【正文】 ere not abl e t o fi nd any br oken gl ass. They wer e also quit e sur e t hat a ci gar et t e end di d not st ar t t he f ir e. Thi s m or ning, however, a f ir eman acci dent al l y di scovered t he cause. He not i ced t he rem ai ns of a snake which was wound r ound t he el ectr i c wir es of a 16, 000 volt power li ne. I n t hi s way, he was abl e t o sol ve t he m yster y. The explanat i on was si mpl e but ver y unusual . A bi rd had snatched up t he snake fr om t he ground and t hen dr opped i t on to t he wi res. The snake t hen wound i tsel f r ound t he wir es. When it di d so, i t sent spar ks down t o t he gr ound and t hese imm edi atel y st ar t ed a f i re. Lesson54 St i cky f i ngers 粘糊的手指 Af ter breakfast , I sent t he chil dr en t o school and then I went to m ar ket . It was sti l earl y when I r et ur ned home. The chi ldr en were at school, m y husband was at wor k and t he house was qui et. So I deci ded t o m ake som e tart s f or t ea. I n a shor t ti me I was busy mi xi ng butt er and f lour and m y hands were soon cover ed wit h sti cky pastr y. At exact l y that m om ent , t he t el ephone r ang. Not hi ng coul d have been m or e annoyi ng. I pi cked up t he recei ver bet ween t wo sti cky fi nger s and was di sm ayed when I recogni zed t he voi ce of Mr s Bates. I t t ook m e ten mi nutes t o per suade her t o r i ng back l at er . At l ast I hung up t he r ece i ver. What a m es! Ther e was past r y on m y f i ngers, on t he t el ephone, and on the door knobs. I had no sooner got back t o t he ki t chen t han t he door bel r ang l oud enough t o wake t he dead. Thi s ti me i t was t he postm an and he want ed m e t o si gn f or a register ed l et er ! Lesson55 Not a gol d mi ne 并非金礦 Dream s of fi ndi ng l ost tr easur e al most cam e t r ue recent ly. A new m achi ne cal ed 39。This i s t he pr et ti est car pet I have ever seen, 39。 We are goi ng back now,39。t m at t er ,39。Oh dear ,39。Thi s is as f ar as we go.39。 answer ed t he conductor. I sat i n t he fr ont of t he bus t o get a good vi ew of t he count r ysi de. Af ter som e tim e, t he 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 ike l osi ng m y way. I went on an excursi on r ecentl y, but m y tr ip t ook me l onger t han I expect ed. 39。 eggs and asked m e whet her my coll ect i on was gr owi ng. He t hen asked m e how m y br ot her was and whet her I li ked m y new j ob i n London. In answer t o t hese questi ons I ei t her nodded or m ade str ange noi ses. Meanwhi le, m y t ongue was busy sear chi ng out t he hol e where t he t oot h had been. I suddenl y f elt ver y worr i ed, but coul d not say anyt hi ng. When t he denti st at last r em oved the cott on wool fr om m y mout h, I was abl e t o tel him t hat he had pull ed out t he wr ong t oot h. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Ti red of sleepi ng on t he f l oor , a young m an i n Teheran saved up f or year s to buy a real bed. For t he fi rst ti me i n his l if e, he becam e t he pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spri ngs and a m at ress. Because t he weat her was ver y hot, he car ri ed t he bed on t o the r oof of his house. He sl ept ver y wel l f or t he fi rst t wo ni ght s, but on t he thir d ni ght, a st orm blew up. A gust of wi nd swept the bed off t he r oof and sent it cr ashi ng i nto t he cour t yar d bel ow. The young m an di d not wake up unt il t he bed had str uck the gr ound. Alt hough t he bed was sm ashed t o pi eces, t he m an was m ir acul ously unhurt . When he woke up, he was st il l on the m at r ess. Glanci ng at the bit s of wood and m etal t hat lay ar ound him , the m an sadly pi cked up t he m at ress and car ri ed i t i nt o his house. Af ter he had put i t on the f loor, he pr om pt l y went t o sleep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ri de 乘車兜風 I love t ravel li ng i n t he count r y, but I don39。 I sai d to t he conduct or as I got on t he bus,39。l l t el you wher e t o get of f, 39。 t he conduct or sai d. 39。 I asked. 39。 I t doesn39。l l get of f her e. 39。 I answer ed. Lesson51 Reward f or vi rt ue 對美德的獎賞 My fr i end, Herbert , has al ways been f at , but t hi ngs got so bad r ecent l y that he deci ded t o go on a di et . He began hi s di et a week ago. Fir st of al , he wr ot e out a long li st of al t he f oods whi ch wer e f orbi dden. The l i st i ncl uded m ost of the t hi ngs Her bert l oves: but ter, pot at oes, ri ce, beer , m il k, chocol ate, and swets. Yest erday I pai d him a vi si t. I r ang t he bel l and was not sur pr ise d t o see t hat Her ber t was st il l as f at as ever. He l ed me i nto hi s r oom and hur ri edl y hi d a l ar ge par cel under his desk. I t was obvi ous t hat he was ver y em bar r assed. When I asked him what he was doi ng, he sm il ed gui lt il y and then put t he parcel on t he desk. He explai ned t hat his di et was so str i ct t hat he had to r eward him sel f occasi onal l y. Then he showed m e t he contents of t he par cel. I t cont ai ned fi ve lar ge bar s of chocol ate and t hr ee bags of sweet s! Lesson52 A pret t y carpet 漂亮的地毯 We have j ust moved i nt o a new house and I have been wor ki ng har d al l mor ni ng. I have been t r yi ng t o get m y new r oom in or der . This has not been easy because I own over a t housand books. To m ake m at ter s worse, t he r oom is r ather sm al l, so I have t emporar il y put m y books on t he fl oor . At t he m om ent , they cover ever y i nch of f l oor space and I act ual l y have t o wal k on them t o get i n or out of t he r oom. A shor t whil e ago, m y si st er hel ped m e to car ry one of m y ol d bookcases up t he st air s. She went i nt o my r oom and got a big sur pr is e when she saw al l t hose books on t he fl oor . 39。t need bookcases at al . You can si t her e i n your spare t im e and read t he car pet !39。cursed