【正文】 t he f iremen exami ned the 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 t he r emains of a snake whi ch was wound round t he elect ric 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 snatched 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 t o 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 quiet. So I deci ded to make some tarts f or tea. I n a short time I was busy mi xi ng butt er and f lour and my hands wer e soon cover ed wi th st icky past ry. At exact ly t hat moment, the telephone r ang. Nothing coul d have been more annoyi ng. I pi cked up the recei ver between t wo st icky f ingers and was dismayed when I r ecognized the voice of Mr s Bat es. I t ook me t en mi nutes to per suade her t o ring back later. At last I hung up t he r ecei ver. What a mes! There was past ry on my fi ngers, on the telephone, and on the door knobs. I had no sooner got back to t he kit chen t han the door bel l r ang loud enough to wake t he dead. This t ime it was t he post man and he want ed me t o si gn f or a registered leter ! Leson55 Not a gol d mine 并非金礦 Dr eams of fi ndi ng l ost reasure almost came tr ue r ecent ly. A new machi ne cal led 39。We are going back now,39。 I fot t o put you off .39。s cl osest fr iends asked him to make a speech at a weddi ng r ecepti on. of f her e, 39。 if he pi cks a leaf , he wil l die. Many vil agers bel ieve t hat he t ree has al ready claimed a number of vi ctim s. The vi car has been asked to have t he tr ee cut down, but so far he has r ef used. He has poi nt ed out t hat he t ree is a useful sour ce of ine as t ouri st s have been ing fr om al par ts of the count ry t o see i t. In spi te of al t hat has been said, t he t ouri st s have been pi cking leaves and cutt ing thei r nam es on the tr et runk. So far, not one of t hem has been str uck down by sudden death! Leson59 In or out ？ 進來還是出去？ Our dog, Rex, used t o sit out si de our f ront gat e and bar k. Ever y tim e he want ed t o e into t he gar den he woul d bark unt il s omeone opened t he gat e. As the nei ghbours plained of t he noi se, my husband spent weks tr ai ni ng him t o pr ess hi s paw on the l at ch t o let him self i n. Rex soon becam e an expert at opening the gate. However, when I was going out shoppi ng l ast week, I noti ced him i n the gar den near t he gat e. This tim e he was bar ki ng so that someone woul d let him out ! Si nce t hen, he has devel oped anot her bad habit . As soon as he opens the gate f rom t he out si de, he es i nt o t he garden and wait s unti l t he gate shuts. Then he sit s and bar ks unti l som eone lets him out. Aft er this he immedi at el y lets himsel f i n and begins bar ki ng agai n. Yesterday m y husband r em oved t he gate and Rex got so annoyed we have not sen him since. Lesson60 The fut ure 卜算未來 At a vil lage f ai r, I deci ded t o visit af ort unet el er cal led Madam Beli nsky. I went into her t ent and she t ol d m e t o si t down. Aft er I had given her som e m oney, she l ooked i nt o a cr ystal bal and sai d: 39。 she said. She gazed at it for som e time t hen added, 39。 I said. 39。 Is this Woodf ord Gr en ?39。 39。t m at er ,39。Thi s i s the pr et ti est carpet I have ever s een,39。. Because the tr e was m enti oned i n a newspaper, t he num ber of visi tors t o Fr inley has now i ncr eased. The tr e was pl anted near a chur ch f ift y years ago, but it is onl y in r ecent year s that it has gai ned an evil r eput at ion. It i s said t hat i f anyone touches t he tr ee, he wi l have bad luck。clock t hi s eveni ng. By t hat tim e, the Ast ra wil l have been f lying through space for sevent een hour s and wil have ci rcled the eart h a gr e at m any tim es. When t he f ir st radi o m essages have been recei ved, t he r esul ts of t he t ri p wi l be announced immedi at el y. Lesson62 Af ter the fi re 大火之后 Fir emen had been fi ghti ng the forest fi re f or nearl y three weks before t hey could get it under cont r ol. A shor t ime bef or e, great t rees had covered the count rysi de f or mi les ar ound. Now, sm oke st il l r ose up fr om t he warm ground over the desol at e hil ls. Winter was i ng on and t he hil ls threat ened the surr oundi ng vil lages wit h dest r uct i on, f or heavy rain woul d not onl y wash away the soil but woul d cause ser ious f loods as wel . When the fi re had at last been put out, t he f or est author it ies or dered sever al t ons of a speci al t ype of gras seed which woul d gr ow quickl y. The seed was sprayed over the gr ound i n huge quanti ties by aeropl anes. The planes had been plant ing sed for near ly a mont h when it began to r ai n. By then, however, i n many pl aces t he gr ass had al ready taken r oot. I n pl ace of t he great tr ees which had been gr owi ng t her e for centuri es, patches of green had begun t o appear in the blackened soil . Lesson63 She was not amused 她并不覺得好笑 Geof fr ey Hampden has a large ci rcle of f ri ends and is ver y popul ar at parti es. Everybody admir es him for hi s fine sense of humoreverybody, t hat is, except his si x year ol d daughter, Jenny. Recentl y, one of Geof frey39。 sai d the conduct or suddenly.39。 39。t need bookcases at al . You can sit her e in your spar e ti me and read t he carpet !39。 As soon as I went outside, I for got al l about Madam Bel li