【正文】 at e as wel . Of i ci al s fr om Greenwich Observator y have t he clock checked t wi ce a day. On the B. B. C. you can hear t he cl ock when it i s act ual y str i ki ng because m icr ophones ar e connected t o t he cl ock t ower. Bi g Ben has rar el y gone wr ong. Once, however , i t f ai led t o give t he cor rect tim e. A paint er who had been wor ki ng on t he t ower hung a pot of pai nt on one of t he hands and sl owed it down ! Lesson72 A car cal ed Bl uebi rd “藍(lán)鳥(niǎo)”汽車(chē) The great r aci ng dri ver , Sir Mal col m Cam pbel l, was t he f ir st m an t o dr i ve at over 300 m il es per hour . He set up a new worl d r ecor d i n Sept em ber 1935 at Bonnevil le Salt Fl at s, Utah. Bluebi r d, t he car he was dri vi ng, had been speci al l y bui lt f or him . It was over 30 feet in l engt h and had a 2500 hor se power engine. Alt hough Cam pbel r eached a speed of over 304 mi l es per hour, he had gr eat dif fi cul t y in contr oll ing t he car because a t yr e burst dur i ng t he fi r st r un. Af t er hi s at tem pt, Cam pbel was di sappoi nted t o l ear n t hat hi s aver age speed had been 299 mi l es per hour . However , a f ew days l at er, he was t ol d t hat a mi stake had been m ade. Hi s aver age speed had been 301 m il es per hour. Si nce t hat t im e, r aci ng dri ver s have r eached speeds of over 400 mi les an hour. Foll owing his f ather39。 he sai d, i n a mour nf ul voi ce,39。 I cont i nued dri ving and aft er som e t im e, t he exami ner t apped l oudl y. Though t he sound coul d be hear d cl earl y, i t t ook m e a l ong t im e to r eact . I suddenl y pr essed t he brake pedal hard and we were bot h thr own f or war d. The exam iner looked at m e sadl y. 39。 l eson69 But not m urder! 并非謀殺！ I was bei ng t est ed f or a dr ivi ng l i cence f or t he t hir d t im e. I had been asked t o dr ive i n heavy t r af fi c and had done so succe ssf ul l y. Af ter havi ng been i nst r uct ed t o dr ive out of t own, I began t o acquir e confi dence. Sur e t hat I had passed, I was alm ost begi nni ng t o enj oy m y t est. The exami ner m ust ha ve been pleased wi t h m y perf orm ance, for he sm il ed and sai d, 39。s al ways plent y t o r ead i n t he 39。 he answer ed. 39。 Then I39。m goi ng to t he dent ist.39。 I li ed, 39。Would you mi nd m y i ng wi th you ?39。m goi ng t o.. .39。 I answer ed. 39。r e not busy doing anyt hi ng, are you ?39。 Bert answered. 39。 39。 I said. 39。 Lesson66 Sweet as honey! 像蜜一樣甜！ The Hat hel d Puff in i s a m oder n aer o plane, but it s desi gner, Mr John Wim penny, is f indi ng i t dif fi cul t o get it off t he gr ound. The r eason f or t his i s t hat t hi s pl ane is also a bi cycl e. I ts pil ot has t o pedal hard t o get i t i nt o t he ai r. Af ter Mr Wim penny had t he pl ane buil t, i t was test ed t hor oughl y. I n 1961, it was t he fi r st man power ed ai r cr af t t o fl y hal f a mi le. Whi le bei ng f l own by a cham pi on am ateur cycli st i n 1963, t he pl ane crashed on an ai rf iel d. Si nce t hen, Mr Wim penny has had i t r ebuil t. He has had t he l engt h of the wi ngs i ncreased so t hat t hey now m easur e 93 feetalm ost as l ong as t hose of a Dakota. Many peopl e have shown i nt er est i n t hi s new and unusual sport . But t hough ai r cycli st s m ay l ear n how t o f ly over shor t di st ances, and m ay, event ual ly, even get acr oss t he Engli sh Channel , it i s doubt ful whet her t hey wil l ever cycl e across the At lanti c. Lesson67 Vol canoes 火山 Har oun Tazi ef f the Poli sh sci ent ist, has spent hi s li f e tim e st udying acti ve vol canoes and deep caves i n al part s of the wor ld. I n 1948, he went t o l ake Ki vu i n t he Congo t o obser ve a new vol cano which he l at er nam ed Ki t ur o. Tazi ef f was abl e t o set up his camp ver y cl ose to t he vol cano whil e it was er upti ng vi ol ent ly. Though he m anaged t o t ake a num ber of br il i ant phot ographs, he coul d not st ay near t he vol cano f or ver y l ong. He noti ced t hat a ri ver of li quid r ock was ing t owar ds him. I t thr eat ened t o sur r ound him pl et el y, but Tazi ef m anaged to escape j ust i n tim e. He wait ed unt il t he vol cano becam e quiet and he was abl e t o ret ur n t wo days l at er. Thi s t im e, he m anaged to cl im b int o the m out h of Kit uro so t hat he could t ake phot ogr aphs and measur e t em perat ur es. Tazi ef has oft en ri sked hi s l if e i n t hi s way. He has been abl e t o tel us m or e about acti ve vol canoes than any man ali ve. Leson68 Persi st ent 糾纏不休 I crossed t he st r et to avoi d m eet ing him , but he saw m e and cam e r unni ng t owar ds me. It was no use pret endi ng t hat I had not seen him, so I waved t o him. I never enj oy m eet ing Ber t Dykes. He never has anyt hi ng t o do. No m at er how busy you ar e, he al ways i nsist s on i ng wi th you. I had to t hink of a way of pr eventi ng hi m fr om f oll owing m e ar ound al l mor ni ng. 39。so i t was fort unat e t hat we di dn39。Jum bo m ust wei gh a few t ons, 39。guar d of honour39。Engl ishm an, Wil li am Low. He suggest ed t hat a doubl e rail way t unnel should be buil t. Thi s woul d solve t he pr oblem of venti lati on, f or if a t r ai n ent ered t hi s t unnel, it woul d draw in f r esh air behind i t. Fort yt wo year s l at er a t unnel was actual y begun. If , at t he tim e, t he Br it ish had not f ear ed i nvasi on, i t would have been pl et ed. Recent l y, t her e has again been gr eat i nt er est i n t he i dea of a Channel Tunnel. I f i t is buil t, i t wil l connect Br it ai n t o Eur ope f or t he fi r st t im e i n hi st or y. Lesson65 Jum bo versus t he pol ice 小象對(duì)警察 Last Chr i stm as, t he ci r cus owner, Jimm y Gat es, deci ded t o t ake som e pr esent s t o a chi l dr en39。s hospit al . Dr essed up as Fat her Chri stm as and ac panied by a 39。 of si x pr et y gir ls, he set off down t he mai n st reet of t h