【正文】 ou ever put your trousers in the washing machine and then remembered there was a large bank note in your back pocket? When you rescued your trousers, did note in your back pocket? When you rescued your trousers, did you find the note was whiter than white? People who live in Britain needn39。s wallet as well. Imagine their dismay when they found a beautifullycooked wallet and notes turned to ash! John went to see his bank manager who sent the remains of wallet and the money to the special department of the Bank of England in Newcastle: the Mutilate Ladies! They examined the remain and John got all his money back. 39。Last year, we paid $ on 21,000 claims. Damaged bank notes. The Queen39。對英國人來說，值得慶幸的是英國銀行有一個(gè) 殘鈔鑒別組，負(fù)責(zé)理那些把錢塞進(jìn)機(jī)器或塞給狗的人提出的索賠要求。然后，他和簡一起去騎馬。他們鑒定了這些 殘留物?！? Lesson 8 A famous monastery 著名的修道院 The Great St. Bernard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy. At 2,473 metres, it is the highest mountain pass in Europe. The famous monastery of St. Bernard, witch was founded in eleventh century, lies about a mile away. For hundreds of years, St. Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing the dangerous Pass. These friendly dogs, which were first brought from Asia, were used as watchdogs even in Roman times. Now that a tunnel ahs been built through the mountains, the Pass is less dangerous, but each year, the dogs are still sent out into the snow whenever a traveller is in difficulty. Despite the new tunnel, there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the Pass on foot. During the summer months, the monastery is very busy, for it is visited by thousands of people who cross the Pass in cars. As there are so many people about, the dogs have to be kept in a special enclosure. In winter, however, life at the monastery is quite different. The temperature drops to 30 o and very few people attempt to cross the Pass. The monks prefer winter to summer of they have more privacy. The dogs have greater freedom, too, for they are allowed to wander outside their enclosure. The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter. These young people, who love the peace of mountains, always receive a warm wele at St. Bernard39。那些最先從亞洲引進(jìn)的狗，待人友好，早在羅馬時(shí)代就給人當(dāng)看門狗了。由于來人太多，狗被關(guān)在專門的圍欄里。因?yàn)樵诙?，他們可以更多地過無人打擾的生活。這些熱愛高山清靜環(huán)境的年輕人每年都受到圣伯納德道院的熱烈歡迎。 a doctor said. It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves. In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more. At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax. They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels. This increases their airresistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground. Fascinate v. 迷住，吸引住 affectionate adj. 充滿深情，柔情的 Mysterious adj. 神秘的，難以理解的 submissive adj. 服從的，順從的 Feline adj. 貓的 independence n. 獨(dú)立，獨(dú)立性 highrise adj. 高層的 windowsill n. 窗檻 paratrooper n. 傘兵 squirrel n. 松鼠 airresistance n. 空氣阻力 impact n. 沖擊力 貓總能引起人們的極大興趣。結(jié)果是人們已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)尊重貓的獨(dú)立性。貓?jiān)诘鋾r(shí)能夠大難不死是有事實(shí)作為依據(jù)的。有一只叫薩伯瑞的貓從 32 層樓上掉下來，但只摔斷一顆牙。在高速下落中，貓有時(shí)間放松自己。船上載有 1,316名乘客與 891 名船員。然而，這艘巨輪首航就下沉，造成大批人員死亡。警報(bào)響過不久，巨輪急轉(zhuǎn)彎，以避免與冰山正面相撞。在下面，船長驚恐的地發(fā)現(xiàn)“泰坦尼克”號正在急速下沉， 16 個(gè)密封艙已有 5 個(gè)進(jìn)水。Have you anything to declare?39。Would you mind unlocking this suitcase please?39。s face light up. He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight. 39。 39。It39。s a strange mixture I make myself.39。但是，當(dāng)你通過綠色通道，沒有任何東西需要申報(bào)時(shí)，他們?nèi)钥梢詳r住你。 “沒有。 那位官員十分仔細(xì)地把箱子檢查了一遍。他在我的箱底發(fā)現(xiàn)了一只小瓶，高興地 一把抓了起來。” “你就聞一聞吧！”我催促說。 Lesson 12 Life on a desert island 荒島生活 Most of us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island. We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun always shines. Life there is simple and good. Ripe fruit falls from the trees and you never have to work. The other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Life on a desert island is wretched. You either starve to death or live like Robinson Crusoe, Waiting for a boat which never es. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few us have had the opportunity to find out. Two men who recently spent five days on a coral island wished they had stayed there longer. They were taking a badly damaged boat from the Virgin Islands to Miami to have it repaired. During the journey, their boat began to sink. They quickly loaded a small rubber dinghy with food, matches, and cans of beer and rowed for a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island. There were hardly any trees on the island and there was no water, but this did not prove to be a problem. The men collected rainwater in the rubber dinghy. As they had brought a spear gun with them, they had plenty to eat. They caught lobster and fish every day， and, as one of them put it 39。在那里，生活簡單又美好。但很少有人能有機(jī)會(huì)去弄個(gè)究竟。然后在加勒比海上劃行了幾英里，到了一座珊瑚島上。他們天天捕捉龍蝦和魚，正如其中一位所說，吃得“像國王一樣好”。 “是我，別害怕” After her husband had gone to work. Mrs. Richards sent her children to school and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too excited to do any housework that morning, for in the evening she would be going to a fancydress part with her husband. She intended to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costume the night before, she was impatient to try it on. Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was very effective. After putting it on, Mrs. Richards went downstairs. She wanted to find out whether it would be fortable to wear. Just as Mrs. Richards was entering the dinning room, there was a knock on the front door. She knew that it must be the baker. She had told him to e straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table. Not wanting t