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亦汐

Lesson 58: blessing in disguise?
             是因祸得福吗？


    First listen and then answer the question.
    听录音，然后回答以下问题。
    Why does the vicar refuse to cut down the tree?

    The tiny village of Frinley is said to possess a 'cursed tree'. Because the tree was mentioned in a newspaper, the number of visitors to Frinley has now increased. The tree was planted near the church fifty years ago, but it is only in recent years that it has gained an evil reputation. It is said that if anyone touches the tree, he will have bad luck; if he picks a leaf, he will die. Many villagers believe that the tree has already claimed a number of victims. The vicar has been asked to have the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has pointed out that the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has pointed out that the tree is a useful source of income, as tourists have been coming from all parts of the country to see it. In spite of all that has been said, the tourists have been picking leaves and cutting their names on the tree-trunk. So far, not one of them has been struck down by sudden death!


New words and expressions 生词和短语

blessing  n. 福分，福气
disguise  n. 伪装
tiny  adj. 极

参考翻译

据说弗林利这个小村里有一棵“该诅咒的树”。就因为报上提到过这棵树，所以现在来弗林利参观的人越来越多。该树是50年前栽在教堂附近的，但只是近几年才得到了一个坏名声。据说，谁要是触摸了这棵树，谁就会交上恶运；如果谁摘了一片树叶，谁就会死去。很多村民相信此树已经害了不少人。人们曾请求教区的牧师叫人把树砍掉，但他直到现在也没有同意。他指出，由于人们从全国各地纷纷前来参观这棵树，它成了一个有用的财源。尽管有上述种种说法，但游客们还是照常摘树叶和把他们的名字刻在树干上。然而到目前为止，还没有一个人暴死呢

亦汐

Lesson 59:In or out?     进来还是出去？



    First listen and then answer the question.
    听录音，然后回答以下问题。
    Why did Rex run away?

    Our dog, Rex, used to sit outside our front gate and dark. Every time he wanted to come into the garden he would bark until someone opened the gate. As the neighbours complained of the noise, my husband spent weeks training him to press his paw on the latch to let himself in. Rex soon became an expert at opening the gate. However, when I was going out shopping last week, I noticed him in the garden near the gate. This time he was barking so that someone would let him out! Since then, he has developed another bad habit. As soon as he opens the gate from the outside, he comes into the garden and waits until the gate shuts. Then he sits and barks until someone lets him out. After this he immediately lets himself in and begins barking again. Yesterday my husband removed the gate and Rex got so annoyed we have not seen him since.


New words and expressions 生词和短语
bark  v. 狗叫
press  v. 按，压
paw  n. 脚爪
latch  n. 门闩
expert  n. 专家
develop  v. 养成
habit  n. 习惯
remove  v. 拆掉，取下


参考译文
    我家的狗雷克斯，过去常坐在大门外面叫。每当它想到花园里来时，便汪汪叫个不停，直到有人把门打开。由于邻居们对狗叫很有意见，所以我丈夫花了几个星期的时间训练它用脚爪按住门闩把自己放进来。雷克斯很快成了开门的专家。然而上星期我正要出去买东西时，发现它正呆在花园里边靠门的地方。这次它叫着让人把它放出去！从那以后，它养成了另外一种坏习惯。它从外面把门一打开，就走进花园，等着门自动关上。这之后他就坐下汪汪叫起来，直到有人来把它放出去。出去之后，它又马上把自己放进来，接着再开始叫。昨天，我丈夫把门卸了下来，雷克斯很生气，此后我们便再也没有见到它。

亦汐

Lesson 60:The future  卜算未来


    First listen and then answer the question.
    听录音，然后回答以下问题。
    Does what Madam Bellinsky said come true?


    At a village fair, I decided to visit a fortune-teller called Madam Bellinsky. I went into her tent and she told me to sit down. After I had given her some money, she looked into a crystal ball and said: 'A relation of yours is coming to see you. She will be arriving this evening and intends to stay for a few days. The moment you leave this tent, you will get a big surprise. A woman you know well will rush towards you. She will speak to you and then she will lead you away from this place. That is all.'
    As soon as I went outside, I forgot all about Madam Bellinsky because my wife hurried towards me. 'Where have you been hiding?' she asked impatiently. 'Your sister will be here in less than an hour and we must be at the station to meet her. We are late already.' As she walked away, I followed her out of the fair.


New words and expressions 生词和短语
future  n. 未来，前途
fair  n. 集市
fortune-teller  n. 算命人
crystal  n. 水晶
relation  n. 亲属
impatiently  adv. 不耐烦地


参考译文
    在一个乡村集市上，我决定去拜访一位称作别林斯夫人的算命人。我走进她的帐篷，她叫我坐下。我给了她一些钱后，她便查看着一个水晶球说道：“您的一个亲戚就要来看您了。她将于今天傍晚到达，并准备住上几天。您一走出这个帐篷，就会大吃一惊。一位您很熟悉的女人将向您冲来。她会对您说点什么，然后带您离开这个地方。就是这些。”
    我一走出帐篷，就把别林斯基夫人给算卦的事忘得一干二净了，因为我的妻子正匆匆向我跑来。“你躲到哪儿去了？”她不耐烦地问，“再有不到一个小时你姐姐就要到这儿了，我们得去车站接她。现在就已经晚了。”当她走开时，我也跟着她出了集市。

亦汐

Lesson 61:Trouble with the Hubble
           哈勃望远镜的困境


    First listen and then answer the question.
    听录音，然后回答以下问题。
    What is the special importance of a telescope in space?


    The Hubble telescope was launched into space by NASA on April 20,1990 at a cost of over a billion dollars. Right from the start there was trouble with the Hubble. The pictures it sent us were very disappointing because its main mirror was faulty! NASA is now going to put the telescope right, so it will soon be sending up four astronauts to repair it. The shuttle Endeavour will be taking the astronauts to the Hubble. A robot-arm from the Endeavour will grab the telescope and hold it while the astronauts make the necessary repairs. Of course, the Hubble is above the earth's atmosphere, so it will soon be sending us the clearest pictures of the stars and distant galaxies that we have ever seen. The Hubble will tell us a great deal about the age and size of the universe. By the time you read this, the Hubble's eagle eye will have sent us thousands and thousands of wonderful pictures.


New words and expressions 生词和短语

Hubble  n. 哈勃
telescope  n. 望远镜
launch  v. 发射
space  n. 空间
NASA  n.(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) 国家航空和航天局
billion  n. 10亿
faulty  adj. 有错误的
astronaut  n. 宇航员
shuttle  n. 航天飞机
Endeavour  n. “奋进”号
robot-arm  n. 机器手
grab  v. 抓
atmosphere  n. 大气层
distant  adj. 遥远的
galaxy  n. 星系
universe  n. 宇宙
eagle eye  鹰眼


参考译文
    哈勃望远镜于1990年4月20日由国家航空航天局发射升空，耗资10多亿美元。从最开始哈勃望远镜就有问题。它传送给我们的图像很令人失望，因为它的主要镜子有误差。国家航天局准备纠正这一错误，为此将把4名宇航员送入太空修复望远镜。“奋进”号航天飞机将把宇航员送上哈勃。当宇航员进行必要的修复工作时，“奋进”号上的一只机器手将抓住望远镜并托住它。当然，哈勃位于地球的大气层之外，因此，它很快就会给我们传送我们所见到过的、有关行星和远距离星系的最清晰的照片。哈勃将告诉我们有关宇宙的年龄和大小的许多事情。等到你读到这篇文章时，敏锐的哈勃望远镜已经为我们送来了成千上万张精彩的照片。

亦汐

Lesson 62:fter the fire
                大火之后


    First listen and then answer the question.
    听录音，然后回答以下问题。
    What was the danger to the villages after the fire?


    Firemen had been fighting the forest for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well. When the fire had at last been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes. The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.


New words and expressions 生词和短语
control  n. 控制
smoke  n. 烟
desolate  adj. 荒凉的
threaten  v. 威胁
surrounding  adj. 周围的
destruction  n. 破坏，毁灭
flood  n. 洪水，水灾
authority  n. （常用复数）当局
grass-seed  n. 草籽
spray  v. 喷撒
quantity  n. 量
root  n. 根
century  n. 世纪
patch  n. 小片
blacken  v. 变黑，发暗


参考译文
    消防队员们同那场森林大火搏斗了将近3个星期才最后把火势控制住。就在不久之前，参天大树还覆盖着方圆数英里的土地。而现在，发热的地面上仍然升腾着烟雾，弥漫在荒凉的山丘上。冬季即将来临，这些山丘对周围的村庄具有毁灭性的威胁，因为大雨不仅会冲走土壤，而且还会引起严重的水灾。在大火最后被扑灭后，森林管理当局订购了好几吨一种生长迅速的特殊类型的草籽。飞机把这种草籽大量地撒播在地上。飞机撒播近一个月后，开始下起雨来。然而到那时，很多地方的草已经生了根。一片片的绿草开始出现在这片烧焦的土地上，代替了多少世纪以来一直生长在那里的参天大树。

亦汐

63.





Lesson63 She was not amused 她并不觉得好笑


Geoffrey Hampden has a large circle of friends and is very popular at parties. Everybody admires him for his fine sense of humor--everybody, that is, except his six-year-old daughter, Jenny. Recently, one of Geoffrey's closest friends asked him to make a speech at a wedding reception. This is the sort of thing that Geoffrey loves. He prepared the speech carefully and went to the wedding with Jenny. He had included a large number of funny stories in the speech and, of course, it was a great success. As soon as he had finished, Jenny told him she wanted to go home. Geoffrey was a little disappointed by this but he did as his daughter asked. On the way home, he asked Jenny if she had enjoyed the speech. To his surprise, she said she hadn't. Geoffrey asked her why this was so and she told him that she did not like to see so many people laughing at him!




杰里米.汉普登交际甚广，是各种聚会上深受大家欢迎的人。人人都钦佩他那绝妙的幽默感 -- 人人，就是说，除他6岁的女儿珍妮之外的每一个人。最近，杰里米的一个最亲密的朋友请他在一个婚礼上祝词。这正是杰里米喜欢做的事情。他认真准备了讲稿，带着珍妮一道去参加了婚礼。他的祝词里面加进了大量逗人的故事，自然大获成功。他刚一讲完，珍妮就对他说她要回家。这不免使杰里米有点扫兴，但他还是按照女儿的要求做了。在回家的路上，他问珍妮是否喜欢他的祝词。使他吃惊的是，她说她不喜欢。杰里米问他为何不喜欢，她说她不愿意看到那么多的人嘲笑他

亦汐

64.




Lesson64 The Channel Tunnel 海峡隧道


In l858, a French engineer, Aime Thome de Gamond, arrived in England with a plan for a twenty-one mile tunnel across the English Channel. He said that it would be possible to build a platform in the centre of the Channel. This platform would serve as a port and a railway station. The tunnel would be well-ventilated if tall chimneys were built above sea-level. In 1860, a better plan was put forward by an Englishman, William Low. He suggested that a double railway tunnel should be built. This would solve the problem of ventilation, for if a train entered this tunnel, it would draw in fresh air behind it. Forty-two years later a tunnel was actually begun. If, at the time, the British had not feared invasion, it would have been completed. Recently, there has again been great interest in the idea of a Channel Tunnel. If it is built, it will connect Britain to Europe for the first time in history.





1858年，一位名叫埃梅.托梅.德.干蒙的法国工程师带着建造一条长21英里、穿越英吉利海陕的隧道计划到了英国。他说，可以在隧道中央建造一座平台，这座平台将用作码头和火车站。如果再建些伸出海面的高大的烟囱状通风管，隧道就具备了良好的通风条件。1860年，一位名叫威廉.洛的英国人提出了一项更好的计划。他提议建一条双轨隧道，这样就解决了通风问题。因为如果有列火车开进隧道，它就把新鲜空气随之抽进了隧道。42年以后，隧道实际已经开始建了。如果不是因为那时英国人害怕入侵，隧道早已建成了。世界不得不再等将近100年才看到海峡隧道竣工。它于1994年3月7日正式开通，将英国与欧洲大陆连到了一起。

亦汐

65.





Lesson65 Jumbo versus the police 小象对警察
Last Christmas, the circus owner, Jimmy Gates, decided to take some presents to a children's hospital. Dressed up as Father Christmas and accompanied by a 'guard of honour' of six pretty girls, he set off down the main street of the city riding a baby elephant called Jumbo. He, should have known that the police would never allow this sort of thing. A policeman approached Jimmy and told him he ought to have gone along a side-street as Jumbo was holding up the traffic. Though Jimmy agreed to go at once, Jumbo refused to move. Fifteen policemen had to push very hard to get him off the main street. The police had a difficult time, but they were most amused. 'Jumbo must weigh a few tons,' said a policeman afterwards, 'so it was fortunate that we didn't have to carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, but as he has a good record, we shall let him off this time.'




去年圣诞节，马戏团老板吉米.盖茨决定送些礼物给儿童医院。他打扮成圣诞老人，在由6个漂亮姑娘组成的“仪仗队”的陪同下，骑上一头名叫江伯的小象，沿着城里的主要街道出发了。他本该知道警察绝不会允许这类事情发生。一个警察走过来告诉吉米，他应该走一条小路，因为江泊阻碍了交通。虽然吉米同意马上就走，但江伯却拒绝移动。15个警察不得不用很大的力气把它推离主要街道。警察虽然吃了苦头，但他们还是感到很有趣。“江伯一定有好几吨重，”一个警察事后这样说，“值得庆幸的是它没让我们抬它走。当然，我们应该逮捕它，但由于它一贯表现很好，这次我们饶了它。”

亦汐

66.




Lesson66 Sweet as honey! 像蜜一样甜！


The Hatheld Puffin is a modern aero-plane, but its designer, Mr John Wimpenny, is finding it difficult to get it off the ground. The reason for this is that this plane is also a bicycle. Its pilot has to pedal hard to get it into the air. After Mr Wimpenny had the plane built, it was tested thoroughly. In 1961, it was the first man-powered aircraft to fly half a mile. While being flown by a champion amateur cyclist in 1963, the plane crashed on an airfield. Since then, Mr Wimpenny has had it rebuilt. He has had the length of the wings increased so that they now measure 93 feet--almost as long as those of a Dakota. Many people have shown interest in this new and unusual sport. But though air cyclists may learn how to fly over short distances, and may, eventually, even get across the English Channel, it is doubtful whether they will ever cycle across the Atlantic.



1963年，一架兰开斯特轰炸机在瓦立斯岛毁。那是南太洋中一个很偏僻的小岛，位于萨摩亚群岛以西，距离群岛还有很长一段距离。飞机损坏的程度并不严重，但是，多年来这起飞机失事已被遗忘，飞机残骸也没受到破坏。于是，到了1989年，飞机失事26年后，在对小岛的一次航空勘查中那架飞机被意外地发现了。到了那个时候，状况良好的兰开斯特轰炸机实属罕见，值得抢救。法国政府让人把飞机包装起来，一部分一部分地搬回法国。一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。该飞机装装配有4台罗尔斯-罗伊斯的默林发动机，但是他们只需要修复其中的3台。想一想他们所感受到的惊奇和兴奋 —— 当他们拆开包装箱时，他们发现第4台发动机就像蜂蜜一样甜 —— 发动机完好无损。一群蜜蜂把发动机当作了蜂房，发动机在蜂蜡中被完整地保存了下来。

亦汐

67.




Lesson67 Volcanoes 火山


Haroun Tazieff the Polish scientist, has spent his life-time studying active volcanoes and deep caves in all parts of the world. In 1948, he went to lake Kivu in the Congo to observe a new volcano which he later named Kituro. Tazieff was able to set up his camp very close to the volcano while it was erupting violently. Though he managed to take a number of brilliant photographs, he could not stay near the volcano for very long. He noticed that a river of liquid rock was coming towards him. It threatened to surround him completely, but Tazieff managed to escape just in time. He waited until the volcano became quiet and he was able to return two days later. This time, he managed to climb into the mouth of Kituro so that he could take photographs  and measure temperatures. Tazieff has often risked his life in this way. He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive.




波兰科学家哈罗恩.塔捷耶夫花了毕生的精力来研究世界各地的活火山和探洞。1948年他去了刚果的基伍湖，对一座后来被他命名为基图罗的新火山进行观察。当火山正在猛烈地喷发时，塔捷耶夫有办法把帐篷搭在离它非常近的地方。尽管他设法拍了一些十分精彩的照片，但他却不能在火山附近停留太长的时间。他发现有一股岩浆正向他流过来，眼看就要将他团团围住，但塔捷耶夫还是设法及时逃离了。他等到火山平静下来，两天以后又返回去。这次他设法爬进了基图罗火山口，以便能拍摄照片和测试温度。塔捷耶夫经常冒这样的生命危险。他能告诉我们的有关活火山的情况比任何在世的人都要多。

亦汐

68.




Lesson68 Persistent 纠缠不休
I crossed the street to avoid meeting him, but he saw me and came running towards me. It was no use pretending that I had not seen him, so I waved to him. I never enjoy meeting Bert Dykes. He never has anything to do. No matter how busy you are, he always insists on coming with you. I had to think of a way of preventing him from following me around all morning.
'Hullo, Bert,' I said. 'Fancy meeting you here !'
'Hullo, Elizabeth,' Bert answered. ' I was just wondering how to spend the morning--until I saw you. You're not busy doing anything, are you ?'
' No, not at all,' I answered.' I'm going to.. .'
'Would you mind my coming with you ?' he asked, before I had finished speaking.
‘ Not at all,' I lied, 'but I'm going to the dentist.'
' Then I'll come with you,' he answered.' There's always plenty to read in the 'waiting room !'




我穿过马路以便避开他，但他看到我并朝我跑过来。若再装作没看见他已是没有用了，我只好向他招手。我就怕遇到奈杰尔.戴克斯。他从来都是无事可做，不管你多忙，他总是坚持要跟你去。我得想办法不让他整个上午缠着我。

“你好，奈杰尔，想不到在这儿见到你。”我说。

“你好，伊丽莎白，”奈杰尔回答说，“我正不知道怎么消磨这一上午呢，正好见到好。你不忙，是吗？”

“不，不忙，我打算去......”我回答。

“我跟你一道去行吗？”没等我说完话他就问道。

“没关系，但我准备去牙医那里。”我说了个谎。
“那我也跟你去，候诊室里总有很多东西可供阅读！”他回答。

亦汐

69.




lesson69 But not murder! 并非谋杀！


I was being tested for a driving licence for the third time. I had been asked to drive in heavy traffic and had done so successfully. After having been instructed to drive out of town, I began to acquire confidence. Sure that I had passed, I was almost beginning to enjoy my test. The examiner must have been pleased with my performance, for he smiled and said, 'Just one more thing, Mr Eames. Let us suppose that a child suddenly crosses the road in front of you. As soon as I tap on the window, I want the car to be stopped immediately.' I continued driving and after some time, the examiner tapped loudly. Though the sound could be heard clearly, it took me a long time to react. I suddenly pressed the brake pedal hard and we were both thrown forward. The examiner looked at me sadly. 'Mr Eames,' he said, in a mournful voice,' you have just killed that child !'


我第3次接受驾驶执照考试。按照要求在车辆拥挤的路上驾驶，我圆满地完成了。在接到把车开出城的指令后，我开始有了信心。确信我已通过考试，所以我几乎开始喜欢起这次考试。主考人对我的驾驶想必是满意的，因为他微笑着说：“埃姆斯先生，只剩1项了。让我们假设一个小孩子突然在你前面穿过马路。我一敲车窗，你必须把车停在5英尺之内。”我继续往前开着。过了一会儿，主考人砰砰地敲了起来。虽然声音听得很清楚，但我过了好一会儿才作出反应。我突然用力踩紧刹车踏板，结果我俩的身体都向前冲去。主考人伤心地看着我。“埃姆斯先生，”他以悲伤的声调说，“你刚刚把那个小孩压死了！”

亦汐

70.




lesson70  Red for danger 危险的红色


During a bullfight, a drunk suddenly wandered into the middle of the ring. The crowd began to shout, but the drunk was unaware of the danger. The bull was busy with the matador at the time, but it suddenly caught sight of the drunk who was shouting rude remarks and waving a red cap. Apparently sensitive to criticism, the bull forgot all about the matador and charged at the drunk. The crowd suddenly grew quiet. The drunk, however, seemed quite sure of himself. When the bull got close to him, he clumsily stepped aside to let it pass. The crowd broke into cheers and the drunk bowed. By this time, however, three men had come into the ring and they quickly dragged the drunk to safety. Even the bull seemed to feel sorry for him, for it looked on sympathetically until the drunk was out of the way before once more turning its attention to the matador.




在一次斗牛时，一个醉汉突然溜达到斗牛场中间，人们开始大叫起来，但醉汉却没有意识到危险。当时那公牛正忙于对付斗牛士，但突然它看见了醉汉，只见他正大声说着粗鲁的话，手里挥动着一顶红帽子。对挑衅显然非常敏感的公牛完全撇开斗牛士，直奔醉汉而来。观众突然静了下来，可这醉汉像是很有把握似的。当公牛逼近他时，他踉跄地住旁边一闪，牛扑空了。观众欢呼起来，醉汉向人们鞠躬致谢。然而，此时已有3个人进入斗牛场，迅速把醉汉拉到安全的地方。好像连牛也在为他感到遗憾，因为它一直同情地看着醉汉，直到他的背影消逝，才重新将注意力转向斗牛士。

亦汐

71




Lesson71 A famous clock 一个著名的大钟


When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C. If the Houses of Parliament had hot been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected. Big Ben takes its name from Sir Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the making of the clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built. It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well. Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day. On the B.B.C. you can hear the clock when it is actually striking because microphones are connected to the clock tower. Big Ben has rarely gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give the correct time. A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down !


当你游览伦敦时，首先看到的东西之一就是“大本”钟，即那座从英国广播公司的广播中全世界都可以听到它的声音的著名大钟。如果不是国会大厦在1834年被焚毁的话，这座大钟永远也不会建造。“大本”钟得名于本杰明.霍尔爵士，因为当建造新的国会大厦时，他负责建造大钟。此钟不仅外型巨大，而且走时也非常准确。格林尼治天文台的官员们每天两次派人矫正此钟。当大钟打点的时候，你可以从英国广播公司的广播中听到，因为钟塔上接了麦克风。“大本”钟很多出差错。然而有一次，它却把时间报错。在钟塔上干活的一位油漆工把一只油漆桶挂在了一根指针上，把钟弄慢了！

亦汐

72.




Lesson72 A car called Bluebird “蓝鸟”汽车


The great racing driver, Sir Malcolm Campbell, was the first man to drive at over 300 miles per hour. He set up a new world record in September 1935 at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Bluebird, the car he was driving, had been specially built for him. It was over 30 feet in length and had a 2500 horse-power engine. Although Campbell reached a speed of over 304 miles per hour, he had great difficulty in controlling the car because a tyre burst during the first run. After his attempt, Campbell was disappointed to learn that his average speed had been 299 miles per hour. However, a few days later, he was told that a mistake had been made. His average speed had been 301 miles per hour. Since that time, racing drivers have reached speeds of over 400 miles an hour. Following  his father's footsteps many years later, Sir Malcolm's son, Donald, also set up a world record. Like his father, he was driving a car called Bluebird.


杰出的赛车选手马尔科姆.坎贝尔爵士是第一个以每小时超过300英里的速度驾车的人。他于1935年9月在犹他州的邦纳维尔盐滩创造了一项新的世界纪录。他驾驶的“蓝鸟”牌汽车是专门为他制造的。它的车身长30英尺，有一个2,500 马力的发动机。尽管坎贝尔达到了每小时超过304英里的速度，但他很难把汽车控制住，因为在开始的行程中爆了一只轮胎。比赛结束后，坎贝尔非常失望地得知他的平均时速是299英里。然而，几天之后，有人告诉他说弄错了。他的平均时速实际是301英里。从那时以来，赛车选手已达到每小时600英里的速度。很多年之后，马尔科姆爵士的儿子唐纳德踏着父亲的足迹，也创造了一项世界纪录。同他父亲一样，他也驾驶着一辆名叫“蓝鸟”的汽车。

亦汐

73.




Lesson73 The record-holder 纪录保持者


Little boys who play truant from school are unimaginative. A quiet day's fishing, or eight hours in a cinema seeing the same film over and over again, is usually as far as they get. They have all been put to shame by a boy who, while playing truant, travelled 1600 miles. He hitch- hiked to Dover and, towards evening, went into a boat to find somewhere to sleep. When he woke up next morning, he discovered that the boat had, in the meantime, travelled to Calais. No one noticed the boy as he crept off. From there, he hitch-hiked to Paris in a lorry. The driver gave him a few biscuits and a cup of coffee and left him just outside the city. The next car the boy stopped did not take him into the centre of Paris as he hoped it would, but to Perpignan on the French-Spanish border. There he was picked up by a policeman and sent back to England by the local authorities. He has surely set up a record for the thousands of boys who dream of evading school.




逃学的孩子们都缺乏想像力。他们通常能够做到的，至多也就是安静地钓上一天鱼，或在电影院里坐上8个小时，一遍遍地看同一部电影。而有那么一个小男孩，他在逃学期间旅行了1,600英里，从而使上述所有逃学的孩子们都相形见绌了。他搭便车到了多佛，天快黑时钻进了一条船，想找个地方睡觉。第二天早上他醒来时，发现船在这段时间已经到了加。当男孩从船里爬出来时，谁也没有发现他。从那里他又搭上卡车到了巴黎。司机给了他几块饼干和一杯咖啡，就把他丢在了城外。男孩截住的下一辆车，没有像他希望的那样把他带到巴黎市中心，而是把他带到了法国和西班牙边界上的佩皮尼昂。他在那儿被一个警察抓住了，之后被当局送回了英国。他无疑为成千上万梦想逃避上学的孩子们创造了一项纪录。

亦汐

74.




Lesson74 Out of the limelight 舞台之外


An ancient bus stopped by a dry river bed and a party of famous actors and actresses got off. Dressed in dark glasses and old clothes, they had taken special precautions so that no one should recognize them. But as they soon discovered, disguises can sometimes be too perfect.
'This is a wonderful place for a picnic,' said Gloria Gleam.
' It couldn't be better, Gloria,' Brinksley Meers agreed. 'No newspaper men, no film fans! Why don't we come more often ?'
Meanwhile, two other actors, Rockwall Slinger and Merlin Greeves, had carried two large food baskets to a shady spot under some trees. When they had all made themselves comfortable, a stranger appeared. He looked very angry.
'Now you gut out of here, all of you!' he shouted: ' I'm sheriff here. Do you see that notice ? It says" No Camping"-in case you can't read !'
' Look, sheriff, 'said Rockwall,' don't be too hard on us. I'm Rockwall Slinger and this is Merlin Greeves.'
' Oh, is it ?' said the sheriff with a sneer. 'Well, I'm Brinksley Meers, and my other name is Gloria Gleam. Now you get out of here fast !'


一辆古旧的汽车停在一条干涸的河床边，一群著名男女演员下了车。他们戴着墨镜，穿着旧衣裳，特别小心以防别人认出他们。但他们很快就发觉，化装的效果有时过分完美了。

“在这个地方野餐简直太妙了，”格格利亚.格利姆说。
　　“是再好不过的了，格格利亚。”布林克斯利.米尔斯表示同意，“没有记者，没有影迷！我们为什么不经常来这里呢？”
　　“此时，另外两位演员，罗克沃尔.斯林格和默林.格里夫斯，已经把两个大食品篮子提到了一片树荫下。当他们都已安排舒适时，一个陌生人出现了。他看上去非常气愤。“你们都从这里走开，全都走开！”他大叫着，“我是这里的司法长官。你们看到那个布告牌了吗？上面写着‘禁止野营’－－除非你们不识字！”
　　“好了，好了，司法官，”罗克沃尔说，“别使我们难堪。我是罗克沃尔.斯林格，这位是默林.格里夫斯。”
　　“噢，是吗？”那位司法长官冷笑一声说道，“好，我就是布林克斯利.米尔斯。我还有一个名字叫格格利亚.格利姆。现在你们赶快滚吧！”

亦汐

75.




lesson75  SOS 呼救信号


When a light passenger plane flew off course some time ago, it crashed in the mountains and its pilot was killed. The only passengers, a young woman and her two baby daughters, were unhurt. It was the middle of winter. Snow  lay thick on the ground. The woman knew that the nearest village was miles away. When it grew dark. she turned a suitcase into a bed and put the children inside it, covering them with all the clothes she could find. During the night, it got terribly cold. The woman kept as near as she could to the children and even tried to get into the case herself, but it was too small. Early ,next morning she heard planes passing overhead and wondered how she could send a signal. Then she had an idea. She stamped out the letters' SOS' in the snow. Fortunately, a pilot saw the signal and sent a message by radio to the nearest town. It was not long before a helicopter arrived on the scene to rescue the survivors of the plane crash.


不久前，一架轻型客机偏离了航线，在山区坠毁，飞行员丧生。机上仅有的乘客，一位年轻的妇女和她的两个女婴却平安无事。此时正值隆冬季节，地上积着厚厚的雪。这位妇女知道，即使最近的村庄也有数英里远。天黑下来的时候，她把提箱当作小床，把两个孩子放了进去，又把所有能找到的衣服都盖在了孩子们身上。夜里，天冷得厉害。这位妇女尽可能地靠近孩子，甚至自己也想钻进箱子里去，只是箱子太小了。第二天一大早，她听到头顶上有飞机飞过，但不知道怎样才能发个信号。后来她有了一个主意。她在雪地上踩出了“SOS”这3个字母。幸运得很，一位飞行员看到这个信号，用无线电给最近的城镇发了报。不久，一架直升飞机飞抵飞机失事现场，来搭救这几个幸存者。

亦汐

76.




Lesson76 April Fools Day 愚人节


'To end our special news bulletin,' said the voice of the television announcer,' we are taking you to the macaroni fields of Calabria. Macaroni has been grown in this area for over six hundred years. Two of the leading growers, Giuseppe Moldova and Ricardo Brabante, tell me that they have been expecting a splendid crop this year and harvesting has begun earlier than usual. Here you can see two workers who, between them, have just finished cutting three cart-loads of golden brown

macaroni stalks. The whole village has been working day and night gathering and threshing this year's crop before the September rains. On the right, you can see Mrs Brabante herself. She has been helping her husband for thirty years now. Mrs Brabante is talking to the manager of the local  factory where the crop is processed. This last scene shows you what will happen at the end of the harvest : the famous Calabrian macaroni-eating competition ! Signor Fratelli, the present champion, has won it every year since 1961. And that ends our special bulletin for today, Thursday, April 1st. We are now returning you to the studio.'

“作为我们专题新闻节目的结尾，”电视广播员说，“我们现在到克拉布利亚的通心粉田里。通心粉在这个地区已经种植了600多年了。两个主要种植者，朱塞皮.莫尔道瓦和里卡多.布拉班特告诉我，他们一直期待着今年获得一个大丰收，收割工作比往年开始要早些。这里您可以看到两个工人，他们协力割下了3车金黄色的通心粉秸。全村的人都日夜奋战，要赶在9月的雨季之前把今年的庄稼收获上来，打完场。在屏幕的右侧，您可以看到布拉班特太太本人，她已经帮了她的丈夫30年了。布拉班特太太现在正和负责通心粉加工的当地加工厂的经理交谈。这最后一个镜头向您展示了收获之后将发生的事情：著名的克拉布利亚人吃通心粉大赛！目前的冠军弗拉特里先生，自1991年以来，年年获胜。今天 -- 4月1日，星期四--的专题新闻节目到此结束。现在我们回到电视演播室。”

亦汐

77.




Lesson77 A successful operation 一例成功的手术


The mummy of an Egyptian woman who died in 800 B.C. has just had an operation. The mummy is that of Shepenmut who was once a singer in the Temple of Thebes. As there were strange marks on the X-ray plates taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease. The only way to do this was to operate. The operation, which lasted for over four hours, proved to be very difficult because of the hard resin which covered the skin. The doctors removed a section of the mummy and sent it to a laboratory. They also found something which the X-ray of the god Duamutef. This god which has the head of a cow was normally placed

inside a mummy. The doctors have not yet decided how the woman died. They feared that the mummy would fall to pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has not happened. The mummy successfully survived the operation.


死于公元前800年的一位埃及妇女的木乃伊刚刚接受了一次手术。这是曾在底比斯神殿里当过歌手的赛潘姆特的木乃伊。由于在给这个木乃伊拍摄的X光片子上有点奇怪的斑点，所以，医生们一直试图搞清这位妇女是否死于一种罕见的疾病。搞清的唯一办法就是手术。手术持续了4个多小时，非常难做，因为皮肤上覆盖着一层硬硬的树脂。医生们从木乃伊身上取下一个切片，送去化验。他们还发现了X光片所没有显示的东西：一个蜡制的杜瓦木特夫神小塑像。这种牛头人身的神像通常被放在木乃伊体内。医生们至今还未确定这位妇女的死因。他们曾担心在把木乃伊切开后，它会散成碎片，但幸运得很，这种情况并未发生。这具木乃伊成功地经受了这次手术。