The whole village soon learnt that a large sum of money had been lost. Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings to the post office. Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one of the villagers, but it was not returned to him. Three months passed, and then one morning, Sam found his wallet outside his front door. It had been wrapped up in newspaper and it contained half the money he had lost, together with a note which said:‘A thief, yes, but only 50per cent a thief!’Two months later, some more money was sent to Sam with another note:‘Only 25per cent a thief now!’In time, all Sam'smoney was paid back in this way. The last note said:‘I am 100per cent honest now!’
New words and expressions 生词和短语
clear (title) [ kliə] adj．无罪的，不亏心的
savings (1.3) ['seiviŋ] n．存款
conscience (title) ['kɔnʃəns] n．良心，道德心
villager (1.4) ['vilidʒə] n．村民
wallet (1.2) ['wɔlit] n．皮夹，钱夹
percent (1.8) [pə'sent] 百分之……
Notes on the text课文注释
1Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings to the post office.当地的屠户萨姆•本顿在把存款送往邮局的途中把钱包丢了。其中的 while taking his savings是现在分词用于连词之后，与表示时间的状语从句 while he was taking his savings作用是一致的。
2the wallet must have been found by one of the villagers, 钱包肯定是被某个村民捡到了。 must在这里表示推测，由于是对过去的推测，因此must之后的动词要用完成形式。
3．Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings to the post office. 当地的屠户萨姆·本顿在把存款送往邮局的途中把钱包丢了。
taking为现在分词。与动名词相似，它也可以有自己的宾语、状语等。在连词while之后，现在分词短语的作用相当于一个时间状语从句：…while he was taking his savings to the post office。现在分词这样用的前提是两个动词的主语是同一个，并且这两个动作通常是同时发生的：
He listened to music while cleaning the room.
他一边打扫房间一边听音乐。
如果是主语不一致则必须用从句：
He listened to music while I was cleaning the room.
我打扫房间时，他在听音乐。
4．Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one of the villagers…萨姆确信那钱包一定是被某个村民捡到了……
must用于对过去已发生的事进行推测时，后面的动词要用完成式：
When I arrived, he wasn't here. He must have left early.
我到这儿的时候他已不在了。他一定早走了。
5．it contained half the money he had lost, 里面有他丢失的钱的一半。
我们既可以说 half the money，也可以说 half of the money，它们可以互相替代，但是money前都必须有the，因为是指特定的钱。再如：
Half the bread/ half of the bread was bad.
这面包有一半已变质了。
6．In time, all Sam's money was paid back in this way. 很快，萨姆全部的钱都用同样的方式还了回来。
（1）in time可以表示“经过一段时间”或“最终”、“迟早”：
In time, he found all the books he needed.
一段时间以后，他找到了他需要的所有书。
I'll tell you everything in time.
我最终／总有一天会把一切都告诉你的。
（2）in this way表示“用这样的方式”：
You must pay attention to your spelling. In this way, you can become a good secretary in time.
The whole village soon learnt that a large sum of money had been lost. Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings to the post office. Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one of the villagers, but it was not returned to him. Three months passed, and then one morning, Sam found his wallet outside his front door. It had been wrapped up in newspaper and it contained half the money he had lost, together with a note which said:‘A thief, yes, but only 50per cent a thief!’Two months later, some more money was sent to Sam with another note:‘Only 25per cent a thief now!’In time, all Sam'smoney was paid back in this way. The last note said:‘I am 100per cent honest now!’
/1 
