对于新概念英语的学习，我们一些人们都是摸不到头脑，不知道该从哪里下手。但是，我们对于那些追求一个更高英语级别的人们来说，学习新概念英语还是很有帮助的，让我们的英语可以飞速上升。下面是从新概念英语第二册中找来的几篇文章，都是比较不错的，希望大家能够学习一下。

58 A blessing in disguise?是因祸得福吗?

The tiny village of Frinley is said to possess a 'cursedtree'. Because the tree was

mentionedin a newspaper, the number of visitors to Frinley has now increased. The tree

wasplanted near the church fifty years ago, but it is only in recent years that ithas gained

an evilreputation. It is said that if anyone touches the tree, he will have bad luck;if he

picks aleaf, he will die. Many villagers believe that the tree has already claimed anumber

ofvictims. The vicar has been asked to have the tree cut down, but so far he hasrefused.

He haspointed out that the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has pointedout

that thetree is a useful source of income, as tourists have been coming from all partsof the

country tosee it. In spite of all that has been said, the tourists have been pickingleaves

andcutting their names on the tree-trunk. So far, not one of them has been struckdown by

suddendeath!

59 In or out?进来还是出去?

Our dog,Rex, used to sit outside our front gate and dark. Every time he wanted to

come intothe garden he would bark until someone opened the gate. As the neighbours

complainedof the noise, my husband spent weeks training him to press his paw on the

latch tolet himself in. Rex soon became an expert at opening the gate. However, when I

was goingout shopping last week, I noticed him in the garden near the gate. This time he

wasbarking so that someone would let him out! Since then, he has developed anotherbad

habit. Assoon as he opens the gate from the outside, he comes into the garden and waits

until thegate shuts. Then he sits and barks until someone lets him out. After this he

immediatelylets himself in and begins barking again. Yesterday my husband removed the

gate andRex got so annoyed we have not seen him since.

60 Thefuture 卜算未来

At avillage fair, I decided to visit a fortune-teller called Madam Bellinsky. Iwent into

her tentand she told me to sit down. After I had given her some money, she looked intoa

crystalball and said: 'A relation of yours is coming to see you. She will be arrivingthis

eveningand intends to stay for a few days. The moment you leave this tent, you willget a

bigsurprise. A woman you know well will rush towards you. She will speak to youand then

she willlead you away from this place. That is all.'

As soon asI went outside, I forgot all about Madam Bellinsky because my wife hurried

towardsme. 'Where have you been hiding?' she asked impatiently. 'Your sister will behere

in lessthan an hour and we must be at the station to meet her. We are late already.'As she

walkedaway, I followed her out of the fair.

61 Troublewith the Hubble 哈勃望远镜的困境

The Hubbletelescope was launched into space by NASA on April 20,1990 at a cost of

over abillion dollars. Right from the start there was trouble with the Hubble. Thepictures

it sent uswere very disappointing because its main mirror was faulty! NASA is now going

to put thetelescope right, so it will soon be sending up four astronauts to repair it.The

shuttleEndeavour will be taking the astronauts to the Hubble. A robot-arm from the

Endeavourwill grab the telescope and hold it while the astronauts make the necessary

repairs.Of course, the Hubble is above the earth's atmosphere, so it will soon besending

us theclearest pictures of the stars and distant galaxies that we have ever seen. The

Hubblewill tell us a great deal about the age and size of the universe. By the timeyou read

this, theHubble's eagle eye will have sent us thousands and thousands of wonderful

pictures.

62 Afterthe fire 大火之后

Firemenhad been fighting the forest for nearly three weeks before they could get it

undercontrol. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles

around.Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winterwas

coming onand the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy

rain wouldnot only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well. When the

fire hadat last been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a specialtype of

grass-seedwhich would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge

quantitiesby aeroplanes. The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it

began torain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. Inplace

of thegreat trees which had been growing there for centuries patches of green hadbegun

to appearin the blackened soil.

63 She wasnot amused 她并不觉得好笑

JeremyHampden has a large circle of friends and if very popular at parties. Everybody

admireshim for his great sense of humour -- everybody, that is, except hissix-year-old

daughter,Jenny. Recently, one of Jeremy's closest friends asked him to make a speech at

a weddingreception. This is the sort of thing that Jeremy loves. He prepared the speech

carefullyand went to the wedding with Jenny. he had included a large number of funny

stories inthe speech and, of course, it was a great success. As soon as he had finished,

Jenny toldhim she wanted to go home. Jeremy was a little disappointed by this but he did

as hisdaughter asked. On the way home, he asked Jenny if she had enjoyed the speech.To hissurprise, she said she hadn't. Jeremy asked her why this was so and she toldhim

that shedid not like to see so many people laughing at him!