【正文】 full y f lew over the South Pole f or the fi rst t ime. Though, at f ir st, Byrd and hi s m en were abl e t o take a gr eat m any photogr aphs of t he mount ai ns t hat l ay bel ow, t hey soon ran into ser ious t roubl e. At one poi nt, it sem ed cert ai n t hat thei r pl ane woul d cr ash. It coul d only get over the m ountains i f it rose t o 10, 000 feet . Byr d at once or der ed his m en t o thr ow out t wo heavy f ood sacks. The plane was then abl e to r ise and it cl ear ed t he mountai ns by 400 feet . Byr d now knew t hat he would be able t o r each the South Pol e whi ch was 300 mi les away, f or ther e wer e no m or e mount ai ns i n si ght. The air cr af t was abl e t o fl y ove r t he endl ess whi te plains wi thout dif icul ty. Lesson44 Through the forest 穿過森林 Mr s Anne Sterli ng di d not think of t he r isk she was t aking when she r an t hr ough a f orest af ter t wo men. They had r ushed up to her whil e she was havi ng a pii c at the edge of a f or est wi th her chil dr en and t ri ed t o st eal her handbag. In t he str uggl e, t he str ap broke and, wit h the bag i n t heir possessi on, both men st ar ted runni ng t hr ough the tr es. Mr s St er li ng got so angry t hat she r an af ter t hem. She was soon out of br eat h, but she conti nued to r un. When she caught up wit h t hem, she saw t hat they had sat down and were goi ng t hr ough the content s of t he bag, so she r an str ai ght at t hem . The m en got such a f ri ght t hat they dr opped t he bag and ran away. 39。but t hey did not steal anythi ng.39。 Two m ont hs later, some more money was sent t o Sam wit h another note:39。 I am 100 per cent honest now! 39。 eggs and asked me whether my coll ecti on was gr owi ng. He t hen asked m e how my br ot her was and whet her I l iked m y new j ob i n London. I n answer t o t hese ques ti ons I eit her nodded or m ade st range noi ses. Meanwhil e, m y tongue was busy searchi ng out the hole wher e the toot h had been. I suddenl y f el t very worr ied, but coul d not say anyt hi ng. When t he dent ist at last rem oved the cot on wool fr om m y m out h, I was abl e t o tel him t hat 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 epi ng on t he fl oor, a young m an i n Teheran saved up for year s to buy a r eal bed. For t he f ir st tim e in his li fe, he becam e t he pr oud owner of a bed which had spr ings and a m at res. Because t he weat her was very hot , he car ri ed t he bed on t o t he r oof of hi s house. He sl ept ver y wel f or t he fi rst two night s, but on the t hir d ni ght, a st orm blew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed off t he r oof and sent i t cr ashi ng i nt o the court yard bel ow. The young man di d not wake up unti l t he bed had str uck the gr ound. Alt hough t he bed was sm ashed t o pi eces, t he man was mi r acul ousl y unhurt. When he woke up, he was st il on the m at tr ess. Glanci ng at he bit s of wood and m et al t hat l ay around him, t he man sadl y pi cked up t he m at res and cari ed i t i nt o his house. Aft er he had put i t on t he fl oor , he prom pt ly went t o sl ep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ri de 乘車兜風 I love t ravel i ng i n t he countr y, but I don39。 I said t o t he conduct or as I got on t he bus,39。l l tel you wher e to get off ,39。 t he conductor said. 39。Oh dear,39。It doesn39。l get off her e.39。Wel, i n t hat case, I pr ef er t o st ay on the bus, 39。You don39。 said Mr s Ster li ng l at er , 39。but onl y 5o per cent a thief! 39。s money was pai d back in this way. The last note sai d:39。230 ! Leson47 A t hi rsty ghost 嗜 酒的鬼魂 A publ ic house which was r ecent ly bought by Mr Ian Thompson is up for sale. Mr Thompson i s going to sel l it because i t i s haunted. He t ol d me that he coul d not go to sl ep one night because he hear d a st range noi se i ng f rom t he bar . The next mor ni ng, he f ound that t he door s had been bl ocked by chairs and the furnitur e had been moved. Though Mr Thompson had turned t he l ight s of f before he went to bed, they were on in t he mor ni ng. He also said t hat he had found fi ve empty whisky bottl es which the ghost must have dr unk t he night bef ore. When I suggest ed t hat some vi lager s must have e in for afr e dri nk, Mr Thompson shook his head. The vi lager s have t ol d him t hat they wi l not accept t he i nn even i f he gives i t away. Leson48 Did you want to t el me som et hi ng? 你想對我說什么嗎？ Denti st s always ask questi ons when i t i s impossi bl e for you to answer. My denti st had just pulled out one of my teet h and had t ol d me to rest f or a while. I t ri ed t o say somet hing, but my mout h was f ul l of cott on wool. He knew I coll ected birds39。m goi ng t o Woodfor d Green,39。 I39。l have to get off her e, 39。 I s this Woodf or d Green ?39。 I f or got to put you of f.39。 I said. 39。 sai d the conduct or . 39。 she said. She gazed at i t f or some t ime then added, 39。The str ap needs mendi ng,39。A t hi ef , yes, 39。 I n time, al l Sam39。345 for the cost of the tri p. The normal pr ice of a ti cket i s amp。 I39。t know where i t i s. 39。 You39。 39。 said the conductor suddenl y. 39。t mat er ,39。 We ar e going back now, 39。This i s the pr et tiest car pet I have ever sen, 39。 Lesson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At l ast f ir emen have put out a bi g forest f ire i n Cal iforni a. Since then, they have been t rying to f ind out how t he f ir e began. Forest f ire are oft en caused by broken glas or by cigar et te ends whi ch people car elessly throw away. Yesterday the fir emen examined the gr ound carefull y, but were not abl e to fi nd any br oken gl ass. They were also quit e sure that a cigarete end di d not star t he f ire. Thi s mor ni ng, however, afi reman acident al ly discover ed t he cause. He not i ced t he r emains of a snake which was wound r ound the el ectr ic 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 yst er y.