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。有的人吃饭的时候也吃面包，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。” |