Lesson 1 A private conversation文档格式.docx

1、Lesson 2 Breakfast or lunch?It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays. I sometimes stay in bed until lunchtime. Last Sunday I got up very late. I looked out of the window. It was dark outside. What a day! I thought. Its raining again. Just then, the telephone rang. It was my aunt Lucy. Ive just

2、 arrived by train, she said. Im coming to see you. But Im still having breakfast, I said.What are you doing? she asked.Im having breakfast, I repeated.Dear me, she said. Do you always get up so late? Its one oclock!Lesson 3 Please send me a cardPostcards always spoil my holidays. Last summer, I went

3、 to Italy. I visited museums and sat in public gardens. A friendly waiter taught me a few words of Italian. Then he lent me a book. I read a few lines, but I did not understand a word. Every day I thought about postcards. My holidays passed quickly, but I did not send cards to my friends. On the las

4、t day I made a big decision. I got up early and bought thirty-seven cards. I spent the whole day in my room, but I did not write a single card!Lesson 4 An exciting tripI have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is

5、working for a big firm and he has alreadyvisited a great number of different places in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad

6、before, so he is finding thistrip very exciting.Lesson 5 No wrong numberMr. James Scott has a garage in Silbury and now he has just bought another garage in Pinhurst. Pinhurst is only five miles from Silbury, but Mr. Scott cannot get a telephone for his new garage, so he has just bought twelvepigeon

7、s. Yesterday, a pigeon carried the first message from Pinburst to Silbury. The bird covered the distance thefirst three minutes. Up to now, Mr. Scott has sent a great many requests for spare parts and other urgent messages from one garage to the other. In this way, he has begun his own private telep

8、hone service.Lesson 6 Percy Buttons I have just moved to a house in Bridge Street. Yesterday a beggar knocked at my door. He asked me for a meal and a glass of beer. In return for this, the beggar stood onhis head and sang songs. I gave him a meal. He ate the food and drank the beer. Then he put a p

9、iece of cheesein his pocket and went away. Later a neighbour told me about him. Everybody knows him. His name is Percy Buttons.He calls at every house in the street oncea month and always asks for a meal and a glass of beer.Lesson 7 Too lateThe plane was late and detectives were waiting at the airpo

10、rt all morning. They were expecting a valuable parcelof diamonds from South Africa. A few hours earlier, someone had told the police that thieves would try to steal the diamonds. When the plane arrived, some of the detectives were waiting inside the main building while others were waiting on the air

11、field. Two men took the parcel off the plane and carried it into the Customs House. While two detectives were keeping guard at the door, two others opened the parcel. To their surprise, the precious parcel was full of stones and sand!Lesson 8 The best and the worstJoe Sanders has the most beautiful

12、garden in our town. Nearly everybody enters for The Nicest Garden Competition each year, but Joe wins every time. Bill Friths garden is larger than Joes. Bill works harder than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but Joes garden is more interesting. He has made neat paths and has built a wood

13、en bridge over a pool. I like gardens too,but I do not like hard work. Every year I enter for the garden competition too, and I always win a little prize for the worst garden in the town!Lesson 9 A cold welcomeOn Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall. It wasthe last day of the year and a large

14、 crowd of people had gathered under the Town Hall clock. It would strike twelvein twenty minutes time. Fifteen minutes passed and then, at five to twelve, the clock stopped. The big minute hand did not move. We waited and waited, but nothing happened. Suddenly someone shouted, Its two minutes past t

15、welve! The clock has stopped!* I looked at my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to welcome the New Year. At that moment, everybody began to laugh and sing. Lesson 10 Not For JazzWe have an old musical instrument. It is called a clavichord. It was made in Germany in 1681. Our clavichord is ke

16、pt in the living-room. It has belonged to our family for a long time. The instrument was brought bymy grandfather many years ago. Recently it was damaged by a visitor. She tried to play jazz on it! She struck the keys too hard and two of the strings were broken. My father was shocked. Now we were no

17、t allowed to touch it.It is being repaired by a friend of my fathers. Lesson 11 One good turn deserves anotherI was having dinner at a restaurant when Harry Steele came in. Harry worked in a lawyers office years ago, but he is now working at a bank. He gets a good salary, but he always borrows money

18、 from his friends and never paysit back. Harry saw me and came and sat at the same table.He has never borrowed money from me. While he was eating, I asked him to lend me &2. To my surprise, he gave me the money immediately. I have never borrowed any money from you, Harry said, so now you can pay for

19、 my dinner!Lesson 12 Goodbye and good luckOur neighbour, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from Portsmouth tomorrow. We shall meet him at the harbour early in the morning. He will be in his small boat, Topsailis a famous little boat. It has sailed across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will

20、set out at eight oclock sowe shall have plenty of time. We shall see his boat and then we shall say goodbye to him. He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him. He will take partin an important race across the Atlantic. Lesson 13 The Greenwood BoysThe Greenwood Boys are a group of popul

21、ar singers. At present, they are visiting all parts of the country. They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be coming by train and most of the young people in the town will be meeting them at the station. Tomorrow evening they will be singing at the Workers Club. The Greenwood Boys will be st

22、aying for five days. During this time, they will give five performances. As usual,the police will have a difficult time.They will be trying to keep order. It is always the same on these occasions. Lesson 14 Do you speak English?I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left a small village

23、in the south of France, I drove on to the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I stopped and he asked me for a lift. As soon as he had got into the car, I said good morning to him in French and hereplied in the same language. Apart from a few words, I do not know any French at all. Neithe

24、r of us spoke duringthe journey. I had nearly reached the town, when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, Do you speak English? As I soon learnt, he was English himself!Lesson 15 The secretary told me that Mr Harms worth would see me.I felt very nervous when. I went into his office. He did not

25、look up from his desk when I entered. After I had satdown, he said that business was very bad. He told me that the firm could not afford to pay such large salaries. Twenty people had already left. I knew that my turn had come.Mr Harmsworth, I said in a weak voice. Dont interrupt, he Said. Then he sm

26、iled and told me I would receive an extra &100 a year!Lesson 16If you park your car in the wrong place, a traffic policeman will soon find it. You will be very lucky if he lets you go without a ticket. However, this does not always happen. Traffic police are sometimes very polite. During a holiday i

27、n Sweden,I found this note on my car: Sir, wewelcome you to our city. This is a No Parking area. You will enjoy your stay here if you pay attention to our street signs. This note is only a reminder. If you receive arequest like this, you can-not fail to obey it!Lesson 17 Always youngMy aunt Jennifer

28、 is an actress. She must be at least thirty-five years old. In spite of this, she often appears on the stage as a young girl. Jennifer will have to take part in a new play soon. This time, she will be a girl of seventeen.In the play, she must appear in a bright red dress and long black stockings. La

29、st year in another play, she had to wear short socks and a bright, orange-coloured dress. If anyone ever asks her how old she is, she always answers, Darling, it must be terrible to be grown up!Lesson 18: He often does this!After I had had lunch at a village pub, I looked for my bag. I had left it on a chair beside the door and now it wasnt there! As I was looking for it, the landlord came in.Did you have a good meal? he asked.Yes, thank you, I answered, but I cant pay the bill. I havent got my bag. The landlord smiled and immediately went out. In a few minutes he returned wi