1、 A private conversation 私人谈话
Last week I went to the theatre. I had a very good seat.? The play was very interesting. I did not enjoy it.? A young man and a young woman were sitting behind me. They were talking loudly. I got very angry. I could not hear the actors. I turned round. I looked at the man and the woman angrily. They did not pay any attention. In the end, I could not bear it. I turned round again. 'I can't hear a word!' I said angrily.? ‘It’s none of your business,' the young man said rudely. 'This is a private conversation!'.
上星期我去看戏。我的座位很好，戏很有意思，但我却无法欣赏。一青年男子与一青年女子坐在我的身后，大声地说着话。我非常生气，因为我听不见演员在说什么。我回过头去怒视着那一男一女，他们却毫不理会。最后，我忍不住了，又一次回过头去，生气地说：“我一个字也听不见了！” “不关你的事，”那男的毫不客气地说，“这是私人间的谈话！”
2、 Breakfast or lunch? 早餐还是午餐？
?It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays. I sometimes stay in bed until lunch time.
Last Sunday I got up very late. I looked out of the window. It was dark outside.
'What a day!' I thought. 'It's raining again.' Just then, the telephone rang. It was my aunt Lucy.' I've just arrived by train,' she said. 'I'm coming to see you.' 'But I'm still having breakfast,' I said.
'What are you doing?' she asked. ‘I’m having breakfast,' I repeated.
'Dear me,' she said. 'Do you always get up so late? It's one o'clock!''
那是个星期天，而在星期天我是从来不早起的，有时我要一直躺到吃午饭的时候。上个星期天，我起得很晚。我望望窗外，外面一片昏暗。“鬼天气！”我想，“又下雨了。”正在这时，电话铃响了。是我姑母露西打来的。“我刚下火车，”她说，“我这就来看你。”
“但我还在吃早饭，”我说。
“你在干什么？”她问道。
“我正在吃早饭，”我又说了一遍。
“天啊，”她说，“你总是起得这么晚吗？现在已经1点钟了！”
3、 Please send me a card 请给我寄一张明信片
Postcards always spoil my holidays. Last summer, I went to Italy. I visited museums and sat in public gardens. A friendly waiter taught me a few words of?Italian. 'Then he lent me a book. I read a few lines, but I did not understand a word. Every day I thought about postcards. My holidays passed quickly, but I did not send any cards to my friends. On the last day I made a big decision. I got up early and bought thirty-seven cards. I spent the whole day in my room, but I did not write a single card!
明信片总搅得我假日不得安宁。去年夏天，我去了意大利。我参观了博物馆，还去了公园。一位好客的服务员教了我几句意大利语，之后还借给我一本书。我读了几行，但一个字也不懂。我每天都想着明信片的事。假期过得真快，可我还没有给我的朋友们寄过一张明信片。到了最后一天，我作出了一项重大决定。我早早起了床，买来了37张明信片。我在房间里关了整整一天。然而竟连一张明信片也没写成！
4、 An exciting trip 激动人心的旅行
I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has already visited a great number of different places in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin. From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad before, so he is finding this trip very exciting.
?我刚刚收到弟弟蒂姆的来信，他正在澳大利亚。他在那儿已经住了6个月了。蒂姆是个工程师，正在一家大公司工作，并且已经去过澳大利亚的不少地方了。他刚买了一辆澳大利亚小汽车，现在去了澳大利亚中部的小镇艾利斯斯普林斯。他不久还将到达达尔文去，从那里，他再飞往珀斯。我弟弟以前从未出过国，因此，他觉得这次旅行非常激动人心。
5、 No wrong numbers 无错号之虞
Mr. James Scott has a garage in Silbury and now he has just bought another garage in Pinhurst. Pinhurst is only five miles from Silbury, but Mr. Scott cannot get a telephone for his new garage, so he has just bought twelve pigeons. Yesterday, a pigeon carried the first message from Pinhurst to Silbury. The bird covered the distance in three minutes. Up to now, Mr. Scott has sent a great many requests for spare parts and other urgent messages from one garage to the other. In this way, he has begun his own private telephone service.
詹姆斯.斯科特先生在锡尔伯里有一个汽车修理部，现在他刚在平赫斯特买了另一个汽车修理部。平赫特离锡尔伯里只有5英里，但詹姆斯.斯科特先生未能为他新的汽车修理部搞到一部电话机，所以他买了只鸽子。昨天，一只鸽子把第一封信从平赫特带到锡尔伯里。这只鸟只用了3分钟就飞完了全程。到目前为止，斯科特先生从一个汽车修理部向另一个发送了大量索取备件的信件和其他紧急函件。就这样，他开始自己的私人“电话”业务。
6 、Percy Buttons 珀西·巴顿斯
I have just moved to a house in Bridge Street. Yesterday a beggar knocked at my door. He asked me for a meal and a glass of beer. In return for this, the beggar stood on his head and sang songs. I gave him a meal. He ate the food and drank the beer. Then he put a piece of cheese in his pocket and went away. Later a neighbor told me about him. Everybody knows him. His name is Percy Buttons. He calls at every house in the street once a month and always asks for a meal and a glass of beer.
?我刚刚搬进了大桥街的一所房子。昨天一个乞丐来敲我的门，问我要一顿饭和一杯啤酒。作为回报，那乞丐头顶地倒立起来，嘴里还唱着歌。我给了他一顿饭。他把食物吃完，又喝了酒。然后把一块乳酪装进衣袋里走了。后来，一位邻居告诉了我他的情况。大家都认识他，他叫珀西.巴顿斯。他每月对这条街上的每户人家光顾一次，总是请求给他一顿饭和一杯啤酒。
参考资料：摘自新概念英语第二册