初級(jí)口語(LRC)-英語聽力初級(jí)口語part7
Oral Workshop: Reproduction Lesson 36-37 ;
Lesson 36 ;
Text A Three Wishes ;
Once upon a time,there lived a woodman and his wife. ;
They were very poor, and they lived in a cottage on the edge of a forest. ;
Every day,the wood-man would set out early in the morning to chop down trees. ;
As the woodman was traveling through the forest one day, ;
he saw a fine old oak tree."That will make plenty of planks," he thought, ;
as he felt the blade of his axe to make sure it was sharp. ;
He was about to strike the tree with the axe, ;
when he heard someone crying out:"Please don't hurt this tree." ;
The woodman looked around him and saw a tiny fairy. ;
"If you do not hurt this tree,"she said, ;
"I will grant you and your wife three wishes." ;
"I won't hurt the tree,"said the woodman kindly. ;
Then the fairy vanished!That evening,the woodman walked slowly home. ;
He was feeling very hungry and could not wait for his supper. ;
"Is my supper ready?" the woodman asked his wife. ;
"Not for at least two hours,"replied his wife. ;
So the woodman sat in a chair by the fire. ;
"I wish I had a big black sausage to eat right now,"he sad out loud. ;
And suddenly,a delicious sausage appeared on the table before him! ;
"Why has that black sausage suddenly appeared?"the wood- man's wife asked. ;
So the woodman told his wife the story about the fairy. ;
But his wife was very angry. ;
"You have wasted the first of our wishes, "she said crossly. ;
"I wish that sausage wear on your nose!" ;
And with that,the sausage jumped up and stuck fast on the woodman's nose. ;
His wife could not pull it off and nor could he, ;
so the only thing to do was to wish it on the table again,wh- ich the woodman did. ;
What a waste of three wishes! ;
The only thing the woodman had was a good supper of black sausage. ;
Text B They Threatened Me With a Knife ;
POLICE INSPECTOR: Good evening,sir. ;
I understand that you have been robbed. ;
MR LEE:I certainly have. P.I.:When did this happen? ;
MR LEE:About two hours ago. P.I.:Why didn't you report it before? ;
MR LEE:I couldn't. I was bound and gagged. ;
P.I.:Please tell me exactly what happened. ;
MR LEE:I was sitting in this room ;
watching television when someone knocked on the door.Without thinking,I opened it ;
P.I.:That wasn't very wise,sir. ;
MR LEE:I know.I was expecting my wife, you see,and thought it was her. ;
P.I.:You should never open a door without looking to see who it is. ;
MR LEE:Yes,I know. I regret it very much. P.I.:What happened? ;
MR LEE:Two men pushed into the flat.One of them threatened me with a knife ;
while the other bound and gagged me. ;
P.I.:Did you get a good look at them? ;
MR LEE:I'm afraid not.They were both wearing stockings over their faces. ;
P.I.What did they take? ;
MR LEE:My wallet, with $ 200 in it, my wristwatch, ;
some of my wife's jewellery from our bedroom,and a silver photoframe. ;
P.I.:They don't seem to have done much damage to the flat. MR LEE:No. ;
They had just begun to search when the dogs next door began to bark. ;
They ran off then leaving me bound and gagged. ;
It was some time before my wife returned and released me. ;
I phoned the police at once. ;
P.I.:My men began searching the area as soon as we received your call. ;
I can't promise you that we'll recover your property ;
but we'll certainly do our best. ;
7.Read the following passage once. ;
Underline the key words while reading and retell the story to your partner. ;
Now I know why birds sit on telephone lines.They listen. ;
I am either nine or ten years old.At the orphanage they call me Miguel. ;
When I want to feel important, I say,"Call me Don Miguel." ;
I used to act important all the time because I felt I wasn't. ;
Back then,no one liked me very much because I didn't like other people. ;
But last year,I began to learn two important things: ;
I was learning to see, not just look.And I was learning to listen,not just hear. ;
I used to lie in the dark and make up relatives that I didn't have. ;
My favorite relative was a nice old man who spoke Spanish, like me. ;
One day a man came to see me.He said he was my uncle. ;
"I don't have an uncle "I said."Now you do," he said. ;
He was an old man who liked children. He had a boy once who went to Korea. ;
His daughter moved to the City. ;
He said the City can be a difficult place in which to live. ;
He taught me how to see and listen. I don't know if he is my uncle or not; ;
neither did he,but he came to see me often. ;
I guess if you act like an uncle all the time,you are one. ;
I was not a good student before my uncle came along. ;
He took me walking in the fields. ;
At one point he spread his arms and said,"It is all here." ;
"What?"I said. "Everything you need to know."he replied. ;
At first it appeared to be nothing more than just a few trees. ;
I thought I was nowhere.Then he had me close my eyes. ;
First I heard the breeze in the grass, then in the trees. ;
I also heard a faraway train and a barking dog. ;
For a while I heard nothing.I was almost scared. ;
He said to listen harder.I heard my heart beat. ;
Because I used to be so sad,I had almost forgotten that I had a heart. ;
Once I asked him who he was. "An experiment," he said. ;
"What kind of an experiment?" I said. He grinned and said, "Nobody knows. ;
Like you,there is no one in the world like me. ;
So who is to say what I will be." ;
One day in the field he showed me the way the breeze made the trees move. ;
The rustling of the leaves made a sound that frightened a nearby bird. ;
It flew away.We watched the bird drop an acorn. ;
"The bird,"he said, "can make a seed move. ;
From that seed the oak can grow fifty feet tall. ;
It will be a friend to those who want one." ;
I always knew that trees were there, ;
but I never knew they were real like me.One sunday I was angry. ;
When my uncle came, I said:"I don't have anything.I wish I had something." ;
"You have everything worth having,"he said. "And I will give you even more. ;
I will give some secrets of the Universe. ;
Do you believe me?" "Yes,"I said,wanting to believe him. ;
He gave me three small seeds. ;
"Put each seed into a small box filled with dirt. ;
Then care for them. Talk to them if you wish. ;
They will grow with you." Now they are in larger boxes. ;
One of the plants has grown up to my knee. ;
I sometimes wonder what else it is up to. ;
Another time we were walking in the field ;
when we saw two birds on a telephone line. ;
They seemed so peaceful.Then suddenly they flew away. ;
My uncle just laughed. ;
"See,"he said. "Someone said something they didn't like. ;
Be careful what you tell the birds." ;
One night I passed by the office of the orphanage. ;
A man I don't like very much was on the phone.He was angry and loud. ;
When he left,I went into the office and picked up the phone. ;
I heard the funniest sound."Listen,"I said. ;
"Listen,birds.Come on back,never mind what he says.We like you." ;
One day Uncle did not come.I waited and waited but he did not come. ;
The man I don't like at the orphanage said Uncle was sick. ;
"May I go and see him?"I asked."No," he said."He may be contagious." ;
"May I call him?" "No,"he said."I'll call him for you." ;
"Don't do that," I said."Why not?" "You'll make the birds fly away." ;
I sneaked into the office one night and called Uncle. ;
"Are you all right?" I asked."Yes,but I must go away." ;
"Why?""To make room for something else." "Will you come back?" ;
"I will help you remember me,if you want me to." "I do...I do..." ;
When I went to bed at night,I would try to imagine that he was there. ;
He was harder and harder to see.One night,he was not there at all. ;
There was only a green field.I went back to our field. ;
It was raining.The sky was dark,the way I was inside. ;
I looked for Uncle everywhere.I called his name.I was angry for a while. ;
I said some things out loud that I shouldn't have said. ;
Two birds flew out of the tree.I made them get wet. ;
On the way back,I saw something that was only an inch or two tall. ;
It was where that bird dropped the acorn. ;
I didn't tell anybody, but I knew.Someday Uncle will be fifty feet tall. ;
Lesson 37 ;
Text A Do You Know Who I Am? ;
Mr Smith is well known in Washington because of his many social blunders. ;
He always likes to attend the various social functions ;
because he wants to expand his circle of friends. ;
Whenever he is invited he goes,unless he is ill. ;
Recently he received an invitation to a fashionable banquet. ;
Although he did not know the hostess,he accepted the invitation. ;
He was secretly very pleased, ;
because he felt that his reputation as a desirable guest was growing. ;
When he arrived at the banquet hall, ;
he found that about one hundred people had been invited. ;
He began to move around the hall. ;
He spoke to other guests whether he knew them or not. ;
He soon realized that he had never met any of the other people present, ;
although they seemed to know each other. ;
At dinner,he was seated beside a very dignified woman. ;
The woman tried to be friendly even though she had never met Mr Smith before. ;
She spoke politely, whenever he spoke to her. ;
Between the first and second course of the meal,she turned to Mr Smith and said ;
"Do you see that gray-haired man at the end of the table? ;
The one with the glasses." "Ah,yes. Who is he?"asked Mr Smith. ;
"He's the Secretary of the Interior!" she replied. ;
Mr Smith said:"So that's the Secretary of the Interior! ;
I'm afraid that I find very little to admire about him, ;
although he is the Secretary."The woman stiffened and did not reply. ;
Smith continued in spite of her coldness. ;
"I really can't see how he received his appointment, ;
unless he is perhaps a relative of the President." ;
"It hardly matters whether you like the Secretary or not,"she said. ;
"He was chosen because the President thought he was the man for the job. ;
If he does the job well,you should have no complaint." ;
"That's just it," persisted Smith. ;
"No one does the things he does, unless he is a complete fool!" ;
"Sir!"said the woman in all her dignity. ;
"Do you know who I am?" "No,"replied Smith. ;
"I am the Secretary's wife,"she said coldly. ;
Mr Smith was flabbergasted,but he went on in spite of his embarrassment. ;
"Madam,do you know who I am?" "No,I don't,"the woman replied. ;
"Thank goodness!" exclaimed Mr Smith, as he quickly left the table. ;
Text B Hands Up! ;
This was the conversation in the expensive shop in London. ;
A man and a woman walked in and... ;
SALESMAN:Can I help you? ;
WOMAN:Yes,we're looking for a watch.It's for me. ;
SALESMAN:I see. What price are you interested in? ;
MAN:The price doesn't matter. But it must be a gold watch. ;
WOMAN:And automatic. I must have an automatic watch! ;
SALESMAN:Hmm ... something like this,perhaps. ;
It's one of our best watches.Made in Switzerland. ;
Fully automatic.With a calendar and... ;
MAN:It's nice... but haven't you got anything better? ;
SALESMAN:Better? Better than this? ;
Well,we have some Orly de luxe watches... ;
probably the best watch in the world. ;
But I'm afraid they're far more expensive than this one.They cost ... ;
MAN:Would you show us one,please? ;
WOMAN:Yes,could we see one of them, please? ;
SALESMAN:They're in the manager's office.You see,we don't... ;
MAN:Could you possibly get one or two of them now? ;
SALESMAN:Er ... yes, of course.Would you wait here for a moment.Please? ;
MANAGER:Come in. SALESMAN:Mr Crawford I have two customers who... ;
WOMAN:All right! Hands up!Stand over there! ;
MANAGER and SALESMAN: What in the world... ;
MAN:Shut up!And open that safe!Come on! Open it! ;
MANAGER:I... I can't open it. ;
MAN:What do you mean?You must open it. ;
MANAGER:You told me to put my hands up. ;
How can I open the safe with my hands up? ;
7.Read the following passage once. ;
Underline the key words while reading and retell the story to your partner. ;
Henry D.Penrose was a dog with a pedigree. ;
He lived in a fine stone house with white marble steps ;
and red velvet drapes on every window. ;
His owner,Professor Randolph Penrose, was quite rich. ;
Each morning Henry was driven to Obe- dience School in a long black limousine ;
Each afternoon he was fed two grilled lamb chops for lunch. ;
Each evening he fell asleep in his furlined basket in front of the fireplace. ;
On Saturdays he was groomed at Miss Fifi's Shop. ;
And on Sundays he accompanied the professor to the park, ;
where a classical orchestra played soothing music ;
and the grass was cool and fragrant. ;
Professor Penrose would stroke Henry's shiny coat and say, ;
"You have the life, Henry my boy!" And Henry certainly had to agree. ;
Then one day it all changed.Just.Like. That. ;
Professor Penrose received a telegram ;
offering him a chance to dig for dinosaur bones in Idaho. ;
For one entire year. There was only one problem. ;
The telegram stated quite firmly in the largest letters possible: ;
NO PETS ALLOWED!The cook,Mrs Washburn, ;
agreed to take Henry to her home until the professor returned. ;
Professor Penrose hated to send Henry to live on the other side of the city. ;
There were no marble steps or red velvet drapes on Mrs Washburn's property. ;
But Henry was buttoned into his red plaid coat ;
and driven to the Washburn residence. Henry stepped out of the limousine. ;
He was so shocked that his ears stuck out like two car doors. ;
Such an untidy home he had never seen. ;
It was all he could do to maintain a sense of dignity. ;
He was picking his way through the toys on the muddy front steps ;
when a tumble of children spilled onto the porch, ;
scooped him up,and before you could say "one-two". ;
Henry was deposited in a sea of soap bubbles in the Washurn bathtub. ;
Each time he tried to jump out,little hands pushed him back in. ;
"Don't be too rough, children,"said Mrs Washburn. ;
"Henry isn't used to such fun." ;
Dinner that evening was a big steamy ham bone. ;
Bits of cabbage fell from it as one of the children ;
tossed it from the pot to Henry.What! thought Henry. No plate? ;
He wondered if he'd ever see a grilled lamb chop again. ;
By bedtime,Henry was exhausted.His fur- lined basket had been left behind. ;
Where would he sleep? ;
Just then two of the children carried him off to a room with three bunk beds ;
"Henry's sleeping with me!"announced one child,puling him to one bunk. ;
"Oh no!Henry's sleeping with me!" protested another, ;
yanking him toward another bunk. ;
A third child elbowed his way in, and Henry flopped to the floor. ;
Before he could crawl under one of the beds,a pillow fight broke out. ;
Thwack!A pillow smacked into Henry's face.He barked.Loud! ;
Mrs Washburn came scurrying down the hallway. ;
The children scattered into their beds. ;
"Why,Henry!"scolded Mrs Washburn."You never barked like that before! ;
Quiet down,or the children will never get to sleep!" ;
On Sunday there was no park or classical orchestra. ;
No cool and fragrant grass. ;
Just the Washburn's backyard with its dandelion clumps ;
and creaky swings and a fort made out of empty cardboard boxes. ;
The children wrestled with Henry. ;
They scratched his ears and tied an old red Christmas ribbon around his neck. ;
They tried to make him chase the cat next door. ;
Baby Washburn even kissed him--a big, sloppy,wet, ;
straw-berry-lollipop kiss,right on the nose. ;
Later,when Baby toppled over onto Henry's tail,they both cried: ;
"Yeeeeooooooow!" Mrs Washburn poked her head out of the back door. ;
"Don't hurt Baby, Henry." Days,weeks, months passed. ;
Henry learned to put up with pillow fights and strawberry kisses. ;
He learned to ignore the neighbour's cat ;
and to wriggle Christmas ribbons off his neck. ;
He even learned to eat steamy ham bones. ;
And then one day everything changed. Just.Like.That. ;
Professor Penrose returned.The long black limousine ;
came to take Henry back to the professor's fine stone house. ;
The Washburn children gathered on their front porch. ;
Tears streamed down their cheeks. "Good-bye,Henry," they sniffled sadly. ;
"Good-bye!" That evening,after being groomed by Miss Fifi ;
(who kept sighing over the tangles in his coat) ;
and after being fed two plump, perfectly grilled lamb chops, ;
(in his own monogrammed dish.) ;
Henry climbed into his furlined basket in front of the fireplace. ;
He yawned.He laid his head on his front paws.He closed his eyes. ;
But he did not go to sleep.Something was wrong. ;
Everything was so quiet,so peaceful. Too quiet.Too peaceful. ;
Henry climbed out of his basket. ;
He nudged open the front door ;
and headed down the road to the Washburn house. ;
At first he walked properly,as he had been taught.Then he ran. ;
When he arrived,he scratched at the door. ;
Mrs Washburn opened it."Why,it's you, Henry.Welcome home!" ;
Henry dashed up the stairs and into the children's bedroom. ;
It was dark.Thwack! A pillow smacked into his face. ;
Henry ducked under one of the beds. He smelled the faint scent of strawberry, ;
and as he drifted off to sleep,he was thinking to himself: ;
You have the life, Henry my boy.You have the life. ;
Lesson 36 ;
Text A Three Wishes ;
Once upon a time,there lived a woodman and his wife. ;
They were very poor, and they lived in a cottage on the edge of a forest. ;
Every day,the wood-man would set out early in the morning to chop down trees. ;
As the woodman was traveling through the forest one day, ;
he saw a fine old oak tree."That will make plenty of planks," he thought, ;
as he felt the blade of his axe to make sure it was sharp. ;
He was about to strike the tree with the axe, ;
when he heard someone crying out:"Please don't hurt this tree." ;
The woodman looked around him and saw a tiny fairy. ;
"If you do not hurt this tree,"she said, ;
"I will grant you and your wife three wishes." ;
"I won't hurt the tree,"said the woodman kindly. ;
Then the fairy vanished!That evening,the woodman walked slowly home. ;
He was feeling very hungry and could not wait for his supper. ;
"Is my supper ready?" the woodman asked his wife. ;
"Not for at least two hours,"replied his wife. ;
So the woodman sat in a chair by the fire. ;
"I wish I had a big black sausage to eat right now,"he sad out loud. ;
And suddenly,a delicious sausage appeared on the table before him! ;
"Why has that black sausage suddenly appeared?"the wood- man's wife asked. ;
So the woodman told his wife the story about the fairy. ;
But his wife was very angry. ;
"You have wasted the first of our wishes, "she said crossly. ;
"I wish that sausage wear on your nose!" ;
And with that,the sausage jumped up and stuck fast on the woodman's nose. ;
His wife could not pull it off and nor could he, ;
so the only thing to do was to wish it on the table again,wh- ich the woodman did. ;
What a waste of three wishes! ;
The only thing the woodman had was a good supper of black sausage. ;
Text B They Threatened Me With a Knife ;
POLICE INSPECTOR: Good evening,sir. ;
I understand that you have been robbed. ;
MR LEE:I certainly have. P.I.:When did this happen? ;
MR LEE:About two hours ago. P.I.:Why didn't you report it before? ;
MR LEE:I couldn't. I was bound and gagged. ;
P.I.:Please tell me exactly what happened. ;
MR LEE:I was sitting in this room ;
watching television when someone knocked on the door.Without thinking,I opened it ;
P.I.:That wasn't very wise,sir. ;
MR LEE:I know.I was expecting my wife, you see,and thought it was her. ;
P.I.:You should never open a door without looking to see who it is. ;
MR LEE:Yes,I know. I regret it very much. P.I.:What happened? ;
MR LEE:Two men pushed into the flat.One of them threatened me with a knife ;
while the other bound and gagged me. ;
P.I.:Did you get a good look at them? ;
MR LEE:I'm afraid not.They were both wearing stockings over their faces. ;
P.I.What did they take? ;
MR LEE:My wallet, with $ 200 in it, my wristwatch, ;
some of my wife's jewellery from our bedroom,and a silver photoframe. ;
P.I.:They don't seem to have done much damage to the flat. MR LEE:No. ;
They had just begun to search when the dogs next door began to bark. ;
They ran off then leaving me bound and gagged. ;
It was some time before my wife returned and released me. ;
I phoned the police at once. ;
P.I.:My men began searching the area as soon as we received your call. ;
I can't promise you that we'll recover your property ;
but we'll certainly do our best. ;
7.Read the following passage once. ;
Underline the key words while reading and retell the story to your partner. ;
Now I know why birds sit on telephone lines.They listen. ;
I am either nine or ten years old.At the orphanage they call me Miguel. ;
When I want to feel important, I say,"Call me Don Miguel." ;
I used to act important all the time because I felt I wasn't. ;
Back then,no one liked me very much because I didn't like other people. ;
But last year,I began to learn two important things: ;
I was learning to see, not just look.And I was learning to listen,not just hear. ;
I used to lie in the dark and make up relatives that I didn't have. ;
My favorite relative was a nice old man who spoke Spanish, like me. ;
One day a man came to see me.He said he was my uncle. ;
"I don't have an uncle "I said."Now you do," he said. ;
He was an old man who liked children. He had a boy once who went to Korea. ;
His daughter moved to the City. ;
He said the City can be a difficult place in which to live. ;
He taught me how to see and listen. I don't know if he is my uncle or not; ;
neither did he,but he came to see me often. ;
I guess if you act like an uncle all the time,you are one. ;
I was not a good student before my uncle came along. ;
He took me walking in the fields. ;
At one point he spread his arms and said,"It is all here." ;
"What?"I said. "Everything you need to know."he replied. ;
At first it appeared to be nothing more than just a few trees. ;
I thought I was nowhere.Then he had me close my eyes. ;
First I heard the breeze in the grass, then in the trees. ;
I also heard a faraway train and a barking dog. ;
For a while I heard nothing.I was almost scared. ;
He said to listen harder.I heard my heart beat. ;
Because I used to be so sad,I had almost forgotten that I had a heart. ;
Once I asked him who he was. "An experiment," he said. ;
"What kind of an experiment?" I said. He grinned and said, "Nobody knows. ;
Like you,there is no one in the world like me. ;
So who is to say what I will be." ;
One day in the field he showed me the way the breeze made the trees move. ;
The rustling of the leaves made a sound that frightened a nearby bird. ;
It flew away.We watched the bird drop an acorn. ;
"The bird,"he said, "can make a seed move. ;
From that seed the oak can grow fifty feet tall. ;
It will be a friend to those who want one." ;
I always knew that trees were there, ;
but I never knew they were real like me.One sunday I was angry. ;
When my uncle came, I said:"I don't have anything.I wish I had something." ;
"You have everything worth having,"he said. "And I will give you even more. ;
I will give some secrets of the Universe. ;
Do you believe me?" "Yes,"I said,wanting to believe him. ;
He gave me three small seeds. ;
"Put each seed into a small box filled with dirt. ;
Then care for them. Talk to them if you wish. ;
They will grow with you." Now they are in larger boxes. ;
One of the plants has grown up to my knee. ;
I sometimes wonder what else it is up to. ;
Another time we were walking in the field ;
when we saw two birds on a telephone line. ;
They seemed so peaceful.Then suddenly they flew away. ;
My uncle just laughed. ;
"See,"he said. "Someone said something they didn't like. ;
Be careful what you tell the birds." ;
One night I passed by the office of the orphanage. ;
A man I don't like very much was on the phone.He was angry and loud. ;
When he left,I went into the office and picked up the phone. ;
I heard the funniest sound."Listen,"I said. ;
"Listen,birds.Come on back,never mind what he says.We like you." ;
One day Uncle did not come.I waited and waited but he did not come. ;
The man I don't like at the orphanage said Uncle was sick. ;
"May I go and see him?"I asked."No," he said."He may be contagious." ;
"May I call him?" "No,"he said."I'll call him for you." ;
"Don't do that," I said."Why not?" "You'll make the birds fly away." ;
I sneaked into the office one night and called Uncle. ;
"Are you all right?" I asked."Yes,but I must go away." ;
"Why?""To make room for something else." "Will you come back?" ;
"I will help you remember me,if you want me to." "I do...I do..." ;
When I went to bed at night,I would try to imagine that he was there. ;
He was harder and harder to see.One night,he was not there at all. ;
There was only a green field.I went back to our field. ;
It was raining.The sky was dark,the way I was inside. ;
I looked for Uncle everywhere.I called his name.I was angry for a while. ;
I said some things out loud that I shouldn't have said. ;
Two birds flew out of the tree.I made them get wet. ;
On the way back,I saw something that was only an inch or two tall. ;
It was where that bird dropped the acorn. ;
I didn't tell anybody, but I knew.Someday Uncle will be fifty feet tall. ;
Lesson 37 ;
Text A Do You Know Who I Am? ;
Mr Smith is well known in Washington because of his many social blunders. ;
He always likes to attend the various social functions ;
because he wants to expand his circle of friends. ;
Whenever he is invited he goes,unless he is ill. ;
Recently he received an invitation to a fashionable banquet. ;
Although he did not know the hostess,he accepted the invitation. ;
He was secretly very pleased, ;
because he felt that his reputation as a desirable guest was growing. ;
When he arrived at the banquet hall, ;
he found that about one hundred people had been invited. ;
He began to move around the hall. ;
He spoke to other guests whether he knew them or not. ;
He soon realized that he had never met any of the other people present, ;
although they seemed to know each other. ;
At dinner,he was seated beside a very dignified woman. ;
The woman tried to be friendly even though she had never met Mr Smith before. ;
She spoke politely, whenever he spoke to her. ;
Between the first and second course of the meal,she turned to Mr Smith and said ;
"Do you see that gray-haired man at the end of the table? ;
The one with the glasses." "Ah,yes. Who is he?"asked Mr Smith. ;
"He's the Secretary of the Interior!" she replied. ;
Mr Smith said:"So that's the Secretary of the Interior! ;
I'm afraid that I find very little to admire about him, ;
although he is the Secretary."The woman stiffened and did not reply. ;
Smith continued in spite of her coldness. ;
"I really can't see how he received his appointment, ;
unless he is perhaps a relative of the President." ;
"It hardly matters whether you like the Secretary or not,"she said. ;
"He was chosen because the President thought he was the man for the job. ;
If he does the job well,you should have no complaint." ;
"That's just it," persisted Smith. ;
"No one does the things he does, unless he is a complete fool!" ;
"Sir!"said the woman in all her dignity. ;
"Do you know who I am?" "No,"replied Smith. ;
"I am the Secretary's wife,"she said coldly. ;
Mr Smith was flabbergasted,but he went on in spite of his embarrassment. ;
"Madam,do you know who I am?" "No,I don't,"the woman replied. ;
"Thank goodness!" exclaimed Mr Smith, as he quickly left the table. ;
Text B Hands Up! ;
This was the conversation in the expensive shop in London. ;
A man and a woman walked in and... ;
SALESMAN:Can I help you? ;
WOMAN:Yes,we're looking for a watch.It's for me. ;
SALESMAN:I see. What price are you interested in? ;
MAN:The price doesn't matter. But it must be a gold watch. ;
WOMAN:And automatic. I must have an automatic watch! ;
SALESMAN:Hmm ... something like this,perhaps. ;
It's one of our best watches.Made in Switzerland. ;
Fully automatic.With a calendar and... ;
MAN:It's nice... but haven't you got anything better? ;
SALESMAN:Better? Better than this? ;
Well,we have some Orly de luxe watches... ;
probably the best watch in the world. ;
But I'm afraid they're far more expensive than this one.They cost ... ;
MAN:Would you show us one,please? ;
WOMAN:Yes,could we see one of them, please? ;
SALESMAN:They're in the manager's office.You see,we don't... ;
MAN:Could you possibly get one or two of them now? ;
SALESMAN:Er ... yes, of course.Would you wait here for a moment.Please? ;
MANAGER:Come in. SALESMAN:Mr Crawford I have two customers who... ;
WOMAN:All right! Hands up!Stand over there! ;
MANAGER and SALESMAN: What in the world... ;
MAN:Shut up!And open that safe!Come on! Open it! ;
MANAGER:I... I can't open it. ;
MAN:What do you mean?You must open it. ;
MANAGER:You told me to put my hands up. ;
How can I open the safe with my hands up? ;
7.Read the following passage once. ;
Underline the key words while reading and retell the story to your partner. ;
Henry D.Penrose was a dog with a pedigree. ;
He lived in a fine stone house with white marble steps ;
and red velvet drapes on every window. ;
His owner,Professor Randolph Penrose, was quite rich. ;
Each morning Henry was driven to Obe- dience School in a long black limousine ;
Each afternoon he was fed two grilled lamb chops for lunch. ;
Each evening he fell asleep in his furlined basket in front of the fireplace. ;
On Saturdays he was groomed at Miss Fifi's Shop. ;
And on Sundays he accompanied the professor to the park, ;
where a classical orchestra played soothing music ;
and the grass was cool and fragrant. ;
Professor Penrose would stroke Henry's shiny coat and say, ;
"You have the life, Henry my boy!" And Henry certainly had to agree. ;
Then one day it all changed.Just.Like. That. ;
Professor Penrose received a telegram ;
offering him a chance to dig for dinosaur bones in Idaho. ;
For one entire year. There was only one problem. ;
The telegram stated quite firmly in the largest letters possible: ;
NO PETS ALLOWED!The cook,Mrs Washburn, ;
agreed to take Henry to her home until the professor returned. ;
Professor Penrose hated to send Henry to live on the other side of the city. ;
There were no marble steps or red velvet drapes on Mrs Washburn's property. ;
But Henry was buttoned into his red plaid coat ;
and driven to the Washburn residence. Henry stepped out of the limousine. ;
He was so shocked that his ears stuck out like two car doors. ;
Such an untidy home he had never seen. ;
It was all he could do to maintain a sense of dignity. ;
He was picking his way through the toys on the muddy front steps ;
when a tumble of children spilled onto the porch, ;
scooped him up,and before you could say "one-two". ;
Henry was deposited in a sea of soap bubbles in the Washurn bathtub. ;
Each time he tried to jump out,little hands pushed him back in. ;
"Don't be too rough, children,"said Mrs Washburn. ;
"Henry isn't used to such fun." ;
Dinner that evening was a big steamy ham bone. ;
Bits of cabbage fell from it as one of the children ;
tossed it from the pot to Henry.What! thought Henry. No plate? ;
He wondered if he'd ever see a grilled lamb chop again. ;
By bedtime,Henry was exhausted.His fur- lined basket had been left behind. ;
Where would he sleep? ;
Just then two of the children carried him off to a room with three bunk beds ;
"Henry's sleeping with me!"announced one child,puling him to one bunk. ;
"Oh no!Henry's sleeping with me!" protested another, ;
yanking him toward another bunk. ;
A third child elbowed his way in, and Henry flopped to the floor. ;
Before he could crawl under one of the beds,a pillow fight broke out. ;
Thwack!A pillow smacked into Henry's face.He barked.Loud! ;
Mrs Washburn came scurrying down the hallway. ;
The children scattered into their beds. ;
"Why,Henry!"scolded Mrs Washburn."You never barked like that before! ;
Quiet down,or the children will never get to sleep!" ;
On Sunday there was no park or classical orchestra. ;
No cool and fragrant grass. ;
Just the Washburn's backyard with its dandelion clumps ;
and creaky swings and a fort made out of empty cardboard boxes. ;
The children wrestled with Henry. ;
They scratched his ears and tied an old red Christmas ribbon around his neck. ;
They tried to make him chase the cat next door. ;
Baby Washburn even kissed him--a big, sloppy,wet, ;
straw-berry-lollipop kiss,right on the nose. ;
Later,when Baby toppled over onto Henry's tail,they both cried: ;
"Yeeeeooooooow!" Mrs Washburn poked her head out of the back door. ;
"Don't hurt Baby, Henry." Days,weeks, months passed. ;
Henry learned to put up with pillow fights and strawberry kisses. ;
He learned to ignore the neighbour's cat ;
and to wriggle Christmas ribbons off his neck. ;
He even learned to eat steamy ham bones. ;
And then one day everything changed. Just.Like.That. ;
Professor Penrose returned.The long black limousine ;
came to take Henry back to the professor's fine stone house. ;
The Washburn children gathered on their front porch. ;
Tears streamed down their cheeks. "Good-bye,Henry," they sniffled sadly. ;
"Good-bye!" That evening,after being groomed by Miss Fifi ;
(who kept sighing over the tangles in his coat) ;
and after being fed two plump, perfectly grilled lamb chops, ;
(in his own monogrammed dish.) ;
Henry climbed into his furlined basket in front of the fireplace. ;
He yawned.He laid his head on his front paws.He closed his eyes. ;
But he did not go to sleep.Something was wrong. ;
Everything was so quiet,so peaceful. Too quiet.Too peaceful. ;
Henry climbed out of his basket. ;
He nudged open the front door ;
and headed down the road to the Washburn house. ;
At first he walked properly,as he had been taught.Then he ran. ;
When he arrived,he scratched at the door. ;
Mrs Washburn opened it."Why,it's you, Henry.Welcome home!" ;
Henry dashed up the stairs and into the children's bedroom. ;
It was dark.Thwack! A pillow smacked into his face. ;
Henry ducked under one of the beds. He smelled the faint scent of strawberry, ;
and as he drifted off to sleep,he was thinking to himself: ;
You have the life, Henry my boy.You have the life. ;
