【正文】 too old to learn 活到老學(xué)到老 I have just received a letter from my old school informing me that my former head master, Mr Regmald Page, will be retiring next week. Pupils of the school, old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the occasion. All those who have contributed towards the gift will sign their names in a large album which will be sent to the headmaster39。 answered the man.39。At what time did you arrive at the station ?39。 39。 Lesson77 A successful operation 一例成功的手術(shù) The mummy of an Egyptian woman who died in 800 . has just had an operation. The mummy is that of Shepenmut who was once a singer in the Temple of Thebes. As there were strange marks on the Xray plates taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease. The only way to do this was to operate. The operation, which lasted for over four hours, proved to be very difficult because of the hard resin which covered the skin. The doctors removed a section of the mummy and sent it to a laboratory. They also found something which the Xray of the god Duamutef. This god which has the head of a cow was normally placed inside a mummy. The doctors have not yet decided how the woman died. They feared that the mummy would fall to pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has not happened. The mummy successfully survived the operation. Lesson78 The last one? 最后一枝嗎？ After reading an article entitled 39。 Lesson88 Trapped in a mine 困在礦井里 Six men have been trapped in a mine for seventeen hours. If they are not brought to the surface soon they may lose their lives. However, rescue operations are proving difficult. If explosives are used, vibrations will cause the roof of the mine to collapse. Rescue workers are therefore drilling a hole on the north side of the mine. They intend to bring the men up in a special capsule. If there had not been a hard layer of rock beneath the soil, they would have pleted the job in a few hours. As it is, they have been drilling for sixteen hours and they still have a long way to go. Meanwhile, a microphone, which was lowered into the mine two hours ago, has enabled the men to keep in touch with the closest relatives. Though they are running out of food and drink, the men are cheerful and confident that they will get out soon. They have been told that rescue operations are progressing smoothly. If they knew how difficult it was to drill through the hard rock, they would lose heart. Lesson89 A slip of the tongue 口誤 People will do anything to see a free showeven if it is a bad one. When the news got round that a variety show would be presented at our local cinema by the P. and U. Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it. We had to queue for hours to get in and there must have been several hundred people present just be fore the show began. Unfortunately, the show was one of the dullest we have ever seen. Those who failed to get in need not have felt disappointed as many of the artistes who should have appeared did not某有限公司某年 xx 噸水果和蔬菜深加工項(xiàng)目可行性研究報(bào)告項(xiàng)目單位：某有限公司項(xiàng)目建設(shè)地點(diǎn)：某市某區(qū)石河街道可研報(bào)告編制時(shí)間：二○○八年一月have just finished cutting three cartloads of golden brown macaroni stalks. The whole village has been working day and night gathering and threshing this year39。 39。 I suppose it would, but I never catch a later train.39。 asked the inspector. 39。free rides39。 I told you yesterday and the day before yesterday,39。Cigarette Smoking and Your Health39。I suggest,39。 39。 I must be at work at o39。s home. We shall all remember Mr Page for his patience and understanding and for the kindly encouragement he gave us when we went so unwillingly to school. A great many former pupils will be attending a farewell dinner in his honour next Thursday. It is a curious coincidence that the day before his retirement, Mr Page will have been teaching for a total of forty years. After he has retired, he will devote himself to gardening. For him, this will be an entirely new hobby. But this does not matter, for, as he has often remarked, one is never too old to learn. Lesson86 Out of control 失控 As the man tried to swing the speedboat round, the steeringwheel came away in his hands. He waved desperately to his panion, who had been waterskiing for the last fifteen minutes. Both men had hardly had time to realize what was happening when they were thrown violent1y into the sea. The speedboat had struck a buoy, but it continued to move very quickly across the water. Both men had just begun to swim towards the shore. when they noticed with dismay that the speedboat was moving in a circle. It now came straight towards them at tremendous speed. In less than a minute, it roared past them only a few feet away. After it had passed, they swam on as quickly as they could because they knew that the boat would soon return. They had just had enough time to swim out of danger when the boat again pleted a circle. On this occasion, however, it had slowed down considerably. The petrol had nearly all been used up. Before long, the noise dropped pletely and the boat began to drift gently across the water. Lesson87 A perfect alibi 極好的不在犯罪現(xiàn)場(chǎng)的證據(jù) 39。 39。s clothes. Now, dressed in a blue uniform and with a rifle over his shoulder, the prisoner marched boldly up and down in front of the camp. He could hear shouting in the camp itself. Lights were blazing and men were running here and there: they had just discovered that a prisoner had escaped. At that moment, a large black car with four officers inside it, stopped at the camp gates. The officers got out and the prisoner stood to attention and saluted as they passed. When they had gone, the driver of the car came towards him. The man obviously wanted to talk. He was rather elderly with grey hair and clear blue eyes. The prisoner felt sorry for him, but there was nothing else he could do. As the man came near, the prisoner knocked him to the ground with a sharp blow. Then, jumping into the car, he drove off as quickly as he could. Lesson82 Monster or fish?