新概念英語第三冊(cè)課文(全60課)

新概念英語第三冊(cè)（共60課）

LessonlApumaatlarge

Pumasarelarge,cat-likeanimalswhicharefoundinAmerica.Whenreportscame

intoLondonZoothatawildpumahadbeenspottedforty-fivemilessouthofLondon,

theywerenottakenseriously.However,astheevidencebegantoaccumulate,experts

fromtheZoofeltobligedtoinvestigate,forthedescriptionsgivenbypeoplewho

claimedtohaveseenthepumawereextraordinarilysimilar.

Thehuntforthepumabeganinasmallvillagewhereawomanpickingblackberries

saw'alargecat*onlyfiveyardsawayfromher.Itimmediatelyranawaywhenshe

sawit,andexpertsconfirmedthatapumawillnotattackahumanbeingunlessit

iscornered（adj.被困得走投無路的）.Thesearchproveddifficult,forthepumawas

oftenobservedatoneplaceinthemorningandatanotherplacetwentymilesaway

intheevening.Whereveritwent,itleftbehinditatrailofdeaddeerandsmall

animalslikerabbits.Pawprintswereseeninanumberofplacesandpumafurwas

foundclingingtobushes.Severalpeoplecomplainedoffcat-likenoises1atnight

andabusinessmanonafishingtripsawthepumaupatree.Theexpertswerenow

fullyconvincedthattheanimalwasapuma,butwherehaditcomefrom?Asnopumas

hadbeenreportedmissingfromanyzoointhecountry,thisonemusthavebeenin

thepossessionofaprivatecollectorandsomehowmanagedtoescape.Thehuntwent

onforseveralweeks,butthepumawasnotcaught.Itisdisturbingtothinkthat

adangerouswildanimalisstillatlargeinthequietcountryside.

美洲獅是一種體形似貓的大動(dòng)物，產(chǎn)于美洲。當(dāng)倫敦動(dòng)物園接到報(bào)告說，在倫敦以南

45英里處發(fā)現(xiàn)一只美洲獅時(shí)，這些報(bào)告并沒有受到重視。可是，隨著證據(jù)越來越多，動(dòng)物園

的專家們感到有必要進(jìn)行一番調(diào)查，因?yàn)榉彩锹暦Q見到過美洲獅的人們所描述的情況竟是出

奇地相似。

搜尋美洲獅的工作是從一座小村莊開始的。那里的一位婦女在采摘黑莓時(shí)的看見“一只

大貓”，離她僅5碼遠(yuǎn)，她剛看見它，它就立刻逃走了。專家證實(shí)，美洲獅非被逼得走投無

路，是決不會(huì)傷人的。事實(shí)上搜尋工作很困難，因?yàn)槌３Ｊ窃绯吭诩椎匕l(fā)現(xiàn)那只美洲獅，晚

上卻在20英里外的乙地發(fā)現(xiàn)它的蹤跡。無論它走哪兒，一路上總會(huì)留下一串死鹿及死兔子

之類的小動(dòng)物，在許多地方看見爪印，灌木叢中發(fā)現(xiàn)了粘在上面的美洲獅毛。有人抱怨說夜

里聽見“像貓一樣的叫聲”；一位商人去釣魚，看見那只美洲獅在樹上。專家們?nèi)缃褚呀?jīng)完

全肯定那只動(dòng)物就是美洲獅，但它是從哪兒來的呢？由于全國(guó)動(dòng)物園沒有一家報(bào)告丟了美洲

獅，因此那只美洲獅一定是某位私人收藏豢養(yǎng)的，不知怎么設(shè)法逃出來了。搜尋工作進(jìn)行了

好幾個(gè)星期，但始終未能逮住那只美洲獅。想到在寧靜的鄉(xiāng)村里有一頭危險(xiǎn)的野獸繼續(xù)逍遙

流竄，真令人擔(dān)心。

Lesson2Thirteenequalsone

Ourvicarisalwaysraisingmoneyforonecauseoranother,buthehasnever

managedtogetenoughmoneytohavethechurchclockrepaired.Thebigclockwhich

usedtostrikethehoursdayandnightwasdamagedmanyyearsagoandhasbeensilent

eversince.

Onenight,however,ourvicarwokeupwithastart：theclockwasstrikingthe

hours!Lookingathiswatch,hesawthatitwasoneo'clock,butthebellstruck

thirteentimesbeforeitstopped.Armedwithatorch,thevicarwentupintothe

clocktowertoseewhatwasgoingon.Inthetorchlight,hecaughtsightofafigure

whomheimmediatelyrecognizedasBillWilkins,ourlocalgrocer.'Whateverare

youdoinguphereBill?’askedthevicarinsurprise.

Tmtryingtorepairthebell,ransweredBill.1I1vebeencomingupherenight

afternightforweeksnow.Yousee,Iwashopingtogiveyouasurprise.

rYoucertainlydidgivemeasurprise!1saidthevicar.‘You'veprobablywoken

upeveryoneinthevillageaswell.Still,I'mgladthebellisworkingagain.f

'That'sthetrouble,vicar,1answeredBill.'It'sworkingallright,butI'm

afraidthatatoneorclockitwillstrikethirteentimesandtherersnothingIcan

doaboutit.1

‘We'llgetusedtothatBill,rsaidthevicar.'Thirteenisnotasgoodasone

butit'sbetterthannothing.Nowlet1sgodownstairsandhaveacupoftea.1

我們教區(qū)的牧師總是為各種各樣的事籌集資金。但始終未能籌足資金把教堂的鐘修

好。教堂的鐘很大，以前不分晝夜打點(diǎn)報(bào)時(shí)，但很多年前遭到毀壞，從此便無聲無息了。

一天夜里，我們的牧師突然被驚醒了，大鐘又在“打點(diǎn)”報(bào)時(shí)了！他一看表，才1點(diǎn)鐘，

可是那鐘一邊敲了13下才停。牧師拿著一支電筒走上鐘樓想去看看究竟發(fā)生了什么事情。

借著電筒光。他看見一個(gè)人，馬上認(rèn)出那是本地雜貨店主經(jīng)比爾.威爾金斯。

“你究竟在這上面干什么，比爾？”牧師驚訝地問。

“我想把這口鐘修好，”比爾回答說。“好幾個(gè)星期了，我天天夜里到鐘樓上來。嗯，

我是想讓你大吃一驚?！?/p>

“你確實(shí)使我大吃了一驚！”牧師說，“也許同時(shí)你把村里所有的人都吵醒了。不過，

鐘又能報(bào)時(shí)了，我還是很高興的?！?/p>

“問題就在這里，牧師，”比爾回答說?！安诲e(cuò)，鐘能報(bào)時(shí)了，但是，恐怕每到1點(diǎn)鐘，

它總要敲13下，對(duì)此我已無能為力了?！?/p>

“大家慢慢就習(xí)慣了，比爾，”牧師說?！?3下是不如1下好，但總比1下也不敲強(qiáng)。

來，咱們下樓去喝杯茶吧。”

Lesson3Anunknowngoddess

Sometimeago,aninterestingdiscoverywasmadebyarchaeologistsontheAegean

（adj.愛琴海的;n.）islandofKea.AnAmericanteamexploredatemplewhichstands

inanancientcityonthepromontoryofAyiaIrini.Thecityatonetimemusthave

beenprosperous,foritenjoyedahighlevelofcivilization.Houses-oftenthree

storeyshigh-werebuiltofstone.Theyhadlargeroomswithbeautifullydecorated

walls.Thecitywasevenequippedwithadrainagesystem,foragreatmanyclay

pipeswerefoundbeneaththenarrowstreets.

Thetemplewhichthearchaeologistsexploredwasusedasaplaceofworshipfrom

thefifteenthcenturyB.C.untilRomantimes.Inthemostsacredroomofthetemple,

clayfragmentsoffifteenstatueswerefound.Eachoftheserepresentedagoddess

andhad,atonetime,beenpainted.Thebodyofonestatuewasfoundamongremains

datingfromthefifteenthcenturyB.C.Itsmissingheadhappenedtobeamongremains

ofthefifthcenturyB.C.ThisheadmusthavebeenfoundinClassicaltimesand

carefullypreserved.Itwasveryoldandpreciouseventhen.Whenthearchaeologists

reconstructedthefragments,theywereamazedtofindthatthegoddessturnedout

tobeaverymodern-lookingwoman.Shestoodthreefeethighandherhandsrested

onherhip.Shewaswearingafull-lengthskirtwhichswepttheground.Despite

hergreatage,shewasverygracefulindeed,but,sofar,thearchaeologistshave

beenunabletodiscoverheridentity.

不久之前，在愛琴海的基亞島上，考古工作者有一項(xiàng)有趣的發(fā)現(xiàn)。一個(gè)美國(guó)考古隊(duì)在阿

伊亞?依里尼海角的一座古城里考察了一座廟宇。這座古城肯定一度很繁榮，因?yàn)樗碛?/p>

高度的文明，房子一般有3層樓高，用石塊修建。里面房間很大，墻壁裝飾華麗。城里甚至

還敷設(shè)了排水系統(tǒng)，因?yàn)樵讵M窄的街道底下發(fā)現(xiàn)了許許多多陶土制作的排水管道。

考古工作者考察的這座廟宇從公元前15世紀(jì)直到羅馬時(shí)代一直是祭祀祈禱的場(chǎng)所。

在廟中最神圣的一間殿堂里發(fā)現(xiàn)了15尊陶雕像的碎片。每一尊雕像代表一位女神，而且一

度上過色。其中有一尊雕像，她的軀體是在公元前15世紀(jì)的歷史文物中發(fā)現(xiàn)的，而她那身

異處的腦袋卻碰巧是在公元前5世紀(jì)的文物中找到的。她的腦袋一定是在古希臘羅馬時(shí)代就

為人所發(fā)現(xiàn)，并受到精心的保護(hù)。卻使在當(dāng)時(shí)，它也屬歷史悠久的珍奇之物。考古工作者把

這些碎片重新拼裝起來后，驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)那位女神原來是一位相貌十分摩登的女郎。她身高3

英尺，雙手叉腰。身穿一條拖地長(zhǎng)裙，盡管上了年紀(jì)，但體態(tài)確實(shí)優(yōu)美。不過，考古工作者

至今未能確定這位女神的身份。

Lesson4ThedoublelifeofAlfredBloggs

Thesedays,peoplewhodomanualworkoftenreceivefarmoremoneythanclerks

whoworkinoffices.Peoplewhoworkinofficesarefrequentlyreferredtoas'white

collarworkers1forthesimplereasonthattheyusuallywearacollarandtieto

gotowork.Suchishumannature,thatagreatmanypeopleareoftenwillingto

sacrificehigherpayfortheprivilegeofbecomingwhitecollarworkers.Thiscan

giverisetocurioussituations,asitdidinthecaseofAlfredBloggswhoworked

asadustmanfortheEllesmereCorporation.

Whenhegotmarried,Alfwastooembarrassedtosayanythingtohiswifeabout

hisjob.HesimplytoldherthatheworkedfortheCorporation.Everymorning,he

lefthomedressedinasmartblacksuit.Hethenchangedintooveralls（n.工作

服）andspentthenexteighthoursasadustman.Beforereturninghomeatnight,

hetookashowerandchangedbackintohissuit.Alfdidthisforovertwoyears

andhisfellowdustmenkepthissecret.Alf1swifehasneverdiscoveredthatshe

marriedadustmanandsheneverwill,forAlfhasjustfoundanotherjob.Hewill

soonbeworkinginanofficeasajuniorclerk.Hewillbeearningonlyhalfas

muchasheusedto,buthefeelsthathisriseinstatusiswellworththeloss

ofmoney.Fromnowon,hewillwearasuitalldayandotherswillcallhim'Mr.

Bloggs1,not1Alff.

如今，從事體力勞動(dòng)的人的收入一般要比坐辦公室的人高出許多。坐辦公室的之所以常

常被稱作“白領(lǐng)工人”，就是因?yàn)樗麄兺ǔＪ谴┲差I(lǐng)白襯衫，系著領(lǐng)帶去上班。許多人常

常情愿放棄較高的薪水以換取做白領(lǐng)工人的殊榮，此乃人之常情。而這常常會(huì)引起種種奇怪

的現(xiàn)象，在埃爾斯米爾公司當(dāng)清潔工的艾爾弗雷德?布洛斯就是一個(gè)例子。

艾爾弗結(jié)婚時(shí)，感到非常難為情，而沒有將自己的職業(yè)告訴妻子。他只說在埃爾斯米爾

公司上班。每天早晨，他穿上一身漂亮的黑色西裝離家上班，然后換上工作服，當(dāng)8個(gè)小時(shí)

清潔工。晚上回家前，他洗個(gè)淋浴，重新?lián)Q上那身黑色西服。兩年多以來，艾爾弗一直這樣,

他的同事也為他保守秘密。艾爾弗的妻子一直不知道她嫁給了一個(gè)清潔工，而且她永遠(yuǎn)也不

會(huì)知道了，因?yàn)榘瑺柛ヒ颜业叫铰?，不久就要坐辦公室里工作了。他將來掙的錢只有他現(xiàn)在

的一半。不過他覺得，地位升高了，損失點(diǎn)兒錢也值得。從此，艾爾弗可以一天到晚穿西服

To別人將稱呼他為“布洛格斯先生”，而不再叫他“艾爾弗”了。

Lesson5Thefacts

Editorsofnewspapersandmagazinesoftengotoextremestoprovidetheirreaders

withunimportantfactsandstatistics.Lastyearajournalisthadbeeninstructed

byawell-knownmagazinetowriteanarticleonthepresident'spalaceinanew

Africanrepublic.Whenthearticlearrived,theeditorreadthefirstsentenceand

thenrefusedtopublishit.Thearticlebegan：1Hundredsofstepsleadtothehigh

wallwhichsurroundsthepresident'spalace.’Theeditoratonce

sentthejournalistafaxinstructinghimtofindouttheexactnumberofsteps

andtheheightofthewall.

Thejournalistimmediatelysetouttoobtaintheseimportantfacts,buthetook

alongtimetosendthem.Meanwhile,theeditorwasgettingimpatient,forthe

magazinewouldsoongotopress.Hesentthejournalisttwourgenttelegrams,but

receivednoreply.Hesentyetanothertelegraminformingthejournalistthatif

hedidnotreplysoonhewouldbefired.Whenthejournalistagainfailedtoreply,

theeditorreluctantlypublishedthearticleasithadoriginallybeenwritten.

Aweeklater,theeditoratlastreceivedatelegramfromthejournalist.Notonly

hadthepoormanbeenarrested,buthehadbeensenttoprisonaswell.However,

hehadatlastbeenallowedtosendacableinwhichheinformedtheeditorthat

hehadbeenarrestedwhilecountingthe1084stepsleadingtothe15-footwallwhich

surroundedthepresident'spalace.

報(bào)刊雜志的編輯常常為了向讀者提供成立一些關(guān)緊要的事實(shí)和統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字而走向極端。

去年，一位記者受一家有名的雜志的委托寫一篇關(guān)于非洲某個(gè)新成立國(guó)總統(tǒng)府的文章。稿子

寄來后，編輯看第一句話就拒絕予以發(fā)表。文章的開頭是這樣的：“幾百級(jí)臺(tái)階通向環(huán)繞總

統(tǒng)的高墻?！本庉嬃⒓唇o那位記者發(fā)去傳真，要求他核實(shí)一下臺(tái)階的確切數(shù)字和圍墻的高度。

記者立即出發(fā)去核實(shí)這些重要的事實(shí)，但過了好長(zhǎng)時(shí)間不見他把數(shù)字寄來，在此期間，

編輯等得不耐煩了，因?yàn)殡s志馬上要付印。他給記者先后發(fā)去兩份傳真，但對(duì)方毫無反應(yīng)。

于是他又發(fā)了一份傳真，通知那位記者說，若再不迅速答復(fù)，將被解雇。但記者還是沒有回

復(fù)。編輯無奈，勉強(qiáng)按原樣發(fā)稿了。一周之后，編輯終于接到記者的傳真。那個(gè)可憐的記者

不僅被捕了，而且還被送進(jìn)了監(jiān)獄。不過，他終于獲準(zhǔn)發(fā)回了一份傳真。在傳真中他告訴編

輯，就在他數(shù)通向15英尺高的總統(tǒng)府圍墻的1,084級(jí)臺(tái)階時(shí)，被抓了起來。

Lesson6Smash-and-grab

TheexpensiveshopsinafamousarcadenearPiccadillywerejustopening.At

thistimeofthemorning,thearcadewasalmostempty.MrTaylor,theownerofa

jewelleryshopwasadmiringanewwindowdisplay.Twoofhisassistantshadbeen

workingbusilysince8o1clockandhadonlyjustfinished.Diamondnecklacesand

ringshadbeenbeautifullyarrangedonabackgroundofblackvelvet.Aftergazing

atthedisplayforseveralminutes,MrTaylorwentbackintohisshop.

Thesilencewassuddenlybrokenwhenalargecar,withitsheadlightsonand

itshornblaring,roareddownthearcade.Itcametoastopoutsidethejeweler1s.

Onemanstayedatthewheelwhiletwootherswithblackstockingsovertheirfaces

jumpedoutandsmashedthewindowoftheshopwithironbars.Whilethiswasgoing

on,MrTaylorwasupstairs.Heandhisstaffbeganthrowingfurnitureoutofthe

window.Chairsandtableswentflyingintothearcade.Oneofthethieveswasstruck

byaheavystatue,buthewastoobusyhelpinghimselftodiamondstonoticeany

pain.Theraidwasalloverinthreeminutes,forthemenscrambledbackintothe

caranditmovedoffatafantasticspeed.Justasitwasleaving,MrTaylorrushed

outandranafteritthrowingashtraysandvases,butitwasimpossibletostop

thethieves.Theyhadgotawaywiththousandsofpoundsworthofdiamonds.

皮卡迪利大街附近的一條著名拱廊街道上，幾家高檔商店剛剛開始營(yíng)業(yè)。在早晨的這個(gè)時(shí)候，

拱廊街上幾乎空無一人。珠寶店主泰勒先生正在欣賞新布置的櫥窗。他手下兩名店員從早上8點(diǎn)就

開始忙碌，這時(shí)剛剛布置完畢。鉆石項(xiàng)鏈、戒指漂亮地列在黑色絲絨上面。泰勒先生站在櫥窗外凝

神欣賞了幾分鐘就回到了店里。

寧靜突然被打破，一輛大轎車亮著前燈，響著喇叭，呼嘯著沖進(jìn)了拱廊街，在珠寶店門口停了

下來。一人留在駕駛座上，另外兩個(gè)用黑色長(zhǎng)簡(jiǎn)絲襪蒙面的人跳下車來。他們用鐵棒把商店櫥窗的

玻璃砸碎。這開始發(fā)生時(shí)，泰勒先生正在樓上。他與店員動(dòng)手向窗外投擲家具，椅子，桌子飛落花

流水在拱廊街上。一個(gè)竊賊被一尊很重的雕像擊中，但由于他忙著搶鉆石首飾，竟連疼痛都顧不上

To這場(chǎng)搶劫只持續(xù)了3分鐘，因?yàn)楦`賊爭(zhēng)先恐后地爬上轎車，以驚人的速度開跑了。就在轎車離

開的時(shí)候，泰勒先生從店里沖了出來，跟在車后追趕，一邊還往車上扔煙灰缸、花瓶。但他已無法

抓住那些竊賊了。他們已帶著價(jià)值數(shù)千鎊的首飾逃之夭夭了。

Lesson7Mutilatedladies

Childrenoftenhavefarmoresensethantheirelders.Thissimpletruthwas

demonstratedratherdramaticallyduringacivildefenceexerciseinasmalltown

inCanada.Mostoftheinhabitantswereaskedtotakepartintheexerciseduring

whichtheyhadtopretendthattheircityhadbeenbombed.Air-raidwarningswere

soundedandthousandsofpeoplewentintospecialair-raidshelters.Doctorsand

nursesremainedabovegroundwhilePolicepatrolledthestreetsincaseanyonetried

toleavetheshelterstoosoon.

Thepolicedidnothavemuchtodobecausethecitizenstooktheexercise

seriously.Theystayedundergroundfortwentyminutesandwaitedforthesirento

soundagain.Onleavingtheair-raidshelters,theysawthatdoctorsandnurses

werebusy.Agreatmanypeoplehadvolunteeredtoactascasualties.Theatrical

make-upandartificialbloodhadbeenusedtomaketheinjurieslookrealistic.

AlotofPeoplewerelying'dead*inthestreets.Thelivinghelpedtocarrythe

deadandwoundedtospecialstations.AChildofsixwasbroughtinbytwoadults.

Thechildwassupposedtobedead.Withtheatricalmake-uponhisface,helooked

asifhehaddiedofshock.Somepeopleweresomovedbythesightthattheybegan

tocry.However,thechildsuddenlysatupandadoctoraskedhimtocommenton

hisdeath.Thechildlookedaroundforamomentandsaid,'Ithinkthey'reallcrazy!1

這種事情在你身上出現(xiàn)過嗎？你有沒有把褲子塞洗衣機(jī)，然后又想在褲子的后兜有一

大面值的紙幣？當(dāng)你把褲子搶救出來時(shí)，你有沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)那紙幣已經(jīng)變得比白紙還白？當(dāng)英國(guó)

人犯這種錯(cuò)誤時(shí)，他們不必感到絕望（而許多國(guó)家的人都有這種絕望的感覺）。對(duì)英國(guó)人來

說，值得慶幸的是英國(guó)銀行有一個(gè)殘鈔鑒別組，負(fù)責(zé)理那些把錢塞進(jìn)機(jī)器或塞給狗的人提出

的索賠要求。看起來，狗很喜歡咀嚼錢幣。

最近的一個(gè)案例與簡(jiǎn)?巴特林有關(guān)，她的未婚夫約翰擁有一家生意興隆家具店。有一天

約翰的生意很好，他把一只裝有3,000英鎊的錢包放進(jìn)微波爐保存。然后，他和簡(jiǎn)一起去騎

馬?；丶液?，簡(jiǎn)用微波爐煮了晚飯，無意中之中把她未婚夫的錢包也一起煮了。可以想像他

們發(fā)現(xiàn)一只煮得很好看的錢包，鈔票已化成灰時(shí)的沮喪心情。約翰去找銀行經(jīng)理，經(jīng)理把約

翰的錢包和紙幣的殘留物送到英國(guó)銀行在紐卡斯?fàn)柕囊粋€(gè)專門部門一一殘鈔鑒別組。他們鑒

定了這些殘留物。約翰拿回了他損失的全部數(shù)額?！敝灰袞|西可供識(shí)別，我們會(huì)把錢還給

人家的，”銀行的一位女發(fā)言人說?！叭ツ辏覀儗?duì)21,000起索賠要求支付了150萬英鎊J

Lesson8Afamousmonastery

TheGreatStBernardPassconnectsSwitzerlandtoItaly.At2470metres,itis

thehighestmountainpassinEurope.ThefamousmonasteryofStBernard,whichwas

foundedintheeleventhcentury,liesaboutamileaway.Forhundredsofyears,

StBernarddogshavesavedthelivesoftravellerscrossingthedangerousPass.

Thesefriendlydogs,whichwerefirstbroughtfromAsia,wereusedaswatch-dogs

eveninRomantimes.Nowthatatunnelhasbeenbuiltthroughthemountains,the

Passislessdangerous,buteachyear,thedogsarestillsentoutintothesnow

wheneveratravellerisindifficulty.Despitethenewtunnel,therearestilla

fewpeoplewhorashlyattempttocrossthePassonfoot.

Duringthesummermonths,themonasteryisverybusy,foritisvisitedby

thousandsofpeoplewhocrossthePassincars,Astherearesomanypeopleabout,

thedogshavetobekeptinaspecialenclosure.Inwinter,however,lifeatthe

monasteryisquitedifferent.Thetemperaturedropsto-30andveryfewpeople

attempttocrossthePass.ThemonksPreferwintertosummerfortheyhavemore

privacy.Thedogshavegreaterfreedom,too,fortheyareallowedtowanderoutside

theirenclosure.Theonlyregularvisitorstothemonasteryinwinterareparties

ofskierswhogothereatChristmasandEaster.Theseyoungpeople,wholovethe

peaceofthemountains,alwaysreceiveawarm.

WelcomeatStBernard1smonastery.

圣伯納德大山口連接著瑞士與意大利，海拔2,4730米，是歐洲最高的山口。11世紀(jì)建

造的著名的圣伯納德修道院位于離山口1英里遠(yuǎn)的地方。幾百年來，圣伯納德修道院馴養(yǎng)狗

拯救了許多翻越這道山口的旅游者的生命。那些最先從亞洲引進(jìn)的狗，待人友好，早在羅馬

時(shí)代就給人當(dāng)看門狗了。如今由于山里開挖了隧道，翻越山口已不那么危險(xiǎn)了。但每年還要

派狗到雪山地里去幫助那些遇到困難的旅游者，盡管修通了隧道，但仍有一些人想冒險(xiǎn)徒步

跨越圣伯納德山口。

夏天的幾個(gè)月里，修道院十分忙碌，因?yàn)橛谐汕先f的人駕車通過山口，順道來修道院

參觀。由于來人太多，狗被關(guān)在專門的圍欄里。然而到了冬天，修道院里的生活則是另一番

景象。氣溫下降到零下30度，試圖跨越山口的人寥寥無幾。修道士們喜歡冬天，而不太喜

歡夏天。因?yàn)樵诙?，他們可以更多地過無人打擾的生活。狗也比較自由，被放出圍欄，四

處遛達(dá)。冬天常來修道院參觀的只有一批批滑雪者。他們?cè)谑フQ節(jié)或復(fù)活節(jié)到那兒去。這些

熱愛高山清靜環(huán)境的年輕人每年都受到圣伯納德道院的熱烈歡迎。

Lesson9Flyingcats飛貓

Catsneverfailtofascinatehumanbeings.Theycanbefriendlyandaffectionate

towardshumans,buttheyleadmysteriouslivesoftheirownaswell.Theynever

becomesubmissivelikedogsandhorses.Asaresult,humanshavelearnedtorespect

felineindependence.Mostcatsremainsuspiciousofhumansalltheirlives.One

ofthethingsthatfascinatesusmostaboutcatsisthepopularbeliefthatthey

haveninelives.Apparently,theyisagooddealoftruthinthisidea.Acat's

abilitytosurvivefallsisbasedonfact.

RecentlytheNewYorkAnimalMedicalCentremadeastudyof132catsoveraperiod

offivemonths.Allthesecatshadoneexperienceincommon：theyhadfallenoff

highbuildings,yetonlyeightofthemdiedfromshockorinjuries.Ofcourse,New

Yorkistheidealplaceforsuchaninterestingstudy,becausethereisnoshortage

oftallbuildings.Thereareplentyofhigh-risewindowsillstofallfrom!Onecat,

Sabrina,fell32storeys,yetonlysufferedfromabrokentooth.’Catsbehave

likewell-trainedparatroopers,9adoctorsaid.Itseemsthatthefurthercats

fall,thelesstheyarelikelytoinjurethemselves.Inalongdrop,theyreach

speedsof60milesanhourandmore.Athighspeeds,fallingcatshavetimetorelax.

Theystretchouttheirlegslikeflyingsquirrel.Thisincreasestheir

air-resistanceandreducestheshockofimpactwhentheyhittheground.

貓總能引起人們的極大興趣。它們可以對(duì)人友好，充滿柔情。但是，它們又有自己神

秘的生活方式。它們從不像狗和馬一樣變得那么順從。結(jié)果是人們已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)尊重貓的獨(dú)立性。

在它們的一生中，大多數(shù)貓都對(duì)人存有戒心。最使我們感興趣的一件事情就是一種通俗的信

念一一貓有九條命。顯然，這種說法里面包含著許多真實(shí)性。貓?jiān)诘鋾r(shí)能夠大難不死是有

事實(shí)作為依據(jù)的。

最近，紐約動(dòng)物醫(yī)療中心對(duì)132只貓進(jìn)行了為期5個(gè)月的綜合研究。所有這些貓有一個(gè)

共同的經(jīng)歷：它們都曾從高層建筑上摔下來過，但只有其中的8只貓死于震蕩或跌傷。當(dāng)然,

紐約是進(jìn)行這種有趣的試驗(yàn)的一個(gè)理想的地方，因?yàn)槟抢锔静蝗狈Ω邩谴髲B，有的是高層

的窗檻從上往下墜落。有一只叫薩伯瑞的貓從32層樓上掉下來，但只摔斷一顆牙?！柏埦?/p>

像訓(xùn)練有素的跳傘隊(duì)員，”一位醫(yī)生說?？雌饋?，貓跌落的距離越長(zhǎng)，它們就越不會(huì)傷害

自己。在一個(gè)長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的跌落過程中，它們可以達(dá)到每小時(shí)60里甚至更快的速度。在高速下落

中，貓有時(shí)間放松自己。它們伸展四肢，就像飛行中的松鼠一樣。這樣就加大了空氣阻力，

并減少了它們著地時(shí)沖擊力帶來的震動(dòng)。

LessonlOThelossofTitanic

Thegreatship,Titanic,sailedforNewYorkfromSouthamptononApril10th,

1912.Shewascarrying1316passengersandacrewof891.Evenbymodernstandards,

the46,000tonTitanicwasacolossalship.Atthattime,however,shewasnotonly

thelargestshipthathadeverbeenbuilt,butwasregardedasunsinkable,forshe

hadsixteenwater-tightcompartments.Eveniftwoofthesewereflooded,shewould

stillbeabletofloat.Thetragicsinkingofthisgreatlinerwillalwaysbe

remembered,forshewentdownonherfirstvoyagewithheavylossoflife.

Fourdaysaftersettingout,whiletheTitanicwassailingacrosstheicywaters

oftheNorthAtlantic,ahugeicebergwassuddenlyspottedbyalook-out.After

thealarmhadbeengiven,thegreatshipturnedsharplytoavoidadirectcollision*

TheTitanicturnedjustintime,narrowlymissingtheimmensewalloficewhich

roseover100feetoutofthewaterbesideher.Suddenly,therewasaslighttrembling

soundfrombelow,andthecaptainwentdowntoseewhathadhappened.Thenoise

hadbeensofaintthatnoonethoughtthattheshiphadbeendamaged.Below,the

captainrealizedtohishorrorthattheTitanicwassinkingrapidly,forfiveof

hersixteenwater-

tightcompartmentshadalreadybeenflooded!Theordertoabandonshipwasgiven

andhundredsofpeopleplungedintotheicywater.Astherewerenotenough

life-boatsforeverybody,1500liveswerelost.

巨輪“泰坦尼克”號(hào)1912年4月10日從南安普敦起錨駛向紐約。船上載有1,316名

乘客與891名船員。卻使用現(xiàn)代標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來衡量，45,000噸的“泰坦尼克”號(hào)與算得上一艘巨

輪了。當(dāng)時(shí)，這艘輪船不僅是造船史上建造的最大的一艘船，而且也被認(rèn)為是不會(huì)沉沒的。

因?yàn)榇?6個(gè)密封艙組成，即使有兩個(gè)艙進(jìn)水，仍可漂浮的水面上。然而，這艘巨輪首航

就下沉，造成大批人員死亡。人們將永遠(yuǎn)記著這艘巨輪的沉沒慘劇。

“泰坦尼克”起航后的第4天，它正行駛在北大西洋冰冷的海面上。突然，了望員發(fā)現(xiàn)

一座冰山。警報(bào)響過不久，巨輪急轉(zhuǎn)彎，以避免與冰山正面相撞?！疤┨鼓峥恕边@個(gè)彎拐得

及時(shí)，緊貼著高出海面100英尺的巨大的冰墻擦過去。突然，從船艙下部傳來一聲微顫音，

船長(zhǎng)走下船艙去查看究竟。由于這個(gè)聲音非常輕，沒人會(huì)想到船身已遭損壞。在下面，船長(zhǎng)

驚恐的地發(fā)現(xiàn)“泰坦尼克”號(hào)正在急速下沉，16個(gè)密封艙已有5個(gè)進(jìn)水。于是，他發(fā)出棄船

的命令，幾百人跳進(jìn)了冰冷刺骨的海水里。由于沒有足夠的救生艇運(yùn)載所有乘客，結(jié)果，1,500

人喪生。

LessonllNotguilty

GoingthroughtheCustomsisatiresomebusiness.Thestrangestthingaboutitisthatreallyhonest

peopleareoftenmadetofeelguilty.Thehardenedprofessionalsmuggler,ontheotherhand,is

nevertroubledbysuchfeelings,evenifhehasfivehundredgoldwatcheshiddeninhissuitcase.

WhenIreturnedfromabroadrecently,aparticularlyofficiousyoungCustomsOfficerclearlyregarded

measasmuggler.

'Haveyouanythingtodeclare?*heasked,lookingmeintheeye.

'No,'Iansweredconfidently.

*Wouldyoumindunlockingthissuitcaseplease?1

'Notatall,1Ianswered.

TheOfficerwentthroughthecasewithgreatcare.AllthethingsIhadpackedsocarefullywere

sooninadreadfulmess.IfeltsureIwouldneverbeabletoclosethecaseagain.Suddenly,I

sawtheOfficer*sfacelightup.Hehadspottedatinybottleatthebottomofmycaseandhepounced

onitwithdelight.

'Perfume,eh?’heaskedsarcastically.1Youshouldhavedeclaredthat.'Perfumeisnotexemptfrom

importduty.,

,Butitisn*tperfume,*Isaid.1It'shair-oil.1ThenIaddedwithasmile,1It*sastrangemixture

Imakemyself.'AsIexpected,hedidnotbelieveme.

,Tryit!!Isaidencouragingly.

TheOfficerunscrewedthecapandputthebottletohisnostrils.Hewasgreetedbyanunpleasant

smellwhichconvincedhimthatIwastellingthetruth.Afewminuteslater,Iwasabletohurry

awaywithpreciouschalk-marksonmybaggage.

現(xiàn)在的海關(guān)官員往往相當(dāng)寬容。但是，當(dāng)你通過綠色通道，沒有任何東西需要申報(bào)時(shí)，他們?nèi)钥梢詳r住你。

甚至是最誠實(shí)的人也常弄得覺得有罪似的，而老練的職業(yè)走私犯卻使手提箱里藏著500只金表，卻也處之泰然。

最近一次，我也出國(guó)歸來，碰上一位特別好管閑事的年輕海關(guān)官員，他顯然把我當(dāng)成走私犯。

“您有什么需要申報(bào)的嗎？“他直盯著我的眼睛問。

“沒有。”我自信地回答說。

“請(qǐng)打開這只手提箱好嗎？”

“好的。”我回答說。

那位官員十分仔細(xì)地把箱子檢查了一遍。所有細(xì)心包裝好的東西一會(huì)兒工夫就亂成一團(tuán)。我相信那箱子

再也關(guān)不上了。突然，我看到官員臉上露出了得意的神色。他在我的箱底發(fā)現(xiàn)了一只小瓶，高興地一把抓了起

來。

“香水，嗯？”他譏諷地說道，“你剛才應(yīng)該申報(bào)，香水要上進(jìn)口稅的?！?/p>

“不，這不是香水，”我說，“是發(fā)膠?！苯又夷槑⑿ρa(bǔ)充說：“這是一種我自己配制的奇特的混合

物?！?/p>

“你就聞一聞吧！“我催促說。

海關(guān)官員擰開瓶蓋，把瓶子放到鼻子底下。一股怪味襲來，使他相信了我說的真話。幾分鐘后，我終于被

放行，手提劃著寶貴的粉筆記號(hào)的行，匆匆離去。

Lessonl2Lifeonadesertisland

Mostofushaveformedanunrealisticpictureoflifeonadesertisland.Wesometimesimaginea

desertislandtobeasortofparadisewherethesunalwaysshines.Lifethereissimpleandgood.

Ripefruitfallsfromthetreesandyouneverhavetowork.Theothersideofthepictureisquite

theopposite.Lifeonadesertislandiswretched.YoueitherstarvetodeathorlivelikeRobinson

Crusoe,waitingforaboatwhichnevercomes.Perhapsthereisanelementoftruthinboththese

pictures,butfewofushavehadtheopportunitytofindout.

Twomenwhorecentlyspentfivedaysonacoralislandwishedtheyhadstayedtherelonger.They

weretakingabadlydamagedboatfromtheVirginIslandstoMiamitohaveitrepaired.Duringthe

journey,theirboatbegantosink.Theyquicklyloadedasmallrubberdinghywithfood,matches,

andtinsofbeerandrowedforafewmilesacrosstheCaribbeanuntiltheyarrivedatatinycoral

island.Therewerehardlyanytreesontheislandandtherewasnowater,butthisdidnotprove

tobeaproblem.Themencollectedrain-waterintherubberdinghy.Astheyhadbroughtaspear

gunwiththem,theyhadplentytoeat.Theycaughtlobsterandfisheveryday,and,asoneofthem

putit*atelikekings,.Whenapassingtankerrescuedthemfivedayslater,bothmenweregenuinely

sorrythattheyhadtoleave.

我們?cè)S多人對(duì)于荒島生活有一種不切實(shí)際的想法。我們有時(shí)想象荒島是陽光終日普照的天堂。在那里，生活簡(jiǎn)

單又美好。成熟的水果從樹上掉下來，人們根本無需勞動(dòng)。另一種想法恰恰相反，認(rèn)為荒島生活很可怕，要么

餓死，要么像魯濱那樣，天天盼船來，卻總沒見船影。也許，這兩種都像都有可信之處。但很少有人能有機(jī)會(huì)

去弄個(gè)究竟。

最近有兩個(gè)人在一座珊瑚島上呆了5天，他們真希望在那兒再多呆一些日子。他們駕著一條嚴(yán)重?fù)p壞的小

船從維爾京群島阿密修理。途中，船開始下沉，他們迅速把食物、火柴、罐裝啤酒往一只救生筏上裝。然后在

加勒比海上劃行了幾英里，到了一座珊瑚島上。島上幾乎沒有一顆樹，也沒有淡水，但這不算什么問題。他們

用像皮艇蓄積雨水。由于他們隨身帶了一支捕魚槍，因此，吃飯不愁。他們天天捕捉龍蝦和魚，正如其中一位

所說，吃得“像國(guó)王一樣好”。5天后，一條油輪從那兒路過，搭救了他們。這二位不得不離開那個(gè)荒島時(shí)，

還真的感到遺憾呢！

Lessonl3It'sonlyme

Afterherhusbandhadgonetowork,MrsRichardssentherchildrentoschoolandwentupstairs

toherbedroom.Shewastooexcitedtodoanyhouseworkthatmorning,forintheeveningshewould

begoingtoafancydresspartywithherhusband.Sheintendedtodressupasaghostandasshe

hadmadehercostumethenightbefore,shewasimpatienttotryiton.Thoughthecostumeconsisted

onlyofasheet,itwasveryeffective.Afterputtingiton,MrsRichardswentdownstairs.Shewanted

tofindoutwhetheritwouldbecomfortabletowear.

JustasMrsRichardswasenteringthedining-room,therewasaknockonthefrontdoor.She

knewthatitmustbethebaker.Shehadtoldhimtocomestraightinifevershefailedtoopen

thedoorandtoleavethebreadonthekitchentable.Notwantingtofrightenthepoorman,Mrs

Richardsquicklyhidinthesmallstore-roomunderthestairs.Sheheardthefrontdooropenand

heavyfootstepsinthehall.Suddenlythedoorofthestore-roomwasopenedandamanentered.Mrs

Ri