Mrs. Anne Sterling did not think of the risk she was taking when she ran through a forest after two men. They had rushed up to her while she was having a picnic at the edge of a forest with her children and tried to steal her handbag. In the struggle， the strap broke and， with the bag in their possession， both men started running through the trees. Mrs. Sterling got so angry that she ran after them. She was soon out of breath， but she continued to run. When she caught up with them， she saw that they had sat down and were going through the contents of the bag， so she ran straight at them. The men got such a fright that they dropped the bag and ran away. ’The strap needs mending，’ said Mrs. Sterling later， ’but they did not steal anything.’

New words and expressions  生词和短语

forest n. 森林

risk n. 危险，冒险

picnic n. 野餐

edge n. 边缘

strap n. 带，皮带

possession n. 所有

breath n. 呼吸

contents n. （常用复数）内有的物品

mend v. 修理

参考译文

安。斯特林夫人在穿过森林追赶两个男人时，她并没有考虑到所冒的风险。刚才，当她和孩子们正在森林边上野餐的时候，这两个人冲到她跟前，企图抢走她的手提包。在争抢中，手提包的带断了，包落入这两个人手里，他们拔腿跑进了树林。斯特林夫人非常气愤，向着他们追了过去。只追了一会儿便上气不接下气了，但她还是继续追赶。当她赶上他们时，发现他们已经坐了下来，正翻着包里的东西。于是她直冲过去。这两个人吓了一跳，扔下提包逃跑了。"这提包带需要修理，"斯特林夫人事后说道，"不过他们什么也没偷走。"