新概念3-第2部分

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Lesson8　　A　famous　monastery
The　Great　St　Bernard　Pass　connects　Switzerland　to　Italy。　At　2470　metres；　it　is　the　highest　mountain　pass　in　Europe。　The　famous　monastery　of　St　Bernard；　which　was　founded　in　the　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　watch…dogs　even　in　Roman　times。　Now　that　a　tunnel　has　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　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　to　…30　and　very　few　people　attempt　to　cross　the　Pass。　The　monks　Prefer　winter　to　summer　for　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　Christmas　and　Easter。　These　young　people；　who　love　the　peace　of　the　mountains；　always　receive　a　warm。
Welcome　at　St　Bernard's　monastery。　

Lesson9　
By　now；　a　rocket　will　have　set　off　on　its　35　million　mile　trip　to　Mars　and　scientists　must　be　waiting　anxiously　for　the　results。　The　rocket　will　be　travelling　for　six　months　before　it　reaches　the　planet。
It　contains　a　number　of　scientific　instruments；　including　a　television　camera。　Any　pictures　that　are　taken　will　have　to　travel　for　three　minutes　before　they　reach　the　earth。　If　the　pictures　are　successful；　they　may　solve　a　number　of　problems　about　Mars　and　provide　information　about　the　markings　on　its　surface　which；　nearly　100　years　ago；　the　astronomer；　Schiaparelli；　thought　to　be　canals。
It　will　be　a　long　time　before　any　landing　on　Mars　can　be　attempted。　This　will　only　be　possible　when　scientists　have　learnt　a　lot　more　about　the　atmosphere　that　surrounds　the　planet。　If　a　satellite　can　one　day　be　put　into　orbit　round　Mars；　scientists　will　be　able　to　find　out　a　great　deal。　An　interesting　suggestion　for　measuring　the　atmosphere　around　Mars　has　been　put　forward。　A　rubber　ball　containing　a　radio　transmitter　could　be　dropped　from　a　satellite　so　that　it　would　fall　towards　the　surface　of　the　planet。　The　radio　would　signal　the　rate　which　the　ball　was　slowed　down　and　scientists　would　be　able　to　calculate　how　dense　the　atmosphere　is。　It　may　even　be　possible　to　drop　a　capsule　containing　scientific　instruments　on　to　the　planet's　surface。　Only　when　a　great　deal　more　information　has　been　obtained；　will　it　be　possible　to　plan　a　manned　trip　to　Mars。　

Lesson10　The　loss　of　Titanic
The　great　ship；　Titanic；　sailed　for　New　York　from　Southampton　on　April　10th；　1912。　She　was　carrying　1316　passengers　and　a　crew　of　89l。　Even　by　modern　standards；　the　46；000　ton　Titanic　was　a　colossal　ship。　At　that　time；　however；　she　was　not　only　the　largest　ship　that　had　ever　been　built；　but　was　regarded　as　unsinkable；　for　she　had　sixteen　water…　tight　compartments。　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　went　down　on　her　first　voyage　with　heavy　loss　of　life。
Four　days　after　setting　out；　while　the　Titanic　was　sailing　across　the　icy　waters　of　the　North　Atlantic；　a　huge　iceberg　was　suddenly　spotted　by　a　look…out。　After　the　alarm　had　been　given；　the　great　ship　turned　sharply　to　avoid　a　direct　collision。　The　Titanic　turned　just　in　time；　narrowly　missing　the　immense　wall　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　thought　that　the　ship　had　been　damaged。　Below；　the　captain　realized　to　his　horror　that　the　Titanic　was　sinking　rapidly；　for　five　of　her　sixteen　water…
tight　compartments　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　life…boats　for　everybody；　1500　lives　were　lost。　

Lesson11　Not　guilty
Going　through　the　Customs　is　a　tiresome　business。　The　strangest　thing　about　it　is　that　really　honest　people　are　often　made　to　feel　guilty。　The　hardened　professional　smuggler；　on　the　other　hand；　is　never　troubled　by　such　feelings；　even　if　he　has　five　hundred　gold　watches　hidden　in　his　suitcase。　When　I　returned　from　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　answered　confidently。
'Would　you　mind　unlocking　this　suitcase　please　？'
'Not　at　all；'　I　answered。　
The　Officer　went　through　the　case　with　great　care。　All　the　things　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　Officer's　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　isn't　perfume；'　I　said。'　It's　hair…oil。'　Then　I　added　with　a　smile；'　It's　a　strange　mixture　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　chalk…marks　on　my　baggage。　

Lesson12　Life　on　a　desert　island
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　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　comes。　Perhaps　there　is　an　element　of　truth　in　both　these　pictures；　but　few　of　us　have　had　the　opportunity　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；　matches；　and　tins　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　rain…water　in　the　rubber　dinghy。　As　they　had　brought　a　spear　gun　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。　
Lesson13　It鈥檚　only　me
After　her　husband　had　gone　to　work；　Mrs　Richards　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　party　with　her　husband。　She　intended　to　dress　up　as　a　ghost　and　as　she　had　made　her　costume　the　night　before；　she　was　impatient　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　comfortable　to　wear。　
Just　as　Mrs　Richards　was　entering　the　dining…room；　there　was　a　knock　on　the　front　door。　She　knew　that　it　must　be　the　baker。　She　had　told　him　to　come　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　store…room　under　the　stairs。　She　heard　the　front　door　open　and　heavy　footsteps　in　the　hall。　Suddenly　the　door　of　the　store…room　was　opened　and　a　man　entered。　Mrs　Richards　realized　that　it　must　be　the　man　from　the　Electricity　Board　who　had　come　to　read　the　meter。　She　tried　to　explain　the　situation；　saying'　It's　only　me'；　but　it　was　too　late。　The　man　let　out　a　cry　and　jumped　back　several　paces。　When　Mrs　Richards　walked　towards　him；　he　fled；　slamming　the　door　behind　him。

Lesson14　A　noble　gangster
There　was　a　time　when　the　owners　of　shop　and　businesses　in　Chicago　had　to　pay　large　sums　of　money　to　gangsters　in　return　for'　protection'　If　the　money　was　not　paid　promptly；　the　gangsters　would　quickly　put　a　man　out　of　business　by　destroying　his　shop。　Obtaining　'protechon　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　by　gangsters。
Six　hundred　years　ago；　Sir　John　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　demanded。　In　times　of　peace；　when　business　was　bad；　Hawkwood　and　his　men　would　march　into　a　city…state　and；　after　burning　down　a　few　farms；　would　offer　to　go　away　if　protection　money　was　paid　to　them。　Hawkwood　made　large　sums　of　money　in　this　way。　In　spite　of　this；　the　Italians　regarded　him　as　a　sort　of　hero。　When　he　died　at　the　age　of　eighty；　the　Florentines　gave　him　a　state　funeral　and　had　a　picture　painted　which　was　dedicated　to　the　memory　of　'the　most　valiant　soldier　and　most　notable　leader；　Signor　Giovanni　Haukodue'。　

Lesson15　Fifty　pence　worth　of　trouble
Children　always　appreciate　small　gifts　of　money。　Father；　of　course；　provides　a　regular　supply　of　pocket…money；　but　uncles　and　aunts　are　always　a　source　of　extra　income。　With　some　children；　small　sums　go　a　long　wa