Lesson53    Hot snake

[if !vml][endif]At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. Sincethen, they have been trying to find out how the fire began.Forest fires are often caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away.Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to findany broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not startthe fire. This morning, however, a fireman accidentally discovered the cause.Henoticed theremainsof a snake which was wound round theelectricwiresof a 16,000-voltpower line. In this way, he was able to solve the

mystery. Theexplanationwas simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the snake from the groundand thendropped it on to the wires. The snakethen wound itself round the wires. When it did so, itsentsparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire.

æt lɑːst ˈfaɪəmən hæv pʊt aʊt ə bɪg ˈfɒrɪst ˈfaɪər ɪn ˌkæləˈfɔːniə. sɪns ðɛn, ðeɪ hæv biːn ˈtraɪɪŋ tuː faɪnd aʊt haʊ ðə ˈfaɪəbɪˈgæn. ˈfɒrɪst ˈfaɪəz ɑːr ˈɒf(ə)n kɔːzd baɪ ˈbrəʊkən glɑːs ɔː baɪ ˌsɪgəˈrɛt ɛndz wɪʧ ˈpiːpl ˈkeəlɪsli θrəʊ əˈweɪ. ˈjɛstədeɪ ðə ˈfaɪəmənɪgˈzæmɪnd ðə graʊnd ˈkeəfli, bʌt wɜː nɒt ˈeɪbl tuː faɪnd ˈɛni ˈbrəʊkən glɑːs. ðeɪ wɜːr ˈɔːlsəʊ kwaɪt ʃʊə ðæt ə ˌsɪgəˈrɛt ɛnd dɪd nɒtstɑːt ðə ˈfaɪə. ðɪs ˈmɔːnɪŋ, haʊˈɛvə, ə ˈfaɪəmən ˌæksɪˈdɛntəli dɪsˈkʌvəd ðə kɔːz. hiː ˈnəʊtɪst ðə rɪˈmeɪnz ɒv ə sneɪk wɪʧ wɒz wuːndraʊnd ði ɪˈlɛktrɪk ˈwaɪəz ɒv eɪ 16,000-vəʊlt ˈpaʊə laɪn. ɪn ðɪs weɪ, hiː wɒz ˈeɪbl tuː sɒlv ðə ˈmɪstəri. ði ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən wɒz ˈsɪmplbʌt ˈvɛri ʌnˈjuːʒʊəl. ə bɜːd hæd snæʧt ʌp ðə sneɪk frɒm ðə graʊnd ænd ðɛn drɒpt ɪt ɒn tuː ðə ˈwaɪəz. ðə sneɪk ðɛn wuːnd ɪtˈsɛlfraʊnd ðə ˈwaɪəz. wɛn ɪt dɪd səʊ, ɪt sɛnt spɑːks daʊn tuː ðə graʊnd ænd ðiːz ɪˈmiːdiətli ˈstɑːtɪd ə ˈfaɪə.