提 要
「honesty is its own reward」誠實本身就是一種獎勵，誠實的人不必擔心撒了什麼謊會被揭穿，無須憂慮、坦然過著心安理得、自由自在的日子。
Sam was a greedy and selfish man. He always desired to have lots and lots of money and never hesitated to cheat others to make money. Also, he never wished to share anything with others. He paid very low wages to his servants.
However, one day, he learned a lesson that changed his life forever.
It so happened that one day, a small bag that belonged to Sam was missing. The bag had 50 gold coins in it. Sam searched high and low for the bag, but could not find it. Sam’s friends and neighbours also joined in the search, but all their efforts were in vain.
After a couple of days, the ten year old daughter of a man working for Sam found the bag. She told her father about it. Her father identified the bag as the one that was missing, and immediately decided to take it to his master.
He gave the bag back to his master Sam, and asked him to check whether the bag had 50 gold coins. Sam was exultant to get the coins back, but he decided to play a trick. He shouted at his worker, “there were 75 gold coins in this bag but you gave me only 50! Where are the other coins? You have stolen them!”
The worker was shocked to hear this and pleaded his innocence. Selfish and greedy, Sam did not accept the worker’s story, and decided to take the issue to court.
The judge heard both the sides. He questioned the daughter and the worker about the number of coins they had found in the bag, and they assured it was only 50.
He cross-examined Sam and Sam replied, “Yes my lord, I had 75 gold coins in my bag, and they gave me only 50. Hence, it is quite obvious that they have stolen 25 coins!”
The judge then asked, “Are you sure that your bag had 75 coins?”
Sam nodded vigorously.
The judge then made his judgment:
“Since Sam lost a bag of 75 gold coins and the bag found by the girl had only 50 coins, it is obvious that the bag that was found does not belong to Sam. It was lost by someone else. If anyone finds a bag of 75 gold coins, I will declare that it belongs to Sam. As there are no complaints about the loss of 50 coins, I order the girl and his father to take those 50 coins as a token of appreciation for their honesty!”
解 說
山姆是一個貪婪又自私的人。他總是渴望有很多很多的錢，從不猶豫騙別人賺錢。他從來都沒有意願與他人分享任何東西，而且，他也給服侍他的僕人非常低的工資。
然而有一天，他學到了一個「永遠改變人生」教訓。
事情是這麼發生的：那一天，山姆的一個小包丟了。裡面有五十枚金幣。上上下下都找遍了也找不到。山姆的朋友、鄰居也加入了搜索行列，但他們的努力全是徒勞。
過了幾天，一個為山姆工作的人的十歲小女兒找到了包。她告訴父親。工人認為這個包就是山姆弄丟的那個，立即決定把它送回他的主人。
他把這個袋子給了主人山姆，並要求他檢查這袋子裡的五十枚金幣。失而復得的山姆大喜若狂，但他決定搞花樣。他對他的工人大喊：「這個包裡有七十五枚金幣，但你只給了我五十，其他金幣在哪裡？被你偷了吧！」
聽到山姆這麼說，工人非常震驚，懇求還他清白。自私貪婪的山姆不接受工人的說法，並決定打官司。
法官聽完雙方的陳述，問工人他們在包裡發現的金幣數量，他們確認只有五十枚。
他再交叉詰問山姆，山姆回答說：「是的庭上，我的包裡有七十五枚金幣，他們只給我五十枚。因此很顯然地，是他們偷了我二十五枚金幣！」
法官於是再問：「你確定你的包裡有七十五枚金幣嗎？」
山姆用力點頭。
法官隨後作出判決：
「因為山姆丟了一個裝有七十五枚金幣的包，小女孩發現的包裡只有五十枚金幣，很明顯，這個找到的包不屬於山姆。它是別人弄丟的。如果有人發現一個裝有七十五枚金幣的包，我會宣布它屬於山姆。由於沒有人投訴丟了五十枚金幣，我裁定女孩與她的父親拿這五十枚金幣作為她們誠實的獎勵！
A Survey 對話……
Monica: Hey, would you like to take a survey?
Bill: Oh yes.
Monica: Thanks, my survey is about your opinions on certain topics.
Bill: OK.
Monica: Let’s begin. Would you keep a wallet that was left on the ground or return it to the rightful owner?
Bill: I would not keep the wallet, and I would return it to the owner.
Monica: Next question: Would you accept a reward from the owner?
Bill: Yes, I would accept it.
Monica: Would you agree to help out your community through manual labor?
Bill: Yes, since it’s the right thing to do.
Monica: Would you agree to going around the world for a few years?
Bill: No, I would refuse because I have family around me.
Monica: Would you volunteer in your local hospital along with strangers?
Bill: Yes, since my father and I used to work in a hospital.
Monica: Would you want to earn money through having a singing career?
Bill: Yes, I strongly agree to start a singing career since I love singing.
Monica: The last question: Would you agree or refuse to changing your name?
Bill: I would refuse to change my name because it is basically my identity.
Monica: Thank you for participating in my survey.
Bill: My pleasure.
WOW! 原來如此
high and low
「high and low」（上上下下）是「到處」的意思，例如：
I have looked for the letter high and low. （我已經到處找過那封信。）
Mr. and mrs. Su searched high and low for their missing cat. （蘇先生、蘇太太到處尋找他們失蹤的貓。）
既然「上上下下」都涵蓋，也就非常「全面了」，例如：
Her manners recommend her to high and low alike.（她的禮貌使得全部的人都喜歡她。）
exultant
「exultant」是歡欣鼓舞，例如：
The exultant throng is like the waves of the sea.（歡騰的人群宛如大海的波濤。）
Liverpool were in a jubilant mood after their cup victory, the exultant crowds were dancing in the streets.（利物浦隊奪得冠軍杯喜氣洋洋，歡欣的人群在大街上跳起了舞。）
vigorously
「vigor」是「活力、幹勁」，例如：
Alice does her work with tremendous vigor.（愛麗絲工作起來活力十足。）
副詞「vigorously」是「精力充沛、奮力地」，例如：
The scientists addressed themselves vigorously to this problem.（科學家們奮力鑽研解決這個問題。）
My sister was vigorously sweeping the floors.（我姐姐使盡全力對地板大掃除。）
問卷調查
莫妮卡：嘿，你接受問卷調查嗎？
比爾：好啊。
莫妮卡：謝謝，我的問卷是關於你對某些話題的意見。
比爾：好的。
莫妮卡：那我們開始，你在地上撿到錢包會據為己有，還是把它交還失主？
比爾：我不會據為己有，我會交還失主。
莫妮卡：下一個問題：你會接受失主的獎勵嗎？
比爾：我會接受。
莫妮卡：你願意提供勞動服務來幫助你的社區嗎？
比爾：願意，因為這是該做的事。
莫妮卡：你想去環遊世界各地幾年嗎？
比爾：我不會，因為我身邊有家人（要照顧）。
莫妮卡：你願意去本地醫院與陌生人一起當義工嗎？
比爾：願意，因為我與父親過去在醫院工作。
莫妮卡：你想唱歌賺錢嗎？
比爾：我有強烈的意願唱歌賺錢，因為我很愛唱歌。
莫妮卡：最後一個問題：你是否想改名字？
比爾：我拒絕改變我的名字，因為那代表我的身分。
莫妮卡：謝謝您參加問卷調查。
比爾：我的榮幸。