【正文】 from a goat, it seemed deserted, so they sat down and had a piic. Looking up, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by children in rags. The children were silent and motionless. As they walked down the street followed by the children, the village came alive with faces in windows and people watching them silently from doorways. The visitors were clearly unwele. They hurried back down to the stream and the boatman. Lesson 49 The ideal servant 理想的仆人On her return with a party of guests, Aunt Harriet asked Bessie to prepare dinner. Not only was the meal below standard, Bessie could not walk steadily, and she bumped into furniture and mumbled at the guests. When she brought in the pudding, she tripped and the pudding crashed onto the dining the guests were very amused, Aunt Harriet was horrified. She realized Bessie was drunk and dismissed her immediately. (72 words)Lesson 50 New Year resolutions 新年的決心The writer exercised early in the morning for two days before anyone found out. When he sat at breakfast the second day, his condition betrayed him. His enthusiasm waned so that by January 10th, things were back to normal. However, he decided to keep his mind fresh for reading. He read on his own until one evening he went down and sat in front of the television, but he dozed off. He has now bought a book on speed reading! (80 words)Lesson 51 Predicting the future 預(yù)測未來According to Bagrit, puters would be small enough to hold in the hand, and they would be able to provide information about traffic jams and suggest alternative routes. They would be used to help doctors diagnose illnesses, and in business would relieve office workers of dull, repetitive work. However, he failed to predict the use of the Internet as a vehicle of munication or a source of information. But as predicted, puters have bee smaller, more powerful and cheaper. (79 words )Lesson 52 Mud is mud 實(shí)事求是 The assistant promised to order the‘ Myrolite ’Harry bad already asked for, so he then said he wantedperfumed mud. This time her eyes lit up and she immediately fetched several bottles which she put onthe counter. Harry picked up the smallest bottle, and when he learned the price ( ￡20 ), he paid and leftwith the bottle under his arm. This curious bottle, now in his study, was his first and last purchase of rarecosmetics. (77 words)Lesson 53 In the public interest 為了公眾的利益On receiving a plaint from a foreigner about police ill treatment, the Ombudsman wrote to the Chiefof Police asking for a record of the case. As there was no official record and the Chief denied theaccusation, no action was possible. But When there was another similar plaint, the Ombudsman senta lawyer to investigate. He ascertained the truth of the accusations, the policeman was severelyreprimanded and warned that if there were further plaints he would be prosecuted. (80 words)Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness? 是本能還是機(jī)智The writer saw thousands of ants crawling up his peach tree. Then he noticed the leaves of the tree were withering and found there were aphids under the leaves. They were being visited by the ants. In an effort to stop them, he bound the base of the tree with sticky tape and of course they couldn39。t cross it. By the next morning, however, they had solved the problem: they were climbing onto the leaves from the house wall. Lesson 55 From the earth: Greetings 來自地球的問候Finding life on other planets with earth based telescopes is impossible because of the heat of our planet and the dust particles throughout the solar System. A telescope would need to be as far away as Jupiter. Even then, the problem will be how to blot out the light from a planet39。s sun to study it. The most likely forms of life will be plants and bacteria. Even the discovery of lowly life forms would change our view of ourselves. (80 words)Lesson 57 Back in the old country 重返故里In the place of the village there was only a lake. Had he taken the wrong turning? He went back to town and retraced his route, only to finish up at the same spot. The lake was not marked. When a man on horse back appeared, the author asked the way tothe old village. The horseman told him there was no village and pointed to the lake: it had been submerged with the whole valley under a manmade reservoir. (80 words)Lesson 58 A spot of bother 一點(diǎn)兒小麻煩The old lady and the potter went through the flat, careful not to touch anything. Later, a police inspector looked for fingerprints while a constable checked the front door locks. There were no fingerprints, but the inspector found a bundle of jewellery suggesting this was not the burglars39。 first job that day. The inspector asked the lady to check what was missing and advised her not to stay in the flat. Eventually she rang her daughter to ask for help. (80 words)Lesson 59 Collecting 收藏Collecting provides hours of relaxation for looking at your treasures is a joy. If you have a collection at home, why go out? There is always something to do, from finding the right place for the latest addition to verifying facts in reference books. Collecting is educational, too, and through meeting people, increases your circle of friends. The hobby can lead to travel, national and international. You may bee an authority on the subject and be asked to give talks. (80 words)Lesson 60 Too early and too late 太早和太晚The girl entered the railway station twenty minutes early, but the porter said she was two hours too soon.When she showed him the details of the journey, he agreed it was correct, but said it was a mail train, not a passenger train. When she demanded to see a timetable, the station master came and pointed out that the train only stopped for mail. The train came in but the girl was still not allowed to get on. (79 words