【正文】 t !39。 she sai d. She gazed at it f or som e t im e t hen added, 39。 I answer ed. Lesson51 Reward f or virt ue 對(duì)美德的獎(jiǎng)賞 My f ri end, Her bert , has al ways been f at , but t hings got so bad r ecentl y t hat he deci ded t o go on a di et . He began hi s diet a week ago. Fi rst of al l, he wr ote out a l ong l ist of al l t he f oods whi ch wer e for bi dden. The li st i ncl uded m ost of t he t hings Her bert l oves: but t er , pot at oes, ri ce, beer, mi l k, chocol at e, and sweet s. Yest er day I pai d hi m a visit . I rang t he bel and was not sur pri sed t o see that Her bert was sti l as f at as ever . He l ed m e i nt o his r oom and hurr iedl y hi d a l ar ge parcel under hi s desk. It was obvi ous t hat he was ver y em bar rassed. When I asked him what he was doing, he smi l ed gui lti l y and t hen put t he par cel on t he desk. He expl ai ned t hat his di et was so str i ct t hat he had to r ewar d hi msel f occasional l y. Then he showed m e t he contents of t he par cel . It cont ained fi ve l ar ge bar s of chocolat e and t hree bags of sweets! Lesson52 A pret y carpet 漂亮的地毯 We have j ust m oved i nt o a new house and I have been wor ki ng har d al m or ni ng. I have been tr yi ng t o get m y new r oom i n or der. This has not been easy because I own over a t housand books. To m ake m at t er s wor se, the r oom i s rat her sm al, so I have tem por ar il y put m y books on t he fl oor. At t he m oment, t hey cover every i nch of fl oor space and I actual y have t o wal k on t hem to get i n or out of the r oom. A shor t whil e ago, m y si st er hel ped m e t o car r y one of m y ol d bookcases up the stair s. She went i nt o m y room and got a bi g sur pr i se when she saw al t hose books on t he fl oor. 39。 said t he conductor. 39。 39。I 39。t m at ter, 39。 I f or got t o put you of f. 39。Oh dear ,39。 I s t his Woodf or d Gr en ?39。Thi s is as f ar as we go.39。l l have t o get of f here,39。 answer ed t he conduct or . I sat i n t he fr ont of t he bus t o get a good vi ew of t he countr ysi de. Af ter som e ti me, the bus st opped. Looki ng r ound, I reali zed wi t h a shock t hat I was t he onl y pasenger l ef t on the bus. 39。 I 39。 but I don39。m goi ng t o Woodf or d Green, 39。t l i ke l osi ng my way. I went on an excur si on recent ly, but m y tr i p took m e l onger t han I expect ed. 39。My denti st had j ust pul l ed out one of m y t eet h and had tol d m e t o r est f or a whi le. I tr i ed t o say som et hing, but m y m outh was f ull of cott on wool. He knew I coll ect ed bir ds39。 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(mèng)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。 I39。 I sai d t o t he conductor as I got on t he bus,39。t know wher e i t i s. 39。l l tel you wher e to get off ,39。 You39。 t he conduct or sai d. 39。 39。 I asked. 39。 sai d t he conduct or suddenl y. 39。 I t doesn39。 I sai d. 39。l l get of f her e.39。We are goi ng back now,39。Wel , in t hat case, I pr ef er t o stay on t he bus,39。Thi s is t he pr et iest car pet I have ever sen,39。You don39。 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