【正文】 In time, all Sam39。The strap needs mending,39。Wher e have you been hi di ng ?39。 Lesson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At last f iremen have put out a big f orest fi re in Cali fornia. Si nce then, they have been tr ying to fi nd out how the fi re began. For est fi re are often caused by br oken gl ass or by ci garet e ends which people car el essl y throw away. Yester day t he f iremen exam ined t he ground car ef ully, but wer e not able t o find any broken glas. They wer e al so qui te sur e that a cigar et te end did not start the fi re. This morning, however , a f ir eman accidental y di scovered the cause. He noticed the r emai ns of a snake whi ch was wound round t he elect ri c wi res of a 16, 000vol t power l ine. In t hi s way, he was able to solve the mystery. The explanati on was si mpl e but very unusual . A bi rd had snatc hed up the snake f rom t he ground and then dropped it on to the wir es. The snake t hen wound it self round t he wi res. When i t di d so, i t sent sparks down to t he ground and these immedi at el y st ar ted a fir e. Lesson54 St icky f ingers 粘糊的手指 Aft er breakfast, I sent the chil dr en to school and then I went t o mar ket. It was sti l ear ly when I returned home. The chil dr en were at school, my husband was at work and the house was qui et . So I decided t o make some tart s for t ea. In a short ti me I was busy mixing but ter and flour and my hands were soon covered with sti cky pastry. At exactl y that moment, the telephone r ang. Not hi ng coul d have been more annoying. I pi cked up t he r ecei ver between two st icky f inger s and was dismayed when I recogni zed the voice of Mrs Bat es. It took me t en mi nutes to persuade her t o ri ng back later. At last I hung up t he r eceiver . What a mess! There was pastry on my f ingers, on the telephone, and on the door knobs. I had no sooner got back to t he kit chen than t he door bel l r ang l oud enough t o wake the dead. Thi s time i t was the postman and he wanted me to si gn f or a r egistered let er ! Leson55 Not a gold mi ne 并非金礦 Dr eams of f indi ng l ost tr easure almost came t rue recently. A new machi ne caled 39。We are goi ng back now,39。Oh dear,39。l tel you where to get off ,39。t l ike losi ng my way. I went on an excursion recently, but my tr ip took me longer t han I expected. 39。 Only 25 per cent a thief now!39。clock this evening. By that time, the Astra will have been flying through space for seventeen hours and will have circled the earth a great many times. When the first radio messages have been received, the results of the trip will be announced immediately. Lesson62 After the fire 大火之后 Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm whil e she was havi ng a pii c at t he edge of a f or est wi t h her chil dr en and t ri ed t o st eal her handbag. I n t he st ruggl e, the st rap br oke and, wit h t he bag in t heir possesion, bot h m en st art ed r unning thr ough t he t rees. Mrs Sterli ng got so angr y t hat she r an aft er them. She was soon out of breat h, but she cont inued t o r un. When she caught up wit h them, 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 fr i ght t hat they dr opped t he bag and ran away. 39。. Because the tree was mentioned in a newspaper, the number of visitors to Frinley has now increased. The tree was planted near a church fifty years ago, but it is only in recent years that it has gained an evil reputation. It is said that if anyone touches the tree, he will have bad luck。This is the prettiest carpet I have ever seen,39。 I said. 39。 Is this Woodford Green ?39。 I39。 eggs and asked me whether my collection was growing. He then asked me how my brother was and whether I liked my new job in London. In answer to these questions I either nodded or made strange noises. Meanwhile, my tongue was busy searching out the hole where the tooth had been. I suddenly felt very worried, but could not say anything. When the dentist at last removed the cottonwool from my mouth, I was able to tell him that he had pulled out the wrong tooth. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Tired of sleeping on the floor, a young man in Teheran saved up for years to buy a real bed. For the first time in his life, he became the proud owner of a bed which had springs and a mattress. Because the weather was very hot, he carried the bed on to the roof of his house. He slept very well for the first two nights, but on the third night, a storm blew up. A gust of wind swept the bed off the roof and sent it crashing into the courtyard below. The young man did not wake up until the bed had struck the ground. Although the bed was smashed to pieces, the man was miraculously unhurt. When he woke up, he was still on the mattress. Glancing at the bits of wood and metal that lay around him, the man sadly picked up the mattress and carried it into his house. After he had put it on the floor, he promptly went to sleep again. Lesson50 Taken for a ride 乘車兜風 I love travelling in the country, but I don39。 Two months later, some more money was sent to Sam with another note:39。while she was having a piic at the edge of a forest with her children and tried to steal her handbag. In the struggle, the strap broke and, with the bag in their possession, both men started running through the trees. Mrs Sterling got so angry that she ran after them. She was soon out of breath, but she continued to run. When she caught up with them, she saw that they had sat down and were going through the contents of the bag, so she ran straight at them. The men got such a fright that they dropped the bag and ran away. 39。 Only 25 per cent a thief now!39。t like losing my way. I went on an excursion recently, but my trip took me longer than I expected. 39。ll tell you wh