Many years ago in another country there lived a poor student. He had very little money. He lived in a very small room over a restaurant. His room was at the back of the building over the kitchen. The restaurant owner was a very mean (吝啬的) man. Nobody liked him. But he was good at cooking and many people came to his restaurant.
One day the restaurant owner was working quietly in his kitchen when he heard the poor student talking to his friend by accident.
“You must be very unhappy,” said his friend, “living in a poor room like this.”
“Oh no,” said the student, “I am busy with my studies and I am not interested in my room.” “But you only eat rice – you don’t have money for anything tasty.”
“Yes, it’s true, I eat only rice. But the delicious smells that come from the kitchen make the rice very tasty indeed.”
The restaurant owner was angry on hearing this. This student was stealing his smells from his kitchen. He decided to take him to court (法庭).
Everybody in the court laughed when the mean man accused (控告) the student of stealing his smells. But the judge took him seriously. “Every man should be able to complain to the court,” he said.
When the restaurant owner told the judge everything, the judge said, “You are right. The student is guilty (有罪的).” The restaurant owner was very pleased, but the poor student was very much afraid. What could he do? He had only a few coins in his pocket.
The judge asked the student if he had any money. The student took 5 coins from his pocket and held them out to the judge in his right hand.
“Let the coins fall into your left hand,” said judge.
The courtroom was very quiet. Everyone heard the light ringing sound of the coins as they fell into the student’s left hand.
“Well,” said the judge to the restaurant owner, “you’ve heard his money. You’ve been well paid for your smells.”
93. Where did the poor student live?
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94. When did the owner hear the student talking to his friend?
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95. The poor student was not interested in his room, was he?
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96. Why did the owner decide to take the student to the court?
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97. What was the attitude of the people in the court?
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98. What do you think of the judge?
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