Lesson 25

240.I arrived in London at last.

241. The railway station was big, black and dark.

242. I did not know the way to my hotel, so I asked a porter.

243. I not only spoke English very carefully, but very clearly as well.

244. The porter, however, could not understand me.

245. I repeated my question several times and at last he understood.

246. he answered me, but he spoke neither slowly nor clearly.

247. 'I am a foreigner,' I said.

248. Then he spoke slowly, but I could not understand him.

249. My teacher never spoke English like that!

250. The porter and I looked at each other and smiled.

251. Then he said something and I understood it.

252. 'You'll soon learn English!' he said.

253. I wonder. In England, each person speaks a different language.

241.The English understand each other, but I don't understand them!

242.255. Do they speak English?

Lesson 26

256.I am an art student and I paint a lot of pictures.

257. Many people pretend that they understand modern art

258. They always tell you what a picture is 'about'.

259. Of course, many pictures are not 'about' anything.

260. They are just pretty patterns.

261. We like them in the same way that we like pretty curtain material.

262. I think that young children often appreciate modern pictures better than anyone else. They notice more.

263. My sister is only seven, but she always tells me whether my pictures are good or not.

264. She came into my room yesterday.

265. 'What are you doing?' she asked.

266. 'I'm hanging this picture on the wall,' I answered. 'It's a new one. Do you like it?'

267. She looked at it critically for a moment.

268. 'It's all right,' she said, 'but isn't it upside down?'

269. I looked at it again.

270. She was right! It was!

Lesson 27

271.Late in the afternoon, the boys put up their tent in the middle of a field.

272. As soon as this was done, they cooked a meal over an open fire.

273. They were all hungry and the food smelled good.

274. After a wonderful meal, they told stories and sang songs by the campfire.

275. But some time later it began to rain.

276. The boys felt tired so they put out the fire and crept into their tent.

277. Their sleeping bags were warm and comfortable, so they all slept soundly.

278. In the middle of the night, two boys woke up and began shouting.

279. The tent was full of water!

280. They all leapt out of their sleeping bags and hurried outside.

281. It was raining heavily and they found that a stream had formed in the field.

282. The stream wound its way across the field and then flowed right under their tent!

Lesson 28

283.Jasper White is one of those rare people who believes in ancient myths.

284. he has just bought a new house in the city,

285. but ever since he moved in, he has had trouble with cars and their owners.

286. When he returns home at night, he always finds that someone has parked a car outside his gate.

287. Because of this, he has not been able to get his own car into his garage even once.

288. Jasper has put up 'No Parking' signs outside his gate, but these have not had any effect.

289. Now he has put an ugly stone head over the gate.

290. It is one of the ugliest faces I have ever seen.

291. I asked him what it was and he told me that it was Medusa, the Gorgon.

292. jasper hopes that she will turn cars and their owners to stone.

293. But none of them has been turned to stone yet!

Lesson 29

294.Captain Ben Fawcett has bought an unusual taxi and has begun a new service.

295. The 'taxi' is a small Swiss aeroplane called a 'Pilatus Porter'.

296. This wonderful plane can carry seven passengers.

297. The most surprising thing about it, however, is that it can land anywhere: on snow, water, or even on a ploughed field.

298. Captain Fawcett's first passenger was a doctor who flew from Birmingham to a lonely village in the Welsh mountains.

299. Since then, Captain Fawcett has flown passengers to many unusual places.

300. Once he landed on the roof of a block of flats and on another occasion, he landed in a deserted car park.

301. Captain Fawcett has just refused a strange request from a businessman.

302. The man wanted to fly to Rockall, a lonely island in the Atlantic Ocean,

303. but Captain Fawcett did not take him because the trip was too dangerous.

Lesson 30

304.The Wayle is a small river that cuts across the park near my home.

305. I like sitting by the Wayle on fine afternoons.

306. It was warm last Sunday, so I went and sat on the river bank as usual.

307. Some children were playing games on the bank and there were some people rowing on the river.

308. Suddenly, one of the children kicked a ball very hard and it went towards a passing boat.

309. Some people on the bank called out to the man in the boat, but he did not hear them.

310. The ball struck him so hard that he nearly fell into the water.

311. I turned to look at the children, but there weren't any in sight:they had all run away!

312. The man laughed when he realized what had happened.

313. He called out to the children and threw the ball back to the bank.

Lesson 31

314.Yesterday afternoon Frank Hawkins was telling me about his experiences as a young man.

315. Before he retired, Frank was the head of a very large business company, but as a boy he used to work in a small shop.

316. It was his job to repair bicycles and at that time he used to work fourteen hours a day.

317. He saved money for years and in 1958 he bought a small workshop of his own.

318. In his twenties Frank used to make spare parts for aeroplanes.

319. At that time he had two helpers.

320. In a few years the small workshop had become a large factory which employed seven hundred and twenty-eight people.

321. Frank smiled when he remembered his hard early years and the long road to success.

322. He was still smiling when the door opened and his wife came in.

323. She wanted him to repair their grandson's bicycle!

Lesson 32

324.People are not so honest as they once were.

325. The temptation to steal is greater than ever before -- especially in large shops.

326. A detective recently watched a well-dressed woman who always went into a large store on Monday mornings.

327. One Monday, there were fewer people in the shop than usual when the woman came in,

328. so it was easier for the detective to watch her.

329. The woman first bought a few small articles.

330. After a little time, she chose one of the most expensive dresses in the shop and handed it to an assistant who wrapped it up for her as quickly as possible.

331. Then the woman simply took the parcel and walked out of the shop without paying.

332. When she was arrested, the detective found out that the shop assistant was her daughter.

333. The girl 'gave' her mother a free dress once a week!

Lesson 33

334.Nearly a week passed before the girl was able to explain what had happened to her.

335. One afternoon she set out from the coast in a small boat and was caught in a storm.

336. Towards evening, the boat struck a rock and the girl jumped into the sea.

337. Then she swam to the shore after spending the whole night in the water.

338. During that time she covered a distance of eight miles.

339. Early next morning, she saw a light ahead.

340. She knew she was near the shore because the light was high up on the cliffs.

341. On arriving at the shore, the girl struggled up the cliff towards the light she had seen.

342. That was all she remembered.

343. When she woke up a day later, she found herself in hospital.

Lesson 34

344.Dan Robinson has been worried all week.

345. Last Tuesday he received a letter from the local police.

346. In the letter he was asked to call at the station.

347. Dan wondered why he was wanted by the police,

348. but he went to the station yesterday and now he is not worried anymore.

349. At the station, he was told by a smiling policeman that his bicycle had been found.

350. Five days ago, the policeman told him, the bicycle was picked up in a small village four hundred miles away.

351. It is now being sent to his home by train.

352. Dan was most surprised when he heard the news.

353. He was amused too, because he never expected the bicycle to be found.

354. It was stolen twenty years ago when Dan was a boy of fifteen!

Lesson 35

355.Roy Trenton used to drive a taxi.

356. A short while ago, however, he became a bus driver and he has not regretted it.

357. He is finding his new work far more exciting.

358. When he was driving along Catford Street recently,

359. he saw two thieves rush out of a shop and run towards a waiting car.

360. One of them was carrying a bag full of money.

361. Roy acted quickly and drove the bus straight at the thieves.

362. The one with the money got such a fright that he dropped the bag.

363. As the thieves were trying to get away in their car, Roy drove his bus into the back of it.

364. While the battered car was moving away, Roy stopped his bus and telephoned the police.

365. The thieves' car was badly damaged and easy to recognize.

366. Shortly afterwards, the police stopped the car and both men were arrested.

Lesson 36

367.Debbie Hart is going to swim across the English Channel tomorrow.

368. She is going to set out from the French coast at five o'clock in the morning.

369. Debbie is only eleven years old and she hopes to set up a new world record.

370. She is a strong swimmer and many people feel that she is sure to succeed.

371. Debbie's father will set out with her in a small boat.

372. Mr. Hart has trained his daughter for years.

373. Tomorrow he will be watching her anxiously as she swims the long distance to England.

374. Debbie intends to take short rests every two hours.

375. She will have something to drink but she will not eat any solid food.

376. Most of Debbie's school friends will be waiting for her on the English coast.

377. Among them will be Debbie's mother, who swam the Channel herself when she was a girl.

Lesson 37

378.The Olympic Games will be held in our country in four years' time.

379. As a great many people will be visiting the country,the government will be building new hotels, an immense stadium,and a new Olympic-standard swimming pool.

380. They will also be building new roads and a special railway line.

381. The Games will be held just outside the capital and the whole area will be called 'Olympic City'.

382. Workers will have completed the new roads by the end of this year.

383. By the end of next year, they will have finished work on the new stadium.

384. The fantastic modern buildings have been designed by Kurt Gunter.

385. Everybody will be watching anxiously as the new buildings go up.

386. We are all very excited and are looking forward to the Olympic Games

387. because they have never been held before in this country.

Lesson 38

388.My old friend, Harrison, had lived in the Mediterranean for many years before he returned to England.

389. He had often dreamed of retiring in England and had planned to settle down in the country.

390. He had no sooner returned than he bought a house and went to live there.

391. Almost immediately he began to complain about the weather,

392. for even though it was still summer, it rained continually and it was often bitterly cold.

393. After so many years of sunshine, Harrison got a shock.

394. He acted as if he had never lived in England before.

395. In the end, it was more than he could bear.

396. He had hardly had time to settle down when he sold the house and left the country.

397. The dream he had had for so many years ended there.

398. Harrison had thought of everything except the weather.

Lesson 39

399.While John Gilbert was in hospital, he asked his doctor to tell him whether his operation had been successful,

400. but the doctor refused to do so.

401. The following day, the patient asked for a bedside telephone.

402. When he was alone, he telephoned the hospital exchange and asked for Doctor Millington.

403. When the doctor answered the phone, Mr. Gilbert said he was inquiring about a certain patient, a Mr. John Gilbert.

404. He asked if Mr. Gilbert's operation had been successful and the doctor told him that it had been.

405. He then asked when Mr. Gilbert would be allowed to go home

406. and the doctor told him that he would have to stay in hospital for another two weeks.

407. Then Dr. Millington asked the caller if he was a relative of the patient.

408. 'No,' the patient answered, 'I am Mr. John Gilbert.'

Lesson 40

409.Last week at a dinner party, the hostess asked me to sit next to Mrs. Rumbold.

410. Mrs. Rumbold was a large, unsmiling lady in a tight black dress.

411. She did not even look up when I took my seat beside her.

412. Her eyes were fixed on her plate and in a short time, she was busy eating.

413. I tried to make conversation.

414. 'A new play is coming to "The Globe" soon,' I said. 'Will you be seeing it?'

415. 'No,' she answered.

416. 'Will you be spending your holidays abroad this year?' I asked.

417. 'No,' she answered.

418. 'Will you be staying in England?' I asked.

419. 'No,' she answered.

420. In despair, I asked her whether she was enjoying her dinner.

421. 'Young man,' she answered, 'if you ate more and talked less, we would both enjoy our dinner!"

Lesson 41

422.'Do you call that a hat?' I said to my wife.

423. 'You needn't be so rude about it,' my wife answered as she looked at herself in the mirror.

424. I sat down on one of those modern chairs with holes in it and waited.

425. We had been in the hat shop for half an hour and my wife was still in front of the mirror.

426. 'We mustn't buy things we don't need,' I remarked suddenly. I regretted saying it almost at once.

427. 'You needn't have said that,' my wife answered.

428. I needn't remind you of that terrible tie you bought yesterday.

429. 'I find it beautiful,' I said. 'A man can never have too many ties.'

430. 'And a woman can't have too many hats,' she answered.

431. Ten minutes later we walked out of the shop together.

432. My wife was wearing a hat that looked like a lighthouse!

Lesson 42

433.As we had had a long walk through one of the markets of old Delhi, we stopped at a square to have a rest.

434. After a time, we noticed a snake charmer with two large baskets at the other side of the square, so we went to have a look at him.

435. As soon as he saw us, he picked up a long pipe which was covered with coins and opened one of the baskets.

436. When he began to play a tune, we had our first glimpse of the snake.

437. It rose out of the basket and began to follow the movements of the pipe.

438. We were very much surprised when the snake charmer suddenly began to play jazz and modern pop songs.

439. The snake, however, continued to 'dance' slowly.

440. It obviously could not tell the difference between Indian music and jazz!

Lesson 43

441.In 1929, three years after his flight over the North Pole, the American explorer, R.E. Byrd,successfully flew over the South Pole for the first time.

442. Though, at first, Byrd and his men were able to take a great many photographs of the mountains that lay below,

443. they soon ran into serious trouble.

444. At one point, it seemed certain that their plane would crash.

445. It could only get over the mountains if it rose to 10,000 feet.

446. Byrd at once ordered his men to throw out two heavy food sacks.

447. The plane was then able to rise and it cleared the mountains by 400 feet.

448. Byrd now knew that he would be able to reach the South Pole which was 300 miles away,

449. for there were no more mountains in sight.

450. The aircraft was able to fly over the endless white plains without difficulty.

Lesson 44

451.Mrs. Anne Sterling did not think of the risk she was taking when she ran through a forest after two men.

452. They had rushed up to her while she was having a picnic at the edge of a forest with her children and tried to steal her handbag.

453. In the struggle, the strap broke and, with the bag in their possession, both men started running through the trees.

454. Mrs. Sterling got so angry that she ran after them.

455. She was soon out of breath, but she continued to run.

456. When she caught up with them, she saw that they had sat down and were going through the contents of the bag,

457. so she ran straight at them.

458. The men got such a fright that they dropped the bag and ran away.

459. 'The strap needs mending,'said Mrs. Sterling later,

460. 'but they did not steal anything.'

Lesson 45

461.The whole village soon learnt that a large sum of money had been lost.

462. Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings to the post office.

463. Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one of the villagers, but it was not returned to him.

464. Three months passed, and then one morning, Sam found his wallet outside his front door.

465. It had been wrapped up in newspaper and it contained half the money he had lost,

466. together with a note which said:'A thief, yes, but only 50 per cent a thief!'

467. Two months later, some more money was sent to Sam with another note:'Only 25 per cent a thief now!'

468. In time, all Sam's money was paid back in this way.

469. The last note said:'I am 100 per cent honest now!'

Lesson 46

470.When a plane from London arrived at Sydney airport,

471. workers began to unload a number of wooden boxes which contained clothing.

472. No one could account for the fact that one of the boxes was extremely heavy.

473. It suddenly occurred to one of the workers to open up the box.

474. He was astonished at what he found.

475. A man was lying in the box on top of a pile of woollen goods.

476. He was so surprised at being discovered that he did not even try to run away.

477. After he was arrested, the man admitted hiding in the box before the plane left London.

478. He had had a long and uncomfortable trip, for he had been confined to the wooden box for over eighteen hours.

479. The man was ordered to pay $3,500 for the cost of the trip.

480. The normal price of a ticket is $2,000!

Lesson 47

481.A public house which was recently bought by Mr.Ian Thompson is up for sale.

482. Mr.Thompson is going to sell it because it is haunted.

483. He told me that he could not go to sleep one night because he heard a strange noise coming from the bar.

484. The next morning, he found that the doors had been blocked by chairs and the furniture had been moved.

485. Though Mr.Thompson had turned the lights off before he went to bed, they were on in the morning.

486. He also said that he had found five empty whisky bottles which the ghost must have drunk the night before.

487. When I suggested that some villagers must have come in for a free drink, Mr.Thompson shook his head.

488. The villagers have told him that they will not accept the pub even if he gives it away.

Lesson 48

Dentists always ask questions when it is impossible for you to answer.

490. My dentist had just pulled out one of my teeth and had told me to rest for a while.

491. I tried to say something, but my mouth was full of cotton wool.

492. He knew I collected match boxes and asked me whether my collection was growing.

493. He then asked me how my brother was and whether I liked my new job in London.

494. In answer to these questions I either nodded or made strange noises.

495. Meanwhile, my tongue was busy searching out the hole where the tooth had been.

496. I suddenly felt very worried, but could not say anything.

497. When the dentist at last removed the cotton wool from my mouth,

498. I was able to tell him that he had pulled out the wrong tooth.