Lesson 7
Mutilated ladies
Why did Jane cook John's wallet？
Has it ever happened to you？ Have you ever put your trousers in the washing machine and then remembered there was a large bank note in your back pocket？ When you rescued your trousers， did note in your back pocket？ When you rescued your trousers， did you find the note was whiter than white？ People who live in Britain needn't despair when they made mistakes like this （and a lot of people do）！ Fortunately for them， the Bank of England has a team called Mutilated Ladies which deals with claims from people who fed their money to a machine or to their dog. Dogs， it seems， love to chew up money！
A recent case concerns Jane Butlin whose fiancé， John， runs a successful furniture business. John had very good day and put his wallet containing $3，000 into the microwave oven for safekeeping. Then he and Jane went horse-riding. When they got home， Jane cooked their dinner in the microwave oven and without realizing it， cooked her fiancé's wallet as well. Imagine their dismay when they found a beautifully-cooked wallet and notes turned to ash！ John went to see his bank manager who sent the remains of wallet and the money to the special department of the Bank of England in Newcastle： the Mutilate Ladies！ They examined the remain and John got all his money back. 'So long as there's something to identify， we will give people their money back，' said a spokeswoman for the Bank. 'Last year， we paid $1.5m on 21，000 claims. Damaged bank notes. The Queen's head appears on English bank notes， and 'lady' refers to this.
Lesson 8
A famous monastery
What are the St. Bernard dogs used for？
The Great St. Bernard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy. At 2，473 meters， it is the highest mountain pass in Europe. The famous monastery of St. Bernard， witch was founded in eleventh century， lies about a mile away. For hundreds of years， St. Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travelers crossing the dangerous Pass. These friendly dogs， which were first brought from Asia， were used as watchdogs even in Roman times. Now that a tunnel ahs been built through the mountains， the Pass is less dangerous， but each year， the dogs are still sent out into the snow whenever a traveler is in difficulty. Despite the new tunnel， there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the Pass on foot. During the summer months， the monastery is very busy， for it is visited by thousands of people who cross the Pass in cars. As there are so many people about， the dogs have to be kept in a special enclosure. In winter， however， life at the monastery is quite different. The temperature drops to —— 30 o and very few people attempt to cross the Pass. The monks prefer winter to summer of they have more privacy. The dogs have greater freedom， too， for they are allowed to wander outside their enclosure. The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter. These young people， who love the peace of mountains， always receive a warm welcome at St. Bernard's monastery.
Lesson 9
Flying cats
How do cats try to protect themselves when falling from great heights？
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. As a result， humans have learned to respect feline independence. Most cats remain suspicious of humans all their lives. One of the things that fascinates us most about cats is the popular belief that they have nine lives. Apparently， there is a good deal of truth in this idea. A cat's ability to survive falls is based on fact. Recently the New York Animal Medical Center made a study of 132 cats over a period of five months. All these cats had one experience in common： they had fallen off high buildings， yet only eight of them died from shock or injuries. Of course， New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study， because there is no shortage of tall buildings. There are plenty of high-rise windowsills to fall from！ One cat， Sabrina， fell 32 storeys， yet only suffered from a broken tooth. 'Cats behave like well-trained paratroopers.' a doctor said. It seems that the further cats fall， the less they are likely to injure themselves. In a long drop， they reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and more. At high speeds， falling cats have time to relax. They stretch out their legs like flying squirrels. This increases their air-resistance and reduces the shock of impact when they hit the ground.
Lesson 10
The loss of the Titanic
What would have happened if only two of the sixteen water-tight compartments had been flooded？
The great ship， Titanic， sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th， 1912. She was carrying 1，316 passengers and crew of 891. Even by modern standards， the 46，000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship. At the time， however， she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built， but was regarded as unsinkable， for she had sixteen watertight compartments. Even if two of these were flooded， she would still be able to float. The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered， for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life. Four days after setting out， while the Titanic was sailing across the icy water of the North Atlantic， huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout. After the alarm had been given， the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision. The Titanic turned just in time， narrowly missing the immense walk of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her. Suddenly， there was a slight trembling sound from below， and the captain went down to see what had happened. The noise had been so faint that no one though that the ship had been damaged. Below， the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly， for five of her sixteen watertight compartments had already been flooded！ The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water. As there were not enough lifeboats for everybody， 1，500 lives were lost.
Lesson 11
Not guilty
What was the Customs Officer looking for？
Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days， but they can still stop you when you are going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare. Even really honest people are often made to feel guilty. The hardened professional smuggler， on the other hand， is never troubled by such feelings， even if he has five hundred gold watches hidden in his suitcase. When I returned form abroad recently， a particularly officious young Customs Officer clearly regarded me as a smuggler. 'Have you anything to declare？' he asked， looking me in the eye. 'No'， I answered confidently. 'Would you mind unlocking this suitcase please？' 'Not at all，' I answered. The Officer went through the case with great care. All the thing I had packed so carefully were soon in a dreadful mess. I felt sure I would never be able to close the case again. 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. 'Perfume， eh？' he asked sarcastically. 'You should have declared that. Perfume is not exempt from import duty.' 'But it isn't perfume，' I said. 'It's hair gel.' Then I added with a smile， 'It's a strange mixture I make myself.' As I expected， he did not believe me. 'Try it！' I said encouragingly. The officer unscrewed the cap and put the bottle to his nostrils. He was greeted by an unpleasant smell which convinced him that I was telling the truth. A few minutes later， I was able to hurry away with precious chalk marks on my baggage.
Lesson 12
Life on a desert island
What was exceptional about the two men's stay on the desert island？
Most of us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island. We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun always shines. Life there is simple and good. Ripe fruit falls from the trees and you never have to work. The other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Life on a desert island is wretched. You either starve to death or live like Robinson Crusoe， Waiting for a boat which never comes. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures， but few us have had the opportunity to find out. Two men who recently spent five days on a coral island wished they had stayed there longer. They were taking a badly damaged boat from the Virgin Islands to Miami to have it repaired. During the journey， their boat began to sink. They quickly loaded a small rubber dinghy with food， matches， and cans of beer and rowed for a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island. There were hardly any trees on the island and there was no water， but this did not prove to be a problem. The men collected rainwater in the rubber dinghy. As they had brought a spear gun with them， they had plenty to eat. They caught lobster and fish every day，and， as one of them put it 'ate like kings'. When a passing tanker rescued them five days later， both men were genuinely sorry that they had to leave.