【正文】 ny 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 re. This m or ni ng, however, a f ir eman acci dent al l y di scovered t he cause. He not iced t he r em ains of a snake whi ch was wound round t he el ect ri c wir es of a 16, 000 vol t power l i ne. I n this way, he was able t o sol ve t he m yst er y. The expl anati on was si m pl 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 res. The snake then wound it sel f r ound t he wir es. When i t di d so, i t sent spar ks down t o t he gr ound and t hese imm edi atel y st ar t ed a fi re. Leson54 Sti cky f i ngers 粘糊的手指 Af ter breakfast , I sent t he chil dren t o school and t hen I went t o m ar ket . It was sti l earl y when I r et ur ned hom e. The chil dren wer e at school , m y husband was at wor k and t he house was quiet. So I decided t o m ake som e tart s f or t ea. I n a shor t ti me I was busy mi xi ng butt er and f lour and m y hands were soon cover ed wit h st i cky past r y. At exact l y t hat m om ent , t he t el ephone r ang. Not hi ng coul d have been m or e annoyi ng. I pi cked up t he r ecei ver bet wen t wo sti cky fi nger s and was di sm ayed when I r ecogni zed t he voi ce of Mr s Bat es. I 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 t he kit chen t han the door bel l rang l oud enough t o wake t he dead. This t im e it was t he postm an and he want ed m e t o si gn f or a register ed let er ! Lesson55 Not a gol d mi ne 并非金礦 Dream s of fi nding l ost tr easur e al most cam e t r ue recent ly. A new m achi ne cal led 39。 has been i nvent ed and i t has been used t o detect gol d whi ch has been bur ied i n t he gr ound. The m achine was used in a cave near t he seashor e where it i s sai d pir at es used t o hi de gol d. The pir ates would of ten bur y gold i n the cave and then f ai l to coll ect i t. Ar med wi th t he new machine, a search pa rt y went he did not li ke it . She enjoyed herself making the asist ant bri ng almost ever ything i n t he window befor e f inaly buyi ng the dr ess she had fi rst asked for . Lesson58 A blessi ng i n disguise? 是因禍得福嗎？ The t iny vi l age of Fr inley i s sai d to possess a 39。. Because the t ree was m ent ioned in a newspaper , the number of vi si tor s to Fr inl ey has now increased. The tr e was pl ant ed near a church f if ty years ago, but i t is only in r ecent year s that it has gai ned an evil r eput at ion. It i s sai d that if anyone touches t he tr e, he wil l have bad l uck。A t hief, yes, 39。 Two m ont hs lat er , some m ore m oney was sent t o Sam wit h anot her not e:39。 I n tim e, al l 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 i s amp。 eggs and asked m e whet her 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 m y new j ob i n London. I n answer to t hese quest i ons I eit her nodded or m ade st range noi ses. Meanwhi l e, m y t ongue was busy sear chi ng out t he hole wher e t he t oot h had been. I suddenly f elt very wor ri ed, but coul d not say anythi ng. When t he dent ist at l ast r em oved t he cot t on wool f r om m y m out h, I was abl e t o t el him t hat he had pull ed out t he wr ong t oot h. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Ti red of sl eepi ng on t he f l 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 became t he proud owner of a bed whi ch had spr i ngs and a m at r ess. Because t he weat her was ver y hot, he car ri ed t he bed on t o t he roof of hi s house. He slept ver y wel f or the f ir st t wo ni ght s, but on t he t hir d ni ght , a storm bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed of f the r oof and sent i t cr ashi ng int o the cour t yar d bel ow. The young m a n 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 pi eces, the m an was m ir acul ousl y unhurt . When he woke up, he was st il l on the m at tr ess. Glanci ng at the bit s of wood and m etal t hat lay ar ound him , the m an sadly pi cked up t he m at ress and car ri ed i t i nt o his house. Af ter he had put it on t he fl oor, he pr om pt l y went t o sleep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ri de 乘車兜風(fēng) I love tr avel li ng in t he count ry, but I don39。 I 39。 I sai d t o t he conduct or as I got on t he bus,39。t know wher e it i s.39。 I39。 answer ed t he conduct or. I sat i n t he f r ont of the bus t o get a good view of t he count ryside. Aft er some t im e, t he bus s t opped. Looki ng r ound, I r eali zed wit h a shock that I was t he only passenger l eft on t he bus. 39。l l have t o get off here,39。Thi s is as f ar as we go.39。 I s t hi s Woodf or d Gr een ?39。Oh dear,39。 I f or got t o put you off. 39。I t doesn39。 I sai d. 39。l l get of f her e.39。We are goi ng back now,39。Wel , i n t hat case, I pref er t o stay on t he bus,39。Thi s i s t he pr eti est car pet I have ever seen, 39。You don39。 Leson53 H ot snake 觸電的蛇 At l ast fi remen have put out a bi g for est f i re i n Cali f or ni a. Si nce then, t hey have been tr ying t o fi nd out how t he f ir e began. Forest fi re ar e oft en caus ed by br oken gl as or by ci gar et te ends whi ch people carel essl y t hrow away. Yest er day t he fi remen exam i ned t he gr ound car ef ull 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 re. This m or ni ng, however, a f ir eman acci dent al l y di scovered t he cause. He not iced t he r em ains of a snake whi ch was wound round t he el ect ri c wir es of a 16, 000 vol t power l i ne. I n this way, he was able t o sol v