英语口语教程(初级) UNIT 36-37

[00:00.00] Oral Workshop:    Reproduction     Lesson 36-37 ;

[00:13.99]  Lesson 36 ;

[00:15.99]    Text A   Three Wishes ;

[00:20.30]Once upon a time,there lived a woodman and his wife. ;

[00:25.53]They were very poor, and they lived in a cottage on the edge of a forest. ;

[00:31.53]Every day,the wood-man would set out early in the morning to chop down trees. ;

[00:38.61]As the woodman was traveling through the forest one day, ;

[00:42.76]he saw a fine old oak tree."That will make plenty of planks," he thought, ;

[00:49.53]as he felt the blade of his axe to make sure it was sharp. ;

[00:54.92]He was about to strike the tree with the axe, ;

[00:58.61]when he heard someone crying out:"Please don't hurt this tree." ;

[01:04.15]The woodman looked around him and saw a tiny fairy. ;

[01:09.22]"If you do not hurt this tree,"she said, ;

[01:12.61]"I will grant you and your wife three wishes." ;

[01:16.92]"I won't hurt the tree,"said the woodman kindly. ;

[01:21.38]Then the fairy vanished!That evening,the woodman walked slowly home. ;

[01:28.92]He was feeling very hungry and could not wait for his supper. ;

[01:33.68]"Is my supper ready?" the woodman asked his wife. ;

[01:38.61]"Not for at least two hours,"replied his wife. ;

[01:42.45]So the woodman sat in a chair by the fire. ;

[01:46.45]"I wish I had a big black sausage to eat right now,"he sad out loud. ;

[01:51.99]And suddenly,a delicious sausage appeared on the table before him! ;

[01:57.99]"Why has that black sausage suddenly appeared?"the wood- man's wife asked. ;

[02:03.68]So the woodman told his wife the story about the fairy. ;

[02:07.84]But his wife was very angry. ;

[02:10.76]"You have wasted the first of our wishes, "she said crossly. ;

[02:15.68]"I wish that sausage wear on your nose!" ;

[02:19.38]And with that,the sausage jumped up and stuck fast on the woodman's nose. ;

[02:25.53]His wife could not pull it off and nor could he, ;

[02:29.68]so the only thing to do was to wish it on the table again,wh- ich the woodman did. ;

[02:36.45]What a waste of three wishes! ;

[02:39.68]The only thing the woodman had was a good supper of black sausage. ;

[02:47.68]    Text B  They Threatened Me    With a Knife ;

[02:54.15] POLICE INSPECTOR:  Good evening,sir. ;

[02:56.76]  I understand that   you have been   robbed. ;

[02:59.22]MR LEE:I certainly   have. P.I.:When did this   happen? ;

[03:03.99]MR LEE:About two   hours ago. P.I.:Why didn't you   report it before? ;

[03:09.38]MR LEE:I couldn't.   I was bound and   gagged. ;

[03:13.22]P.I.:Please tell   me exactly what   happened. ;

[03:16.30]MR LEE:I was sitting   in this room ;

[03:18.91]  watching television   when someone knocked   on the door.Without   thinking,I opened it ;

[03:25.48]P.I.:That wasn't   very wise,sir. ;

[03:28.45]MR LEE:I know.I was  expecting my wife,  you see,and thought  it was her. ;

[03:33.89]P.I.:You should   never open a door   without looking   to see who it is. ;

[03:38.35]MR LEE:Yes,I know.   I regret it very   much. P.I.:What happened? ;

[03:44.55]MR LEE:Two men pushed   into the flat.One of   them threatened me   with a knife ;

[03:50.09]  while the other   bound and gagged   me. ;

[03:52.91]P.I.:Did you get a   good look at them? ;

[03:55.94]MR LEE:I'm afraid   not.They were both   wearing stockings   over their faces. ;

[04:01.37]P.I.What did they   take? ;

[04:03.53]MR LEE:My wallet,   with $ 200 in it,   my wristwatch, ;

[04:08.30]  some of my wife's   jewellery from our   bedroom,and a silver   photoframe. ;

[04:13.89]P.I.:They don't seem   to have done much   damage to the flat. MR LEE:No. ;

[04:18.81]  They had just begun   to search when the   dogs next door   began to bark. ;

[04:23.68]  They ran off then   leaving me bound   and gagged. ;

[04:27.94]  It was some time   before my wife   returned and   released me. ;

[04:32.45]  I phoned the   police at once. ;

[04:35.17]P.I.:My men began   searching the area   as soon as we   received your call. ;

[04:40.86]  I can't promise you   that we'll recover   your property ;

[04:44.19]  but we'll certainly   do our best. ;

[04:49.42]7.Read the following   passage once. ;

[04:55.68]Underline the key words while reading and retell the story to your partner. ;

[05:02.09]Now I know why birds sit on telephone lines.They listen. ;

[05:07.58]I am either nine or ten years old.At the orphanage they call me Miguel. ;

[05:14.30]When I want to feel important, I say,"Call me Don Miguel." ;

[05:19.58]I used to act important all the time because I felt I wasn't. ;

[05:24.71]Back then,no one liked me very much because I didn't like other people. ;

[05:31.22]But last year,I began to learn two important things: ;

[05:36.50]I was learning to see, not just look.And I was learning to listen,not just hear. ;

[05:44.65]I used to lie in the dark and make up relatives that I didn't have. ;

[05:50.09]My favorite relative was a nice old man who spoke Spanish, like me. ;

[05:56.29]One day a man came to see me.He said he was my uncle. ;

[06:02.71]"I don't have an uncle "I said."Now you do," he said. ;

[06:08.45]He was an old man who liked children. He had a boy once who went to Korea. ;

[06:15.63]His daughter moved to the City. ;

[06:18.70]He said the City can be a difficult place in which to live. ;

[06:23.27]He taught me how to see and listen. I don't know if he is my uncle or not; ;

[06:30.55]neither did he,but he came to see me often. ;

[06:35.06]I guess if you act like an uncle all the time,you are one. ;

[06:40.14]I was not a good student before my uncle came along. ;

[06:44.86]He took me walking in the fields. ;

[06:47.68]At one point he spread his arms and said,"It is all here." ;

[06:53.88]"What?"I said. "Everything you need to know."he replied. ;

[07:00.45]At first it appeared to be nothing more than just a few trees. ;

[07:05.73]I thought I was nowhere.Then he had me close my eyes. ;

[07:11.47]First I heard the breeze in the grass, then in the trees. ;

[07:16.60]I also heard a faraway train and a barking dog. ;

[07:22.14]For a while I heard nothing.I was almost scared. ;

[07:28.04]He said to listen harder.I heard my heart beat. ;

[07:34.24]Because I used to be so sad,I had almost forgotten that I had a heart. ;

[07:40.96]Once I asked him who he was. "An experiment," he said. ;

[07:47.99]"What kind of an experiment?" I said. He grinned and said, "Nobody knows. ;

[07:56.50]Like you,there is no one in the world like me. ;

[08:01.22]So who is to say what I will be." ;

[08:05.01]One day in the field he showed me the way the breeze made the trees move. ;

[08:10.60]The rustling of the leaves made a sound that frightened a nearby bird. ;

[08:15.83]It flew away.We watched the bird drop an acorn. ;

[08:21.21]"The bird,"he said, "can make a seed move. ;

[08:25.68]From that seed the oak can grow fifty feet tall. ;

[08:30.65]It will be a friend to those who want one." ;

[08:34.29]I always knew that trees were there, ;

[08:37.27]but I never knew they were real like me.One sunday I was angry. ;

[08:44.14]When my uncle came, I said:"I don't have anything.I wish I had something." ;

[08:51.68]"You have everything worth having,"he said. "And I will give you even more. ;

[08:59.33]I will give some secrets of the Universe. ;

[09:01.52]Do you believe me?" "Yes,"I said,wanting to believe him. ;

[09:07.57]He gave me three small seeds. ;

[09:11.27]"Put each seed into a small box filled with dirt. ;

[09:15.52]Then care for them. Talk to them if you wish. ;

[09:20.14]They will grow with you." Now they are in larger boxes. ;

[09:25.47]One of the plants has grown up to my knee. ;

[09:28.55]I sometimes wonder what else it is up to. ;

[09:32.39]Another time we were walking in the field ;

[09:35.52]when we saw two birds on a telephone line. ;

[09:38.80]They seemed so peaceful.Then suddenly they flew away. ;

[09:44.14]My uncle just laughed. ;

[09:47.06]"See,"he said. "Someone said something they didn't like. ;

[09:52.09]Be careful what you tell the birds." ;

[09:55.57]One night I passed by the office of the orphanage. ;

[09:59.57]A man I don't like very much was on the phone.He was angry and loud. ;

[10:05.98]When he left,I went into the office and picked up the phone. ;

[10:11.37]I heard the funniest sound."Listen,"I said. ;

[10:16.90]"Listen,birds.Come on back,never mind what he says.We like you." ;

[10:24.29]One day Uncle did not come.I waited and waited but he did not come. ;

[10:32.14]The man I don't like at the orphanage said Uncle was sick. ;

[10:37.26]"May I go and see him?"I asked."No," he said."He may be contagious." ;

[10:45.01]"May I call him?" "No,"he said."I'll call him for you." ;

[10:51.42]"Don't do that," I said."Why not?" "You'll make the birds fly away." ;

[10:58.96]I sneaked into the office one night and called Uncle. ;

[11:04.03]"Are you all right?" I asked."Yes,but I must go away." ;

[11:10.44]"Why?""To make room for something else." "Will you come back?" ;

[11:18.34]"I will help you remember me,if you want me to." "I do...I do..." ;

[11:25.52]When I went to bed at night,I would try to imagine that he was there. ;

[11:31.11]He was harder and harder to see.One night,he was not there at all. ;

[11:38.85]There was only a green field.I went back to our field. ;

[11:45.00]It was raining.The sky was dark,the way I was inside. ;

[11:51.62]I looked for Uncle everywhere.I called his name.I was angry for a while. ;

[11:59.62]I said some things out loud that I shouldn't have said. ;

[12:04.49]Two birds flew out of the tree.I made them get wet. ;

[12:10.80]On the way back,I saw something that was only an inch or two tall. ;

[12:17.26]It was where that bird dropped the acorn. ;

[12:20.70]I didn't tell anybody, but I knew.Someday Uncle will be fifty feet tall. ;

[12:31.06]    Lesson 37 ;

[13:04.13]    Text A   Do You Know     Who I Am? ;

[13:09.26]Mr Smith is well known in Washington because of his many social blunders. ;

[13:16.44]He always likes to attend the various social functions ;

[13:20.95]because he wants to expand his circle of friends. ;

[13:24.85]Whenever he is invited he goes,unless he is ill. ;

[13:29.98]Recently he received an invitation to a fashionable banquet. ;

[13:36.03]Although he did not know the hostess,he accepted the invitation. ;

[13:42.39]He was secretly very pleased, ;

[13:45.62]because he felt that his reputation as a desirable guest was growing. ;

[13:50.95]When he arrived at the banquet hall, ;

[13:53.98]he found that about one hundred people had been invited. ;

[13:58.64]He began to move around the hall. ;

[14:01.47]He spoke to other guests whether he knew them or not. ;

[14:06.44]He soon realized that he had never met any of the other people present, ;

[14:11.93]although they seemed to know each other. ;

[14:14.69]At dinner,he was seated beside a very dignified woman. ;

[14:20.44]The woman tried to be friendly even though she had never met Mr Smith before. ;

[14:26.54]She spoke politely, whenever he spoke to her. ;

[14:31.31]Between the first and second course of the meal,she turned to Mr Smith and said ;

[14:37.98]"Do you see that gray-haired man at the end of the table? ;

[14:42.59]The one with the glasses." "Ah,yes. Who is he?"asked Mr Smith. ;

[14:49.82]"He's the Secretary of the Interior!" she replied. ;

[14:54.39]Mr Smith said:"So that's the Secretary of the Interior! ;

[14:59.77]I'm afraid that I find very little to admire about him, ;

[15:04.13]although he is the Secretary."The woman stiffened and did not reply. ;

[15:10.95]Smith continued in spite of her coldness. ;

[15:14.90]"I really can't see how he received his appointment, ;

[15:18.80]unless he is perhaps a relative of the President." ;

[15:22.90]"It hardly matters whether you like the Secretary or not,"she said. ;

[15:27.98]"He was chosen because the President thought he was the man for the job. ;

[15:32.54]If he does the job well,you should have no complaint." ;

[15:37.46]"That's just it," persisted Smith. ;

[15:40.85]"No one does the things he does, unless he is a complete fool!" ;

[15:45.77]"Sir!"said the woman in all her dignity. ;

[15:50.80]"Do you know who I am?" "No,"replied Smith. ;

[15:56.33]"I am the Secretary's wife,"she said coldly. ;

[16:00.64]Mr Smith was flabbergasted,but he went on in spite of his embarrassment. ;

[16:07.21]"Madam,do you know who I am?" "No,I don't,"the woman replied. ;

[16:14.39]"Thank goodness!" exclaimed Mr Smith, as he quickly left the table. ;

[16:21.46]    Text B   Hands Up! ;

[16:26.90]This was the conversation in the expensive shop in London. ;

[16:31.82]  A man and a woman   walked in and... ;

[16:35.92]SALESMAN:Can I help you? ;

[16:37.36]WOMAN:Yes,we're   looking for a   watch.It's for   me. ;

[16:42.28]SALESMAN:I see.   What price are   you interested   in? ;

[16:45.82]MAN:The price   doesn't matter.   But it must be   a gold watch. ;

[16:49.97]WOMAN:And automatic.   I must have an   automatic watch! ;

[16:54.54]SALESMAN:Hmm ...   something like   this,perhaps. ;

[16:58.13]  It's one of our   best watches.Made   in Switzerland. ;

[17:02.44]  Fully automatic.With   a calendar and... ;

[17:05.82]MAN:It's nice...   but haven't you   got anything   better? ;

[17:09.41]SALESMAN:Better?   Better than this? ;

[17:12.23]Well,we have some Orly de luxe watches... ;

[17:15.77]probably the best watch in the world. ;

[17:18.59]But I'm afraid they're far more expensive than this one.They cost ... ;

[17:23.92]MAN:Would you show   us one,please? ;

[17:25.92]WOMAN:Yes,could we   see one of them,   please? ;

[17:29.10]SALESMAN:They're   in the manager's   office.You see,we   don't... ;

[17:33.56]MAN:Could you   possibly get   one or two of   them now? ;

[17:36.43]SALESMAN:Er ... yes,   of course.Would   you wait here for   a moment.Please? ;

[17:42.79]MANAGER:Come in. SALESMAN:Mr Crawford   I have two customers   who... ;

[17:48.08]WOMAN:All right!   Hands up!Stand   over there! ;

[17:51.87]MANAGER and SALESMAN:   What in the world... ;

[17:53.25]MAN:Shut up!And open   that safe!Come on!   Open it! ;

[17:57.92]MANAGER:I... I can't  open it. ;

[18:00.49]MAN:What do you   mean?You must   open it. ;

[18:03.51]MANAGER:You told me   to put my hands   up. ;

[18:06.02]How can I open the safe with my hands up? ;

[18:10.13]7.Read the following   passage once. ;

[18:15.97]Underline the key words while reading and retell the story to your partner. ;

[18:23.61]Henry D.Penrose was a dog with a pedigree. ;

[18:28.23]He lived in a fine stone house with white marble steps ;

[18:33.05]and red velvet drapes on every window. ;

[18:36.79]His owner,Professor Randolph Penrose, was quite rich. ;

[18:43.31]Each morning Henry was driven to Obe- dience School in a long black limousine ;

[18:50.59]Each afternoon he was fed two grilled lamb chops for lunch. ;

[18:56.69]Each evening he fell asleep in his furlined basket in front of the fireplace. ;

[19:04.28]On Saturdays he was groomed at Miss Fifi's Shop. ;

[19:09.36]And on Sundays he accompanied the professor to the park, ;

[19:13.82]where a classical orchestra played soothing music ;

[19:17.51]and the grass was cool and fragrant. ;

[19:21.36]Professor Penrose would stroke Henry's shiny coat and say, ;

[19:27.15]"You have the life, Henry my boy!" And Henry certainly had to agree. ;

[19:33.10]Then one day it all changed.Just.Like. That. ;

[19:38.59]Professor Penrose received a telegram ;

[19:42.28]offering him a chance to dig for dinosaur bones in Idaho. ;

[19:47.15]For one entire year. There was only one problem. ;

[19:52.84]The telegram stated quite firmly in the largest letters possible: ;

[19:58.38]NO PETS ALLOWED!The cook,Mrs Washburn, ;

[20:03.76]agreed to take Henry to her home until the professor returned. ;

[20:09.71]Professor Penrose hated to send Henry to live on the other side of the city. ;

[20:15.77]There were no marble steps or red velvet drapes on Mrs Washburn's property. ;

[20:22.23]But Henry was buttoned into his red plaid coat ;

[20:26.33]and driven to the Washburn residence. Henry stepped out of the limousine. ;

[20:33.10]He was so shocked that his ears stuck out like two car doors. ;

[20:38.69]Such an untidy home he had never seen. ;

[20:42.53]It was all he could do to maintain a sense of dignity. ;

[20:47.56]He was picking his way through the toys on the muddy front steps ;

[20:52.84]when a tumble of children spilled onto the porch, ;

[20:56.43]scooped him up,and before you could say "one-two". ;

[21:01.05]Henry was deposited in a sea of soap bubbles in the Washurn bathtub. ;

[21:07.61]Each time he tried to jump out,little hands pushed him back in. ;

[21:13.61]"Don't be too rough, children,"said Mrs Washburn. ;

[21:17.61]"Henry isn't used to such fun." ;

[21:20.63]Dinner that evening was a big steamy ham bone. ;

[21:25.10]Bits of cabbage fell from it as one of the children ;

[21:29.46]tossed it from the pot to Henry.What! thought Henry. No plate? ;

[21:35.71]He wondered if he'd ever see a grilled lamb chop again. ;

[21:40.28]By bedtime,Henry was exhausted.His fur- lined basket had been left behind. ;

[21:48.33]Where would he sleep? ;

[21:50.43]Just then two of the children carried him off to a room with three bunk beds ;

[21:57.15]"Henry's sleeping with me!"announced one child,puling him to one bunk. ;

[22:02.94]"Oh no!Henry's sleeping with me!" protested another, ;

[22:07.56]yanking him toward another bunk. ;

[22:10.17]A third child elbowed his way in, and Henry flopped to the floor. ;

[22:16.43]Before he could crawl under one of the beds,a pillow fight broke out. ;

[22:22.17]Thwack!A pillow smacked into Henry's face.He barked.Loud! ;

[22:28.63]Mrs Washburn came scurrying down the hallway. ;

[22:32.89]The children scattered into their beds. ;

[22:36.22]"Why,Henry!"scolded Mrs Washburn."You never barked like that before! ;

[22:42.07]Quiet down,or the children will never get to sleep!" ;

[22:46.74]On Sunday there was no park or classical orchestra. ;

[22:51.92]No cool and fragrant grass. ;

[22:54.84]Just the Washburn's backyard with its dandelion clumps ;

[22:59.61]and creaky swings and a fort made out of empty cardboard boxes. ;

[23:05.45]The children wrestled with Henry. ;

[23:08.53]They scratched his ears and tied an old red Christmas ribbon around his neck. ;

[23:14.99]They tried to make him chase the cat next door. ;

[23:19.40]Baby Washburn even kissed him--a big, sloppy,wet, ;

[23:25.51]straw-berry-lollipop kiss,right on the nose. ;

[23:29.76]Later,when Baby toppled over onto Henry's tail,they both cried: ;

[23:35.56]"Yeeeeooooooow!" Mrs Washburn poked her head out of the back door. ;

[23:41.40]"Don't hurt Baby, Henry." Days,weeks, months passed. ;

[23:48.02]Henry learned to put up with pillow fights and strawberry kisses. ;

[23:54.74]He learned to ignore the neighbour's cat ;

[23:57.35]and to wriggle Christmas ribbons off his neck. ;

[24:01.04]He even learned to eat steamy ham bones. ;

[24:05.71]And then one day everything changed. Just.Like.That. ;

[24:11.30]Professor Penrose returned.The long black limousine ;

[24:16.63]came to take Henry back to the professor's fine stone house. ;

[24:21.66]The Washburn children gathered on their front porch. ;

[24:26.12]Tears streamed down their cheeks. "Good-bye,Henry," they sniffled sadly. ;

[24:32.38]"Good-bye!" That evening,after being groomed by Miss Fifi ;

[24:37.66](who kept sighing over the tangles in his coat) ;

[24:40.84]and after being fed two plump, perfectly grilled lamb chops, ;

[24:45.97](in his own monogrammed dish.) ;

[24:48.32]Henry climbed into his furlined basket in front of the fireplace. ;

[24:53.96]He yawned.He laid his head on his front paws.He closed his eyes. ;

[25:01.91]But he did not go to sleep.Something was wrong. ;

[25:06.07]Everything was so quiet,so peaceful. Too quiet.Too peaceful. ;

[25:12.63]Henry climbed out of his basket. ;

[25:15.60]He nudged open the front door ;

[25:17.91]and headed down the road to the Washburn house. ;

[25:21.45]At first he walked properly,as he had been taught.Then he ran. ;

[25:28.58]When he arrived,he scratched at the door. ;

[25:32.73]Mrs Washburn opened it."Why,it's you, Henry.Welcome home!" ;

[25:38.73]Henry dashed up the stairs and into the children's bedroom. ;

[25:43.50]It was dark.Thwack! A pillow smacked into his face. ;

[25:48.84]Henry ducked under one of the beds. He smelled the faint scent of strawberry, ;

[25:55.14]and as he drifted off to sleep,he was thinking to himself: ;

[25:59.86]You have the life, Henry my boy.You have the life. ;