【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 can cover the whole length of the pool without ing up for breath even once. Whether they will ever bee future Olympic champions, only time will tell. Meanwhile, they should encourage those among us who cannot swim five yards before they are gasping for air. Lesson95 A fantasy 純屬虛構(gòu) When the Ambassador of Escalopia returned home for lunch, his wife got a shock. He looked pale and his clothes were in a frightful state. 39。What has happened ?39。 she asked. 39。How did your clothes get into such a mess ?39。 39。A fireextinguisher, my dear,39。 answered the Ambassador drily. 39。University students set the Embassy on fire this morning.39。 39。Good heavens!39。 exclaimed his wife. 39。And where were you at the time ?39。 39。I was in my office as usual,39。 answered the Ambassador. 39。The fire broke out in the basement. I went down immediately. of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a fireextinguisher at me. He thought I was on fire. I must definitely get that fellow posted.39。 The Ambassador39。s wife went on asking questions, when she suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband39。s hat. 39。And how can you explain that ?39。 she asked. 39。Oh, that,39。 said the Ambassador. 39。Someone fired a shot through my office window. Accurate, don39。t you think ? Fortunately, I wasn39。t wearing it at the time. If I had been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.39。 Lesson96 The dead return 亡靈返鄉(xiāng) A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan. This festival is a cheerful occasion, for on this day, the dead are said to return to their homes and they are weled by the living. As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them. have rarely been seen alive by man as they live at a depth of six hundred feet. Lesson83 After the elections 大選之后 The former Prime Minister, Mr Wentworth Lane, was defeated in the recent elections. He is now retiring from political life and has gone abroad. My friend, Crawley, has always been a fanatical opponent of Mr Lane39。s Radical Progressive Party. After the elections, Crawley went to the former Prime Minister39。s house. When he asked if Mr Lane lived there, the policeman on duty told him that since his defeat, the exPrime Minister had gone abroad. On the following day, Crawley went to the house again. The same policeman was just walking slowly past the entrance, when Crawley asked the same question. Though a little suspicious this time, the policeman gave him the same answer. The day after, Crawley went to the house once more and asked exactly the same question. This time, the policeman lost his temper.39。 I told you yesterday and the day before yesterday,39。 he shouted, 39。Mr Lane was defeated in the elections. He has retired from political life and gone to live abroad !39。 39。 I know,39。 answered Crawley,39。 but I love to hear you say it !39。 Lesson84 On strike 罷工 Busmen have decided to go on strike next week. The strike is due to begin on Tuesday. No one knows how long it will last. The busmen have stated that the strike will continue until general agreement is reached about pay and working conditions. Most people believe that the strike will last for at least a week. Many owners of private cars are going to offer 39。free rides39。 to people on their way to work. This will relieve pressure on the trains to some extent. Meanwhile, a number of university students have volunteered to drive buses while the strike lasts. All the young men are expert drivers, but before they drive any of the buses, they will have to pass a special test. The students are going to take the test in two days39。 time. Even so, people are going to find it difficult to get to work. But so far, the public has expressed its gratitude to the students in letters to the Press. Only one or two people have objected that the students will drive too fast! Lesson85 Never too old to learn 活到老學(xué)到老 I have just received a letter from my old school informing me that my former head master, Mr Regmald Page, will be retiring next week. Pupils of the school, old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the occasion. All those who have contributed towards the gift will sign their names in a large album which will be sent to the headmaster39。s home. We shall all remember Mr Page for his patience and understanding and for the kindly encouragement he gave us when we went so unwillingly to school. A great many former pupils will be attending a farewell dinner in his honour next Thursday. It is a curious coincidence that the day before his retirement, Mr Page will have been teaching for a total of forty years. After he has retired, he will devote himself to gardening. For him, this will be an entirely new hobby. But this does not matter, for, as he has often remarked, one is never too old to learn. Lesson86 Out of control 失控 As the man tried to swing the speedboat round, the steeringwheel came away in his hands. He waved desperately to his panion, who had been waterskiing for the last fifteen minutes. Both men had hardly had time to realize what was happening when they were thrown violent1y into the sea. The speedboat had struck a buoy, but it continued to move very quickly across the water. Both men had just begun to swim towards the shore. when they noticed with dismay that the speedboat was moving in a circle. It now came straight towards them at tremendous speed. In less than a minute, it roared past them only a few feet away. After it had passed, they swam on as quickly as they could because they knew that the boat would soon return. They had just had enough time to swim out of danger when the boat again pleted a circle. On this occasion, however, it had slowed down considerably. The petrol had nearly all been used up. Before long, the noise dropped pletely and the boat began to drift gently across the water. Lesson87 A perfect alibi 極好的不在犯罪現(xiàn)場的證據(jù) 39。At the time the murder was mitted, I was travelling on the o39。clock train to London,39。 said the man. 39。Do you always catch such an early train ?39。 asked the