告示，上面写着“切勿触摸展品，某些展品有危险！”展品都是些活动的雕像。人们所熟悉的是悬挂在天花板上、造型奇特、随风飘荡的雕塑品。这些展品却使人大开眼界。靠墙排列着许多细长的电线，而电线又连着金属球。金属球经过磁化，互相之间不停地相互吸引或相互排斥。展厅中央是装有彩色灯泡的许多高高的构件，灯泡一刻不停地闪烁着，就像失去了控制的红绿灯。小黑盒子里迸出火花，红色灯泡发怒似地忽明忽暗。这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。好像设计这些奇形怪状的展品不仅是为了给人感情上的强烈刺激，而且还想给人以电击似的！
lesson 19
a very dear cat
一条贵重的宝贝猫
listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
why was rastus 'very dear' in more ways than one?
kidnappers are rarely interested in animals, but they recently took considerable interest in mrs. eleanor ramsay's cat. mrs. eleanor ramsay, a very wealthy old lady, has shared a flat with her cat, rastus, for a great many years. rastus leads an orderly life. he usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o'clock. one evening, however, he failed to arrive. mrs. ramsay got very worried. she looked everywhere for him but could not find him.
there days after rastus' disappearance, mrs. ramsay received an anonymous letter. the writer stated that rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if mrs. ramsay paid a ransom of $1,000. mrs. ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door. at first she decided to go to the police, but fearing that she would never see rastus again -- the letter had made that quite clear -- she changed her mind. she withdrew $1000 from her bank and followed the kidnapper's instructions. the next morning, the box had disappeared but mrs. ramsay was sure that the kidnapper would keep his word. sure enough, rastus arrived punctually at seven o'clock that evening. he looked very well though he was rather thirsty, for he drank half a bottle of milk. the police were astounded when mrs. ramsay told them what she had done. she explained that rastus was very dear to her. considering the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one!
new words and expressions 生词和短语
dear
adj. 亲爱的，珍贵的；昂贵的
kidnapper
n. 绑架者，拐骗者
considerable
adj. 相当大的
wealthy
adj. 富的，有钱的
orderly
adj. 有规律的
disappearance
n. 失踪
anonymous
adj. 匿名的
ransom
n. 赎金
cardboard
n. 硬纸板
withdraw(withdrew, withdrawn)
v. （从银行）取钱
punctually
adv. 准时地
astound
v. 使吃惊
参考译文
绑架者很少对动物感兴趣。最近，绑架者却盯上了埃莉诺.拉姆齐太太的猫。埃莉诺.拉姆齐太太是一个非常富有的老妇人，多年来，一直同她养的猫拉斯一起住在一所公寓里。拉斯特斯生活很有规律，傍晚常常出去溜达一会儿，并且总是在7点钟以前回来。可是，有一天晚上，它出去后再也没回来。拉姆齐太太急坏了，四处寻找，但没有找着。
拉斯特斯失踪3天后，拉姆齐太太收到一封匿名信。写信人声称拉斯特斯安然无恙，只要拉姆齐太太愿意支付1,000 英镑赎金，可以立即将猫送还。他让拉姆齐太太把钱放在一个纸盒里，然后将纸盒放在门口。一开始拉姆齐太太打算报告警察，但又害怕再也见不到拉斯特斯——这点，信上说得十分明白——于是便改变了主意。她从银行取出1,000 英镑，并照绑架者的要求做了。第二天早晨，放钱的盒子不见了。但拉姆齐太太确信绑架者是会履行诺言的。果然，当天晚上7点正，拉斯特斯准时回来了。它看上去一切正常，只是口渴得很，喝了半瓶牛奶。拉姆齐太太把她所做的事告诉了警察，警察听后大为吃惊。拉姆齐太太解释说她心疼她的猫拉斯特斯。想到她所花的那笔钱，她的心疼就具有双重意义了。
lesson 20
pioneer pilots
飞行员的先驱
listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
what was the name of the first plane to fly across the english channel?
in 1908 lord northcliffe offered a prize of $1,000 to the first man who would fly across the english channel. over a year passed before the first attempt was made. on july 19th, 1909, in the early morning, hubert latham took off from the french coast in his plane the 'antoinette iv.' he had travelled only seven miles across the channel when his engine failed and he was forced to land on sea. the 'antoinette' floated on the water until latham was picked up by a ship.
two days alter, louis bleriot arrived near calais with a plane called 'no. xi'. bleriot had been making planes since 1905 and this was his lattes model. a week before, he had completed a successful overland flight during which he covered twenty-six miles. latham, however, did not give up easily. he, too, arrived near calais on the same day with a new 'antoinette'. it looked as if there would be an exciting race across the channel. both planes were going to take off on july 25th, but latham failed to get up early enough, after making a short test flight at 4,15 a.m., bleriot set off half an hour later. his great flight lasted thirty-seven minutes. when he landed near dover, the first person to greet him was a local policeman. latham made another attempt a week later and got within half a mile of dover, but he was unlucky again. his engine failed and he landed on the sea for the second time.
new words and expressions 生词和短语
pioneer
n. 先驱
lord
n. 对（英国）贵族的尊称；勋爵
calais
n. 加来（法国港市）
overland
adj. 陆上的
参考译文
1908年，诺斯克利夫勋爵拿出1,000英镑，作为对第一个飞越英吉利海峡的人的奖励。然而一年多过去了才有人出来尝试。1909年7月19日凌晨，休伯特.莱瑟姆驾驶“安特瓦特4号”飞机从法国海岸起飞，但他只在海峡上空飞行7英里，引擎就发生了故障，他只好降落在海面上。“安特瓦特”号飞机在海上漂浮，后来有船经过，莱瑟姆方才获救。
两天之后，路易斯.布莱里奥驾驶一名为“11号”的飞机来到加来附近。布莱里奥从1905年起便开始研制飞机，“11号”飞机是他制作的最新型号。一周以前，他曾成功地进行了一次26英里的陆上飞行。但是莱瑟姆不肯轻易罢休。同一天，他驾驶一架新的“安特瓦特”号飞机来到了加来附近。看来会有一场激烈的飞越英吉利海峡的竞争。两天飞机都打算在7月25日起飞，但莱瑟姆那天起床晚了。布莱里奥凌晨4点15分作了一次短距离试飞，半小时后便正式出发了。他这次伟大的飞行持续37分钟。当他在多佛着陆后，第一个迎