全新版大学英语听说教程2 Unit09

2-9-A

Jack 1 was a six-year-old dog. It ate up two 100-dollar bills but returned them to his master Paul the natural way. The first bill was found the next morning, smelly and undamaged, followed by the second during an evening walk. When Paul got all the money back, he said: “The bills are slightly yellow and I think I'll clean them.”

2-9-B

A Belated Postcard

A postcard carrying a George V stamp has mysteriously arrived at its destination at least 63 years after it was first posted.

The card was sent to a baker 2 named Richard Price of South Wales, before the outbreak of the Second World War. it was delivered to a van hire company last week, which is the current owner of the High Street house formerly 3 used by the baker. After an appeal in the local newspaper to discover who the Mr. Richard Price of the address really was, a puzzled Mrs. Meyrick came forward.

Pam Meyrick, who is 66 years old, is a granddaughter of the baker. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the address and the name. "My grandfather died in 1970 at the age of 92," she said. "The card carries a halfpenny stamp with George V's head on it. I just don't know how it was delivered. Seeing his name brings it all back to me. But it baffled me to understand where the card, which is in mint condition, has been all this time." She said that the unexplained postcard will become a treasured keepsake to her and her family.

The card was sent from Birmingham by a salesman for a fruit essence maker 4. On the card it says: "Our Mr. Gwyn Thomas will have the pleasure of waiting upon you in a few days."

A spokeswoman for the Royal Mail said it was unlikely that the postcard was delivered by a postman. "There is a slim chance it could have slipped through the system but I don't think the postman would have missed the stamp," she said. "We'll certainly look into the matter."

2-9-C

A Broken Tube

One morning I was sitting in a junior college classroom listening to a sociology professor explain why he thought corporal punishment for disobedient children was a great idea. He suggested that "bad" children should be offered the opportunity to choose the instrument of punishment for themselves, from a selection of belts, switches, and sticks. I couldn't believe my ears at this. I was so angry that without thinking, I raised my hand and asked the professor if he beat his wife as well as he beat his children. A tense silence swept through the classroom at that moment. The professor and I were glaring at each other. Both of us were speechless and shaking with rage. We were all waiting for something to snap. But before either of us could react to the horrible situation, the light in the enclosed ceiling box directly over my head shattered. Broken but untouched! You could see fragments of glass lying on the plastic window of the box. Everybody jumped at the little explosion. And startle turned immediately to laughter. The spell of anger was broken. And the professor finished his lecture and sent us all home early. The event was never discussed in class.