Pumas are cat-like animals which were found in America. When reports came into London zoo that a wild puma had been spotted 45 miles south of London. they were not taken it seriously. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the zoo felt obliged to investigate, for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinary similar
The hunt for the puma begin 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, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is corned. The search proved difficult, for the puma was often be observed at one place and at another place 20 miles away in the evening.Wherever
it went , it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
Several people complaind of cat like noises at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw a puma up a tree. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from? 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 large in the quiet countryside.
Lesson 2
13 equals one
Our vicar was always raising money for one cause or another but he has never managed to get enough money to have big clock repaired. The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was danmaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.
One night however,our vicar woke up with a start, the clock was striking the hours. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o'clock,but the bell struck 13 times before it stopped, armed with a torch the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on. Inthe torch light,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 suprise.
"I am trying to repair the bell." answered Bill."I've been coming up here night after night for weeks now. You see I was hoping to give you a suprise." "You certinly did give me a surpise"said the vicar."You've probably woken everyone in the villige as well. Still, I'm glad the Bill was working again. ""That's the trouble vicar,"answered Bill,"It's working all right, but I'm afraid that at one o'ckock it will strike 13 times and there's nothing I can do about it.""We'll get use to that Bill"said the vicar, "13 is not as good as 1,but it's better than nothing.Now let's go downstairs and have a cup of tea"
Some time ago, an intersting discovery was made by archaeologists on the 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 3 storeys high were built of stone. They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls, the city was even 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 15th century B.C. until Roman times.In the most sacred room of temple, clay fragments of 15 statues were found. Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted. The body of one statue was found remains dating from the 15th century B.C. It's missing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C. This head must have 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 3 feet high, and her hands rested on her hips. She 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.
prestigious university
Bachelor degree
rural area
placement test
guardian
be disciplined
enrich your vocabulary
usage
distinguished guests
the theory of electromagnetism
embody the hope and aspiration
mentors impart knowledge
extracurricular activities
contractual obligations
boost your English
opinions on the incident
encyclopedia
street violence
aspiration for fame
relief fond
acquaintance
reservoir
fully exert
labor and intellectual
unremittingly advancing
compulsory
i-lli-te-racy
eliminate
postgraduate
machanism
exempt from tuition
comparatively complete
Lesson 4 The double life of Alfred Bloggs.
These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as "white-collar workers " for 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 becoming white collar workers.
This can give rise to curious situations. As it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who work 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 dressed in a smart black suit, he then changed into overalls and spent the next eight hours as a dust -man. 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 dustman kept his secret. Alf'wife has never discovered that she married a dustman, and she never will, for AAlf has 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 he rise in status is well worth the lose of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day,and others will call him Mr.Bloggs, not Alf.
What was the consequence of the editor's insistence on facts and statistics?
Editors of newspapers and magazines often go to extremes to provide their reader with unimportant facts and statistics. Last year, a journalist had been instrucked by a well-known magazine to write an article on the president's palace in a new Afican republic.When the article arrived, the editor read the first sentence and then refused to publish it.The article begin:"Hundreds of steps lead to the high wall which surrounds the president's palace." The editor at once sent the journalist a fax instucting him to find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.
The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but he 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 journalist that if he did not reply soon, he would be fired. When the journalist again failed to reply, the editor reluctantly published the article that 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 been send to prison as well. However he had at last been allowed to send a fax in which he informed the editor that he had been arrested while counting the 1084 steps leading to the 15 foot wall which surrounded the president's palace.
Lesson 6
Smash-and-grab
How did Mr.Taylor stop the thieves?
The expensive shops in a famous arcade near Piccadilly were just opening. At this time of the morning, the arcade was almost empty. Mr.Taylor, the owner of a jewelry shop was admiring a new window display. Two of his assistants had been working busily since eight o'clock and had only just finished. Diamond necklaces and rings had been beautifully arranged on a back ground of black velvet. After gazing at the display for several minutes, Mr.Taylor went back to into his shop.
The silence was suddenly broken when a large car, with its headlights on and its horn blaring roared down the arcade. It came to a stop outside the jeweler's, one man stayed at the wheel while two others with black stockings over their faces jumped out and smashed the window of the shop with the 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 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 into the car, and it move off at a fantastic speed. Just as it was leaving, Mr.Taylor rushed out and ran after it throwing 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
Why did Jane cook John's wallet?
Has it ever happened to you? Have you ever put your trousers into a washing machine, and than remembered there was a large bank note in your back pocket? When you rescued your trousers, did you find the note was whiter than white? People who live Britain needn't despair when they made mistakes like this, and a lot of people do. Fortunately for them, the Bank of England has 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 fiance, John, runs a successful furniture business. John had a very good day and put his wallet containing $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 fiance's wallet as well. Imagine their dismay when they found a beautifully-cooked wallet and notes turned to ash. John went to see his bank manager, who sent the remain of the wallet and the money to the special department of the Bank of England in Newcastle:"the mutilated ladies" they examined the remains and John got all his money back. "So long as there's something to identify, we will give people their money back." said a spokeswoman from the bank. "Last year we paid 1.5 million pounds on 21,000 claims."
Lesson 8
A famous monastery
What are the St. Bernard's dogs used for?
The great St. Bernard Pass connects Swiss to Italy.At 2,473 meters, it's the highest mountain pass in Europe. The famous monastery of St. Bernard, which was found in the 11th century, lies about a mile away. For hundreds of years, St. Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travelers crossing the dangerous pass. These friendly dogs which were first brought from Asia, were used as watchdogs 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 traveler 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 month, 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 has to be put in a special enclosure. In winter however, life at the monastery is quite different. The temperture drops to -30c and very few people attemped to cross the pass. The monks prefer winter to summer, for they have more privecy, the dogs have greater freedom too, for the are allowed to wander outside their enclosure. The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go their at Christmas and Easter. These young people who love the pease of the mountains, always recieves a warm welcome at St.Bernards monastery.
Lesson 9
Flying cats
How do cats try to protect themselves when falling from great heights?
Cats never fail to fascinate human beings. They can be friendly and affectionate but they lead mysteries lives of their own as well. They never become submissive like dogs and horses. As a result, humans have learn 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 9 lives. Apparently, their is a great deal pf truce 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 5 months. All these cats have one experience in common, they had fallen of tall buildings. Yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries. Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study because their is no shortage of tall buildings. Their are plenty of high-rise windowsill to fall from. One cat, Sabrina fell 32 stories yet only suffered from a broken tooth. 'Cats behave like well trained paratroopers' a doctor said. It seems that the further cats fall, the less they're likely to injury 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 reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.
Lesson 10
The loss of the Titanic.
What would have happened if only two of the 16 water-tight compartments had been flooded?
The great ship Titanic, sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th 1912.She was carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 891. 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 16 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 water of the north Atlantic, a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout. After the alarm had been given, the great ship 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 their 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 had been sinking rapidly, for five of her 16 water-tight compartments had already been flooded. The order to abandon ship was given and hundred of people plunged into the icy water. As there were not enough lifeboats for everybody, 1700 lives were lost.
Lesson 11
Not guilty
What was the customs officer looking for?
Customs officers are quiet 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 other hand, is never troubled by such feelings, even if he has 500 gold watches hidden in his suitcase. When I returned from abroad recently, a particularly officious young customs officer clearly regarded me as a smuggler.
