【正文】 ain if she went to the had to put the money in a cardboard box and leave it outside her door. After drawing ￡1,000 from her band,she acted on the kidnapper39。t get up early enough. After making a short test flight,Bleriot crossed the Channel in thirtyseven minutes. A policeman greeted him when he arrived in got within half a mile of Dover the following week, having to land on the sea a second time because his engine failed. (80 words)Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza 丹尼爾?門多薩When the two men quarrelled, they settled the argument by a fight. This took place at Stilton. It lasted an hour and Humphries won. When they met again, Mendoza lost again, but in their third match in 1790,Mendoza finally beat Humphries to bee Champion of England. He founded a successful boxing Academy and earned a lot of money, but was so extravagant he was always in debt. He was finally sent to prison and died in poverty in 1836. (80 words)Lesson 22 By heart 熟記臺詞The aristocrat was sitting in his cell when the gaoler entered and handed him the lettera blank sheet of paper. The aristocrat looked at it, squinted and said: ‘The light is dim. Read me the letter.’ He handed the letter back to the gaoler, who said: ‘The light is indeed dim. I39。s name. The most valuable find was the ship39。s old farmhouse was replaced by a new home, while lawyers were employed as spokesmen. The parents paid the price for fame: they would never again lead normal lives. (80 words)Lesson 46 Do it yourself 自己動手 The author looked at his machine and reckoned that only a minor adjustment was needed. After adjusting a few things, the mower still refused to work, so he dismantled it and traced the cause of the trouble: there was a broken link in the drive chain. After buying a new chain and reassembling the mower, it still did not work. However, he was not really surprised because there were bits left that did not fit anywhere so he gave up. (80 words)Lesson 47 Too high a price? 代價太高Noise constantly invades our daily lives. According to a recent survey, the worst noise is dogs barking at night, although the noise of lawn mowers, latenight parties, noisy neighbours, vehicles, planes and helicopters and large radios all adds. While the use of mobile phones in public places, it seems, is annoying, the survey revealed that one ‘oldfashioned’ source of noise is snoring, with men the worst offenders: only a small percentage of women snore, but they suffer most.(80 words)Lesson 48 The silent village 沉默的村莊The village contained one street and looked forbidding. Apart from a goat, it seemed deserted, so they sat down and had a piic. Looking up, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by children in rags. The children were silent and motionless. As they walked down the street followed by the children, the village came alive with faces in windows and people watching them silently from doorways. The visitors were clearly unwele. They hurried back down to the stream and the boatman. Lesson 49 The ideal servant 理想的仆人On her return with a party of guests, Aunt Harriet asked Bessie to prepare dinner. Not only was the meal below standard, Bessie could not walk steadily, and she bumped into furniture and mumbled at the guests. When she brought in the pudding, she tripped and the pudding crashed onto the dining the guests were very amused, Aunt Harriet was horrified. She realized Bessie was drunk and dismissed her immediately. (72 words)Lesson 50 New Year resolutions 新年的決心The writer exercised early in the morning for two days before anyone found out. When he sat at breakfast the second day, his condition betrayed him. His enthusiasm waned so that by January 10th, things were back to normal. However, he decided to keep his mind fresh for reading. He read on his own until one evening he went down and sat in front of the television, but he dozed off. He has now bought a book on speed reading! (80 words)Lesson 51 Predicting the future 預測未來According to Bagrit, puters would be small enough to hold in the hand, and they would be able to provide information about traffic jams and suggest alternative routes. They would be used to help doctors diagnose illnesses, and in business would relieve office workers of dull, repetitive work. However, he failed to predict the use of the Internet as a vehicle of munication or a source of information. But as predicted, puters have bee smaller, more powerful and cheaper. (79 words )Lesson 52 Mud is mud 實事求是 The assistant promised to order the‘ Myrolite ’Harry bad already asked for, so he then said he wantedperfumed mud. This time her eyes lit up and she immediately fetched several bottles which she put onthe counter. Harry picked up the smallest bottle, and when he learned the price ( ￡20 ), he paid and leftwith the bottle under his arm. This curious bottle, now in his study, was his first and last purchase of rarecosmetics. (77 words)Lesson 53 In the public interest 為了公眾的利益On receiving a plaint from a foreigner about police ill treatment, the Ombudsman wrote to the Chiefof Police asking for a record of the case. As there was no official record and the Chief denied theaccusation, no action was possible. But When there was another similar plaint, the Ombudsman senta lawyer to investigate. He ascertained the truth of the accusations, the policeman was severelyreprimanded and warned that if there were further plaints he would be prosecuted. (80 words)Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness? 是本能還是機智The writer saw thousands of ants crawling up his peach tree. Then he noticed the leaves of the tree were withering and found there were aphids under the leaves. They were being visited by the ants. In an effort to stop them, he bound the base of the tree with sticky tape and of course they coul