Lesson38 A Stop Sign
Sam was a farmer. He was born on his farm and had lived on it all his life.
He had married his neighbour's daughter, and they grew fruit and vegetables.
Sam got up at five o'clock every morning to gather them and take a load offto the market in his truck.
There were very few vehicles on the country roads at that time of themorning and Sam knew how to get to the market very well. So as he was goingalong, he was always thinking about everything except his driving.
One morning he was thinking about what crops to plant for the next year'sharvest, and whether to try something else. After a few kilometres, Sam cameto an intersection with a stop sign. He always crossed the road withoutstopping because there was never any traffic on it at that time of themorning.
But this morning a young policeman whom he had never seen before signalledto him to stop a hundred meters beyond the crossroads.
The policeman said to him, "Didn't you know that there was a sign tellingyou to stop at the crossroads before going over the main road?""Oh, yes," answered Sam, "I knew that there was a sign at that point,because I go to market along this road every morning.
But what I didn't know was that you were here."
intersection 十字路口，交叉点
signal 发信号，用动作示意
停车标志
萨姆是个农夫。他出生在他的这个农场，一辈子都没离开过。他娶了邻居的女儿，两人种植水果和蔬菜。
萨姆每天五点起床，采摘蔬果，然后装一卡车送到市场上去。
清晨的那个时候，村里的路上没有多少车，而且萨姆对去市场的路很熟悉。因此在去市场的路上，他总是在想除开车以外的事情。
Lesson37 Come to Dinner!
Some British and American people like to invite friends and colleagues for ameal at home. Don't be upset if your English friends don't invite you home.
It doesn't mean they don't like you!
Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 pm and end at about 11. Askyour host what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers,chocolates or a bottle of wine to your hostess.
Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. Do you want to be extrapolite? Say how much you like the room, or the pictures, or your hostess'sdress, but remember — it's not polite to ask how much things cost.
Dinner will usually start at about 8 or 9 o'clock. In many families, thehusband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end.
They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start the meal with soup, or something small as a 'starter',and then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then a dessert,followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and totake more if you want it. Some people eat bread with their meal, but noteveryone does.
Did you enjoy the evening? Remember to call your hostess the next day, orwrite her a short 'thank you' letter.
starter 开胃小食
去赴宴！
有些英国人和美国人喜欢邀请朋友和同事到家里吃饭。如果你的英语国家的朋友没有邀请你去家里，不要失望。这并不表示他们不喜欢你。
晚餐派对通常开始于晚上七点到八点之间，结束于大约十一点。问清主人你应该几点到。给女主人带束鲜花、一些巧克力或一瓶酒，是礼貌的做法。
晚会开始时，一般先喝饮料和吃点小吃。想更礼貌些吗？说说你多么喜欢主人的房间、绘画，或者女主人的礼服，但切记——询问东西的价格是不礼貌的。
晚餐通常在八、九点钟开始。在大多数家庭，丈夫坐在餐桌的一头，妻子坐在另一头。
他们和客人一起吃饭。
晚饭一开始可能是汤，或者是如“开胃菜”这样的小菜，然后你会吃到搭配蔬菜的肉或鱼，之后是甜点，最后是咖啡。吃完你盘子里的所有东西，想吃的话再加一些，这样显得礼貌。
Lesson36 Look Quickly
Jack joined the Boy Scouts when he was twelve. The teachers were very nice,and Jack began to learn a lot of useful things, so he was very happy.
One day the teacher came to the camp to teach Jack and the other youngScouts to read a map. He showed them what represented a river and how tofind out the elevation. "Now," the teacher went on, "how can we find outwhether we can see one place from another?" Nobody answered. "Well," theteacher continued, "if there's a higher place on a straight line betweenthem, it will be impossible for us to see one from the other, won't it?"The teacher continued to question the boys. "Do you see the tree on thismountain over here?" He pointed it out to the boys. "It's 120 meters abovesea level. Here's the problem for you: if I was beside the tree, and youwere in the middle of the river, Jack, would I be able to see you?
Jack looked at the map carefully and then answered, "Yes, sir, youdefinitely would — if you looked very quickly."The teacher was surprised. "What nonsense!" he said." What ever do youmean?There's nothing between the tree and the river which is so high that itprevents me from seeing you, so why would I have to look quickly?""Because I can't swim," Jack answered.
Boy Scouts 男童子军
elevation 海拔
represent 代表，表示
赶快看
杰克十二岁时参加了男童子军。老师们都很和蔼，而且杰克学到很多有用的知识，所以他很开心。
一天，有个老师来到营地教杰克和其他小童子军识别地图。他告诉他们什么代表河流以及如何算出海拔。“现在，”老师接着说，“我们怎样知道能否从某地看到另一地？”
无人应答。
“这样，”老师继续道，“如果有一较高的地方位于两地之间的一条直线上，我们就不可能从此地看到彼地，是不是啊？”
老师接着提问男孩们：“你们看到这边这座山上的树吗？”他指给男孩们看，“它高于海平面一百二十米。现在的问题是：如果我在树旁边，而你在河的中间，杰克，我能不能看到你？”
杰克仔细看看地图，然后回答：“是的，先生，你肯定能看到——如果你赶快看的话。
”
老师很惊讶。“无稽之谈！”他说，“你想说什么？树和河之间没有任何高到足以阻碍我看到你的东西，我为什么必须赶快看？”
“因为我不会游泳，”杰克答道。 吃面包，但不是人人如此。
你对晚会满意吗？记得第二天给女主人打个电话，或给她写个简短的致谢便条。 下年种什么庄稼能丰收，是否试着种些其他作物。开车走了几公里后，萨姆来到一个有停车标志的十字路口。因为早晨的那个时间从来没有其他车辆经过这里，他总是不停车就闯过去。但今天早晨，通过十字路口几百米后，一个从未见过的年轻警察向他示意停车。
警察问他：“你不知道那个指示牌是说，驶入大路前要在十字路口停车吗？”
“噢，知道，”萨姆回答，“我知道那儿有个指示牌，因为我天天早晨走这条路到市场，但我不知道的是你在这儿呀。” |