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閱讀理解
ARLES, FRANCE－Andre Raffay has a problem．He needs a nice, large flat in the city of Arles, but he doesn’t have enough money to buy one．Every morning Andre sits in his neighborhood café(附近酒吧)and reads the flat ads in the newspaper．He draws a circle around each ad for a flat that looks good．Then he goes to the telephone to call the owner．
“Hello．I’m interested in the flat near the park that is in today’s paper,” he says．“How much is it?” When he hears the answer, he says, “Oh, my goodness! That’s too much!” The same thing happens every day．
One morning Andre sees a friend in the café．He tells him about his problem．“I have a good idea, Andre．I know a 90-year-old woman who has a beautiful flat．You can pay her something every month until she dies．Then you can move into the flat．It will be yours!”
Andre is excited．He thinks to himself, “How much longer can such an old lady live? We can probably have the flat in a few years．” He and his wife, Marie, go to visit Mrs．Calment．The flat is just what they want．It is large and sunny, and it is near the centre of town．It even has a view of the park．
Andre tells Mrs．Calment, “We will pay you ＄500 a month, and you can stay here for the rest of your life．” She is very happy．She says, “I really want to stay here．This is my home．Now I don’t have to move to my niece’s(侄女)house in the country．”
They sign a contract(簽了份協(xié)議)that says that Andre and his wife will pay Mrs．Calment ＄500 every month．When she dies, the flat will belong to Andre and his wife．
More than thirty years go by．Jeanne Calment is still alive．She is 121 years old, the oldest person in the world．Poor Andre isn’t alive any more, but his widow(寡婦)still sends Mrs．Calment ＄500 every month．Their dream flat is a nightmare(惡夢)．
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