Lesson 49 The end of a dream
Tired of sleeping on the floor, a young man in Teheran saved up for years to buy a
real bed. For the first time in his life, he became the proud owner of a bed which had
springs and a mattress. Because the weather was very hot, he carried the bed on to
the roof of his house. He slept very well for the first two nights, but on the third
night, a storm blew up. A gust of wind swept the bed off the roof and sent it
crashing into the courtyard below. The young man did not wake up until the
bed had struck the ground. Although the bed was smashed to pieces, the man was
miraculously unhurt. When he woke up, he was still on the mattress. Glancing at the bits
of wood and metal that lay around him, the man sadly picked up the mattress and carried
it into his house. After he had put it on the floor, he promptly went to sleep again.
Lesson 50 Taken for a ride
Why did the writer not get off the bus at Woodford Green?
I love travelling in the country, but I don't like losing my way.
I went on an excursion recently, but my trip took me longer than I expected.
I'm going to Woodford Green, I said to the conductor as I got on the bus,
but I don't know where it is. I'll tell you where to get off. answered the conductor.
I sat in the front of the bus to get a good view of the countryside. After some time,
the bus stopped. Looking round, I realized with a shock that I was the only passenger
left on the bus. You'll have to get off here, the conductor said. This is as far as we go.
Is this Woodford Green? I asked. Oh dear, said the conductor suddenly.
I forgot to put you off.
It doesn't matter, I said. I'll get off here.
We're going back now, said the conductor.
Well, in that case, I prefer to stay on the bus, I answered.
Lesson 51 Reward for virtue
Why did Hugh's diet not work? My friend, Hugh, has always been fat, but things got
so bad recently that he decided to go on a diet. He began his diet a week ago.
First of all, he wrote out a long list of all the foods which were forbidden.
The list included most of the things Hugh loves: butter, potatoes, rice, beer, milk,
chocolate and sweets. Yesterday I paid him a visit. I rang the bell and was not surprised
to see that Hugh was still as fat as ever. He led me into his room and hurriedly hid a
large parcel under his desk. It was obvious that he was very embarrassed. When I asked him
what he was doing, he smiled guiltily and then put the parcel on the desk. He explained
that his diet was so strict that he had to reward himself occasionally.
Then he showed me the contents of the parcel.
It contained five large bars of chocolate and three bags of sweets.