【正文】 Byr d now knew t hat he would be abl e to r each t he Sout h Pole which was 300 mi les away, f or there wer e no mor e mountains i n sight. The a ir craf t was able to f ly over the endless whit e plains wi thout dif fi cul ty. Lesson44 Through t he forest 穿過森林 Mr s Anne Sterl ing di d not think of t he ri sk she was t aki ng when she r an thr ough a for est aft er t wo m en. They had rushed up to her whil e she was havi ng a piic at the edge of a for est wi th her childr en and tr ied t o steal her handbag. I n t he st ruggle, the str ap broke and, wi th the bag in their possessi on, both men st art ed running t hrough the t rees. Mrs St erl ing got so angry that she r an aft er t hem . She was soon out of br eat h, but she conti nued t o r un. When she caught up wi th them, she saw t hat t hey had sat down and were going t hrough t he contents of t he bag, so she ran str ai ght at t hem. The men got such a fr ight that they dropped the bag and r an away. 39。And a woman can39。 39。dance39。but t hey did not st eal anything. 39。 Two m ont hs later , some m ore m oney was sent t o Sam wi t h anot her note: 39。 I am 100 per cent honest now! 39。 eggs and asked me whet her my col lecti on was growi ng. He t hen asked me how my br ot her was and whet her I l iked my new job i n London. In answer to t hese quest ions I eit her nodded or made str ange noi ses. Meanwhi le, my t ongue was busy sear chi ng out t he hol e where the toot h had been. I suddenl y f el t ver y wor ri ed, but could not say anyt hing. When the denti st at last removed the cott on wool fr om my mouth, I was able t o tel l hi m that he had pull ed out t he wr ong t ooth. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Tir ed of sl eepi ng on the f loor, a young man i n Teher an saved up f or years t o buy a r eal bed. For t he fi rst ti me in his l if e, he became the proud owner of a bed which had spri ngs and a m at tr es. Because the weather was ver y hot, he car ied t he bed on t o t he roof of hi s house. He slept ver y wel f or the f ir st t wo night s, but on the t hi rd night, a stor m bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed of f the r oof and sent i t cr ashi ng int o the court yar d below. The young m an did not wake up until t he bed had st ruck the gr ound. Al though the bed was smashed t o pieces, the m an was mir acul ously unhur t. When he woke up, he was st il l on the mat tr ess. Glancing at the bit s of wood and metal that lay a r ound hi m, the man sadly pi cked up t he mat ress and car ri ed it int o his house. Af ter he had put i t on the f loor, he prom pt ly went t o sleep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ride 乘車兜風(fēng) I love tr avel li ng in t he count ry, but I don39。 I said t o t he conduct or as I got on the bus,39。l t el l you wher e t o get of f, 39。 t he conductor sai d. 39。 I asked. 39。 39。Il l get of f her e.39。Wel , in t hat case, I pref er t o stay on t he bus,39。You don39。 has been invent ed and it has been used to det ect gold whi ch has been buri ed in t he ground. The machine was used in a cave near t he seashor e wherei t is said pir ates used t o hide gold. The pir ates would of ten bur y gol d i n the cave and then fai l to coll ect i t. Ar med wi th t he new machine, a search part y went he did not li ke it . She enjoyed herself making t he asist ant bri ng almost ever yt hing i n the wi ndow befor e fi naly buyi ng the dr ess she had fi rst asked for . Lesson58 A blessi ng i n disguise? 是因禍得福嗎？ The t iny vi l age of Fr inley i s sai d to possess a 39。A relati on of your s is i ng to see you. She wi l l be ar ri ving t hi s eveni ng and i ntends to stay f or a f ew days. The moment you leave this t ent , you wil l get a bi g sur pri se. A wom an you know wel wi l r ush t owards you. She wi l speak to you and then she wi l lead you away f rom this pl ace. That i s al. 39。Your si st er wi l l be her e in l es t han an hour and we m ust be at the stati on to meet her. We are l ate alr e ady. 39。t have too many hats,39。The str ap needs mending,39。A t hief , yes, 39。 In t im e, al Sam39。345 f or the cost of the t ri p. The nor mal pri ce of a t icket is amp。 I 39。t know wher e it is. 39。 You39。 39。 said t he conductor suddenly.39。t mat er ,39。We are going back now,39。This i s the pr et ti est carpet I have ever seen, 39。 Lesson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At l ast f ir em en have put out a bi g f or est f ir e in Calif orni a. Si nce t hen, t hey have been t ryi ng to fi nd out how the f ir e bega n. For est f ir e are of ten caused by br oken glass or by cigaret e ends whi ch peopl e car elesl y thr ow away. Yester 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 sur e t hat a cigar et te end di d not star t the f ir e. Thi s morni ng, however , a fi reman accident al y discovered t he cause. He not iced t he remains of a snake whi ch was wound round 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 very unusual . A bi rd had snat ched up the snake f rom the gr ound and then dr opped i t on to t he wir es. The snake t hen wound it self r ound the wi res. When it di d so, i t sent sparks down t o t he gr ound and these i mmediat el y start ed a f ir e. Lesson54 St icky fi ngers 粘糊的手指 Af t er br eakf ast, I sent t he chi ldr en to school and then I went to market. I t was st il l earl y when I r et urned home. The chi ldr en were at school, my husband was at wor k and the house was qui et . So I deci ded to m ake some t ar ts f or tea. In a short t im e I was busy m ixing butt er and f l our and my hands were soon cover ed wit h sti cky pastr y. At exactly that moment, the t elephone r ang. Not hi ng coul d have been mor e annoyi ng. I picked up the r ecei ver between t wo sti cky f ingers and was di sm ayed when I r ecognize