大学英语精读(第三版)课文原文(17)

大学英语精读(第三版)课文原文

"If all you say is true, won't this set back the flying saucer program several years?"

"Yes, but we shall proceed as soon as the Grubstart gives us the added funds." "Prof. Zog, why are we spending billions and billions of zilches to land a flying saucer on Earth when there is no life there?

"Because if we Venusians can learn to breathe in an Earth atmosphere, then we can live anywhere."

Unit 10 GOING HOME

They were going to Fort Lauderdale – three boys and three girls – and when they boarded the bus, they were carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags, dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides as the gray, cold spring of New York vanished behind them.

As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice Vingo. He sat in front of them, dressed in a plain, ill-fitting suit, never moving, his dusty face masking his age. He kept chewing the inside of his lip a lot, frozen into complete silence.

Deep into the night, outside Washington, the bus pulled into Howard Johnson’s, and everybody got off except Vingo. He sat rooted in his seat, and the young people began to wonder about him, trying to imagine his life: perhaps he was a sea captain, a runaway from his wife, an old soldier going home. When they went back to the bus, one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.

―We’re going to Florida,‖ she said brightly.‖ I hear it’s really beautiful.‖

―It is, ―he said quietly, as if remembering something he had tried to forget.

―Want some wine?‖ she said. He smiled and took a swig from the bottle. He thanked her and retreated again into his silence. After a while, she went back to the others, and Vingo nodded in sleep.

In the morning, they awoke outside another Howard Johnson’s, and this time