新概念第三册Lesson40~42课文及翻译

新概念第三册Lesson40课文及翻译

【课文】

It has never been explained why university students seem to enjoy practical jokes more than anyone else. Students specialize in a particular type of practical joke： the hoax. Inviting the fire brigade to put out a nonexistent fire is a crude form of deception which no self-respecting student would ever indulge in. Students often create amusing

situations which are funny to everyone except the victims. When a student recently saw two workmen using a pneumatic

drill outside his university, he immediately telephoned the police and informed them that two students dressed up as workmen were tearing up the road with a pneumatic drill. As soon as he had hung up, he went over to the workmen and told them that if a policeman ordered them to go away, they were not to take him seriously. He added that a student had dressed up as a policeman and was playing all sorts of silly jokes on people. Both the police and the workmen were

grateful to the student for this piece of advance information.

The student hid in an archway nearby where he could watch and hear everything that went on. Sure enough, a policeman arrived on the scene and politely asked the workmen to go away. When he received a very rude reply from one of the workmen, he threatened to remove them by force. The workmen told him to do as he pleased and the policeman telephoned for help. Shortly afterwards, four more policemen arrived and

remonstrated with the workmen. As the men refused to stop working, the police attempted to seize the pneumatic drill. The workmen struggled fiercely and one of them lost his temper. He threatened to call the police. At this, the police pointed out ironically that this would hardly be necessary as the men were already under arrest. Pretending to speak seriously, one of the workmen asked if he might make a telephone call before being taken to the station. Permission was granted and a policeman accompanied him to a pay phone. Only when he saw that the man was actually telephoning the police did he realize that they had all been the victims of a hoax.

【课文翻译】

谁也弄不清为什么大学生好像比任何人都更喜欢恶作剧。大学生

擅长一种特殊的恶作剧——戏弄人。请消防队来扑灭一场根本没有的

大火是一种低级骗局，有自尊心的大学生决不会去做。大学生们常常

做的是制造一种可笑的局面，使大家笑上一场，当然受害者是笑不出

来的。最近有个学生看见两个工人在学校门外用风钻干活，马上打电

话报告警察，说有两个学生装扮成工人，正在用风钻破坏路面。挂上

电话后，他又马上来到工人那儿，告诉他们若有个警察来让他们走开，不要把他当回事，还对工人说，有个学生常装扮成警察无聊地同别人

开玩笑。警察与工人都对那个学生事先通报情况表示感谢。

那个学生躲在附近一拱形的门廊里，在那儿能够看见、听到现场

发生的一切。果然，警察来了，不礼貌地请工人离开此地;但其中一个

工人粗鲁地回了几句。于是警察威胁要强行使他们离开。工人说，悉

听尊便。警察去打电话叫人。一会儿工夫，又来了4个警察，规劝工

人离开。因为工人拒绝停下手中的活，警察想夺风钻。两个工人奋力

抗争，其中一个发了火，威胁说要去叫警察。警察听后讥讽地说，这

大可不必，因为他俩已被逮捕了。其中一个工人装模作样地问道，在

被带往警察局之前，是否能够打一个电话。警察同意了，陪他来到一

个投币地电话前，当他看到那个工人真的是给警察挂电话，才恍然大悟，原来他们都成一场骗局的受害者。

新概念第三册Lesson41课文及翻译

【课文】

The quiet life of the country has never appealed to me. City born and city bred. I have always regarded the country

as something you look at through a train window, or something you occasional visit during the weekend. Most of my friends

live in the city, yet they always go into raptures at the

mere mention of the country. Though they extol the virtues of the peaceful life, only one of them has ever gone to live in the country and he was back in town within six months. Even

he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow superior to town life. He is forever talking about

the friendly people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living. Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the first cockcrow, the twittering of

birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and pastures. This idyllic pastoral scene is only part

of the picture. My friend fails to mention the long and friendless winter evenings in front of the TV -- virtually

the only form of entertainment. He says nothing about the

poor selection of goods in the shops, or about those unfortunate people who have to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work. Why people are prepared to tolerate a four-hour journey each day for the dubious

privilege of living in the country is beyond me. They could

be saved so much misery and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong.

If you can do without the few pastoral pleasures of the country, you will find the city can provide you with the best that life can offer. You never have to travel miles to see

your friends. They invariably live nearby and are always available for an informal chat or an evening's entertainment. Some of my acquaintances in the country come up to town once

or twice a year to visit the theatre as a special treat. For them this is a major operation which involves considerable planning. As the play draws to its close, they wonder whether they will ever catch that last train home. The city dweller never experiences anxieties of this sort. The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only a short bus ride away. Shopping, too, is always a pleasure. The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only a short bus ride away. Shopping, too, is always a pleasure. There is so much variety that you never have to make do with second best. Country people run wild

when they go shopping in the city and stagger home loaded

with as many of the exotic items as they can carry. Nor is

the city without its moments of beauty. There is something comforting about the warm glow shed by advertisements on cold wet winter nights. Few things could be more impressive than

the peace that descends on deserted city streets at weekends when the thousands that travel to work every day are tucked away in their homes in the country. It has always been a mystery to me who city dwellers, who appreciate all these things, obstinately pretend that they would prefer to live in the country.

【课文翻译】

宁静的乡村生活从来没有吸引过我。我生在城市，长在城市，总

认为乡村是透过火车车窗看到的那个样了，或偶尔周末去游玩一下景象。我的很多朋友都住在城市，但他们只要一提起乡村，马上就会变

得欣喜若狂。即使他们都交口称赞宁静的乡村生活的种种优点，但其

中只有一个人真去农村住过，而且不足6个月就回来了。即使他也仍

存有幻觉，好像乡村生活就是比城市生活优越。他滔滔不绝地大谈友

好的农民，洁净的空气，贴近大自然的环境和悠闲的生活节奏。他坚

持认为，凌晨雄鸡第一声啼叫，黎明时分小鸟吱喳欢叫，冉冉升起的

朝阳染红树木、牧场，此番美景无与伦比。但这种田园诗般的乡村风

光仅仅是一个侧面。我的朋友没有提到在电视机前度过的漫长寂寞的

冬夜——电视是的娱乐形式。他也不说商店货物品种单调，以及那些

每天不得不从乡下赶到城里工作的不幸的人们。人们为什么情愿每天

在路上奔波4个小时去换取值得怀疑的乡间的优点，我是无法理解的。要是他们愿意住在本来属于他们的城市，则能够让他们省去诸多不便

与节约大量开支。

如果你愿舍弃乡下生活那一点点乐趣的话，那么你会发出城市能

够为你提供生活最美好的东西。你去看朋友根本不用跋涉好几英里，

因为他们都住在附近，你随时能够同他们聊天或在晚上一起娱乐。我

在乡村有一些熟人，他们每年进城来看一回或几回戏，并把此看作一

种特殊的享受。看戏在他们是件大事，需要精心计划。当戏快演完时，他们又为是否能赶上末班火车回家而犯愁。这种焦虑，城里人是从未

体验过的。坐公共汽车几站路，就可看到最新的展览、电影、戏剧。

买东西也是一种乐趣。物品种繁多，从来不必用二等品来凑合。乡里

人进城采购欣喜若狂，每次回家时都买足了外来商品，直到拿不动方

才罢休，连走路都摇摇晃晃的。城市也并非没有良辰美景。寒冷潮湿

的冬夜里，广告灯箱发出的暖光，会给人某种安慰。周末，当成千上

万进城上班的人回到他们的乡间寓所之后，空旷的街市笼罩着一种宁

静气氛，没有什么能比此时的宁静更令人难忘了。城里人对这个切心

里很明白，却偏要执拗地装出他们喜欢住在乡村的样子，这对我来说

一直是个谜。

新概念第三册Lesson42课文及翻译

【课文】

Cave exploration, or potholing, as it has come to be known, is a relatively new sport. Perhaps it is the desire

for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth. It is impossible to give a satisfactory explanation for a pot-

holer's motives. For him, caves have the same peculiar fascination which high mountains have for the climber. They arouse instincts which can only be dimly understood.

Exploring really deep caves is not a task for the Sunday afternoon rambler. Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations. It can take as long as eight days to rig up rope ladders and to establish supply bases before a descent can be made into a very deep cave. Precautions of this sort are necessary, for it is impossible to foretell the exact nature of the difficulties which will confront the potholer. The deepest known cave in the world is the Gouffre Berger near Grenoble. It extends to a depth of 3723 feet. This immense chasm has been formed by an underground stream which has tunnelled a course through a flaw in the rocks. The entrance to the cave is on a plateau

in the Dauphine Alps. As it is only six feet across, it is barely noticeable. The cave might never have been discovered had not the entrance been spotted by the distinguished French potholer, Berger. Since its discovery, it has become a sort of potholers' Everest. Though a number of descents have been made, much of it still remains to be explored.

A team of potholers recently went down the Gouffre Berger. After entering the narrow gap on the plateau, they climbed down the steep sides of the cave until they came to a narrow corridor. They had to edge their way along this, sometimes wading across shallow streams, or swimming across deep pools. Suddenly they came to a waterfall which dropped into an underground lake at the bottom of the cave. They plunged into the lake, and after loading their gear on an inflatable

rubber dinghy, let the current carry them to the other side. To protect themselves from the icy water, they had to wear special rubber suits. At the far end of the lake, they came

to huge piles of rubble which had been washed up by the water. In this part of the cave, they could hear an insistent

booming sound which they found was caused by a small water-spout shooting down into a pool from the roof of the cave. Squeezing through a cleft in the rocks, the potholers arrived at an enormous cavern, the size of a huge concert hall. After switching on powerful arc lights, they saw great stalagmites—some of them over forty feet high--rising up

like tree-trunks to meet the stalactites suspended from the roof. Round about, piles of lime-stone glistened in all the colours of the rainbow. In the eerie silence of the cavern,

the only sound that could be heard was made by water which dripped continuously from the high dome above them.

【课文翻译】

洞穴勘查——或洞穴勘探——是一项比较新的体育活动。寻求独

处的愿望或寻求意外发现的机会的欲望吸引人们来到地下深处。要想

对洞穴探险者的动机作出满意的解释是不可能的。对洞穴探险者来说，洞穴有一种特殊的魅力，就像高山对登山者有特殊魅力一样。为什么

洞空能引发人的那种探险本能，人们对此只能有一种模模糊糊的理解。

探测非常深的洞穴不是那些在星期日下午漫步的人所能胜任的。

这种活动需要有军事行动般的周密布署和预见水平。有时需要花费整

整 8天时间来搭起绳梯，建立供应基地，然后才能到一个很深的洞穴里。作出这样的准备是必要的，因为无法预见到洞穴探险者究竟会遇

到什么性质的困难。世界上最深的洞穴是格里诺布尔附近的高弗.伯杰洞，深达3,723英尺。这个深邃的洞穴是由一条地下暗泉冲刷岩石中

的缝隙并使之慢慢变大而形成的。此洞的洞口在丹芬阿尔卑斯山的高

原上，仅 6英尺宽，很难被发现。若不是法国洞穴探险家伯杰因为偶

然的机会发现了这个洞口的话，这个洞也许不会为人所知。自从被发

现以后，这个洞成了洞穴探险者的珠穆朗玛峰，人们多次进入洞内探险，但至今尚有很多东西有待勘探。

最近，一队洞穴探险者下到了高弗.伯杰洞里。他们从高原上的窄

缝进去，顺着笔直陡峭的洞壁往下爬。来到一条狭窄的走廊上。他们

不得不侧着身子往前走，有时过浅溪，有时游过深潭。突然，他们来

到一道瀑布前，那瀑布奔泻而下，注入洞底一处地下湖里。他们跳入

湖中，把各种器具装上一只充气的橡皮艇，听任水流将他们带往对岸。湖水冰冷刺骨，他们必须穿上一种特制的橡皮服以保护自己。在湖的

尽头，他们见到一大堆一大堆由湖水冲刷上岸的碎石。在这儿，他们

能够听见一种连续持续的轰鸣声。后来他们发现这是由山洞顶部的一

个小孔里喷出的水柱跌落到水潭中发出的声音。洞穴探险者从岩石缝

里挤身过去，来到一个巨大的洞里，其大小相当于一个音乐厅。他们

打开强力弧光灯，看见一株株巨大的石笋，有的高达40英尺，像树干

似地向上长着，与洞顶悬挂下来的钟乳石相接。周围是一堆堆石灰石，像彩虹一样闪闪发光。洞里有一种可怕的寂静，的能够听见的声响是

高高的圆顶上不间断地滴水的嘀嗒声。

新概念英语第三册课文及详解第课

新概念第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson60

新概念第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson60 【课文】 Punctuality is a necessary habit in all public affairs in civilized society. Without it, nothing could ever be brought to a conclusion; everything would be in state of chaos. Only in a sparsely-populated rural community is it possible to disregard it. In ordinary living, there can be some tolerance of unpunctuality. The intellectual, who is working on some abstruse problem, has everything coordinated and organized for the matter in hand. He is therefore forgiven if late for a dinner party. But people are often reproached for unpunctuality when their only fault is cutting things fine. It is hard for energetic, quick-minded people to waste time, so they are often tempted to finish a job before setting out to keep an appointment. If no accidents occur on the way, like punctured tires, diversions of traffic, sudden descent of fog, they will be on time. They are often more industrious, useful citizens than those who are never late. The over-punctual can be as much a trial to others as the unpunctual. The guest who arrives half an hour too soon is the greatest nuisance. Some friends of my family had this irritating habit. The only thing to do was ask them to come half an hour later than the other guests. Then they arrived just when we wanted them. If you are catching a train, it is always better to be comfortably early than even a fraction of a minted too late. Although being early may mean wasting a little time, this will be less than if you miss the train and have to wait an hour or more for the next one; and you avoid the frustration

新概念英语第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson8

新概念英语第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson8 【课文】 The 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 the dangerous Pass. These friendly dogs, which were first brought from Asia, were used as watchdogs 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 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 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 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. Bernard's monastery. 【课文翻译】

新概念三册课文+翻译

新概念英语第三册 Lesson1 A puma at large 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 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 immediately 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 behind 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 that 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 to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside. 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。 Lesson 2 Thirteen equals one Our 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 and 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 o'clock, 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 as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer. 'Whatever are you doing up here Bill ?' asked the vicar in surprise. ' I'm trying to repair the bell,' answered Bill.' I've 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. 'You've probably woken up everyone in the village as well. Still, I'm glad the bell is working again.' 'That's the trouble, vicar,' answered Bill. 'It's working all right, but I'm afraid that at one o'clock it will strike thirteen times and there's nothing I can do about it.' 'We'll get used to that Bill,' said the vicar. 'Thirteen is not as good as one but it's better than nothing. Now let's go downstairs and have a cup of tea.' 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

新概念第三册课文翻译及学习笔记【Lesson7、8、9】

新概念第三册课文翻译及学习笔记【Lesson7、8、9】【课文】 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 you find the note was whiter than white? People who live in Britain needn't 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 to a machine or to their dog. Dogs, it seems, love to chew up money! A recent case concerns Jane Butlin whose fiancé, John, runs a successful furniture business. John had a very good day and put his wallet containing $3,000 into the microwave oven for safekeeping. Then he and Jane went horse-riding. When they got home, Jane cooked their dinner in the microwave oven and without realizing it, cooked her fiancé's 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 special 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 there's 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. 【课文翻译】

新概念第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson37

新概念第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson37 【课文】 We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual. After years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables. Ships may be delayed by storms; air flights may be cancelled because of bad weather; but trains must be on time. Only an exceptionally heavy snow fall might temporarily dislocate railway services. It is all too easy to blame the railway authorities when something does go wrong. The truth is that when mistakes occur, they are more likely to be ours than theirs. After consulting my railway timetable, I noted with satisfaction that there was an express train to Westhaven. It went direct from my local station and the journey lasted a mere hour and seventeen minutes. When I boarded the train, I could not help noticing that a great many local people got on as well. At the time, this did not strike me as odd. I reflected that there must be a great many people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service. Neither was I surprised when the train stopped at Widley, a tiny station a few miles along the line. Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals. But when the train dawdled at station after station, I began to wonder. It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely chugging along at thirty. One hour and seventeen minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance. I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express, but he had not even heard of it. I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived.

新概念第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson21

新概念第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson21 【课文】 Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago. In those days, boxers fought with bare fists for prize money. Because of this, they were known as 'prizefighters'. However, boxing was very crude, for these were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match. One of the most colourful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza, who was born in 1764. The use of gloves was not introduced until 1860, when the Marquis of Queensberry drew up the first set of rules. Though he was technically a prizefighter, Mendoza did much to change crude prizefighting into a sport, for he brought science to the game. In this day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike. Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old. This attracted the attention of Richard Humphries who was then the most eminent boxer in England. He offered to train Mendoza and his young pupil was quick to learn. In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries turned against him. The two men quarrelled bitterly and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight. A match was held at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated. Mendoza met Humphries in the ring on a later occasion and he lost for a second time. It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat

新概念英语第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson11

新概念英语第三册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson11【课文】 Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days, but they can still stop you when you are going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare. Even 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 watches hidden in his suitcase. When I returned from abroad recently, a particularly officious young Customs Officer clearly regarded me as a smuggler. "Have you anything to declare?"he asked, looking me in the eye. "No,"I answered confidently. "Would you mind unlocking this suitcase please?" "Not at all,"I answered. The Officer went through the case with great care. All the things I had packed so carefully were soon in a dreadful mess. I felt sure I would never be able to close the case again. Suddenly, I saw the Officer's face light up. He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight. "Perfume, eh?'"he asked sarcastically. "You should have declared that." "Perfume is not exempt from import duty."

新概念英语第三册课文及翻译

Lesson1 A puma at large 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 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 immediately 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 behind 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 that 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 to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside. 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。 Lesson 2 Thirteen equals one Our 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 and 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 o'clock, 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 as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer. 'Whatever are you doing up here Bill ?' asked the vicar in surprise. ' I'm trying to repair the bell,' answered Bill.' I've 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. 'You've probably woken up everyone in the village as well. Still, I'm glad the bell is working again.' 'That's the trouble, vicar,' answered Bill. 'It's working all right, but I'm afraid that at one o'clock it will strike thirteen times and there's nothing I can do about it.' 'We'll get used to that Bill,' said the vicar. 'Thirteen is not as good as one but it's better than nothing. Now let's go downstairs and have a cup of tea.' 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。” Lesson 3 An unknown goddess Some time ago，an interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean（adj.爱琴海的；n.）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 civilization．Houses--often three storeys high--were built of stone．They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls．The city was even equipped with