1、 NEW CONCEPT ENGLISH-BOOK THREE第 1 页 共 34 页Lesson1 A puma at largePumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously. However, as the evidence began to accum
2、ulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate, for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar. The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw a large cat only five yards away from her. It immediatel
3、y ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered（adj.被困得走投无路的）. The search proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening. Wherever it went, it left b
4、ehind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes. Several people complained of cat-like noises at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree. The experts were now fully convinced t
5、hat the animal was a puma, but where had it come from? As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country, this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught. It is disturbing
6、to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.Lesson 2 Thirteen equals oneOur vicar is always raising money for one cause or another, but he has never managed to get enough money to have the church clock repaired. The big clock which used to strike the hours day an
7、d night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since. One night, however, our vicar woke up with a start: the clock was striking the hours! Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one oclock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped. Armed with a torch, the vicar went up in
8、to the clock tower to see what was going on. In the torchlight, he caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer. Whatever are you doing up here Bill? asked the vicar in surprise. Im trying to repair the bell, answered Bill. Ive been coming up here night a
9、fter night for weeks now. You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise.You certainly did give me a surprise! said the vicar. Youve probably woken up everyone in the village as well. Still, Im glad the bell is working again. Thats the trouble, vicar, answered Bill. Its working all right, but Im afrai
10、d that at one oclock it will strike thirteen times and theres nothing I can do about it. Well get used to that Bill, said the vicar. Thirteen is not as good as one but its better than nothing. Now lets go downstairs and have a cup of tea. Lesson 3 An unknown goddessSome time ago， an interesting disc
11、overy was made by archaeologists on the Aegean（adj. 爱琴海的；n.）island of KeaAn American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia IriniThe city at one time must have been prosperous，for it enjoyed a high level of civilizationHouses-often three storeys high-were bu
12、ilt of stoneThey had large rooms with beautifully decorated wallsThe city was even equipped with a drainage system，for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streetsNEW CONCEPT ENGLISH-BOOK THREE第 2 页 共 34 页The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship fr
13、om the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times. In the most sacred room of the temple, clay fragments of fifteen statues were found. Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted. The body of one statue was found among remains dating from the fifteenth century B.C. Its miss
14、ing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C. This head must have been found in Classical times and carefully preserved. It was very old and precious even then. When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very mo
15、dern-looking woman. She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hip. She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground. Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed, but, so far, the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.Lesson4 The double life of Alfred
16、BloggsThese days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than clerks who work in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as white collar workers for the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature, that a great many
17、 people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white collar workers. This can give rise to curious situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation.When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to
18、 his wife about his job. He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls(n.工作服) and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night, he took a shower and changed back into his suit
19、. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret. Alfs wife has never discovered that she married a dustman and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office as a junior clerk. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but
20、he feels that his rise in status is well worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him Mr. Bloggs, not Alf.Lesson 5 The factsEditors of newspapers and magazines often go to extremes to provide their readers with unimportant facts and statistics. Last year
21、 a journalist had been instructed by a well-known magazine to write an article on the presidents palace in a new African republic. When the article arrived, the editor read the first sentence and then refused to publish it. The article began: Hundreds of steps lead to the high wall which surrounds t
22、he presidents palace. The editor at oncesent the journalist a fax instructing him to find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall. The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but he took a long time to send them. Meanwhile, the editor was getting impatient, f
23、or the magazine would soon go to press. He sent the journalist two urgent telegrams, but received no reply. He sent yet another telegram informing the journalist that if he did not reply soon he would be fired. When the journalist again failed to reply, the editor reluctantly published the article a
24、s it had originally been written. A week later, the editor at last received a telegram from the journalist. Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had been sent to prison as well. However, he had at last been allowed to send a cable in which he informed the editor that he had been arrested
25、while counting the 1084 steps leading to the 15-foot wall which surrounded the presidents palace.NEW CONCEPT ENGLISH-BOOK THREE第 3 页 共 34 页Lesson 6 Smash-and-grabThe expensive shops in a famous arcade near Piccadilly were just opening. At this time of the morning, the arcade was almost empty. Mr Tay
26、lor, the owner of a jewellery shop was admiring a new window display. Two of his assistants had been working busily since 8 oclock and had only just finished. Diamond necklaces and rings had been beautifully arranged on a background of black velvet. After gazing at the display for several minutes, M
27、r Taylor went back into his shop.The silence was suddenly broken when a large car, with its headlights on and its horn blaring, roared down the arcade. It came to a stop outside the jewelers. One man stayed at the wheel while two others with black stockings over their faces jumped out and smashed th
28、e window of the shop with iron bars. While this was going on, Mr Taylor was upstairs. He and his staff began throwing furniture out of the window. Chairs and tables went flying into the arcade. One of the thieves was struck by a heavy statue, but he was too busy helping himself to diamonds to notice
29、 any pain. The raid was all over in three minutes, for the men scrambled back into the car and it moved off at a fantastic speed. Just as it was leaving, Mr Taylor rushed out and ran after it throwing ashtrays and vases, but it was impossible to stop the thieves. They had got away with thousands of
30、pounds worth of diamonds. Lesson 7 Mutilated ladiesChildren often have far more sense than their elders. This simple truth was demonstrated rather dramatically during a civil defence exercise in a small town in Canada. Most of the inhabitants were asked to take part in the exercise during which they
31、 had to pretend that their city had been bombed. Air-raid warnings were sounded and thousands of people went into special air-raid shelters. Doctors and nurses remained above ground while Police patrolled the streets in case anyone tried to leave the shelters too soon. The police did not have much t
32、o do because the citizens took the exercise seriously. They stayed underground for twenty minutes and waited for the siren to sound again. On leaving the air-raid shelters, they saw that doctors and nurses were busy. A great many people had volunteered to act as casualties. Theatrical make-up and ar
33、tificial blood had been used to make the injuries look realistic. A lot of People were lying dead in the streets. The living helped to carry the dead and wounded to special stations. A Child of six was brought in by two adults. The child was supposed to be dead. With theatrical make-up on his face,
34、he looked as if he had died of shock. Some people were so moved by the sight that they began to cry. However, the child suddenly sat up and a doctor asked him to comment on his death. The child looked around for a moment and said, I think theyre all crazy! Lesson8 A famous monasteryThe Great St Bern
35、ard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy. At 2470 metres, it is the highest mountain pass in Europe. The famous monastery of St Bernard, which was founded in the eleventh century, lies about a mile away. For hundreds of years, St Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing the dangerous P
36、ass. These friendly dogs, which were first brought from Asia, were used as watch-dogs even in Roman times. Now that a tunnel has been built through the mountains, the Pass is less dangerous, but each year, the dogs are still sent out into the snow whenever a traveller is in difficulty. Despite the n
37、ew tunnel, there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the Pass on foot. NEW CONCEPT ENGLISH-BOOK THREE第 4 页 共 34 页During the summer months, the monastery is very busy, for it is visited by thousands of people who cross the Pass in cars, As there are so many people about, the dogs have
38、to be kept in a special enclosure. In winter, however, life at the monastery is quite different. The temperature drops to -30 and very few people attempt to cross the Pass. The monks Prefer winter to summer for they have more privacy. The dogs have greater freedom, too, for they are allowed to wande
39、r outside their enclosure. The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter. These young people, who love the peace of the mountains, always receive a warm.Welcome at St Bernards monastery. Lesson9 Flying catsBy now, a rocket will have s
40、et off on its 35 million mile trip to Mars and scientists must be waiting anxiously for the results. The rocket will be travelling for six months before it reaches the planet.It contains a number of scientific instruments, including a television camera. Any pictures that are taken will have to trave
41、l for three minutes before they reach the earth. If the pictures are successful, they may solve a number of problems about Mars and provide information about the markings on its surface which, nearly 100 years ago, the astronomer, Schiaparelli, thought to be canals.It will be a long time before any
42、landing on Mars can be attempted. This will only be possible when scientists have learnt a lot more about the atmosphere that surrounds the planet. If a satellite can one day be put into orbit round Mars, scientists will be able to find out a great deal. An interesting suggestion for measuring the a
43、tmosphere around Mars has been put forward. A rubber ball containing a radio transmitter could be dropped from a satellite so that it would fall towards the surface of the planet. The radio would signal the rate which the ball was slowed down and scientists would be able to calculate how dense the a
44、tmosphere is. It may even be possible to drop a capsule containing scientific instruments on to the planets surface. Only when a great deal more information has been obtained, will it be possible to plan a manned trip to Mars. Lesson10 The loss of TitanicThe great ship, Titanic, sailed for New York
45、from Southampton on April 10th, 1912. She was carrying 1316 passengers and a crew of 89l. Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship. At that time, however, she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built, but was regarded as unsinkable, for she had sixteen water
46、- tight compartments. Even if two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float. The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters
47、of the North Atlantic, a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a look-out. After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision. The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her. Suddenl
48、y, there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened. The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship had been damaged. Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly, for five of her sixteen water-tight co
49、mpartments had already been flooded ! The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds NEW CONCEPT ENGLISH-BOOK THREE第 5 页 共 34 页of people plunged into the icy water. As there were not enough life-boats for everybody, 1500 lives were lost. Lesson11 Not guiltyGoing through the Customs is a tiresome business. The strangest thing about it is that really honest people are often made to feel guilty. The hardened professional smuggler, on the other hand, is never troubled by such feelings, even if he has five hundred gold watch
