【正文】 . Bi r d Sed Com pany, we al l r ushed t o see it . We had t o queue for hour s t o get i n and t her e m ust have been sever al hundr ed people pr esent j ust be f or e t he show began. Unf ort unat el y, t he show was one of t he dull est we have ever seen. Those who fail ed t o get i n need not ha ve felt di sappoi nted as many of t he ar ti st es who shoul d have appear ed did not e. The only f unny thi ngs we hear d that eveni ng came f r om t he adverti ser at t he begi nni ng of t he pr ogr amm e. He was obvi ousl y ver y ner vous and for som e mi nut es st ood awkwar dl y bef or e t he m i cr ophone. As soon as he opened hi s m outh, ever yone bur st out laughi ng. We al know what t he poor man shoul d have sai d, but what he act ual y sai d was: 39。So do I, 39。You see, I39。 she asked. 39。 excl aim ed his wif e. 39。s hat. 39。 Lesson96 The dead ret urn 亡靈返鄉(xiāng) A Festi val f or t he Dead i s hel d once a year i n Japan. Thi s festi val i s a cheerf ul occasi on, f or on thi s day, t he dead are said t o r et ur n t o t hei r hom es and t hey ar e wel ed by t he li ving. As t hey ar e expect ed t o be hungr y aft er t hei r long j our ney, f ood i s l ai d out f or t hem. Speci al l y made lanter ns ar e hung out si de each house to hel p the dead to f i nd t heir way. Al ni ght l ong, peopl e dance and si ng. I n t he e ar ly m orni ng, t he f ood t hat had been l ai d out for t he dead i s t hr own int o a r i ver or i nto t he sea as i t is consi der ed unl ucky f or anyone l iving t o eat i t. I n towns t hat ar e near the sea, t he ti ny lanter ns which had been hung i n the str eets t he ni ght befor e, ar e placed into the wat er when t he festi val is over . Thousands of lanter ns sl owl y dr if t out t o sea gui di ng the dead on thei r r eturn journey t o the ot her wor ld. This i s a moving spect acl e, f or crowds of peopl e st and on the shor e wat chi ng the l ant er ns dri ft ing away unti l they can be seen no mor e. f i sh was caught near Madagascar . A smal f ishing boat was car ri ed mil es out t o sea by the powerf ul fi sh as i t pul l ed on t he li ne. Reali zi ng t hat t hi s was no or di nar y fi sh, t he fi sherm an made ever y ef ort not to dam age it i n any way. When it was event ual l y brought t o shor e, i t was f ound t o be over t hir teen f et l ong. It had a head li ke a hor se, bi g bl ue eyes, shi ning sil ver ski n, and a bri ght r ed t ail , The fi sh, whi ch has si nce been sent t o a museum where i t is bei ng exam i ned by a sci enti st , is cal ed an oar fi sh. Such cr eat ur es have r ar ely been seen ali ve by m an as t hey l i ve at a depth of si x hundr ed f eet . Leson83 Aft er t he el ect ions 大選之后 The form er Pr im e Mi nister, Mr Went wort h Lane, was defeat ed i n t he r ecent el ect i ons. He is now reti ri ng f rom pol it ical li fe and has gone abr oad. My fr iend, Cr awl ey, has al ways been a f anat ical opponent of Mr Lane39。 but I l ove t o hear you say it ! 39。 sai d the m an. 39。 Woul d a l at er tr ai n get you t o wor k on t im e ?39。And you di dn39。cl ock tr ain, but t hat you caught t he 8. 25 whi ch woul d stil l get you t o wor k on ti me. You see, on t he m or ni ng of t he m ur der , t he 8. 0 o39。I enj oy cl eani ng wi ndows at ni ght.39。d pref er t o stay here,39。 For tunat el y, t he shout i ng woke up m y wi f e who opened t he window j ust as t he poli cem an had st ar t ed t o cli mb t owards m e. Leson93 A nobl e gi f t 崇高的禮物 One of t he m ost f am ous m onuments i n t he worl d, t he Stat ue of Li ber t y, was present ed to t he Unit ed Stat es of Am er i ca i n t he ni eent h cent ur y by t he 。You see, I39。So do I, 39。 Leson88 Trapped i n a m i ne 困在礦井里 Si x m en have been tr apped i n a mi ne f or seventeen hours. If t hey ar e not br ought t o t he surf ace soon t hey m ay lose their l ives. However, r escue oper at i ons ar e pr oving di f icult. I f expl osi ves ar e used, vibr at ions wil l cause t he r oof of t he mi ne to coll apse. Rescue wor ker s ar e t her efor e dr il li ng a hole on t he nort h si de of t he m ine. They i ntend t o br i ng t he m en up i n a speci al capsul e. I f ther e had not been a har d l ayer of rock beneat h t he soi l, t hey woul d have pl eted t he j ob i n a f ew hour s. As it i s, t hey have been dri l i ng f or si xteen hour s and t hey sti l have a l ong way t o go. Meanwhi l e, a mi cr ophone, whi ch was l ower ed i nto t he mi ne t wo hour s ago, has enabled t he m en t o keep i n t ouch wi t h t he closest r el at i ves. Though t hey ar e r unni ng out of f ood and dri nk, t he men ar e cheerf ul and confi dent t hat t hey wi l get out soon. They have been t old t hat r escue oper ati ons ar e pr ogr essi ng sm oothl y. I f they knew how di f icult it was t o dri l t hr ough t he har d r ock, they woul d l ose heart . Lesson89 A sli p of t he tongue 口誤 Peopl e wi l do anyt hing t o see a fr ee showeven if i t is a bad one. When t he news got r ound t hat a vari ety show woul d be present ed at our l ocal ci nem a by t he P. and U. Bi r d Sed Com pany, we al l r ushed t o see it . We had t o queue for hour s t o get i n and t her e m ust have been sever al hundr ed people pr esent j ust be f or e t he show began. Unf ort unat el y, t he show was one of t he dull est we have ever seen. Those who fail ed t o get i n need not have felt di sappoi nted as many of t he ar ti st es who shoul d have appear ed did not e. The only f unny thi ngs we hear d that eveni ng came f r om t he adverti ser at t he begi nni ng of t he pr ogr amm e. He was obvi ousl y ver y ner vous and for som e mi nut es st ood awkwar dl y bef or e t he m i cr ophone. As soon as he opened hi s m outh, ever yone bur st out laughi ng. We al know what t he poor man shoul d have sai d, but what he act ual y sai d was: 39。 39。 I suppose it woul d, but I never catch a l at er tr ai n.39。 asked t