【正文】 Af ter some t ime, the bus stopped. Looking r ound, I reali zed wit h a shock t hat I was t he onl y pasenger l ef t on the bus. 39。l l have to 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 ot to put you off .39。I t doesn39。 I said. 39。l get of f here.39。We are goi ng back now, 39。Wel , in t hat case, I pref er t o stay on t he bus,39。Thi s is t he pret tiest car pet I have ever sen,39。You don39。 Leson53 Hot snake 觸電的蛇 At last fi remen have put out a big for est fi re in Cal if or nia. Since then, they have been t rying t o f ind out how t he fi re began. Forest fi re ar e oft en caused by broken glas or by ci gar et te ends whi ch people carel essly t hrow away. Yesterday t he fi remen examined t he gr ound car ef ul l y, but wer e not abl e to f ind any br oken gl ass. They wer e also quit e sur e t hat a cigaret te end did not star t he fi r e. This m orning, however , a fi reman acci dent aly discovered t he cause. He not iced the r emains of a snake whi ch was wound round t he el ect ri c wi res of a 16,000 volt power line. In this way, he was able t o solve the m yst er y. The explanati on was si mpl e but very unusual . A bi rd had snat ched up t he snake f rom the gr ound and t hen dr opped i t on to the wi res . The snake then wound it sel f round the wi r es. When i t di d so, i t sent spar ks down to t he ground and these imm edi at ely star te d a f ir e. Lesson54 St icky f ingers 粘糊的手指 Aft er br eakf ast , I sent the chil dr en to school and t hen I went t o market . I t was st il l ear ly when I r etur ned home. The childr en were at school, m y husband was at wor k and t he house was quiet. So I deci ded to m ake some t art s for t ea. In a shor t tim e I was busy m ixi ng but ter and fl our and m y hands wer e soon cover ed wi th sti cky pastr y. At exactl y that moment, t he telephone rang. Not hing could have been m ore annoyi ng. I pi cked up t he recei ver between t wo sti cky fi nger s and wa s di sm ayed when I recogni zed the voice of Mr s Bates. I t took m e ten mi nutes to per suade her t o r ing back later . At last I hung up t he recei ver . What a mess! Ther e was pastr y on m y fi nger s, on t he telephone, and on the door knobs. I had no sooner got back to t he kit chen t han t he door bel l r ang loud enough to wake t he dead. Thi s ti me i t was the post man and he wanted m e to si gn for a r egi st ered l et ter ! Leson55 Not a gold m ine 并非金礦 Dr eams of f inding lost reasur e alm ost came tr ue recent ly. A new machi ne cal led 39。 has been i nvent ed and i t has been used t o detect gol d which has been bur ied i n the gr ound. The machine was used in a cave near t he seashor e where it i s sai d pi rat es used to hide gold. The pir at es woul d of ten bury gol d in the cave and t hen fail t o collect it . Armed wit h the new machi ne, a sear ch part y went he di d not like i t. She enjoyed her sel f making t he as sistant bri ng al most everyt hi ng in the wi ndow before fi nal ly buying t he dress she had f ir st asked for. Lesson58 A blessi ng in disgui se? 是因禍得福嗎？ The t iny vil lage of Fri nley i s said to possess a 39。. Because t he t r ee 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 anted near a churc h f if ty year s ago, but i t is only in r ecent year s that it has gai ned an evi l r eput ation. I t i s sai d that if anyone touches t he tr e, he wi l have bad l uck。A t hief, yes, 39。 Two m ont hs lat er , som e 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 ip. The norm al pri ce of a ti cket is amp。 eggs and asked m e whether m y coll ect ion was gr owi ng. He t hen asked m e how m y brot her 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 felt ver y worr ied, but coul d not say anyt hi 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 pul l ed out t he wrong t oot h. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Tir ed of sl eepi ng on t he f l oor, a young m an i n Teher an saved up f or year s t o buy a r eal bed. For t he fi rst tim e i n his l if e, he becam e t he pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spri ngs and a m at tr es. Because t he weat her was very hot, he car i ed t he bed on to t he r oof of his house. He sl ept ver y wel l for t he f i rst t wo ni ght s, but on t he t hir d ni ght, a st orm blew up. A gust of wi nd swept the bed off t he r oof and sent it cr ashing i nto 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 to pi eces, t he man was mi r acul ously unhurt . When he woke up, he was sti l on t he mat r ess. Gl a nci ng at he bit s of wood and m et al that l ay ar ound him , t he man sadl y pi cked up t he m at ress and car i 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 sl eep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ri de 乘車兜風(fēng) I l ove tr avel li ng in t he count ry, but I don39。 I 39。 I said t o t he conduct or as I got on t he bus,39。t know wher e it i s.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 the count r ysi de. Aft er som e tim e, t he bus st opped. Looki ng r ound, I r eal i zed wi t h a shock t hat I was t he onl y passenger left on t he bus. 39。l l have t o get of f her e,39。Thi s i s 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 off her e.39。We ar e going back now,39。Wel l, i n t hat case, I pref er t o st ay on t he bu