Section A
The Expensive Fantasy of Lord Williams
Tomintoul, Scotland — On Saturday night at The Grouse's Nest, they're still willing to raise a glass or two to “Lord Williams” though now his title prompts laughter. And now they just call him “Tony”.
There are those in this beautiful village in the mountains of Scotland (population, 320) who say they were never quite sureabout Anthony Williams, the soft-spoken, wealthy noble who arrived in 1986 with his well-dressed wife.
And there are others who say their suspicions were aroused over time, as the 55-year-old Mr. Williams, who appeared onweekends turned out in fine suits, bought up property after property, providing such a large injection of cash into the villagethat he single-handedly brought the community back to life.
But no one could have possibly guessed the truth — that the man with endless money and a friendly manner was not a lordat all but a government employee living out a fantasy that he was a Scottish noble and paying for it by stealing funds fromScotland Yard.
About two weeks ago, a regretful Mr. Williams, who had worked for the London police since 1959 and had risen to a￡65,000 a year position as deputy director of finance, was brought into court and sentenced to seven and a half years inprison.
Estimates are that he poured nearly ￡5 million of the stolen money into the village and gave jobs to 43 people. And nowthat he has fallen upon dark days at least some villagers are sticking by him.
“I found him a very charming man, very friendly, considerate — not at all proud,” said Georgie McAllister, 70, themanager of the local museum whose family has been farming the surrounding hills for generations. “It's hard to understandhow a clever person like him could mislead people like that. It's sad. Of course, it did benefit the village. A lot of the propertieswere beautifully restored.”
A few doors down the square, barber Donald Corr sat inside his shop and described how suspicions began to grow. “Everyonewondered where the money was coming from. Why was he spending it in a little place in the mountains? Christ, he wouldn'thave gotten it back in 100 years.”
According to the court, Mr. Williams stole more than ￡8 million over eight years. Most of it came from a secret fund thathad been placed under his sole authority and that was supposed to be used to pay spies and conduct secret activities againstthe Irish Republican Army.
Instead, it went to create one more British lord.
Mr. Williams bought an estate with a fine brick house in England. He bought a beautiful home with white walls and a poolin Spain. He bought noble titles at auctions, spending ￡95,000 to become the Lord of Chirnside, and then adding on 10 moreScottish titles.
But most of all, he sunk his dishonest gains into this village that captured his heart with its fine stone cottages, its centralarea of green grass, green rows of hedges, and its fantastic view of rolling fields and pine forests disappearing into the distancelike the men of an ancient army marching over the horizon.
He bought multiple cottages and fixed them up. He purchased the pub and made it into a fine place to have a glass ofGlenlivet Scotch whiskey, produced only 10 miles (16 kilometers) to the north. And most of all, he bought the run-downGordon Arms Hotel and totally restored it, transforming it from a mess into a glorious first-class hotel with 30 handsomelyfurnished rooms, wood-paneled stairs, false bookshelves with fake leather books and an outstanding restaurant.
“I would offer him three choices of glasses for the restaurant: an average one, a poor one, and fine crystal. Always, he chosethe crystal. Nothing but the best,” said David Abdy, who was chosen by Mr. Williams to manage the construction work andrun the businesses.
Mr. Williams deceived everyone, including Mr. Abdy and including even his own wife, telling them that he inherited themoney from a rich uncle. He was caught because his bank deposits were so large that they were noticed by the bank'smanagement. The bank notified the police, who discovered, to their terrible embarrassment, that the criminal was one oftheir own.
The London police commissioner publicly apologized for poorly supervising his department. Under a hastily madearrangement, the police will sell the properties, but at a substantial financial loss. Mr. Abdy, a 27-year-old businessman,acquired the bulk of the properties for about half a million pounds, obtaining bank loans and striking deals with various peopleto pay only a part of what they are owed by Mr. Williams.
In the only interview he has given since his arrest a year ago, Mr. Williams discussed his motives for the crime with aLondon newspaper: “I discovered this bloody huge amount of money. I went from the need to pay off a few debts to what canonly be described as greed. There is no way to justify it.”
New Words
fantasy n. 幻想，想像
wealthy a. 富裕的
suspicion n. 1.猜疑，懷疑 2.懷疑，嫌疑
arouse vt. 1.引起，喚起，激起 2.喚醒
injection n. 1.投入，注入 2.注射
deputy n. 1.副職，副手 2.代理人
court n. 1.法院，法庭 2.球場(chǎng)
considerate a. 體諒的，體貼的
mislead vt. 1.給... ...以錯(cuò)誤的想法或印象，使誤解 2.領(lǐng)錯(cuò)或引錯(cuò)方向 3.把……帶壞，使誤入歧途
restore vt. 1.重建，修復(fù) 2.使恢復(fù)，使回復(fù)
barber n. 理發(fā)師
Christ int. (表示氣憤、厭煩、驚訝等)
n. 基督（基督教創(chuàng)始人）
republican a. 共和國(guó)的，共和政體的，贊成共和的
n. 擁護(hù)共和政體的人
estate n. 1.莊園；大片私有土地 2.財(cái)產(chǎn)（尤指遺產(chǎn)）
brick n. 磚
vt. 用磚砌，用磚堵住
▲auction n. 拍賣；拍賣會(huì)
vt. 拍賣
hedge n. 1.（土地周圍的）樹籬 2.保護(hù)手段，防護(hù)措施
fantastic a. 1.極好的，極出色的 2.異想天開的，不切實(shí)際的 3.奇異的，古怪的
horizon n. 1.地平線 2.一個(gè)人的知識(shí)、經(jīng)驗(yàn)、興趣的限度或范圍；眼界；見識(shí)
multiple a. 多重的，多樣的，多的
n. 倍數(shù)
mess n. 1.污穢，雜亂，混亂 2.困境，狼狽的處境
glorious a. 1.美麗的，輝煌的，燦爛的 2.榮耀的，光榮的
furnish vt. 1.供給家具，用家具布置 2.提供，供應(yīng)
panel vt. 給... ...鑲面板
n. 1.面，板 2.專門小組
wood-paneled a. 鑲木板的
leather n. 皮，皮革
crystal n. 水晶
deceive vt. 欺騙，蒙蔽
inherit vt. 繼承（財(cái)產(chǎn)、爵位、頭銜等）
deposit n. 1.存款 2.定金，押金
notify vt. 通知，報(bào)告
commission vt. 委任，任命
n. 1.考察團(tuán)，調(diào)查團(tuán)，委員會(huì) 2.任務(wù)，委托
commissioner n. 委員，專員，特派員
▲supervise vt. 監(jiān)督，管理
arrangement n. 1.計(jì)劃，安排，準(zhǔn)備 2.整理，排列，布置
substantial a. 1.大的，相當(dāng)可觀的 2.大體上的，實(shí)質(zhì)上的
bulk n. 1.大半，大部分 2.（巨大的）體積，大量
arrest n. 逮捕，拘留
vt. 逮捕，拘留
motive n. 動(dòng)機(jī)，（行動(dòng)的）理由
bloody ad. （用于加強(qiáng)語(yǔ)氣）非常，很
a. 1.（用于加強(qiáng)語(yǔ)氣）非常的；該死的 2.血污的，流血的
debt n. 欠款，債務(wù)；負(fù)債
justify vt. 為... ...辯護(hù)，證明... ...正當(dāng)（或有理）
Phrases and Expressions
raise a glass to 向... ...祝賀，為... ...干杯
turn out 打扮、裝飾； 露面、出現(xiàn)
buy up 全部買進(jìn)，盡量收購(gòu)
bring … to life 使有活力（或生氣）
live out 過（某種生活）
bring … into court 控告，起訴
fall upon dark days 遭到不幸，倒霉
stick by sb. 繼續(xù)支持，忠于（尤指在困難時(shí)刻）
add on 附加，加上
sink … into 投資
fix up 修理；整修
make … into 使轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)?br> sell sth. at a loss 虧本出售
Proper Names
Tomintoul 托明陶爾
Scotland 蘇格蘭（英國(guó)的一部分，在大不列顛島北部）
The Grouse's Nest 牢騷酒吧
Lord Williams 威廉斯勛爵
Tony 托尼
Anthony Williams 安東尼·威廉斯
Scotland Yard 蘇格蘭場(chǎng)(即倫敦警察總署)
London 倫敦
Georgie McAllister 喬吉·麥卡利斯特
Donald Corr 唐納德·科爾
Irish Republican Army 愛爾蘭共和軍（謀求北愛爾蘭脫離英國(guó)獨(dú)立的秘密組織）
British （大）不列顛的，英國(guó)的，英聯(lián)邦的
England 英格蘭（在大不列顛島南部及中部，是英國(guó)的主要部分）
Spain 西班牙（歐洲西南部國(guó)家）
Lord of Chirnside 徹恩賽德勛爵
Scottish 蘇格蘭的，蘇格蘭人的
Glenlivet 格倫利物(威士忌酒)
Gordon Arms Hotel 戈登·阿姆斯旅館
David Abdy 戴維·阿布迪