Lesson 56 Our neighbour, the river
Listen to the tape then answer the question below. Why had the neighbours left their farm? The river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives. Without it we could not make a living. There is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the house, so we have to pump from the river for farm use. We tell the river all our secrets. We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees, that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it. We have special river birthday parties in the summer. Sometimes we go upstream to a favourite backwater, sometimes we have our party at the boathouse, which a predecessor of ours at the farm built in the meadow hard by the deepest pool for swimming and diving.

河流，我们的邻居
听录音，然后回答以下问题。 为什么居民们离开了他们的农场？ 形成我们农场东部边界的一条河流一直在我们生活中发挥着重要作用。 要是没有这条河，我们就无法生存下去。 泉水只能满足家庭生活用水，因此我们必须从河里抽水以用于农业生产。 我们向那条河倾诉我们的秘密。 我们本能地懂得，就像养蜂人和他的蜜蜂那样， 要是我们不把生活中的重大事件告诉那条河，就可能大祸临头。 夏天，我们为这条河举办特殊的生日宴会。 有时，我们溯流而上来到我们喜爱的回水河汊举办； 有时在船坞举办。 那船坞是农场一位前辈在一块草地上盖的，草地紧挨着一个专供游泳、跳水的深水池。