【正文】 . Because t he t ree was m enti oned in a news paper , t he num ber of vi si t or s to Fr i nl ey has now increased. The tr ee was pl ant ed near a chur ch f if t y year s ago, but i t is onl y i n r ecent year s that it has gai ned an evil r eput at i on. It i s sai d t hat if anyone touches t he tr ee, he wil l have bad l uck。 has been i nvent ed and i t has been used t o detect gol d whi ch has been bur i ed i n t he gr ound. The m achine was used in a cave near t he seashor e wherei t i s sai d pir at es used t o hi de gol d. The pir ates woul d of t en bur y gol d i n t he cave and t hen f ai l to coll ect i t. Ar med wi t h t he new m achi ne, a sear ch par ty went he di d not l ike it . She enj oyed her self m aki ng t he assi st ant br i ng alm ost everyt hi ng i n t he wi ndow bef or e f i nal y buyi ng t he dress she had f ir st asked f or. Lesson58 A blessi ng i n di sgui se? 是因禍得福嗎？ The ti ny vil l age of Fri nley i s sai d t o possess a 39。 Leson53 H ot snake 觸電的蛇 At last fi remen have put out a bi g for est fi re i n Cali f or nia. Since t hen, t hey have been tr yi ng t o f ind out how t he fi re bega n. For est fi re ar e oft en caused by broken gl ass or by ci gar et t e ends whi ch people car el essly t hrow away. Yester day t he fi remen exam i ned t he gr ound car efull y, but wer e not able t o f ind any br oken gl ass. They wer e al so qui t e sur e t hat a cigaret e end did not start t he fi r e. This m or ni ng, however, a f ir em an acci dent al ly di scover ed t he cause. He noti ced the r em ai ns of a snake whi ch was wound round t he el ectr i c wir es of a 16, 000 vol t power l i ne. I n t his way, he was able t o sol ve t he m yst er y. The expl anati on was si mpl e but ver y unusual . A bi rd had snat c hed up t he snake f r om t he gr ound and t hen dr opped i t on t o the wi r es. The snake t hen wound it sel f r ound t he wir es. When i t did so, it sent spar ks down t o the gr ound and t hese imm edi atel y st art ed a fi re. Leson54 Sti cky fi ngers 粘糊的手指 Af t er br eakfast, I sent t he chil dr en t o school and t hen I went to m ar ket . It was sti l earl y when I r et urned hom e. The chi ldr en wer e at school, m y husband was at wor k and t he house was qui et . So I deci ded t o m ake some t ar t s for t ea. I n a short t im e I was busy m ixi ng but ter and fl our and m y hands wer e soon cover ed wi th sti cky pastr y. At exactl y t hat m om ent, t he tel ephone rang. Not hing could have been m ore annoyi ng. I pi cked up t he r eceiver bet ween t wo st icky fi nger s and was dismayed when I recogni zed t he voi ce of Mr s Bates. I t t ook m e ten mi nut es t o per suade her t o r ing back lat er . At last I hung up t he r ecei ver . What a mess! Ther e was pastr y on m y fi nger s, on t he tel ephone, and on t he door knobs. I had no sooner got back t o the kit chen t han the door bel l rang l oud enough t o wake t he dead. This t im e it was t he postm an and he want ed m e t o si gn f or a regist er ed let er ! Lesson55 Not a gol d mi ne 并非金礦 Dreams of fi nding l ost t reasur e al m ost cam e t r ue recent ly. A new m achi ne cal led 39。You don39。Thi s is t he pr et iest car pet I have ever sen,39。Wel , in t hat case, I pr ef er t o stay on t he bus,39。We are goi ng back now,39。l l get of f her e.39。 I sai d. 39。 I t doesn39。 sai d t he conduct or suddenl y. 39。 I asked. 39。 39。 t he conduct or sai d. 39。 You39。l l tel you wher e to get off ,39。t know wher e i t i s. 39。 I sai d t o t he conductor as I got on t he bus,39。 I39。 eggs and asked m e whether my coll ect i on was gr owi ng. He t hen asked m e how m y br ot her was and whet her I li ked my new job i n London. I n answer t o these questi ons I eit her nodded or m ade st r ange noises. Meanwhil e, m y t ongue was busy searchi ng out t he hol e where t he toot h had been. I suddenl y f el t ver y wor ri ed, but coul d not say anyt hing. When t he denti st at l ast r em oved t he cot ton wool f rom m y m out h, I was abl e to t el him t hat he had pul l ed out t he wr ong t oot h. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Ti red of sl eepi ng on t he fl oor , a young m an in Teher an saved up f or year s t o buy a r eal bed. For t he f ir st t im e i n hi s li f e, he becam e the pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spri ngs and a m at tr ess. Because t he weat her was ver y hot , he car ri ed the bed on t o t he r oof of hi s house. He sl ept ver y wel f or t he fi r st t wo ni ght s, but on the t hi r d ni ght, a st orm bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed off t he roof and sent it cr ashing i nt o t he court yard bel ow. The young man di d not wake up unti l the bed had st r uck t he ground. Al t hough t he bed was smashed t o pi eces, t he m an was mi racul ousl y unhur t. When he woke up, he was sti l on t he m at ress. Gl anci ng at t he bi ts of wood and m et al t hat l ay ar ound hi m, t he m an sadl y picked up the m at tr es and car ri ed it i nto hi s house. Aft er he had put it on t he f l oor , he pr omptl y went to sl ep again. Lesson50 Taken for a ri de 乘車兜風(fēng) I l ove t r avel ing i n t he count r y, but I don39。Your sister wi l be here i n l ess t han an hour and we must be at the stat ion t o meet her . We ar e late al ready. 39。Wher e have you been hiding ?39。A r el ati on of your s is ing to see you. She wi l be ar ivi ng this evening and i nt ends t o stay f or a few days. The moment you l eave t hi s tent, you wi l get a big surpr ise. A woman you know wel l wil l rush t owar ds you. She wi l speak t o you and then she wil l lead you away fr om t his place. That is al l. 39。. Because the t ree was m ent ioned in a newspaper , the number of vi si tor s to Fr inl ey has now increased. The tr e wa s pl ant ed near a church f if ty year s ago, but it i s onl y in recent year s t hat it has gained an evi l reputati on. I t is said t hat i f anyone touches t he tr ee, h