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2007年三亚鹿回头新佳高尔夫海景公寓项目投资建设可行性分析报告.doc 87页
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总论……………………………………………………1
项目基本情况……………………………………1
编制依据及研究范围……………………………4
结论及建议…………………………………5
项目建设的背景及必要性……………………………7
项目建设的背景……………………………………7
项目建设的必要性………………………………12
市场分析…………………………………………14
本项目公寓的概念………………………………14
三亚度假公寓情况介绍…………………………14
本项目与其他项目相比较的优势………………19
本项目前景预测…………………………………19
项目定位……………………………………21
功能定位…………………………………………21
市场定位………………………………………………22
项目建设方案和规划设计定位……………………25
设计定位…………………………………………28
入市姿态及推广时机定位………………………29
销售方式定位…………………………………30
物业管理定位…………………………………31
建设地点及建设条件……………………………32
建设地点…………………………………………32第二节
建设条件………………………………………………32
建设规模及建设内容…………………………………38
建筑建设方案………………………………………39
项目总体规划方案………………………………39
单体建筑方案……………………………………43
结构方案…………………………………………49
公用工程………………………………………50
给排水工程………………………………………50
电气………………………………………………53
燃气设计………………………………………58
道路、广场、停车场与绿化……………………58
第九章 消防及安全……………………………………………62
第十章 环境保护及节能……………………………………65
环境保护………………………………………65
节能措施……………………………………68
项目组织及劳动定员………………………………70
项目组织………………………………………70
劳动定员……………………………………70
项目建设管理及招标投标………………………72
项目建设管理……………………………………72
招标投标………………………………………72 第十三章
项目实施进度……………………………………74
投资估算与资金筹措……………………………75
投资估算…………………………………………75
资金筹措…………………………………………79
财务分析与评价…………………………………80
项目基本情况
三亚鹿回头新佳高尔夫海景公寓（一期）项目
建设单位概况
建设单位概况
项目拟建地点
项目拟建地点位于用地面积m2 181685
2 总建筑面积 m2
3 地面总建筑面积 m2
计容积率建筑面积 m2
会所 m2 2871.15
幼儿园 m2 3232
不计容积率建筑面积
（架空层面积+机房层面积） m2
地下总建筑面积 m2 40616.26
地下汽车库 m2 25579
人防区 m2 12135.7
非人防区 m2 13443.3
自行车库 m2 13827.5
会所地下层 m2
建筑占地面积 m2
建筑密度 % 8.9
8 绿化率 % 65
9 住宅总户数 户 2202
10 机动车停车数 辆 778
中 地下停车数 辆 683
地面停车数 辆 90
11 非机动车停车数（地下） 辆 2400
12 总投资 万元
其中 （1）工程费用 万元 93696.30
（2）工程其他费用 万元 30444.31
(3) 开发期税费 万元 885.79
13 财务内部收益率(税后) % 43.88
14 财务净现值(税后) 万元
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英语必背短文100篇
http://www.bobomp3.com 01 Last week I went to the theatre. I had a very good seat. The play was very inter esting. I did not enjoy it. A young man and a young woman were sitting behind me. They were talking loudly. I got very angry. I could not hear the actors. I turned round. I looked at the man and the woman angrily. They did not pay any attention. In the end, I could not bear it. I turned round again. 'I can't hear a word!' I said angrily. ' It's none of your business,' the young man said rudely. 'This is a private con versation!'.02 It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays. I sometimes stay in bed until lunch time. Last Sunday I got up very late. I looked out of the window. It was dark outside. 'What a day!' I thought. 'It's raining again.' Just then, the tele phone rang. It was my aunt Lucy.' I've just arrived by train,' she said. 'I'm coming to see you.' 'But I'm still having breakfast,' I said. 'What are you doing ?' she asked. ' I'm having breakfast,' I repeated. 'Dear me,' she said. 'Do you always get up so late ? It's one o'clock!''03 Postcards always spoil my holidays. Last summer, I went to Italy. I http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com visited museums and sat in public gardens. A friendly waiter taught me a few words of Italian. 'Then he lent me a book. I read is fewlines, but I did not understand a word. Every day I thought about post cards. My holidays passed quickly, but I did not send any cards to my friends. On the last day I made a big decision. I got up early and bought thirtyseven cards I spent the whole day in my room, but I did not write a single card !04 I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia.He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has already visited a great number of different places in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin. From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad be fore, so he is finding this trip very excit ing.05 Mr James Scott has a garage in Silbury and now he has just bought http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com another garage in Pinhurst. Pinhurst is only five miles from Silbury, but Mr Scott cannot get a telephone for his new garage, so he has just bought twelve pigeons. Yester day, a pigeon carried the first message from Pinhurst to Silbury. The bird covered the distance in three minutes. Up to now, Mr Scott has sent a great many requests for spare parts and other urgent messages from one garage to the other. In this way, he has begun his own private telephone service.06 I have just moved to a house in Bridge Street. Yesterday a beggar knocked at my door. He asked me for a meal and a glass of beer. In return for this, the beggar stood on his head and sang songs. I gave him a meal. He ate the food and drank the beer. Then he put a piece of cheese in his pocket and went away. Later a neighbour told me about him. Everybody knows him. His name is Percy Buttons. He calls at every house in the street once a month and always asks for a meal and a glass of beer. 07 The plane was late and detectives were waiting at the airport all morning. They were expecting a valuable parcel of dia mond from South Africa. A few hours earlier, someone had told the police that thieves would try to steal the diamonds. When the plane http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com arrived,some of the de tectives were waiting inside the main building while others were waiting on the airfield. Two men took the parcel off the plane and carried it into the Customs House. While two detectives were keep ing guard at the door, two others opened the parcel. To their surprise, the precious parcel was full of stones and sand!08 Joe Sanders has the most beautiful garden in our town. Nearly everybody enters for 'The Nicest Garden Competition' each year, but Joe wins every time. Bill Frith's garden is larger than Joe's. Bill works harder than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but Joe's garden is more interesting. He has made neat paths and has built a wooden bridge over a pool. I like gardens too, but I do not like hard work. Every year I enter for the garden competition too, and I always win a little prize for the worst garden in the town! 09 On Wednesday evening, we went to the Town Hall. It was the last day of the year and a large crowd of people had gathered under the Town Hall clock.It would strike twelve in twenty minutes' time. Fifteen minutes passed and then, at five to twelve, the clock stopped. The big minute hand did not move. We waited and waited, http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com but nothing happened. Sud denly someone shouted, 'It's two minutes past twelve! The clock has stopped!' I looked at my watch. It was true. The big clock refused to welcome the New Year. At that moment everybody began to laugh and sing.10 We have an old musical instrument. It is called a clavichord. It was made in Ger many in 1681. Our clavichord is kept in the livingroom. It has belong to our family for a long time. The instrument was bought by my grandfather many years ago. Recently it was damaged by a visitor. She tried to play jazz on it! She struck the keys too hard and two of the strings were broken. My father was shocked. Now we are not allowed to touch it. It is being repaired by a friend of my father's.11 I was having dinner at a restaurant when Harry Steele came in. Harry worked in a lawyer's office years ago, but he is now working at a bank. He gets a good salary, but he always borrows money from his friends and never pays it back. Harry saw me and came and sat at the same table. He has never borrowed money from me. While he was eating, I asked him to lend me &2. To my surprise, he http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com gave me the money immediately. 'I have never bor towed any money from you,' Harry said, 'so now you can pay for my dinner!'12 Our ncighbour, Captain Charles Alison, will sail from Portsmouth tomorrow. We shall meet him at the harbour early in the morning. He will be in his small boat, Topsail.Tapsail is a famous little boat. It has sailed across the Atlantic many times. Captain Alison will set out at eight o'clock so we shall have plenty of time. We shall see his boat and then we shall say good bye to him. He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him. He will take part in an important race across the Atlantic.13 The Greenwood Boys are a group of popular singers. At present, they are visit ing all parts of the country. They will be arriving here tomorrow. They will be coming by train and most of the young people in the town will be meeting them at the station. Tomorrow evening they will be singing at the Workers' Club. The Greenwood Boys will be staying for five days. During this time, they will give five http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com performances. As usual,the police will have a difficult time.They will be trying to keep order. It is always the same on these occasions.14 I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left a small village in the south of France, I drove on to the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I stopped and he asked me for a lift. As soon as he had got into the car, I said good morning to him in French and he replied in the same language. Apart from a few words, I do not know any French at all. Neither of us spoke during the journey. I had nearly reached the town, when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, 'Do you speak English?' As I soon learnt, he was English himself!15 The secretary told me that Mr Harms worth would see me. I felt very nervous when. I went into his office. He did not look up from his desk when I entered. After I had sat down, he said that busi ness was very bad. He told me that the firm could not afford to pay such large salaries. Twenty people had already left. I knew that my turn had come. 'Mr Harmsworth,' I said in a weak voice. 'Don't interrupt,' he Said. Then he smiled and told me I would receive an http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com extra &100 a year!16 If you park your car in the wrong place, a traffic policeman will soon find it. You will be very lucky if he lets you go with out a ticket. However, this does not al ways happen. Traffic police are sometimes very polite. During a holiday in Sweden, I found this note on my car:' Sir, we wel come you to our city. This is a &No Parking& area. You will enjoy your stay here if you pay attention to our street signs. This note is only a reminder.' If you receive a request like this, you can not fail to obey it!17 My aunt Jennifer is an actress. She must be at least thirtyfive years old. In spite of this, she often appears on the stage as a young girl. Jennifer will have to take part in a new play soon. This time, she will be a girl of seventeen. In the play, she must appear in a bright red dress and long black stockings. Last year in another play,she had to wear short socks and a bright,orangecoloured dress. If anyone ever asked her how old she is, she always answers,'My dear,it must be terrible to be grown up!'http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com 18 After I had had lunch at a village inn, I looked for my bag. I had left it on a chair beside the door and now it wasn't there ! As I was looking for it, the innkeeper came in. 'Did you have a good meal ?' he asked. 'Yes, thank you,' I answered, 'but I can't pay the bill. I haven't got my bag.' The innkeeper smiled and imme diately went out. In a few minutes he returned with my bag and gave it back to me. 'I'm very sorry,' he said ' My dog had taken it into the garden. He often does this.'19 'The play may begin at any moment,' I said. 'It may have begun already,' Susan answered. 'I hurried to the ticketoffice. 'May I have two tickets please ?' I asked. 'I'm sorry, we've sold out,' the girl said. 'What a pity!' Susan exclaimed. Just then, a man hurried to the ticket office. 'Can I return these two tickets?' he asked. 'Certainly,' the girl said. 'Could I have those two tickets please ?' I asked. 'Certainly,'the girl said, 'but they are for next Wednesday's performance. 'I might as well have them,' I said sadly.20 Fishing is my favourite sport. I often fish for hours without catching http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com anything. But this does not worry me. Some fishermen are unlucky. Instead of catching fish, they catch old boots and rubbish. I am even less lucky. I never catch anythingnot even old boots. After having spent whole mornings on the river, I always go home with an empty bag. 'You must give up fishing!' my friends say.' It's a waste of time.' But they don't realize one impor tant thing. I'm not really interested in fishing. I am only interested in sitting in a boat and doing nothing at all !21 Aeroplanes are slowly driving me mad. I live near an airport and passing planes can be heard night and day. The airport was built during the war, but for some reason it could not be used then. Last year, however, it came into use. Over a hundred people must have been driven away from their homes by the noise. I am one of the few people left. Sometimes I think this house will be knocked down by a passing plane. I have been offered a large sum of money to go away, but I am determined to stay here. Everybody says I must be mad and they are probably right. 22 My daughter, Jane, never dreamed of receiving a letter from a girl of her own age in Holland. Last year, we were travel ling across the http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com Channel and Jane put a piece of paper with her name and address on it into a bottle. She threw the bottle into the sea. She never thought of it again, but ten months later, she received a letter from a girl in Holland. Both girls write to each other regularly now. However, they have decided to use the postoffice. Letters will cost a litt1e more, but they will cer tainly travel faster.23 I had a letter from my sister yesterday. She lives in Nigeria. In her letter, she said that she would come to England next year. If she comes, she will get a surprise. We are now living in a beautifulnew house in the country. Work on it had begun be fore my sister left. The house was com pleted five months ago. In my letter, I told her that she could stay with us. The house has many large rooms and there is a lovely garden. It is a very modern house, so it looks strange to some people. It must be the only modern house in the district.24 I entered the hotel manager's office and sat down. I had just lost &50 and I felt very upset.' I left the money in my room,' I said, 'and it's not there now.' The manager was sympathetic, but he could do http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com nothing. 'Everyone's losing money these days,' he said. He started to com plain about this wicked world but was interrupted by a knock at the door. A girl came in and put an envelope on his desk. It contained &5o. 'I found this outside this gentleman's room' she said. 'Well,' I said to the manager, 'there is still some honesty in this world !' 25 I arrived in London at last. The railway station was big, black and dark. I did not know the way to my hotel, so I asked a porter. I not only spoke English very carefully, but very clearly as well. The porter, however, cou I repeated my question several times and at last he understood. He answered me, but he spoke neither slowly nor clearly. 'I am a foreigner,' I said. Then he spoke slowly, but I could not under stand him. My teacher never spoke Eng lish like that! The porter and I looked at each other and smiled. Then he said something and I understood it. 'You'll soon learn English!' he said. I wonder. In England, each man speaks a different language. The English understand each other, but I don't understand them ! Do they speak English ?26 I am an art student and I paint a lot of pictures. Many people http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com pretend that they understand modern art. They always tell you what a picture is 'about'. Of course, many pictures arc not 'about' anything. They are just pretty patterns. We like them in the same way that we like pretty curtain material. I think that young child ren often appreciate modern pictures better than anyone else. They notice more. My sister is only seven, but she always tells me whether my pictures are good or not. She came into my room yesterday. ' What are you doing ?' she asked. ' I'm hanging this picture on the wall,' I answered. 'It's a new one. Do you like it ?' She looked at it critically for a moment.' It's all right,' she said, 'but isn't it upsidedown ?' I looked at it again. She was right! It was!27 Late in the afternoon, the boys put up their tent in the middle of a field. As soon as this was done, they cooked a meal over an open fire. They were all hungry and the food smelt good. After a wonderful meal, they told stories and sang songs by the camp fire. But some time later it be gan to rain. The boys felt tired so they pet out the fire and crept into their tent. Their sleepingbags were warm and com fortable, so they all slept soundly. In the middle of the night, two boys woke up and began shouting. The tent was full of water! They all leapt out of their sleep ingbags and hurried outside. http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com It was rain ing heavily and they found that a stream had formed in the field. The stream wound its way across the field and then flowed right under their tent!28 Jasper White is one of those rare people who believes in ancient myths. He has just bought a new house in the city, but ever since he moved in, he has had trouble with motorists. when he returns home at night, he always finds that some one has parked a car outside his gate. Because of this, he has not been able to get his own car into his garage even once. Jasper has put up' No Parking' signs out side his gate, but these have not had any effect. Now he has put an ugly stone head over the gate. It is one of the ugliest faces I have ever seen. I asked him what it was and he told me that it was Medusa, the Gorgon. Jasper hopes that she will turn motorists to stone. But none of them has been turned to stone yet!29 Captain Ben Fawcett has bought an un usual taxi and has begun a new service. The 'taxi' is a small Swiss aeroplane called a 'Pilatus Porter'. This wonderful plane can carry seven passengers. The most surprising thing about it, however, is that it can land anywhere: http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com on snow, water, or even on a ploughed field. Cap tain Fawcett's first passenger was a doctor who flew from Birmingham to a lonely village in the Welsh mountains. Since then, Captain Fawcett has flown passen gers to many unusual places. Once he landed on the roof of a block of flats and on another occasion, he landed in a de serted car park. Captain Fawcett has just refused a strange request from a businessman. The man wanted to fly to Rockall, a lonely island in the Atlantic Ocean, but Captain Fawcett did not take him because the trip was too dangerous. 30 The Wayle is a small river that cuts across the park near my home. I like sitting by the Wayle on fine afternoons. It was warm last Sunday, so I went and sat on the river bank as usual. Some child ren were playing games on the bank and there were some people rowing on the river. Suddenly, one of the children kicked a ball very hard and it went to wards a passing boat. Some people on the bank called out to the man in the boat, but he did not hear them. The ball struck him so hard that he nearly fell into the water. I turned to look at the children, but there weren't any in sight:they had all run away! The man laughed when he realized what had happened. He called out to the children and threw the ball back to the bank. 31 http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com Yesterday afternoon Frank Hawkins was telling me about his expcriences as a young man. Frank is now the head of a very large business company, but as a boy he used to work in a small shop. It was his job to repair bicycles and at that time he used to work fourteen hours a day. He saved money for years and in 1938 he bought a small workshop of his own. During the war Frank used to make spare parts for aeroplanes. At that time he had two helpers. By the end of the war, the small workshop had become a large factory which employed seven hun dred and twentyeight people. Frank smiled when he remembered his hard early years and the long road to success. He was still smiling when the door opened and his wife came in. She wanted him to repair their son's bicycle!32 People are not so honest as they once were. The temptation to steal is greater than ever beforeespecially in large shops. A detective recently watched a welldressed woman who always went into a large store on Monday mornings. One Monday, there were fewer people in the shop than usual when the woman came in, so it was easier for the detective to watch her. The woman first bought a http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com few small articles. After a little time, she chose one of the most expensive dresses in the shop and handed it to an assistant who wrapped it up for her as quickly as possible. Then the woman simply took the parcel and walked out of the shop without paying. When she was arrested, the detective found out that the shop assistant was her daughter. The girl' gave' her mother a free dress once a week ! 33 Nearly a week passed before the girl was able to explain what had happened to her. One afternoon she set out from the coast in a small boat and was caught in a storm. Towards evening, the boat struck a rock and the girl jumped into the sea. Then she swam to the shore after spending the whole night in the water.During that time she covered a distance of eight miles. Early next morning, she saw a light ahead. She knew she was near the shore because the light was high up on the cliffs. On arriving at the shore, the girl struggled up the cliff towards the light she had seen. That was all she remembered. When she woke up a day later, she found herself in hospital.34 Ted Robinson has been worried all the week. Last Tuesday hehttp://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com received a letter from the local police. In the letter he was askedto call at the station. Ted wondered police, but hewhy he was wanted by the is notwent to the station yesterday and now heworried any more. At the station, policeman thathe was told by a smiling ago, thehis bicycle had been found. Five dayspoliceman told him, the bicycle was pinged up in a small village four hun dred miles away. It is now being sent to Ted was most sur his home by train.prised when he heard the news. He wasamused too, because he never expected the bicycle to be found. It was stolen twenty years ago when Ted was a boy of fifteen !35 Rov Trenton used to drive a taxi. A short while ago, however, he became a bus driver and he was not regretted it. He is finding his new work far more exciting. When he was driving along Catford Street recently, he saw two thieves rush out of a shop and run towards a waiting car. One of them was carrying a bag full of money. Roy acted quickly and drove the bus straight at the thieves. The one with the money got such a fright that he dropped the bag. As the thieves were trying to get away in their car, Roy drove his bus into the back of it. While the battered car was moving away, Roy stopped his bus and telephoned the police. The thieves' car http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com was badly damaged and easy to recognize. Shortly afterwards, the police stopped the car and both men were arrested.36 Erna Hart is going to swim across the English Channel tomorrow. She is going to set out from the French coast at five o'clock in the morning. Erna is only tour teen years old and she hopes lo set up a new world record. She is a strong swim mer and many people feel that she is sure to succeed. Erna's father will set out with her in a small boat. Mr Hart has trained his daughter for years. Tomorrow he will be watching her anxiously as she swims the long distance to England. Erna in tends to take short rests every two hours. She will have something to drink but she will not eat any solid food. Most of Erna's school friends will be waiting for her on the English coast. Among them will be Erna't mother, who swam the Channel herself when she was a girl. 37 The Olympic Games will be held in our country in four years' time. As a great many people will be visiting the country, the government will be building new hotels, an immense stadium, and a fine new swimming pool. 'They will also be building new roads and a special railway line. The Games will be held just outside the capital and the http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com whole area will be called 'Olympic City'. Workers will have completed the new roads by the end of this year. By the end of next year, they will have finished work on the new stadium. The fine modern buildings have been designed by Kurt Gunter. Every body will be watching anxiously as the new buildings go up. We are all very excited and are looking forward to the Olympic Games because they have never been held before in this country. 38 My old friend, Harrison, had lived in the Mediterranean for many years before. he returned to England. He had often dreamed of retiring in England and had planned to settle down in the country. He had no sooner returned than he bought a fine house and went to live there. Almost immediately he began to complain about the weather, for even though it was still summer, it rained continually and it was often bitterly cold. After so many years of sunshine, Harrison got a shock. He acted as if he had never lived in England before. In the end, it was more than he could bear. He had hardly had time to settle down when he sold the house and left the country. The dream he had had for so many years ended there. Harrison had thought of everything except the weather.39 http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com While John Gilbert was in hospital, he asked his doctor to tell him whether his operation had been successful, but the doctor refused to do so. The following day, the patient asked for a bedside tele phone. When he was alone, he telephoned the hospital exchange and asked for Doc tor Millington. When the doctor answered the phone, Mr Gilbert said he was in quiring about a certain patient, a Mr John Gilbert. He asked if Mr Gilbert's operation had been successful and the doctor told him that it had been. He then asked when Mr Gilbert would be allowed to go home and the doctor told him that he would have to stay in hospital for an other two weeks. Then Dr Millington asked the caller if he was a relative of the patient.' No,' the patient answered,' I am Mr John Gilbert.'40 Last week at a dinnerparty, the hostess asked me to sit next to Mrs Rumbold. Mrs Rumbold was a large, unsmiling lady in a tight black dress. She did not even look up when I took my seat beside her. Her eyes were fixed on her plate and in a short time, she was busy eating. I tried to make conversation. ' A new play is coming to& The Globe& soon,' I said. 'Will you be seeing it ?' ' No,' she answered. 'Will you be spending your holidays abroad this year ?' I asked. ' No,' she answered. ' Will you be staying in England?' I asked. ' No,' http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com she answered. In despair, I asked her whether she was enjoying her dinner. ' Young man,' she answered,' if you ate more and talked less, we would both enjoy our dinner !'41 'Do you call that a hat ?' I said to my wife. 'You needn't be so rude about it,' my wife answered as she looked at herself in the mirror. I sat down on one of those modern chairs with holes in it and waited. We had been in the hat shop for half an hour and my wife was still in front of the mirror. ' We mustn't buy things we don't need,' I remarked suddenly. I regretted saying it almost at once. 'You needn't have said that,' my wife answered.' I need not remind you of that terrible tie you bought yesterday.' ' I find it beautiful,' I said. 'A man can never have too many ties.' 'And a woman can't have too many hats,' she answered. Ten minutes later we walked out of the shop together. My wife was wearing a hat that looked like a lighthouse !42 As we had had a long walk through one of the markets of Old Delhi, we stopped at a square to have a rest. After a time, we noticed a snakecharmer with two large baskets at the other side of the http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com square, so we went to have a look at him. As soon as he saw us, he picked up a long pipe which was covered with coins and opened one of the baskets. When he be gan to play a tune, we had our first glimpse of the snake. It rose out of the basket and began to follow the move ments of the pipe.We were very much surprised when the snake charmer sud denly began to play jazz tunes and popu lar modern songs. The snake, however, continued to 'dance' slowly. It obviously could not tell the difference between Indian music and jazz!43 In 1929, three years after his flight over the North Pole, the American explorer, R. E. Byrd, successfully flew over the South Pole for the first time. Though, at first, Byrd and his men were able to take a great many photographs of the moun tains that lay below, they soon ran into serious trouble. At one point, it seemed certain that their plane would crash. It could only get over the mountains if it rose to 10,000 feet. Byrd at once ordered his men to throw out two heavy food sacks. The plane was then able to rise and it cleared the mountains by 400 feet. Byrd now knew that he would be able to reach the South Pole which was 300 miles away, for there were no more mountains in sight. The aircraft was able to fly http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com over the endless white plains without difficulty.44 Mrs Anne Sterling did not think of the risk she was taking when she ran through a forest after two men. They had rushed up to her while she was having a picnic at the edge of a forest with her children and tried to steal her handbag. In the struggle, the strap broke and, with the bag in their possession, both men started running through the trees. Mrs Sterling got so angry that she ran after them. She was soon out of breath, but she continued to run. When she caught up with them, she saw that they had sat down and were going through the contents of the bag, so she ran straight at them. The men got such a fright that they dropped the bag and ran away. 'The strap needs mending,' said Mrs Sterling later, 'but they did not steal anything.'45 The whole village soon learnt that a large sum of money had been lost. Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings to the postoffice. Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one of the villagers, but it was not returned to him. Three months passed, and then one morning, Sam found his http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com wallet outside his front door. It had been wrapped up in newspaper and it contained half the money he had lost, to gether with a note which said: 'A thief, yes, 'but only 5o per cent a thief!' Two months later, some more money was sent to Sam with another note:'Only 25 per cent a thief now!' In time, all Sam's money was paid back in this way. The last note said:' I am 100 per cent honest now!'46 When a plane from London arrived at Sydney airport, workers began to unload a number of wooden boxes which con tained clothing. No one could account for the fact that one of the boxes was ex tremely heavy. It suddenly occurred to one of the workers to open up the box. He was astonished at what he found. A man was lying in the box on top of a pile of woollen goods. He was so surprised at being discovered that he did not even try to run away. After he was arrested, the man admitted hiding in the box before the plane left London. He had had a long and uncomfortable trip, for he had been confined to the wooden box for over ten hours. The man was ordered to pay &345 for the cost of the trip. The normal price of a ticket is &230 !47 http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com A public house which was recently bought by Mr Ian Thompson is up for sale. Mr Thompson is going to sell it because it is haunted. He told me that he could not go to sleep one night because he heard a strange noise coming from the bar. The next morning, he found that the doors had been blocked by chairs and the furni ture had been moved. Though Mr Thompson had turned the lights off be fore he went to bed, they were on in the morning. He also said that he had found five empty whisky bottles which the ghost must have drunk the night before. When I suggested that some villagers must have come in for a free drink, Mr Thompson shook his head. The villagers have told him that they will not accept the inn even if he gives it away.48 Dentists always ask questions when it is impossible for you to answer. My dentist had just pulled out one of my teeth and had told me to rest for a while. I tried to say something, but my mouth was full of cottonwool. He knew I collected birds' eggs and asked me whether my collection was growing. He then asked me how my brother was and whether I liked my new job in London. In answer to these questions I either nodded or made strange noises. Meanwhile, my tongue was busy searching out the hole where the http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com tooth had been. I suddenly felt very worried, but could not say anything. When the dentist at last removed the cottonwool from my mouth, I was able to tell him that he had pulled out the wrong tooth.49 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. Be cause 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 un hurt. 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.50 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 http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com 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 con doctor 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 are going back now,' said the conductor. 'Well, in that case, I prefer to stay on the bus,' I answered.51 My friend, Herbert, has always been fat, but things got so bad recently that he de cided 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 for bidden. The list included most of the things Herbert 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 Herbert 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 http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com 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!52 We have just moved into a new house and I have been working hard all morning. I have ten trying to get my new room in order. This has not been easy because I own over a thousand books. To make matters worse, the room is rather small, so I have temporarily put my books on the floor. At the moment, they cover every inch of floor space and I actually have to walk on them to get in or out of the room. A short while ago, my sister helped me to carry one of my old bookcases up the stairs. She went into my room and got a big surprise when she saw all those books on the floor. 'This is the prettiest carpet I have ever seen,' she said. She gazed at it for some time then added, 'You don't need bookcases at all. You can sit here in your spare time and read the carpet!'53 At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. Since then, they have been trying to find out how the fire began. Forest fire are http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com often caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away. Yesterday the fire men examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a fireman accidentally dis covered the cause. He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000volt power line. In this way, he was able to solve the mystery. The explanation was simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires. When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire.54 After breakfast, I sent the children to school and then I went to market. It was still early when I returned home. The children were at school, my husband was at work and the house was quiet. So I decided to make some tarts for tea. In a short time I was busy mixing butter and flour and my hands were soon covered with sticky pastry. At exactly that mo ment, the telephone rang. Nothing could have been more annoying. I picked up the receiver between two sticky fingers and was dismayed when I recognized the voice of http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com Mrs Bates. It took me ten minutes to persuade her to ring back later. At last I hung up the receiver. What a mess! There was pastry on my fingers, on the telephone, and on the doorknobs. I had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead. This time it was the postman and he wanted me to sign for a registered letter !55 Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true recently. A new machine called 'The Revealer' has been invented and it has been used to detect gold which has been buried in the ground. The machine was used in a cave near the seashore whereit is saidpirates used to hide gold. The pirates would often bury gold in the cave and then fail to collect it. Armed with the new machine, a search party went into the cave hoping to find buried treasure. The leader of the party was examining the soil near the entrance to the cave when the machine showed that there was gold under the ground. Very excited, the party dug a hole two feet deep. They finally found a small gold coin which was almost worthless. The party then searched the whole cave thoroughly but did not find anything except an empty tin trunk. In spite of this, many people are confident that 'The Revealer' may reveal something of value fairly http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com soon.56 Once a year a race is held for old cars. A lot of cars entered for this race last year and there was a great deal of excitement just before it began. One of the most handsome cars was a RollsRoyceSilver Ghost. The most unusual car was a Benz which had only three wheels. Built in 1885, it was the oldest car taking part. After a great many loud explosions, the race began. Many of the cars broke down on the course and some drivers spent more time under their cars than in them ! A few cars, however, completed the race. The winning car reached a speed of forty miles an hourmuch faster than any of its rivals. It sped downhill at the end of the race and its driver had a lot of trouble trying to stop it. The race gave every one a great deal of pleasure. It was very different from modern car races but no less exciting.57 A woman in blue jeans stood at the win dow of an expensive shop. Though she hesitated for a moment, she finally went in and asked to see a dress that was in the window. The assistant who served http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com her did not like the way she was dressed. Glancing at her scornfully, he told her that the dress was sold. The woman walked out of the shop angrily and de cided to punish the assistant next day. She returned to the shop the following morning dressed in a fur coat, with a handbag in one hand and a long umbrella in the other. After seeking out the rude assistant she asked for the same dress. Not realizing who she was, the assistant was eager to serve her this time with great difficulty, he climbed into the shop window to get the dress. As soon as she saw it, the woman said she did not like it. She enjoyed herself making the assistant bring almost everything in the window before finally buying the dress she had first asked for. 58 The tiny village of Frinley is said to possess a 'cursed tree'. Because the tree was mentioned in a newspaper, the num ber of visitors to Frinley has now in creased. The tree was planted near a church fifty years ago, but it is only in recent years that it has gained an evil reputation. It is said that if anyone touches the tree, h if he picks a leaf, he will die. Many villagers believe that the tree has already claimed a num ber of victims. The vicar has been asked to have the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has pointed out that the tree is a useful source of income as tour ists have been coming from all parts of the country http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com to see it. In spite of all that has been said, the touristshave been picking leaves and cutting their names on the treetrunk. So far, not one of them has been struck down by sudden death!59 Our dog, Rex, used to sit outside our front gate and bark. Every time he wanted to come into the garden he would bark until someone opened the gate. As the neighbours complained of the noise, my husband spent weeks training him to press his paw on the latch to let himself in. Rex soon became an expert at opening the gate. However, when I was going out shopping last week, I noticed him in the garden near the gate. This time he was barking so that someone would let him out ! Since then, he has developed another bad habit. As soon as he opens the gate from the outside, he comes into the gar den and waits until the gate shuts. Then he sits and barks until someone lets him out. After this he immediately lets himself in and begins barking again. Yesterday my husband removed the gate and Rex got so annoyed we have not seen him since.http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com 60 At a village fair, I decided to visit a fortuneteller called Madam Bellinsky. I went into her tent and she told me to sit down. After I had given her some money, she looked into a crystal ball and said: 'A relation of yours is coming to see you. She will be arriving this evening and in tends to stay for a few days. The moment you leave this tent, you will get a big surprise. A woman you know well will rush towards you. She will speak to you and then she will lead you away from this place. That is all.' As soon as I went outside, I forgot all about Madam Bellinsky because my wife hurried towards me. 'Where have you been hiding ?' she asked impatiently. 'Your sister will be here in less than an hour and we must be at the station to meet her. We are late already.' As she walked away, I followed her out of the fair.61 In future, astronauts will be required to descend from a spaceship while it is still in space and to return to it. The ability to do this will be necessary in future flights to distant planets. Scientists are now trying to discover if this is possible. The spaceship Astra which left http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com the earth a short time ago, will be travelling three hundred miles into space. At a certain point, the Astra will stop for a short time and an astronaut will attempt to leave the stationary spaceship and then return to it. We shall not know whether the experi ment has been successful until we have received a radio message. The first message is expected to arrive at 7 o'clock this evening. By that time, the Astra will have been flying through space for seventeen hours and will have circled the earth a great many times. When the first radio messages have been received, the results of the trip will be announced immediately.62 Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the deso late hills. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well. When the fire had at last been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grassseed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes. The http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries, patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil. 63 Geoffrey Hampden has a large circle of friends and is very popular at parties. Everybody admires him for his fine sense of humoreverybody, that is, except his sixyearold daughter, Jenny. Recently, one of Geoffrey's closest friends asked him to make a speech at a wedding recep tion. This is the sort of thing that Geoffrey loves. He prepared the speech carefully and went to the wedding with Jenny. He had included a large number of funny stories in the speech and, of course, it was a great success. As soon as he had finished, Jenny told him she wanted to go home. Geoffrey was a little disappointed by this but he did as his daughter asked. On the way home, he asked Jenny if she had enjoyed the speech. To his surprise, she said she hadn't. Geoffrey asked her why this was so and she told him that she did not like to see so many people laughing at him!http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com 64 In l858, a French engineer, Aime Thome de Gamond, arrived in England with a plan for a twentyone mile tunnel across the English Channel. He said that it would be possible to build a platform in the centre of the Channel. This platform would serve as a port and a railway sta lion. The tunnel would be wellventilated if tall chimneys were built above sealevel. In 1860, a better plan was put forward by an Englishman, William Low. He sug gested that a double railway tunnel should be built. This would solve the problem of ventilation, for if a train entered this tunnel, it would draw in fresh air behind it. Fortytwo years later a tunnel was actually begun. If, at the time, the British had not feared invasion, it would have been completed. Recently, there has again been great interest in the idea of a Channel Tunnel. If it is built, it will connect Britain to Europe for the first time in history.65 Last Christmas, the circus owner, Jimmy Gates, decided to take some presents to a children's hospital. Dressed up as Father Christmas and accompanied by a 'guard of honour' of six pretty girls, he set off down the main street of the city riding a baby elephant called Jumbo. He, should have known that the police http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com would never allow this sort of thing. A policeman approached Jimmy and told him he ought to have gone along a sidestreet as Jumbo was holding up the traffic. Though Jimmy agreed to go at once, Jumbo refused to move. Fifteen policemen had to push very hard to get him off the main street. The police had a difficult time, but they were most amused. 'Jumbo must weigh a few tons,' said a policeman afterwards, 'so it was fortunate that we didn't have to carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, but as he has a good record, we shall let him off this time.'66 The Hatheld Puffin is a modern aero plane, but its designer, Mr John Wim penny, is finding it difficult to get it off the ground. The reason for this is that this plane is also a bicycle. Its pilot has to pedal hard to get it into the air. After Mr Wimpenny had the plane built, it was tested thoroughly. In 1961, it was the first manpowered aircraft to fly half a mile. While being flown by a champion amateur cyclist in 1963, the plane crashed on an airfield. Since then, Mr Wimpenny has had it rebuilt. He has had the length of the wings increased so that they now measure 93 feetalmost as long as those of a Dakota. Many people have shown interest in this new and unusual sport. But though air cyclists may learn how to fly over http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com short distances, and may, eventually, even get across the English Channel, it is doubtful whether they will ever cycle across the Atlantic.67 Haroun Tazieff the Polish scientist, has spent his lifetime studying active vol canoes and deep caves in all parts of the world. In 1948, he went to lake Kivu in the Congo to observe a new volcano which he later named Kituro. Tazieff was able to set up his camp very close to the volcano while it was erupting violently. Though he managed to take a number of brilliant photographs, he could not stay near the volcano for very long. He noticed that a river of liquid rock was coming towards him. It threatened to sur round him completely, but Tazieff man aged to escape just in time. He waited until the volcano became quiet and he was able to return two days later. This time, he managed to climb into the mouth of Kituro so that he could take photographs and measure temperatures. Tazieff has often risked his life in this way. He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive.68 I crossed the street to avoid meeting him, but he saw me and came http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com running towards me. 'It was no use pretending that I had not seen him, so I waved to him. I never enjoy meeting Bert Dykes. He never has anything to do. No matter how busy you are, he always insists on coming with you. I had to think of a way of preventing him from following me around all morning. 'Hullo, Bert,' I said. 'Fancy meeting you here !' 'Hullo, Elizabeth,' Bert answered. ' I was just wondering how to spend the morninguntil I saw you. You're not busy doing anything, are you ?' ' No, not at all,' I answered.' I'm going to.. .' 'Would you mind my coming with you ?' he asked, before I had finished speaking. . Not at all,' I lied, 'but I'm going to the dentist.' ' Then I'll come with you,' he answered.' There's always plenty to read in the' waiting room !'69 I was being tested for a driving licence for the third time. I had been asked to drive in heavy traffic and had done so successfully. After having been instructed to drive out of town, I began to acquire confidence. Sure that I had passed, I was almost beginning to enjoy my test. The examiner must have been pleased with my performance, for he smiled and said, 'Just one more thing, Mr Eames. Let us suppose that a child suddenly crosses the road in http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com front of you. As soon as I tap on the window, I want the car to be stopped immediately.' I continued driving and after some time, the examiner tapped loudly. Though the sound could be heard clearly, it took me a long time to react. I suddenly pressed the brake pedal hard and we were both thrown forward. The examiner looked at me sadly. 'Mr Eames,' he said, in a mournful voice,' you have just killed that child !'70 During a bullfight, a drunk suddenly wandered into the middle of the ring. The crowd began to shout, but the drunk was unaware of the danger. The bull was busy with the matador at the time, but it sud denly caught sight of the drunk who was shouting rude remarks and waving a red cap. Apparently sensitive to criticism, the bull forgot all about the matador and charged at the drunk. The crowd sud denly grew quiet. The drunk, however, seemed quite sure of himself. When the bull got close to him, he clumsily stepped aside to let it pass. The crowd broke into cheers and the drunk bowed. By this time, however, three men had come into the ring and they quickly dragged the drunk to safety. Even the bull seemed to feel sorry for him, for it looked on sympathetically until the drunk was out of the http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com way before once more turning its attention to the matador.71 When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C. If the Houses of Par liament had hot been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected. Big Ben takes its name from Sir Benjamin Hall who was re sponsible for the making of the clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built. It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well. Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day. On the B.B.C. you can hear the clock when it is actually striking because microphones are con nected to the clock tower. Big Ben has rarely gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give the correct time. A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down !72 The great racing driver, Sir Malcolm Campbell, was the first man to http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com drive at over 300 miles per hour. He set up a new world record in September 1935 at Bonne ville Salt Flats, Utah. Bluebird, the car he was driving, had been specially built for him. It was over 30 feet in length and had a 2500 horsepower engine. Although Campbell reached a speed of over 304 miles per hour, he had great difficulty in controlling the car because a tyre burst during the first run. After his attempt, Campbell was disappointed to learn that his average speed had been 299 miles per hour. However, a few days later, he was told that a mistake had been made. His average speed had been 301 miles per hour. Since that time, racing drivers have reached speeds of over 400 miles an hour. Following his father's footsteps many years later, Sir Malcolm's son, Donald, also set up a world record. Like his father, he was driving a car called Bluebird.73 Little boys who play truant from school are unimaginative. A quiet day's fishing, or eight hours in a cinema seeing the same film over and over again, is usually as far as they get. They have all been put to shame by a boy who, while playing truant, travelled 1600 miles. He hitch hiked to Dover and, towards evening, went into a boat to find somewhere to sleep. When he woke up next morning, he discovered that the boat had, in the meantime, travelled to Calais. http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com No one noticed the boy as he crept off.From there, he hitchhiked to Paris in a lorry. The driver gave him a few biscuits and a cup of coffee and left him just outside the city. The next car the boy stopped did not take him into the centre of Paris as he hoped it would, but to Perpignan on the FrenchSpanish border. There he was picked up by a policeman and sent back to England by the local authorities. He has surely set up a record for the thousands of boys who dream of evading school. 74 An ancient bus stopped by a dry river bed and a party of famous actors and actresses got off.Dressed in dark glasses and old clothes, they had taken special precautions so that no one should recog nize them. But as they soon discovered, disguises can sometimes be too perfect. 'This is a wonderful place for a picnic,' said Gloria Gleam. ' It couldn't be better, Gloria,' Brinksley Meers agreed. 'No newspaper men, no film fans! Why don't we come more often ?' Meanwhile, two other actors, Rockwall Slinger and Merlin Greeves, had carried two large food baskets to a shady spot under some trees. When they had all made themselves comfortable, a stranger appeared. He looked very angry. 'Now you gut out of here, all of you!' he shouted: ' I'm sheriff here. Do you see that notice ? It says& No Camping&in case you can't read !' ' Look, http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com sheriffi,'said Rockwall,' don't be too hard on us. I'm Rockwall Slinger and this is Merlin Greeves.' ' Oh, is it ?' said the sheriff with a sneer. 'Well, I'm Brinksley Meers, and my other name is Gloria Gleam. Now you get out of here fast !'75 When a light passenger plane flew off course some time ago, it crashed in the mountains and its pilot was killed. The only passengers, a young woman and her two baby daughters, were unhurt. It was the middle of winter. Snow lay thick on the ground.The woman knew that the nearest village was miles away. When it grew dark. she turned a suilcase into a bed and put the children inside it, cover ing them with all the clothes she could find. During the night, it got terribly cold. The woman kept as near as she could to the children and even tried to get into the case herself, but it was too small. Early,next morning she heard planes passing overhead and wondered how she could send a signal. Then she had an idea. She stamped out the letters' SOS' in the snow. Fortunately, a pilot saw the signal and sent a message by radio to the nearest town. It was not long before a helicopter arrived on the scene to rescue the survivors of the plane crash.http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com 76 'To end our special new's bulletin,' said the voice of the television announcer,' we are taking you to the macaroni fields of Calabria. Macaroni has been grown in this area for over six hundred years. Two of the leading growers, Giuseppe Moldova and Riccardo Brabante, tell me that they have been expecting a splendid crop this year and harvesting has begun earlier than usual. Here you can see two workers who, between them, have just finished cutting three cartloads of golden brown macaroni stalks. The whole village has been working day and night gathering and threshing this year's croP before the September rains. On the right, you can see Mrs Brabante herself. She has been helping her husband for thirty years now. Mrs Brabante is talking to the manager of the local factory where the crop is processed. This last scene shows you what will happen at the end of the harvest : the famous Calabrian macaronieating competition ! Signor Fratelli, the present champion, has won it every year since 1961. And that ends our special bulletin for today, Thursday, April 1st. We are now returning you to the studio.'77 The mummy of an Egyptian woman who died in 800 B.C. has just http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com had an operation. The mummy is that of Shepenmut who was once a singer in the Temple of Thebes. As there were strange marks on the Xray plates taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease. The only way to do this was to operate. The operation, which lasted for over four hours,proved to be very difficult because of the hard resin which covered the skin. The doctors removed a section of the mummy and sent it to a laboratory. They also found something which the Xray of the god Duamutef.This god which has the head of a cow was normally placed inside a mummy. The doctors have not yet decided how the woman died. They feared that the mummy would fall to pieces when they cut it open, but for tunately this has not happened. The mummy successfully survived the operation.78 After reading an article entitled 'Cigarette Smoking and Your Health' I lit a cigar ette to calm my nerves. I smoked with concentration and pleasure as I was sure that this would be my last cigarette. For a whole week I did not smoke at all and during this time, my wife suffered terribly. I had all the usual symptoms of someone giving up smoking: a bad tem per and an enormous appetite. My friends kept on offering me cigarettes and cigars. They http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com made no effort to hide their amuse ment whenever I produced a packet of sweets from my pocket. After seven days of this I went to a party. Everybody around me was smoking and I felt ex tremely uncomfortable. When my old friend Brian urged me to accept a cigarette, it was more than I could bear. I took one guiltily, lit it and smoked with satis faction. My wife was delighted that things had returned to normal once more. Anyway, as Brian pointed out, it is the easiest thing in the world to give up smoking. He himself has done it lots of times!79 I used to travel by air a great deal when I was a boy. My parents,used to live in South America and I used to fly there from Europe in the holidays. An air hostess would take charge of me and I never had an unpleasant experience. I am used to travelling by air and only on one occasion have I ever felt frightened. After taking off, we were flying low over the city and slowly gaining height, when the plane suddenly turned round and flew back to the airport. While we were waiting to land, an airhostess told us to keep calm and to get off the plane quietly as soon as it had touched down. Every body on board was worried and we were curious to find out what had happened. Later we learnt that there was a very important person http://www.bobomp3.comhttp://www.bobomp3.com on board. The police had been told that a bomb had been planted on the plane. After we had landed, the plane was searched thoroughly. Fortunately, nothing was found and five hours later we were able to take off again.80 Perhaps the most extraordinary building of the nineteenth century was the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hydd Park for the Great Exhibition of