【正文】 arl y now. However, t hey have decided t o use the post of ice. Let ters wil l cost a li t 1e more, but t hey wil l cert ai nl y tr avel f ast er . Lesson23 A new house 新居 I had a l et ter f r om m y si ter yest er day. She li ves i n Nigeria. In her l et er , she said t hat she would e t o England next ye ar. I f she es, she wil get a sur pr ise. We are now l iving in a beautif ul new house i n the count ry. Wor k on i t had begun before my sist er l ef t. The house was pleted fi ve m onths ago. I n my leter, I told her t hat she could st ay wi th us. The house has many l ar ge r ooms and t here i s a l ovely gar den. I t is a ver y m oder n house, so it l ooks str ange to some people. I t m ust be t he onl y m odern house in t he distri ct . Leson24 It coul d be worse 不幸中之萬幸 I ent ered t he hotel m anager39。I mi ght as wel have them,39。Cert ai nl y,39。I 39。 Lesson19 Sold out 票已售完 39。but I can39。 I f you recei ve a r equest l ike t his, you cannot f ai l t o obey it ! Leson 17 Al ways young 青年常駐 My aunt Jennif er is an actr ess. She m ust be at l east t hir tyf ive years old. I n spit e of t hi s, she often appear s on t he st age as a young gir l. Jenni fer wi l have to t ake part i n a new play soon. Thi s t ime, she wil be a gi rl of sevent en. I n the pl ay, she must appear in a bri ght red dr ess and l ong bl ack st ockings. Last year in anot her pl ay, she had t o wear shor t socks and a bri ght, or ange col oured dr es. I f anyone ever asked her how ol d she i s, she al ways answer s, 39。 As I soon lear nt , he was Engli sh himsel f! Leson 15 G ood news 佳音 The secr et ar y told me t hat Mr. Harm swort h woul d see m e. I felt ver y nervous when. I went i nt o hi s of fi ce. He di d not look up fr om his desk when I enter ed. Af ter I had sat down, he said t hat busi ness was ver y bad. He t ol d m e t hat the fi rm coul d not affor d t o pay such l ar ge sal ari es. Twenty people had alr eady left. I knew t hat m y t urn had e. 39。 She l ooked at it cr it cal y for a moment .39。 anything. They are j ust pr et ty pat terns. We l ike them in the same way t hat we like prety curt ai n mat er ial. I t hi nk t hat young childr en oft en appr eciate modern pictur es bet ter t han anyone else. They not ice mor e. My siste r i s only seven, but she always tel s me whether my pictures ar e good or not. She came int o my room yest er day. 39。 I said. Then he spoke sl owl y, but I could not understand him. My t eache r never spoke Engl ish l ike that ! The por t er and I looked at each other and smil ed. Then he sai d something and I under st ood it . 39。s r oom39。and i t39。s a wast e of ti me. 39。t he gi rl said, 39。 Susan exclaimed. Just then, a man hurri ed t o the ti cket off ice. 39。I hur ri ed t o the ticket off ice. 39。m very sor ry,39。 he asked. 39。 he Said. Then he smil ed and t ol d me I would r ecei ve an ext ra amp。t it upside down ?39。 I answer ed. 39。about 39。 l esson25 Do t he English speak Engli sh? 英國人講的是英語嗎？ I ar ri ved in London at l ast . The r ail way stati on was bi g, black and dark. I di d not know the way t o m y hotel, so I asked a port er . I not onl y spoke Engl ish ver y carefull y, but ver y cl earl y as wel. The port er , however , coul d not underst and me。 he sai d. He st ar ted to plai n about this wicked worl d but was i nt er upt ed by a knock at the door. A girl cam e i n and put an envel ope on hi s desk. I t cont ai ned amp。 50 and I f elt ver y upset .39。You m ust give up fishi ng!39。Coul d I have t hose t wo ti cket s pl ease ?39。ve sol d out, 39。 I sai d. 39。t pay t he bil l. I haven39。My dear, it m ust be t er ible t o be gr own up! 39。Mr. Harm swort h, 39。 I sai d in a we ak voi ce. 39。 lesson18 He oft en does t hi s! 他經(jīng)常干這種事！ Af ter I had had lunch at a vil lage i nn, I l ooked f or m y bag. I had l eft it on a chair beside the door and now i t wasn39。t got m y bag.39。I t may have begun alr eady,39。 t he gir l said. 39。 I asked. 39。 m y f ri ends say.39。 I l ef t he m oney i n m y r om ,39。5o. 39。 I r epeat ed my quest i on sever al tim es and at last he under st ood. He answer ed m e, but he spoke neit her sl owl y nor cl earl y. 39。. Of cour se, m any pictures ar c not 39。It 39。 I l ooked at i t agai n. She was ri ght! It was! Lesson27 A wet night 雨夜 Lat e i n the af t er noon, the boys put up t heir tent i n the middl e of a f ield. As soon as t hi s was done, t hey cooked a meal over an open f ire. They wer e al l hungry and the food smelt good. Aft er a wonderf ul meal , t hey told stori es and sang songs by t he camp f ir e. But some t ime later it began t o rain. The boys felt t he pol ice wil have a di f icul t ime. They wi l be t rying to keep order. It is always the same on these occasions. Leson 14 Do you speak English? 你會講英語嗎？ I had an amusing experience l ast year . Aft er I had l ef t a smal l vi lage i n the south of Fr ance, I dr ove on to the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I stopped and he asked me for a lif t. As soon as he had got into t he car , I sai d good morning to him i n French and he repl ied in t he same l anguage. Apart fr om a few words, I do not know any French at al . Neit he r of us spoke during the journey. I had nearly r eached the town, when t he young man suddenly said, very slowly, 39。100 a year ! Leson 16 A polit e request 彬彬有禮的要求 I f you par k your car i n the wrong pl ace, a tr af fi c poli ceman wi l soon find it . You wil l be ver y lucky i f he lets you go wit hout a t icket. However, this does not al ways happen. Tr af fic police ar e sometimes ver y poli te. Duri ng a holiday in Sweden, I found t hi s note on my car: 39。Yes, thank you,39。 he sai d 39。May I have t wo ti cket s pl ease ?39。Can I r eturn these two t ickets?39。but they ar e f or next Wednesday39。 But t hey don39。s not there now. 39。 she said. 39。You39。 What are you doing ?39。 It 39。Mr . Harm swort h,39。My dear , i t m ust be t er ri bl e t o be gr own up! 39。t pay t he bil .