Lesson 56

　　Faster than sound！

　　比声音还快！

　　First listen and then answer the question.听录音，然后回答以下问题。

　　How fast did the winning car go？

　　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 Rolls-Royce Silver 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 hour —— much 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 everyone a great deal of pleasure. It was very different from modern car races but no less exciting.

　　New words and expressions 生词和短语

　　sound  n. 声音

　　excitement  n. 激动，兴奋

　　handsome  adj. 漂亮的；美观的

　　Rolls-Royce  罗尔斯——罗伊斯

　　Benz  n. 奔驰

　　wheel  n. 轮子

　　explosion  n. 爆炸，轰响

　　course  n. 跑道；行程

　　rival  n. 对手

　　speed  v. 疾驶

　　downhill  adv. 下坡

　　参考译文

　　旧式汽车的比赛每年举行一次。去年有很多汽车参加了这项比赛。比赛开始之前，人们异常激动。最漂亮的汽车之一是罗尔斯——罗伊斯生产的银鬼汽车，而最不寻常的一辆则要属只有3只轮子的奔驰牌汽车了。该车造于1885年，是参赛车中最老的一辆。在好一阵喧闹的爆炸声之后，比赛开始了。很多汽车在途中就抛了锚，而有些驾驶员花在汽车底下的时间比坐在汽车里面的时间还长。然而还是有几辆汽车跑完了全程。获胜的那辆车达到了时速40英里——远远超过任何对手。它在接近终点时，冲下了山坡，驾驶员费了好大劲才把车停下来。这次比赛使每个人都挺开心。它虽然与现代汽车比赛大不相同，但激动人心的程度并不亚于现代化汽车大赛。