1、Lesson 1 A Puma at large逃遁的美洲狮Pumas 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 accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obl
2、iged 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 immediately ran away when she saw it, and exper
3、ts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered. 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 behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals lik
4、e 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 that the animal was a puma, but where had it come f
5、rom? 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 to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at
6、large in the quiet countryside.参考译文美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物，产于美洲。当伦敦动物园接到报告说，在伦敦以南45英里处发现一只美洲狮时，这些报告并没有受到重视。可是，随着证据越来越多，动物园的专家们感到有必要进行一番调查，因为凡是声称见到过美洲狮的人们所描述的情况竟是出奇地相似。搜寻美洲狮的工作是从一座小村庄开始的。那里的一位妇女在采摘黑莓时的看见“一只大猫”，离她仅 5码远，她刚看见它，它就立刻逃走了。专家证实，美洲狮非被逼得走投无路，是决不会伤人的。事实上搜寻工作很困难，因为常常是早晨在甲地发现那只美洲狮，晚上却在 20英里外的乙地发现它的踪迹。无论它走
7、哪儿，一路上总会留下一串死鹿及死兔子之类的小动物，在许多地方看见爪印，灌木丛中发现了粘在上面的美洲狮毛。有人抱怨说夜里听见“像猫一样的叫声”；一位商人去钓鱼，看见那只美洲狮在树上。专家们如今已经完全肯定那只动物就是美洲狮，但它是从哪儿来的呢？由于全国动物园没有一家报告丢了美洲狮，因此那只美洲狮一定是某位私人收藏豢养的，不知怎么设法逃出来了。搜寻工作进行了好几个星期，但始终未能逮住那只美洲狮。想到在宁静的乡村里有一头危险的野兽继续逍遥流窜，真令人担心。十三等于一Was the vicar pleased that the clock was striking? Why?Our vicar is
8、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 and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.One night, however, our vicar work up with a start: the
9、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 into the clock tower to see what was going on. In the torchlight, he caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized
10、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 after night for weeks now. You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise.You certainly did give me a surprise! said the vicar.
11、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 afraid 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
12、 vicar. “Thirteen is not as good as one, but its better than nothing. Now lets go downstairs and have a cup of tea.参考译文我们教区的牧师总是为各种各样的事筹集资金。但始终未能筹足资金把教堂的钟修好。教堂的钟很大，以前不分昼夜打点报时，但很多年前遭到毁坏，从此便无声无息了。一天夜里，我们的牧师突然被惊醒了，大钟又在“打点”报时了！他一看表，才 1点钟，可是那钟一边敲了 13下才停。牧师拿着一支电筒走上钟楼想去看看究竟发生了什么事情。借着电筒光。他看见一个人，马上认出那是本地杂货店主
13、经比尔.威尔金斯。“你究竟在这上面干什么，比尔？”牧师惊讶地问。“我想把这口钟修好，”比尔回答说。“好几个星期了，我天天夜里到钟楼上来。嗯，我是想让你大吃一惊。”“你确实使我大吃了一惊！”牧师说，“也许同时你把村里所有的人都吵醒了。不过，钟又能报时了，我还是很高兴的。”“问题就在这里，牧师，”比尔回答说。“不错，钟能报时了，但是，恐怕每到 1点钟，它总要敲 13下，对此我已无能为力了。”“大家慢慢就习惯了，比尔，”牧师说。“13 下是不如 1下好，但总比 1下也不敲强。来，咱们下楼去喝杯茶吧。”无名女神How did the archaeologists know that the statu
14、e was a goddess?Some time ago, and interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea. An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini. The city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of civiliza
15、tion. Houses - often three storeys high - were built of stone. They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls. The city was equipped with a drainage system, for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets.The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of wo
16、rship from the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times. In the most sacred room of 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
17、missing 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 ver
18、y modern-looking woman. She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips. 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.参考译文不久之前，在爱琴海的基亚岛上，考古工作者有一项有趣
19、的发现。一个美国考古队在阿伊亚.依里尼海角的一座古城里考察了一座庙宇。这座古城肯定一度很繁荣，因为它曾享有高度的文明，房子一般有 3层楼高，用石块修建。里面房间很大，墙壁装饰华丽。城里甚至还敷设了排水系统，因为在狭窄的街道底下发现了许许多多陶土制作的排水管道。考古工作者考察的这座庙宇从公元前 15世纪直到罗马时代一直是祭祀祈祷的场所。在庙中最神圣的一间殿堂里发现了 15尊陶雕像的碎片。每一尊雕像代表一位女神，而且一度上过色。其中有一尊雕像，她的躯体是在公元前 15世纪的历史文物中发现的，而她那身异处的脑袋却碰巧是在公元前 5世纪的文物中找到的。她的脑袋一定是在古希腊罗马时代就为人所发现，并受到
20、精心的保护。却使在当时，它也属历史悠久的珍奇之物。考古工作者把这些碎片重新拼装起来后，惊奇地发现那位女神原来是一位相貌十分摩登的女郎。她身高 3英尺，双手叉腰。身穿一条拖地长裙，尽管上了年纪，但体态确实优美。不过，考古工作者至今未能确定这位女神的身份。Lesson 4 The double life of Alfred Bloggs阿尔弗雷德.布洛格斯的双重生活Why did Alf want a white-collar job?These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who
21、 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 people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-c
22、ollar 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 his wife about his job. He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every m
23、orning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night. He took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret Alfs wife has never d
24、iscovered that she married a dustman and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but 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 ot
25、hers will call him Mr. Bloggs, not Alf.参考译文如今，从事体力劳动的人的收入一般要比坐办公室的人高出许多。坐办公室的之所以常常被称作“白领工人”，就是因为他们通常是穿着硬领白衬衫，系着领带去上班。许多人常常情愿放弃较高的薪水以换取做白领工人的殊荣，此乃人之常情。而这常常会引起种种奇怪的现象，在埃尔斯米尔公司当清洁工的艾尔弗雷德.布洛斯就是一个例子。艾尔弗结婚时，感到非常难为情，而没有将自己的职业告诉妻子。他只说在埃尔斯米尔公司上班。每天早晨，他穿上一身漂亮的黑色西装离家上班，然后换上工作服，当 8个小时清洁工。晚上回家前，他洗个淋浴，重新换上那身黑色西服。
26、两年多以来，艾尔弗一直这样，他的同事也为他保守秘密。艾尔弗的妻子一直不知道她嫁给了一个清洁工，而且她永远也不会知道了，因为艾尔弗已找到薪职，不久就要坐办公室里工作了。他将来挣的钱只有他现在的一半。不过他觉得，地位升高了，损失点儿钱也值得。从此，艾尔弗可以一天到晚穿西服了。别人将称呼他为“布洛格斯先生”，而不再叫他“艾尔弗”了。Lesson 5 The facts确切数字What was the consequence of the editors insistence on facts and statistics?Editors of newspapers and magazines oft
27、en go to extremes to provide their reader with unimportant facts and statistics. Last year 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 refuse to
28、 publish it. The article began: Hundreds of steps lead to the high wall which surrounds the presidents palace. The editor at once sent the journalist a fax instructing him find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts
29、, but the took a long time to send them Meanwhile, the editor was getting impatient, for the magazine would soon go to press. He sent the journalist two more faxes, but received no reply. He sent yet another fax informing the journalist that if he did not reply soon he would be fired. When the journ
30、alist again failed to reply, the editor reluctantly published the article as it had originally been written. A week later, the editor at last received a fax 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 s
31、end a fax in which he informed the editor that the he had been arrested while counting the 1,084 steps leading to the fifteen-foot wall which surrounded the presidents palace.参考译文报刊杂志的编辑常常为了向读者提供成立一些关紧要的事实和统计数字而走向极端。去年，一位记者受一家有名的杂志的委托写一篇关于非洲某个新成立共和国总统府的文章。稿子寄来后，编辑看第一句话就拒绝予以发表。文章的开头是这样的：“几百级台阶通向环绕总统的
32、高墙。”编辑立即给那位记者发去传真，要求他核实一下台阶的确切数字和围墙的高度。记者立即出发去核实这些重要的事实，但过了好长时间不见他把数字寄来，在此期间，编辑等得不耐烦了，因为杂志马上要付印。他给记者先后发去两份传真，但对方毫无反应。于是他又发了一份传真，通知那位记者说，若再不迅速答复，将被解雇。但记者还是没有回复。编辑无奈，勉强按原样发稿了。一周之后，编辑终于接到记者的传真。那个可怜的记者不仅被捕了，而且还被送进了监狱。不过，他终于获准发回了一份传真。在传真中他告诉编辑，就在他数通向 15英尺高的总统府围墙的 1，084 级台阶时，被抓了起来。Lesson 6 Smash-and-grab砸
33、橱窗抢劫How did Mr. Taylor try to stop the thieves?The expensive shops in a famous near Piccadilly were just “opening. At this time of the morning, the arcade was almost empty. Mr. Taylor, the owner of a jewellery shop was admiring a new display. Two of his assistants had been working busily since eight
34、 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, Mr. Taylor went back into his shop.The silence was suddenly broken when a large car, with its headlights on and its home bla
35、ring, roared down the arcade. It came to a stop outside the jewellers. One man stayed at the wheel while two others with black stocking over their faces jumped out and smashed the window of the shop with iron bars. While this was going on, Mr. Taylor was upstairs. He and his staff began throwing fur
36、niture 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 any pain. The raid was all over in three minutes, for the men scrambled back into the car and it moved off at a fantasti
37、c 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 pounds worth of diamonds.参考译文皮卡迪利大街附近的一条著名拱廊街道上，几家高档商店刚刚开始营业。在早晨的这个时候，拱廊街上几乎空无一人。珠宝店主泰勒先生正在欣赏新布置的橱窗。他手下两名店员从早上 8点就开始忙碌，这
38、时刚刚布置完毕。钻石项链、戒指漂亮地陈列在黑色丝绒上面。泰勒先生站在橱窗外凝神欣赏了几分钟就回到了店里。宁静突然被打破，一辆大轿车亮着前灯，响着喇叭，呼啸着冲进了拱廊街，在珠宝店门口停了下来。一人留在驾驶座上，另外两个用黑色长筒丝袜蒙面的人跳下车来。他们用铁棒把商店橱窗的玻璃砸碎。这开始发生时，泰勒先生正在楼上。他与店员动手向窗外投掷家具，椅子，桌子飞落花流水在拱廊街上。一个窃贼被一尊很重的雕像击中，但由于他忙着抢钻石首饰，竟连疼痛都顾不上了。这场抢劫只持续了 3分钟，因为窃贼争先恐后地爬上轿车，以惊人的速度开跑了。就在轿车离开的时候，泰勒先生从店里冲了出来，跟在车后追赶，一边还往车上扔烟灰缸
39、、花瓶。但他已无法抓住那些窃贼了。他们已带着价值数千镑的首饰逃之夭夭了。残钞鉴别组Why did Jane cook Johns wallet?Has it ever happened to you? Have you ever put your trousers in the washing machine and then remembered there was a large bank note in your back pocket? When you rescued your trousers, did note in your back pocket? When you resc
40、ued your trousers, did you find the note was whiter than white? People who live in Britain neednt despair when they made mistakes like this (and a lot of people do)! Fortunately for them, the Bank of England has a team called Mutilated Ladies which deals with claims from people who fed their money t
41、o a machine or to their dog. Dogs, it seems, love to chew up money!A recent case concerns Jane Butlin whose fianc, John, runs a successful furniture business. John had very good day and put his wallet containing $3,000 into the microwave oven for safekeeping. Then he and Jane went horse-riding. When
42、 they got home, Jane cooked their dinner in the microwave oven and without realizing it, cooked her fiancs wallet as well. Imagine their dismay when they found a beautifully-cooked wallet and notes turned to ash! John went to see his bank manager who sent the remains of wallet and the money to the s
43、pecial department of the Bank of England in Newcastle: the Mutilate Ladies! They examined the remain and John got all his money back. So long as theres something to identify, we will give people their money back, said a spokeswoman for the Bank. Last year, we paid $1.5m on 21,000 claims. Damaged ban
44、k notes. The Queens head appears on English bank notes, and lady refers to this.参考译文这种事情在你身上出现过吗？你有没有把裤子塞洗衣机，然后又想在裤子的后兜有一张大面值的纸币？当你把裤子抢救出来时，你有没有发现那张纸币已经变得比白纸还白？当英国人犯这种错误时，他们不必感到绝望（而许多国家的人都有这种绝望的感觉）。对英国人来说，值得庆幸的是英国银行有一个残钞鉴别组，负责理那些把钱塞进机器或塞给狗的人提出的索赔要求。看起来，狗很喜欢咀嚼钱币。最近的一个案例与简.巴特林有关，她的未婚夫约翰拥有一家生意兴隆家具店。有一天
45、约翰的生意很好，他把一只装有 3,000 英镑的钱包放进微波炉内保存。然后，他和简一起去骑马。回家后，简用微波炉煮了晚饭，无意中之中把她未婚夫的钱包也一起煮了。可以想像他们发现一只煮得很好看的钱包，钞票已化成灰时的沮丧心情。约翰去找银行经理，经理把约翰的钱包和纸币的残留物送到英国银行在纽卡斯尔的一个专门部门残钞鉴别组。他们鉴定了这些残留物。约翰拿回了他损失的全部数额。“只要有东西可供识别，我们会把钱还给人家的，”银行的一位女发言人说。“去年，我们对 21，000 起索赔要求支付了 150万英镑。”著名的修道院What are the St. Bernard dogs used for?The
46、Great St. Bernard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy. At 2,473 metres, it is the highest mountain pass in Europe. The famous monastery of St. Bernard, witch was founded in eleventh century, lies about a mile away. For hundreds of years, St. Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing th
47、e dangerous Pass. These friendly dogs, which were first brought from Asia, were used as watchdogs even in Roman times. Now that a tunnel ahs 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. D
48、espite the new tunnel, there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the Pass on foot.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 to be kept in a special enclosu
49、re. In winter, however, life at the monastery is quite different. The temperature drops to - 30 o and very few people attempt to cross the Pass. The monks prefer winter to summer of they have more privacy. The dogs have greater freedom, too, for they are allowed to wander 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 mountains, always receive a warm welcome at St. Bernards monastery.参考译文圣伯纳德大山口连接着瑞士与
