Lesson 1 A private conversation 私人谈话

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 can't hear a word!' I said angrily.  ‘It’s none of your business,' the young man said rudely. 'This is a private conversation!'.

 上星期我去看戏。我的座位很好，戏很有意思，但我却无法欣赏。一青年男子与一青年女子坐在我的身后，大声地说着话。我非常生气，因为我听不见演员在说什么。我回过头去怒视着那一男一女，他们却毫不理会。最后，我忍不住了，又一次回过头去，生气地说：“我一个字也听不见了！”  “不关你的事，”那男的毫不客气地说，“这是私人间的谈话！” 

Lesson 2 Breakfast or lunch? 早餐还是午餐？

 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. 'It's raining again.' Just then, the telephone rang. It was my aunt Lucy.' I've just arrived by train,' she said. 'I'm coming to see you.' 'But I'm still having breakfast,' I said.

'What are you doing?' she asked. ‘I’m having breakfast,' I repeated.

'Dear me,' she said. 'Do you always get up so late? It's one o'clock!''

 那是个星期天，而在星期天我是从来不早起的，有时我要一直躺到吃午饭的时候。上个星期天，我起得很晚。我望望窗外，外面一片昏暗。“鬼天气！”我想，“又下雨了。”正在这时，电话铃响了。是我姑母露西打来的。“我刚下火车，”她说，“我这就来看你。”

    “但我还在吃早饭，”我说。

    “你在干什么？”她问道。

    “我正在吃早饭，”我又说了一遍。

“天啊，”她说，“你总是起得这么晚吗？现在已经1点钟了！” 

Lesson 3 Please send me a card 请给我寄一张明信片

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 of Italian. '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!

 明信片总搅得我假日不得安宁。去年夏天，我去了意大利。我参观了博物馆，还去了公园。一位好客的服务员教了我几句意大利语，之后还借给我一本书。我读了几行，但一个字也不懂。我每天都想着明信片的事。假期过得真快，可我还没有给我的朋友们寄过一张明信片。到了最后一天，我作出了一项重大决定。我早早起了床，买来了37张明信片。我在房间里关了整整一天。然而竟连一张明信片也没写成！    

Lesson 4 An exciting trip 激动人心的旅行

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.

 我刚刚收到弟弟蒂姆的来信，他正在澳大利亚。他在那儿已经住了6个月了。蒂姆是个工程师，正在一家大公司工作，并且已经去过澳大利亚的不少地方了。他刚买了一辆澳大利亚小汽车，现在去了澳大利亚中部的小镇艾利斯斯普林斯。他不久还将到达达尔文去，从那里，他再飞往珀斯。我弟弟以前从未出过国，因此，他觉得这次旅行非常激动人心。 

Lesson 5 No wrong numbers 无错号之虞

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.斯科特先生在锡尔伯里有一个汽车修理部，现在他刚在平赫斯特买了另一个汽车修理部。平赫特离锡尔伯里只有5英里，但詹姆斯.斯科特先生未能为他新的汽车修理部搞到一部电话机，所以他买了只鸽子。昨天，一只鸽子把第一封信从平赫特带到锡尔伯里。这只鸟只用了3分钟就飞完了全程。到目前为止，斯科特先生从一个汽车修理部向另一个发送了大量索取备件的信件和其他紧急函件。就这样，他开始自己的私人“电话”业务。   

Lesson 6 Percy Buttons 珀西·巴顿斯

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.

 我刚刚搬进了大桥街的一所房子。昨天一个乞丐来敲我的门，问我要一顿饭和一杯啤酒。作为回报，那乞丐头顶地倒立起来，嘴里还唱着歌。我给了他一顿饭。他把食物吃完，又喝了酒。然后把一块乳酪装进衣袋里走了。后来，一位邻居告诉了我他的情况。大家都认识他，他叫珀西.巴顿斯。他每月对这条街上的每户人家光顾一次，总是请求给他一顿饭和一杯啤酒。 

Lesson 7 Too late 为时太晚

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!

 飞机误点了，侦探们在机场等了整整一上午。他们正期待从南非来的一个装着钻石的贵重包裹。数小时以前，有人向警方报告，说有人企图偷走这些钻石。当飞机到达时，一些侦探等候在主楼内，另一些侦探则守候在停机坪上。有两个人把包裹拿下飞机，进了海关。这时两个侦探把住门口，另外两个侦探打开了包裹。令他们吃惊的是，那珍贵的包裹里面装的全是石头和沙子！    

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 Frith's garden is larger than Joe's. Bill works harder than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but Joe's 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!

 乔.桑德斯拥有我们镇上最漂亮的花园。几乎每个人都参加每年举办的“最佳花园竞赛”，而每次都是乔获胜。比尔.弗里斯的花园比乔的花园大，他比乔也更为勤奋，种植的花卉和蔬菜也更多，但乔的花园更富有情趣。他修筑了一条条整洁的小路，并在一个池塘上架了一座小木桥。我也喜欢花园，但我却不愿意辛勤劳动。每年的花园竞赛我也参加，但总因是镇上最劣的花园而获得一个小奖！   

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, 'It's 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，我们去了市政厅。那是一年的最后一天，一大群人聚集在市政厅的大钟下面。再过20分钟，大钟将敲响12下。15分钟过去了，而就在11点55分时，大钟停了。那根巨大的分针不动了。我们等啊等啊，可情况没有变化。突然有人喊道：“已经12点零2分了！那钟已经停了！”我看了一下我的手表，果真如此。那座大钟不愿意迎接新年。此时，大家已经笑了起来，同时唱起了歌。    

Lesson 10 Not for jazz 不适于演奏爵士乐

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 father's.

 我家有件古乐器，被称作古钢琴，是1681年德国造的。我们的这架古钢琴存放在起居室里。我们家有这件乐器已经很久了，是我祖父在很多年以前买的。可它最近被一个客人弄坏了，因为她用它来弹奏爵士乐。她在击琴键时用力过猛，损坏了两根琴弦。我父亲大为吃惊，不许我们再动它。父亲的一个朋友正在修理这件乐器。 

Lesson 11 One good turn deserves another 礼尚往来

I was having dinner at a restaurant when Harry Steele came in. Harry worked in a lawyer's 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!'

 我正在一家饭馆吃饭，托尼.斯蒂尔走了进来。托尼曾在一家律师事务所工作，而现在正在一家银行上班。他的薪水很高，但他却总是向朋友借钱，并且从来不还。托尼看见了我，就走过来和我坐到一张桌子前。他从未向我借过钱。当他吃饭时，我提出向他借20英镑。令我惊奇的是，他立刻把钱给了我。“我还从未向你借过钱，”托尼说道，“所以现在你可以替我付饭钱了！”    

Lesson 12 Goodbye and good luck 再见，一路顺风

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 o'clock 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.

 我们的邻居查尔斯.艾利森船长明天就要从朴次茅斯启航了。明天一大早我们将在码头为他送行。他将乘坐他的“涛波赛”号小艇。“涛波赛”号是艘有名的小艇，它已经多次横渡大西洋。艾利森船长将于8点钟启航，因此我们有充裕的时间。我们将参观他的船，然后和他告别。他要离开两个月，我们真为他感到自豪，他将参加一次重大的横渡大西洋的比赛。    

Lesson 13 The Greenwood Boys 绿林少年

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 young

people 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.

 “绿林少年”是一个流行歌曲演唱团。目前他们正在全国各地巡回演出，明天就要到达此地。他们将乘火车来，镇上的大部分青年人将到车站迎接他们。明晚他们将在工人俱乐部演出。“绿林少年”准备在此逗留5天。在此期间，他们将演出5场。同往常一样，警察的日子将不好过，他们将设法维持秩序。每逢这种场合，情况都是这样。 

Lesson 14 Do you speak English? 你会讲英语吗？

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!

 去年我有过一次有趣的经历。在离开法国南部的一个小村庄后，我继续驶往下一个城镇。途中，一个青年人向我招手。我把车停下，他向我提出要求搭车。他一上车，我就用法语向他问早上好，他也同样用法语回答我。除了个别几个单词外，我根本不会法语。旅途中我们谁也没讲话。就要到达那个镇时，那青年突然开了口，慢慢地说道：“你会讲英语吗？”

我很快了解到，他自己就是个英国人！  

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. 'Don't interrupt,' he said. Then he smiled and told me I would receive an extra thousand pounds a year!

秘书告诉我说哈姆斯沃斯先生要见我。我走进他的办公室，感到非常紧张。我进去的时候，他连头也没抬。待我坐下后，他说生意非常不景气。他还告诉我，公司支付不起这么庞大的工资开支，有20个人已经离去。我知道这次该轮到我了。

    “哈姆斯沃斯先生，”我无力地说。

    “不要打断我的话，”他说。

     然后他微笑了一下告诉我说，我每年将得到1,000 英镑的额外收入。  

Lesson 16 A polite request 彬彬有礼的要求

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!

 一旦你把汽车停错了地方，交通警很快就会发现。如果他没给你罚单就放你走了，算你走运。然而，情况并不都是这样，交通警有时也很客气。有一次在瑞典度假，我发现我的车上有这样一个字条：“先生，欢迎您光临我们的城市。此处是‘禁止停车’区。如果您对我们街上的标牌稍加注意，您在此会过得很愉快的。谨此提请注意。”如果你收到这样的恳求，你是不会不遵照执行的！ 

Lesson 17 Always young 青年常驻

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员，她至少也有35岁了。尽管如此，她却常在舞台上扮演小姑娘。詹妮弗很快又要参加一个新剧的演出。这一次，她将扮演一个17岁的少女。演出时她必须穿一条鲜红色的裙子和黑色的长筒袜。去年在演另一个剧时，她不得不穿短袜和一件鲜艳的橘红色的衣服。一旦有人问起她有多大年纪，她总是回答：“亲爱的，长成大人真可怕啊！”

Lesson18 He often does this! 他经常干这种事！

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 wasn't 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 can't pay the bill. I haven't 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. 'I'm very sorry,' he said ' My dog had taken it into the garden. He often does this.'

 我在一家乡村小酒店吃过午饭后，就找我的提包。我曾把它放在门边的椅子上，可这会儿不见了！当我正在寻找时，酒店老板走了进来。

    “您吃得好吗？”他问。

    “很好，谢谢。”我回答，“但我付不了帐，我的提包没有了。”

    酒店老板笑了笑，马上走了出去。一会儿工夫他拿着我的提包回来了，把它还给了我。

    “实在抱歉，”他说，“我的狗把它弄到花园里去了，他常干这种事！”             

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.

'I'm sorry, we've 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 Wednesday's performance.

'I might as well have them,' I said sadly. 

    “剧马上就要开演了，”我说。

    “也许已经开演了呢，”苏珊回答说。

    我匆匆赶到售票处，问：“我可以买两张票吗？”

    “对不起，票已售完。”那位姑娘说。

    “真可惜！”苏珊大声说。

    正在这时，一个男子匆匆奔向售票处。

    “我可以退掉这两张票吗？”他问。

    “当然可以，”那姑娘说。

    我马上又回到售票处。

    “我可以买那两张票吗？”我问。

    “当然可以，不过这两张票是下星期三的，您是否还要呢？”

“我还是买下的好，”我垂头丧气地说。

Lesson20 One man in a boat 独坐孤舟

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.' It's a waste of time.' But they don't realize one important thing. I'm not really interested in fishing. I am only interested in sitting in a boat and doing nothing at all!

 钓鱼是我特别喜爱的一项运动。我经常一钓数小时却一无所获，但我从不为此烦恼。有些垂钓者就是不走运，他们往往鱼钓不到，却钓上来些旧靴子和垃圾。我的运气甚至还不及他们。我什么东西也未钓到过 -- 就连旧靴子也没有。我总是在河上呆上整整一上午，然后空着袋子回家。“你可别再钓鱼了！”我的朋友们说，“这是浪费时间。”然而他们没有认识到重要的一点，我并不是真的对钓鱼有兴趣，我感兴趣的只是独坐孤舟，无所事事！   

Lesson21 Mad or not? 是不是疯了？

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.

 飞机正在逐渐把我逼疯。我住在一个机场附近，过往飞机日夜不绝于耳。机场是许多年前建的，但由于某种原因当时未能启用。然而去年机场开始使用了。有100多人肯定是被噪音逼得已经弃家远去，我是少数留下来的人中的一个。有时我觉得这房子就要被一架飞过的飞机撞倒。他们曾向我提供一大笔钱让我搬走，但我决定留在这儿。大家都说我肯定是疯了，也许他们说的是对的。    

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.

 我的女儿简从未想过会接到荷兰一位同龄姑娘的来信。去年，当我们横渡英吉利海峡时，简把写有她姓名和住址的一张纸条装进了一只瓶子，又将瓶子扔进了大海。此后她就再没去想那只瓶子。但10个月以后，她收到了荷兰一位姑娘的来信。现在这两位姑娘定期通信了。然而她们还是决定利用邮局。这样会稍微多花点钱，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 now living 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，她住在尼日利亚。在信中她说她明年将到英国来。如果她来了，她会感到非常惊奇了。我们现在住在乡间的一栋漂亮的新住宅里。这栋房子在我姐姐离开之前就已动工了，是在5个月以前竣工的。我在信中告诉她，她可以和我们住在一起。这栋房子里有许多房间，还有一个漂亮的花园。它是一栋非常现代化的住宅，因此在有些人看来很古怪。它肯定是这个地区唯一的一栋现代化住宅。   

Lesson24 It could be worse 不幸中之万幸

I entered the hotel manager's office and sat down. I had just lost $50 and I felt very upset.' I left the money in my room,' I said, 'and it's not there now.' The manager was sympathetic, but he could do nothing. 'Everyone's 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 gentleman's room' she said. 'Well,' I said to the manager, 'there is still some honesty in this world!’

 我走进饭店经理的办公室，坐了下来。我刚刚丢了50英镑，感到非常烦恼。“我把钱放在房间里，”我说，“可现在没有了。”经理深表同情，但却无能为力。“现在大家都在丢钱，”他说。他开始抱怨起这个邪恶的世道来，却被一阵敲门声打断了。一个姑娘走了进来，把一个信封放在了他桌上。它里面装着50英镑。“这是我在这位先生的房门外捡到的，”她说。“是啊，”我对那位经理说，“这世界上还是有诚实可言的！”