【正文】 il l ear ly when I retur ned home. The chil dr en were at school , m y husband was at wor k and t he house was quiet. So I decided to make some t art s for t ea. In a shor t ti me I was busy mixi ng but ter and fl our and m y hands wer e soon cover ed wi th st icky pastr y. At exactl y that moment, t he telephone rang. Not hing could have been m ore annoyi ng. I pi cked up t he recei ver bet wen t wo sti cky fi nger s and was di smayed when I r ecognized t he voi ce of Mrs Bat es. I t took me t en mi nut es t o persuade her t o ri ng back l ater. At l ast I hung up the r ecei ver . What a m ess! Ther e was past ry on my f ingers, on the t el ephone, and on t he door knobs. I had no sooner got back to the kit chen than the door bel l rang l oud enough to wake t he dead. This t im e it was the postm an and he want ed me to si gn for a r egistered l et er ! Lesson55 Not a gold mi ne 并非金礦 Dr eam s of fi ndi ng lost tr easure al most came t rue r ecentl y. A new m achine cal ed 39。Thi s is t he pret iest car pet I have ever sen,39。 We ar e goi ng back now, 39。t m at ter, 39。Oh dear ,39。Thi s is as f ar as we go.39。 answer ed t he conduct or . I sat i n t he fr ont of t he bus t o get a good vi ew of t he countr ysi de. Af ter som e ti me, the bus st opped. Looki ng r ound, I reali zed wi t h a shock t hat I was t he onl y pasenger l ef t on the bus. 39。 but I don39。t l i ke l osi ng my way. I went on an excur si on recent ly, but m y tr i p took m e l onger t han I expect ed. 39。 she asked im pat ientl y. 39。 i f he pi cks a leaf, he wi l die. Many vil l agers beli eve t hat t he tr ee has al ready cl aim ed a num ber of victi ms. The vi car has been as ked t o have t he tr ee cut down, but so f ar he has r ef used. He has poi nted out that he tr ee is a usef ul sour ce of in e as t ouri st s have been i ng fr om al part s of t he count r y t o see it . I n spi te of al t hat has been said, t he t our ist s have been picking l eaves and cut ti ng their names on t he t r et r unk. So f ar , not one of t hem has been st r uck down by sudden deat h! Lesson59 In or out ？ 進(jìn)來還是出去？ Our dog, Rex, used t o si t outside our fr ont gat e and bar k. Ever y tim e he wanted t o e i nt o t he gar den he woul d bark unti l s om eone opened t he gat e. As t he nei ghbour s plai ned of t he noi se, my husband spent weeks tr aini ng hi m t o pr es hi s pa w on t he l at ch t o let hi mself i n. Rex soon became an expert at openi ng t he gat e. However, when I was goi ng out shoppi ng last week, I not i ced him i n t he gar den near t he gate. Thi s ti me he was bar ki ng so t hat som eone woul d l et hi m out ! Si nce t hen, he has developed anot her bad habi t. As soon as he opens t he gat e fr om the outsi de, he es i nto t he gar den and wait s unt il t he gat e s hut s. Then he si t s and bar ks unti l som eone l et s him out. Af ter t hi s he imm edi at ely l ets him sel f in and begi ns barki ng again. Yest er day m y husband removed t he gat e and Rex got so annoyed we have not seen him si nce. Leson60 The f ut ure 卜算未來 At a vi l age f air , I deci ded t o visit a f ort une tel er cal ed Madam Bel li nsky. I went i nto her t ent and she t old m e t o si t down. Af ter I had given her some m oney, she l ooked i nto a cr yst al bal and said: 39。The Revealer39。 she sai d. She gazed at it f or som e t im e t hen added, 39。 said t he conductor. 39。I 39。 I f or got t o put you of f. 39。 I s t his Woodf or d Gr en ?39。l l have t o get of f here,39。 I 39。m goi ng t o Woodf or d Green, 39。My denti st had j ust pul l ed out one of m y t eet h and had tol d m e t o r est f or a whi le. I tr i ed t o say som et hing, but m y m outh was f ull of cott on wool. He knew I coll ect ed bir ds39。 I39。t know wher e i t i s. 39。 You39。 39。 sai d t he conduct or suddenl y. 39。 I sai d. 39。We are goi ng back now,39。Thi s is t he pr et iest car pet I have ever sen,39。 Leson53 H ot snake 觸電的蛇 At last fi remen have put out a bi g for est fi re i n Cali f or nia. Since t hen, t hey have been tr yi ng t o f ind out how t he fi re bega n. For est fi re ar e oft en caused by broken gl ass or by ci gar et t e ends whi ch people car el essly t hrow away. Yester day t he fi remen exam i ned t he gr ound car efull y, but wer e not able t o f ind any br oken gl ass. They wer e al so qui t e sur e t hat a cigaret e end did not start t he fi r e. This m or ni ng, however, a f ir em an acci dent al ly di scover ed t he cause. He noti ced the r em ai ns of a snake whi ch was wound round t he el ectr i c wir es of a 16, 000 vol t power l i ne. I n t his way, he was able t o sol ve t he m yst er y. The expl anati on was si mpl e but ver y unusual . A bi rd had snat c hed up t he snake f r om t he gr ound and t hen dr opped i t on t o the wi r es. The snake t hen wound it sel f r ound t he wir es. When i t did so, it sent spar ks down t o the gr ound and t hese imm edi atel y st art ed a fi re. Leson54 Sti cky fi ngers 粘糊的手指 Af t er br eakfast, I sent t he chil dr en t o school and t hen I went to m ar ket . It was sti l earl y when I r et urned hom e. The chi ldr 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 some t ar t s for t ea. I n a short t im e I was busy m ixi ng but ter and fl our and m y hands wer e soon cover ed wi th sti cky pastr y. At exactl y t hat m om ent, t he tel ephone rang. Not hing could have been m ore 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 suade her t o r ing back lat er . At last I hung up t he r ecei ver . What a mess! 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 the kit chen t han the door bel l rang l oud enough t o wake t he dead. This t im e it was t he postm a