$课文50 乘车兜风
510. I love travelling in the country, but I don't like losing my way.
我喜欢在乡间旅行，但却不愿意迷路。
511. I went on an excursion recently, but my trip took me longer than I expected.
最近我作了一次短途旅行，但这次旅行所花费的时间比我预计的要长。
512. 'I'm going to Woodford Green,' I said to the conductor as I got on the bus,' but I don't know where it is.'
“我要去伍德福德草地，”我一上车就对售票员说，“但我不知道它在那儿。”
513. 'I'll tell you where to get off. 'answered the conductor.
“我来告诉您在哪儿下车，”售票员回答说。
514. I sat in the front of the bus to get a good view of the countryside.
我坐在汽车的前部，以便饱览农村风光。
515. After some time, the bus stopped.
过了一些时候，车停了。
516. Looking round, I realized with a shock that I was the only passenger left on the bus.
我环视了一下身旁，惊奇地发现车里就只剩我一个乘客了。
517. 'You'll have to get off here, 'the conductor said. 'This is as far as we go.'
“您得在这里下车，”售票员说，“我们的车就到此为止了。”
518. 'Is this Woodford Green?' I asked.
“这里是伍德福德草地吗？”我问道。
519. 'Oh dear,' said the conductor suddenly. 'I forgot to put you off.'
“哎呀，”售票员突然说，“我忘了让您下车了。”
520. 'It doesn't matter,' I said. 'I'll get off here.'
“没关系，”我说，“我就在这儿下吧。”
521. 'We're going back now,' said the conductor.
“我们现在要返回去，”售票员说。
522. 'Well, in that case, I prefer to stay on the bus,' I answered.
“好吧，既然如此，我还是留在车上吧。”我回答说。
$课文51 对美德的奖赏
523. My friend, Hugh, has always been fat, but things got so bad recently that he decided to go on a diet.
我的朋友休一直很胖，但是近来情况变得越发糟糕，以致他决定节食。
524. He began his diet a week ago.
他是一星期前开始节食的。
525. First of all, he wrote out a long list of all the foods which were forbidden.
首先，他开列了一张长长的单子，上面列了所有禁吃的食物。
526. The list included most of the things Hugh loves: butter, potatoes, rice, beer, milk, chocolate, and sweets.
这张单子上的大多数食物都是休喜欢吃的：黄油、土豆、米饭、啤酒、牛奶、巧克力和糖果。
527. Yesterday I paid him a visit. I rang the bell and was not surprised to see that Hugh was still as fat as ever.
昨天我去看望了他。我按响了门铃，当看到休仍和往常一样胖时，我并不感到惊奇。
528. He led me into his room and hurriedly hid a large parcel under his desk.
他把我领进屋，慌忙把一个大包藏到了桌子下面。
529. It was obvious that he was very embarrassed.
显然他感到很尴尬。
530. When I asked him what he was doing, he smiled guiltily and then put the parcel on the desk.
当我问他正干什么时，他内疚地笑了，然后把那个大包拿到了桌上。
531. He explained that his diet was so strict that he had to reward himself occasionally.
他解释说，他的饮食控制得太严格了，以致不得不偶尔奖赏自己一下。
532. Then he showed me the contents of the parcel.
接着他给我看了包里的东西。
533. It contained five large bars of chocolate and three bags of sweets!
里面装了5大块巧克力和3袋糖果！
$课文52 漂亮的地毯
534. We have just moved into a new house and I have been working hard all morning.
我们刚刚搬进一所新房子，我辛辛苦苦地干了整整一个上午。
535. I have been trying to get my new room in order.
我试图把我的新房间收拾整齐，
536. This has not been easy because I own over a thousand books.
但这并不容易，因为我有1,000多本书。
537. To make matters worse, the room is rather small, so I have temporarily put my books on the floor.
更糟糕的是房间还非常小，所以我暂时把书放在了地板上。
538. At the moment, they cover every inch of floor space and I actually have to walk on them to get in or out of the room.
这会儿，书把地板的每一点空隙都占据了，我实际上是踩着这些书进出房间的。
539. A short while ago, my sister helped me to carry one of my old bookcases up the stairs.
几分钟前，我妹妹帮我把一个旧书橱抬上了楼。
540. She went into my room and got a big surprise when she saw all those books on the floor.
她走进我的房间，当她看到地板上的那些书时，大吃一惊。“
541. 'This is the prettiest carpet I have ever seen,' she said.
这是我见过的最漂亮的地毯，”她说。
542. She gazed at it for some time then added,
她盯着“地毯”看了一会儿，又说：
543. You don't need bookcases at all. You can sit here in your spare time and read the carpet!
“你根本用不着书橱，空闲时你可以坐在这儿读地毯！”