新概念第三册 Lesson 2 Thirteen equals one

　　Lesson 2 Thirteen equals one

　　十三等于一

　　Listen to the tape then answer the question below.

　　听录音，然后回答以下问题。

　　Was the vicar pleased that the clock was striking? Why?

　　Our vicar is always raising money for one cause or another, but he has never managed to get enough money to have the church clock repaired. The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.

　　One night, however, our vicar work up with a start: the clock was striking the hours! Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o"clock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped. Armed with a torch, the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on. In the torchlight, he caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer.

　　“Whatever are you doing up here Bill?” asked the vicar in surprise.

　　“I"m trying to repair the bell,” answered Bill. “I"ve been coming up here night after night for weeks now. You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise.”

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