救救咖啡店!

Tony： Oi！ What are you lot doing？ What’s that？

Harry： It’s a 1）banner.

Tony： A what？

Harry： A banner―look！ See what it says.

Tony （reading）： Save...our...café...Oh， I see， yeah. Very good. Do you think it’ll stop them from closing this place？ Olivia： Well， you never know. Every little bit helps.

Tony （2）non-committal）： Hmm. I’m not sure having that thing stuck to the front of my café will change anything.

Bindyu： Oh yes it will， Tony―be positive！ My friend from the local newspaper is coming to take a photograph， and I’m going to write an article！

Tony： Hmm. Great.

Olivia： Look Tony―it’s the only thing we can do！ We can organise a campaign here， and at the same time Sarah’s doing some work as well.（door opens）

Magda： Hey！ Wow！ Look at that banner！ Very impressive！

Olivia： Hi Magda！

Magda： Hello everyone！

Olivia： So， go on then， have you decided to take the job？

Magda （sighs）： Yeah...I have to accept the

job...I mean， I really want to...it’s a good job， and good jobs in architecture are difficult to get...and I need the money！ Olivia： Sure， I understand.

Magda： Johnny’s old flat， where me and Sarah

live， it’s great but it’s so expensive.

Olivia： But you can help us. Harry： Yeah， if you work for the company who want to knock down Tony’s café and Olivia’s shop， you can do something！

Magda： Well， I’m not sure， but I’ll see！（door opens）

Carlos： Hello everyone！

All： Hi Carlos！

Carlos： Is Sarah here today？

Magda： Er， not yet...but she said she’d be here soon.

Carlos： Oh. OK， I’ll wait for her. Is it OK if I sit here？

Magda： Sure.

Olivia： Come and join us！

Magda： So， is it true you’re a 3）chef？ Carlos： Not exactly...I’d like to be a chef， that’s what I want to do， but at the moment I’m a 4）caterer...it’s different... Magda： What’s a caterer？

Carlos： A caterer makes food for lots of people―I make all the lunches for the people who work on the building site next door. It’s just sandwiches or soup， or other simple things. It’s quite boring―I like more of a challenge！（door opens）

Olivia： Here she is！

Sarah： Hello everyone！ Hello Carlos！

Carlos： Hi Sarah！ Good to see you again.

Olivia： Carlos was just telling us all about his job.

Sarah： You’re a chef， aren’t you？

Carlos（sighs）： No...but I want to be！

Sarah： Where are you from？

Carlos： I’m from Brazil！ Even if no one believes me.

Sarah： Why don’t people think you’re from Brazil？

Carlos： I don’t like football， and I can’t dance.

All： （laughter）

Sarah： Listen， though―we’ve got an important job to do...we have to save this café， and Olivia’s shop！

Olivia： That’s right.

Carlos： But how？

Harry： I’ve put up the banner.

Bindyu： And I’m writing an article for the local paper.

Sarah： Great...and I’ve found out something very interesting.

Olivia： Oh？ What’s that？

Sarah： Well， you know I have a friend who works at the local museum―I love going to

museums and art galleries， Carlos―and she told me something that could be important.

Olivia： Go on！

Sarah： These buildings―the café and your shop―are actually a lot older than many people think.

Olivia： Really？

Sarah： Yes. They’re probably two hundred years old.

Olivia： Tony！ Did you hear that？

Tony： What？

Olivia： Sarah has found out that the café and my shop are really very old buildings.

Tony： That’s why I’ve got a problem with the roof， then...

Harry： It means they can’t possibly knock down these buildings！

Sarah： Right. They have historical value.

Tony： Eh！ It won’t stop them.

Olivia： Oh Tony， you must be more optimistic！ Try looking on the positive side！

Tony： I can’t see a “positive side”.

Bindyu： We’ll make a great campaign―it’ll show how people can stop big corporations from doing what they want！

Olivia： Oh， let’s hope so.

伦敦桥（London Bridge）是一座横跨泰晤士河的桥，它将伦敦和南华克（Southwark）地区连为一体。Cannon大街地铁桥位于它的西侧；著名的伦敦塔桥位于它的东面。桥南岸是伦敦桥站和南华克座堂。这座举世知名的桥在1750年前是越过泰晤士河的唯一桥梁，亦是伦敦所建历史最悠久的一座桥。

伦敦桥所在的地方近2000年来一直有不同的桥。第一座跨泰晤士河的桥是木桥，由罗马人在公元50年左右搭建。这个位置的河够窄可以搭桥，也够深，允许海船进入。罗马人撤离英国之后，这座桥逐渐失修，不过在某个时期，或许也曾经得到过维修或者重建，但时间已不可考证。1014年，英国国王Ethelred在抵抗入侵的丹麦人Svein Haraldsson时下令烧毁这座桥。那次摧毁很可能是知名的童谣“伦敦桥要倒了（London Bridge Is Falling Down）”中描述的故事。之后伦敦桥又几经摧毁和重建。