1. Clever Harry

It was a lovely spring day. Harry went to a park and took some photos. When he finished, he decided to stay a little longer. All the seats in the park were full, so he lay down on the grass, putting the camera beside him. The sun was so warm that he soon fell asleep.

When he woke up, he found his camera was gone. He told a policeman in the park about it. The policeman told Harry that three other people had lost cameras there that week.

Harry published an advertisement in the newspaper next day. It said: “Bring me your cameras. I will buy them and offer good price. Come and see at No.14, Forfar Road on every Sunday from 9:00 until 18:00.”

Two policemen came to Harry’s house on Sunday. Harry gave them a piece of paper with the number of his camera on it. At 10 o’clock a man came with some cameras for sale. Harry picked up and old black camera and looked at the number printed on it. It was his! Then he called the policemen that were waiting in the kitchen.

Notes:

advertisement 广告 2. kitchen 厨房

2. Banana

There was an old poor farmer whose name was Banana. He used to cut the grass and sell the fruits and vegetables which he planted.

It happened that one day when he was working in his small field he accidentally cut off his left hand. Frightened by this fearful sight, he decided to bury his hand behind his small wooden hut.

At length, a tree grew and a fruit bore out. There was a sweet, strong smell from the fruit and monkeys and birds came to see it.

Looking at this wonderful sight, he came, tasted the fruit. It was delicious. He decided to sell the fruit. He became a rich man.

All the farmers came to plant the fruit, but they didn’t know what it was called. They all asked Banah the name of the fruit. But he didn’t know either. He had a favorite song called :“Nana”. He decided to join his own name and Nana together to form the fruit’s name.

So it was now, as we all know, called “Banana”.

Notes:

1. accidentally 偶然地 2. fearful 吓人的，可怕的

3. The Nobleman and the Merchant

A nobleman and a merchant once met in a restaurant. For their lunch, the both ordered soup. When it was brought, the nobleman took a spoonful, but the soup was so hot that he burned his mouth and tears came to his eyes. The merchant asked him why he was weeping. The nobleman dared not say that he had got his mouth burned and answered, “Sir, I once had a brother who killed a child, for which he was hanged. I was thinking of his death, which made me weep.” The merchant, believing this story, began to eat his soup. He, too, had got his mouth burned, so that he had tears in his eyes. Noticing it, the nobleman asked the merchant, “Sir, why do you weep?” The merchant, who now saw that the nobleman had fooled him, answered, “Sir, I am weeping because you were not hanged together with your brother.”

Notes:

1. merchant商人 2. soup汤 3. spoonful滿匙

4. The World’s population

The world’s population today is about 4,500 million. The important thing is not so much the actual population of the world but its rate of increase. It works out to be about 1.6 percent every year after the number of deaths has been taken away. This means something like seventy-two million people every year.

I’m not talking about birth rate. This is clear increase. To give you some idea of birth rate, look at the second hand of your watch. Every second three babies are born somewhere in the world. Another baby! Another baby! Another baby! You can’t speak quickly enough to keep up with the birth rate.

Another reason why the population is going up rapidly is due to the spread of the knowledge and the practice of what is coming to be called Death Control. You may have heard of Birth Control. Death Control is something rather different. Bad conditions, which we have made better by an improved standard of living, caused a lot of diseases. But now medical can helps to keep people alive longer. We used to think seventy was a good age; now eighty, ninety, it may be, are coming to be regarded as a normal age for human beings.

By A.D. 2,000, there will be as many as seven thousand million people on the surface of this earth. So the control of the population is one of the great world problems which face us at the present time.

Notes:

1. rate率 2. due to由于

5. A Flying Carpet

Mr. Fox was on holiday. He was staying in a small desert town, which was famous for carpets. One sunny morning he went to the market, and saw a beautiful carpet there. This one was very big, and full of rich colours. He looked at it for a long time, but went away. The next morning he passed and saw it again. He asked the price.

“This one, sir ? This is a very special carpet,” said the boss.

“Yes, but how much is it ?”

“It’s s special carpet, sir, so it is not cheap. It’s beautiful, isn’t it ? ”

“Yes, it’s very beautiful, but...”

“It’s also very old, sir. It belonged to a great man years ago. So I can’t sell it cheaply.”

“No. How much is it ? ” Mr. Fox asked again.

“A beautiful, old carpet, sir. And it is also a magic flying carpet. A man came this morning, too, and offered me five hundred pounds for it.”

“Oh,” said Mr. Fox.

“But I like you, sir. You’re a very nice gentleman. I’ll sell it to you. Five hundred and fifty pounds.”

“Hmm,” Mr. Fox thought for a moment. “All right.”

“Very good, sir.” Said the boss. “Will you pay now and take it with you?”

“No,” said Mr. Fox. “Here’s my address. Fly over on the carpet. I’ll pay you when you arrive.”

6. “Please” and “Thank You”

There was once a polite cobbler called Dek. He had a brother called Bung. Bung was just the opposite of Dek. He was rude and selfish. And he never said ‘please’ or ‘thank you’.

One day a fairy decided to teach Bung a lesson. He knocked at Bung’s door and said, “Cobbler, cobbler, will you please mend my shoes?”

Bung took the shoes without a word and mended them. When the fairy paid him, he did not say thank you. He took the money and put it in a box.

The next morning Bung opened the box and saw that the money had turned into a map. It was a treasure map. “We must follow it at once,” he cried to Dek. “Then we will be rich.”

So the two brothers followed the map. At last they came to a cave. There was a gnome guarding the door to the cave.

“Hey, you,” said Bung rudely. “Let us in.”

The gnome would not let him in.

“May we come in, please?” Dek asked politely. Then the gnome let them in.

The cave was filled with treasure. “Now, Dek, whatever I take is mine. And whatever you take is yours. All right?” said the greedy Bung.

“Very well,” Dek agreed. Then they began to take as much treasure as they could carry.

At the door Dek thanked the gnome for letting him in. He went home a rich man.

As for Bung, he just walked out without saying anything.

The gnome called after him. “Have you forgotten some thing?”

“What have I forgotten?” Bung asked rudely. The gnome made a sign and three other gnomes appeared. They took the treasure from Bung.

Then they began to beat him. Each time they hit him they cried, “Please and thank you. Please and thank you.”

You can be sure that from then on Bung always remembered to say “Please” and “Thank you”.

Notes:

1.cobbler皮匠、补鞋匠 2. gnome守护神（传说中保护财宝和矿藏的）

7. Mars

Of the six outer planets, Mars, the Red Planet, is the closest to Earth. Mars, 55% of the size of Earth, is 34,600,000 miles from Earth. It takes this planet, along with its two moons, Phobos and Deimos, 1.88 years to go round the sun. For many years, Mars had been thought of as the planet with the man-made canals. With the United States spacecraft Viking I’s landing on Mars in 1976, the man-made canal theory was proved to be only a myth.

Viking I performed many scientific experiments and took a lot of pictures. The pictures showed that the red colour of the planet is due to the reddish, rocky soil. No life was found there. The Viking also monitored weather changes including violent dust storms. Some water vapour and polar ice were found. Evidence collected by the spacecraft shows some present volcanic action.

Notes:

1. Mars 火星 2. Phobos 火星卫星（直径约十英里） 3. Deimos 火星卫星 4. spacecraft 宇宙飞船 5. Viking I 海盗1号 6. myth 神话 7. monitor 监视 8. violent 猛烈的 9. evidence证据 10.volcanic 火山的

8. Time

In many places in the world, clocks are put forward in the spring and then put back in the autumn. In Britain this means that the time in summer is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, which is the standard time used throughout the world. Clocks are put forward so that people will get up earlier. In this way, the hours of early morning sunlight are not lost. Also, less electricity and fuel are needed in the evening because it gets dark later.

It was an Englishman, William Willett, who first suggested in 1908 that changing the clock in summer months would help the economy of the country. However, it was not until World War I that his idea was used. In the Second World War, clocks were put forward by two hours in the summer so that when people went to bed, at eleven o’clock at night, the sun was still shining. This meant that people could work longer hours in the fields and produce more food for the country.

Some very large countries with a great distance from East to West have a number of different times. A man in San Francisco who has just eaten his breakfast and telephones his friend in New York will find that his friend is eating lunch! The division of a country into different time zones can cause certain problems. For example, train timetable can become very difficult to understand, business communication becomes difficult and television and radio programmes have to be localized. It is also a problem for international travelers.

It is because of these problems that some large countries, including China, have chosen to use a one-time system which simplifies communications, travel and broadcasting services.

Notes:

1. Greenwich Mean Time格林威治标准时 2. fuel燃料 3. time zone时区 4. communication通讯

5. simplify简化 6. localize地方化

9. Napoleon and the Drummer-Boy

There was once a great general named Napoleon. He was in the camp reviewing his troops one day when he spied a little boy.

“What are you doing here?” the general asked the boy.

“I belong to the army, sir,” the boy replied.

“What do you do in the army?” the general asked him.

“I am a drummer, sir.” the boy answered proudly.

Napoleon ordered, “Bring your drum here, then.”

The boy got his drum and stood ready.

“Now,” said Napoleon, “sound the general.” That was the signal given in the army one hour before marching. It gave the men time to pull down the tents, put into the carts, and got everything ready for the line or march.

The drummer sounded the general. “Good!” cried Napoleon. “Now beat the march.” That was the signal for the infantry to take its place in the column.

Immediately the little drummer sounded forth the march.

“Now sound the advance,” ordered Napoleon very much pleased.

With sparking eyes the boy beat out the advance in good time.

“Now for the charge!” called Napoleon excitedly.

And the drum burst forth into a spirited charge while the eyes of the drummer-boy were flashing. The very earth seemed to tremble while the little soldier beat the charge wildly and fiercely.

“Very good! Very good!” cried Napoleon. “Now beat the retreat!”

Down dropped the sticks from the drummer’s hands. He stood straight and said proudly, “Sir, I never learned that, for our army never retreated!”

The general laughed. “You are excused,” he said.

To the end of his life Napoleon told of the little drummer-boy who could not beat a retreat.

Notes:1.spy观察、发现 2.drummer鼓手 3.infantry步兵 4.column 纵队、小分队 5.charge 冲锋

10．Paid Experience

These days experience, like many other things, are becoming increasingly expensive. One’s got a lot to get an experience, even an ordinary one.

Not long ago, I wanted to treat my friend to a lunch. What we really needed was a good and quiet place for some conversation, not a big meal. So I selected one reserved for people including myself who belong to a particular club. What could be nicer? “Let’s go to the club,” I told my friend.

When I ordered a day in advance, I was asked whether I would eat a 20 yuan or 50 yuan lunch. I said “50 yuan”. I didn’t realize, until I was asked to pay after the lunch, that “50 yuan” means “50 yuan for person each.”

There were five of us the other day, and all of us were surprised by the quality of the 50 yuan meal (for all, we thought). The bill came at last: it was 310.40 (250 yuan for the five of us plus the charges for drinks, fruits and air conditioning). I paid the bill without a word.

What could I say? It was not the club’s fault. It was my own ignorance that made me pay the largest lunch bill of my life.

On the whole, it was not so miserable; we had a good lunch and in a beautiful place. Besides, the experience was unique and will help in later years.

To support the logic of the lunch bill, I have developed my own calculation:50 yuan for the lunch and 260.40 for the experience.

This paid experience has made me ten times wiser.

Notes:1.reserved 保留 2.club 俱乐部 3.ignorance 无知 2.club 俱乐部 4.unique唯一的

11． The Farmer, His Horse, and His Son

Once there was an old farmer, with a horse which was almost as old as himself. He set out one morning with his young son to sell the horse before it died. Father and son walked, because the farmer die not want the horse to be tired.

They met two men on the road who said, “Why are you walking, farmer? You have a horse. It’s a long way to the market.” The farmer know that this was true, so he rode on the horse, while his son waled.

Then they met two ladies. “What are you doing up there, farmer? Can’t you see how tired your boy is?” So the farmer got down, and his son rode instead.

Next, three old men stopped them. One said, “Why are you walking, farmer? Get up. It’s too hot for an old man like you to walk today.” So the farmer got up behind his son, and they rode on.

Some time later, a young woman passed them. “Why are you riding?” she asked. “It’s not far to the market. Give your poor old horse a rest.”

So the farmer and his son got down once again.

It is a fact that you cannot please all the people all the time.

 

12. The Young Men and The Bull

Once two friends were spending some time in the country. One day while taking a walk together, they crossed a large field. Suddenly a bull appeared and began to chase them. They were very frightened and began to run, but the bull continued to chase them. Finally, one of the men climbed a tree and the other jumped into a large hole. Soon, however, the man who had jumped into the hole came out again. Immediately, the bull chased him back into the hole. Soon the man came out of the hole again, and the bull chased him right back. This went on five or sit times.

Finally the man in the tree, who was very angry, cried to his friend in the hole: “You fool! Stay in the hole for a while. Otherwise, this bull will keep us here all day.”

As the other man jumped out of the hole again, he said, “That’s all right for you to say, but there is a bear in this hole.”

Notes:1.bull 公牛 2.chase 追赶、追逐

13. Recreation and Sports

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” is a popular saying in the United States. Other countries have similar saying. It is true that all of us need recreation. We cannot work all the time if we are going to keep good health and enjoy life.

Everyone has his own way of relaxing. Perhaps the most popular way is to take part in sports. There are team sports, such as baseball, basketball, and football. There are individual sports, also, such as golf and swimming. In addition, hiking, fishing, skiing, and mountain climbing have a great attraction for people who like to be outdoors.

Not everyone who enjoys sports events likes to take part in them. Many people prefer to be onlookers, either watching them on television, or listening to them on the radio. When there is an important baseball game or boxing match it is almost impossible to get tickets; everyone wants to attend.

Chess, card-playing, and dancing are forms of indoor recreation enjoyed by many people. It doesn’t matter whether we play a fast game of ping-pong, concentrate over the bridge table, or go walking through the woods on a brisk autumn afternoon. It is important for every one to relax from time to time and enjoy some form of recreation.

 

14．An Absurd Order

The soldiers had just moved to the desert, and as they had never been in such a place before, they had a lot to learn.

As there were no trees or buildings in the desert, it was, of course, very hard to hide their trucks from enemy planes. The soldiers were therefore given training in camouflage, which means ways of covering something so that the enemy cannot see where it is. They were shown how to paint their trucks in irregular patterns with pale green, yellow, and brown paints, and then to cover them with nets to which they had tied small pieces of cloth.

The driver who had the biggest truck went to a lot of trouble to camouflage it, He spent several hours painting it, preparing a net and searching for some heavy rocks with which to hold the net down. When it was all finished, he looked proudly at his work and then went off to have his lunch.

But when he came back to the truck after he had had his meal, he was surprised and worried to see that his camouflage was completely spoilt by the truck’s shadow, which was growing longer and longer as the afternoon advanced, He stood looking at it, not knowing what to do about it.

Soon an officer arrived, and he too saw the shadow of course.

“well,” he shouted to the poor driver, “What are you going to do about it? If an enemy plane comes over, the pilot will at once know that there is a truck there.”

“I know sir,” answered the soldier.

“Well, don’t just stand there doing nothing!” said the officer.

“What shall I do, sir?” asked the poor driver.

“Get your spade and throw some sand over the shadow of course!” answered the officer.

Notes:1.camouflage 伪装 2.spoil (spoilt) 破坏

15． My Story

I arrived at the bus station much too early for London bus, which was not to leave until five to twelve. I pushed through the crowds, looking for somewhere to sit down. Scores of people were standing about, or struggling along with their bags and cases to find the right buses. There was a party of schoolgirls. I could see teachers trying to keep them in order. But there was nowhere for me to sit.

I stepped into the station café. I looked up at the clock there. It was only twenty to twelve. I found a seat opposite a large mirror on the wall. Just then a friend of mine called Jim came in and sat with me.

“What time is your bus?” asked Jim.

“Oh, there’s plenty of time yet,” I answered.

“Oh, I’ll get you some more tea then,” said Jim.

We talked while drinking. Then I looked at the clock again.

“Good heavens! It’s going backward!” I cried. “A moment ago it was twenty to twelve and now it’s half past eleven.”

“You’re looking at the clock in the mirror,” said Jim.

I could have kicked myself for being so stupid. The next bus was not to leave for another hour. I have never liked mirrors since then.

Notes:1.queue 行列，长队 2.case 箱子，盒子

16．The Environment and Humanity

In the past, Man did not have to think about the protection of his environment. There were few people on the earth, and natural resources seemed to be unlimited.

Today things are different. The world has become too crowded. We are using up our natural resources too quickly, and at the same time we are polluting our environment with dangerous chemicals. If we continue to do this, human life on earth will not survive.

Everyone realizes today that if too many fish are taken from the sea, there will soon be none left. Yet, with modern fishing methods, more and more fish are caught. We know that if too many trees are cut down, forests will disappear and nothing will grow on the land. Yet, we continue to use bigger and more powerful machines to cut down more and more trees.

We realize that if rivers are polluted with waste products from factories, we will die. However, in most countries waste products are still put into rivers or into the sea, and there are few laws to stop this.

We know too that if the population of the world countries is to rise at the present rate, in a few years, there will not be enough food.

What can we do to solve these problems?

If we eat more vegetables and less meat, there will be more food available for everyone. Land that is used to grow crops feeds five times more people than where animals are kept.

Our natural resources will last longer if we learn to recycle them.

The world population will not rise so quickly if people use modern methods of birth control.

Finally, if we educate people to think about the problems we shall have a better and clean planet in the future.

Notes:1.environment 环境 2.humanity人类

17．In the Dark

Many years ago, two friends went to a very small town. Their names were Joe and Tom.

It was dark when they came to a little inn. They asked for a room with two beds. The master of the inn showed them a room and gave them a candle because there were no lamp in that room.

When they were coming to the room, Joe dropped the candle. It was very dark.

They took their clothes off and went to bed. The bed was very big, and by mistake they went into the same bed. Tom from one side while Joe from the other.

After some time, Joe said, “You know, Tom, there is a man in my bed. Here are his feet near my neck.”

“Yes, Joe, There is a man in my bed, too. But my man is bigger because his feet are near my face. What shall we do ?”

“Let us push them off our beds.”

They began to push each other. After some time two heavy bodies fell to the floor.

“Joe,” cried Tom, “my man is stronger than I. He pushed me down to the floor.”

“I am on the floor, too,” answered Tom, “I think we must go and tell the master of the inn about it.”

Notes: 1.inn 客栈，小旅馆

18. A Service of Love

Joe and Delia were a new couple. They came to New York from he country. They longed for a good life here. They were both interested in art. One in drawing pictures, the other in music. They lived in a small room. They loved each other and they were happy. But one day they found that they had spent all their money.

One afternoon Delia told Joe that she had found a girl and was to give her three music lessons a week. For that she could get 15 dollars a week. But Joe was not glad because he didn’t want to stay at home playing with his art while Delia was at work. He wanted to earn some money, too.

Every day they parted in the morning and met in the evening. A week passed, Delia brought home 15 dollars but she looked a little tired. Joe took 18 dollars out of his pocket and told Delia he had sold one of his pictures. They were both very happy to have so much money at hand.

The next week Joe brought back another 18 dollars but Delia came home with her right hand in bandage.

Joe asked Delia what was the matter. Delia said, “It was because of an iron——I mean a plate of soup splashed out on my hand.”

“What do you do every day, Delia? Do you really give music lessons?” Joe asked. “Tell me the truth!”

Delia cried. She told Joe that she was working in a laundry, ironing shirts. A girl accidently set down an iron on her hand and she got a bad burn. But Delia asked Joe how he had guessed that she wasn’t giving music lessons.

Joe told Delia that he worked in the engine-room of the same laundry where she worked and selling his pictures was only a good invention.

They both let out their secrets and laughed.

Notes:1.bandage 绷带 2.laundry 洗衣店

19. The Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the old World from the New. For centuries it kept the Americans from being discovered by the people of Europe.

Many wrong ideas about the Atlantic made early sailors unwilling to sail far out into it . One idea was that it reached out to “the edge of the world”. Sailors were afraid that they might sail right off the earth. Another idea was that at the equator ocean would be boiling hot.

The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the Pacific, but it is still very large. It is more than 4,000 miles (6,400km) wide where Columbus crossed it. Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles (3,200km) wide.

Two things make the Atlantic Ocean rather unusual. For so large an ocean it has very few islands. Also, it is the world’s saltiest ocean.

There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is. But suppose no more rain fell into it and no more water was brought to it by rivers, it would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up. In most places the water is a little more than two miles (3.2km) deep, but it some places it is much deeper. The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico. This “deep” measures 30,246 feet---almost sit miles (9.6km).

Ocean currents are sometimes called “rivers in the sea”. One of these “rivers” in the Atlantic is called the Gulf Stream. It is a current of warm water. Another is the Labrador Current---cold water coming down from the Arctic. Ocean currents affect the climates of the islands near which they flow.

The Atlantic supplies much food for the people on its shores. There are a lot of famous fishing regions there.

Today the Atlantic is a great highway. It is not, however, always a smooth and safe one. We now have such fast ways of travelling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller. Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it. A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days. Aeroplanes fly from New York to London only eight hours and from South America to Africa in four!r

Notes: 1.Columbus 哥伦布 2.Puerto Rico波多黎各 3.current水流 4.the Gulf Stream墨西哥湾洋流

5.the Labrador Current拉布拉多洋流 6.region区域

20．The Girl Who Wanted to Grown Up

Susan was tired of being told not to do this and not to do that because she was still to small. “When will I ever grow up?” she sighed, looking at herself in the mirror.

One day she had an idea. “I know.” She cried. “I’ll wear Mother’s high heals. They will make me look taller.” So Susan took her mother’s shoes out from the cupboard. They wore a bit too big for her. But after stuffing some cotton wool in them. She could wear them.

The next day Susan wore her high heels to school. She sat right at the back of the class with the bigger children. But she found it very dull and was glad when it was recess-time. “You, the big one at the back,” said Teacher, pointing to Susan. “Please go and get the milk from the tuck-shop.”

Susan was very proud that teacher had asked her to fetch the milk. She walked happily off in her high heels.

The two milk cans were big and heavy. And it was hard to walk in the high heels. But Susan did not mind. Suddenly Susan twisted her foot. She fell down and spilled some of the milk. She had to take off her high heels and walk back to the classroom with the two cans.

She was very late and the milk cans were half empty. There was not enough milk for all the children and they were angry with her. This made Susan very sad. She had learned a lesson.

When she got home that afternoon Susan was glad she was small. “You see,” Susan’s father said to her mother, “I’m taking the little ones to the zoo.”

And he took Susan and her younger brother to the zoo. Susan’s elder brothers had to stay at home to do their home-work. How glad Susan was to be a little one then.

Notes:1.high heels鞋 2.stuff填空 3.cotton wool棉絮 4.dull迟钝的，呆笨的 5.recess-time休息时间

6.tuch-shop食品店 7.twist扭伤 8.spill溅出，溢出

21. Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was the master of Europe. He wanted to be the master of the world. But he had to first win England, and to win England he had to cross the English Channel in great force. What he needed badly were ships which could travel faster than the British warships.

Just at that time, there came an American inventor, Robert Fulton by name, to France with his inventions. Fulton had invented a way of propelling ships by steam instead of by sail. He had also worked out an underwater boat. It was Napoleon’s God given chance. He wanted very much to try Fulton’s idea. Then he decided against it

If Fulton’s invention should fail, Napoleon feared he would be the laughing-stock of Europe. How could he be laughed at, he thought to him. So he refused to pay the price of a laugh, and threw away his chance to be the master of the world.

Notes:1.Napoleon Bonaparte拿破仑.波拿巴 2.propel推进 3.laughing-stock笑柄 4.pay the price of付……的代价

22． Clever Ants

Last summer I spent days in the garden watching thousands of ants crawling up the trunk of my peach tree. The leaves of the tree were beginning to die. Small worms were found on the underside of the leaves. They were visited by a large army of ants which got a sort of honey from them. Immediately I began an interesting experiment. I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape, making it impossible for the ants to reach the worms. The tape was so sticky that they did not dare to cross it. For a long time, I watched them hurrying around the base of the tree, not knowing what to do. I even went out at midnight with a flashlight and noted with satisfaction and surprise that the ants were still gathering around the sticky tape without being able to do anything about it. I got up early the next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair. Instead, I saw they had discovered a new way. They were climbing up the wall of the house and then on to the leaves of the tree. I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated.

23. Million “Glassed”

China produced 30 million pairs of glasses last year, second only to the United States. The number reflects China’s huge population. According to a recent survey, about 210 million people in China wear glasses. Of these, one third live in urban areas.

Old people and students are among the main customers. About 120 million of those who wear glasses suffer from short-sightedness and far-sightedness.

Doctors and teachers say there are many reasons why students develop poor vision. The main one is that they are often overloaded with lessons and homework and don’t have enough time for sleeping, sports and other recreational activities.

Notes:1.reflect反映 2.survey调查 3.urban都市的 4.customer顾客 5.vision 视力 6.recreational娱乐的

 

24． Abunawas

Abunaws was a very strong man. The King made Abunawas his watch-man and said to him, “ You shall sit and watch the gate of my house. I am going away. You must watch the gate day and night.”

The King rode away. Abunawas sat and watched the gate. Night came. Some of his friends were dancing. He saw his friends dancing and said, “I want to go and dance with my friends.”

So Abunawas took up the gate of the King’s house. He put the gate on his back, and went to the place where his friends were dancing.

Bad men saw that there was no gate at the King’s house, so they went in and took a box of gold.

In the morning Abunawas went back to the King’s house. He put the gate back in its place.

Next day the King came back. He said, “Where is the box of gold? Someone has taken it. Abunawas!” “Yes, O King!”

“I told you to watch my house, but someone has come and taken my box of gold.” “O King,” answered Abunawas, “you did not tell me to watch your house.” “I did.” said the King.

“No, O King, you told me to watch the gate and I watched it day and night.”

The King was very angry with Abunawas and Abunawas was brought into the great hall of the King’s house. The King said, “Abunawas, you are a bad man. Go! You shall not work for me. Never show your face again! If I ever see your face again, I shall kill you!” So Abunawas went away.

Some days after this the King rode along the street, and all the people stood and watched the King ride by and cried, “Long live the King!” But one man was standing with his back to the King. So the King ordered his servant, “Bring that man to me!”

They brought the man. It was Abunawas. The King said, “why do you stand with your back to me when I am riding along the street?” Abunawas said, “O King,” You said, “‘Never show your face again’, so I stood with my back to you.”

25. A Simple Man’s Dream

A simple shepherd looked after a flock of sheep for a very rich man. He was a poor but happy man. Part of his pay from the rich man was in butter. He saved the butter each week. He carefully stored it in a big jar that hung in his hut.

One evening he stood at the door of the hut. He had his stick in his hand. As he watched the sunset, his eyes moved to the butter jar. He began to wonder what he could do with all the butter.

Then he said to himself, “I will sell my butter and buy a sheep with the money. In time this sheep will give me another lamb. In a few years, I will own a big flock of sheep and will be a rich man. Then I will buy a big house with the best furniture. And I shall have a beautiful garden. When my son grows up, I will get a teacher for him. He will learn how to read, write and be wise. Of course, my boy will have to listen to me. If he is a good son. I will give him half of my sheep. But if he not, I will hit him with this stick.”

As the shepherd said this, he raised his stick and hit the butter jar. It fell to the ground and broke, and all the butter was wasted.

He was sad and could not believe what had happened. “What a fool I was,” he thought. “I went to far in my dreams.”

Notes:1.butter牛油 2.lamb羔羊