【正文】 e , however, conti nued t o 39。And a wom an can39。A f ew cars, however, pl et ed t he r ace. The wi nni ng car r eached a speed of f or ty m il es an hourm uch faster t han any of it s ri val s. I t sped downhil l at t he end of t he race and it s dri ver had a l ot of t roubl e t ryi ng t o st op i t. The r ace gave ever yone a great deal of pl easure. It was ver y di f fer ent fr om m oder n car r aces but no l ess exci ti ng. Leson57 Can I hel p you, m adam ? 你要買什么，夫人？ A wom an i n bl ue j eans st ood at t he window of an expensive shop. Though she hesit at ed f or a m om ent , she f inal y went in and as ked t o see a dress that was i n t he wi ndow. The asi st ant who ser ved her di d not li ke the way she was dressed. Gl ancing at her scor nf ul l y, he t ol d her that he dr ess was sol d. The wom an walked out of t he shop angri l y and decided t o puni sh t he asi st ant next day. She r et ur ned t o t he shop t he foll owi ng m or ni ng dr esed i n a f ur coat , wit h a handbag i n one hand and a long umbr el la i n t he ot her . Aft er seking out t he r ude assistant she aske d for t he same dr ess. Not r eal i zi ng who she was, t he assi stant was eager t o ser ve her t hi s ti me wi t h gr eat di f icult y, he cli m bed i nt o t he shop wi ndow t o get t he dr es. As soon as she saw i t, t he wom an sai d s many ti es.39。 39。t have t oo m any hats,39。dance39。The str ap needs mending,39。but t hey did not steal anyt hi ng.39。A t hief, yes, 39。 Two m ont hs lat er, some m ore m oney was se nt t o Sam wit h anot her not e:39。 In t im e, al Sam39。 I am 100 per cent honest now! 39。 345 for t he cost of t he tr i p. The norm al pri ce of a ti cket is amp。 eggs and asked m e whet her m y col l ecti on was gr owi ng. He then asked m e how m y br other was and whet her I l i ked m y new j ob i n London. I n answer t o t hese questi ons I ei ther nodded or made st r ange noises. Meanwhil e, m y t ongue was busy searching out t he hol e wher e t he t ooth had been. I suddenl y fe lt ver y worr ied, but could not say anyt hi ng. When the dent i st at last r em oved t he cott on wool fr om m y m outh, I was abl e t o tel him t hat he had pull ed out t he wr ong t oot h. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢(mèng)告終 Ti red of sleepi ng on t he fl oor , a young m an in Teheran saved up for year s t o buy a real bed. For the f ir st t im e i n hi s li fe, he becam e t he proud owner of a bed whi ch had spr ings and a mat r ess. Because t he weat her was ver y hot , he car ri ed t he 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 storm bl ew up. A gust of wind swept t he bed off t he r oof and sent it cr ashing i nt o t he cour tyar d bel ow. The young m an di d not wake up unt il t he bed had str uck t he gr ound. Alt hough t he bed was sm ashed t o pieces, t he m an was m ir acul ousl y unhur t. When he woke up, he was stil l on t he m at tr es. Gl anci ng at t he bi ts of wood and m et al t hat l ay ar ound him, t he m an sadl y picked up t he m at tr es and car ied i t int o hi s house. Aft er he had put it on t he fl oor, he pr om pt l y went t o sl eep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ride 乘車兜風(fēng) I love tr avel li ng i n t he count r y, but I don39。 I39。 I sai d t o the conduct or as I got on the bus, 39。t know wher e i t is.39。 I39。 answered t he conduct or. I sat i n t he f r ont of t he bus t o get a good vi ew of t he count r ysi de. Af ter som e tim e, 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 t he bus. 39。l l have to get off her e, 39。Thi s i s as far as we go.39。 Is t hi s Woodf ord Green ?39。Oh dear, 39。 I f or got t o put you of f.39。I t doesn39。 I sai d. 39。l get off her e.39。We ar e goi ng back now, 39。Wel l, i n that case, I pr ef er to st ay on the bus, 39。Thi s is t he pret iest car pet I have ever seen,39。You don39。 Lesson53 H ot snake 觸電的蛇 At last f i remen have put out a bi g for est fi r e i n Cal if or ni a. Si nce t hen, t hey have been t r yi ng t o fi nd out how t he fi r e began. For est f ir e are of ten caused by br oken gl ass or by cigaret e ends which peopl e car elessl y t hr ow away. Yest er day t he f ir em en exami ned t he gr ound car ef ul l y, but were not abl e t o fi nd any broken glass. They wer e al so qui te sur e that a ci garet e end di d not st art t he fi re. This m or ning, however, a f ir em an acci dent al ly di scovered t he caus e. He not iced t he r em ains of a snake whi ch was wound r ound t he el ect ri c wir es of a 16, 000 volt power l i ne. I n thi s way, he was able t o sol ve t he m yst er y. The expl anati on was sim pl e but ver y unusual . A bi r d had snat ched up the snake f r om t he gr ound and t hen dropped it on t o t he wi r es. The snake t hen wound i tsel f r ound t he wir es. When it di d so, it sent sparks down t o t he gr ound and t hese im mediat el y start ed a fi r e. Lesson54 Sti cky fi ngers 粘糊的手指 Aft er br eakf ast, I sent t he chi l dr en to school and t hen I went t o m ar ket. I t was st il l ear ly when I r etur ned home. The chi l dr en were 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 ts f or tea. In a short t im e I was busy m ixing butt er and f lour and my hands were soon cover ed wit h sti cky pastr y. At exactly that moment, the t elephone r ang. Not hi ng coul d have been mor e annoyi ng. I picked up the r ecei ver between t wo sti cky f ingers and was di sm ayed when I r ecognized the voice of Mrs Bat es. It t ook me ten m inutes t o per suade her to r ing back l at er. At last I hung up the r eceiver. What a m ess! Ther e was past ry on my f ingers, on the t el ephone, and on t he door knobs. I had no sooner got back to the kit chen than the door bel l rang l oud enough to wake t he dead. This t im e it was