新视野大学英语视听说教程第四册 Unit 7 Task 2: A Magician and a Parrot
A magician was working on a deluxe cruise ship in the Caribbean. The (S1) audience was different each week, so the magician did the same (S2) tricks over and over again. He felt he could cast a spell over the audience (S3) whenever he wanted to.
There was only one problem: The captain’s (S4) parrot watched every show and began to understand what the (S5) magician did in each trick. Once he understood that, he started shouting in the middle of the show.
“Look, it’s not the same (S6) hat!” “Look, he’s hiding the flowers under the table!” “Hey, why are all the (S7) cards the Ace of Spades?”
(S8) The magician was furious. Each time the parrot revealed one of his secrets, the audience roared with laughter. The performance he intended to be dark and mysterious turned into a comedy. He was in a rage. (S9) He dreamed of various ways he could do away with the troublesome bird. But he didn’t dare to touch it. It was the captain’s parrot after all.
One foggy night the ship collided with an enormous iceberg and sank. The magician found himself on a piece of wood, in the middle of the ocean, and the parrot was by his side. (S10) They stared at each other with hate, but did not utter a word. This went on for several days.
After a week the parrot finally said, “Okay, I give up. But I hope you’ll tell me what trick you are going to do with the boat.”
