新概念英语三课文

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1、wordLesson 1 A Puma at large 逃遁的美洲狮 Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo fe

2、lt obliged to investigate, for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar. The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw a large cat only five yards away from her. It immediately ran away when she saw it, an

3、d experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered. The search proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small anim

4、als like rabbits. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes. Several people plained of cat-like noises at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it e f

5、rom? As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country, this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at

6、large in the quiet countryside.Lesson 2 Thirteen equals one 十三等于一 Our vicar is always raising money for one cause or another, but he has never managed to get enough money to have the church clock repaired. The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged many years ago and has

7、been silent ever since. One night, however, our vicar work up with a start: the clock was striking the hours! Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one oclock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped. Armed with a torch, the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on

8、. In the torchlight, he caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer. Whatever are you doing up here Bill? asked the vicar in surprise. Im trying to repair the bell, answered Bill. Ive been ing up here night after night for weeks now. You see, I was hopin

9、g to give you a surprise. You certainly did give me a surprise! said the vicar. Youve probably woken up everyone in the village as well. Still, Im glad the bell is working again. Thats the trouble, vicar, answered Bill. Its working all right, but Im afraid that at one oclock it will strike thirteen

10、times and theres nothing I can do about it. Well get used to that, Bill, said the vicar. Thirteen is not as good as one, but its better than nothing. Now lets go downstairs and have a cup of tea. Lesson 3:An unknown goddess 无名女神Some time ago, and interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on t

11、he Aegean island of Kea. An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini. The city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of civilization. Houses - often three storeys high - were built of stone. They had large rooms with

12、 beautifully decorated walls. The city was equipped with a drainage system, for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets. The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times. In the most sacred room of tem

13、ple, clay fragments of fifteen statues were found. Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted. The body of one statue was found among remains dating from the fifteenth century B.C. Its missing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C. This head must have

14、 been found in Classical times and carefully preserved. It was very old and precious even then. When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman. She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips. She

15、 was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground. Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed, but, so far, the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices. People who work

16、in offices are frequently referred to as white-collar workers for the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of being white-collar workers. This can give rise to c

17、urious situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation. When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job. He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a sma

18、rt black suit. He then changed into overalls and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night. He took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret Alfs wife has never discovered that she married a dustman

19、and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise in status is well worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him Mr. Bloggs, not Al

20、f.Lesson 5: The facts 确切数字 Editors of newspapers and magazines often go to extremes to provide their reader with unimportant facts and statistics. Last year a journalist had been instructed by a well-known magazine to write an article on the presidents palace in a new African republic. When the arti

21、cle arrived, the editor read the first sentence and then refuse to publish it. The article began: Hundreds of steps lead to the high wall which surrounds the presidents palace. The editor at once sent the journalist a fax instructing him find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.

22、 The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but the took a long time to send them Meanwhile, the editor was getting impatient, for the magazine would soon go to press. He sent the journalist two more faxes, but received no reply. He sent yet another fax informing the journal

23、ist that if he did not reply soon he would be fired. When the journalist again failed to reply, the editor reluctantly published the article as it had originally been written. A week later, the editor at last received a fax from the journalist. Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had bee

24、n sent to prison as well. However, he had at last been allowed to send a fax in which he informed the editor that the he had been arrested while counting the 1,084 steps leading to the fifteen-foot wall which surrounded the presidents palace.Lesson 6:Smash-and-grab 砸橱窗抢劫The expensive shops in a famo

25、us near Piccadilly were just opening. At this time of the morning, the arcade was almost empty. Mr. Taylor, the owner of a jewellery shop was admiring a new display. Two of his assistants had been working busily since eight oclock and had only just finished. Diamond necklaces and rings had been beau

26、tifully arranged on a background of black velvet. After gazing at the display for several minutes, Mr. Taylor went back into his shop. The silence was suddenly broken when a large car, with its headlights on and its home blaring, roared down the arcade. It came to a stop outside the jewellers. One m

27、an stayed at the wheel while two others with black stocking over their faces jumped out and smashed the window of the shop with iron bars. While this was going on, Mr. Taylor was upstairs. He and his staff began throwing furniture out of the window. Chairs and tables went flying into the arcade. One

28、 of the thieves was struck by a heavy statue, but he was too busy helping himself to diamonds to notice any pain. The raid was all over in three minutes, for the men scrambled back into the car and it moved off at a fantastic speed. Just as it was leaving, Mr. Taylor rushed out and ran after it thro

29、wing ashtrays and vases, but it was impossible to stop the thieves. They had got away with thousands of pounds worth of diamonds. Lesson 7: Mutilated ladies 残钞鉴别组Has it ever happened to you? Have you ever put your trousers in the washing machine and then remembered there was a large bank note in you

30、r back pocket? When you rescued your trousers, did note in your back pocket? When you rescued your trousers, did you find the note was whiter than white? People who live in Britain neednt despair when they made mistakes like this (and a lot of people do)! Fortunately for them, the Bank of England ha

31、s a team called Mutilated Ladies which deals with claims from people who fed their money to a machine or to their dog. Dogs, it seems, love to chew up money! A recent case concerns Jane Butlin whose fianc, John, runs a successful furniture business. John had very good day and put his wallet containi

32、ng $3,000 into the microwave oven for safekeeping. Then he and Jane went horse-riding. When they got home, Jane cooked their dinner in the microwave oven and without realizing it, cooked her fiancs wallet as well. Imagine their dismay when they found a beautifully-cooked wallet and notes turned to a

33、sh! John went to see his bank manager who sent the remains of wallet and the money to the special department of the Bank of England in Newcastle: the Mutilate Ladies! They examined the remain and John got all his money back. So long as theres something to identify, we will give people their money ba

34、ck, said a spokeswoman for the Bank. Last year, we paid $1.5m on 21,000 claims. Damaged bank notes. The Queens head appears on English bank notes, and lady refers to this.Lesson 8: A famous monastery 著名的修道院 The Great St. Bernard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy. At 2,473 metres, it is the highest

35、mountain pass in Europe. The famous monastery of St. Bernard, witch was founded in eleventh century, lies about a mile away. For hundreds of years, St. Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing the dangerous Pass. These friendly dogs, which were first brought from Asia, were used as w

36、atchdogs even in Roman times. Now that a tunnel ahs been built through the mountains, the Pass is less dangerous, but each year, the dogs are still sent out into the snow whenever a traveller is in difficulty. Despite the new tunnel, there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the Pass

37、on foot. During the summer months, the monastery is very busy, for it is visited by thousands of people who cross the Pass in cars. As there are so many people about, the dogs have to be kept in a special enclosure. In winter, however, life at the monastery is quite different. The temperature drops

38、to - 30 o and very few people attempt to cross the Pass. The monks prefer winter to summer of they have more privacy. The dogs have greater freedom, too, for they are allowed to wander outside their enclosure. The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at

39、 Christmas and Easter. These young people, who love the peace of mountains, always receive a warm wele at St. Bernards monastery.Lesson 9:Flying cats 飞猫Cats never fail to fascinate human beings. They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well

40、. They never bee submissive like dogs and horses. As a result, humans have learned to respect feline independence. Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives. One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives. Apparently, there is a good

41、deal of truth in this idea. A cats ability to survive falls is based on fact.Recently the New York Animal Medical Center made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months. All these cats had one experience in mon: they had fallen off high buildings, yet only eight of them died from shock or inju

42、ries. Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings. There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from! One cat, Sabrina, fell 32 storeys, yet only suffered from a broken tooth. Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers. a

43、doctor said. It seems that the further cats fall, the less they are likely to injure themselves. In a long drop, they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more. At high speeds, falling cats have time to relax. They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels. This increases their air-resistance and

44、 reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.Lesson 10: The loss of the Titanic“泰坦尼克”号的沉没The great ship, Titanic, sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912. She was carrying 1,316 passengers and crew of 891. Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship

45、. At the time, however, she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built, but was regarded as unsinkable, for she had sixteen watertight partments. Even if two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float. The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she

46、 went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy water of the North Atlantic, huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout. After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision. The

47、 Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense walk of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her. Suddenly, there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened. The noise had been so faint that no one though that the ship had b

48、een damaged. Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly, for five of her sixteen watertight partments had already been flooded! The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water. As there were not enough lifeboats for everybody,

49、 1,500 lives were lost.Lesson 11:Not guilty 无罪 Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days, but they can still stop you when you are going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare. Even really honest people are often made to feel guilty. The hardened professional smuggler, on the oth

50、er hand, is never troubled by such feelings, even if he has five hundred gold watches hidden in his suitcase. When I returned form abroad recently, a particularly officious young Customs Officer clearly regarded me as a smuggler. Have you anything to declare? he asked, looking me in the eye. No, I a

51、nswered confidently. Would you mind unlocking this suitcase please? Not at all, I answered. The Officer went through the case with great care. All the thing I had packed so carefully were soon in a dreadful mess. I felt sure I would never be able to close the case again. Suddenly, I saw the Officers

52、 face light up. He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight. Perfume, eh? he asked sarcastically. You should have declared that. Perfume is not exempt from import duty. But it isnt perfume, I said. Its hair gel. Then I added with a smile, Its a strange mix

53、ture I make myself. As I expected, he did not believe me. Try it! I said encouragingly.The officer unscrewed the cap and put the bottle to his nostrils. He was greeted by an unpleasant smell which convinced him that I was telling the truth. A few minutes later, I was able to hurry away with precious

54、 chalk marks on my baggage.Lesson 12:Life on a desert island 荒岛生活Most of us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island. We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun always shines. Life there is simple and good. Ripe fruit falls from the trees and you

55、 never have to work. The other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Life on a desert island is wretched. You either starve to death or live like Robinson Crusoe, Waiting for a boat which never es. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few us have had the opportunity

56、to find out. Two men who recently spent five days on a coral island wished they had stayed there longer. They were taking a badly damaged boat from the Virgin Islands to Miami to have it repaired. During the journey, their boat began to sink. They quickly loaded a small rubber dinghy with food, matc

57、hes, and cans of beer and rowed for a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island. There were hardly any trees on the island and there was no water, but this did not prove to be a problem. The men collected rainwater in the rubber dinghy. As they had brought a spear gun

58、with them, they had plenty to eat. They caught lobster and fish every day，and, as one of them put it ate like kings. When a passing tanker rescued them five days later, both men were genuinely sorry that they had to leave.Lesson 13: Its only me “是我，别害怕”After her husband had gone to work. Mrs. Richar

59、ds sent her children to school and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too excited to do any housework that morning, for in the evening she would be going to a fancy-dress part with her husband. She intended to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costume the night before, she was impatient

60、 to try it on. Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was very effective. After putting it on, Mrs. Richards went downstairs. She wanted to find out whether it would be fortable to wear.Just as Mrs. Richards was entering the dinning room, there was a knock on the front door. She knew that

61、it must be the baker. She had told him to e straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table. Not wanting to frighten the poor man, Mrs. Richards quickly hid in the small storeroom under the stairs. She heard the front door open and heavy footsteps in the h

62、all. Suddenly the door of the storeroom was opened and a man entered. Mrs. Richards realized that it must be the man from the Electricity Board who had e to read the metre. She tried to explain the situation, saying Its only me, but it was too late. The man let out cry and jumped back several paces.

63、 When Mrs. Richards walked towards him, he fled, slamming the door behind him.Lesson 14: A noble gangster 贵族歹徒There was a tine when the owners of shops and businesses in Chicago that to pay large sums of money to gangsters in return for protection. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters w

64、ould quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop. Obtaining protection money is not a modern crime. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed

65、 by gangsters.Six hundred years ago, Sir Johan Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other, Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he