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ften caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away。 Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully； but were not able to find any broken glass。 They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire。 This morning； however； a firemen accidentally discovered the cause。 He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16；000…volt power line。 In this way； he was able to solve the mystery。 The explanation was simple but very unusual。 A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires。 The snake then wound itself round the wires。 When it did so； it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire。
New words and expressions 生词和短语
hot adj。 带电的，充电的
fireman n。 消防队员
cause v。 引起； n。 原因
examine v。 检查
accidentally adv。 意外地，偶然地
remains n。 尸体，残骸
wire n。 电线
volt n。 伏特（电压单位）
power line 电力线
solve v。 解决
mystery n。 谜
snatch v。 抓住
spark n。 电火花
参考译文
消防队员们终于扑灭了加利福尼亚的一场森林大火。从那时起，他们一直试图找出起火的原因。森林火灾时常由破碎的玻璃或人们随手扔掉的香烟头引起。昨天，消防队员仔细查看了地面，但未能发现碎玻璃。他们还十分肯定火灾也不是由烟头引起的。然而今天上午，一个消防队员偶然发现了起火的原因。他发现了缠绕在16；000伏高压线上的一条死蛇。就这样，他解开了起火之谜。解释很简单，却异乎寻常。一只鸟把蛇从地上抓起来，然后把它扔到了电线上。于是蛇就缠住了几根电线。当它这样做时，把火花送到了地面，这些火花立刻引起了一场大火。
Lesson 54
Sticky fingers
粘糊的手指
First listen and then answer the question。
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What two interruptions did the writer have？
After breakfast； I sent the children to school and then I went to the shops。 It was still early when I returned home。 The children were at school； my husband was at work and the house was quiet。 So I decided to make some meat pies。 In a short time I was busy mixing butter and flour and my hands were soon covered with sticky pastry。 At exactly that moment； the telephone rang。 Nothing could have been more annoying。 I picked up the receiver between two sticky fingers and was dismayed when I recognized the voice of Helen Bates。 It took me ten minutes to persuade her to ring back later。 At last I hung up the receiver。 What a mess！ There was pastry on my fingers； on the telephone； and on the doorknobs。 I had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead。 This time it was the postman and he wanted me to sign for a registered letter！
New words and expressions 生词和短语
sticky adj。 粘的
finger n。 手指
pie n。 馅饼
mix v。 混合，拌和
pastry n。 面糊
annoying adj。 恼人的
receiver n。 电话的话筒
dismay v。 失望，泄气
recognize v。 认出，听出
persuade v。 说服，劝说
mess n。 乱七八糟
doorknob n。 门把手
sign v。 签字
register v。 挂号邮寄
参考译文
早饭后，我送孩子们上学，然后就去了商店。我回到家时，时间还早。孩子们在上学，我丈夫在上班，家里清静得很。于是我决定做些肉馅饼。不一会儿我就忙着调拌起了黄油和面粉，很快我的手上就沾满了粘粘的面糊。恰恰在此时，电话铃响了。没有什么能比这更烦人了。我用两个沾满面糊的手指捏起了话筒。当听出是海伦。贝茨的声音时，非常丧气。我用了10分钟的时间才说服她过会儿再来电话。我终于挂上了话筒。真是糟糕透了！我的手指上、电话机上以及门的把手上，都沾上了面糊。我刚回到厨房，门铃又响了起来，响声足以把死人唤醒。这次是邮递员，他要我签收一封挂号信！
Lesson 55
Not a gold mine
并非金矿
First listen and then answer the question。
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What did the team find？
Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true recently。 A new machine called 'The Revealer' has been invented and it has been used to detect gold which has been buried in the ground。 The machine was used in a cave near the seashore where it is said pirates used to hide gold。 The pirates would often bury gold in the cave and then fail to collect it。 Armed with the new machine； a search party went into the cave hoping to find buried treasure。 The leader of the party was examining the soil near the entrance to the cave when the machine showed that there was gold under the ground。 Very excited； the party dug a hole two feel deep。 They finally found a small gold coin which was almost worthless。 The party then searched the whole cave thoroughly but did not find anything except an empty tin trunk。 In spite of this； many people are confident that 'The Revealer' may reveal something of value fairly soon。
New words and expressions 生词和短语
gold n。 金子
mine n。 矿
treasure n。 财宝
revealer n。 探测器
invent v。 发明
detect v。 探测
bury v。 埋藏
cave n。 山洞
seashore n。 海岸
pirate n。 海盗
arm v。 武装
soil n。 泥土
entrance n。 入口
finally adv。 最后
worthless adj。 毫无价值的
thoroughly adv。 彻底地
trunk n。 行李箱
confident adj。 有信心的
value n。 价值
参考译文
最近，找到失踪宝藏的梦想差一点儿变成现实。一种叫“探宝器”的新机器已经发明出来，并被人们用来探测地下埋藏的金子。在靠近海边的一个据说过去海盗常在里面藏金子的岩洞里，这种机器被派上了用场。海盗们过去常把金子埋藏在那个洞里，可后来却没能取走。一支用这种新机器装备起来的探宝队进入了这个岩洞，希望找到埋藏着的金子。当这个队的队长正在检查洞口附近的土壤时，那台机器显示出它的下面埋有金子。队员们异常激动，就地挖了一个两英尺深的坑，但最后找到的是一枚几乎一钱不值的小金币。队员们接着又把整个洞彻底搜寻了一遍，但除了一只空铁皮箱外什么也没找到。尽管如此，很多人仍然相信“探宝器”很快就会探出值钱的东西来。
Lesson 56
Faster than sound！
比声音还快！
First listen and then answer the question。
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
How fast did the winning car go？
Once a year； a race is held for old cars。 A lot of cars entered for this race last year and there was a great deal of excitement just before it began。 One of the most handsome cars was a Rolls…Royce Silver Ghost。 The most unusual car was a Benz which had only three wheels。 Built in 1885； it was the oldest car taking part。 After a great many loud explosions； the race began。 Many of the cars broke down on the course and some drivers spent more time under their cars than in them！ A few cars； however； completed the race。 The winning car reached a speed of forty miles an hour much faster than any of its rivals。 It sped downhill at the end of the race and its driver had a lot of trouble trying to stop it。 The race gave everyone a great deal of pleasure。 It was very different from modern car races but no less exciting。
New words and expressions 生词和短语
sound n。 声音
excitement n。 激动，兴奋
handsome adj。 漂亮的；美观的
Rolls…Royce 罗尔斯罗伊斯
Benz n。 奔驰
wheel n。 轮子
explosion n。 爆炸，轰响
course n。 跑道；行程
rival n。 对手
speed v。 疾驶
downhill adv。 下坡
参考译文
旧式汽车的比赛每年举行一次。去年有很多汽车参加了这项比赛。比赛开始之前，人们异常激动。最漂亮的汽车之一是罗尔斯罗伊斯生产的银鬼汽车，而最不寻常的一辆则要属只有3只轮子的奔驰牌汽车了。该车造于1885年，是参赛车中最老的一辆。在好一阵喧闹的爆炸声之后，比赛开始了。很多�