【正文】 ire broke out in the basement. I went down immediately. of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a fireextinguisher at me. He thought I was on fire. I must definitely get that fellow posted.39。I was in my office as usual,39。 exclaimed his wife. 39。39。University students set the Embassy on fire this morning.39。A fireextinguisher, my dear,39。 39。What has happened ?39。When the Ambassador of Escalopia returned home for lunch, his wife got a shock. He looked pale and his clothes were in a frightful state. Experiments have proved that children can be instructed in swimming at a very early age. At a special swimming pool in Los Angeles, children bee expert at holding their breath under water even before they can walk. Babies of two months old do not appear to be reluctant to enter the water, It is not long before they are so accustomed to swimming that they can pick up weights from the floor of the pool. A game that is very popular with these young swimmers is the underwater tricycle race. Tricycles are lined up on the floor of the pool seven feet under water. The children pete against each other to reach the other end of the pool. Many pedal their tricycles, but most of them prefer to push or drag them. Some children can cover the whole length of the pool without ing up for breath even once. Whether they will ever bee future Olympic champions, only time will tell. Meanwhile, they should encourage those among us who cannot swim five yards before they are gasping for air.One of the most famous monuments in the world, the Statue of Liberty, was presented to the United States of America in the nineteenth century by the people of France. The great statue, which was designed by the sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, took ten years to plete. The actual figure was made of copper supported by a metal framework which had been especially constructed by Eiffel. Before it could be transported to the United States, a site had to be found for it and a pedestal had to be built. The site chosen was an island at the entrance of New York Harbour. By 1884, a statue which was 151 feet tall, had been erected in Paris. The following year, it was taken to pieces and sent to America. By the end of October 1886, the statue had been put together again and it was officially presented to the American people by Bartholdi. Ever since then, the great monument has been a symbol of liberty for the millions of people who have passed through New York Harbour to make their homes in America.Fortunately, the shouting woke up my wife who opened the window just as the policeman had started to climb towards me. I shouted.39。39。Your what ?39。You see, I39。d prefer to stay here,39。39。s busy working, but would you mind ing with me to the station ?39。 answered the policeman in the same tone. 39。39。I enjoy cleaning windows at night.39。 I don39。Lesson92 Asking for trouble 自找麻煩Lesson91 Three men in a basket 三人同籃Though Brazil is one of the richest countries in the world, much of it has not yet been developed. It was mainly for this reason that the Brazilian government decided to have a new city built 600 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro. Designed by the great architect Lucio Costa, the new city, Brasilia, replaced Rio de Janeiro as the capital of Brazif in 1960. Brasilia has been carefully planned for modern living. Its wide roads, which can take fourteen lanes of traffic, have been keptPeople will do anything to see a free showeven if it is a bad one. When the news got round that a variety show would be presented at our local cinema by the P. and U. Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it. We had to queue for hours to get in and there must have been several hundred people present just be fore the show began. Unfortunately, the show was one of the dullest we have ever seen. Those who failed to get in need not have felt disappointed as many of the artistes who should have appeared did not e. The only funny things we heard that evening came from the advertiser at the beginning of the programme. He was obviously very nervous and for some minutes stood awkwardly before the microphone. As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone burst out laughing. We all know what the poor man should have said, but what he actually said was: 39。Six men have been trapped in a mine for seventeen hours. If they are not brought to the surface soon they may lose their lives. However, rescue operations are proving difficult. If explosives are used, vibrations will cause the roof of the mine to collapse. Rescue workers are therefore drilling a hole on the north side of the mine. They intend to bring the men up in a special capsule. If there had not been a hard layer of rock beneath the soil, they would have pleted the job in a few hours. As it is, they have been drilling for sixteen hours and they still have a long way to go. Meanwhile, a microphone, which was lowered into the mine two hours ago, has enabled the men to keep in touch with the closest relatives. Though they are running out of food and drink, the men are cheerful and confident that they will get out soon. They have been told that rescue operations are progressing smoothly. If they knew how difficult it was to drill through the hard rock, they would lose heart. clock train, but that you caught the which would still get you to work on time. You see, on the morning of the murder, the o39。 said the inspector, 39。39。 Of course not.39。And you didn39。39。At what time did you arrive at the station ?39。39。 Would a later train get you to work on time ?39。 I must be at work at o39。Of course I do,39。 asked the inspector.39。clock train to London,39。39。As the man tried to swing the speedboat round, the steeringwheel came away in his hands. He waved desperately to his panion, who had been waterskiing for the last fifteen minutes. Both men had hardly had time to realize what was happening when they were thrown violent1y into the sea. The speedboat had struck a buoy, but it continued to move very quickly across the water. Both men had just begun to