It is all very well for such things to occur in fictions. To varying degrees, we all have secrets which we do not want even our closest friends to learn. But few of us have skeletons in the cupboard. The only person I know has a skeleton in a cupboard is George Calton and he's very proud of the fact. George studied medicine in his youth. In stead of becoming a doctor, however, he became a successful writer of detective stories. I once spent an uncomfortable weekend which I shall never forget at his house. George showed me to the guest room which he said was rarely used. He told me to unpack my things and then come back to dinner. After I had stacked my shirts and underclothes into empty drawers, I decided to hang one of the suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and than stood in front of it, petrified, a skeleton was dangling before my eyes. The sudden movement of the door made it swing slightly and give me the impression that it was about to leap out at me. Dropping my suit, I dashed downstairs to tell George. This was worse than a terrible secret, this was a real skeleton. But George was unsympathetic, "oh that"he said with a smile, as if he were talking about an old friend. "That's Sebastian, you forget that I was a medical student once upon a time."
Lesson 25
The Cutty Sark
What piece of bad luck prevented the Cutty Sark from winning the race?
One of the most famous sailing ships of the 19th century the Cutty Sark can still be seen at Greenwich. She stands on dry land and is visited by thousands of people each year. She serves as a impressive reminder of the great ships of the past. Before they were replaced by steamships sailing vessels like the Cutty Sark were used to carry tea from China and wool from Australia. Cutty Sark was one of the fasted sailing ships that has ever been built. The only other ship to mach her was the Thermopylae. Both these ships set out from Shanghai on June 18th, eighteen 22 on an exciting trip to England. This race, which went on for 4 weeks was the last of its kind. It marked the end of the great tradition of ships with sails and the beginning of a new era.
The first of the two ships to reach Java after the race had begun was the Thermopylae, but on the Indian Ocean, the Cutty Sark took the lead. It seemed certain that she would be the first ship home, but during the race she had a lot of bad luck. In August, she was struck by a very heavy storm during which her rudder was torn away. The Cutty Sark rolled from side to side and it became impossible to steer her. A temporary rudder was made on board from spare blanks and it was fitted with great difficulty. This greatly reduced the speed of the ship, for there was a danger that if she travelled too quickly, this rudder would be torn away as well.Because of this, the Cutty Sark lost her lead. After crossing the equator, the captain called in at a port to have a new rudder fitted, but by now the Thermopylae was over five hundred miles ahead. Though the new rudder was fitted at tremendous speed, it was impossible for the Cutty Sark to win. She arrived in England a week after the Thermopylae. Even this was remarkable, considering that she had had so many delays. There is no doubt that if she had not lost her rudder she would have won the race easily.
Lesson 26
Wanted: a large biscuit tin
Who won the prize for the biggest biscuit?
No one can avoid being influenced by advertisements. Much as we may prize ourselves on our good taste, we are no longer free to chose the thing we want, for advertising exerts a subtle influence on us. In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product, advertisers had made a close study to human nature and have classified all our little weaknesses.
Advertisers discovered years ago that all of us love to get something for nothing. An advertisement which begins with the magic word free can rarely go wrong. These days, advertisers not only offer free samples, but free cars, free houses, and free trips around the world as well. They devise hundreds of competitions which will enable us to win huge sums of money. Radio and television have made it possible for advertisers to capture the attention of millions of people in this way.
During a radio programme, a company of biscuit manufactures once asked listeners to bake biscuits and send them to their factory. They offer to pay $10 a pound for the biggest biscuit baked by a listener. The response to this competition was tremendous. Before long, biscuits of all shapes and sizes began arriving at the factory. One lady brought in a biscuit on a wheelbarrow. It weighted nearly 500 pounds. A little later, a man came along with the biscuit which occupied the whole boot of his car. All the biscuits that were sent were carefully weighted. The largest was 713 pounds. It seemed certain that this would win the prize. But just before the competitionclosed, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit which weighted 2,400 pounds. It had been baked by a college student who had used over 1000 pounds of flour, 800 pounds of sugar, 200 pounds of fat, and 400 pounds of various other ingredients. It was so heavy that a crane had to be used to remove it from the lorry. The manufactures had to pay more money than they had anticipated, for they bought the biscuit from the student for $24,000.
Lesson 27
Nothing to sell and nothing to buy
What is the most important thing for a tramp?
It has been that every one live by selling sth. In the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge, philosophers by selling wisdom, and priests by selling spiritual comfort. Though it may be possible to measure the value of material goods in terms of money. It is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us. There are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives, yet we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for offering us precisely this service. The conditions of society are such that skills have to be payed for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop. Everyone has something to sell.
Tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule. Beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by. But real tramps are not beggars. They have nothing to sell and require nothing from others. In seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity. A tramp may ask you for money, but he will never ask you to feel sorry for him, he has deliberately chosen to lead the life he leads and is fully aware of the consequences. He may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from thousands of anxieties which afflict other people. His few material possession made it possible for him to move from place to place with ease. By having to sleep in the open, he gets far closer to the world of nature then most of us ever do. He may hunt beg or steal occasionally to keep himself alive; he may even in times of real need do a little work, but he will never sacrifice his freedom. We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars. But how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?
Lesson 28
Five pounds too dear
Why was even five pounds too dear?
Small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner as she was entering the harbour. Before she had anchored, the men from the boats had climbed on board and the decks were soon covered with colorful rugs from Persia, silks from India, copper coffee pots and beautiful handmade silverware. It was difficult not to be tempted, many of the tourists on board had began bargaining with the tradesmen, but I decided not to buy anything before I had disembarked.
I had no sooner get off the ship then I was a assailed by a a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring. I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of that diamonds. Some of them are as big as marbles. The man went to great length to prove that the diamond was real. As we were walking pass a shop, he hold the diamond firmly against the window and made a deep impression in the glass. It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.
The next man who approach me was selling expensive pens and watches. I examined one of the pens closely. It certainly looked genuine. At the base of the gold cap, the word made in USA had been neatly inscribed. The man said that the pen worth $50, but as a special favour, he would let me have it for $30. I shook my head and held up five fingers, indicating that I was willing to pay $5. Gesticulating wildly, the man acted like my offer outrageous, but he eventually reduced the price to $10. Shrugging my shoulders, I began to walk away when, a moment later, he ran after me and thrust the pen into my hands, though he kept through his arms in despair , he readily accepted the five pounds I gave him. I felt especially pleased with the wonderful bargain--until I got back to the ship. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink, and to this day, it has never written a single word.
Lesson 29
Funny or not?
What is the basis of sick humor?
Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up. The sense of humor is mysteriously bond up with national characteristics. A Frenchman, for instance, mind find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke, in the same way, a Russian mind see anything amusing in a joke that would make a Englishman laugh to tears.
Most funny stories are based on conic situations. In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a universal appeal. No matter where you live, you could find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin's early films. However, a new type of humor with stems largely from the US has recently come to fashion. It is called"sick humor", comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent death or serious accidents. Many people find this sort of joke distasteful. The following example of sick humor will enable you to judge for yourself.,
A man who has broken his right legs was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas. From the moment he arrive there, he kept on pestering his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home. He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital, though the doctor did his best, the patient's recovery was slow. On Christmas day, the man still had his right leg in plaster. He spent a miserable day in bed, thinking of all the fun he was missing. The following day however, the doctor consoled him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebration were good. The man took heart, and sure enough, on New Year's Eve, he was able to hobble along to a party. To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital, the man drank a little more than was good for him. In the process, he enjoyed him self thoroughly and kept telling everybody about how much he hated hospitals. He was still mumbling sth about hospitals, at the end of the party, when he slipped on a piece of ice, and broke his left leg.
Lesson 30
The death of a ghost
Why did the two brothers keep the secret?
For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was haunted. The farm was owned by two farmers, Joe and Bob Cox. They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long. Every time a worker gave up him job, he told the same story. Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work has been done overnight. Hey have been cut, and cowsheds have been cleaned. A farm worker, who stayed up all night, claim to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight. In time, it became an accepted fact that the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.
No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm who had never been seen, this was indeed the case. A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn that the ghost of Endley had died, everyone went to the funeral, for the ghost was none other than Eric Cox, a third brother who was supposed to have died as a young man. After the funeral, Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over 50 years.
Eric had been the oldest son of the family, very much older than his other two brothers. He had been obliged to join the army during the WW2. As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment. When he learnt that he will be sent abroad, he returned to the farm and his father hid him until the war ended. Fearing the authorities, Eric remained in hiding after the war as well. His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action. The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob. They didn't even tell their wives. When their father died, they thought that it was their duty to keep Eric in hiding. All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse. He used to sleep in the day and work at night, quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley. When he died however, his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
Lesson 31
A lovable eccentric
Why did the shop assistant refused to serve Dickie?
True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves. They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. This invariably wins them the love and respect of others. For they add color to the dull routine of everyday life.
Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the most notable figures in our town. He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman, but mast people in the town hardly knew anything about this side of his life. He was known to us all as Dickie, and his eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.
Dickie dislike snobs intensely, though he owned a large car, he hardly ever use it, preferring always to go on foot. Even when it was raining heavily, he refused to carry an umbrella. One day, he walked into an expensive shop after having been caught in a particularly heavy shower. He wanted to buy a $300 watch for his wife, but he was in such bedraggled condition that the assistant refused to serve him. Dickie left the shop without a word and returned carrying a large cloth bag. As it was extremely heavy, he dumped it on the counter. The assistant asked him to leave, but he paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager. Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded the assistant severely. When Dickie was given the watch, he presented the assistant with the cloth bag. It contained $300 in pennies. He insisted the assistant counting the money before he left--30000 pennies in all. On another occasion, he invited a number of important critics to see his private collection of modern paintings. This exhibition received a great deal of attention in the press. For though the pictures were suppose to be the work of famous artists, they had, in fact, been painted by Dickie. It took him four years to stage this elaborate joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.
Lesson 32
A lost ship
Did the crew of Elkor find what they were looking for? Why?
The salvage operation had been a complete failure. The small ship, Elkor which had been searching the Barents sea for weeks, was on its way home. A radio massage from the mainland had been received by the ship's captain instructing him to give up the search. The captain that another attempt would be made later for the sunken ship he was trying to find had been carrying a precious cargo of gold bullion.
Despite the message, the captain of the Elkor decided to try once more. The sea bed was scoured with powerful nets. There was a tremendous excitement on board when a chest was raised from the bottom. Though the crew were at first under the impression that the lost ship had been found, the contents of the chest proved them wrong. What they had in fact found was a ship which had been sunk many years before.
The cheat contained the personal belongings of a sea man, Allen Fielding. There were books clothing and photographs together with letters which the sea man 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 cheat, 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 Defense after the Elkor had returned home. All the item that were found were sent to the war museum.
Lesson 33
A day to remember
What incident began the series of traffic accidents?
We have experience days when everything goes wrong. A day may began well enough, but suddenly everything seems 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 the phone, the baby pulls the tablecloth off the table, smashing half of your best crockery and cutting himself in the process. You hang up hurriedly and attend to baby, crockery etc. Meanwhile, the meal get burnt, as if this was 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, s 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 break 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 along side 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 an 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 mean time, the lorry driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two stray dogs benefited from all the confusion. For they greedily devoured what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days.
Lesson 34
A happy discovery
What was the "happy discovery"?
Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people. The more expensive kind of antique shops 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 in its labyrinth of musty dark disordered rooms, a real rarity will be found among of a pile of assorted junk that litter the floors.
No one discovers a rarity by chance. A truly dedicated bargain hunter must have patience, above all the ability to recognize of sth when he sees it. To do this, he must be 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 $50. 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 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 the packing case. As its composition and line reminded him an Italian painting he knew well, he decided to buy it. Glancing at it briefly, the dealer told him that it worth $50, Frank could hardly conceal his excitement, for he knew that he made a real discovery. The tiny painting proved to be an unknown masterpiece, by ... and was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Lesson 35
Justice was done
The word "justice" is given two different meanings in the text. What is the distinction between them?
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 a part of the complex machinery of the law. Those who take 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 concept. Reward and punishment are meted out quite independent of human interference. At such times, justice acts like a living force. When we use a phrase like "It severs him right", we are in part admitting that a certain set of circumstances has enable justice to act of its own accord.