I entered the hotel manager’s office and sat down. I had just lost $50 and I felt very upset. ‘I left the money in my room,’ I said, ‘and it’s not there now.’ The manager was sympathetic1, but he could do nothing. ‘Everyone’s losing money these days,’ he said. He started to complain about this wicked2 world but was interrupted3 by a knock at the door. A girl came in and put an envelope on his desk. It contained $50. ‘I found this outside this gentleman’s room,’ she said. ‘Well,’ I said to the manager, ‘there is still some honesty4 in this world!’
New words and expressions 生词和短语
manager n. 经理
upset adj. 不安
sympathetic adj. 表示同情的
complain v. 抱怨
wicked adj. 很坏的，邪恶的
contain v. 包含，内装
honesty n. 诚实
参考译文
我走进饭店经理的办公室，坐了下来。我刚刚丢了50英镑，感到非常烦恼。“我把钱放在房间里，”我说，“可现在没有了。”经理深表同情，但却无能为力。“现在大家都在丢钱，”他说。他开始抱怨起这个邪恶的世道来，却被一阵敲门声打断了。一个姑娘走了进来，把一个信封放在了他桌上。它里面装着50英镑。“这是我在这位先生的房门外捡到的，”她说。“是啊，”我对那位经理说，“这世界上还是有诚实可言的！”
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自学导读
1．I had just lost ￡50 and I felt very upset. 我刚刚丢了50英镑，感到非常烦恼。
（1）lose指“遗失”、“丢失”时，宾语一般为钱物：
Don’t lose your ticket/key.
别把你的票／钥匙丢了。
（2）feel +形容词一般指心情“觉得……”、“感觉到……”：
Do you feel hungry now?
你觉得饿吗？
I feel happy/excited.
我觉得开心／激动。
feel upset 表示“心烦意乱、“很苦恼”。
2．The manager was sympathetic, but be could do nothing. 经理深表同情，但却无能为力。
could do nothing可以补全为 could do nothing about it，即关于此事他什么忙也帮不上。do为完全动词，表示“做”、“干”。do类似的用法还有：
Is there anything I can do for you?
我能给您做点什么吗？
3．Everyone’s losing money these days. 现在大家都在丢钱。
（1）days可以指“时期”、“时代”，如 in his boyhood days（在他的童年时代）。these days指“现今”。
（2）现在进行时在这里表示动作的频繁，仿佛随时都有人丢钱似的。
4．‘Well,’I said to the manager,‘there is still some honesty in this world!’“是啊，”我对那位经理说，“这世界上还是有诚实可言的！”
well作为感叹词可以表达多种感情，如惊讶、让步等，在这里表示松了一口气（因为钱没丢）。
