【正文】 And how can you explai n that ?39。How did your clot hes get i nt o such a m ess ?39。 answered t he pol iceman i n t he sam e t one. 39。 Of course not.39。 asked t he i nspect or . 39。 I tol d you yester day and t he day bef ore yest er day,39。 exclaim ed hi s wi fe. 39。You see, I 39。cl ock tr ai n did not r un at al l. I t br oke down at Fer ngr een st at ion and was t aken of f the l ine.39。 Woul d a l ater tr ai n get you to wor k on t ime ?39。 but I l ove to hear you say i t !39。 Lesson84 O n strike 罷工 Busm en have deci ded to go on st ri ke next week. The st ri ke is due to begin on Tuesday. No one knows how long it wi l l ast . The busmen have st at ed that the str ike wi l l conti nue unt il gener al agreement is r eached about pay and working condit ions. Most peopl e beli eve t hat t he st ri ke wil l last for at l east a week. Many owner s of pri vat e car s are goi ng to of fer 39。 asked t he inspector . 39。 Lesson88 Trapped i n a m ine 困在礦井里 Si x men have been t rapped in a mine f or seventeen hour s. I f they are not br ought to t he sur face soon they may l ose t hei r li ves. However , rescue operat ions are pr ovi ng dif fi cul t. I f explosives are us ed, vi br ati ons wi l l cause the r oof of the m ine t o col lapse. Rescue wor kers are theref or e dri l ing a hol e on the nor th side of t he mine. They intend t o bri ng the men up in a special capsul e. I f ther e had not been a har d l ayer of rock beneath the soil , t hey would have pleted t he job i n a f ew hour s. As it i s, t hey have been dr il li ng for si xt een hours and t hey sti l have a long way to go. Meanwhil e, a m icrophone, whi ch was lowered i nto t he mi ne two hour s ago, has enabled t he m en to keep i n touch wi th t he cl osest relat ives. Though they are r unning out of f ood and dri nk, t he men are cheer ful and conf ident that they wi l get out soon. They have been tol d that rescue operat ions ar e pr ogr esing smoothl y. I f they knew how di f icult i t was to dr il l through t he har d r ock, they would lose hear t. Lesson89 A sli p of the tongue 口誤 Peopl e wi l do anyt hing t o se a fr ee showeven if i t is a bad one. When the news got round that a vari et y show would be pr esented at our local cinema by the P. and U. Bir d Seed Company, we al l r ushed t o se it. We had to queue f or hours t o get in and t her e must have been several hundr ed people pr esent just be f ore t he show began. Unf ort unat el y, the show was one of the dull est we have ever seen. Those who fail ed to get i n need not have f elt disappoi nted as many of the art ist es who should have appeared di d not e. The only f unny t hi ngs we hear d that evening came fr om t he advert iser at t he begi nni ng of the progr am me. He was obvi ousl y ver y nervous and for some mi nut es st ood awkwar dly bef ore t he micr ophone. As soon as he opened hi s mouth, ever yone bur st out laughi ng. We al know what the poor man shoul d have said, but what he actual y sai d was: 39。ve f ott en my key.39。And wher e were you at t he tim e ?39。 he shout ed, 39。Of cour se I do, 39。 39。Excuse m y i nt er r upt ing you. I hat e to i nter upt a m an when he39。 39。 she asked. 39。s hat. 39。 she asked. 39。So do I,39。t not ice anythi ng unusual ?39。Do you al ways cat ch such an earl y tr ain ?39。 Lesson96 The dead return 亡靈返鄉(xiāng) A Festi val f or t he Dead is held once a year in Japan. This f est ival is a cheer ful occasion, for on t his day, t he dead ar e sai d to retur n to their homes and they are wel ed by the l ivi ng. As t hey ar e expected t o be hungr y aft er their l ong j ourney, f ood is l aid out for t hem . Special ymade l ant er ns are hung outside each house t o hel p t he dead t o fi nd their way. Al l ni ght l ong, peopl e dance and si ng. I n t he e ar l y m or ni ng, t he f ood t hat had been l ai d out f or t he dead i s t hr own i nt o a si nce hi s def eat , the ex Pr im e Mi ni ster had gone abr oad. On t he foll owi ng day, Cr awl ey went t o t he house agai n. The same poli cem an was just wal ki ng sl owl y past t he ent r ance, when Cr awl ey asked the sam e questi on. Though a l it tl e suspici ous t hi s ti me, t he poli cem an gave him t he sam e answer. The day aft er , Cr awl ey went to t he house once m or e and asked exactl y t he sam e quest ion. Thi s ti me, t he poli cem an lost hi s t em per. 39。 Good heavens! 39。 I said. 39。clock t rain, but that you caught t he whi ch woul d sti l get you t o wor k on t ime. You see, on t he morni ng of the mur der , the o39。 39。 answer ed Cr awl ey,39。f r ee r i des39。 I suppose i t woul d, but I never catch a l at er tr ai n.39。Thi s i s the Poo and Ee Seed Bir d Company. Good ladies, eveni ng and gent lemen ! 39。 39。 I was in my off ice as usual ,39。Mr Lane was def eat ed i n t he el ect i ons. He has r eti red f r om pol it i cal li fe and gone t o li ve abr oad !39。 answered t he man.39。I suggest ,39。s busy worki ng, but woul d you mi nd ing wi t h m e t o t he st ati on ?39。A f ire exti ngui sher, m y dear, 39。Oh, that, 39。s wif e went on asking quest ions, when she suddenly not iced a big hol e in her husband39。What has happened ?39。 39。And you di dn39。 sai d t he m an. 39。t weari ng it at the t im e. I f I had been, I woul d not have been abl e to get home f or lunch. 39。Uni versit y student s set t he Em bassy on f ir e thi s morni ng. 39。d pr ef er to stay her e, 39。that you ar e not tel ing t he tr uth. I suggest t hat you did not catch t he 8. 0 o39。clock. My empl oyer wi l conf ir m that I was there on t im e. 39。 I know, 39。 t o peopl e on their way to wor k. Thi s wi l rel ieve pressur e on the t rai ns t o some extent. Meanwhil e , a number of universit y student s have volunt er ed to dr ive buses whi le t he str ike lasts. Al t he young m en ar e exper t dri ver s, but bef ore t hey dr ive any of t he buses, t hey wi l l have to pass a speci al t est. The