【導讀】scornfully,hetoldherthatthedreswassold.Thewomanwalkedoutoftheshopangrilyanddecidedtopunishtheassistantnextday.Shereturnedtotheshopthefollowingmorningdressedinafurcoat,withahandbaginonehandandalongumbrelaintheother.Afterseekingouttherudeasistantsheaskedforthesamedres.Notrealizingwhoshewas,theasistantwaseagertoserveherthistimewithgreatdificulty,heclimbedintotheshopwindowtogetthedres.Assoonasshesawit

　　

【正文】 in 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 t he tooth had been. I suddenl y fel 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 t hat he had pull ed out t he wrong t ooth. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Ti red of sleepi ng on the f loor , a young m an in Teheran saved up f or year s to buy a r eal bed. For t he fi rst ti me i n his l if e, he became the pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spri ngs and a matr es. Because the weather was very hot , he car ied t he bed on to t he roof of his house. He slept ver y wel l for the f ir st wo ni ght s, but on the t hir d night, a stor m bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed of f the r oof and sent it crashi ng int o the court yar d be low. The young man did not wake up unti l the bed had st ruck t he gr ound. Al though the bed was smashed t o pieces, the m an was mi racul ousl y unhur t. When he woke up, he was sti l on the m at tr es. Glancing at the bi ts of wood and metal t hat lay ar ound hi m, the m an sadly pi cked up the mat ress and car ri ed it i nt o his house. Af ter he had put i t on the f loor, he pr omptl y went t o sleep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ride 乘車兜風 I love t ravel li ng in the count ry, but I don39。t l ike l osing my way. I went on an excursion r ecentl y, but my tr ip t ook me l onger than I expected. 39。 I 39。m going t o Woodfor d Gr een, 39。 I said t o t he conduct or as I got on t he bus,39。 but I don39。t know wher e it i s. 39。 I 39。l t el l you wher e t o get of f, 39。 answered t he conduct or. I sat i n the f ront of the bus to get a good view of t he count r ysi de. Aft er some t im e, t he bus st opped. Looking round, I r eal ized wi th a shock that I was the only pas senger l eft on t he bus. 39。 You39。l l have to get of f her e, 39。 t he conductor sai d. 39。This i s as far as we go.39。 39。 I s t hi s Woodf or d Gr een ?39。 I asked. 39。Oh dear, 39。 said the conductor suddenly. 39。 I f ot to put you off .39。 39。I t doesn39。t mat er ,39。 I said. 39。Il l get of f here.39。 39。We are goi ng back now,39。 said t he conductor. 39。Wel , in t hat case, I pref er t o stay on t he bus,39。 I answer ed. Lesson51 Reward f or vi rtue 對美德的獎賞 My fr iend, Herbert , has always been fat , but thi ngs got so bad recent ly t hat he decided to go on a diet . He began his di et a wek ago. Fir st of al , he wr ot e out a l ong li st of al t he foods which wer e for bidden. The l ist included most of t he things Her ber t loves: butt er , pot atoes, r ice, beer, mi lk, chocolat e, and sweet s. Yester day I pai d him a visit . I rang the bel and was not sur pri sed t o se that Her bert was sti l as fat as ever . He led me into hi s r oom and hur r iedly hi d a lar 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 sm iled gui lt ily and then put t he par cel on t he desk. He expl ained that his di et was so str ict that he had to r ewar d hi msel f occasi onal ly. Then he showed me the contents of the parcel. I t cont ai ned fi ve large bars of chocol at e and thr ee bags of sweet s! Lesson52 A pret ty carpet 漂亮的 地毯 We have just moved into a new house and I have been wor king hard al l morni ng. I have been t rying to get my new r oom i n order . Thi s has not been easy because I own over a t housand books. To make mat ers wor se, t he room i s r at her smal , so I have t em por ari ly put my books on the f loor . At the moment, t hey cover ever y inch of fl oor space and I actual y have to wal k on t hem to get i n or out of the r oom. A short whi le ago, m y sister hel ped me t o car r y one of m y old bookcases up the stai rs. She went i nt o m y room and got a bi g sur pri se when she saw al t hose books on the f loor. 39。Thi s is t he pret iest car pet I have ever sen,39。 she said. She gazed at it f or some ti me then added, 39。You don39。t need bookcases at al. You can sit here in your spar e ti me and r ead t he car pet ! 39。 Lesson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At l ast fi rem en have put out a bi g for est f ir e in Cal if orni a. Since t hen, they have been t ryi ng to f ind out how t he fi re bega n. For est fi re ar e oft en caused by broken glass or by ci gar et e ends whi ch people car el esly throw away. Yester day t he fi remen exami ned t he ground car eful ly, but wer e not able to f ind any br oken gl ass. They wer e also quit e sur e that a cigaret te end did not star t he fi re. This m orning, however , a fi reman acci dent al ly di scovered t he cause. He not ic ed the r emains of a snake whi ch was wound round the el ect ri c wir es of a 16, 000 volt power l ine. In this way, he was able t o sol ve the myst er y. The explanati on was si mple but very unusual . A bir d had snat ched up t he snake f rom the gr ound and t hen dr opped i t on to t he wi res. The snake then wound it sel f round the wi res. When i t di d so, i t sent spar ks down to t he ground and these i mmedi at e ly star ted a f ir e. Lesson54 St icky f ingers 粘糊的手指 Aft er br eakf ast , I sent the childr en to school and t hen I went t o market. I t was st il l ear ly when I r eturned home. The chi l dr en were at school , m y husband was at wor k and t he house was quiet. So I decided to make some t art s for t ea. In a shor t ti me I was busy mixi ng but ter and fl our and m y hands wer e soon cover ed wi th sti cky pastr y. At exactl y that moment, t he telephone rang. Not hing could have been m ore annoyi ng. I pi cked up t he recei ver bet wen t wo sti cky fi nger s and was di smayed when I r ecognized t he voi ce of Mrs Bat es. I t ook me t en mi nut es t o persuade her t o ri ng back l ate r. At l ast I hung up the r ecei ver . What a mes! Th