新概念英语三课文(打印版)

Lesson 1 A Puma at large 潜逃的美洲狮Pumas are large,cat-like animals which are found in America.When reports came intoLondon Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London,they were nottaken seriously.However,as the evidence began to accumulate,experts from the Zoo felt obligedto investigate,for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma wereextraordinarily similar.The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw alarge cat only five yards away from her.Il immediately ran away when she saw it,and expertsconfirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.The search proveddifficult,for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twentymiles away in the evening.Wherever it went,it left behind it a trail of dead deer and smallanimals like rabbits.Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clingingto bushes.Several people complained of cat-like noises*at night and a businessman on a fishingtrip saw the puma up a tree.The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma,but where had it come from?As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country,this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.The hunt went on for several weeks,but the puma was not caught.It is disturbing to think that adangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.Lesson 2 Thirteen equals one 十三等于一Our vicar is always raising money for one cause or another,but he has never managed to getenough money to have the church clock repaired.The big clock which used to strike the hours dayand night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.One night,however,our vicar work up with a start:the clock was striking the hours!Lookingat his watch,he saw that it was one oclock,but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped.Armed with a torch,the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on.In thetorchlight,he caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins,our localgrocer.Whatever are you doing up here Bill?asked the vicar in surprise.Tm trying to repair the bell/answered Bill.Tve been coming up here night after night forweeks now.Ybu see,I was hoping to give you a surprise.1You certainly did give me a surprise!*said the vicar.Youve probably woken up everyone inthe village as well.Still,Im glad the bell is working again.1That*s the trouble,vicar/answered Bill.Its working all right,but Im afraid that at oneoclock it will strike thirteen times and theres nothing I can do about it.Well get used to that,Bill,said the vicar.Thirteen is not as good as one,but its better thannothing.Now lets go downstairs and have a cup of tea.1Lesson 3 An unknown goddess 无名女神Some time ago,and interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean islandof Kea.An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory ofAyia Irini.The city at one time must have been prosperous,for it enjoyed a high level ofcivilization.Houses-often three storeys high were built of stone.They had large rooms withbeautifully decorated walls.The city was equipped with a drainage system,for a great many claypipes were found beneath the narrow streets.The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from thefifteenth century B.C.until Roman times.In the most sacred room of temple,clay fragments offifteen statues were found.Each of these represented a goddess and had,at one time,been painted.The body of one statue was found among remains dating from the fifteenth century B.C.Itsmissing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C.This head must have beenfound in Classical times and carefully preserved.It was very old and precious even then.When thearchaeologists reconstructed the fragments,they were amazed to find that the goddess turned outto be a very modern-looking woman.She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips.She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground.Despite her great age,she was verygraceful indeed,but,so far,the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.Lesson 4 The double life of Alfred B loggs阿尔弗雷德.布洛格斯的双重生活These days,people who do manual work often receive far more money than people whowork in offices.People who work in offices are frequently referred to as white-collar workers*forthe simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work.Such is human nature,thata great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becomingwhite-collar workers.This can give rise to curious situations,as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggswho worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation.When he got married,Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job.Hesimply told her that he worked for the Corporation.Every morning,he l