Lesson 95



A fantasy



First listen and then answer the question.



Why was the Ambassador particularly lucky?



When the Ambassador of Escalopia returned home for lunch, his wife got a shock.



He looked pale and his clothes were in a frightful state.



'What has happened?' she asked.



'How did your clothes get into such a mess?'



'A fire extinguisher, my dear,' answered the Ambassador drily. 'University students set the Embassy on fire this morning.'



'Good heavens!' exclaimed his wife. 'And where were you at the time?'



'I was in my office as usual,' answered the Ambassador.



'The fire broke out in the basement.



I went down immediately, of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a fire extinguisher at me.



He thought I was on fire. I must definitely get that fellow posted.'



The Ambassador's wife went on asking questions, when she suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband's hat.



'And how can you explain that?' she asked.



'Oh, that,' said the Ambassador.



'Someone fired a shot through my office window.



Accurate, don't you think? Fortunately, I wasn't wearing it at the time.



If I had been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.'




fantasy   [ˈfæntəsi]  n. 幻想故事


ambassador  [æmˈbæsədə]  n. 大使


Escalopia  [ eskə'ləupn. 艾斯卡罗比亚（虚构的国名）


frightful  [ˈfraitful]   adj. 可怕的，令人吃惊的


fire extinguisher   [ˈfaiə-ikˈstiŋɡwiʃə]  灭火器


drily   [ˈdraili]  adv. 冷淡地，枯燥无味地


embassy   [ˈembəsi]  n. 大使馆


heaven  [ˈhevn]  n. 天，天堂


basement  [ˈbeismənt]  n. 地下室


definitely  [ˈdefinitli]  adv. 肯定地


post   [pəust]  v. 派任


shot   [ʃɔt]   n. 子弹