1、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 in
2、vasion, 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. Lesson65 Jumbo versus the police 小象对警察 Last Christmas, the circus owner, Jimmy Gates, decided to take
3、some presents to a childrens 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 app
4、roached 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. Jumb
5、o must weigh a few tons, said a policeman afterwards, so it was fortunate that we didnt have to carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, but as he has a good record, we shall let him off this time. Lesson66 Sweet as honey! 像蜜一样甜！ The Hatheld Puffin is a modern aero-plane, but its designer, Mr Joh
6、n 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 mi
7、le. 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 an
8、d 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. Lesson67 Volcanoes 火山 Haroun Tazieff the Polish scientist, has spent his life-time studying a
9、ctive 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 ph
10、otographs, 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 ti
11、me, 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. Lesson68 Persistent 纠缠不休 I crossed the street to avoid meeting him,
12、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
13、 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. Youre not busy doing anything, are you ? No, not at all, I answered. Im going to. . Would you mind my coming with you ? he asked, before
14、I had finished speaking. Not at all, I lied, but Im going to the dentist. Then Ill come with you, he answered. Theres always plenty to read in the waiting room ! 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
15、 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
16、 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 bra
17、ke 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 ! 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 w
18、as 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. Th
19、e 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 fee
20、l 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. 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 o
21、n 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,
22、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 corr
23、ect time. A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down ! 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 193
24、5 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 dur
25、ing 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
26、 400 miles an hour. Following his fathers footsteps many years later, Sir Malcolms son, Donald, also set up a world record. Like his father, he was driving a car called Bluebird. Lesson73 The record-holder 纪录保持者 Little boys who play truant from school are unimaginative. A quiet days fishing, or eigh
27、t 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 morn
28、ing, 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
29、 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. Lesson74 Out of the limelight 舞
30、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
31、 place for a picnic, said Gloria Gleam. It couldnt be better, Gloria, Brinksley Meers agreed. No newspaper men, no film fans! Why dont 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
32、 had all made themselves comfortable, a stranger appeared. He looked very angry. Now you gut out of here, all of you! he shouted: Im sheriff here. Do you see that notice ? It says“ No Camping“-in case you cant read ! Look, sheriff, said Rockwall, dont be too hard on us. Im Rockwall Slinger and this
33、is Merlin Greeves. Oh, is it ? said the sheriff with a sneer. Well, Im Brinksley Meers, and my other name is Gloria Gleam. Now you get out of here fast ! 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 passe
34、ngers, 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
35、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
36、 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. Lesson76 April Fools Day 愚人节 To end our special news bulletin, said the voice of
37、 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 begu
38、n earlier than usual. Here you can see two workers who, between them,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 tunn
39、el 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. Lesson65 Jumbo versus the police
40、小象对警察 Last Christmas, the circus owner, Jimmy Gates, decided to take some presents to a childrens 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
41、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 str
42、eet. 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 didnt have to carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, but as he has a good record, we shall let him off this time. Lesson66 Sweet as honey! 像蜜一样甜
43、！ 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 thorou
44、ghly. 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
45、 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. Lesson67 Volcanoes 火山 Ha
46、roun 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 e
47、rupting 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 v
48、olcano 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.
49、 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, El
