【正文】 note whi ch sai d: 39。A t hief, yes, 39。but onl y 5o per cent a t hief !39。 Two m ont hs later, some m or e m oney was sent t o Sam wi t h anot her note:39。 Onl y 25 per cent a t hi ef now! 39。 In t im e, al Sam39。s m oney was pai d back i n t hi s way. The l ast not e 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 which contai ned cl ot hi ng. No one coul d account for t he f act t hat one of t he boxes was ext remel y heavy. I t suddenly occur r ed t o one of t he wor kers t o open up the box. He was ast oni shed at what he found. A man was l yi ng i n the box on t op of a pi l e of wool len goods. He was so sur pr ised at bei ng di scovered t hat he di d not even tr y t o r un away. 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 pl ane left London. He had had a long and unf ort abl e tr i p, f or he had been conf i ned t o t he wooden box f or over ten hours. The m an was or der ed t o pay amp。 345 f or t he cost of t he tr i p. The norm al pr ice of a ti cket i s amp。 230 ! Leson47 A t hirsty ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂 A publi c house whi ch was r ecent l y bought by Mr I an Thom pson i s up f or sale. Mr Thompson is goi ng t o sel l it because it i s haunt ed. He t old m e t hat he coul d not go t o sleep one night because he heard a st range noi se ing f r om t he bar. The next m or ni ng, he f ound t hat t he door s had been bl ocked by chai rs and t he f ur ni t ur e had been m oved. Though Mr Thom pson had t ur ned t he l ights of f bef ore he went t o bed, t hey wer e on i n the m or ning. He also sai d t hat he had f ound f i ve em pt y whisky bott les whi ch t he ghost m ust have dr unk t he ni ght bef ore. When I suggested t hat som e vil lagers m ust have e i n f or a fr ee dri nk, Mr Thom pson shook hi s head. The vil lager s have t ol d hi m t hat 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 dent ist had j ust pull ed out one of m y teet h a nd had t ol d me t o r est f or a whil e. I tr ied t o say somet hi ng, but my m out h was f ul l of cot ton wool . He knew I col l ect ed bi rds39。 eggs and asked me whet her m y col lecti on was growi ng. He t hen asked m e how my br ot her was and whet her I l iked m y new job i n London. I n answer t o these questi ons I eit her nodded or m ade st range noi ses. Meanwhil e, m y t ongue was busy sear ching out the hole wher e t he t oot h had been. I suddenl y felt ver y worr ied, but coul d not say anyt hi ng. When t he dent ist at l ast r em oved t he cot t on wool f r 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 美夢告終 Ti red of sleepi ng on t he f l oor , a young m an in Teheran saved up for year s t o buy a real bed. For t he f ir st t im e i n hi s li fe, he becam e t he proud owner of a bed whi ch had spr ings and a mat r ess. Because t he weat her was ver y hot , he car ri ed t he bed on t o t he r oof of hi s house. He slept ver y wel f or the f ir st t wo ni ght s, but on the t hi r d ni ght, a st orm bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed of f t he r oof and sent i t crashi ng i nt o t he cour t yar d bel ow. The young m an di d not wake up unt il t he bed had str uck t he gr ound. Alt hough t he bed was sm ashed t o pi eces, the m an was m ir acul ousl y unhurt . When he woke up, he was st il l on the m at tr es. Glanci ng at the bit s of wood and m etal t hat lay ar ound him , the m an sadly pi cked up t he mat ress and car ri ed it i nt o his house. Af ter he had put i t on the f loor, he pr om pt l y went t o sleep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ri de 乘車兜風 I love tr avel li ng i n t he count r y, but I don39。t l ike l osi ng m y way. I went on an excursi on r ecentl y, but m y tr ip t ook m e l onger t han I expect ed. 39。 I 39。m going t o Woodf or d Gr een,39。 I sai d 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。 I 39。l t el 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, t he bus st opped. Looki ng r ound, I r eal i zed wi t h a shock t hat I was t he onl y passenger left on t he bus. 39。 You39。l l have t o get of f her e,39。 t he conduct or sai d. 39。Thi s is as f ar as we go.39。 39。 I s t his Woodf or d Gr en ?39。 I asked. 39。Oh dear, 39。 sai d the conduct or suddenl y.39。 I f or got t o put you off .39。 39。I t doesn39。t mat er,39。 I said. 39。Il l get off her e.39。 39。We ar e goi ng back now, 39。 sai d the conduct or . 39。Wel l, i n that case, I pr ef er to st ay on the bus, 39。 I answered. Lesson51 Reward for vi rt ue 對美德的獎賞 My f ri end, Her ber t, has al ways been f at, 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 week ago. Fi r st of al, he wrot e out a l ong li st of al t he foods which wer e f or bidden. The l ist included most of t he thi ngs Her ber t loves: butt er , pot atoes, r ice, beer, m il k, chocol at e, and sweets. Yest er day I pai d him a vi si t. I r ang t he bel l and was not surpri sed to see t hat Her bert was sti l as f at as ever . He l ed m e i nt o hi s r oom and hurr i edl y hid a l ar ge par cel under his desk. I t was obvi ous t hat he was ver y em bar r assed. When I aske d hi m what he was doi ng, he sm il ed gui lt il y and t hen put the parcel on the desk. He explai ned t hat hi s di et was so st ri ct t hat he had t o rewar d himself occasi onal y. Then he showed m e t he cont ent s of t he par cel . It contai ned f ive l ar ge bars of chocol ate and t hr ee bags of