【正文】 rd had snatched up the snake f rom the gr ound and t hen dr opped it on to the wi res. The snake then wound it sel f round t he wir es. When i t did so, it sent spar ks down to the ground and these im medi ately st ar ted a fi re. Lesson54 St icky f ingers 粘糊的手指 Af ter breakf ast , I sent the chil dren t o school and t hen I went t o mar ket . It was sti l ear ly when I retur ned hom e. The chil dr en were at school , m y husband was atin newspaper and i t contained half t he money he had lost , together wit h a note whi ch sai d: 39。A t hief, yes, 39。but only 5o per cent a thief !39。 Two m ont hs later , some m ore m oney was sent t o Sam wi t h anot her note: 39。 Onl y 25 per cent a thi ef now! 39。 In t im e, al Sam39。s money was pai d back i n t hi s way. The last note said: 39。 I am 100 per cent honest now! 39。 l esson46 Expensive and unf ort able 既昂貴又受罪 When a pl ane fr om London ar ived at Sydney air por t, wor ker s began to unload a number of wooden boxes which contained clot hi ng. No one could account f or the f act that one of the boxes was extr emely heavy. I t suddenl y occur red t o one of the wor ker s to open up t he box. He was astonished at what he f ound. A man was lyi ng in t he box on top of a pi le of wooll en goods. He was so sur pri sed at being discover ed that he did not even t ry to r un away. Af t er he was ar rested, t he man admit ted hi di ng in the box befor e the pl ane l ef t London. He had had a l ong and unfor table t ri p, for he had been confi ned to t he wooden box f or over t en hour s. The man was or der ed to pay amp。 345 for the cost of t he tr ip. The normal pri ce of a ti cket is amp。 230 ! Lesson47 A t hi rst y ghost 嗜酒的鬼魂 A publi c house whi ch was recent ly bought by Mr Ian Thompson is up for sal e. Mr Thom pson i s going t o sel l it because it is haunted. He tol d me t hat he could not go to sl eep one ni ght because he hear d a str ange noi se i ng fr om t he bar . The next mor ning, he found that the doors had been blocked by chair s and the f urnit ure had been moved. Though Mr Thompson had turned t he li ght s off befor e he went to bed, t hey were on i n t he morni ng. He al so said that he had f ound fi ve em pty whi sky bot tl es whi ch the ghost m ust have dr unk the ni ght befor e. When I suggest ed that some vi l ager s must have e in for a f ree dri nk, Mr Thompson shook his head. The vil lagers have tol d him that they wi l not accept t he inn even if he gi ves i t away. Lesson48 Did you want to t el me somet hing? 你想對我說什么嗎？ Denti st s always ask questi ons when i t is i mpossibl e for you t o answer. My dent i st had j ust pull ed out one of my teet h and had tol d me t o r est for a whi le. I tr ied t o say somet hi ng, but my mout h was f ull of cot tonwool . He knew I collected bi rds39。 eggs and asked me whet her my col lecti on was growi ng. He t hen asked me how my br ot her was and whet her I l iked my new job i n London. In answer to t hese quest ions I eit her nodded or m ade str ange noi ses. Meanwhi le, my t ongue was busy sear chi ng out t he hol e where the toot h had been. I suddenl y f el t ver y wor ri ed, but could not say anyt hing. When the denti st at last removed the cott on wool fr om m y mouth, I was able t o tel l hi m that he had pull ed out t he wr ong tooth. Lesson49 The end of a dream 美夢告終 Ti red of sleepi ng on t he fl oor , a young m an in Teheran saved up for year s to buy a real bed. For the f ir st t ime i n his lif e, he became t he pr oud owner of a bed whi ch had spr ings and a mat ress. Because t he weat her was very hot , he car ri ed the bed on to the r oof of his house. He sl ept very wel l for t he fi rst two ni ghts, but on t he thir d night , a st or m bl ew up. A gust of wi nd swept the bed of f the r oof and sent i t cr ashi ng into the court yar d bel ow. The young m an did not wake up unt il t he bed had str uck the gr ound. Al though the bed was sm ashed to pieces, the man was m ir acul ously unhurt . When he woke up, he was st il l on the mat tr es s. Gl anci ng at the bit s of wood and metal that lay around him , the man sadly pi cked up t he mat ress and car ied i t int o his house. Af ter he had put it on t he fl oor, he prompt ly went t o sleep again. Leson50 Taken for a ri de 乘車兜風 I l ove tr avel ling in 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 took m e longer than I expected. 39。 I 39。m goi ng to Woodfor d Gr en,39。 I sai d t o the conduct or as I got on the bus,39。 but I don39。t know where i t is.39。 39。 I39。l l tel l you wher e to get off ,39。 answer ed the conduct or . I sat in the f ront of the bus to get a good view of t he countr ysi de. Af ter some t ime, the bus stopped. Looking r ound, I reali zed wit h a shock t hat I was t he onl y pasenger l ef t on the bus. 39。 You39。l l have to get of f her e, 39。 t he conductor sai d. 39。Thi s i s as f ar as we go.39。 39。 I s thi s Woodfor d Gr een ?39。 I asked. 39。Oh dear, 39。 said t he conductor suddenly.39。 I f or got to put you off .39。 39。I t doesn39。t mat er ,39。 I sai d. 39。Il l get of f her e.39。 39。We are going back now,39。 sai d t he conduct or. 39。Wel , in t hat case, I prefer t o stay on t he bus,39。 I answer ed. Leson51 Reward f or vi rtue 對美德的獎賞 My fr iend, Herbert , has always been fat , but thi ngs got so bad recent ly t hat he decided to go on a diet. He began his di et a week ago. Fir st of al , he wr ote out a l ong li st of al t he f oods which wer e for bidden. The l ist included most of t he things Her ber t loves: butt er , pot atoes, r ice, beer, mi lk, chocolat e, and sweet s. Yester day I paid him a visit . I rang the bel and was not sur pri sed t o se t hat Her ber t was stil l as fat as ever. He led me into hi s room and hur ri edly hi d a lar ge par cel under hi s desk. It was obvious that he was ver y embar asse