新概念英語第2冊課文

Lesson7Toolate為時太晚

ThepIanewaslateanddetectiveswerewaitingattheairport

alImorning.Theywereexpectingavaluableparcelof

diamondfromSouthAfrica.AfewhoursearIier,someonehad

toldthepolicethatthieveswouldtrytostealthediamonds.

Whentheplanearrived,someofthedetectiveswerewaiting

insidethemainbuildingwhileotherswerewaitingonthe

airfield.Twomentooktheparcelofftheplaneandcarried

itintotheCustomsHouse.WhiIetwodetectiveswerekeeping

guardatthedoor,twoothersopenedtheparcel.Totheir

surprise,thepreciousparcelwasfulIofstonesandsand!

Lesson8Thebestandtheworst最好的和最差的

JoeSandershasthemostbeautifulgardeninourtown.NearIy

everybodyentersfor'TheNicestGardenCompetition'each

year,butJoewinseverytime.Bi11Frith'sgardenislarger

thanJoe1s.Bi11worksharderthanJoeandgrowsmoreflowers

andvegetables,butJoe'sgardenismoreinteresting.Hehas

madeneatpathsandhasbuiltawoodenbridgeoverapool.

IIikegardenstoo,butIdonotIikehardwork.Everyyear

Ienterforthegardencompetitiontoo,andIaIwayswina

littleprizefortheworstgardeninthetown!

Lesson10Notforjazz不適于演奏爵士樂

Wehaveanoldmusicalinstrument.Itiscalleda

clavichord（翼琴）.11wasmadeinGermanyin1681.Our

clavichordiskeptintheIiving-room.11hasbeIongtoour

familyforalongtime.Theinstrumentwasboughtbymy

grandfathermanyyearsago.Recentlyitwasdamagedbya

visitor.Shetriedtoplayjazzonit!Shestruckthekeys

toohardandtwoofthestringswerebroken.Myfatherwas

shocked.Nowwearenotallowedtotouchit.11isbeing

repairedbyafriendofmyfather's.

Lesson13TheGreenwoodBoys綠林少年

TheGreenwoodBoysareagroupofpopuIarsingers.Atpresent,

theyarevisitingalIpartsofthecountry.Theywi11be

arrivingheretomorrow.Theywillbecomingbytrainandmost

oftheyoung

peopIeinthetownwi11bemeetingthematthestation.

Tomorroweveningtheywi11besingingattheWorkers'Club.

TheGreenwoodBoyswi11bestayingforfivedays.Duringthis

time,theywi11givefiveperformances.Asusual,thepolice

wi11haveadifficu11time.Theywi11betryingtokeeporder.

11isaIwaysthesameontheseoccasions.

Lesson14DoyouspeakEngIish?你會講英語嗎？

Ihadanamusingexperiencelastyear.AfterIhadlefta

smaIIvi11ageinthesouthofFrance,Idroveontothenext

town.Ontheway,ayoungmanwavedtome.Istoppedandhe

askedmeforalift.Assoonashehadgotintothecar,I

saidgoodmorningtohiminFrenchandherepliedinthesame

Ianguage.Apartfromafewwords,IdonotknowanyFrench

atalI.Neitherofusspokeduringthejourney.Ihadnearly

reachedthetown,whentheyoungmansuddenlysaid,very

slowly,'DoyouspeakEngIish?1AsIsoonlearnt,hewas

EngIishhimseIf!

Lesson16Apoliterequest彬彬有禮的要求

IfyouparkyourcarinthewrongpIace,atrafficpoliceman

wi11soonfindit.Youwi11beveryluckyifheletsyougo

withoutaticket.However,thisdoesnotaIwayshappen.

Trafficpolicearesometimesverypolite.Duringahoiiday

inSweden,Ifoundthisnoteonmycar：'Sir,weweIcomeyou

toourcity.Thisisa"NoParking"area.Youwi11enjoyyour

stayhereifyoupayattentiontoourstreetsigns.Thisnote

isonIyareminder.1Ifyoureceivearequestlikethis,you

cannotfaiItoobeyit!

Lesson20Onemaninaboat獨坐孤舟

Fishingismyfavouritesport.Ioftenfishforhourswithout

catchinganything.Butthisdoesnotworryme.Some

fishermenareunlucky.Insteadofcatchingfish,theycatch

oldbootsandrubbish.IamevenlessIucky.Inevercatch

anything-notevenoldboots.Afterhavingspentwhole

morningsontheriver,IaIwaysgohomewithanemptybag.

'Youmustgiveupfishing!1myfriendssay.111'sawaste

oftime.'Buttheydon'trealizeoneimportantthing.I'm

notreallyinterestedinfishing.Iamonlyinterestedin

sittinginaboatanddoingnothingatalI!

Lesson21Madornot?是不是瘋了？

Aeroplanesareslowlydrivingmemad.IIivenearanairport

andpassingpIanescanbeheardnightandday.Theairport

wasbuiltduringthewar,butforsomereasonitcouldnot

beusedthen.Lastyear,however,itcameintouse.Overa

hundredpeopIemusthavebeendrivenawayfromtheirhomes

bythenoise.IamoneofthefewpeopIeleft.SometimesI

thinkthishousewi11beknockeddownbyapassingpIane.

Ihavebeenofferedalargesumofmoneytogoaway,butI

amdeterminedtostayhere.EverybodysaysImustbemadand

theyareprobablyright.

Iesson25DotheEngIishspeakEngIish?英國人講的是英語

嗎？

IarrivedinLondonatlast.TheraiIwaystationwasbig,

blackanddark.Ididnotknowthewaytomyhotel,soIasked

aporter.InotonlyspokeEnglishverycarefully,butvery

clearlyaswelI.Theporter,however,couldnotunderstand

me；Irepeatedmyquestionseveraltimesandatlasthe

understood.Heansweredme,buthespokeneitherslowlynor

clearly.11amaforeigner,1Isaid.Thenhespokeslowly,

butIcouldnotunderstandhim.Myteacherneverspoke

EngIishIikethat!TheporterandIIookedateachotherand

smiled.ThenhesaidsomethingandIunderstoodit.'You'11

soonlearnEnglish!1hesaid.Iwonder.InEngIand,eachman

speaksadifferentIanguage.TheEngIishunderstandeach

other,butIdon'tunderstandthem!DotheyspeakEnglish?

Lesson28Noparking禁止停車

JasperWhiteisoneofthoserarepeopIewhobeIievesin

ancientmyths.Hehasjustboughtanewhouseinthecity,

buteversincehemovedin,hehashadtroublewithmotorists.

whenhereturnshomeatnight,heaIwaysfindsthatsomeone

hasparkedacaroutsidehisgate.Becauseofthis,hehas

notbeenabletogethisowncarintohisgarageevenonce.

Jasperhasputup'NoParking1signsoutsidehisgate,but

thesehavenothadanyeffect.Nowhehasputanuglystone

headoverthegate.ItisoneoftheugliestfacesIhave

everseen.Iaskedhimwhatitwasandhetoldmethatit

wasMedusa,theGorgon.Jasperhopesthatshewi11turn

motoriststostone.Butnoneofthemhasbeenturnedtostone

yet!

Lesson29Taxi!出租汽車！

CaptainBenFawcetthasboughtanunusualtaxiandhasbegun

anewservice.The'taxi1isasmalISwissaeroplanecalled

a'PilatusPorter1.Thiswonderfulplanecancarryseven

passengers.Themostsurprisingthingaboutit,however,is

thatitcanlandanywhere：onsnow,water,orevenona

ploughedfield.CaptainFawcett'sfirstpassengerwasa

doctorwhoflewfromBirminghamtoalonelyvi11ageinthe

Welshmountains.Sincethen,CaptainFawcetthasflown

passengerstomanyunusualpIaces.OnceheIandedontheroof

ofablockofflatsandonanotheroccasion,helandedin

adesertedcarpark.CaptainFawcetthasjustrefuseda

strangerequestfromabusinessman.Themanwantedtofly

toRocka11,alonelyislandintheAtlanticOcean,but

CaptainFawcettdidnottakehimbecausethetripwastoo

dangerous.

Lesson32Shoppingmadeeasy購物變得很方便

PeopIearenotsohonestastheyoncewere.Thetemptation

tostealisgreaterthaneverbefore—especiallyinlarge

shops.AdetectiverecentIywatchedawe11-dressedwomanwho

alwayswentintoalargestoreonMondaymornings.OneMonday,

therewerefewerpeopIeintheshopthanusualwhenthewoman

camein,soitwaseasierforthedetectivetowatchher.

ThewomanfirstboughtafewsmalIarticles.Afteralittle

time,shechoseoneofthemostexpensivedressesintheshop

andhandedittoanassistantwhowrappeditupforheras

quicklyaspossible.Thenthewomansimplytooktheparcel

andwalkedoutoftheshopwithoutpaying.Whenshewas

arrested,thedetectivefoundoutthattheshop-assistant

washerdaughter.Thegirl'gave'hermotherafreedress

onceaweek!

Lesson36AcrosstheChanneI橫渡海峽

ErnaHartisgoingtoswimacrosstheEnglishChannel

tomorrow.SheisgoingtosetoutfromtheFrenchcoastat

fiveo1cIockinthemorning.ErnaisonIyfourteenyearsold

andshehopesIosetupanewworldrecord.Sheisastrong

swimmerandmanypeopIefeelthatsheissuretosucceed.

Erna'sfatherwi11setoutwithherinasmalIboat.MrHart

hastrainedhisdaughterforyears.Tomorrowhewi11be

watchingheranxiouslyassheswimsthelongdistanceto

England.Ernaintendstotakeshortrestseverytwohours.

Shewi11havesomethingtodrinkbutshewi11noteatany

solidfood.MostofErna'sschoolfriendswillbewaiting

forherontheEngIishcoast.Amongthemwi11beErna's

mother,whoswamtheChanneIherselfwhenshewasagirl.

Lesson37The01ympicGames奧林匹克運動會

The01ympicGameswi11beheldinourcountryinfouryears'

time.AsagreatmanypeopIewi11bevisitingthecountry,

thegovernmentwi11bebuildingnewhotels,animmense

stadium,andafinenewswimmingpool.'Theywi11alsobe

buildingnewroadsandaspeciaIrailway-1ine.TheGames

wi11beheldjustoutsidethecapitalandthewholeareawi11

becalled'OlympicCity'.Workerswi11havecompletedthe

newroadsbytheendofthisyear.Bytheendofnextyear,

theywi11havefinishedworkonthenewstadium.Thefine

modernbuiIdingshavebeendesignedbyKurtGunter.

Everybodywi11bewatchinganxiouslyasthenewbuildings

goup.WearealIveryexcitedandareIookingforwardto

the01ympicGamesbecausetheyhaveneverbeenheldbefore

inthiscountry.

Lesson38Everythingexcepttheweather惟獨沒有考慮到天氣

Myoldfrlend,Harrison,hadIivedintheMediterraneanfor

manyyearsbeforehereturnedtoEngland.Hehadoften

dreamedofretiringinEnglandandhadpIannedtosettledown

inthecountry.Hehadnosoonerreturnedthanheboughta

finehouseandwenttoIivethere.Almostimmediatelyhe

begantocomplainabouttheweather,foreventhoughitwas

stillsummer,itrainedcontinuallyanditwasoften

bitterlycold.Aftersomanyyearsofsunshine,Harrisongot

ashock.HeactedasifhehadneverIivedinEnglandbefore.

Intheend,itwasmorethanhecouldbear.Hehadhardly

hadtimetosettledownwhenhesoldthehouseandleftthe

country.Thedreamhehadhadforsomanyyearsendedthere.

Harrisonhadthoughtofeverythingexcepttheweather.

Lesson39AmIallright?我是否痊愈？

WhileJohnGilbertwasinhospital,heaskedhisdoctorto

telIhimwhetherhisoperationhadbeensuccessful,butthe

doctorrefusedtodoso.Thefollowingday,thepatientasked

forabedsidetelephone.Whenhewasalone,hetelephoned

thehospitalexchangeandaskedforDoctorMi11ington.When

thedoctoransweredthephone,MrGilbertsaidhewas

inquiringaboutacertainpatient,aMrJohnGilbert.He

askedifMrGilbert'soperationhadbeensuccessfulandthe

doctortoldhimthatithadbeen.HethenaskedwhenMr

Gilbertwouldbeallowedtogohomeandthedoctortoldhim

thathewouIdhavetostayinhospitalforanothertwoweeks.

ThenDrMillingtonaskedthecallerifhewasarelativeof

thepatient.1No,1thepatientanswered,1IamMrJohn

Gilbert.,

Lesson40Foodandtalk進餐與交談

Lastweekatadinner-party,thehostessaskedmetositnext

toMrsRumboId.MrsRumboldwasalarge,unsmiIingladyin

atightblackdress.ShedidnotevenlookupwhenItook

myseatbesideher.Hereyeswerefixedonherplateandin

ashorttime,shewasbusyeating.Itriedtomake

conversation.

1Anewplayiscomingto"TheGlobe"soon,1Isaid.'Will

youbeseeingit?11No,'sheanswered.'Wi11youbespending

yourhoIidaysabroadthisyear?'Iasked.1No,1she

answered.

1Wi11youbestayinginEngIand?1Iasked.1No,1she

answered.

Indespair,Iaskedherwhethershewasenjoyingherdinner.

1Youngman,1sheanswered,1ifyouatemoreandtalkedless,

wewouldbothenjoyourdinner!1

yhats,1sheanswered.

TenminuteslaterwewaIkedoutoftheshoptogether.Mywife

waswearingahatthatIookedIikeaIighthouse!

Lesson43OvertheSouthPole飛越南極

In1929,threeyearsafterhisflightovertheNorthPole,

theAmericanexplorer,R.E.Byrd,successfullyflewover

theSouthPoleforthefirsttime.Though,atfirst,Byrd

andhismenwereabletotakeagreatmanyphotographsof

themountainsthatlaybelow,theysoonranintoserious

trouble.Atonepoint,itseemedcertainthattheirplane

wouldcrash.Itcouldonlygetoverthemountainsifitrose

to10,000feet.Byrdatonceorderedhismentothrowout

twoheavyfoodsacks.Theplanewasthenabletoriseand

itclearedthemountainsby400feet.Byrdnowknewthathe

wouldbeabletoreachtheSouthPolewhichwas300miles

away,fortherewerenomoremountainsinsight.Theaircraft

wasabletoflyovertheendlesswhiteplainswithout

difficulty.

Lesson45Aclearconscience問心無愧

Thewholevi11agesoonlearntthatalargesumofmoneyhad

beenlost.SamBenton,thelocalbutcher,hadlosthiswaIlet

whiletakinghissavingstothepost-office.Samwassure

thatthewalletmusthavebeenfoundbyoneoftheviIlagers,

butitwasnotreturnedtohim.Threemonthspassed,andthen

onemorning,Samfoundhiswalletoutsidehisfrontdoor.

11hadbeenwrappedupinnewspaperanditcontainedhalf

themoneyhehadlost,togetherwithanotewhichsaid：'A

thief,yes,'butonIy5opercentathief!1Twomonthslater,

somemoremoneywassenttoSamwithanothernote：1Only25

percentathiefnow!1Intime,allSam1smoneywaspaidback

inthisway.Thelastnotesaid：'Iam100percenthonest

now!1

Lesson47Athirstyghost嗜酒的鬼魂

ApubIichousewhichwasrecentlyboughtbyMrIanThompson

isupforsale.MrThompsonisgoingtosellitbecauseit

ishaunted.Hetoldmethathecouldnotgotosleeponenight

becauseheheardastrangenoisecomingfromthebar.The

nextmorning,hefoundthatthedoorshadbeenbIockedby

chairsandthefurniturehadbeenmoved.ThoughMrThompson

hadturnedtheIightsoffbeforehewenttobed,theywere

oninthemorning.HeaIsosaidthathehadfoundfiveempty

whiskybottleswhichtheghostmusthavedrunkthenight

before.WhenIsuggestedthatsomeviIlagersmusthavecome

inforafreedrink,MrThompsonshookhishead.The

viIlagershavetoldhimthattheywi11notaccepttheinn

evenifhegivesitaway.

Lesson48DidyouwanttotelImesomething?你想對我說什

么嗎？

DentistsalwaysaskquestionswhenitisimpossibIeforyou

toanswer.Mydentisthadjustpulledoutoneofmyteeth

andhadtoldmetorestforawhiIe.Itriedtosaysomething,

butmymouthwasfulIofcotton-wool.HeknewIcollected

birds'eggsandaskedmewhethermycollectionwasgrowing.

HethenaskedmehowmybrotherwasandwhetherIIikedmy

newjobinLondon.InanswertothesequestionsIeither

noddedormadestrangenoises.MeanwhiIe,mytonguewasbusy

searchingouttheholewherethetoothhadbeen.IsuddenIy

feltveryworried,butcouldnotsayanything.Whenthe

dentistatlastremovedthecotton-woolfrommymouth,Iwas

abletotelIhimthathehadpulledoutthewrongtooth.

Lesson49Theendofadream美夢告終

Tiredofsleepingonthefloor,ayoungmaninTeheransaved

upforyearstobuyarealbed.Forthefirsttimeinhis

Iife,hebecametheproudownerofabedwhichhadsprings

andamattress.Becausetheweatherwasveryhot,hecarried

thebedontotheroofofhishouse.Hesleptverywe11for

thefirsttwonights,butonthethirdnight,astormblew

up.Agustofwindsweptthebedofftheroofandsentit

crashingintothecourtyardbelow.Theyoungmandidnotwake

upuntiIthebedhadstrucktheground.Althoughthebedwas

smashedtopieces,themanwasmiraculouslyunhurt.Whenhe

wokeup,hewasstillonthemattress.Glancingatthebits

ofwoodandmetalthatlayaroundhim,themansadlypieked

upthemattressandcarrieditintohishouse.Afterhehad

putitonthefloor,hepromptlywenttosleepagain.

Lesson51Rewardforvirtue對美德的獎賞

Myfriend,Herbert,hasalwaysbeenfat,butthingsgotso

badrecentlythathedecidedtogoonadiet.Hebeganhis

dietaweekago.FirstofalI,hewroteoutalongIistof

alIthefoodswhichwereforbidden.TheIistincludedmost

ofthethingsHerbertIoves：butter,potatoes,rice,beer,

miIk,chocolate,andsweets.YesterdayIpaidhimavisit.

Irangthebe11andwasnotsurprisedtoseethatHerbert

wasstillasfatasever.Heledmeintohisroomand

hurriedlyhidalargeparcelunderhisdesk.11wasobvious

thathewasveryembarrassed.WhenIaskedhimwhathewas

doing,hesmiIedgui11ilyandthenputtheparcelonthedesk

Heexplainedthathisdietwassostrictthathehadtoreward

himselfoccasiona11y.Thenheshowedmethecontentsofthe

parcel.11containedfivelargebarsofchocolateandthree

bagsofsweets!

Lesson52Aprettycarpet漂亮的地毯

WehavejustmovedintoanewhouseandIhavebeenworking

hardalImorning.Ihavebeentryingtogetmynewroomin

order.ThishasnotbeeneasybecauseIownoverathousand

books.Tomakemattersworse,theroomisrathersmalI,so

Ihavetemporarilyputmybooksonthefloor.Atthemoment,

theycovereveryinchoffloorspaceandIactuallyhaveto

walkonthemtogetinoroutoftheroom.AshortwhiIeago,

mysisterheIpedmetocarryoneofmyoldbookcasesupthe

stairs.Shewentintomyroomandgotabigsurprisewhen

shesawa11thosebooksonthefloor.'Thisistheprettiest

carpetIhaveeverseen,1shesaid.Shegazedatitforsome

timethenadded,'Youdon'tneedbookcasesatalI.Youcan

sithereinyoursparetimeandreadthecarpet!1

Lesson54Stickyfingers粘糊的手指

Afterbreakfast,IsentthechiIdrentoschooIandthenI

wenttomarket.11wasstillearlywhenIreturnedhome.The

chiIdrenwereatschooI,myhusbandwasatworkandthehouse

wasquiet.SoIdecidedtomakesometartsfortea.Inashort

timeIwasbusymixingbutterandflourandmyhandswere

sooncoveredwithstickypastry.Atexactlythatmoment,the

telephonerang.Nothingcouldhavebeenmoreannoying.I

piekedupthereceiverbetweentwostickyfingersandwas

dismayedwhenIrecognizedthevoiceofMrsBates.11took

metenminutestopersuadehertoringbacklater.Atlast

Ihungupthereceiver.Whatamess!Therewaspastryonmy

fingers,onthetelephone,andonthedoor-knobs.Ihadno

soonergotbacktothekitchenthanthedoor-be11rangloud

enoughtowakethedead.Thistimeitwasthepostmanand

hewantedmetosignforaregisteredletter!

Lesson55Notagoldmine并非金礦

Dreamsoffindinglosttreasurealmostcametruerecently.

Anewmachinecalled'TheRevealer'hasbeeninventedand

ithasbeenusedtodetectgoIdwhichhasbeenburiedinthe

ground.Themachinewasusedinacaveneartheseashore

where—itissaid—piratesusedtohidegold.Thepirates

wouldoftenburygoldinthecaveandthenfaiItocollect

it.Armedwiththenewmachine,asearchpartywentintothe

cavehopingtofindburiedtreasure.Theleaderoftheparty

wasexaminingthesoiIneartheentrancetothecavewhen

themachineshowedthattherewasgoldundertheground.Very

excited,thepartydugaholetwofeetdeep.Theyfinally

foundasmalIgoIdcoinwhichwasalmostworthless.Theparty

thensearchedthewholecavethoroughlybutdidnotfind

anythingexceptanemptytintrunk.Inspiteofthis,many

peopIeareconfidentthat'TheRevealer1mayreveal

somethingofvaluefairlysoon.

Lesson56Fasterthansound!比聲音還快!

Onceayeararaceisheldforoldcars.Alotofcarsentered

forthisracelastyearandtherewasagreatdealof

excitementjustbeforeitbegan.Oneofthemosthandsome

carswasaRo11s-RoyceSilverGhost.Themostunusualcar

wasaBenzwhichhadonlythreewheeIs.Builtin1885,it

wastheoldestcartakingpart.Afteragreatmanyloud

explosions,theracebegan.Manyofthecarsbrokedownon

thecourseandsomedriversspentmoretimeundertheircars

thaninthem!Afewcars,however,completedtherace.The

winningcarreachedaspeedoffortymilesanhour-much

fasterthananyofitsrivals.11speddownhi11attheend

oftheraceanditsdriverhadalotoftroubletryingto

stopit.Theracegaveeveryoneagreatdealofpleasure.

Itwasverydifferentfrommoderncarracesbutnoless

exciting.

Lesson58Ablessingindisguise?是因禍得福嗎？

Thetinyvi11ageofFrinleyissaidtopossessa'cursed

tree1.Becausethetreewasmentionedinanewspaper,the

numberofvisitorstoFrinleyhasnowincreased.Thetree

wasplantednearachurchfiftyyearsago,butitisonly

inrecentyearsthatithasgainedaneviIreputation.11

issaidthatifanyonetouchesthetree,hewillhavebad

luck；ifhepicksaleaf,hewi11die.ManyviIlagersbeIieve

thatthetreehasalreadycIaimedanumberofvictims.The

vicarhasbeenaskedtohavethetreecutdown,butsofar

hehasrefused.Hehaspointedoutthatthetreeisauseful

sourceofincomeastouristshavebeencomingfromalIparts

ofthecountrytoseeit.Inspiteofallthathasbeensaid,

thetourists-havebeenpickingIeavesandcuttingtheir

namesonthetree-trunk.Sofar,notoneofthemhasbeen

struckdownbysuddendeath!

Lesson61TroublewiththeHubble哈勃望遠鏡的困境

Infuture,astronautswi11berequiredtodescendfroma

spaceshipwhileitisstillinspaceandtoreturntoit.

Theabilitytodothiswi11benecessaryinfuturefIights

todistantplanets.Scientistsarenowtryingtodiscover

ifthisispossibIe.ThespaceshipAstrawhichlefttheearth

ashorttimeago,wi11betravelIingthreehundredmilesinto

space.Atacertainpoint,theAstrawi11stopforashort

timeandanastronautwi11attempttoleavethestationary

spaceshipandthenreturntoit.WeshalInotknowwhether

theexperimenthasbeensuccessfuluntiIwehavereceived

aradiomessage.Thefirstmessageisexpectedtoarriveat

7o'clockthisevening.Bythattime,theAstrawi11have

beenflyingthroughspaceforseventeenhoursandwi11have

circledtheearthagreatmanytimes.Whenthefirstradio

messageshavebeenreceived,theresultsofthetripwill

beannouncedimmediately.

Lesson64TheChanneITunnel海峽隧道

In1858,aFrenchengineer,AimeThomedeGamond,arrived

inEngIandwithaplanforatwenty-onemiIetunnelacross

theEngIishChanneI.HesaidthatitwouldbepossibIeto

buiIdaplatforminthecentreoftheChanneI.Thisplatform

wouldserveasaportandaraiIwaystation.Thetunnelwould

bewe11-ventilatediftaiIchimneyswerebuiltabove

sea-1eveI.In1860,abetterplanwasputforwardbyan

Englishman,WilliamLow.HesuggestedthatadoubleraiIway

tunnelshouIdbebuilt.Thiswouldsolvetheproblemof

ventiIation,forifatrainenteredthistunnel,itwould

drawinfreshairbehindit.Forty-twoyearslateratunnel

wasactuallybegun.If,atthetime,theBritishhadnot

fearedinvasion,itwouldhavebeencompleted.Recently,

therehasagainbeengreatinterestintheideaofaChannel

Tunnel.Ifitisbuilt,itwillconnectBritaintoEurope

forthefirsttimeinhistory.

Lesson65Jumboversusthepolice小象對警察

LastChristmas,thecircusowner,JimmyGates,decidedto

takesomepresentstoachiIdren'shospital.Dressedupas

FatherChristmasandaccompaniedbya'guardofhonour1of

sixprettygirls,hesetoffdownthemainstreetofthecity

ridingababyelephantcalledJumbo.He,shouIdhaveknown

thatthepolicewouldneverallowthissortofthing.A

poIicemanapproachedJimmyandtoldhimheoughttohavegone

alongaside-streetasJumbowasholdingupthetraffic.

ThoughJimmyagreedtogoatonce,Jumborefusedtomove.

FifteenpoIicemenhadtopushveryhardtogethimoffthe

mainstreet.Thepolicehadadifficu11time,buttheywere

mostamused.'Jumbomustweighafewtons,'saidapoIiceman

afterwards,'soitwasfortunatethatwedidn11havetocarry

him.Ofcourse,weshouIdarresthim,butashehasagood

record,weshalIlethimoffthistime.1

Iesson69Butnotmurder!