【導(dǎo)讀】Owner:Alright,Horace.I’lltakecareofthis.Henry:Thatwasawonderfulmeal.It’samazinghowmuchpleasureyougetoutofthesimplethinsinlife,especialyyoucan’thavethemforawhile.Owner:Yes,veryinteresing.Nowperhaps,sir,ifyoupayyoubilIcanhelptheothercustomers.Henry:Well,Iseeit’stwoo’clock.I’msory.But…

　　

【正文】 you know. I must gi ve you a job, as I promi sed. H enry: Wel l, thank you very m uch, but I real y don’t want one now. Portia: H enry, I’m di sappoi nted in you. You di dn39。t thank the gentl emen properl y. May I do it for you? H enry: Let m e see you try. (Portia walks over to Roderi ck and gives him a hug. Then she si ts i n O li ver’s lap, puts her arms around his nevk and ki sses him on the chek. Oli ver begins laughi ng.) Portia: Papa, he says he doesn39。t want anythi ng el se from you. H enry: (shocked) My dear, i s that your papa? Portia: H e’s m y step father, and the dearest one that ever was. H enry: O h, m y dearest dear si r, I regret what I sai d. You have got a job open that I want. Oli ver: N am e i t. H enry: Sonin l aw. Oli ver: Wel, wel ,wel! But you’ve never had such a job before. H ow can i t be sure you can do it sucesful y? H enry: Try m e… oh, do, I beg of you! Gi ve m e 30 or 40 years , and … O li ver: O h, wel l, al ri ght. N arator: Are Porti a and H enry happy? There are not enough word i n the bi ggest di cti onary to descri be it. Di d the peopl e of London have a good tim e with thi s bit of news? Yes. Porti a’s stepfather took that bank note back to the Bank of Engl and and cashed it. The bank note was then useless for money but was hi s wedding gi ft to the young couple. Yes, the bank note was worth mil li ons of dol lars, but not worth on tenthe as much as how Henry felt about Portia . Uni t 4 H ow li fe began on the earth N o one knows exactl y how the earth began, as it happened so l ong ago. However, accordi ng to a wi del y accepted theory, the uni verse began wi th a “ Bi g Bang “ that threw m atter i n al l di recti ons. After that, atoms began to form and bi ng to create stars and other bodi es. For several bi l ion years after the “ Big Bang “, the earth was stil l just a cl oud of dust. What i t was to bee was uncertai n until betwen and 3. 8 bil li on years ago when the dust settl ed i nto a soli d gl obe. The earthenware becam e so vi ol ent that i t was not cl ear whether the shape would l ast or not. It expl oded l oudly wi th fire and rock. They were i n tim e to produce carbon, ni trogen , water vapour and other gases , whi ch were to m ake the earth’s atm osphere. What i s even more im prtant i s that as the earth col ed down, water began to apear on i ts surface. Water had al so appeared on other pl as li ke Mars but, unl i ke the earth, it had disapeared later. It was not imm edi ately obvi ous that water was to be fundamental to the developm ent of li fe. What m any sci entists beli eve i s that the conti nued persence of water al owed the earth to di solve harm ful gases and acids i nto the oceans and seas. Thi s produced a chai n reacti on, whi ch m ade i t possi bl e for l ife to devel op. Many m il ions of years l ater, the fi rst extrem el y sm al plants began to appear on the surface of the water. They multi pli ed and fil led the oceans and seas wi th oxygen, whi ch encouraged the later devel opm ent of earl y shel fi sh and al l sorts of fish. N ext, green plants began to grow on l and. They were fol owed i n tim e by l and animals. Some were insects. Others, cal ed amphi bians, were able to li ve on l and as wel l as i n the water. Later when the pl ants grew i nto forests, reptil es apeared for the fi rst time. They produced young general y by layi ng egs. After that, some huge animal s, cal ed di nosaurs, devel oped. They laid eggs too and exi sted on the earth for more than 140 mi li on years. H owever, 65 m il i on years ago the age of the di nosaurs ended. Why they suddenl y di sappeared stil rem ai ns a m ystery. This di sappearance m ade posibl e thief ri se of m ammals on the earth. These anim al s were di ferent from al li fe form s i n the past, because they Gavi n birth to young baby animal s and prodeced mil k to fed them. Finnal y about 2. 6 mil li on years ago some sm al l cel ver anim al s, now with hands and feet, apeared and spread al over the earth. Thus they have, in thei r turn, bee the m ost im portant anim al s on the pl a. But they no they l oki ng after the earth very wel l. They are putti ng too much carbon di oxi de i nto the atmosphere, whi ch prevenrs heat from escapi ng from the earth i nto space. As a result of thi s, m any sci enti sts bel i eve the earth m ay b e too hot to l i ve on. So whether l i fe wi l l conti nue on the earth for m i l l i ons of years to e wi l l depend on whether thi s probl em can be sol ved. A vi si t to the m oon Last m onth I was l ucky engough to have ( after sitti ng down and putti ng the l etter on the tabl e) I’d l i ke som e ham and eggs and a nice big steak. Make it extra thi ck. Wai ter: Ri ght, si r. I’m afrai d i t’l l cost a large amount of money. H enry: I understand. And I’l l have a l arge gl as of beer. Waiter: O K. ( The waiter l eaves and soon returns wi th al the fod.) H ostess: My goodnes! Why, l ok at him . H e eats li ke a wol f. O wner: We’l l see i f he’s cel ver as a wol f, eh? H enry: ( havi ng just fi ni shed every bi t of fod ) Ah, waiter. ( wai ter returns) Same thi ng again, pl ease. O h, and another ber. Wai ter: Again? Everythi ng ? H enry: Yes, that39。s right. (sees the l ok on the waiter’s face) Anythi ng wrong? Waiter: No, not at al l. (to the owner) He’s asked for m ore of the sam e. O wner: It’s wel lknown that am eri cans l ike to eat a l ot. Wel, we’l have to take a chance. Go ahead and l et him have it. Waiter: (readi ng the bil after the meal) Al right. That39。s two orders of ham and eggs, two extra thi ck steaks, two large galsses of beer, two cups of cofee and two deserts. Henry: (l oking at the clock on the wal l) Would you m ind waiting just a few mi nutes? Wai ter: (i n a rude m aner) What’ s there to wai t for? Owner: Al ri ght, H orace. I’l l take care of thi s. H enry: (to owner) That was a wonderful m eal. It’s amazi ng h