【正文】 l e vi l age soon l ear nt t hat a lar ge s um of m oney had been l ost. Sam Bent on, t he local but cher, had l ost his wal let whil e taki ng hi s savi ngs t o t he post off ice. Sam was sur e t hat t he wal l et m ust have been f ound by one of t he vil l agers, but i t was not r etur ned t o him . Thr ee months pased, and t hen one m orni ng, Sam f ound hi s wal et out si de hi s f ront door . It had been wrapped up in newspaper and it cont ai ned half t he m oney he had l ost , toget her wit h a 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 lat er , some m ore m oney was sent t o Sam wit h anot her not e:39。 Onl y 25 per cent a t hi ef now! 39。 I n t im e, al Sam39。s money was pai d back in t his way. The l ast not e sai d: 39。 I am 100 per cent honest now!39。 lesson46 Expensi ve and un fort abl e 既昂貴又受罪 When a pl ane f rom London ar ri ved at Sydney ai r port , wor ker s began t o unl oad a num ber of wooden boxes whi ch cont ai ned cl othi ng. No one could account f or t he f act that one of t he boxes was extr em el y heavy. It suddenl y occur red t o one of t he wor ker s to open up t he box. He was ast oni shed at what he f ound. A m an was l yi ng in t he box on t op of a pi le 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 the cost of t he t ri p. The nor mal pri ce of a t i cket is amp。 230 ! Lesson47 A t hi rst y ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂 A publ i c house whi ch was r ecentl y bought by Mr I an Thom pson i s up for sal e. Mr Thom pson i s going t o sel l it because it i s haunted. He t ol d m e t hat he coul d not go t o sleep one ni ght because he hear d a st range noi se i ng f rom the bar. The next m orni 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 i ghts of f bef or e he went t o bed, t hey wer e on i n t he m or ni ng. He also said t hat he had f ound f i ve em pt y whi sky bott l es whi ch the ghost m ust have dr unk the ni ght befor e. Whe n I suggest ed t hat some vi l ager s m ust have e i n for a f ree dri nk, Mr Thom pson shook his head. The vi l ager s have t ol d him t hat t hey wi l not accept t he i nn even i f he gi ves i t away. Leson48 Di d you want t o tel m e som et hi ng? 你想對(duì)我說(shuō)什么嗎？ Denti st s al ways ask questi ons when i t is i mpossi bl e f or you t o answer . My denti st had j ust pul l 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 ri ed t o say somet hi ng, but m y m out h was f ul l of cot on wool. He knew I col lected bi rds39。 eggs and asked me whet her m y col lect i on was gr owi ng. He t hen asked me how m y br ot her was and whet her I li ked m y new j ob i n London. I n answer to t hese quest i ons I eit her nodded or m ade str ange noi ses. Meanwhi l e, my t ongue was busy sear chi ng out t he hol e wher e the t oot h had been. I suddenl y f el t ver y wor ri ed, but coul d not say anyt hing. When t he denti st at l ast r em oved t he cot on wool f rom m y m out h, I was able t o t el l hi m that he had pul led out the wr ong t oot h. Leson49 The end of a dream 美夢(mèng)告終 Ti r ed of sl epi ng on t he fl oor, a young m an i n Teher an saved up f or years t o buy a r eal bed. For t he f ir st t im e i n hi s li f e, he becam e the pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spri ngs and a m at ress. Because t he weat her was ver y hot , he c ar ri ed t he bed on t o t he r oof of hi s house. He slept ver y wel f or t he f ir st t wo ni ght s, but on t he t hir d ni ght, a st or m bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept t he bed off t he r oof and sent i t cr ashi ng int o the court yar d bel ow. The young m an did not wake up unti l the bed had st r uck t he ground. Al t hough t he bed was sm ashed to pi eces, t he man was mi r acul ously unhurt . When he woke up, he was st il l on the m at tr es. Glancing at t he bi ts of wood and met al t hat l ay ar ound hi m, t he m an sadl y picked up t he m at tr es and car ied i t int o hi s house. Aft er he had put it on t he fl oor, he pr om pt l y went t o sleep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ri de 乘車(chē)兜風(fēng) I l ove t ravel li ng i n t he count r y, but I don39。t l i ke l osi ng m y way. I went on an excur si on r ecent l y, but m y 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 sai d t o t he conduct or as I got on t he bus,39。 but I don39。t know where i t is.39。 39。 I39。l l t el you wher e t o get of f,39。 answer ed t he conduct or. I sat i n t he f r ont of t he bus t o get a good vi ew of the count r ysi de. Aft er som e t im 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 thi s Woodfor d Gr en ?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 er ,39。 I s ai d. 39。I 39。l l get of f her e.39。 39。We are goi ng back now,39。 sai d t he conduct or. 39。Wel , in t hat case, I pr ef er t o stay on t he bus,39。 I a nswer ed. Lesson51 Reward f or virt ue 對(duì)美德的獎(jiǎng)賞 My f ri end, Her bert , has al ways been f at , but t hi ngs got so bad r ecentl y t hat he deci ded t o go on a di et . He began hi s diet a week ago. Fi rst of al l, he wr ote out a l ong l ist of al l the f oods whi ch wer e f or bi dden. The li st i ncl uded m ost of t he t hings 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 rang t he be