【正文】 of money had been l ost. Sam Bent on, t he l ocal but cher , had l ost hi s wal l et whi le t aki ng his savi ngs to t he post of fi ce. Sam was sur e t hat t he wal et m ust have been f ound by one of t he vil lager s, but it was not r et ur ned t o him . Three m ont hs passed, and t hen one m or ni ng, Sam found his wal let out si de his f r ont door . It had been wr apped up i n newspaper and i t cont ai ned half t he money he had lost, t oget her wit h a not e which sai d: 39。A thi ef , yes, 39。but onl y 5o per cent a t hi ef !39。 Two months l at er, som e mor e m oney was sent t o Sam wi th anot her not e:39。 Onl y 25 per cent a thi ef now!39。 I n ti m e, al Sam 39。s m oney was pai d back i n t hi s way. The l ast note sai d:39。 I am 100 per cent honest now!39。 l eson46 Expensi ve and unf ort able 既昂貴又受罪 When a pl ane fr om London ar i ved at Sydney air port , workers began to unl oad a num ber of wooden boxes whi ch cont ai ned cl ot hing. No one coul d account f or t he fact hat one of t he boxes was ext r em el y heavy. It suddenl y occurr ed t o one of t he wor ker s to open up t he box. He was astonished at what he f ound. A m an was l yi ng in t he box on t op of a pi le of wooll en goods. He was so surpri sed at bei ng di scover ed t hat he di d not even tr y t o r un awa y. Aft er he was ar r est ed, t he m an admi t ed hidi ng i n t he box bef ore t he plane left London. He had had a long and unf or t abl e tr ip, f or he had been confi ned t o t he wooden box for over t en hour s. The m an was ordered t o pay amp。345 f or t he cost of the t ri p. The norm al pr i ce of a t icket i s amp。230 ! Lesson47 A thi rst y ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂 A publ ic house which was r ecentl y bought by Mr Ian Thompson is up f or sal e. Mr Thom pson i s goi ng t o sel i t because i t is haunt ed. He tol d m e t hat he coul d not go t o sl eep one ni ght because he hear d a str ange noi se i ng fr om t he bar . The next m or ning, he found t hat t he doors had been blocked by chair s and t he f urnit ur e had been moved. Though Mr Thom pson had tur ned t he li ght s off bef or e he went to bed, they wer e on in t he mor ni ng. He al so sai d t hat he had f ound fi ve empt y whisky bot tl es which t he ghost m ust have dr unk t he ni ght bef ore. When I suggest ed t hat som e vil lager s m ust have e i n f or a fr ee dr i nk, Mr Thom pson shook hi s head. The vi l ager s have t old him t hat t hey wil l not accept t he i nn even i f he gi ves it away. Lesson48 Di d you want t o t el l me somet hi ng? 你想對(duì)我說什么嗎？ Dent i st s al ways ask quest i ons when it i s im possibl e for you t o answer . My denti st had j ust pull ed out one of m y t eet h and had t ol d m e t o rest for a whil e. I t r ied t o say s omet hi ng, but m y m out h was f ul l of cott on wool. He knew I col lected bir ds39。 eggs and asked m e whet her m y coll ect i on was gr owi ng. He t hen asked m e how m y br ot her was and whet her I li ked m y new j ob i n London. In answer t o t hese questi ons I ei t her nodded or m ade str ange noi ses. Meanwhi le, m y t ongue was busy sear chi ng out t he hol e where t he toot h had been. I suddenl y f elt ver y worr i ed, but coul d not say anyt hi ng. When the dent i st at last r em oved the cott on wool fr om m y m outh, I was abl e t o tel him t hat he had pull ed out t he wr ong t oot h. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢(mèng)告終 Tir ed of sl eepi ng on t he f l oor, a young m an i n Teher an saved up f or year s t o buy a r eal bed. For t he fi rst tim e i n his l if e, he becam e t he pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spri ngs and a m at tr es. Because t he weat her was very hot, he car i ed t he bed on to t he r oof of his house. He sl ept ver y wel l f or t he f ir st t wo ni ght s, but on t he t hir d night, a st or m bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed of f t he r oof and sent i t cr ashi ng i nt o the cour t yar d bel ow. The young m an di d not wake up unt il t he bed had st ruck t he gr ound. Al though the bed was sm ashed t o pieces, t he m an was m ir a cul ousl y unhur t. When he woke up, he was stil l on t he m at tr es. Gl anci ng at t he bi ts of wood and m et al t hat l ay ar ound hi m, t he m an sadl y picked up the m at tr es and car ied it i nto hi s house. Aft er he had put it on t he fl oor , he promptl y went t o sl eep agai n. Leson50 Taken f or a ri de 乘車兜風(fēng) I l ove tr avel i ng i n t he countr y, but I don39。t li ke losing m y way. I went on an excur si on r ecentl y, but my t ri p t ook m e l onger than I expected. 39。 I 39。m goi ng t o Woodf or d Gr een,39。 I said t o t he conduct or as I got on t he bus,39。 but I don39。t know wher e it i s.39。 39。 I39。l l t el l you where t o get of f, 39。 answer ed t he conductor. I sat i n t he fr ont of t he bus t o get a good vi ew of t he count r ysi de. Af ter som e tim e, the bus st opped. Looki ng r ound, I reali zed wi t h a shock t hat I was t he onl y pasenger l ef t on the bus. 39。 You39。l l have t o get off here,39。 t he conduct or sai d. 39。Thi s is as f ar as we go. 39。 I s t hi s Woodf or d Gr een ?39。 I asked. 39。Oh dear,39。 sai d t he conduct or suddenl y.39。 I f or got t o put you of f. 39。 I t doesn39。t m at ter, 39。 I sai d. 39。I 39。l l get of f her e. 39。 We ar e going back now,39。 sai d t he conduct or . 39。Wel l, i n t hat case, I pr efer t o st ay on t he bus, 39。 I answer ed. Leson51 Reward f or vi rt ue 對(duì)美德的獎(jiǎng)賞 My fr iend, Her ber t, has al ways been fat, but thi ngs got so bad r ecentl y t hat he deci ded to go on a diet. He began his di et a wek ago. Fi r st of al l, he wr ote out a l ong l i st of al l t he f oods whi ch wer e for bi dden. The li st i ncl uded m ost of t he t hi ngs Her bert l oves: but t er , pot at oes, ri ce, beer, mi l k, chocol at e, and sweet s. Yester day I pai d hi m a visit . I r ang t he bel and was not sur pr i sed t o se t hat Her ber t was st il l as fat as eve