【正文】 e was then able t o r ise and it cleared t he mountains by 400 f eet . Byr d now knew that he woul d be able t o r each the Sout h Pole whi ch was 300 mil es awa y, for t her e wer e no more mount ains in si ght . The ai r cr aft was able t o fl y over the endl es whi te pl ai ns wit hout di f icult y. Leson44 Through the f orest 穿過森林 Mrs Anne St er li ng did not t hi nk of the r isk she was taking when she r an through a f orest af ter two men. They had r ushed up t o her whi l e she was havi ng a piic at the edge of a f or est wi th her chil dr en and tr ied t o steal her handbag. I n t he st ruggle, the str ap broke and, wi t h the bag i n their possessi on, both men start ed running t hrough the t rees. Mrs St erl ing got so angr y that she r an aft er t hem . She was soon out of br eat h, but she conti nued to r un. When she caught up wi th them, she saw that hey had sat down and were goi ng through t he cont ent s of t he bag, so she ran str aight at t hem . The m en got such a fr ight that they dr opped t he bag and r an away. 39。Wher e have you been hidi ng ?39。. Because the t ree was m ent ioned in a newspaper , the number of vi si tor s to Fr inl ey has now increased. The tr e was pl ant ed near a church f if ty years ago, but i t is only in r ecent year s that it has gai ned an evil r eput at ion. It i s sai d that if anyone touches t he tr e, he wil l have bad l uck。 Lesson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At last f ir emen have put out a big f orest fi re i n Cal i f orni a. Si nce t hen, t hey have been tr yi ng to fi nd out how the f ir e began. For est f ir e are of ten caused by br oken gl ass or by cigaret e ends whi ch peopl e car elesl y thr ow away. Yest er day the f ir em en exami ned the ground careful ly, but wer e not abl e to fi nd any br oken gl as. They wer e also quit e sure t hat a ci gar et te end di d not star t the f ir e. Thi s morni ng, however , a fi reman accidental y discover ed the cause. He noticed t he remains of a snake which was wound r ound t he el ect ri c wi res 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 simpl e but ver y unusual . A bi rd had snatched up the snake f rom the gr ound and t hen dr opped it on to the wi res. The snake then wound it sel f round t he wir es. When i t did so, it sent spar ks down to the ground and these im medi ately st ar ted a fi re. Lesson54 St icky f ingers 粘糊的手指 Af ter breakf ast , I sent the chil dren t o school and t hen I went t o mar ket . It was sti l ear ly when I retur ned hom e. The chil dr en were at school , m y husband was at wor k and t he house was qui et . So I deci ded t o make some tar ts f or tea. I n a short t ime I was busy mi xing butt er and f lour and my hands were soon cover ed wit h sticky pastr y. At exact ly that m oment , the t el ephone r ang. Nothi ng coul d have been mor e annoying. I picked up the r eceiver between two sticky f ingers and was dismayed when I r ecogni zed the voice of Mr s Bates. It took m e ten m inutes to per suade her to r ing back lat er . At last I hung up t he receiver. What a m ess! Ther e was past ry on m y fi nger s, on t he tel ephone, and on t he door knobs. I had no sooner got back to the kit chen t han the door bel l rang loud enough to wake t he dead. This t ime it was the postman and he wanted m e to si gn for a r egi stered l et ter ! Leson55 Not a gold mine 并非金礦 Dr eam s of f i ndi ng lost tr easure alm ost came tr ue r ecentl y. A new machine cal ed 39。Thi s is t he pr et iest carpet I have ever seen,39。We are going back now,39。t mat er ,39。 said t he conductor suddenly.39。 39。 You39。 39。m goi ng to Woodfor d Gr en,39。 230 ! Lesson47 A t hi rst y ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂 A publ ic house which was r ecentl y bought by Mr Ian Thom pson is up f or sal e. Mr Thom pson i s goi ng to sel i t because i t i s haunt ed. He t ol d m e t hat he coul d not go to sl ep one ni ght because he hear d a st r ange noise i ng f r om t he bar . The next mor ni ng, he f ound that he door s had been bl ocked by chai r s and t he f ur nit ur e had been m oved. Though Mr Thom pson had t urned t he l i ght s of f befor e he went t o bed, t hey wer e on i n t he m orni ng. He al so sai d t hat he had f ound fi ve em pt y whi sky bott l es whi ch the ghost m ust have dr unk the ni ght befor e. When I suggest ed t hat some vi l agers m ust have e in f or a fr ee dri nk, Mr Thom pson shook hi s head. The vil lagers have t ol d him t hat they wi l not accept t he inn even if he gi ves i t away. Lesson48 Di d you want t o t el l me som et hi ng? 你想對我說什么嗎？ Denti st s al ways ask quest i ons when i t i s im possi bl e f or you t o answer. My dent i st had j ust pull ed out one of my teet h and had tol d me t o r est for a whi le. I tr ied t o say somet hi ng, but my mout h was f ull of cot tonwool . He knew I collected bi rds39。s money was pai d back i n t hi s way. The last note said: 39。but only 5o per cent a thief !39。 sai d Mrs St er li ng lat er , 39。The str ap needs mending,39。A t hief, yes, 39。 In t ime, al Sam39。345 f or t he cost of t he t ri p. The norm al pr i ce of a t icket i s amp。 I 39。t know where i t is.39。 answer ed the conduct or . I sat in the f ront of the bus to get a good view of t he countr ysi de. Af ter some t ime, the bus stopped. Looking r ound, I reali zed wit h a shock t hat I was t he onl y pasenger l ef t on the bus. 39。Thi s i s as f ar as we go.39。Oh dear, 39。I t doesn39。 39。 I answer ed. Leson51 Reward f or vi rtue 對美德的獎賞 My fr iend, Herbert , has always been fat , but thi ngs got so bad recent ly t hat he decided to go on a diet. He began his di et a week ago. Fir st of al , he wr ote out a l ong li st of al t he f oods which wer e for bidden. The l ist included most of t he things Her ber t loves: butt er , pot atoes, r ice, beer, mi lk, chocolat e, and sweet s. Yester day I paid him a