【正文】 i n t hi s way. The l ast not e sai d:39。 I am 100 per cent honest now!39。 l esson46 Expensive and unf ortabl e 既昂貴又受罪 When a plane f rom London ar ri ved at Sydney air por t, wor ker s began to unl oad a num ber of wooden boxes which cont ai ned clothing. No one coul d account f or t he f act hat one of t he boxes was ext rem el y heavy. It suddenly occurr ed t o one of t he worker s t o open up t he box. He was astoni shed at what he f ound. A m an was l yi ng in t he box on t op of a pil e of wooll en goods. He was so sur pri sed at bei ng di scovered that he di d not even tr y t o r un away. After he was ar rest ed, the m an adm it ed hi di ng i n t he box bef or e the pl ane left London. He had had a l ong and un f ort abl e t ri p, f or he had been conf i ned t o t he wooden box f or over t en hour s. The m an was or der ed t o pay amp。 345 f or t he cost of t he tr ip. The norm al pri ce of a t icket is amp。230 ! Lesson47 A t hi rsty ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂 A publi c house which was r ecentl y bought by Mr Ian Thom pson is up for sale. Mr Thom pson i s goi ng t o sel l it because i t i s haunt ed. He t ol d m e that he could not go to sleep one ni ght because he heard a str ange noise ing fr om the bar. The next m or ni ng, he f ound that t he doors had been bl ocked by chai rs and t he f urnit ur e had been m oved. Though Mr Thom pson had tur ned t he l i ghts off bef or e he went t o bed, t hey wer e on i n the m or ni ng. He al so sai d that he had f ound fi ve em pt y whi sky bot tl es whi ch t he ghost m ust have dr unk t he night bef or e. When I suggest ed t hat som e vi l ager s m ust have e in f or a fr e dri nk, Mr Thom pson shook his head. The vil lager s have t ol d him t hat hey wil l not accept t he i nn even i f he gives it away. Leson48 Did you want to t el me som et hi ng? 你想對(duì)我說什么嗎？ Denti st s al ways ask questi ons when i t i s impossi bl e for you t o answer. My denti st had j ust pull ed out one of my teet h and had t ol d m e to r est f or a whil e. I tri ed t o say something, but m y m outh was f ull of cot ton wool. He knew I col lect ed bir ds39。 eggs and asked me whet her m y coll ecti on was gr owi ng. He then 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 ther nodded or m ade str ange noises. Meanwhil e, my t ongue was busy sear ching out the hol e where t he t ooth had been. I suddenl y f el t very worr ied, but coul d not say anyt hi ng. When t he dent ist at last rem oved the cot on wool fr om m y m out h, I was abl e t o tel him t hat he had pull ed out t he wr ong tooth. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢(mèng)告終 Tir ed of sleepi ng on t he fl oor, a young m an i n Teher an saved up for year s to buy a r eal bed. For t he f ir st tim e i n his li fe, he becam e t he pr oud owner of a bed which had spri ngs and a m at res. Because t he weat her was ver y hot, he car ied the bed on t o the r oof of hi s house. He slept very wel for t he fir st t wo ni ghts, but on t he t hir d ni ght, a storm bl ew up. A gust of wind swept t he bed of f t he r oof and sent it cr ashing into t he court yar d below. The young m an did not wake up unt il the bed had str uck t he ground. Al though the bed was smashed t o pi eces, the m an was m ir acul ously unhurt. When he woke up, he was sti l on the m at tr ess. Glanci ng at t he bit s of wood and m et al that l ay around him, t he man sadl y pi cked up t he mat res and car ri ed i t i nt o hi s house. After he had put i t on t he fl oor, he prom pt ly went t o sleep agai n. Lesson50 Taken f or a ri de 乘車兜風(fēng) I love t ravel ing in t he countr y, but I don39。t li ke l osing m y way. I went on an excur si on r ecentl y, but my t ri p t ook me l onger than I expect ed. 39。 I39。m goi ng t o Woodf or d Green,39。 I said t o t he conduct or as I got on t he bus,39。 but I don39。t know wher e i t i s. 39。 I39。l l tel you wher e to get off, 39。 answered the conductor. I sat i n t he f r ont of the bus t o get a good view of the count rysi de. After som e tim e, t he bus stopped. Looking round, I r eali zed wit h a shock t hat I was t he only pasenger left on the bus. 39。 You39。l l have t o get off here,39。 the conduct or sai d. 39。This i s as far as we go.39。 39。 Is t hi s Woodford Gr en ?39。 I asked. 39。Oh dear,39。 sai d t he conduct or suddenly.39。 I fot t o put you off. 39。 I t does n39。t mater, 39。 I sai d. 39。Il l get off her e.39。 39。We ar e going back now,39。 sai d t he conduct or . 39。Wel l, i n t hat case, I pr ef er t o stay on t he bus,39。 I answer ed. Leson51 Reward f or virtue 對(duì)美德的獎(jiǎng)賞 My fri end, Her bert, has al ways been f at , but t hi ngs got so bad recentl y t hat he deci ded t o go on a di et . He began hi s di et a week ago. Fi rst of al l, he wrote out al ong list of al the foods which wer e forbidden. The li st incl uded m ost of t he t hi ngs Her bert l oves: but er , potatoes, ri ce, beer , mi lk, chocolate, and sweet s. Yes terday I pai d him a visit. I r ang the bel and was not sur pr ised t o see t hat Her bert was st il as fat as ever. He led m e i nto his r om and hurri edl y hi d a l arge parcel under hi s desk. It was obvi ous that he was ver y em bar assed. When I asked hi m what he was doing, he smil ed guilt il y and t hen put the parcel on t he desk. He explained t hat hi s di et was so st ri ct t hat he had t o rewar d him self occasi onal ly. Then he showed m e t he cont ents of the par cel . It contained f ive large bar s of chocolate and t hree bags of sweet s! Leson52 A pret y carpet 漂亮的地毯 We have j ust m oved i nt o a new house and I have been wor ki ng hard al m or ni ng. I have been t ryi ng t o get m y new r om i n or der. Thi s has not been easy because I own over a t housand books. To m ake mat er s worse, t he r oom i s rather sm al , so I have tem por ari l y put m y books on the fl oor. At he m oment , t hey cover ever y inch of fl oor