Lesson53    Hot snake

[if !vml][endif]At last firemenhave put out a big forest fire in California. Since then, they have been tryingto find out how the fire began.Forest fires are often caused by brokenglass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away. Yesterdaythe firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any brokenglass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire.This morning, however, a fireman accidentally discovered the cause. He noticedtheremainsof asnake which was wound round theelectricwiresof a 16,000-volt power line. In this way, he was able to solve the mystery. Theexplanationwassimple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground andthen dropped it on to the wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires.When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately starteda 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.