Lesson 91 Three men in a basket
Where was the station's Commanding Officer?
A pilot noticed a balloon which seemed to be making for a Royal Air Force Station nearby.
He informed the station at once, but no one there was able to explain the mystery.
The officer in the control tower was very angry when he heard the news, because balloons
can be a great danger to aircraft. He said that someone might be spying on the station and
the pilot was ordered to keep track of the strange object. The pilot managed to circle the
balloon for some time. He could make out three men in a basket under it and one of them
was holding a pair of binoculars. When the balloon was over the station, the pilot saw one
of the men taking photographs. Soon afterwards, the balloon began to descend and it
landed near an airfield. The police were called in, but they could not arrest anyone, for
the basket contained two Members of Parliament and the Commanding Officer of
the station! As the Commanding Officer explained later, one half of the station did not
know what the other half was doing!
Lesson 92 Asking for trouble
Why did the policeman ask the writer to come to the police station?
It must have been about two in the morning when I returned home.
I tried to wake up my wife by ringing the doorbell, but she was fast asleep,
so I got a ladder from the shed in the garden, put it against the wall, and began
climbing towards the bedroom window. I was almost there when a sarcastic voice below
said, 'I don't think the windows need cleaning at this time of the night.' I looked down
and nearly fell off the ladder when I saw a policeman. I immediately regretted answering
in the way I did, but I said, 'I enjoy cleaning windows at night.'
'So do I,' answered the policeman in the same tone.
'Excuse my interrupting you. I hate to interrupt a man when he's busy working,
but would you mind coming with me to the station?'
'Well, I'd prefer to stay here,' I said. 'You see. I've forgotten my key.'
'Your what?' he called.
'My key,' I shouted.
Fortunately, the shouting woke up my wife who opened the window just as the policeman
had started to climb towards me.
Lesson 93 A noble gift
Where was the Statue of Liberty made?
One of the most famous monuments in the world, the Statue of Liberty,
was presented to the United States of America in the nineteenth century
by the people of France. The great statue, which was designed by the sculptor
Auguste Bartholdi, took ten years to complete. The actual figure was made of copper
supported by a metal framework which had been especially constructed by Eiffel.
Before it could be transported to the United States, a site had to be found for it
and a pedestal had to be built. The site chosen was an island at the entrance of
New York Harbour. By 1884, a statue which was 151 feet tall had been erected
in Paris. The following year, it was taken to pieces and sent to America. By the end
of October 1886, the statue had been put together again and it was officially presented
to the American people by Bartholdi. Ever since then, the great monument has been
a symbol of liberty for the millions of people who have passed through New York Harbour
to make their homes in America.