【正文】 a hol e on t he nort h si de of t he mi ne. They intend t o bri ng t he men up i n a special capsule. I f t her e had not been a har d l ayer of rock beneath t he soil , t hey woul d have pleted t he j ob in a few hour s. As it is, t hey have been dr il ing f or si xt en hours and t hey stil l have a l ong way t o go. Meanwhi le, a mi cr ophone, whi ch was l ower ed i nt o the m ine t wo hours ago, has enabl ed t he m en t o keep i n touch wit h the cl osest rel at ives. Though t hey ar e runni ng out of food and dr i nk, t he men are cheer ful and confi dent t hat hey wil l get out soon. They have been told t hat r escue oper ati ons are progr esi ng smoot hl y. I f t hey knew how dif fi cult it was to dril l through t he har d r ock, t hey would l ose heart. Lesson89 A sli p of t he t ongue 口誤 People wil l do anyt hi ng t o see a fr e show even i f it is a bad one. When t he news got round t hat a vari et y show woul d be present ed at our l ocal ci nema by the P. and U. Bir d Sed Com pany, we al l r ushed t o see it. We had to queue for hours to get i n and t here must have been sever al hundred peopl e pr esent just be f or e t he show began. Unf or tunat el y, the show was one of t he dul lest we have ever seen. Those who fail ed t o get in need not ha ve felt disappoi nt ed as m any of t he art istes who should have appear ed di d not e. The only f unny things we hear d t hat eveni ng cam e fr om t he advert iser at he begi nni ng of the pr ogr amme. He was obviousl y very ner vous and f or some mi nutes st ood awkwardl y before t he mi cr ophone. As soon as he opened his mout h, ever yone burst out l aughi ng. We al know what t he poor m an shoul d have sai d, but what he act ual y sai d was: 39。 said t he i nspect or, 39。t noti ce anyt hi ng unusual ?39。 39。 Would a l at er tr ai n get you t o wor k on tim e ?39。Of course I do,39。clock t rain t o London,39。t think the windows need cl eaning at this t ime of t he night.39。 Lesson88 Trapped in a mi ne 困在礦井里 Si x m en have been tr apped i n a m ine for seventeen hour s. If t hey ar e not br ought t o t he surf ace soon they may lose t heir li ves. However, rescue operat i ons ar e pr ovi ng dif icul t. If expl osives are used, vibrati ons wil cause t he roof of t he mi ne t o col aps e. Rescue worker s ar e ther ef or e dril li ng a hol e on t he nort h si de of t he mi ne. They intend t o bri ng t he men up i n a special capsule. I f t her e had not been a har d l ayer of rock beneath t he soil , t hey woul d have pleted t he j ob in a few hour s. As it is, t hey have been dr il ing f or si xt en hours and t hey stil l have a l ong way t o go. Meanwhi le, a mi cr ophone, whi ch was l ower ed i nt o the m ine t wo hours ago, has enabl ed t he m en t o keep i n touch wit h the cl osest rel at ives. Though t hey ar e runni ng out of food and dr i nk, t he men are cheer ful and confi dent t hat hey wil l get out soon. They have been told t hat r escue oper ati ons are progr esi ng smoot hl y. I f t hey knew how dif fi cult it was to dril l through t he har d r ock, t hey would l ose heart. Lesson89 A sli p of t he t ongue 口誤 People wil l do anyt hi ng t o see a fr e show even i f it is a bad one. When t he news got round t hat a vari et y show woul d be present ed at our l ocal ci nema by the P. and U. Bir d Sed Com pany, we al l r ushed t o see it. We had to queue for hours to get i n and t here must have been sever al hundred peopl e pr esent just be f or e t he show began. Unf or tunat el y, the show was one of t he dul lest we have ever seen. Those who fail ed t o get in need not have felt disappoi nt ed as m any of t he art istes who should have appe ar ed di d not e. The only f unny things we hear d t hat eveni ng cam e fr om t he advert iser at he begi nni ng of the pr ogr amme. He was obviousl y very ner vous and f or some mi nutes st ood awkwardl y before t he mi cr ophone. As soon as he opened his mout h, ever yone burst out l aughi ng. We al know what t he poor m an shoul d have sai d, but what he act ual y sai d was: 39。 said t he i nspect or, 39。t noti ce anyt hi ng unusual ?39。 39。 Would a l at er tr ai n get you t o wor k on tim e ?39。 answer ed t he man. 39。 said t he man. 39。 I looked down and near ly fel off the ladder when I saw a pol iceman. I immediately regreted answer ing in t he way I di d, but I said, 39。This is t he Poo and Ee Seed Bi rd Company. Good l adies, evening and gentl emen !39。that you ar e not teli ng the t ruth. I suggest that you did not catch the 8. 0 o39。 Of cour se not.39。At what time did you ar ri ve at he stati on ?39。 Would a later train get you to work on time ?39。 answer ed the man. 39。 said the man. 39。 I looked down and near ly fel off the ladder when I saw a pol iceman. I immediately regreted answer ing in t he way I di d, but I said, 39。Thi s is t he Poo and Ee Seed Bi rd Com pany. Good l adi es, evening and gentl emen !39。t hat you ar e not teli ng t he t ruth. I suggest that you di d not catch the 8. 0 o39。 39。At ten t o eight. I bought a paper and wai ted f or the tr ai n.39。 asked t he i nspector. 39。 I must be at work at o39。Do you al ways catch such an ear ly t rai n ?39。coinci dence t hat he day bef or e hi s r et ir ement , Mr Page wi l have been teachi ng for a t ot al of fort y year s. Aft er he has reti red, he wil devote himsel f t o gar deni ng. For him, this wil l be an enti rely new hobby. But t his does not mat er, f or , as he has of ten rem ar ked, one is never t oo ol d t o lear n. Leson86 Out of cont rol 失控 As the m an t ri ed t o swing t he speed boat r ound, the st eri ng wheel came away i n hi s hands. He waved desper at el y to his pani on, who had been water skii ng f or t he l ast f if teen mi nutes. Both men had har dl y had tim e to r eali ze what was happeni ng when t hey were t hr own violent 1y into t he sea. The speed boat had str uck a buoy, but it cont inued to m ove ver y