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¡¡¡¡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 caf¨¦(¸½½ü¾Æ°É)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 caf¨¦£®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 ¡ç500 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(ֶŮ)house in the country£®¡±
¡¡¡¡They sign a contract(Ç©ÁË·ÝÐÒé)that says that Andre and his wife will pay Mrs£®Calment ¡ç500 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(¹Ñ¸¾)still sends Mrs£®Calment ¡ç500 every month£®Their dream flat is a nightmare(¶ñÃÎ)£®
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