10 Zoom the Supersonic Tortoise

该页暂无翻译

Zoom the Supersonic TORTOISE IN THE BEGINNING there was an egg. From that egg came a tortoise. Deep in the mists of time, in a forgotten land, long before history began, the tortoise took its first SLOW steps. One day the apes leaped down from the trees, and humankind was born. The tortoise

became a friend to people, a pet. The pet was passed from generation to generation to generation, until one day it found its way into the hands of a boy named Brian. The tortoise was, in short, old. Impossibly old. So old that it wore spectacles, used an ear trumpet to hear and its wrinkles had wrinkles! Brian, on the other hand, was not old- he was a child. But he was one of those children who was more like a mini grown-up. He was a shy, serious, studious little fellow. Brian's hair was neatly parted, he sported gold- rimmed spectacles and always dressed in a blazer, trousers and a tie Whatever the weather. He always handed in his homework early, and carried a briefcase at all times, even on a day out to the seaside. Brian would

put his candyfloss in it so he could enjoy eating it in less windy conditions. So his father and mother (Brian and Briana) thought that a tortoise would be the perfect pet for their son. It was quiet. Like Brian. It walked slowly, and never ran. Like Brian. And it never came out of its shell. Like Brian. The tortoise was bought as a twelfth birthday present for the boy. Tortoises are widely regarded as one of the world's best pets. So how did this one end up being thought of as one of the world's worst? By doing something no tortoise had ever done before! Let's return to our story to find out what that might be!

The gift of the pet was greeted with the solemnity Brian's parents had come to expect from their youngest child. "It is a tortoise," remarked Brian after slowly and methodically opening the box. Not just any tortoise but the oldest, wrinkliest tortoise you ever did see. Its half-moon spectacles were perched on its nose, and its ear trumpet held aloft.

"YIP!" went the tortoise, poking its big, pink tongue out of its tiny, wizened head as it inspected its new surroundings. "A tortoise is a reptile, of the order of TESTUDINES, which is from the Latin word for tortoise," observed Brian. The boy always spoke with great authority. It was as if he'd swallowed an encyclopaedia. "That is correct, Brian," replied Father proudly. "We assumed you would prefer a tortoise to a computer-game console," added Mother. She knew her son well. "You assumed Correctly, Mother," replied Brian, examining his new pet. "I have no time for computer- game consoles. For me, a tortoise is infinitely more thrilling." The tortoise smiled at this. At last, it had an owner who appreciated it! With great care, Brian picked up the tortoise by its shell. As soon as he did, his pet retreated inside. "SNORT!" it snorted at him. "Oh, he seems to have gone all shy!" remarked Brian with a snort. "I, myself, am snorting because my