有声英语故事 百万英镑（附MP3+LRC）
2013-08-18 20:49阅读：
The £1,000,000 Bank Note
Part One: From San Francisco to London
When I was 27 years old, I worked in an office in San Francisco.
I did my job well and my future was promising.
I was alone in the world and I was happy.
On Saturday afternoons I didn't work.
I sailed my little sailboat on San Francisco Bay.
One Saturday afternoon, I sailed out too far.
The strong afternoon wind pushed my sailboat out of the bay,
and into the Pacific Ocean.
That night, when I had lost all hope, a small British brig saw me
and took me on board.
The brig was sailing to London.
The voyage was long and stormy.
I worked as a sailor to pay for my trip.
When I arrived in London, my clothes were old and dirty.
I had only one dollar in my pocket.
With this dollar, I ate and slept for the first twenty-four hours.
During the next twenty-four hours, I didn't eat and I didn't sleep.
At about ten o'clock the following morning, I went to Portland
Place.
I saw a child walking past, holding a big pear.
The child ate one small piece and then threw the pear onto the
street.
I stopped and looked at it.
I was very hungry and I really wanted that pear.
But every time I tried to get it, someone passed by and looked at
me.
I quickly turned in the other direction and waited for the person
to pass by.
I tried again and again to get that pear, but the same thing
happened.
I was desperate .
I decided to get the pear and not to worry about the people who saw
me.
At that moment, a gentleman opened a window behind me and said,
'Come in here, please.'
A well-dressed servant opened the door.
He took me to a beautiful room.
Here, two old gentlemen were sitting and discussing something
important.
Their breakfast was still on the table.
I was very hungry and I stared at their breakfast.
I want to tell the reader that the two gentlemen had made a bet
several days before.
I knew nothing about the bet until later.
Let me tell you what happened.
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Part Two: An Unusual Bet
The two old gentlemen were brothers.
For several days, they argued about a very strange subject.
They decided to end their argument with a bet, as the English
usually do.
The following was the subject of the bet.
The Bank of England issued two banknotes of a million pounds each
for a public transaction with a foreign country.
England used one banknote and the other remained in the bank.
At this point, Brother A said to Brother B, 'If an honest and
intelligent stranger arrives in London without a friend and without
money, except for the 1,000,000 pound banknote, he will starve to
death.'
Brother B answered, 'No! I don't agree.'
Brother A said, 'If he goes to the bank or anywhere else to change
this big note, the police will put him in prison.
Everyone will think he stole it.'
They continued arguing for days, until Brother B said, 'I'll bet
20,000 pound that the stranger will live for thirty days with the
banknote and not go to prison.'
Brother A accepted the bet.
He went to the bank and bought the 1,000,000 pound banknote.
After, he returned home and prepared a letter.
Then the two brothers sat by the window and waited for the right
man for the bet.
They saw a lot of honest faces go by, but they were not intelligent
enough.
Several faces were intelligent, but they were not honest.
A lot of faces were honest and intelligent, but they were not poor
enough.
Other faces were honest, intelligent and poor, but they were not
strangers.
When they saw me from the window, they thought I was the right
man.
They asked me questions, and soon they knew my story.
Finally, they told me I was the right man for the bet.
I asked them to explain the bet.
One of the gentlemen gave me an envelope.
I wanted to open it, but he said, 'No, don't open it now.
Wait until you are in your hotel room.
Then read it very carefully.'
I was confused and I wanted to discuss the subject with them.
But they didn't.
I felt hurt because I was the subject of a joke.
When I left their house, I looked for the pear on the street.
It was gone.
I was quite angry with those two gentlemen.
Far from their house, I opened the envelope.
I saw that there was money inside!
I didn't stop to read their letter.
I ran to the nearest eating place.
I ate and ate and ate.
At last, I took out the envelope with the money, to pay for my
meal.
I looked at the banknote and almost fainted.
It was a banknote worth five million dollars!
I was speechless.
I stared at the banknote.
The two gentlemen had made a big mistake.
They probably wanted to give me a one-pound banknote.
I saw the owner of the eating place staring at the banknote, too.
We were both surprised.
I did not know what to do or say, so I simply give him the note and
said, 'Give me the change, please.'
The owner apologized a thousand times.
'I'm very sorry, but I can't change this banknote, sir.'
'I don't have any other money.
Please change this note.'
The owner then said, 'You can pay for this food whenever you want,
sir.
I understand that you are a very rich gentleman.
You like playing jokes on people by dressing like a poor man.
You can come here and eat all you want, whenever you want.
You can pay me when you want.'
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