新概念英語(yǔ)第二冊(cè)課文.doc

Lesson 1 A private conversation 私人談話(huà)Last week I went to the theatre. I had a very good seat. The play was very interesting. I did not enjoy it. A young man and a young woman were sitting behind me. They were talking loudly. I got very angry. I could not hear the actors. I turned round. I looked at the man and the woman angrily. They did not pay any attention. In the end, I could not bear it. I turned round again. I cant hear a word! I said angrily. Its none of your business, the young man said rudely. This is a private conversation!.上星期我去看戲。我的座位很好，戲很有意思，但我卻無(wú)法欣賞。一青年男子與一青年女子坐在我的身后，大聲地說(shuō)著話(huà)。我非常生氣，因?yàn)槲衣?tīng)不見(jiàn)演員在說(shuō)什么。我回過(guò)頭去怒視著那一男一女，他們卻毫不理會(huì)。最后，我忍不住了，又一次回過(guò)頭去，生氣地說(shuō)：“我一個(gè)字也聽(tīng)不見(jiàn)了！” “不關(guān)你的事，”那男的毫不客氣地說(shuō)，“這是私人間的談話(huà)！”Lesson 2 Breakfast or lunch? 早餐還是午餐？It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays. I sometimes stay in bed until lunch time.Last Sunday I got up very late. I looked out of the window. It was dark outside.What a day! I thought. Its raining again. Just then, the telephone rang. It was my aunt Lucy. Ive just arrived by train, she said. Im coming to see you. But Im still having breakfast, I said.What are you doing? she asked. Im having breakfast, I repeated.Dear me, she said. Do you always get up so late? Its one oclock!那是個(gè)星期天，而在星期天我是從來(lái)不早起的，有時(shí)我要一直躺到吃午飯的時(shí)候。上個(gè)星期天，我起得很晚。我望望窗外，外面一片昏暗?！肮硖鞖猓　蔽蚁?，“又下雨了?！闭谶@時(shí)，電話(huà)鈴響了。是我姑母露西打來(lái)的?！拔覄傁禄疖?chē)，”她說(shuō)，“我這就來(lái)看你。” “但我還在吃早飯，”我說(shuō)。 “你在干什么？”她問(wèn)道。 “我正在吃早飯，”我又說(shuō)了一遍?！疤彀。彼f(shuō)，“你總是起得這么晚嗎？現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)1點(diǎn)鐘了！”Lesson 3 Please send me a card 請(qǐng)給我寄一張明信片Postcards always spoil my holidays. Last summer, I went to Italy. I visited museums and sat in public gardens. A friendly waiter taught me a few words ofItalian. Then he lent me a book. I read a few lines, but I did not understand a word. Every day I thought about postcards. My holidays passed quickly, but I did not send any cards to my friends. On the last day I made a big decision. I got up early and bought thirty-seven cards. I spent the whole day in my room, but I did not write a single card!明信片總攪得我假日不得安寧。去年夏天，我去了意大利。我參觀(guān)了博物館，還去了公園。一位好客的服務(wù)員教了我?guī)拙湟獯罄Z(yǔ)，之后還借給我一本書(shū)。我讀了幾行，但一個(gè)字也不懂。我每天都想著明信片的事。假期過(guò)得真快，可我還沒(méi)有給我的朋友們寄過(guò)一張明信片。到了最后一天，我作出了一項(xiàng)重大決定。我早早起了床，買(mǎi)來(lái)了37張明信片。我在房間里關(guān)了整整一天。然而竟連一張明信片也沒(méi)寫(xiě)成！Lesson 4 An exciting trip 激動(dòng)人心的旅行I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has already visited a great number of different places in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin. From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad before, so he is finding this trip very exciting.我剛剛收到弟弟蒂姆的來(lái)信，他正在澳大利亞。他在那兒已經(jīng)住了6個(gè)月了。蒂姆是個(gè)工程師，正在一家大公司工作，并且已經(jīng)去過(guò)澳大利亞的不少地方了。他剛買(mǎi)了一輛澳大利亞小汽車(chē)，現(xiàn)在去了澳大利亞中部的小鎮(zhèn)艾利斯斯普林斯。他不久還將到達(dá)達(dá)爾文去，從那里，他再飛往珀斯。我弟弟以前從未出過(guò)國(guó)，因此，他覺(jué)得這次旅行非常激動(dòng)人心。Lesson 5 No wrong numbers 無(wú)錯(cuò)號(hào)之虞Mr. James Scott has a garage in Silbury and now he has just bought another garage in Pinhurst. Pinhurst is only five miles from Silbury, but Mr. Scott cannot get a telephone for his new garage, so he has just bought twelve pigeons. Yesterday, a pigeon carried the first message from Pinhurst to Silbury. The bird covered the distance in three minutes. Up to now, Mr. Scott has sent a great many requests for spare parts and other urgent messages from one garage to the other. In this way, he has begun his own private telephone service.詹姆斯.斯科特先生在錫爾伯里有一個(gè)汽車(chē)修理部，現(xiàn)在他剛在平赫斯特買(mǎi)了另一個(gè)汽車(chē)修理部。平赫特離錫爾伯里只有5英里，但詹姆斯.斯科特先生未能為他新的汽車(chē)修理部搞到一部電話(huà)機(jī)，所以他買(mǎi)了只鴿子。昨天，一只鴿子把第一封信從平赫特帶到錫爾伯里。這只鳥(niǎo)只用了3分鐘就飛完了全程。到目前為止，斯科特先生從一個(gè)汽車(chē)修理部向另一個(gè)發(fā)送了大量索取備件的信件和其他緊急函件。就這樣，他開(kāi)始自己的私人“電話(huà)”業(yè)務(wù)。Lesson 6 Percy Buttons 珀西巴頓斯I have just moved to a house in Bridge Street. Yesterday a beggar knocked at my door. He asked me for a meal and a glass of beer. In return for this, the beggar stood on his head and sang songs. I gave him a meal. He ate the food and drank the beer. Then he put a piece of cheese in his pocket and went away. Later a neighbor told me about him. Everybody knows him. His name is Percy Buttons. He calls at every house in the street once a month and always asks for a meal and a glass of beer.我剛剛搬進(jìn)了大橋街的一所房子。昨天一個(gè)乞丐來(lái)敲我的門(mén)，問(wèn)我要一頓飯和一杯啤酒。作為回報(bào)，那乞丐頭頂?shù)氐沽⑵饋?lái)，嘴里還唱著歌。我給了他一頓飯。他把食物吃完，又喝了酒。然后把一塊乳酪裝進(jìn)衣袋里走了。后來(lái)，一位鄰居告訴了我他的情況。大家都認(rèn)識(shí)他，他叫珀西.巴頓斯。他每月對(duì)這條街上的每戶(hù)人家光顧一次，總是請(qǐng)求給他一頓飯和一杯啤酒。Lesson 7 Too late 為時(shí)太晚The plane was late and detectives were waiting at the airport all morning. They were expecting a valuable parcel of diamond from South Africa. A few hours earlier, someone had told the police that thieves would try to steal the diamonds. When the plane arrived, some of the detectives were waiting inside the main building while others were waiting on the airfield. Two men took the parcel off the plane and carried it into the Customs House. While two detectives were keeping guard at the door, two others opened the parcel. To their surprise, the precious parcel was full of stones and sand!飛機(jī)誤點(diǎn)了，偵探們?cè)跈C(jī)場(chǎng)等了整整一上午。他們正期待從南非來(lái)的一個(gè)裝著鉆石的貴重包裹。數(shù)小時(shí)以前，有人向警方報(bào)告，說(shuō)有人企圖偷走這些鉆石。當(dāng)飛機(jī)到達(dá)時(shí)，一些偵探等候在主樓內(nèi)，另一些偵探則守候在停機(jī)坪上。有兩個(gè)人把包裹拿下飛機(jī)，進(jìn)了海關(guān)。這時(shí)兩個(gè)偵探把住門(mén)口，另外兩個(gè)偵探打開(kāi)了包裹。令他們吃驚的是，那珍貴的包裹里面裝的全是石頭和沙子！Lesson 8 The best and the worst 最好的和最差的Joe Sanders has the most beautiful garden in our town. Nearly everybody enters for The Nicest Garden Competition each year, but Joe wins every time. Bill Friths garden is larger than Joes. Bill works harder than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but Joes garden is more interesting. He has made neat paths and has built a wooden bridge over a pool. I like gardens too, but I do not like hard work. Every year I enter for the garden competition too, and I always win a little prize for the worst garden in the town!喬.桑德斯擁有我們鎮(zhèn)上最漂亮的花園。幾乎每個(gè)人都參加每年舉辦的“最佳花園競(jìng)賽”，而每次都是喬獲勝。比爾.弗里斯的花園比喬的花園大，他比喬也更為勤奮，種植的花卉和蔬菜也更多，但喬的花園更富有情趣。他修筑了一條條整潔的小路，并在一個(gè)池塘上架了一座小木橋。我也喜歡花園，但我卻不愿意辛勤勞動(dòng)。每年的花園競(jìng)賽我也參加，但總因是鎮(zhèn)上最劣的花園而獲得一個(gè)小獎(jiǎng)！Lesson 9 A cold welcome 冷遇On Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall. It was the last day of the year and a large crowd of people had gathered under the Town Hall clock. It would strike twelve in twenty minutes time. Fifteen minutes passed and then, at five to twelve, the clock stopped. The big minute hand did not move. We waited and waited, but nothing happened. Suddenly someone shouted, Its two minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped! I looked at my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to welcome the New Year. At that moment everybody began to laugh and sing.星期三的晚上，我們?nèi)チ耸姓d。 那是一年的最后一天，一大群人聚集在市政廳的大鐘下面。再過(guò)20分鐘，大鐘將敲響12下。15分鐘過(guò)去了，而就在11點(diǎn)55分時(shí)，大鐘停了。那根巨大的分針不動(dòng)了。 我們等啊等啊，可情況沒(méi)有變化。突然有人喊道：“已經(jīng)12點(diǎn)零2分了！那鐘已經(jīng)停了！”我看了一下我的手表，果真如此。那座大鐘不愿意迎接新年。此時(shí)，大家已經(jīng)笑了起來(lái)，同時(shí)唱起了歌。Lesson 10 Not for jazz 不適于演奏爵士樂(lè)We have an old musical instrument. It is called a clavichord(翼琴). It was made in Germany in 1681. Our clavichord is kept in the living-room. It has belonged to our family for a long time. The instrument was bought by my grandfather many years ago. Recently it was damaged by a visitor. She tried to play jazz on it! She struck the keys too hard and two of the strings were broken. My father was shocked. Now we are not allowed to touch it. It is being repaired by a friend of my fathers.我家有件古樂(lè)器，被稱(chēng)作古鋼琴，是1681年德國(guó)造的。我們的這架古鋼琴存放在起居室里。我們家有這件樂(lè)器已經(jīng)很久了， 是我祖父在很多年以前買(mǎi)的。可它最近被一個(gè)客人弄壞了，因?yàn)樗盟鼇?lái)彈奏爵士樂(lè)。她在擊琴鍵時(shí)用力過(guò)猛，損壞了兩根琴弦。我父親大為吃驚，不許我們?cè)賱?dòng)它。父親的一個(gè)朋友正在修理這件樂(lè)器。Lesson 11 One good turn deserves another 禮尚往來(lái)I was having dinner at a restaurant when Harry Steele came in. Harry worked in a lawyers office years ago, but he is now working at a bank. He gets a good salary, but he always borrows money from his friends and never pays it back. Harry saw me and came and sat at the same table. He has never borrowed money from me. While he was eating, I asked him to lend me twenty pounds. To my surprise, he gave me the money immediately. I have never borrowed any money from you, Harry said, so now you can pay for my dinner!我正在一家飯館吃飯，托尼.斯蒂爾走了進(jìn)來(lái)。托尼曾在一家律師事務(wù)所工作，而現(xiàn)在正在一家銀行上班。他的薪水很高，但他卻總是向朋友借錢(qián)，并且從來(lái)不還。托尼看見(jiàn)了我，就走過(guò)來(lái)和我坐到一張桌子前。他從未向我借過(guò)錢(qián)。當(dāng)他吃飯時(shí)，我提出向他借20英鎊。令我驚奇的是，他立刻把錢(qián)給了我?！拔疫€從未向你借過(guò)錢(qián)，”托尼說(shuō)道，“所以現(xiàn)在你可以替我付飯錢(qián)了！”Lesson 12 Goodbye and good luck 再見(jiàn)，一路順風(fēng)Our neighbor, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from Portsmouth tomorrow. We shall meet him at the harbour early in the morning. He will be in his small boat; Topsail.Tapsail is a famous little boat. It has sailed across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will set out at eight oclock so we shall have plenty of time. We shall see his boat and then we shall say good-bye to him. He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him. He will take part in an important race across the Atlantic.我們的鄰居查爾斯.艾利森船長(zhǎng)明天就要從樸次茅斯啟航了。明天一大早我們將在碼頭為他送行。他將乘坐他的“濤波賽”號(hào)小艇?！皾ㄙ悺碧?hào)是艘有名的小艇，它已經(jīng)多次橫渡大西洋。艾利森船長(zhǎng)將于8點(diǎn)鐘啟航，因此我們有充裕的時(shí)間。我們將參觀(guān)他的船，然后和他告別。他要離開(kāi)兩個(gè)月，我們真為他感到自豪，他將參加一次重大的橫渡大西洋的比賽。Lesson 13 The Greenwood Boys 綠林少年The Greenwood Boys are a group of popular singers. At present, they are visiting all parts of the country. They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be coming by train and most of the youngpeople in the town will be meeting them at the station. Tomorrow evening they will be singing at the Workers Club. The Greenwood Boys will be staying for five days. During this time, they will give five performances. As usual, the police will have a difficult time. They will be trying to keep order. It is always the same on these occasions.“綠林少年”是一個(gè)流行歌曲演唱團(tuán)。目前他們正在全國(guó)各地巡回演出，明天就要到達(dá)此地。他們將乘火車(chē)來(lái)，鎮(zhèn)上的大部分青年人將到車(chē)站迎接他們。明晚他們將在工人俱樂(lè)部演出。“綠林少年”準(zhǔn)備在此逗留5天。在此期間，他們將演出5場(chǎng)。同往常一樣，警察的日子將不好過(guò)，他們將設(shè)法維持秩序。每逢這種場(chǎng)合，情況都是這樣。Lesson 14 Do you speak English? 你會(huì)講英語(yǔ)嗎？I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left a small village in the south of France, I drove on to the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I stopped and he asked me for a lift. As soon as he had got into the car, I said good morning to him in French and he replied in the same language. Apart from a few words, I do not know any French at all. Neither of us spoke during the journey. I had nearly reached the town, when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, Do you speak English? As I soon learnt, he was English himself!去年我有過(guò)一次有趣的經(jīng)歷。在離開(kāi)法國(guó)南部的一個(gè)小村莊后，我繼續(xù)駛往下一個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)。途中，一個(gè)青年人向我招手。我把車(chē)停下，他向我提出要求搭車(chē)。他一上車(chē)，我就用法語(yǔ)向他問(wèn)早上好，他也同樣用法語(yǔ)回答我。除了個(gè)別幾個(gè)單詞外，我根本不會(huì)法語(yǔ)。旅途中我們誰(shuí)也沒(méi)講話(huà)。就要到達(dá)那個(gè)鎮(zhèn)時(shí)，那青年突然開(kāi)了口，慢慢地說(shuō)道：“你會(huì)講英語(yǔ)嗎？”我很快了解到，他自己就是個(gè)英國(guó)人！Lesson 15 Good news 佳音The secretary told me that Mr. Harmsworth would see me. I felt very nervous when. I went into his office. He did not look up from his desk when I entered. After I had sat down, he said that business was very bad. He told me that the firm could not afford to pay such large salaries. Twenty people had already left. I knew that my turn had come. Mr. Harmsworth, I said in a weak voice. Dont interrupt, he said. Then he smiled and told me I would receive an extra thousand pounds a year!秘書(shū)告訴我說(shuō)哈姆斯沃斯先生要見(jiàn)我。我走進(jìn)他的辦公室，感到非常緊張。我進(jìn)去的時(shí)候，他連頭也沒(méi)抬。待我坐下后，他說(shuō)生意非常不景氣。他還告訴我，公司支付不起這么龐大的工資開(kāi)支，有20個(gè)人已經(jīng)離去。我知道這次該輪到我了。 “哈姆斯沃斯先生，”我無(wú)力地說(shuō)。 “不要打斷我的話(huà)，”他說(shuō)。 然后他微笑了一下告訴我說(shuō)，我每年將得到1,000 英鎊的額外收入。Lesson 16 A polite request 彬彬有禮的要求If you park your car in the wrong place, a traffic policeman will soon find it. You will be very lucky if he lets you go without a ticket. However, this does not always happen. Traffic police are sometimes very polite. During a holiday in Sweden, I found this note on my car: Sir, we welcome you to our city. This is a No Parking area. You will enjoy your stay here if you pay attention to our street signs. This note is only a reminder. If you receive a request like this, you cannot fail to obey it!一旦你把汽車(chē)停錯(cuò)了地方，交通警很快就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)。如果他沒(méi)給你罰單就放你走了，算你走運(yùn)。然而，情況并不都是這樣，交通警有時(shí)也很客氣。有一次在瑞典度假，我發(fā)現(xiàn)我的車(chē)上有這樣一個(gè)字條：“先生，歡迎您光臨我們的城市。此處是禁止停車(chē)區(qū)。如果您對(duì)我們街上的標(biāo)牌稍加注意，您在此會(huì)過(guò)得很愉快的。謹(jǐn)此提請(qǐng)注意?！比绻闶盏竭@樣的懇求，你是不會(huì)不遵照?qǐng)?zhí)行的！Lesson 17 Always young 青年常駐My aunt Jennifer is an actress. She must be at least thirty-five years old. In spite of this, she often appears on the stage as a young girl. Jennifer will have to take part in a new play soon. This time, she will be a girl of seventeen. In the play, she must appear in a bright red dress and long black stockings. Last year in another play, she had to wear short socks and a bright, orange-coloured dress. If anyone ever asked her how old she is, she always answers, My dear, it must be terrible to be grown up!我的姑姑詹妮弗是位演員，她至少也有35歲了。盡管如此，她卻常在舞臺(tái)上扮演小姑娘。詹妮弗很快又要參加一個(gè)新劇的演出。這一次，她將扮演一個(gè)17歲的少女。演出時(shí)她必須穿一條鮮紅色的裙子和黑色的長(zhǎng)筒襪。去年在演另一個(gè)劇時(shí)，她不得不穿短襪和一件鮮艷的橘紅色的衣服。一旦有人問(wèn)起她有多大年紀(jì)，她總是回答：“親愛(ài)的，長(zhǎng)成大人真可怕??！”Lesson18 He often does this! 他經(jīng)常干這種事！After I had had lunch at a village inn, I looked for my bag. I had left it on a chair beside the door and now it wasnt there! As I was looking for it, the inn-keeper came in. Did you have a good meal? he asked. Yes, thank you, I answered, but I cant pay the bill. I havent got my bag. The inn-keeper smiled and immediately went out. In a few minutes he returned with my bag and gave it back to me. Im very sorry, he said My dog had taken it into the garden. He often does this.我在一家鄉(xiāng)村小酒店吃過(guò)午飯后，就找我的提包。我曾把它放在門(mén)邊的椅子上，可這會(huì)兒不見(jiàn)了！當(dāng)我正在尋找時(shí)，酒店老板走了進(jìn)來(lái)。 “您吃得好嗎？”他問(wèn)。 “很好，謝謝?！蔽一卮?，“但我付不了帳，我的提包沒(méi)有了。” 酒店老板笑了笑，馬上走了出去。一會(huì)兒工夫他拿著我的提包回來(lái)了，把它還給了我。 “實(shí)在抱歉，”他說(shuō)，“我的狗把它弄到花園里去了，他常干這種事！”Lesson19 Sold out 票已售完The play may begin at any moment, I said.It may have begun already, Susan answered.I hurried to the ticket-office. May I have two tickets please ? I asked.Im sorry, weve sold out, the girl said.What a pity! Susan exclaimed.Just then, a man hurried to the ticket-office.Can I return these two tickets? he asked.Certainly, the girl said.Could I have those two tickets please ? I asked.Certainly, the girl said, but they are for next Wednesdays performance.I might as well have them, I said sadly. “劇馬上就要開(kāi)演了，”我說(shuō)。 “也許已經(jīng)開(kāi)演了呢，”蘇珊回答說(shuō)。 我匆匆趕到售票處，問(wèn)：“我可以買(mǎi)兩張票嗎？” “對(duì)不起，票已售完?！蹦俏还媚镎f(shuō)。 “真可惜！”蘇珊大聲說(shuō)。 正在這時(shí)，一個(gè)男子匆匆奔向售票處。 “我可以退掉這兩張票嗎？”他問(wèn)。 “當(dāng)然可以，”那姑娘說(shuō)。 我馬上又回到售票處。 “我可以買(mǎi)那兩張票嗎？”我問(wèn)。 “當(dāng)然可以，不過(guò)這兩張票是下星期三的，您是否還要呢？”“我還是買(mǎi)下的好，”我垂頭喪氣地說(shuō)。Lesson20 One man in a boat 獨(dú)坐孤舟Fishing is my favorite sport. I often fish for hours without catching anything. But this does not worry me. Some fishermen are unlucky. Instead of catching fish, they catch old boots and rubbish. I am even less lucky. I never catch anything-not even old boots. After having spent whole mornings on the river, I always go home with an empty bag. You must give up fishing! my friends say. Its a waste of time. But they dont realize one important thing. Im not really interested in fishing. I am only interested in sitting in a boat and doing nothing at all!釣魚(yú)是我特別喜愛(ài)的一項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)。我經(jīng)常一釣數(shù)小時(shí)卻一無(wú)所獲，但我從不為此煩惱。有些垂釣者就是不走運(yùn)，他們往往魚(yú)釣不到，卻釣上來(lái)些舊靴子和垃圾。我的運(yùn)氣甚至還不及他們。我什么東西也未釣到過(guò) - 就連舊靴子也沒(méi)有。我總是在河上呆上整整一上午，然后空著袋子回家?！澳憧蓜e再釣魚(yú)了！”我的朋友們說(shuō)，“這是浪費(fèi)時(shí)間?！比欢麄儧](méi)有認(rèn)識(shí)到重要的一點(diǎn)，我并不是真的對(duì)釣魚(yú)有興趣，我感興趣的只是獨(dú)坐孤舟，無(wú)所事事！Lesson21 Mad or not? 是不是瘋了？Aeroplanes are slowly driving me mad. I live near an airport and passing planes can be heard night and day. The airport was built during the war, but for some reason it could not be used then. Last year, however, it came into use. Over a hundred people must have been driven away from their homes by the noise. I am one of the few people left. Sometimes I think this house will be knocked down by a passing plane. I have been offered a large sum of money to go away, but I am determined to stay here. Everybody says I must be mad and they are probably right.飛機(jī)正在逐漸把我逼瘋。我住在一個(gè)機(jī)場(chǎng)附近，過(guò)往飛機(jī)日夜不絕于耳。機(jī)場(chǎng)是許多年前建的，但由于某種原因當(dāng)時(shí)未能啟用。然而去年機(jī)場(chǎng)開(kāi)始使用了。有100多人肯定是被噪音逼得已經(jīng)棄家遠(yuǎn)去，我是少數(shù)留下來(lái)的人中的一個(gè)。有時(shí)我覺(jué)得這房子就要被一架飛過(guò)的飛機(jī)撞倒。他們?cè)蛭姨峁┮淮蠊P錢(qián)讓我搬走，但我決定留在這兒。大家都說(shuō)我肯定是瘋了，也許他們說(shuō)的是對(duì)的。Lesson22 A glass envelope 玻璃信封My daughter, Jane, never dreamed of receiving a letter from a girl of her own age in Holland. Last year, we were travelling across the Channel and Jane put a piece of paper with her name and address on it into a bottle. She threw the bottle into the sea. She never thought of it again, but ten months later, she received a letter from a girl in Holland. Both girls write to each other regularly now. However, they have decided to use the post-office. Letters will cost a litt1e more, but they will certainly travel faster.我的女兒簡(jiǎn)從未想過(guò)會(huì)接到荷蘭一位同齡姑娘的來(lái)信。去年，當(dāng)我們橫渡英吉利海峽時(shí)，簡(jiǎn)把寫(xiě)有她姓名和住址的一張紙條裝進(jìn)了一只瓶子，又將瓶子扔進(jìn)了大海。此后她就再?zèng)]去想那只瓶子。但10個(gè)月以后，她收到了荷蘭一位姑娘的來(lái)信。現(xiàn)在這兩位姑娘定期通信了。然而她們還是決定利用郵局。這樣會(huì)稍微多花點(diǎn)錢(qián)，但肯定是快得多了。Lesson23 A new house 新居I had a letter from my sister yesterday. She lives in Nigeria. In her letter, she said that she would come to England next year. If she comes, she will get a surprise. We are nowliving in a beautiful new house in the country. Work on it had begun before my sister left. The house was completed five months ago. In my letter, I told her that she could stay with us. The house has many large rooms and there is a lovely garden. It is a very modern house, so it looks strange to some people. It must be the only modern house in the district.昨天我收到了姐姐的一封信，她住在尼日利亞。在信中她說(shuō)她明年將到英國(guó)來(lái)。如果她來(lái)了，她會(huì)感到非常驚奇了。我們現(xiàn)在住在鄉(xiāng)間的一棟漂亮的新住宅里。這棟房子在我姐姐離開(kāi)之前就已動(dòng)工了，是在5個(gè)月以前竣工的。我在信中告訴她，她可以和我們住在一起。這棟房子里有許多房間，還有一個(gè)漂亮的花園。它是一棟非?，F(xiàn)代化的住宅，因此在有些人看來(lái)很古怪。它肯定是這個(gè)地區(qū)唯一的一棟現(xiàn)代化住宅。Lesson24 It could be worse 不幸中之萬(wàn)幸I entered the hotel managers office and sat down. I had just lost $50 and I felt very upset. I left the money in my room, I said, and its not there now. The manager was sympathetic, but he could do nothing. Everyones losing money these days, he said. He started to complain about this wicked world but was interrupted by a knock at the door. A girl came in and put an envelope on his desk. It contained $5o. I found this outside this gentlemans room she said. Well, I said to the manager, there is still some honesty in this world!我走進(jìn)飯店經(jīng)理的辦公室，坐了下來(lái)。我剛剛丟了50英鎊，感到非常煩惱?！拔野彦X(qián)放在房間里，”我說(shuō)，“可現(xiàn)在沒(méi)有了?！苯?jīng)理深表同情，但卻無(wú)能為力?！艾F(xiàn)在大家都在丟錢(qián)，”他說(shuō)。他開(kāi)始抱怨起這個(gè)邪惡的世道來(lái)，卻被一陣敲門(mén)聲打斷了。一個(gè)姑娘走了進(jìn)來(lái)，把一個(gè)信封放在了他桌上。它里面裝著50英鎊?！斑@是我在這位先生的房門(mén)外撿到的，”她說(shuō)?！笆前?，”我對(duì)那位經(jīng)理說(shuō)，“這世界上還是有誠(chéng)實(shí)可言的！”Lesson25 Do the English speak English? 英國(guó)人講的是英語(yǔ)嗎？I arrived in London at last. The railway station was big, black and dark. I did not know the way to my hotel, so I asked a porter. I not only spoke English very carefully, but very