r yi ng t o st op it . The race gave ever yone a gr eat deal of pl easur e. I t was very di f er ent fr om m oder n car r aces but no less excit i ng. Lesson57 Can I hel p you, m adam ? 你要買什么，夫人？ A wom an i n bl ue j eans st ood at t he wi ndow of an expensi ve shop. Though she hesit at ed f or a m om ent , she fi nal y went i n and asked t o see a dr es t hat was i n t he wi ndow. The assistant who ser ved her di d not l i ke t he way she was dressed. Gl ancing at her scornf ul l y, he t ol d her that he dr ess was sol d. The wom an wal ked out of the shop angr il y and deci ded t o puni sh t he assi st ant next day. She r et urned t o the shop t he f oll owi ng m or ning dr essed in a fur coat , wit h a handbag i n one hand and a l ong umbr el la i n t he ot her . Aft er seking out t he r ude asist ant she asked f or t he same dr es. Not reali zi ng who she was, t he as ist ant was eager t o ser ve her t hi s ti m e wit h great di f fi cul ty, he cl im bed i nt o the shop wi ndow t o get the dr ess. As soon as she sa w it , the wom an sai d s m any t i es.39。 I fi nd it beaut if ul,39。t have sai d t hat, 39。t buy thi ngs we don39。You needn39。 if you at e mor e and t alked l ess, we would bot h enj oy our di nner ! 39。 No,39。 No, 39。 No,39。 A new pl ay i s i ng t o The Gl obe soon,39。 No,39。s oper ati on had been successf ul and t he doct or t ol d hi m t hat i t had been. He t hen asked when Mr Gi lbert woul d be al l owed t o go home and t he doct or t ol d hi m t hat he woul d have to st ay i n hospi tal f or another t wo weeks. Then Dr Mi li ngton asked t he cal l er i f he was a rel at ive of t he pati ent .39。 Lesson40 Food and t al k 進(jìn)餐與交談 Last week at a di nner part y, the host es asked m e t o si t next t o Mr s Rum bol d. Mrs Rum bol d was a l ar ge, unsm il ing l ady i n a t i ght black dr ess. She di d not even l ook up when I t ook my seat beside her. Her eyes wer e fi xed on her pl at e and i n a shor t tim e, she was busy eat ing. I tr ied t o make conver sati on. 39。 39。 I asked. 39。 I asked. 39。 she answered,39。 I sai d t o my wif e. 39。 We m ust n39。You needn39。 39。The Revealer39。t have t oo m any hat s, 39。The str ap needs mendi ng,39。A t hi ef, yes, 39。 I n t im e, al Sam39。 345 for t he cost of t he tr i p. The norm al pri ce of a ti cket i s amp。 I39。t know wher e i t is.39。 answer ed t he conduct or. I sat i n t he f r ont of the bus t o get a good vi ew of t he count r yside. Aft er some t im e, t he bus st opped. Looki ng round, I r eal ized wi th a shock t hat I was t he onl y passenger left on t he bus. 39。Thi s i s as f ar as we go.39。Oh dear ,39。t m at t er, 39。 We ar e goi ng back now,39。Thi s i s the pr et ti est car pet I have ever seen,39。 Lesson53 H ot snake 觸電的蛇 At last f ir emen have put out a bi g for est fi re i n Cali f or nia. Since t hen, they have been t ryi ng t o f i nd out how t he fi re began. For est fi r e ar e oft en caused by br oken gl ass or by ci gar et e ends whi ch peopl e car el esl y thr ow away. Yes t er day the f ir em en exami ned the gr ound caref ul l y, but wer e not abl e t o fi nd any broken gl ass. They were al so qui te sur e t hat a ci gar et e end di d not st art t he fi re. Thi s m or ni ng, however, a f ir em an acci dent al ly di scovered t he cause. He noti ced t he r em ai ns of a snake whi ch was wound r ound t he el ect ri c wi r es of a 16,000volt power li ne. I n thi s way, he was able t o solve t he myst ery. The expl anati on was sim