【導讀】stormblewup.Agustofwindsweptthebedofftheroofandsentitcrashingintothecourtyardbelow.Theyoungmandidnotwakeupuntilthebedhadstrucktheground.Althoughthebedwassmashedtopieces,themanwasmiraculouslyunhurt.Whenhewokeup,hewasstillonthemattress.Glancingatthebitsofwoodandmetalthatlayaroundhim,themansadlypickedupthematressandcarieditintohishouse.Afterhehadputitonthefloor,hepromptlywenttosleepagain.Leson50Taken

　　

【正文】 kcases at al . You can si t here i n your spare t im e and read the carpet! 39。 Lesson53 H ot snake 觸電的蛇 At last f ir emen have put out a big f orest f ir e i n Cali for ni a. Si nce then, t hey have been tr ying t o fi nd out how the f ir e bega n. For est f ir e are of ten caused by br oken gl ass or by cigaret te ends which peopl e car elessl y thr ow away. Yest er day the f ir emen exami ned the gr ound caref ul ly, but were not abl e to fi nd any br oken glas. They were al so qui te sure t hat a ci gar ete end di d not st ar t the f ir e. Thi s morni ng, however , a f ir em an accidental y discover ed the cause. He noti ced t he remai ns of a snake which was wound r ound t he electr ic wi res of a 16,000volt power li ne. I n thi s way, he was able to solve t he mystery. The expl anat ion was sim pl e but ver y unusual. A bi rd had snatc hed up the snake f r om t he gr ound and then dropped it on t o the wi r es. The snake then wound i tsel f round t he wir es. When it did so, it sent spar ks down to the gr ound and t hese im mediately st art ed a fi re. Lesson54 Sti cky f i ngers 粘糊的手指 Aft er br eakf ast , I sent t he chi ldr en to school and t hen I went to market. I t was st il l ear ly when I r eturned home. The chi ldr en were at school, my husband was at wor k and the house was qui et. So I deci ded to m ake some t ar ts for tea. In a shor t im e I was busy m ixing but ter and fl our and my hands were soon cover ed wit h sti cky pastr y. At exactl y that moment, the t elephone r ang. Not hi ng coul d have been m or e annoyi ng. I picked up the r ecei ver between t wo sti cky fi nger s and wa s di sm ayed when I r ecognized the voi ce of Mrs Bat es. It t ook me t en minutes t o persuade her to ri ng back l at er. At l ast I hung up the r eceiver. What a m ess! Ther e was past ry on my f ingers, on the t el ephone, and on t he door knobs. I had no sooner got back t o the ki tchen than the door bel rang l oud enough to wake the dead. This t im e it was t he postman and he want ed me t o si gn f or a register ed let er ! Lesson55 Not a gol d mi ne 并非金礦 Dr eams of fi ndi ng lost tr easure al most came t r ue r ecentl y. A new machine caled 39。The Revealer 39。 has been invent ed and it has been used to detect gol d whi ch has been bur ie d i n t he gr ound. The machine was used in a cave near t he seashor e wherei t i s sai d pir at es used t o hide gold. The pir at es would of ten bury gol d in the cave and t hen fai l t o coll ect it . Armed wit h t he new machi ne, a search part y went he di d not li ke it . She enjoyed hersel f making t he asistant bri ng al most everyt hing i n the wi ndow befor e fi nal ly buyi ng the dress she had f ir st asked for . Lesson58 A blessi ng in disguise? 是因禍得福嗎？ The t iny vil lage of Fri nley i s sai d to possess a 39。cur sed t ree39。. Because the t ree was menti oned in a newspaper , t he number of visi tors t o Fr inley has now i ncr eased. The t ree was pl ant ed near a church f if ty years ago, but i t i s only i n r ecent years t hat i t has gained an evil r eput at ion. It i s sai d that if anyone t ouches the t ree, he wil l have bad luck。 if he picks a l eaf , he wil l di e. Many vil lager s believe t hat t he tr e has alr eady cl ai med a num ber of vi ctim s. The vi car has been asked t o have the t ree cut down, but so f ar he has r efused. He has pointed out that the t ree i s a usef ul source of i ne as t our ists have been i ng f rom al l par ts of t he countr y t o se i t. I n spi te of al l t hat has been said, t he touri st s have been picking leaves and cut ti ng their names on t he tr e tr unk. So f ar, not one of t hem has been str uck down by sudden deat h! Lesson59 In or out ？ 進來還是出去 ？ Our dog, Rex, used t o sit outside our fr ont gat e and bar k. Ever y ti me he wanted t o e i nt o t he gar den he woul d bark unt il s omeone opened t he gate. As the neighbour s plained of t he noi se, my husband spent weeks tr aining hi m to pr ess his paw on the l at ch to let hi mself in. Rex soon became an exper t at opening t he gat e. However, when I was going out shopping last week, I not iced him in the garden near t he gat e. Thi s ti me he was barki ng so that someone would l et hi m out ! Since t hen, he has developed anot her bad habi t. As soon as he opens t he gat e fr om the outside, he es i nto t he gar den and waits unt il the gate shuts. Then he si ts and barks unti l someone let s him out . Aft er this he i mm edi at el y l et s him self i n and begi ns bar king agai n. Yest er day my husband r emoved the gate and Rex got so annoyed we have not sen hi m si nce. Lesson60 The f uture 卜算未來 At a vil lage f ai r, I deci ded to vi si t a for tunet el ler caled Madam Bel insky. I went int o her t ent and she told me t o sit down. Af t er I had given her som e money, she looked into a crystal bal l and said: 39。A rel at ion of yours i s ing t o se you. She wil l be ar iving t his eveni ng and int ends to st ay for a f ew days. The mom ent you leave thi s tent, you wi l get a bi g surpr ise. A woman you know wel l wi l l rush towar ds you. She wil l speak to you and t hen she wi l l ead you away f rom thi s place. That is al .39。 As soon as I went outside, I for got al l about Madam Bel insky because my wi fe hur ri ed towards m e. 39。Where have you been hi ding ?39。 she asked i m pat i entl y. 39。Your si st er wi l l be her e in l es t han an hour and we m ust be at the stati on to meet her. We are l ate alr eady. 39。 As she wal ked away, I fol lowed her out of the f air . Lesson61 Trouble wi t h the Hubble 哈勃望遠鏡的困境 I n f utur e, ast ronauts wi l be r equi red t o descend fr om a spaceship whi le it is st il i n space and to retur n t o it . The abi li ty t o do thi s wi l be necessary in f utur e fl ights to di st ant plas. Sci ent ists ar e now t rying to di scover i f thi s is possi bl e