Lesson 70 Red for danger
How was the drunk removed from the ring?
During a bullfight, a drunk suddenly wandered into the middle of the ring.
The crowd began to shout, but the drunk was unaware of the danger.
The bull was busy with the matador3 at the time, but it suddenly caught
sight of the drunk who was shouting rude remarks and waving a red cap.
Apparently sensitive to criticism, the bull forgot all about the matador and
charged at the drunk. The crowd suddenly grew quiet. The drunk, however,
seemed quite sure of himself. When the bull got close to him, he clumsily
stepped aside to let it pass. The crowd broke into cheers and the drunk bowed.
By this time, however, three men had come into the ring and they quickly dragged
the drunk to safety. Even the bull seemed to feel sorry for him, for it looked on
sympathetically until the drunk was out of the way before once more turning
its attention to the matador.
Lesson 71 A famous clock
Has Big Ben ever gone wrong?
When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, the famous clock
which can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C. If the Houses of Parliamen
had not been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected.
Big Ben takes its name from Sir Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the making of
the clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built. It is not only of immense
size, but is extremely accurate as well. Officials from Greenwich Observatory have
the clock checked twice a day. On the B.B.C. you can hear the clock when it is actually
striking because microphones are connected to the clock tower. Big Ben has rarely
gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give the correct time. A painter who had been
working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down!
Lesson 72 A car called bluebird
What mistake was made?
The great racing driver, Sir Malcolm Campbell, was the first man to drive at over
300 miles per hour. He set up a new world record in September 1935 at
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Bluebird, the car he was driving, had been specially
built for him. It was over 30 feet in length and had a 2,500-horsepower engine.
Although Campbell reached a speed of over 304 miles per hour, he had great
difficulty in controlling the car because a tyre5 burst6 during the first run. After
his attempt, Campbell was disappointed7 to learn that his average speed had
been 299 miles per hour. However, a few days later, he was told that a mistake
had been made. His average speed had been 301 miles per hour. Since that time,
racing drivers have reached speeds over 600 miles an hour. Following in his father's
footsteps many years later, Sir Malcolm's son, Donald, also set up a world record.
Like his father, he was driving a car called Bluebird.