《新版新概念英语第三册(英音)Lesson (56)》歌词

[00:00:01] --- lesson 56 our neighbour, the river

[00:00:06] --- listen to the tape then answer the question below.

[00:00:12] --- why had the neighbours left their farm?

[00:00:18] the river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives.

[00:00:25] without it we could not make a living.

[00:00:28] there is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the house, so we have to pump from the river for farm use.

[00:00:35] we tell the river all our secrets.

[00:00:38] we know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees,

[00:00:42] that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.

[00:00:49] we have special river birthday parties in the summer.

[00:00:52] sometimes we go upstream to a favourite backwater,

[00:00:57] sometimes we have our party at the boathouse,

[00:01:00] which a predecessor of ours at the farm built in the meadow hard by the deepest pool for swimming and diving.

[00:01:08] in a heat wave we choose a midnight birthday party and that is the most exciting of all.

[00:01:15] we welcome the seasons by the riverside, crowning the youngest girl with flowers in the spring,

[00:01:21] holding a summer festival on midsummer eve, giving thanks for the harvest in the autumn,

[00:01:27] and throwing a holly wreath into the current in the winter.

[00:01:32] after a long period of rain the river may overflow its banks.

[00:01:37] this is a rare occurrence as our climate seldom goes to extremes.

[00:01:42] we are lucky in that only the lower fields, which make up a very small proportion of our farm, are affected by flooding,

[00:01:51] but other farms are less favorably sited, and flooding can sometimes spell disaster for their owners.

[00:01:59] one had winter we watched the river creep up the lower meadows.

[00:02:03] all the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little.

[00:02:08] we were, however, worried about our nearest neighbours, whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district.

[00:02:17] as the floods had put the telephone out of order, we could not find out how they were managing.

[00:02:23] from an attic window we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours,

[00:02:29] and at the most critical juncture we took turns in watching that point.

[00:02:34] the first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down.

[00:02:38] next came a horse, swimming bravely,

[00:02:41] but we were afraid that the strength of the current would prevent its landing anywhere before it became exhausted.

[00:02:48] suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like noah's ark, carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a bird in a cage.

[00:03:00] we realized that they must have become unduly frightened by the rising flood,

[00:03:06] for their house, which had sound foundations, would have stood stoutly even if it had been almost submerged.

[00:03:14] the men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boathooks,in the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towards our bank.

[00:03:25] we still think it a miracle that they were able to do so.