新概念3-第6部分

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at　first　under　the　impression　that　the　lost　ship　had　been　found；　the　contents　of　the　sea…chest　proved　them　wrong。　What　they　had　in　fact　found　was　a　ship　which　had　been　sunk　many　years　before。　The　chest　contained　the　personal　belongings　of　a　seaman；　Alan　Fielding。　There　were　books；　clothing　and　photographs；　together　with　letters　which　the　seaman　had　once　received　from　his　wife。　The　captain　of　the　Elkor　ordered　his　men　to　salvage　as　much　as　possible　from　the　wreck。　Nothing　of　value　was　found；　but　the　numerous　items　which　were　brought　to　the　surface　proved　to　be　of　great　interest。　From　a　heavy　gun　that　was　raised；　the　captain　realized　that　the　ship　must　have　been　a　cruiser。　In　another　sea…chest；　which　contained　the　belongings　of　a　ship's　officer；　there　was　an　unfinished　letter　which　had　been　written　on　March　14th；　1943。　The　captain　learnt　from　the　letter　that　the　name　of　the　lost　ship　was　the　Karen。　The　most　valuable　find　of　all　was　the　ship's　log　book；　parts　of　which　it　was　still　possible　to　read。　From　this　the　captain　was　able　to　piece　together　all　the　information　that　had　come　to　light。　The　Karen　had　been　sailing　in　a　convoy　to　Russia　when　she　was　torpedoed　by　an　enemy　submarine。　This　was　later　confirmed　by　a　naval　official　at　the　Ministry　of　Defence　after　the　Elkor　had　returned　home。　All　the　items　that　were　found　were　sent　to　the　War　Museum。

Lesson33　A　day　to　remember
We　have　all　experienced　days　when　everything　goes　wrong。　A　day　may　begin　well　enough；　but　suddenly　everything　seems　to　get　out　of　control。　What　invariably　happens　is　that　a　great　number　of　things　choose　to　go　wrong　at　precisely　the　same　moment。　It　is　as　if　a　single　unimportant　event　set　up　a　chain　of　reactions。　Let　us　suppose　that　you　are　preparing　a　meal　and　keeping　an　eye　on　the　baby　at　the　same　time。　The　telephone　rings　and　this　marks　the　prelude　to　an　unforeseen　series　of
catastrophes。　While　you　are　on　the　phone；　the　baby　pulls　the　table…cloth　off　the　table　smashing　half　your　best　crockery　and　cutting　himself　in　the　process。　You　hang　up　hurriedly　and　attend　to　baby；　crockery；　etc。　Meanwhile；　the　meal　gets　burnt。　As　if　this　were　not　enough　to　reduce　you　to　tears；　your　husband　arrives；　unexpectedly　bringing　three　guests　to　dinner。
Things　can　go　wrong　on　a　big　scale　as　a　number　of　people　recently　discovered　in　Parramatta；　a　suburb　of　Sydney。　During　the　rush　hour　one　evening　two　cars　collided　and　both　drivers　began　to　argue。　The　woman　immediately　behind　the　two　cars　happened　to　be　a　learner。　She　suddenly　got　into　a　panic　and　stopped　her　car。　This　made　the　driver　following　her　brake　hard。　His　wife　was　sitting　beside　him　holding　a　large　cake。　As　she　was　thrown　forward；　the　cake　went　right　through　the　windscreen　and　landed　on　the　road。　Seeing　a　cake　flying　through　the　air；　a　lorry…driver　who　was　drawing　up　alongside　the　car；　pulled　up　all　of　a　sudden。　The　lorry　was　loaded　with　empty　beer　bottles　and　hundreds　of　them　slid　off　the　back　of　the　vehicle　and　on　to　the　road。　This　led　to　yet　another　angry　argument。　Meanwhile；　the　traffic　piled　up　behind。　It　took　the　police　nearly　an　hour　to　get　the　traffic　on　the　move　again。　In　the　meantime；　the　lorry…　driver　had　to　sweep　up　hundreds　of　broken　bottles。　Only　two　stray　dogs　benefited　from　all　this　confusion；　for　they　greedily　devoured　what　was　left　of　the　cake。　It　was　just　one　of　those　days！
Lesson34　A　happy　discovery　
Antique　shops　exert　a　peculiar　fascination　on　a　great　many　people。　The　more　expensive　kind　of　antique　shop　where　rare　objects　are　beautifully　displayed　in　glass　cases　to　keep　them　free　from　dust　is　usually　a　forbidding　place。　But　no　one　has　to　muster　up　courage　to　enter　a　less　pretentious　antique　shop。　There　is　always　hope　that　in　its　labyrinth　of　musty；　dark；　disordered　rooms　a　real　rarity　will　be　found　amongst　the　piles　of　assorted　junk　that　litter　the　floors。
No　one　discovers　a　rarity　by　chance。　A　truly　dedicated　searcher　for　art　treasures　must　have　patience；　and　above　all；　the　ability　to　recognize　the　worth　of　something　when　he　sees　it。　To　do　this；　he　must　be　at　least　as　knowledgeable　as　the　dealer。　Like　a　scientist　bent　on　making　a　discovery；　he　must　cherish　the　hope　that　one　day　he　will　be　amply　rewarded。　
My　old　friend；　Frank　Halliday；　is　just　such　a　person。　He　has　often　described　to　me　how　he　picked　up　a　masterpiece　for　a　mere　&5。　One　Saturday　morning；　Frank　visited　an　antique　shop　in　my　neighbourhood。　As　he　had　never　been　there　before；　he　found　a　great　deal　to　interest　him。　The　morning　passed　rapidly　and　Frank　was　about　to　leave　when　he　noticed　a　large　packing…case　lying　on　the　floor。　The　dealer　told　him　that　it　had　just　come　in；　but　that　he　could　not　be　bothered　to　open　it。　Frank　begged　him　to　do　so　and　the　dealer　reluctantly　prised　it　open。　The　contents　were　disappointing。　Apart　from　an　interesting…looking　carved　dagger；　the　box　was　full　of　crockery；　much　of　it　broken。　Frank　gently　lifted　the　crockery　out　of　the　box　and　suddenly　noticed　a　miniature　Painting　at　the　bottom　of　the　packing…case。　As　its　composition　and　line　reminded　him　of　an　Italian　painting　he　knew　well；　he　decided　to　buy　it。　Glancing　at　it　briefly；　the　dealer　told　him　that　it　was　worth　&5。　Frank　could　hardly　conceal　his　excitement；　for　he　knew　that　he　had　made　a　real　discovery。　The　tiny　painting　proved　to　be　an　unknown　masterpiece　by　Correggio　and　was　worth　thousands　of　pounds。　

Lesson35　Justice　was　done
The　word　justice　is　usually　associated　with　courts　of　law。　We　might　say　that　justice　has　been　done　when　a　man's　innocence　or　guilt　has　been　proved　beyond　doubt。　Justice　is　part　of　the　complex　machinery　of　the　law。　Those　who　seek　it；　undertake　an　arduous　journey　and　can　never　be　sure　that　they　will　find　it。　Judges；　however　wise　or　eminent；　are　human　and　can　make　mistakes。　
　There　are　rare　instances　when　justice　almost　ceases　to　be　an　abstract　conception。　Reward　or　punishment　are　out　quite　independent　of　human　interference。　At　such　times；　justice　acts　like　a　living　force。　When　we　use　a　phrase　like　it　serves　him　right；　we　are；　in　part；　admitting　that　a　certain　set　of　circumstances　has　enabled　justice　to　act　of　its　own　accord。　　
When　a　thief　was　caught　on　the　premises　of　a　large　fur　store　one　morning；　the　shop　assistants　must　have　found　it　impossible　to　resist　the　temptation　to　say　'it　serves　him　right'。　The　shop　was　an　old…fashioned　one　with　many　large；　disused　fireplaces　and　tall；　narrow　chimneys。　Towards　midday；　a　girl　heard　a　muffled　cry　coming　from　behind　one　of　the　walls。　As　the　cry　was　repeated　several　times；　she　ran　to　tell　the　manager　who　promptly　rang　up　the　fire…brigade。　The　cry　had　certainly　come　from　one　of　the　chimneys；　but　as　there　were　so　many　of　them；　the　firemen　could　not　be　certain　which　one　it　was。　They　located　the　right　chimney　by　tapping　at　the　walls　and　listening　for　the　man's　cries。　After　chipping　through　a　wall　which　was　eighteen　inches　thick；　they　found　that　a　man　had　been　trapped　in　the　chimney。　As　it　was　extremely　narrow；　the　man　was　unable　to　move；　but　the　firemen　were　eventually　able　to　free　him　by　cutting　a　huge　hole　in　the　wall。　The　sorry…looking；　blackened　figure　that　emerged；　at　once　admitted　that　he　had　tried　to　break　into　the　shop　during　the　night　but　had　got　stuck　in　the　chimney。　He　had　been　there　for　nearly　ten　hours。　Justice　had　been　done　even　before　the　man　was　handed　over　to　the　police。　

Lesson36　A　chance　in　a　million
We　are　less　credulous　than　we　used　to　be　In　the　nineteenth　century；　a　novelist　would　bring　his　story　to　a　conclusion　by　presenting　his　readers　with　a　series　of　coincidences　most　of　them　wildly　improbable。　Readers　happily　accepted　the　fact　that　an　obscure　maid…servant　was　really　the　hero's　mother。　A　long…lost　brother；　who　was　presumed　dead；　was　really　alive　all　the　time　and　wickedly　plotting　to　bring　about　the　hero's　down…　fall。　And　so　on。　Modern　readers　would　find　such　naive　solutions　totally　unacceptable。　Yet；　in　real　life；　circumstances　do　sometimes　conspire　to　bring　about　coincidences　which　anyone　but　a　nineteenth　century　novelist　would　find　incredible。
A　German　taxi…driver；　Franz　Bussman；　recently　found　a　brother　who　was　thought　to　have　been　killed　twenty　years　before。　While　on　a　walking　tour　with　his　wife；　he　stopped　to　talk　to　a　workman。　After　they　had　gone　on；　Mrs　Bussman　commented　on　the　workman's　close　resemblance　to　her　husband　and　even　suggested　that　he　might　be　his　brother。　Franz　poured　scorn　on　the　idea；　pointing
out　that　his　brother　had　been　killed　in　action　during　the　war。　Though　Mrs　Bussman　was　fully　acquainted　with　this　story；　she　thought　that　there　was　a　chance　in　a　million　that　she　might　be　right。　A　few　days　later；　she　sent　a　boy　to　the　workman　to　ask　him　if　his　name　was　Hans　Bussman；　Needless　to　say；　the　man's　name　was　Hans　Bussman　and　he　really　was　Franz's　long…lost　brother。
When　the　brothers　were　re…united；　Hans　explained　how　it　was　that　he　was　still　alive。　After　having　been　wounded　towards　the　end　of　the　war；　he　had　been　sent　to　hospital　and　was　separated　from　his　unit。　The　hospital　had　been　bombed　and　Hans　had　made　his　way　back　into　Western　Germany　on　foot。　Meanwhile；　his　unit　was　lost　and　all　records　of　him　had　been　destroyed。　Hans　returned　to　his
family　home；　but　the　house　had　been　bombed　and　no　one　in　the　neighbourhood　knew　what　had　become　of　the　inhabitants。　Assuming　that　his　family　had　been　killed　during　an　air…raid；　Hans　settled　down　in　a　Village　fifty　miles　away　where　he　had　remained　ever　since。　

Lesson37　The　Westhaven　Express
We　have　learnt　to　expect　that　trains　will　be　punctual。　After　years　of　pre…conditioning；　most　of　us　have　developed　an　unshakable　faith　in　railway　time…tables。　Ships　may　be　delayed　by　storms；　air　flights　may　be　cancelled　because　of　bad　weather；　but　trains　must　be　on　time。　Only　an　exceptionally　heavy　snow　fall　might　temporarily　dislocate　railway　services。　It　is　all　too　easy　to　blame　the　railway　authorities　when　something　does　go　wrong。　The　truth　is　that　when　mistakes
occur；　they　are　more　likely　to　be　ours　than　theirs。
After　consulting　my　railway　time…table；　I　noted　with　satisfaction　that　there　was　an　express　train　to　Westhaven。　It　went　direct　from　my　local　station　and　the　journey　lasted　a　mere　hour　and　seventeen　minutes。　When　I　boarded　the　train；　I　could　not　help　noticing　that　a　great　many　local　people　got　on　as　well。　At