'I'll tell you where to get off。' answered the conductor。
I sat in the front of the bus to get a good view of the countryside。 After some time； the bus stopped。 Looking round； I realized with a shock that I was the only passenger left on the bus。
'You'll have to get off here；' the conductor said。 'This is as far as we go。'
'Is this Woodford Green？' I asked。
'Oh dear；' said the conductor suddenly。 'I forgot to put you off。'
'It doesn't matter；' I said。 'I'll get off here。'
'We're going back now；' said the conductor。
'Well； in that case； I prefer to stay on the bus；' I answered。
New words and expressions 生词和短语
ride n。 旅行
excursion n。 远足
conductor n。 售票员
view n。 景色
参考译文
我喜欢在乡间旅行，但却不愿意迷路。最近我作了一次短途旅行，但这次旅行所花费的时间比我预计的要长。
“我要去伍德福德草地，”我一上车就对售票员说，“但我不知道它在那儿。”
“我来告诉您在哪儿下车，”售票员回答说。
我坐在汽车的前部，以便饱览农村风光。过了一些时候，车停了。我环视了一下身旁，惊奇地发现车里就只剩我一个乘客了。
“您得在这里下车，”售票员说，“我们的车就到此为止了。”
“这里是伍德福德草地吗？”我问道。
“哎呀，”售票员突然说，“我忘了让您下车了。”
“没关系，”我说，“我就在这儿下吧。”
“我们现在要返回去，”售票员说。
“好吧，既然如此，我还是留在车上吧。”我回答说。
Lesson 51
Reward for virtue
对美德的奖赏
First listen and then answer the question。
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
Why did Hugh's diet not work？
My friend； Hugh； has always been fat； but things got so bad recently that he decided to go on a diet。 He began his diet a week ago。 First of all； he wrote out a long list of all the foods which were forbidden。 The list included most of the things Hugh loves： butter； potatoes； rice； beer； milk； chocolate； and sweets。 Yesterday I paid him a visit。 I rang the bell and was not surprised to see that Hugh was still as fat as ever。 He led me into his room and hurriedly hid a large parcel under his desk。 It was obvious that he was very embarrassed。 When I asked him what he was doing； he smiled guiltily and then put the parcel on the desk。 He explained that his diet was so strict that he had to reward himself occasionally。 Then he showed me the contents of the parcel。 It contained five large bars of chocolate and three bags of sweets！
New words and expressions 生词和短语
reward n。 报偿
virtue n。 美德
diet n。 节食
forbid v。 禁止
hurriedly adv。 匆忙地
embarrass v。 使尴尬
guiltily adv。 内疚地
strict adj。 严格的
reward v。 给奖赏
occasionally adv。 偶尔地
参考译文
我的朋友休一直很胖，但是近来情况变得越发糟糕，以致他决定节食。他是一星期前开始节食的。首先，他开列了一张长长的单子，上面列了所有禁吃的食物。这张单子上的大多数食物都是休喜欢吃的：黄油、土豆、米饭、啤酒、牛奶、巧克力和糖果。昨天我去看望了他。我按响了门铃，当看到休仍和往常一样胖时，我并不感到惊奇。他把我领进屋，慌忙把一个大包藏到了桌子下面。显然他感到很尴尬。当我问他正干什么时，他内疚地笑了，然后把那个大包拿到了桌上。他解释说，他的饮食控制得太严格了，以致不得不偶尔奖赏自己一下。接着他给我看了包里的东西。里面装了5大块巧克力和3袋糖果！
Lesson 52
A pretty carpet
漂亮的地毯
First listen and then answer the question。
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What is the writer's carpet made of？
We have just moved into a new house and I have been working hard all morning。 I have been trying to get my new room in order。 This has not been easy because I own over a thousand books。 To make matters worse； the room is rather small； so I have temporarily put my books on the floor。 At the moment； they cover every inch of floor space and I actually have to walk on them to get in or out of the room。 A short while ago； my sister helped me to carry one of my old bookcases up the stairs。 She went into my room and got a big surprise when she saw all those books on the floor。 'This is the prettiest carpet I have ever seen；' she said。 She gazed at it for some time then added； 'You don't need bookcases at all。 You can sit here in your spare time and read the carpet！'
New words and expressions 生词和短语
temporarily adv。 暂时地
inch n。 英寸（度量单位）
space n。 空间
actually adv。 实际上
参考译文
我们刚刚搬进一所新房子，我辛辛苦苦地干了整整一个上午。我试图把我的新房间收拾整齐，但这并不容易，因为我有1；000多本书。更糟糕的是房间还非常小，所以我暂时把书放在了地板上。这会儿，书把地板的每一点空隙都占据了，我实际上是踩着这些书进出房间的。几分钟前，我妹妹帮我把一个旧书橱抬上了楼。她走进我的房间，当她看到地板上的那些书时，大吃一惊。“这是我见过的最漂亮的地毯，”她说。她盯着“地毯”看了一会儿，又说：“你根本用不着书橱，空闲时你可以坐在这儿读地毯！”
Lesson 53
Hot snake
触电的蛇
First listen and then answer the question。
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What caused the fire？
At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California。 Since then； they have been trying to find out how the fire began。 Forest fires are often caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away。 Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully； but were not able to find any broken glass。 They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire。 This morning； however； a firemen accidentally discovered the cause。 He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16；000…volt power line。 In this way； he was able to solve the mystery。 The explanation was simple but very unusual。 A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires。 The snake then wound itself round the wires。 When it did so； it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire。
New words and expressions 生词和短语
hot adj。 带电的，充电的
fireman n。 消防队员
cause v。 引起； n。 原因
examine v。 检查
accidentally adv。 意外地，偶然地
remains n。 尸体，残骸
wire n。 电线
volt n。 伏特（电压单位）
power line 电力线
solve v。 解决
mystery n。 谜
snatch v。 抓住
spark n。 电火花
参考译文
消防队员们终于扑灭了加利福尼亚的一场森林大火。从那时起，他们一直试图找出起火的原因。森林火灾时常由破碎的玻璃或人们随手扔掉的香烟头引起。昨天，消防队员仔细查看了地面，但未能发现碎玻璃。他们还十分肯定火灾也不是由烟头引起的。然而今天上午，一个消防队员偶然发现了起火的原因。他发现了缠绕在16；000伏高压线上的一条死蛇。就这样，他解开了起火之谜。解释很简单，却异乎寻常。一只鸟把蛇从地上抓起来，然后把它扔到了电线上。于是蛇就缠住了几根电线。当它这样做时，把火花送到了地面，这些火花立刻引起了一场大火。
Lesson 54
Sticky fingers
粘糊的手指
First listen and then answer the question。
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What two interruptions did the writer have？
After breakfast； I sent the children to school and then I went to the shops。 It was still early when I returned home。 The children were at school； my husband was at work and the house was quiet。 So I decided to make some meat pies。 In a short time I was busy mixing butter and flour and my hands were soon covered with sticky pastry。 At exactly that moment； the telephone rang。 Nothing could have been more annoying。 I picked up the receiver between two sticky fingers and was dismayed when I recognized the voice of Helen Bates。 It took me ten minutes to persuade her to ring back later。 At last I hung up the receiver。 What a mess！ There was pastry on my fingers； on the telephone； and on the doorknobs。 I had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead。 This time it was the postman and he wanted me to sign for a registered letter！
New words and expressions 生词和短语
sticky adj。 粘的
finger n。 手指
pie n。 馅饼
mix v。 混合，拌和
pastry n。 面糊
annoying adj。 恼人的
receiver n。 电话的话筒
dismay v。 失望，泄气
recognize v。 认出，听出
persuade v。 说服，劝说
mess n。 乱七八糟
doorknob n。 门把手
sign v。 签字
register v。 挂号邮寄
参考译文
早饭后，我送孩子们上学，然后就去了商店。我回到家时，时间还早。孩子们在上学，我丈