Lesson 63 She was not amused
Jeremy Hampden has a large circle of friends and is very popular at parties. Everybody admires him for his great sense of humor--everybody, that is, except his six- year-old daughter, Jenny. Recently, one of Jeremy's closest friends asked him to make a speech at a wedding reception. This is the sort of thing that Jeremy loves. He prepared the speech carefully and went to the wedding with Jenny. He had included a large number of funny stories in the speech and, of course, it was a great success. As soon as he had finished, Jenny told him she wanted to go home. Jeremy was a little disappointed by this but he did as his daughter asked. On the way home, he asked Jenny if she had enjoyed the speech. To his surprise, she said she hadn't. Jeremy asked her why this was so and she told him that she did not like to see so many people laughing at him!
Lesson 64 The Channel Tunnel
In l858, a French engineer, Aime Thome de Gamond, arrived in England with a plan for a twenty-one-mile tunnel under the English Channel. He said that it would be possible to build a platform in the centre of the Channel. This platform would serve as a port and a railway station. The tunnel would be well-ventilated if tall chimneys were built above sea-level. In 1860, a better plan was put forward by an Englishman, William Low. He suggested that a double railway tunnel should be built. This would solve the problem of ventilation, for if a train entered this tunnel, it would draw in fresh air behind it. Forty-two years later a tunnel was actually begun. If, at the time, the British had not feared invasion, it would have been completed. The world had to wait almost another100 years for the Channel Tunnel. It was officially opened on March 7, 1994, finally connecting Britain to the European continent.
admire [ədˈmaɪər] 钦佩;欣赏;赞赏
reception [rɪˈsepʃn] 接待;招待会,欢迎会
channel [ˈtʃænl] 英吉利海峡, 频道;渠道;电视台;
tunnel [ˈtʌnl] 地下通道;地道;隧道;
ventilate [ˈventɪleɪt] (使(房间、建筑物等)通风;使通气; well ventilated
chimney [ˈtʃɪmni] 烟囱;烟道;
put forward 提出（计划、建议）;推荐，提名
invasion [ɪnˈveɪʒn] 武装入侵;侵略;侵犯;
continent [ˈkɑːntɪnənt] 大陆;陆地;
所有与科技、技术相关的文章，都是我的难点，比如今天的64课，又花了好一段时间来查生词，反复读。这样的文章读过后，大脑似乎会原则性遗忘，总也记不住。今天距离正常进度还有3课，阶段性胜利在望。加油！
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