【正文】 . Because t he t ree was ment ioned i n a newspaper, the number of vi si tors to Fri nl ey has now i ncreased. The t ree was plant ed near a church fi fty year s ago, but i t i s only i n recent years t hat it has gained an evil reputati on. It is sai d that if anyone t ouches the tree, he wil l have bad l uck。 Leson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At last fi remen have put out a big f or est fi re in Calif ornia. Since then, they have been tr yi ng t o fi nd out how the fi re began. For est fir e ar e of ten caused by br oken gl ass or by ci garet e ends which people carelessly t hr ow away. Yest er day the f iremen exami ned the ground car ef ul ly, but wer e not able to f ind any broken glas. They wer e al so qui te sur e that a ci gar et te end did not start the fi re. This morning, however , a f ir eman accidental y di scovered the cause. He noticed t he r emains of a snake whi ch was wound round the elect ric wi res of a 16, 000vol t power li ne. In t hi s way, he was able to sol ve t he mystery. The explanati on was si mpl e but very unusual . A bi rd had snatched up the snake f rom t he ground and then dropped it on to the wir es. The snake t hen wound it self round t he wi res. When i t did so, i t sent sparks down to t he ground and these immedi at el y st ar ted a f ir e. Lesson54 Sti cky f ingers 粘糊的手指 Aft er breakfast , I sent t he chi ldren to school and then I went t o mar ket . I t was st il ear ly when I r etur ned home. The chi ldren wer e at school, my husband was at wor k and the house was quiet. So I deci ded to make some tart s f or t ea. I n a short ti me I was busy mixing butt er and f lour and my hands were soon cover ed wi th sticky past ry. At exactly t hat moment, the telephone r ang. Nothing could have been more annoyi ng. I pi cked up the recei ver between t wo st icky f ingers and was dismayed when I r ecognized the voice of Mr s Bat es. I t ook me t en mi nutes to per suade her t o ring back later. At last I hung up t he r ecei ver. What a mes! There was past ry on my fi ngers, on the telephone, and on the door knobs. I had no sooner got back to t he kit chen t han the door bel l r ang loud enough to wake t he dead. This t ime it was t he post man and he want ed me t o si gn f or a registered leter ! Leson55 Not a gold mine 并非金礦 Dr eams of fi ndi ng l ost treasure almost came tr ue recent ly. A new machi ne cal led 39。This is the preti est carpet I have ever seen,39。We are goi ng back now,39。t mat ter,39。Oh dear ,39。 the conductor said. 39。l l tel you wher e to get off, 39。 I said to t he conduct or as I got on the bus,39。 eggs and asked me whether my coll ection was gr owi ng. He then asked me how my brother was and whet her I l iked my new job in London. I n answer to t hese questions I eit her nodded or made st range noi ses. Meanwhile, my tongue was busy searchi ng out t he hole wher e t he t oot h had been. I suddenly felt ver y wor ri ed, but coul d not say anything. When the dentist at last r emoved t he cot ton wool fr om my mout h, I was abl e to tel him that he had pull ed out t he wr ong t ooth. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Tir ed of sl epi ng on the fl oor , a young man in Teheran saved up for year s to buy a r eal bed. For t he f ir st t i m e in his li fe, he became t he proud owner of a bed which had spr ings and a mat res. Because t he weat her was ver y hot , he car ied the bed on to the r oof of his house. He sl ept very wel for the fir st t wo ni ghts, but on t he thi rd night , a storm bl ew up. A gust of wind swept t he bed of f t he r oof and sent it cr ashing into the court yard below. The young man did not wake up unt il the bed had str uck the gr ound. Al though the bed was smashed t o pi eces, the man was miracul ousl y unhurt. When he woke up, he was sti l on t he mat res. Gl ancing at the bits of wood and metal t hat lay ar ound hi m, the m an sadly picked up the mat tr ess and car ied it into his house. Aft er he had put it on t he f loor, he promptl y went t o sl ep again. Leson50 Taken for a ri de 乘車兜風(fēng) I l ove tr avel li ng i n the count ry, but I don39。 I am 100 per cent honest now!39。 Two months later, some more money was ent to Sam wit h another not e: 39。but t hey did not steal anything.39。dance39。Your si st er wil l be her e in les t han an hour and we must be at he station to met her. We are late alr eady.39。A relati on of yours is ing to se you. She wil l be ar iving this eveni ng and intends to stay for a few days. The moment you l eave this tent , you wil l get a big sur pr ise. A woman you know wel wil l r ush towards you. She wi l speak t o you and t hen she wil l ead you away f rom t hi s pl ace. That is al. 39。 has been invented and it has ben used to det ect gold which has been bur ied in the ground. The machine was used in a cave near the seashore where it is said pirates used to hide gold. The pirates woul d of ten bury gold in t he cave and t hen f ai l t o coll ect i t. Armed wit h the new machine, a search par ty went he di d not like it . She enjoyed hersel f making the assi stant br ing al most ever yt hi ng in the window before f inal ly buying the dres she had f ir st asked f or . Leson58 A blesing in di sgui se? 是因禍得福嗎？ The t iny vi l age of Fri nl ey i s said to possess a 39。You don39。Wel , i n that case, I prefer t o st ay on the bus,39。Il l get of f here.39。 I f ot to put you of f. 39。 Is thi s Woodford Gr en ?39。 You39。t know where i t i s. 39。 I 39。345 f or t he cost of the tr ip. The nor mal pri ce of a t ic ket is amp。 In ti me, al Sam39。A thief, yes, 39。The strap needs mending,39。opened one of the baskets. When he began to play a tune, we had our f irst gl impse of the snake. I t rose out of the basket and began to f ollow t he movement s of the pipe. We were ver y much sur pr ised when the snake charmer suddenl y began t o pl ay j azz tunes and moder n pop songs. The snake, however, conti nued to 39。 said Mr s St