【正文】 r ed the cause. He noti ced t he r em ai ns of a snake which was wound r ound t he electr ic wi r es of a 16, 000 vol t power li ne. I n t hi s way, he was abl e t o sol ve t he m yster y. The explanat i on was sim ple but ver y unusual. A bir d had snat c hed up t he snake fr om t he gr ound and t hen dr opped i t on to t he wir es. The snake t hen wound it sel f r ound t he wi r es. When it di d so, i t sent spar ks down to t he ground and t hese imm edi at ely st ar ted a f ir e. Lesson54 St i cky f i ngers 粘糊的手指 Af ter breakfast , I sent t he chil dr en t o school and then 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 to m ake some t art s f or t ea. I n a shor t tim e I was busy m i xi ng but t er and fl our and m y hands wer e soon covered wi t h st icky past r y. At exact ly t hat m om ent , the t el ephone r ang. Not hi ng coul d have been m or e annoyi ng. I picked up t he r ecei ver bet wen t wo sti cky f i nger s and was di sm ayed when I r ecognized t he voi ce of Mrs Bat es. It t ook me t en mi nut es t o persuade her t o ri ng back l ater. At l ast I hung up t he recei 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 t he door bel l r ang l oud enough t o wake t he dead. This t im e it was t he postm an and he want ed me t o sign f or a r egi st er ed let er ! Lesson55 Not a gol d m i ne 并非金礦 Dr eams of f indi ng l ost t reasur e alm ost cam e tr ue r ecent l y. A new machi ne cal l ed 39。 has been invent ed and it has been used t o det ect gol d whi ch has been buri ed in t he gr ound. The m achi ne was used i n a cave near the seashore wher ei t is saidpir ates used t o hi de gol d. The pi rat es woul d oft en bur y gol d i n t he cave and t hen f ai l t o col lect i t. Ar m ed wi t h the new m achi ne, a sear ch par t y went he di d not l i ke i t. She enj oyed her sel f m aki ng t he assi stant br i ng alm ost ever yt hi ng i n the wi ndow bef or e fi nal ly buyi ng t he dress she had f ir st aske d for. 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。. Because t he t ree was m enti oned in a newspaper , t he num ber of vi si tor s to Fr i nl ey has now i ncreased. The tr ee was pl ant ed near a chur ch f if t y year s ago, but i t is onl y in r ecent year s t hat it has gai ned an evi l reput ati on. I t i s sai d t hat i f anyone t ouches t he tr ee, he wi l have bad l uck。A r elati on of your s i s i ng t o se you. She wil l be ar ri vi ng t his eveni ng and i nt ends t o st ay f or a f ew days. The m om ent you l eave t hi s t ent, you wi l get a bi g sur pr i se. A wom an you know wel wi l r ush t owards you. She wil speak to you and t hen she wi l l ead you away f r om t hi s place. That is al .39。Wher e have you bee n hi di ng ?39。Your si st er wil l be her e i n less than an hour and we must be at t he st at i on t o m et her . We ar e l at e alr eady.39。cl ock t his eveni ng. By that tim e, t he Astr a wi l have been f lyi ng t hr ough space f or sevent een hour s and wil l have cir cled t he ear th a gr eat m any t im es. When t he fi rst r adi o messages have been recei ved, t he resul ts of t he tr ip wil be announced im mediat el y. Lesson62 Af t er t he fi re 大火之后 Fi r em en had been fi ght i ng t he f or est f ir e f or nearl y t hr ee weeks bef or e t hey coul d get it under contr ol. A shor t im e befor e, gr eat tr ees had cover ed t he countr ysi de for mi les ar ound. Now, sm oke sti l r ose up fr om t he warm gr ound over t he desol at e hil s. Wi nt er was i ng on and t he hi l s thr eat ened t he sur roundi ng vil lages wit h dest ructi on, f or heavy r ai n woul d not onl y wash away t he soi l but woul d cause ser i ous f loods as wel l. When t he fi r e had at l ast been put out, t he for est aut hor it i es or der ed several t ons of a speci al t ype of gr ass seed which woul d gr ow qui ckl y. The seed was spr ayed over t he gr ound i n huge quanti ti es by aer opl anes. The pl anes had been planti ng sed f or nearl y a m ont h when it began to r ain. By t hen, however , i n m any pl aces t he gr as had alr eady t aken r oot. I n place of t he gr eat tr ees whi ch had been gr owing t her e f or centuri es, patches of gr een had begun t o appear i n t he bl ackened soi l. Leson63 She was not am used 她并不覺得好笑 Geoff r ey Ham pden has a l ar ge cir cl e of fr i ends and is ver y popul ar at par ti es. Ever ybody adm ir es hi m for his f i ne sense of hum or ever ybody, t hat is, except hi s si x year ol d daught er, Jenny. Recentl y, one of Geof fr ey39。t . Geoff r ey asked her why t his was so and she tol d hi m t hat she di d not l i ke t o see so m any peopl e laughi ng at hi m! Lesson64 The Channel Tunnel 海峽隧道 In l 858, a Fr ench engi neer, Ai me Thome de Gam ond, ar i ved i n Engl and wit h a pl an f or a t went y one mi l e tunnel acr oss t he Engli sh Channel. He sai d that it woul d be possi ble t o buil d a pl at f orm i n t he centr e of t he Channel . This pl at f orm woul d serve as a port and a r ai l way st at i on. The t unnel woul d be wel venti l at ed i f t al l chim neys wer e buil t above sea level . I n 1860, a bet t er pl an was put f or war d by an Engl i shman, Wi li am Low. He suggest ed t hat a doubl e r ai l way t unnel shoul d be bui lt . Thi s woul d sol ve t he pr obl em of vent il at i on, f or i f a tr ai n ent er ed this t unnel, i t would dr aw i n fr esh ai r behi nd it . For t y t wo year s lat er a t unnel was act ual l y begun. I f, at t he t im e, t he Bri ti sh had not f ear ed invasi on, i t woul d have been pl et ed. Recent ly, t her e has again been great int er est i n the i dea of a Channel Tunnel.