1、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 fathers footsteps many years later, Sir Malcolms son, Donald, also set up a world record. Like his father, he was driving a c
2、ar 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 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
3、, 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 lo
4、rry. 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 b
5、y 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 speci
6、al 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 couldnt be better, Gloria, Brinksley Meers agreed. No newspaper men, no film fans! Why dont we come more often ? Mea
7、nwhile, 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: Im sheriff here. Do you see t
8、hat 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 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 ! lesso
9、n75 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 villag
10、e 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
11、 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 arri
12、ved 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 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 le
13、ading 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 vi
14、llage has been working day and night gathering and threshing this years 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. Thi
15、s 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. L
16、esson77 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
17、 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 so
18、mething 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 successfu
19、lly survived the operation. Lesson78 The last one? 最后一枝吗？ After reading an article entitled Cigarette Smoking and Your Health I lit a cigarette to calm my nerves. I smoked with concentration and pleasure as I was sure that this would be my last cigarette. For a whole week I did not smoke at all and
20、during this time, my wife suffered terribly. I had all the usual symptoms of someone giving up smoking: a bad temper and an enormous appetite. My friends kept on offering me cigarettes and cigars. They made no effort to hide their amusement whenever I produced a packet of sweets from my pocket. Afte
21、r seven days of this I went to a party. Everybody around me was smoking and I felt extremely uncomfortable. When my old friend Brian urged me to accept a cigarette, it was more than I could bear. I took one guiltily, lit it and smoked with satisfaction. My wife was delighted that things had returned
22、 to normal once more. Anyway, as Brian pointed out, it is the easiest thing in the world to give up smoking. He himself has done it lots of times! Lesson79 By air 乘飞机 I used to travel by air a great deal when I was a boy. My parents, used to live in South America and I used to fly there from Europe
23、in the holidays. An airhostess would take charge of me and I never had an unpleasant experience. I am used to travelling by air and only on one occasion have I ever felt frightened. After taking off, we were flying low over the city and slowly gaining height, when the plane suddenly turned round and
24、 flew back to the airport. While we were waiting to land, an air-hostess told us to keep calm and to get off the plane quietly as soon as it had touched down. Everybody on board was worried and we were curious to find out what had happened. Later we learnt that there was a very important person on b
25、oard. The police had been told that a bomb had been planted on the plane. After we had landed, the plane was searched thoroughly. Fortunately, nothing was found and five hours later we were able to take off again. Lesson80 The Crystal Palace 水晶宫 Perhaps the most extraordinary building of the ninetee
26、nth century was the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace was different from all other buildings in the world, for it was made of iron and glass. It was one of the biggest buildings of all time and a lot of people from many countries came t
27、o see it. A great many goods were sent to the exhibition from various parts of the world. There was also a great deal of machinery on display. The most wonderful piece of machinery on show was Nasmyths steam hammer. Though in those days, travelling was not as easy as it is today, steam boats carried
28、 thousands of visitors across the Channel from Europe. On arriving in England, they were taken to the Crystal Palace by train. There were six million visitors in all, and the profits from the exhibition were used to build museums and colleges. Later, the Crystal Palace was moved to South London. It
29、remained one of the most famous buildings in the world until it was burnt down in 1936. Lesson81 Escape 脱逃 When he had killed the guard, the prisoner of war quickly dragged him into the bushes. Working rapidly in the darkness, he soon changed into the dead mans clothes. Now, dressed in a blue unifor
30、m and with a rifle over his shoulder, the prisoner marched boldly up and down in front of the camp. He could hear shouting in the camp itself. Lights were blazing and men were running here and there: they had just discovered that a prisoner had escaped. At that moment, a large black car with four of
31、ficers inside it, stopped at the camp gates. The officers got out and the prisoner stood to attention and saluted as they passed. When they had gone, the driver of the car came towards him. The man obviously wanted to talk. He was rather elderly with grey hair and clear blue eyes. The prisoner felt
32、sorry for him, but there was nothing else he could do. As the man came near, the prisoner knocked him to the ground with a sharp blow. Then, jumping into the car, he drove off as quickly as he could. Lesson82 Monster or fish? 是妖还是鱼？ Fishermen and sailors sometimes claim to have seen monsters in the
33、sea. Though people have often laughed at stories told by seamen, it is now known that many of these monsters which have at times been sighted are simply strange fish. Occasionally, unusual creatures are washed to the shore, but they are rarely caught out at sea. Some time ago, however, a peculiar fi
34、sh was caught near Madagascar. A small fishing-boat was carried miles out to sea by the powerful fish as it pulled on the line. Realizing that this was no ordinary fish, the fisherman made every effort not to damage it in any way. When it was eventually brought to shore, it was found to be over thir
35、teen feet long. It had a head like a horse, big blue eyes, shining silver skin, and a bright red tail, The fish, which has since been sent to a museum where it is being examined by a scientist, is called an oarfish. Such creatures have rarely been seen alive by man as they live at a depth of six hun
36、dred feet. Lesson83 After the elections 大选之后 The former Prime Minister, Mr Wentworth Lane, was defeated in the recent elections. He is now retiring from political life and has gone abroad. My friend, Crawley, has always been a fanatical opponent of Mr Lanes Radical Progressive Party. After the elect
37、ions, Crawley went to the former Prime Ministers house. When he asked if Mr Lane lived there, the policeman on duty told him that since his defeat, the ex-Prime Minister had gone abroad. On the following day, Crawley went to the house again. The same policeman was just walking slowly past the entran
38、ce, when Crawley asked the same question. Though a little suspicious this time, the policeman gave him the same answer. The day after, Crawley went to the house once more and asked exactly the same question. This time, the policeman lost his temper. I told you yesterday and the day before yesterday,
39、 he shouted, Mr Lane was defeated in the elections. He has retired from political life and gone to live abroad ! I know, answered Crawley, but I love to hear you say it ! Lesson84 On strike 罢工 Busmen have decided to go on strike next week. The strike is due to begin on Tuesday. No one knows how long
40、 it will last. The busmen have stated that the strike will continue until general agreement is reached about pay and working conditions. Most people believe that the strike will last for at least a week. Many owners of private cars are going to offer free rides to people on their way to work. This w
41、ill relieve pressure on the trains to some extent. Meanwhile, a number of university students have volunteered to drive buses while the strike lasts. All the young men are expert drivers, but before they drive any of the buses, they will have to pass a special test. The students are going to take th
42、e test in two days time. Even so, people are going to find it difficult to get to work. But so far, the public has expressed its gratitude to the students in letters to the Press. Only one or two people have objected that the students will drive too fast! Lesson85 Never too old to learn 活到老学到老 I hav
43、e just received a letter from my old school informing me that my former head- master, Mr Regmald Page, will be retiring next week. Pupils of the school, old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the occasion. All those who have contributed towards the gift will sign their names in a large a
44、lbum which will be sent to the headmasters home. We shall all remember Mr Page for his patience and understanding and for the kindly encouragement he gave us when we went so unwillingly to school. A great many former pupils will be attending a farewell dinner in his honour next Thursday. It is a cur
45、ious coincidence that the day before his retirement, Mr Page will have been teaching for a total of forty years. After he has retired, he will devote himself to gardening. For him, this will be an entirely new hobby. But this does not matter, for, as he has often remarked, one is never too old to le
46、arn. Lesson86 Out of control 失控 As the man tried to swing the speed-boat round, thetold 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 fathers footsteps many years later, Sir Ma
47、lcolms 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 eight hours in a cinema seeing the same film over and over again, is usually as
48、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.
49、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
