Lesson 11 - One good turn deserves another
I was having dinner at a restaurant when Tony Steele came in. Tony worked in a lawyer's office years ago, but he is now working at a bank. He gets a good salary, but he always borrows money from his friends and never pays it back. Tony saw me and came and sat at the same table. He has never borrowed money from me. While he was eating, I asked him to lend me £20. To my surprise, he gave me the money immediately. 'I have never borrowed any money from you,' Tony said, 'so now you can pay for my dinner!'
参考译文——礼尚往来
我正在一家饭馆吃饭，托尼·斯蒂尔走了进来。托尼曾在一家律师事务所工作，而现在正在一家银行上班，他的薪水很高，但他却总是向朋友借钱，并且从来不还。托尼看见了我，就走过来和我坐到一张桌子前。他从未向我借过钱，但他吃饭时，我提出向他借20英镑。令我惊奇的是，他立刻把钱给了我。“我还未向你借过钱。”托尼说道，“所以现在你可以替我付饭钱了!”
参考资料：
https://nce.koolearn.com/20150122/781935.html
Lesson 12 - Goodbye and good luck
Our neighbour, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from Portsmouth tomorrow. We'll meet him at the harbour early in the morning. He will be in his small boat, Topsail. Topsail is a famous little boat. It has sailed across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will set out at eight o'clock, so we'll have plenty of time. We'll see his boat and then we'll say goodbye to him. He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him. He will take part in an important race across the Atlantic.
参考译文——再见，一路顺风
我们的邻居查尔斯·艾利森船长明天就要从朴茨茅斯启航了。明天一大早我们将在码头为他送行。他将乘坐他的“涛波赛（Topsail）”号小艇。“涛波赛”号是艘有名的小艇，它已经多次横渡过大西洋。艾利森船长将于8点钟启航，因此我们有充裕的时间。我们将参观他的船，然后和他告别。他要离开两个月，我们真为他感到自豪，他将参加一次重要的横渡大西洋的比赛。
参考资料：
https://nce.koolearn.com/20150122/781936.html
Lesson 13 - The Greenwood Boys
The Greenwood Boys are a group of pop singers. At present, they are visiting all parts of the country. They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be coming by train and most of the young people in the town will be meeting them at the station. Tomorrow evening they will be singing at the Workers' Club. The Greenwood Boys will be staying for five days. During this time, they will give five performances. As usual, the police will have a difficult time. They will be trying to keep order. It is always the same on these occasions.
参考译文——绿林少年
“绿林少年”是一个流行歌曲演唱团。目前他们正在全国各地巡回演出，明天就要到达此地。他们将乘火车来，镇上的大部分青年人将到车站迎接他们。明晚他们将在工人俱乐部演出。“绿林少年”准备在此逗留5天。在此期间，他们将演出5场。同往常一样，警察的日子不好过，他们将设法维持秩序。每逢这种场合，情况都这样。
参考资料：
https://nce.koolearn.com/20150122/781937.html
Lesson 14 - Do you speak English?
I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left a small village in the south of France, I drove on to the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I stopped and he asked me for a lift. As soon as he had got into the car, I said good morning to him in French and he replied in the same language. Apart from a few words, I do not know any French at all. Neither of us spoke during the journey. I had nearly reached the town, when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, 'Do you speak English?' As I soon learnt, he was English himself!
参考译文——你会讲英语吗?
去年我有过一次有趣的经历。在离开法国南部的一个小村庄后，我继续驶往下一个城镇。途中，一个青年人向我招手。我把车停下，他向我提出要求搭车。他一上车，我就用法语向他问好，他也同样用法语回答我。除了个别几个单词外，我根本不会法语。旅途中我们谁也没讲话。就要到达那个镇时，那青年突然开了口，慢慢地说道“你会讲英语吗？”我很快了解到，他自己就是个英国人！
参考资料：
https://nce.koolearn.com/20150122/781938.html
Lesson 15 - Good news
The secretary told me that Mr. Harmsworth would see me. I felt very nervous when I went into his office. He did not look up from his desk when I entered. After I had sat down, he said that business was very bad. He told me that the firm could not afford to pay such large salaries. Twenty people had already left. I knew that my turn had come.
'Mr.Harmsworth,' I said in a weak voice.
'Don't interrupt,' he said.
Then he smiled and told me I would receive an extra thousand pounds a year!
参考译文——佳音
秘书告诉我说哈姆斯沃斯先生要见我。我走进他的办公室，感到非常紧张。我进去的时候，他连头也没抬。待我坐下后，他说生意非常不景气。他还告诉我，公司支付不起这么庞大的工资开支，有20个人已经离去。我知道这次该轮到我了。
“哈姆斯沃斯先生，”我无力地说。
“不要打断我的话，”他说。
然后他微笑了一下告诉我说，我每年将得到1000 英镑的额外收入。
参考资料：
https://nce.koolearn.com/20150122/781939.html
Lesson 16 - A polite request
If you park your car in the wrong place, a traffic policeman will soon find it. You will be very lucky if he lets you go without a ticket. However, this does not always happen. Traffic police are sometimes very polite. During a holiday in Sweden, I found this note on my car: 'sir, we welcome you to our city. This is a "No Parking" area. You will enjoy your stay here if you pay attention to our street signs. This note is only a reminder.' If you receive a request like this, you cannot fail to obey it!
参考译文——彬彬有礼的要求
一旦你把汽车停错了地方，交警很快就会发现。如果他没给你罚单就放你走了，算你走运。然而，情况并不都是这样，交警有时也很客气。有一次在瑞典度假，我发现我的车上有这样一个字条：“先生，欢迎您光临我们的城市。此处是‘禁止停车’区。如果您对我们街上的标牌稍加注意，您在此会过得很愉快的。谨此提请注意。”如果你收到这样的恳求，你是不会不遵照执行的！
参考资料：
https://nce.koolearn.com/20150122/781940.html
Lesson 17 - Always Young
My aunt Jennifer is an actress. She must be at least thirty-five years old. In spite of this, she often appears on the stage as a young girl. Jennifer will have to take part in a new play soon. This time, she will be a girl of seventeen. In the play, she must appear in a bright red dress and long black stockings. Last year in another play, she had to wear short socks and a bright, orange-coloured dress. If anyone ever asks her how old she is, she always answers, 'Darling, it must be terrible to be grown up!'
参考译文——青春常驻
我的姑姑詹妮弗是位演员，她至少也有35岁了。尽管如此，她却常在舞台上扮演小姑娘。詹妮弗很快又要参加一个新剧的演出。这一次，她将扮演一个17岁的少女。演出时她必须穿一条鲜红色的裙子和黑色的长筒袜。去年在演另一个剧时，她不得不穿短袜和一件鲜艳的橘红色的衣服。一旦有人问起她有多大年纪，她总是回答：“亲爱的，长成大人真可怕啊！”
参考资料：
https://nce.koolearn.com/20150122/781941.html
Lesson 18 - He often does this!
After I had had lunch at a village pub, I looked for my bag. I had left it on a chair beside the door and now it wasn't there! As I was looking for it, the landlord came in.
'Did you have a good meal?' he asked
'Yes, thank you,' I answered, 'but I can't pay the bill. I haven't got my bag.'
The landlord smiled and immediately went out. In a few minutes he returned with my bag and gave it back to me.
'I'm very sorry,' he said. 'My dog had taken it into the garden. He often does this!'
参考译文——他经常干这种事!
我在一家乡村小酒店吃过午饭后，就找我的提包。我曾把它放在门边的椅子上，可这会儿不见了!当我正在寻找时，酒店老板走了过来。
“您吃的好吗?”他问。
“很好，谢谢。”我回答，“但我付不了帐，我的提包没有了。”
酒店老板笑了笑，马上走了出去。一会儿工夫他拿着我的提包回来了，把它还给了我。
“实在抱歉，”他说，“我的狗把它弄到花园里去了，他经常干这种事!”。
参考资料：
https://nce.koolearn.com/20150122/781942.html
Lesson 19 - Sold out
'The play may begin at any moment,' I said.
'It may have begun already,' Susan answered.
I hurried to the ticket office. 'May I have two tickets please?' I asked.
'I'm sorry, we've sold out,' the girl said.
'What a pity!' Susan exclaimed.
Just then, a man hurried to the ticket office.
'Can I return these two tickets?' he asked.
'Certainly,' the girl said.
I went back to the ticket office at once.
'Could I have those two tickets please?' I asked.
'Certainly,' the girl said, 'but they're for next Wednesday's performance. Do you still want them?'
'I might as well have them,' I said sadly.
参考译文——票已售完
“剧马上就要开演了，”我说。
“也许已经开演了呢，”苏珊回答说。
我匆匆赶到售票处，问：“我可以买两张票吗?”
“对不起，票已售完。”那位姑娘说。
“真可惜!”苏珊大声说。
正在这时，一个男子匆匆奔向售票处。
“我可以退掉这两张票吗?”他问。
“当然可以，”那姑娘说。
我马上又回到售票处。
“我可以买那两张票吗?”我问。
“当然可以，不过这两张票是下星期三的，您是否还要呢?”
“我还是买下的好，”我垂头丧气地说。
参考资料：
https://nce.koolearn.com/20150122/781943.html
Lesson 20 - One man in a boat
Fishing is my favourite sport. I often fish for hours without catching anything. But this does not worry me. Some fishermen are unlucky. Instead of catching fish, they catch old boots and rubbish. I am even less lucky. I never catch anything--not even old boots. After having spent whole mornings on the river, I always go home with an empty bag. 'You must give up fishing!" my friends say. "It's a waste of time.' But they don't realize one important thing. I'm not really interested in fishing. I am only interested in sitting in a boat and doing nothing at all!
参考译文——独坐孤舟
钓鱼是我最喜欢的一项运动。我经常一钓数小时却一无所获，但我从不为此烦恼。有些垂钓者就是不走运，他们往往鱼钓不到，却钓上来些旧靴子和垃圾。我的运气甚至还不及他们。我什么东西也未钓到过——就连旧靴子也没有。我总是在河上呆上整整一上午，然后空着袋子回家。“你可别再钓鱼了!”我的朋友们说“这是浪费时间。”然而他们没有认识到重要的一点，我并不是真的对钓鱼有兴趣，我感兴趣的只是独坐孤舟，无所事事！
参考资料：