【正文】 ent the chil dr en to school and t hen I went t o mar ket . I t was stil l ear ly when I retur ned home. The chil dr en were at school , m y husband was at wor k and t he house was quiet. So I decided to make some t art s for t ea. In a shor t ti me I was busy mixi ng but ter and fl our and m y hands wer e soon cover ed wi th st icky pastr y. At exactl y that moment, t he telephone rang. Not hing could have been m ore annoyi ng. I pi cked up t he recei ver bet wen t wo sti cky fi nger s and was di smayed when I r ecognized t he voi ce of Mrs Bat es. I t took me t en mi nut es t o persuade her t o ri ng back l ater. At l ast I hung up the r ecei ver . What a m ess! Ther e was past ry on my f ingers, on the t el ephone, and on t he door knobs. I had no sooner got back to the kit chen than the door bel l rang l oud enough to wake t he dead. This t im e it was the postm an and he want ed me to si gn for a r egistered l et er ! Lesson55 Not a gold mi ne 并非金礦 Dr eam s of fi ndi ng lost tr easure al most came t rue r ecentl y. A new m achine cal ed 39。Wher e have you been hiding ?39。 I sai d t o t he conductor as I got on t he bus,39。 t he conduct or sai d. 39。 I t doesn39。Wel , in t hat case, I pr ef er t o stay on t he bus,39。 has been i nvent ed and i t has been used t o detect gol d whi ch has been bur i ed i n t he gr ound. The m achine was used in a cave near t he seashor e wherei t i s sai d pir at es used t o hi de gol d. The pir ates woul d of t en bur y gol d i n t he cave and t hen f ai l to coll ect i t. Ar med wi t h t he new m achi ne, a sear ch par ty went he di d not l ike it . She enj oyed her self m aki ng t he assi st ant br i ng alm ost everyt hi ng i n t he wi ndow bef or e f i nal y buyi ng t he dress she had f ir st asked f or. Lesson58 A blessi ng i n di sgui se? 是因禍得福嗎？ The ti ny vil l age of Fri nley i s sai d t o possess a 39。 Leson53 H ot snake 觸電的蛇 At last fi remen have put out a bi g for est fi re i n Cali f or nia. Since t hen, t hey have been tr yi ng t o f ind out how t he fi re bega n. For est fi re ar e oft en caused by broken gl ass or by ci gar et t e ends whi ch people car el essly t hrow away. Yester day t he fi remen exam i ned t he gr ound car efull y, but wer e not able t o f ind any br oken gl ass. They wer e al so qui t e sur e t hat a cigaret e end did not start t he fi r e. This m or ni ng, however, a f ir em an acci dent al ly di scover ed t he cause. He noti ced the r em ai ns of a snake whi ch was wound round t he el ectr i c wir es of a 16, 000 vol t power l i ne. I n t his way, he was able t o sol ve t he m yst er y. The expl anati on was si mpl e but ver y unusual . A bi rd had snat c hed up t he snake f r om t he gr ound and t hen dr opped i t on t o the wi r es. The snake t hen wound it sel f r ound t he wir es. When i t did so, it sent spar ks down t o the gr ound and t hese imm edi atel y st art ed a fi re. Leson54 Sti cky fi ngers 粘糊的手指 Af t er br eakfast, I sent t he chil dr en t o school and t hen I went to m ar ket . It was sti l earl y when I r et urned hom e. The chi ldr en wer e at school, m y husband was at wor k and t he house was qui et . So I deci ded t o m ake some t ar t s for t ea. I n a short t im e I was busy m ixi ng but ter and fl our and m y hands wer e soon cover ed wi th sti cky pastr y. At exactl y t hat m om ent, t he tel ephone rang. Not hing could have been m ore annoyi ng. I pi cked up t he r eceiver bet ween t wo st icky fi nger s and was dismayed when I recogni zed t he voi ce of Mr s Bates. I t t ook m e ten mi nut es t o per suade her t o r ing back lat er . At last I hung up t he r ecei ver . What a mess! Ther e was pastr y on m y fi nger s, on t he tel ephone, and on t he door knobs. I had no sooner got back t o the kit chen t han the door bel l rang l oud enough t o wake t he dead. This t im e it was t he postm an and he want ed m e t o si gn f or a regist er ed let er ! Lesson55 Not a gol d mi ne 并非金礦 Dreams of fi nding l ost t reasur e al m ost cam e t r ue recent ly. A new m achi ne cal led 39。We are goi ng back now,39。 sai d t he conduct or suddenl y. 39。 You39。 I39。A r el ati on of your s is ing to see you. She wi l be ar ivi ng this evening and i nt ends t o stay f or a few days. The moment you l eave t hi s tent, you wi l get a big surpr ise. A woman you know wel l wil l rush t owar ds you. She wi l speak t o you and then she wil l lead you away fr om t his place. That is al l. 39。You don39。I 39。 I s t his Woodf or d Gr en ?39。 I 39。 As she wal ked away, I f ol lowed her out of t he fair . Lesson61 Troubl e wit h t he Hubble 哈勃望遠(yuǎn)鏡的困境 In futur e, astr onaut s wil l be requir ed to descend f rom a spaceship whil e it i s st il l in space and t o r et urn t o i t. The My dent i st had j ust pull ed out one of my teet h and had tol d me t o r est for a whi le. I tr ied t o say somet hi ng, but my mout h wa s f ull of cot tonwool . He knew I collected bi rds39。cur sed t ree39。 I answer ed. Lesson51 Reward f or virt ue 對美德的獎賞 My f ri end, Her bert , has al ways been f at , but t hings got so bad r ecentl y t hat he deci ded t o go on a di et . He began hi s diet a week ago. Fi rst of al l, he wr ote out a l ong l ist of al l t he f oods whi ch wer e for bi dden. The li st i ncl uded m ost of t he t hings Her bert l oves: but t er , pot at oes, ri ce, beer, mi l k, chocol at e, and sweet s. Yest er day I pai d hi m a visit . I rang t he bel and was not sur pri sed t o see that Her bert was sti l as f at as ever . He l ed m e i nt o his r oom and hurr iedl y hi d a l ar ge parcel under hi s desk. It was obvi ous t hat he was ver y em bar rassed. When I asked him what he was doing, he smi l ed gui lti l y and t hen put t he par cel on t he desk. He expl ai ned t hat his di et was so str i ct t hat he had to r ewar d hi msel f occasional l y. Then he showed m e t he contents of t he par cel . It cont ained