New Concept English Two 24 64

$课文62  大火之后

650. Firemen had been fighting the forest for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control.

消防队员们同那场森林大火搏斗了将近3个星期才最后把火势控制住。

651. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around.

就在不久之前，参天大树还覆盖着方圆数英里的土地。

652. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills.

而现在，发热的地面上仍然升腾着烟雾，弥漫在荒凉的山丘上。

653. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction,

冬季即将来临，这些山丘对周围的村庄具有毁灭性的威胁，

654. for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well.

因为大雨不仅会冲走土壤，而且还会引起严重的水灾。

655. When the fire had at last been put out,

在大火最后被扑灭后，

656. the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly.

森林管理当局订购了好几吨一种生长迅速的特殊类型的草籽。

657. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes.

飞机把这种草籽大量地撒播在地上。

658. The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain.

飞机撒播近一个月后，开始下起雨来。

659. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root.

然而到那时，很多地方的草已经生了根。

660. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries, patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.

一片片的绿草开始出现在这片烧焦的土地上，代替了多少世纪以来一直生长在那里的参天大树。

$课文63  她并不觉得好笑

661. Jeremy Hampden has a large circle of friends and is very popular at parties.

杰里米.汉普登交际甚广，是各种聚会上深受大家欢迎的人。

662. Everybody admires him for his great sense of humour -- everybody, that is, except his six-year-old daughter, Jenny.

人人都钦佩他那绝妙的幽默感 -- 人人，就是说，除他6岁的女儿珍妮之外的每一个人。

663. Recently,one of Jeremy's closest friends asked him to make a speech at a wedding reception.

最近，杰里米的一个最亲密的朋友请他在一个婚礼上祝词。

664. This is the sort of thing that Jeremy loves.

这正是杰里米喜欢做的事情。

665. He prepared the speech carefully and went to the wedding with Jenny.

他认真准备了讲稿，带着珍妮一道去参加了婚礼。

666. he had included a large number of funny stories in the speech and, of course, it was a great success.

他的祝词里面加进了大量逗人的故事，自然大获成功。

667. As soon as he had finished, Jenny told him she wanted to go home.

他刚一讲完，珍妮就对他说她要回家。

668. Jeremy was a little disappointed by this but he did as his daughter asked.

这不免使杰里米有点扫兴，但他还是按照女儿的要求做了。

669. On the way home, he asked Jenny if she had enjoyed the speech.

在回家的路上，他问珍妮是否喜欢他的祝词。

670. To his surprise, she said she hadn't.

使他吃惊的是，她说她不喜欢。

671. Jeremy asked her why this was so and she told him that she did not like to see so many people laughing at him!

杰里米问他为何不喜欢，她说她不愿意看到那么多的人嘲笑他！

$课文64  海峡隧道

672. In 1858, a French engineer, Aime Thome de Gamond, arrived in England with a plan for a twenty-one-mile tunnel under the English Channel.

1858年，一位名叫埃梅.托梅.德.干蒙的法国工程师带着建造一条长21英里、穿越英吉利海陕的隧道计划到了英国。

673. He said that it would be possible to build a platform in the centre of the Channel.

他说，可以在隧道中央建造一座平台，

674. This platform would serve as a port and a railway station.

这座平台将用作码头和火车站。

675. The tunnel would be well-ventilated if tall chimneys were built above sea level.

如果再建些伸出海面的高大的烟囱状通风管，隧道就具备了良好的通风条件。

676. In 1860, a better plan was put forward by an Englishman, William Low.

1860年，一位名叫威廉.洛的英国人提出了一项更好的计划。

677. He suggested that a double railway-tunnel should be built.

他提议建一条双轨隧道，

678. This would solve the problem of ventilation, for if a train entered this tunnel, it would draw in fresh air behind it.

这样就解决了通风问题。因为如果有列火车开进隧道，它就把新鲜空气随之抽进了隧道。

679. Forty-two years later a tunnel was actually begun.

42年以后，隧道实际已经开始建了。

680. If, at the time, the British had not feared invasion, it would have been completed.

如果不是因为那时英国人害怕入侵，隧道早已建成了。

681. The world had to wait almost another 100 years for the Channel Tunnel.

世界不得不再等将近100年才看到海峡隧道竣工。

682. It was officially opened on March 7,1994, finally connecting Britain to the European continent.

它于1994年3月7日正式开通，将英国与欧洲大陆连到了一起。