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 asks her how old she is, she always answers, ‘Darling, it must be terrible to be grown up!’
Lesson 18 He often does this! 他经常干这种事！
After I had had lunch at a village pub, 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 landlord 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 landlord 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!’
Lesson 19 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.
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‘Certainly, ’ the girl said.
I went back to the ticket office at once. ‘Could I have those two tickets please?’ I asked.
‘Certainly, ’ the girl said, ‘but they're for next Wednesday's performance. Do you still want them?’
‘I might as well have them, ’ I said sadly.
Lesson 20 One man in a boat 独坐孤舟
Fishing is my favourite 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!
Lesson 21 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 years ago, 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.
Lesson 22 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
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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 little more, but they will certainly travel faster.
Lesson 23 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.
Lesson 24 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 ￡50. ‘I found this outside this gentleman's room, ’ she said. ‘Well, ’ I said to the manager, ‘there is still some honesty in this world!’
Lesson 25 Do the English speak English? 讲的是英语吗？
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 clearly as well. The porter, however, could not understand me. I repeated my question several times and at last he understood. He answered me, but he spoke neither slowly nor clearly. ‘I am a foreigner, ’ I said. Then he spoke
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slowly, but I could not understand him. My teacher never spoke English like that! The porter and I looked at each other and smiled. Then he said something and I understood it. ‘You'll soon learn English!’ he said. I wonder. In England, each person speaks a different language. The English understand each other, but I don't understand them! Do they speak English?
Lesson 26 The best art critics 最佳艺术评论家
I am an art student and I paint a lot of pictures. Many people pretend that they understand modern art. They always tell you what a picture is ‘about’. Of course, many pictures are not ‘about’ anything. They are just pretty patterns. We like them in the same way that we like pretty curtain material. I think that young children often appreciate modern pictures better than anyone else. They notice more. My sister is only seven, but she always tells me whether my pictures are good or not. She came into my room yesterday. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked. ‘I'm hanging this picture on the wall, ’ I answered. ‘It's a new one. Do you like it?’She looked at it critically for a moment. ‘It's all right, ’ she said, ‘but isn't it upside down?’ I looked at it again. She was right! It was!
Lesson 27 A wet night 雨夜
Late in the afternoon, the boys put up their tent in the middle of a field. As soon as this was done, they cooked a meal over an open fire. They were all hungry and the food smelled good. After a wonderful meal, they told stories and sang songs by the campfire. But some time later it began to rain. The boys felt tired so they put out the fire and crept into their tent. Their sleeping bags were warm and comfortable, so they all slept soundly. In the middle of the night, two boys woke up and began shouting. The tent was full of water! They all leapt out of their sleeping bags and hurried outside. It was raining heavily and they found that a stream had formed in the field. The stream wound its way across the field and then flowed right under their tent!
Lesson 28 No parking 禁止停车
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Jasper White is one of those rare people who believes in ancient myths. He has just bought a new house in the city, but ever since he moved in, he has had trouble with cars and their owners. When he returns home at night, he always finds that someone has parked a car outside his gate. Because of this, he has not been able to get his own car into his garage even once. Jasper has put up ‘No Parking’signs outside his gate, but these have not had any effect. Now he has put an ugly stone head over the gate. It is one of the ugliest faces I have ever seen. I asked him what it was and he told me that it was Medusa, the Gorgon. Jasper hopes that she will turn cars and their owners to stone. But none of them has been turned to stone yet!
Lesson 29 Taxi! 出租汽车！
Captain Ben Fawcett has bought an unusual taxi and has begun a new service. The ‘taxi’ is a small Swiss aeroplane called a ‘Pilatus Porter’. This wonderful plane can carry seven passengers. The most surprising thing about it, however, is that it can land anywhere: or snow, water, or even on a ploughed field. Captain Fawcett's first passenger was a doctor who flew from Birmingham to a lonely village in the Welsh mountains. Since then, Captain Fawcett has flown passengers to many unusual places. Once he landed on the roof of a block of flats and on another occasion, he landed in a deserted car park. Captain Fawcett has just refused a strange request from a businessman. The man wanted to fly to Rockall, a lonely island in the Atlantic Ocean, but Captain Fawcett did not take him because the trip was too dangerous.
Lesson 30 Football or polo？ 足球还是水球？
The Wayle is a small river that cuts across the park near my home. I like sitting by the Wayle on fine afternoons. It was warm last Sunday, so I went and sat on the river bank as usual. Some children were playing games on the bank and there were some people rowing on the river. Suddenly, one of the children kicked a ball very hard and it went towards a passing boat. Some people on the bank
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新概念英语第二册(课文精装版96课全)
