【正文】 ur pri sed t o se that Herbert was sti l as fat as ever . He led m e into his r oom and hurr iedly hi d a l ar ge par cel under hi s desk. It was obvious that he was ver y embar ased. When I asked him what he was doi ng, he smi led guil ti ly and t hen put the par cel on the desk. He expl ai ned that hi s diet was so st ri ct hat he had t o rewar d himself occasional y. Then he showed me t he cont ent s of t he par cel. It contained f ive l ar ge bar s of chocolat e and three bags of sweets! Lesson52 A pret y carpet 漂亮的地毯 We have j ust moved i nt o a new house and I have been worki ng har d al mor ning. I have been tr ying t o get m y new r oom i n order. This has not been easy because I own over a t housand books. To make mat er s wor se, the r oom i s rather smal , so I have tempor ar il y put my books on the f loor. At t he moment, they cover every inch of fl oor space and I actual y have t o wal k on them to get in or out of the r oom . A shor t whil e ago, my si ster hel ped me to car ry one of my old bookcases up the stair s . She went int o my room and got a big sur pr ise when she saw al those books on t he fl oor. 39。t mat er ,39。 39。 39。t . Geof fr ey asked her why t hi s was so and she t old hi m t hat she did not li ke to see so many peopl e laughing at him! Lesson64 The Channel Tunnel 海峽隧道 In l858, a French engi neer, Ai me Thome de Gam ond, ar ived i n England wi th a pl an for a t went yone mi le t unnel across the Engli sh Channel. He said t hat i t would be possi ble t o build a platf orm in the cent r e of t he Channe l. Thi s platf orm would serve as a por t and a r ail way st ati on. The t unnel would be wel l vent ilat ed if t al l chi m neys wer e bui l t above sea l evel . I n 1860, a bet t er pl an was put f or war d by an 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 was f ull of cot tonwool . He knew I collected bi rds39。A rela t ion of your s i s i ng to see you. She wil l be ar ri ving t his eveni ng and intends to st ay for a f ew days. The moment you leave this t ent , you wil l get a bi g sur pri se. A woman you know wel wi l r ush towards you. She wi l l speak to you and t hen she wi l l ea d you away f rom thi s pl ace. That i s al .39。You don39。l l get of f her e. 39。Oh dear, 39。 answe r ed the conduct or. I sat in the f ront of the bus to get a good view of t he countr yside. Af t er some t ime, the bus stopped. Looking r ound, I r eali zed wit h a shock that I was t he only pasenger l ef t on the bus. 39。 I 39。m goi ng to Woodfor d Gr en,39。 You39。 said t he conductor suddenly.39。 39。t need bookcases a t al l. You can sit here i n your spare t im e and read the carpet! 39。 As soon as I went outside, I for got al about Madam Bel insky because my wi fe hurr ied t owards me. 39。 eggs and asked me whet her my col lecti on was growi ng. He t hen asked me how my br ot her was and whet her I l iked my new job i n London. In answer to t hese quest ions I eit her nodded or m ade str ange noi ses. Meanwhi le, my t ongue was busy sear chi ng out t he hol e where the toot h had been. I suddenl y f el t ver y wor ri ed, but could not say anyt hing. When the denti st at last removed the cott on wool fr om m y mouth, I was able t o tel l hi m that he had pull ed out t he wr ong tooth. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢(mèng)告終 Ti red of sleepi ng on t he fl oor , a young m an in Teheran saved up for year s to buy a real bed. For the f ir st t ime i n his lif e, he became t he pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spr ings and a mat ress. Because t he weat her was very hot , he car ri ed the bed on to the r oof of his house. He sl ept very wel l for t he fi rst two ni ghts, but on t he thir d night , a st or m blew up. A gust of wind swept the bed off t he roof and sent it crashing i nt o t he cour tyard bel ow. The young m an did not wake up until t he bed had st ruck the gr ound. Al though the bed was smashed t o pieces, the m an was mir acul ously unhur t. When he woke up, he was st il l on the mat tr ess. Glancing at the bit s of wood and metal that lay ar ound hi m, the man sadly pi cked up t he mat ress and car ri ed it int o his house. Af ter he had put i t on the f loor, he prom pt ly went t o sleep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ride 乘車兜風(fēng) I love tr avel li ng in t he count ry, but I don39。 I39。 I s thi s Woodfor d Gr en ?39。 I sai d. 39。Thi s is t he pr et iest carpet I have ever seen,39。. Because t he tr e was mentioned i n a newspaper, the number of visit or s to Fri nl ey has now increased. The tr ee was planted near a chur ch fi ft y year s ago, but it is onl y in r ecent years t hat i t has gained an evil r eputat ion. It i s said that if anyone t ouches the t ree, he wil l have bad luck。cl ock this evening. By that ti me, the Astr a wi l have been f lyi ng through space f or sevent een hour s and wil l have cir cled t he ear th a gr eat m any t im es. When t he fi rst radio mesages have been r ecei ved, the r esul ts of the t ri p wi l be announced immedi ately. Leson62 Aft er the fi re 大火之后 Fir emen had been f ighti ng the f orest fi re f or near ly t hree weeks bef or e t hey coul d get it under cont r ol . A short ti me bef or e, gr eat t rees had covered t he countr ysi de for m il es ar ound. Now, sm oke st il l rose up fr om t he warm gr ound over the desol at e hil ls. Wi nter was ing on and the hi l s thr eat ened t he sur roundi ng vil lages wit h dest ructi on, f or heavy r ai n would not only wash away t he soi l but would cause ser ious fl oods as wel l. When t he fi re had at l ast been put out, the f orest aut hor it ies ordered sever al tons of a special type of grass sed whi ch would gr ow quickly. The sed was sprayed over t he ground in huge quantit ies by aeroplanes. The pl anes had been pl ant ing seed for near