【正文】 carelessly throw away. Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a fireman accidentally discovered the cause. He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000volt power line. In this way, he was able to solve the mystery. The explanation was simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires. When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire. Lesson54 Sticky fingers 粘糊的手指 After breakfast, I sent the children to school and then I went to market. It was still early when I returned home. The children were at school, my husband was at work and the house was quiet. So I decided to make some tarts for tea. In a short time I was busy mixing butter and flour and my hands were soon covered with sticky pastry. At exactly that moment, the telephone rang. Nothing could have been more annoying. I picked up the receiver between two sticky fingers and was dismayed when I recognized the voice of Mrs Bates. It took me ten minutes to persuade her to ring back later. At last I hung up the receiver. What a mess! There was pastry on my fingers, on the telephone, and on the doorknobs. I had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead. This time it was the postman and he wanted me to sign for a registered letter ! Lesson55 Not a gold mine 并非金礦 Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true recently. A new machine called 39。You don39。This is the prettiest carpet I have ever seen,39。Well, in that case, I prefer to stay on the bus,39。We are going back now,39。ll get off here.39。 I said. 39。It doesn39。 I fot to put you off.39。Oh dear,39。 Is this Woodford Green ?39。This is as far as we go.39。ll have to get off here,39。 answered the conductor. I sat in the front of the bus to get a good view of the countryside. After some time, the bus stopped. Looking round, I realized with a shock that I was the only passenger left on the bus. 39。 I39。t know where it is.39。 I said to the conductor as I got on the bus,39。 I39。 eggs and asked me whether my collection was growing. He then asked me how my brother was and whether I liked my new job in London. In answer to these questions I either nodded or made strange noises. Meanwhile, my tongue was busy searching out the hole where the tooth had been. I suddenly felt very worried, but could not say anything. When the dentist at last removed the cottonwool from my mouth, I was able to tell him that he had pulled out the wrong tooth. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Tired of sleeping on the floor, a young man in Teheran saved up for years to buy a real bed. For the first time in his life, he became the proud owner of a bed which had springs and a mattress. Because the weather was very hot, he carried the bed on to the roof of his house. He slept very well for the first two nights, but on the third night, a storm blew up. A gust of wind swept the bed off the roof and sent it crashing into the courtyard below. The young man did not wake up until the bed had struck the ground. Although the bed was smashed to pieces, the man was miraculously unhurt. When he woke up, he was still on the mattress. Glancing at the bits of wood and metal that lay around him, the man sadly picked up the mattress and carried it into his house. After he had put it on the floor, he promptly went to sleep again. Lesson50 Taken for a ride 乘車兜風(fēng) I love travelling in the country, but I don39。345 for the cost of the trip. The normal price of a ticket is amp。 I am 100 per cent honest now!39。 In time, all Sam39。 Two months later, some more money was sent to Sam with another note:39。A thief, yes, 39。but they did not steal anything.39。The strap needs mending,39。dance39。t have too many hats,39。 39。The Revealer39。t need bookcases at all. You can sit here in your spare time and read the carpet!39。 she said. She gazed at it for some time then added, 39。 I answered. Lesson51 Reward for virtue 對美德的獎賞 My friend, Herbert, has always been fat, but things got so bad recently that he decided to go on a diet. He began his diet a week ago. First of all, he wrote out a long list of all the foods which were forbidden. The list included most of the things Herbert loves: butter, potatoes, rice, beer, milk, chocolate, and sweets. Yesterday I paid him a visit. I rang the bell and was not surprised to see that Herbert was still as fat as ever. He led me into his room and hurriedly hid a large parcel under his desk. It was obvious that he was very embarrassed. When I asked him what he was doing, he smiled guiltily and then put the parcel on the desk. He explained that his diet was so strict that he had to reward himself occasionally. Then he showed me the contents of the parcel. It contained five large bars of chocolate and three bags of sweets! Lesson52 A pretty carpet 漂亮的地毯 We have just moved into a new house and I have been working hard all morning. I have been trying to get my new room in order. This has not been easy because I own over a thousand books. To make matters worse, the room is rather small, so I have temporarily put my books on the floor. At the moment, they cover every inch of floor space and I actually have to walk on them to get in or out of the room. A short while ago, my sister helped me to carry one of my old bookcases up the stairs. She went into my room and got a big surprise when she saw all those books on the floor. 39。 said the conductor. 39。 39。I39。t matter,39。 39。 said the conductor suddenly.39。 I asked. 39。 39。 the conductor said. 39。 You39。ll tell you where to get off,39。 39。 but I don39。m going to Woodford Green,39。t like losing my way. I went on an excursion recently, but my trip took me longer than I expected. 39。230 ! Lesson47 A thirsty ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂 A public hous