Battle

This book records nearly all of the wars in history. The lavishly illustrated book takes readers in a visual journey through 5000 years of combat. Although all of the wars introduced in this book are not in detail, they give readers a general idea about the weapons used in wars and how combatants fight.

In the ancient warfare, solders rely on muscle power to fight against enemy. They learned to use sword, spear, and dagger. In order to protect themselves, they wore heavy iron armors in battles. Several kinds of armies they have are infantry, cavalry, and chariot. Emperors commonly deploy their troop in phalanx so that they march toward enemy in an irresistible torrent and defend imperviously as a fortress. They know the best way to conquer enemy is to siege their troops; therefore, tactics, such as routing enemies’ flanks or sending a covering force to the back of enemies’ troops are widely used. All the people in the ancient pay full attention to every battle because a losing battle may mean the enslavement by other countries. Some soldiers even believe the only purpose of life is to fight in battles and win.

In the middle ages, fortress and castles are broadly constructed, which makes invasion harder the before. Siege machines, such as ram, ballista, and catapult are built. There are three means to breach strongholds. To get over fortresses, soldiers climb up special ladders onto walls. To get through fortresses hundreds of soldiers push rams to knock doors open. To get under fortresses, engineers mine underground and dig tunnels. Mongol flourishes in the middle age. It strikes central Asia and penetrates deep into Europe. Soldiers of Mongol are skillful archers. A hail of unleashed arrows is enough to put enemy to flight. Once enemies’ heavy armored knights swarm forward, they avoid direct clash, give way before knights’ charge, but swiftly turn to outflank them. This smart tactic is one reason for Mongol’s conquest. Mongol’s soldiers are also known for their ferocity. They collect ears from fallen enemy and mount heads on lances. They sack every city they have conquered, tear down most of its building, and massacre slaves.

Great changes have taken place in the early modern warfare. Instead of construction of tall stonewall fortification; defenders have cannons and other missile weapons placed alongside walls to cover the approaches of besiegers. Besiegers have to adopt new tactic to dig zigzag trenches so as to prevent the exposure to direct fire. On the battlefield, commanders seek effective ways to deploy cannons and artillery. Soldiers armed with muskets substitute the knights charging with lances and swords. In the sea warfare, naval soldiers oaring galleys try to ram and board enemies’ ships although cannons are mounted on ships. Korean turtle ships with spiked plates deterring enemies from boarding prove formidable vessels and trounce Japanese army.

Two signs of modern warfare are the army’s functions and explosive technology. Soldiers receive serious discipline and are often punished. Recruits are trained to be proficient in using musket and artillery. Calvary remains the elite arm executing functions, such as screening, reconnaissance, and shock charge. The development of explosive technology also leads to the transformation of warfare. Muskets’ range and accuracy are greatly increased when spiral grooves inside the barrel making bullets spin are built. Machine guns and revolvers also come into existence. Artillery firing high explosive shells replaces the shoot of stone. Railroads revolutionize the speed of the transmission of mass armies. At sea, ironclad steam-driven battleships ended the reign of the wooden ships. The emergence of balloons and early aircraft raises warfare into sky.

The world war I begins with German’s aggression into Britain, France, and Russian and ends with the utter defeat of German. Modern industrial countries are able to manufacture firepower, such as artillery, machine guns, and rifles in a large scale and rapid speed. The maneuverable transportation can easily mobilize millions of soldiers to the front line in one week and keep the supply of munitions. War becomes cruder and fiercer. Soldiers are like grains reaped by machine guns. One gas assault usually leaves thousands of dead bodies strewing the battlefield. Trench warfare prevails. Soldiers wearing gas masks, ambushing in trenches, propping on their elbows, and firing machine guns must fight till the lose of the last blood because of such command, “a soldier who can no longer advance must guard the territory already held. No matter what the cost is, he must be killed where he stands rather than drawback.” Aerial spotter takes over the reconnaissance role. Bombers relentlessly bombard pivot cities and inflict huge casualties on enemy. Although German claims several victories of offensive and gains broad land at first, they prove incapable of inflicting massive casualties on allies without suffering similar losses themselves. Final allied counterattack forces German to accept the armistice term. Emperor of German abdicates and German becomes a republic.

World war II consists of two distinct conflicts, one fights in Europe and North Africa, the other in the pacific and Asia. The European war is a conflict of Hitler’s own making. The impact of economic depression allows Adolf Hitler’s nazi party to come into power. Hitler develops a tactic which combines air power and armored divisions to achieve rapid victory. Based on the heart of the tactic—speed and decisiveness, German concentrate their firepower to hit the enemies’ weakest point and exploit breakthroughs with maximum mobility. Tanks and aircrafts are key weapon enabling German to win the lightning war against Poland, Norway, and France. However, harsh winter weather slows down the speed of German’s invasion when German’s force infiltrates deeply into Stalingrad in Russian. Stubborn soviet soldiers clinging on fighting for every building demoralize German’s spearhead. The long lasting battle inside the ruined city makes German run out of supply, whereas reinforcement of soviet is ferried each night. Tortured by both attack and malnutrition, Germans finally withdraw from the city. The disembarking on the beach of Normandy lifts the curtain on the defeat of Germans. Soviet multiple rocket launchers known as stalin organ annihilate a considerable amount of defending Germans. Germany was defeated in the east and west. When nazi’s capital Berlin was occupied, Hitler committed suicide. The origin of the pacific war lay in Japan’s expansionist policies is Asia. Japan’s goals are to conquer china and Southeast Asia, creating a great Asia under Japanese control. However, us opposes Japanese invasion of china and forbids the oil transportation to Japan, which presents Japanese with two choices between abandoning imperial ambitions or fight a war against America. To stun American and give Japan time to consolidate its conquest in Asia and establish a defensive perimeter, Japan implements a risky plan—raiding the Pearl Harbor. Fast and highly maneuverable Japanese zero fighters skimming in a low altitude plunge from above and blast American ships and aircrafts. Despite the immense damage of us fleet, us carriers were out of port and fortunately survived. In Asia Japan successively conquered Hong Kong, Singapore, and Philippine and reach the peak of its expansion. Feeling the superiority of his naval aircrafts and pilots, Japanese army leader seek to advance in the pacific and draw us pacific fleet into battle. However, the success of code breaking provides us with details of Japanese plan. The midway battle is an overwhelming us victory, which marks a turning point in the pacific war. The subsequent sea battles are ended with the heavy lose of Japan. Because of the lost control over the sea and the certainty to be killed in the unequal air battle, elite Japanese pilots commit suicidal mission—using their aircrafts as flying bombs to crash into the deck of us warships so that they will at least not die in vain. After being dropped two atom bombs which devastate population and industry, Japan has no choice but to unconditionally surrender.

To such an unprecedented extent is the more advanced and mighty modern weapons being invented that it becomes a threat of the extinction of mankind when the world war III begins. In spite of this, regional warfare, civil conflicts, and terrorism never stop. The Iran-Iraq war, the event of 9.11, and the U.S. invasion of Iraq break dreams of eternal peace. Maybe more new wars will be recorded in the next edition of the battle.

The grand tour

This informative book offers readers a grand tour through our solar system. It takes readers from the giant planet to the small ones.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. The composition of it is hydrogen, ice; hydrogen-helium atmosphere. It has a iron-silicate core surrounded by liquid metallic hydrogen. The upper layer of it is made of liquid hydrogen. Jupiter is famous for its forever red spot and the auroras near polar.

Saturn has a composition of hydrogen, ices; hydrogen-helium atmosphere. It is a giant planet, however, it has the least dense of all the planets in the solar system. Saturn’ s rings are magnificent view in the universe which are consisted of chunks of ices and stones.

Uranus is composed of ice, hydrogen, helium; hydrogen-helium-methane atmosphere. The bluish planet tilts at an extreme angle almost right. Because of this, some strange phenomena happen on the planet. For example, one of its poles can point directly to the sun. pictures from voyagers show that it has several rings too.

Neptune is the last giant planet in the solar system whose composition is ice, hydrogen, helium; hydrogen-helium-methane atmosphere. The atmosphere of Neptune is much colder than the other planet. The beauty of its dark blue oval spot with prominent cloud belt overlying matches that of Jupiter’s red spot. The great dark spot is actually a storm mimicking Jupiter’s red spot.

Earth is alive. The special planet is made of nickel-iron, silicates,; nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. Vast oceans, thick atmosphere, and sufficient sunlight provide a favorable environment for livings. Earth is an active planet. Tectonic movements go on and on reshaping surface all the time.

Venus has a composition of nickel-iron, silicates; carbon dioxide atmosphere. the dense and opaque atmosphere veils the planet and brings lots of wonderful illusions to human, however, good dreams finally end when voyagers penetrate through its atmosphere and land on its surface. To our dismay, the landscape of Venus is barren and craggy rocks hot enough to cook on under the yellowish clouds.

Mars is the sister of earth which is made of silicates, iron; oxidized minerals; carbon dioxide atmosphere. it was thought that mars should be once covered with water because its canyons, gullies, and cliffs show evidence of water erosion. The water on mars has gradually evaporated into space due to the low gravitation. Landslide is not uncommon on mars because magma melts underground ice.

Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter with the composition of ice, carbonaceous silicates. The surface of Ganymede resembles a giant jigsaw puzzle, which is caused by the ices welling up from underground.

Titan is a masked moon of Saturn with the composition of organics, nitrogen atmosphere. the rain on titan is not water, but rather organism, such as methane, gasoline. One could see the view that a river of methane flows into a lake of liquid hydrocarbons on titan.

Mercury is the child of the sun with composition of nickel-iron, silicates. One year of mercury only takes 88 days, however, one day requires two thirds of its years because the sun’s tides have locked its rotation into a very slow spin. Because of the combination of rotational and orbital properties, the sun moves at an irregular rate from one horizon to the other, therefore, a weird phenomenon that the sun comes to a complete halt or even moves backward during the day of mercury appears.

A very special yellow ball rotates around Jupiter is Io. It is made of silicates and sulfur. The bright colors are due to sulfur compounds spewed from its many volcanoes. The tidal force caused by Jupiter and other satellites of Jupiter is the source of io’s internal heat.

The story of science

This book tells the development of science and introduces great scientists in different eras.

Most people in the renaissance believed in the faith that

1. earth is the center of the heavens. Its habitable surface forms a circle.

2. the stars and other planers are made of substance that could not be found on earth.

3. moon, sun, and stars are revolve around the earth in different spheres.

4. heaven is above the outermost sphere of stars.

5. hell is at earth’s bottom.

These ideas belonged to the pure thought of Aristotle. Ancient Greece believed in him. However, one astronomer named Copernicus was completely against his theory. He believed that

1. earth completes one orbit of the sun each year

2. earth makes a full turn on its axis every day and cause night and day

3. the universe is much larger than anyone has previously believed.

4. our earth is a planet among the others.

Another versatile renaissance scientist is Leonardo da vinci. All of his paintings including last super have never been surpassed. His sculptures are breathtaking. His architectural and landscape designs are farsighted. He was way ahead of his time in anatomy. He dissected dead bodies and learned the way much of the body works. He also designed fanciful flying machines although he was not successful in flying.

Galileo is a star and genius of renaissance, for he unraveled mysteries of motion and astronomy. He had a new concept of studying science which was emphasizing the need for accurate, repeated experiments to test hypotheses. He had lots of contributions:

1. he found that no matter how heavy or light the bob is, it always takes the same time to complete a swing, but if you change the length of the pendulum, the period will change.

2. he dropped two iron balls of the different size and weight simultaneously from the Pisa tower. The result was that two balls crashed on the ground at the same time, which changed ideas about motion.

3. he generalized the law of uniformly accelerated motion from the experiment of rolling brass balls down a groove on a inclined plane. Two equations of the law are: d=v*t d=1/2at*t

4. he made a telescope himself. He could see objects 9 times larger with the aid of it. Using the telescope, he observed sunspots, discovered four satellites of Jupiter, sketched the surface of moon of different phases, and proved the phases of Venus.

Kepler suffered from all kinds of diseases when he was young. He was very interested in science.

1. he made lots of scientific drawings of human eyeballs. He thought the lens of human eye worked the same way as the curved lenses of eyeglasses. They brought images in focus.

2. he tried to explain why all snowflakes had six corners, but because of the limit of chemistry at that time, he did get to the bottom of it.

3. he believed that earth and other planets revolve around the sun, and that a force from the sun accounts for the planets’ motion. The farther a planet is from the sun, the weaker the force is.

4. he came up with kepler’s laws of planetary motion.

i. each planet travels around the sun in a path that is an ellipse. The sun is off-center inside the ellipse.

ii. The speed of a planet’s orbit depends on its distance from the sun: closer is faster, and father is slower. A planet sweeps out equal areas of its ellipse in equal intervals of time.

iii. The farther a planet is from the sun, the longer it will take to go around the sun, and the longer its year will last.

Descartes was a brilliant philosopher and mathematician.

1. his idea of how to study science shown in his book discourse on the method of rightly conducting the reason and seeking the truth in the sciences is that the way to solve a difficult problem is to break the problem into several parts and deal with each of these parts separately.

2. he invented three dimension coordinates. He picked up three representative lines, one n-s, one e-w, one u-d and marked them with numbers. He links algebra and geometry.

3. he pondered that the universe is filled with invisible matter that swirls in vortices that keep the stars and planets on curved paths.

All of the scientists before Newton had a deep influence on Newton. He studied the work of there scientists and came up with world-shaking achievements:

1. he obtained an implication from the apple falling on his head and achieved the law of universal gravitation.

2. he invented calculus.

3. he was the first man who thought that light was made up of corpuscle and that white was the combination of seven colors.

4. he understood the law of motion:

i. objects tend to stay at rest or move in a straight line at a constant speed unless acted upon by an outside force.

ii. The force acting on a body is directly proportional to, and in the same direction as, its acceleration.

iii. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

5. he proved mathematically that planetary orbits are elliptical.

The development of chemistry

1. Aristotle thought everything on earth was made from four elements which are earth, air, fire, and water.

2. geber kept trying to transmute matter. By distilling vinegar, geber got strong, pure samples of acid which could cause chemical changes.

3. andreas libau wrote a textbook which gave clear direction for preparing strong acids, such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid.

4. some alchemists who were seeking for gold and the fountain of youth were serious workers. Their experiments in the open air helped chemistry become science.

5. i. boyle used the chemical method of the flame test. He found that metals burn with flames of different colors. Lead is blue, sodium is orange-yellow, copper is bright green, and calcium is red-orange.

ii. he was an expert on assaying. He could tell silver from gold by using a strong acid.

iii. he defined elements as basic substance that can’t be separated into anything else. Elements can be combined to make compounds. Compounds can be divided into elements.

iv. he had a law that the volume of a gas at a constant temperature is inversely proportional to the pressure put on it.

6. jeseph black understood that air is actually a mixture of gases.

7. i. karl scheele discovered that air contains oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.

ii. he discovered eight elements.

iii. he found a way to make phosphorus.

8. priest discovered a clue that plants and animals exist in a chemical balance, which keeps the earth’s atmosphere breathable.

9. i. Henry Cavendish found that carbon dioxide is 1.5 times heavier than air.

ii. he discovered that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen.

10. Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin invented thermometers which had different scales.

11.lavoisier is the father of chemistry:

i. he realized that mass of substances is never lost during chemical reaction. Scientist call that a conservation law.

ii. He found that combustion is a chemical reaction between two or more substances that gives off heat and light.

iii. he found 33 elements although not all of them were right.

12. i. dalton came to believe that all matter, consists of atoms. He took a big leap of mind by hypothesizing that it is the weight of its atoms that makes one element different from another.

ii. he said that atoms could neither be created nor destroyed and that chemical reactions were just rearrangements of atoms.

iv. he knew that if he weighed equal amounts of an elements and hydrogen and got the ratio of their weight. He could tell how an atom of the element was compared to an atom of hydrogen.

13. i. avogadro figured out that most gases were made up of particles containing two or more atoms held in a tight embrace.

ii. he came up with a law that is equal volumes of gas at the same temperature and pressure, contain an equal number of particles.

14. loschmidt worked avogadro’s number out in a series of experiments. Avogadro’s number shows how many molecules are in 22.4 liters of gas at a specific temperature.

15. i. kekule noted that carbon atoms tend to unite with other atoms in a ration of one to four.

ii. he said that carbon not only forms atomic chains, but also links into rings of atoms.

16. mendeleyev put atoms in order and created periodic table.

The evolution of physics

1. i. Daniel Bernoulli came up with a famous principle which is the pressure in a fluid varies inversely with its speed squared.

ii. he made a creative conjecture that gas are made up of a vast number of tiny particles which are in random and constant motion.

iii. he knew that heating the gas makes its atoms and molecules move faster.

2. du chatelet realized that the formula for energy is actually e=mv*v

3. carvendish built a precise torsion balance and measured the gravitational attraction.

4. i. franklin planed an experiment with a kite and a key and found out that lightning is actually electricity.

ii. he designed metal rods that can carry the electric charges in lightning safely to the ground.

5. i. faraday believed that electricity and magnetism are linked together as a force, and they travel in fields.

ii. he had new ideas about light which is light is electro-magnetic radiation, and it travels as vibrations in fields.

iii. he made the first electricity generator.

v. he designed the first electrical transformer to reduce high voltage current.

6. i. Maxwell said that light is electromagnetic and it travel as undulations (wavelike movement).

ii. he put forward that an electromagnetic wave is made up of waves that are at right angles to each other. One is electric field. The other is the magnetic field.

iii. he understood that different electromagnetic waves have different wave lengths.

iv. his four equations confirmed that electromagnetic rays travel at the same speed.

7 boltzmann figured out that heat is moving atoms and molecules. He came up with a formula to measure the speeds of molecules in a gas.

8. scientists came up with the first law of thermodynamics which is energy can be changed from one form to another, but it can’t be used up.

9.scientists came up with the second law of thermodynamics which is energy spreads out if it can, and it is always transmitted from hot to cold.

10. becquerel demonstrated that the x-ray from uranium is created inside the uranium atoms.

11. traveling by train/plane

can I book a first-class berth on today’s special express?

That would be advisable. We may set up a tentative departure time, and you can change it if you want.

Would you prefer first class or economy?

If you want to relax, you can push the seat back into a reclining position by pressing the button on the armrest.

Hardly anyone can positively enjoy sitting in a train for more than a few hours. Train compartments soon get cramped and stuffy. It is almost impossible to take your mind off the journey.

Snatchy sleeps.

You roar effortlessly over high mountains and deep valleys. If the landscape is hidden from view you can enjoy the extraordinary sight of unbroken cloud plains that stretch out for miles before you, while the sun shines brilliantly in a clear sky. You will not have to spend the next few days recovering from a long and arduous journey.

In the middle of the cabin.

If you have a complaint, you will inform my staff immediately so that we can deal with the problem there and then.

I have an open –end ticket. Boarding pass.

A tag inside and outside of each baggage. You are bumped from a flight.

Hitchhiking can be interesting. Boarding gate

in excess of the duty-free allowance. Platform waiting/lounge

12holiday and festivals

the three of us drove in shifts. Once in a while we went to a restaurant.

Three days in a row have three holidays in a row.

Reunion dinner. Lion and dragon dance parade set off firecrackers.

Really marvelous children would go from door to door, saying “trick or treat” and asking for candies, coins or other treats. Make mischief

Evening dress spade swimming-costume high-heeled boots a saucepan

A dressing-gown best-loved holiday in the united states.

At the moment of the coming of the new year, bells ring, whistles blow, and everyone cheers whole-heartedly. Carol 圣诞节颂歌

New concept English

1 a puma at large

a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London.

Experts from the zoo felt obliged to investigate.

Whenever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.

Puma fur was found clinging to bushes. This one must have been in the possession of private collector and some managed to escape.

2 thirteen equals one

vicar big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.

Woke up with a start caught sight of

3 an unknown goddess

enjoyed a high level of civilization. The city was even equipped with a drainage system. Its missing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century b.c.

archaeologists reconstructed the fragment, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman. Carefully preserved.

She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips. She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground.

4 the double life of Alfred bloggs

manual work many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers. This can give rise to curious situations.

Overalls

5 the fact

editors of newspapers and magazines often go to extremes to provide their readers with unimportant facts and statistics. To write an article on

6 smash and grab

the owner of a jewel shop was admiring a new window display.

A large car, with its headlights on and its horn blaring.

The raid was all over in three minutes, for the men scrambled back into the car and it moved off at a fantastic speed. Throw ashtrays and vases.

7 mutilated ladies

safekeeping find the not was whiter than white. Spokeswoman

imagine their dismay when they found a beautifully-cooked wallet and notes turned to ash.

8 a famous monastery

there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the pass on foot.

The dogs have to be kept in a special enclosure.

9 flying cats

cats never fail to fascinate human beings. They can be friendly and affectionate towards humans, but they lead mysterious lives of their own as well. They never become submissive like dogs and horses. Is based on fact.

10 the loss of the titanic

titanic was a colossal ship. She was regarded as unsinkable.

The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.

A iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout. The captain realized to his horror.

The order to abandon ship was given, and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water.

11not guilty

customs officers are quite tolerant these days. Go through the green channel.

The hardened professional smuggler. A particularly officious young customs officer. Suddenly, I saw the officer’s face light up. He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight.

He asked sarcastically. Hair gel. Perfume is not exempt from import duty.

12life on a desert island.

Unrealistic picture of life. paradise. Ripe fruit falls from the trees and you never have to work. There is an element of truth in both there pictures. Rubber dinghy.

Row for a few miles. Genuinely sorry that they had to leave.

13 it’s only me

the man from electricity board who had come to read the metre.

The man le out a cry and jumped back several paces. He fled, slamming the door behind him.

14a noble gangster

pay large sums of money to gangsters in return for protection. Made a name for himself Italian city states were at war with each other.

In spite of this. Gave him a state funeral and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of the most valiant soldier and notable leader.

15fifty pence worth of trouble

if fifty pence pieces are not exchanged for sweets, they rattle for months inside money boxes. Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money box.

Roll up his sleeves fire brigade. Free george using a special type of grease.

16mary had a little lamb

accused him of stealing the lamb. Denied taking it. Theft.

17the longest suspension bridge in the world

a very agreeable situation in the midst of which a great river flow. His name remain immortal. 2000lengths of wire. Enormous object drawn as faintly as possible. Be named after sb.

18electric currents in modern art

the idea that modern art can only be seen in museums is mistaken. Sculpture on display. Oddly shaped forms that are suspended from the ceiling and move in response to a gust of wind are quite familiar to everybody.

Line up against the wall. These lights flickered continuously like traffic light which have gone mad. Sparks were emitted from small black bow and red lamps flashed on and off angrily.

19a very dear cat

pay a ransom of $1000

20 pioneer pilots

21daniel Mendoza

drew up the first set of rules. He was adored by rich and poor alike.

Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a bowing match.

He was so extravagant that he was always in debt.

22by heart

some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter, yet this not always the case. Once cast in the role of squinting his eyes.

23one man’s meat is another man’s poison

consider octopus a great delicacy. Find it repulsive. Snails are despised. 轻视 acting on a sudden impulse. I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my prize plants. I did not fancy the idea and I reluctantly followed Robert out of the room. To out dismay. We stick to them all our lives. Would turn at the idea of.

24a skeleton in the cupboard

a seemingly respectable person some terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers. The English language possesses a vivid saying. Reputation is ruined. The reader’s hair stands on end. To varying degree, we all have secrets which we do not want even out closest friends to learn. I open the cupboard door and then stood in front of it petrified. A skeleton was dangling before my eyes.

Unsympathetic dash downstairs

25the cutty sark

it marked the end of the great tradition of ships with sails and the beginning of a new era took the lead lost the lead she was struck by a very heavy storm during which her rudder was torn away. The cutty sark rolled from side to side, and it became impossible to steer her.

26wanted: a large biscuit tin

we may pride ourselves on our good taste. In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product, advertisers have made a close study of human nature and have classified all our little weaknesses. Get something for nothing. They devise hundreds of competitions which will enable us to win huge sums of money.

Before long, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit. Exert a subtle influence on us.

27nothing to sell and nothing to buy

in the light of{ according to} this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge, philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort.

Grudge paying a surgeon beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by. Tramper is free from the thousands of the anxieties which afflict other people. his few material possessions make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease. In times of real need.

We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars, but how man of us can honestly say that we have not felt a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care. In seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity.

28five pounds too dear

small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner as she was entering the harbor.

It was difficult not to be tempted. I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring. The man went to great lengths to prove that the diamonds were real. Gesticulating wildly, the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous. He run after me and thrust the pen into my hands. Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair, he readily accepted the $5 I gave him.

29funny or not

the sense of humor is mysteriously bound up with national characteristics. Laugh to tears. Stem from the u.s. find this sort of joke distasteful he dept on pestering his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home. The doctor consoled him by telling him that his chances to being able to leave hospital in time for new year celebrations were good. Hobble along to a party. To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital, the man drank a little more than was good for him. He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg.

30the death of a ghost

farm was haunted. They employed a few farmhands. Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned. It became an accepted fact that the cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost that did most of their work for them.

desert[ di5zE:t ] regiment. Consci*entious lived as a recluse.

31a lovable eccentric

true eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves. They disregard social conventions without being conscious that are doing anything extraordinary. This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add color to the dull routine of everyday life. he was a shrewd and wealthy businessman. His eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.

Dickie disliked snobs intensely. He was in such a bedraggled condition that an assistant refused to serve him. The manager was most apologetic and reprimanded the assistant severely. It took him four years to stage this elaborate joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.

32a lost ship

the salvage operation had been a complete failure. The sunken ship he was trying to find had been carrying a precious cargo of gold bullions. The crew were at fist under the impression that the lost ship had been found. The captain was able to piece together all the information that had come to light. The karen had been sailing in a convoy to Russia when she was torpedoed by an enemy submarine.

The sea bed was scoured with powerful nets.

33a day to remember

everything seems to get out of control. It is as if a single unimportant event set up a chain of reactions. Keep an eye on the baby. This marks the prelude(5prelju:d ) to an unforeseen series of catastrophes. Things can go wrong on a big scale. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a lorry driver who was drawing up alongside the car, pulled up all of a sudden. Sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. They greedily devoured what was left of the cake.

34a happy discovery

no one has to muster up courage to enter a less pretentious antique shop.

There is always hope that in its labyrinth of musty, dark, disordered rooms a real rarity will be found amongst the piles of assorted junk that litter the floors. A truly dedicated bargain hunter must have patience, and above all, the ability to recognize the worth of something when he sees it. A scientist bent on making a discovery, he must cherish the hope that one day he will be amply rewarded.

An interesting-looking carved dagger. Prize open.

35justic was done

guilty has been proved beyond doubt. Reward or punishment meted out are uite independent of human interference. It serves him right. Enabled justice to act of its own accord. Chipping through a wall which was eighteen inches thick. The sorry-looking, blackened figure that emerged, admitted at once that he had tried to break into the shop during the night but had got stuck in the chimney.

36a chance in a million

we are less credulous that we used to be. Wildly improbable. A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero’s downfall. Find it incredible . Commented on the workman’s close resemblance to her husband. On one in the neighborhood knew what had become of the inhabitants. Poured scorn on the idea. Was fully acquainted with this story. A chance in a million

37the westhaven express

after years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway time tables. Only an exceptionally heavy snowfall might temporarily dislocate railway service. Strike me as odd. Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals. The train dawdled at station after station. It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely chugging along at thirty. I determined to lodge a complaint. There was a note of triumph in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white. A tiny asterisk conducted me to a foot note at the bottom of the page. It said: “this service has been suspended.”

38the first calendar

they will not have to rely solely on the written word. The bewildering amount of information they will have. He has to deduce from the few scanty clues available. Even seemingly insignificant remains can shed interesting light on the history of early man. Up to now, historians have assumed that calendars came into being with the advent[ 5AdvEnt ] of agriculture. indicate that this assumption is incorrect. Historians have long been puzzled by dots, lines and symbols which have been engraved on walls, bones and the ivory tusks of mammoths. Found it is connected with the pass of days and the phases of moon. It has been known that the hunting scenes depicted on walls were not simply a form of artistic expression. Correlating markings made in various parts of the world.

39nothing to worry about

even though the road was littered with boulders and pitted with holes, bruce was not in the least perturbed. It was that bruce always underestimated difficulties. He simply had no sense of danger at all. As we bumped over the dusty track, we swerved to avoid large boulders. The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. We felt sure that sooner or later a stone would rip a hole in our patrol tank or damage the engine. The only obstacles were clumps of bushes. In response t renewed pleadings. Bruce went into a low gear and drove at a terrifying speed, keeping the front wheels astride the crack as he followed its zigzag course. Bruce charged at it, but in the middle, the car came to a grinding halt.

A yellow light on the dashboard flashed angrily and bruce cheerfully announced that there was no oil in the engine. Giving way to a stretch of plain.

40who’s who

students specialize in a particular type of practical joke: the hoax. Inviting the fire brigade to put out a nonexistent fire is a crude form of deception which no self-respecting student would ever indulge in. pneumatic drill

they were not to take him seriously. A policeman arrived on the scene. Threatened to remove them by force. Told him to do as he was pleased.

Remonstrated with the workmen. The workmen struggled fiercely, and one of them lost his temper. The police pointed out ironically that this would hardly be necessary as the men were already under arrest.

41illusiouns of pastoral[ 5pB:stErEl ] peace

the quiet life of the country has never appealed to me. City born and city bred. They always go into rapture at the mere mention of the country. They extol the values of the peaceful life. live under illusion. He is forever talking about the friendly people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living. Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the first cockcrow, the twittering of birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and pastures. This idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture.

Poor selection of goods in the shops. The dubious privilege of living in the country is beyond is beyond me. The could be saved so much misery and expense. The play draws to its close. There is so much variety that you never have to make do with second best. Peace descends on deserted city streets at weekends when the thousands that travel to work every day are tucked away in their homes I the country. City dwellers, who appreciate all these things, obstinately [5Cbstinit ] pretend that they would prefer to live in the country.

42modern cavemen

cave exploration, or pot-holing. It is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures people down to the depths of the earth. Motives it is not a task for the Sunday afternoon rambler. Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operation. Rig up rope ladders and to establish supply bases. This immense chasm[ 5kAzEm ] has been formed by an underground stream which has tunneled a course through a flaw in the rocks. The distinguished French pot-holler. They had to edge their way along a narrow corridor, sometimes wading across shallow streams, or swimming across deep pools. Huge piles of rubble insistent booming sound which they found was cause by a small waterspout shooting down into a pool from the roof of the cave. Squeezing through a cleft in the rocks, the pot-hollers arrived at an enormous cavern. Stalagmites[ 5stAlE^mait ]-some of them over forty feet high-rising up like tree trunks to meet the stalactites[ 5stAlEktait ] suspended from the roof. Piles of limestone glistened in all the colors of the rainbow. In the eerie silence of the cavern.

43fully insured

garden party or a fete the bigger the risk an insurance company takes, the higher the premium you will have to pay. Made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. Admittedly it was an unusual pie dish. The dish capsized and sank in seven feet of water. Hauling it out of the water proved to be a serious problem. For one agonizing moment, the dish was perched precariously on the band of the canal, but it suddenly overbalanced and slid back into the water. Fix heavy metal clamps to both sides of the dish so that they could fasten the chains. Water streamed in torrents over its sides with such force that it set up a huge wave in the canal. There was a danger that the wave would rebound off the other side of the bank.

44speed and comfort

hardly anyone can positively enjoy sitting in a train for more that a few hours. Train compartments soon get cramped and stuffy. Take your mind off the journey. The monotonous rhythm of the wheels clicking on the rails soon lulls you to sleep. Sleep comes in snatches. Fumbling to find you ticket for inspection. Ferry trips or cruises offer a great variety of civilized comforts. Match them for speed and comfort. Refinements are not available. Arrive at your destination fresh and uncrumpled. Real escapist.

45the power of the press

democratic[ 7demE5krAtik ] countries. Rightly condemned. Acting on(according) the contention that facts are sacred, reporters can cause untold suffering to individuals. Overthrow a government. Acquired fame and fortune overnight. Struggle against economic odds. Would have lived in obscurity. The parents of quintuplets. Radically changed their lives. Reporters kept pressing for interviews. Victims of commercialization. A commodity.

46do it yourself

so great is our passion for doing things for ourselves, that we are becoming increasingly less dependent on specialized labor. No one can plead ignorance[ 5i^nErEns ] of a subject any longer. Newlyweds laying out their own gardens some really keen enthusiasts go so far as to build their own computers. Shops cater for the do it yourself craze not only by running special advisory services for novices, but by offering consumers bits and piece which they can assemble at home. Such things provide an excellent outlet for pent up creative energy, but unfortunately not all of us are born handymen. Husbands are infinitely resourceful and can fix anything. Even men who can hardly drive a nail in straight are supposed to be born electricians, carpenters, plumbers, and mechanics. When lights fuse, furniture gets rickety. Under the delusion. Lawn mower. Got round to it. As far as I could see, it needed only a minor adjustment; a turn of a screw here, a little tightening up there. Firmly refused to mow. Decided to dismantle it. One of the links in the chain that drives the wheels had snapped. I was faced with the insurmountable task of putting the confusing jigsaw puzzle together. My wife nagged me to do something. Needless to say.

47too high a price

overpopulated, over industrialized planet. You have the choice of very expensive organically grown vegetables or a steady diet of pesticides every time you think you are eating fresh salads and vegetables, or just having an innocent glass of water.

Scream at us an even more insidious kind of pollution that particularly affects urban areas. Dogs barking incessantly. Mowers whining. Trucks thundering through quiet villages. Staggering 60% trumpeting partners. burglar.

48the silent village

in this much-traveled world, there are still thousands of places which are inaccessible to tourists. Friendly and hospitable. People who are cut off from foreign tourists. Hostile to travelers. Visited a number of old churches in the vicinity[ vi5siniti ]. Beautifully preserved frescoes. It traced its way through the trees. Suddenly my wife spotted a boat moored to the band. Fast asleep. The place consisted of a straggling unmade road which was lined on either side by small houses. Even under a clear blue sky, the village looked forbidding. Sitting down on a dilapidated wooden fence. Children in rags. They remained motionless. They were simply shy of strangers. Old women in black shawls peered at us from doorways. We need no further warning. Quicken our pace and made our way rapidly towards the stream.

49the ideal servant

air her views on(give ideas) her favorite topic of conversation. Live in that leisurely age. She had a huge, rambling country house called the gables. She was sentimentally attached to this house. Entertain lavishly. No matter how many guess were present, the great house was always immaculate. The parquet floors shone like mirrors, highly polished silver was displayed in gleaning glass cabinet, even my uncle’s huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust. Presided over an invisible army of servants that continuously scrubbed, cleaned, and polished. An enlightened policy. She always criticized the fickleness of human nature. Carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal servant. Sadly disillusioned[ 7disi5lu:VEn ] by Bessie. She so gained my aunt’s confidence that she was put in charge of the domestic staff. Praise bessie’s industriousness and efficiency. She acted the role of the perfect servant. She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guest. She tripped on the carpet. Pudding went flying through the air, narrowly missed my aunt. Came to the conclusion was dismissed wardrobe. Bottles mysteriously found their way there form the wine cellar.

50new year resolutions

most of us could compile formidable lists of dos and don’ts. The same favorites recur year in year out with monotonous regularity. Past experience has taught us that certain accomplishments are beyond attainment. We remain inveterate[ in5vetErit ] smokers most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement because our schemes are too ambitious and we never have time to carry them out. We look even more foolish when e slip back into our bad old ways. Aware of these pitfalls. I applied myself assiduously to the task. The self-discipline required to drag myself out of bed eleven minutes earlier. I managed to creep down into the living room. Jumping about on the carpet and twisting the human frame into uncomfortable positions. It was this that betrayed me. The whole family trooped in to watch the performance. That was really unsettling, but I fended of the taunts[ tC:nt ] and jibes[ dVaib ] of the family good humouredly and soon everybody got used to the idea. However, my enthusiasm waned the time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. Little by little the eleven minutes fell to zero. Resisting the hypnotizing[ 5hipnEtaiz ] effect of television. I sat in my room for a few evenings with my eyes glued to a book. That proved to be my undoing, for I soon got back to my old bad habit of dozing off in front of the screen.

51predicting the future

predicting the future is notoriously nEu5tC:riEs ] difficult. So called mainframe machines. Their functions have been taken over by small powerful personal computers. From these humble beginnings,, we have seen the development of the user friendly home computers and multimedia machines which are in common use today. Dismissed the idea that computers would learn to think.

They would relieve office workers and accountants of dull, repetitive clerical wok.

52mud is mud

despite the fact that the bottle is tinted a delicate 5delikit ] shade of green, an observant visitor would soon notice that it is filled with what looks like a thick, greyish substance. Dispel any further doubts you might have. Came into the possession of this outlandish stuff makes an interesting story which he is fond of relating. The acquisition of this bottle cured him of a bad habit he had been developing for years. Expensive cosmetic shops. He would invent fanciful names on the spot. Pretend to be considerably put out. Products were temporarily out of stock and he would faithfully promise to call again at some future date. Manage to keep a straight face. Harry does not need to be prompted to explain how he bought his precious bottle of mud shook her head in bewilderment. Conveyed something to the woman. she produced all sorts of weird concoctions. Intoxicated by his success, harry then asked for perfumed mud. Admit defeat. Discreetly ask the price. The curious bottle, which now adorns the bookcase in his study was his first and last purchase of rare cosmetics.

53in the public interest

high-handed or incompetent public officers. The system has been adopted in other countries too. Act over-zealously in the belief that they are serving the public. Parliament introduced a scheme to safeguard the interest of the individual. A parliamentary committee representing all political parties appoints a person who is suitably qualified to investigate private grievance.

Had been ill-treated by the police. Denied the accusation. The lawyer ascertained[ 7AsE5tein ] the fact. The police was prejudiced against foreigners.. he would be prosecuted[ 5prCsikju:t ].

54instinct or cleverness?

We continually wage war on them . they sting or bite without provocation. Fly uninvited into out rooms. Live in dread not only of unpleasant insects. Being filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch. Read about the uncanny sense of direction which bees possess. Praying mantis. Who has not stood in awe at the sight of a spider pouncing on a fly , or a column of ants triumphantly[ trai5QmfEnt ] bearing home an enormous dead beetle? It occasionally produces luscious peaches. Aphids I watch them scurrying around the base of the tree. Completely defeated by their ingenuity[ 7indVi5nju:iti ]. We enjoyed staring at them, entranced as they go about their business, unaware of our presence.

55from the earth: greetings

a star up to twenty times larger. Find a way of blotting out the light from its star. In the realms of science fiction. astronomical[AstrE5nRmIk(E)l]

56our neighbor, the river

we know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees, that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of out lives were not related to it. Go upstream we welcome the seasons by the riverside, crowning the youngest girl with flowers in the spring, holding a summer festival on midsummer eve, giving thanks for the harvest in the autumn and throwing a holly wreath into the current in the winter. River overflows its bands. But other farms are less favorably sited. flooding can sometimes spell disaster for their owners.

All the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little. The floods had put the telephone out of order. Ger a sweeping view of the river. Become unduly frightened. Sound foundations stood stoutly critical juncture. In the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft.

57back in the old country

everything still seemed alien to me. Everything around him was full of her presence, continually reopening the wound, so he decided to emigrate. In the new country he became absorbed in making a new life for the two of us. He always meant to go back one day. His roots and mine had become too firmly embedded in the new land. He wanted to see the old folk again and to visit my mother’s grave. Mortally ill. We should see at every milestone. I was positive I should recognize tit as familiar territory. Farms and cottages in a valley. With the spire of the church of our village showing in the far distance. Retrace the route. I felt as if I had stumbled into a nightmare. There appeared on the horizon a man on horseback. Man-made reservoir.

58a spot of bother

her shopping had tired her and her basket had grown heavier with every step of the way home. Monstrous piece of negligence[ 5ne^lidVEns ]. Follow her regular practice. It was clear as daylight that burglars had forced an entry during her absence. Her composure[ kEm5pEuVE ] regained. Intruders who might still be lurking in her flat. Did not want to hinder the police in their search for fingerprints. The chaos was inconceivable. Veritable(true) magpie at hoarding[ hC:d ]. Everything she possessed had been tossed[ tCs ] out and turned over and over. At least sorting out the things she should have discarded years ago. Inspector arrived with a constable. The ransacked flat. Skeleton keys.

59collecting.

People tend to amass possessions. Become indiscriminate[7indis5kriminit] collectors of what can only be descried as clutter. Leave unwanted objects in drawers. In the belief that they may one day need just those very things. Full of associations with the past. Gradually acquire a value beyond their true worth. In an attempt to avoid waste. Collecting become a mania[ 5meinjE, -niE ]. Cut sketches out from newspapers of model clothes. She is never sufficiently strong-minded to be able to stop the practice. Litters up her desk to such an extent that every time she opens it , loose bits of paper fall out in every direction. Collection is housed at home. Stuffed birds. Have some bearing on it. Meet like-minded collectors. A rare specimen. Are not confined to any country. Collecting, by occupying spare time so constructively, makes a person contented[ kEn5tent ], with no time for boredom.

60too early and too late.

Brought to a conclusion. In a state of chaos. The intellectual[ 7inti5lektjuEl ] who is working on some abstruse[ Ab5stru:s ] problem.

People are often reproached[ ri5prEutF ] for unpunctuality when their only fault is cutting things fine. Quick-minded people. Punctured pyres, diversions of traffic, descent of fog. Great nuisance[ 5nju:sns ]. .

The train is drawing out of the station eh station master produced the timetable with a flourish，挥舞. Tears steaming down her face. The master was adamant.